By the edge of the cliff.
Hachiman sneaked back to the camp.
As expected, Class B was enjoying lunch. Ichinose was sitting with Himeno Yuki, Shiranui, and others, chatting casually.
Great.
Hachiman breathed a sigh of relief secretly. He sneaked into the line, received his portion from the girls, and went back to the boiler alone to enjoy it.
Perfect!
As expected, everything requires effort.
As long as I drag it out long enough, I believe it's enough to make Ichinose forget the conversation from earlier.
Hachiman was secretly pleased.
In the afternoon.
Hachiman sat by the boiler continuing to boil water, while the people of Class B did their respective jobs.
Just then.
"Hachiman~"
Ichinose's sweet voice sounded behind him. Hachiman felt someone pat his shoulder, and his whole body tensed up instantly.
"Ah."
Hachiman forced a smile: "Ichinose, is there something?"
"I came over to see if there's anything that needs help here!"
Ichinose squatted on the ground, feeding firewood into the fire.
After a while, she opened her ruby lips: "I heard from Horikita-san that Class D needs three people to complete the water-boiling task. Is Hachiman really okay by himself?"
However.
Even though Ichinose's voice was sweet.
To Hachiman's ears, these words.
Sounded like she was saying: I remember very clearly, you'd better confess quickly.
Was it intentional?
Or was it an accident?
Simple concern, or a test?
How scary.
Ichinose-san is so scary.
"It's fine."
Hachiman gave two dry laughs.
No matter what, Ichinose is the Class B leader; it's impossible for her to have amnesia.
"Is that so?"
Adding wood to the fire, Ichinose didn't argue: "Then Hachiman, can you tell me what trade you made with Horikita-san at the start of school?"
"Well..."
As expected, she wouldn't forget. Hachiman explained awkwardly:
"I just told her the rules I learned at the start of school and got 30,000 personal points from her. But Class D's points still became zero in May, so it shouldn't have any impact, right?"
Besides getting 30,000 points.
Even though Class D learned about the school rules, it still didn't serve any purpose and had no impact at all.
If Ichinose asked him to hand over the personal points now.
Then...
After thinking it over.
Hachiman still decided to refuse. He is a man who can say no!
It wasn't that he disliked Class B; on the contrary, he really liked this class.
No one would intentionally ignore him, no one would intentionally pay attention, and there was no bestowed pity.
Even "normies" like Shibata would pay attention to the atmosphere during class chats and wouldn't cause discomfort to anyone.
It was practically like a class out of a fairy tale.
If it weren't for outliers like Himeno Yuki, Hachiman would have thought he had traveled to some parallel world.
It was simply too good to be true.
Are these guys a bunch of kind-hearted clones?
Past experiences.
Made it hard for Hachiman to believe this was reality. These guys were simply here to challenge his values.
However.
Hachiman always felt a sense of abnormality.
Does such an excellent and empathetic class really exist in this world?
And.
Even if such a class really existed.
A loner wouldn't rely on others or cause trouble for others. It's better to keep personal points in one's own hands.
But if the class has a need.
As long as there is a legitimate reason, he wouldn't be stingy, but at least the money should be kept by himself.
After all.
Giving money to a classmate to keep—that kind of thing was just too absurd.
"Indeed... it didn't have much impact."
After pondering for a moment, Ichinose nodded, then turned to look at Hachiman Hikigaya with clear eyes:
"As long as it doesn't affect the class, Hachiman is free to do whatever he wants. Originally, we had no right to interfere, but—"
Ichinose smiled brilliantly: "I still hope Hachiman can trust us more."
"Eh?"
Hachiman was stunned for a moment before explaining: "Does Ichinose have some misunderstanding? I trust you guys completely. I fully believe Ichinose can lead us up to Class A."
He was serious about this.
He didn't doubt the strength of Ichinose, Kanzaki, and the others at all.
Ichinose was fully capable of leading everyone to Class A.
Although he had the idea of saving up 20 million points himself, that was just his personal way of doing things.
Rather.
While he seemed like an outlier in Class B, this way of acting was actually quite normal, right? Instead, he didn't understand how Class B could leave their money for someone else to manage.
But everyone has their own way of doing things, so he didn't question it.
Mutual non-interference was the best choice.
"Hmm."
Ichinose shook her head slightly and smiled helplessly: "It's not about Class A. It's that as friends, I hope Hachiman can trust us a bit more."
"That..."
Hachiman gave two dry laughs: "I'm just used to being alone."
He didn't dislike Ichinose and the others; on the contrary, he really liked her straightforward way of facing everything fairly and squarely.
But.
He always felt a sense of abnormality in Ichinose's group that made him uncomfortable, and he truly preferred being alone.
Moreover.
To what extent does one have to go to be considered a friend?
Even though he had Ichinose's contact information, they hadn't spoken much.
But since Ichinose said so, then so be it. However, even if they were friends, how were they supposed to interact?
Was he supposed to act like a "good boy" like Himeno Yuki?
Then he could only apologize.
He really couldn't do it, nor did he like it.
"Is that so? That's good then."
Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.
"In addition."
After hesitating for a while, Hikigaya confessed: "I just made another deal with Horikita-san."
"Hmm? What deal?"
"Don't worry, it won't affect the class."
Ichinose pursed her lips and didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought.
In fact, she wasn't worried about affecting the class; even if there were an impact, everyone in the class could handle it together.
Ichinose believed in this firmly.
Rather, she was more concerned about why Hikigaya's mind was so full of thoughts about "not affecting the class," almost as if he treated himself as an outsider.
This point.
It was something Ichinose found even harder to accept.
Why couldn't he discuss things with the class beforehand? As long as it was appropriate, she would have agreed.
"What's wrong?"
Hikigaya looked at her sideways with some confusion, wondering why this girl had suddenly gone quiet.
"It's nothing."
Ichinose shook her head.
Changing this man now would likely be difficult; Ichinose decided to take it slow.
She smiled: "Then let me hear it."
"Oh."
Hikigaya nodded and explained: "Actually, Horikita-san has a cold, and she is also the leader of Class D."
"As expected?" Ichinose nodded.
"You noticed too?"
Hikigaya was a bit surprised.
"Yes." Ichinose nodded. "I saw Horikita-san rubbing her arms constantly; she should be sick. But since she seemed to want to continue the exam, I didn't say much."
"I see."
Hikigaya nodded; as expected, Ichinose's insight was not to be underestimated.
She probably didn't want to look into it too deeply for the sake of their cooperative relationship.
Given Ichinose's personality, even if she knew the leader of Class D, she wouldn't write down their name.
"But, how did you find out she was the Class D leader?"
"Well..."
Hikigaya confessed everything that happened, including the fact that he would receive 50% of Horikita Suzune's personal points for the next six months.
After all.
Class D would be sending MAX coffee tonight.
The deal couldn't be hidden.
Moreover.
This matter truly had no impact on Class B.
There was no need to hide it.
As for what if Ichinose wanted the money—he definitely wouldn't give it!