Early December.
The paper shuffle exam officially began.
Hikigaya had also handed in the Japanese language questions he had prepared for Class B.
Corporate slaves complaining about their bosses is perfectly normal. No matter how strong Ichinose was, she was still the leader of Class B.
The tasks assigned by the leader must be completed.
Unless you quit.
Not having the power to resist is exactly what makes being a corporate slave so pathetic.
"We will now proceed with the final exam."
"The first period is the Japanese exam. It begins now."
As Hoshinomiya's voice announced the start of the exam, Hikigaya flipped the test paper on his desk over to the front.
During this period.
The group had been holding study sessions.
Strictly speaking.
Although Kobashi Yume and the others spent most of the time chatting, having someone nearby to clear up doubts at any moment was surely better than struggling alone.
Correspondingly.
He also had to answer questions from asakura makp and the others regarding the humanities.
He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.
Plus, there were free cookies to eat.
The pros probably outweighed the cons?
Time flew by.
It was soon mid-December.
Strictly speaking.
Hikigaya's group was only a temporary one formed for the exam.
As the exam ended.
Kobashi Yume and the others naturally returned to Ichinose's side.
Clearly, this was normal.
However, Kobashi Yume and the others still occasionally returned to the Service Club with Himeno Yuki to check on him, the "lonely old bone."
Hikigaya had already gotten used to it.
After school.
Hikigaya packed his bag and left the school. With winter break approaching, the final exam results likely wouldn't be announced until the last day.
"Hikigaya, are you already going back?"
"Oh."
It would be too rude to pretend he didn't hear, so Hikigaya gave a casual response and left the classroom without hesitation.
He wasn't sure what the situation was.
In Class B, he seemed to have become the same type of person as Kanzaki.
A man of few words, but surprisingly reliable.
Lately, many people had been greeting him.
Most likely, the overly positive Kobashi Yume and the others had said a lot of exaggeratedly good things to Ichinose's group.
Hikigaya was secretly a bit pleased, though his expression remained awkward.
Being praised is never a bad thing.
The thought of someone praising him behind his back even gave him a secret thrill, but this situation was actually quite bad.
If this continued.
It was very likely they would start asking for his opinion on exams, having him lead the class alongside Ichinose and Kanzaki.
Because.
That was exactly how Ichinose had been pushed onto the stage by Class B.
It wasn't that Hikigaya didn't want to contribute to the class.
After all, Class B reaching Class A was also in his own interest. Even having a little more pocket money each month would be good.
However.
It would be fine if he actually had that kind of ability, but Hikigaya knew exactly how much he was worth.
He was already doing his best just to avoid causing trouble for the class.
Letting him compete with the likes of Sakayanagi, Ryuuen, and Horikita Suzune?
He might as well just surrender.
The higher you are held up, the harder you fall. Promotions aren't always a good thing.
Hikigaya thought it over.
He couldn't keep living up to the expectations of Kobashi Yume and the others.
Leaving the school.
A person with shoulder-length hair—a... big blond—walked past him. He had an elegant smile on his face and moved with a spring in his step.
Even just walking normally.
His movements seemed significantly faster than others.
Ryuuen, Ishizaki, and the others followed quickly behind him as they left the school.
Hikigaya looked at the scene with some confusion.
What, was Ryuuen kicked out of leadership in Class C? Why was he following behind someone else? Who on earth was that big blond guy?
Either way, he was a blond, so he was definitely an annoying guy.
"I heard Ryuuen is looking for the hidden 'Person X' in Class D."
At that moment, Kanzaki walked up behind him and spoke while watching the group walk away.
"Are you curious?"
"Oh... oh..."
Hikigaya was startled.
Don't just start a conversation from behind like that. Don't you know it's scary?
Speaking of which.
Although Kanzaki was always by Ichinose's side, in Class B, he was actually something of a loner; he just didn't reject socialization.
However.
Hikigaya felt.
The reason Kanzaki didn't reject socialization was merely because social skills were a required ability in this school.
In an ordinary school, Kanzaki would likely be a person who stays out of the spotlight and does his work quietly.
A model corporate slave!
"Aren't you going to the Wool Club today?"
"Uh, it's too cold."
Hachiman replied dismissively. There was no need to put much effort into communicating with a corporate slave.
The Wool Club was established in April.
Although they had applied for many things like an elevator, a treadmill, and a camera, it was quite hot at that time, and they forgot to apply for a heater.
Recently, Hachiman simply stopped going.
Anyway, it was just a club for "fleecing" the school's points; it didn't matter if he skipped occasionally.
Although he could continue to apply for equipment, Hachiman really didn't want to deal with that little blond guy, Nagumo Miyabi.
He had heard his "old man" complain before.
Superiors who always have a smile on their faces are usually the ones who love to make life difficult for their subordinates or wait for "gifts" before they actually do their jobs.
"Is that so? Then I'll be going first. See you tomorrow."
"Oh..."
With that, Kanzaki left.
To be honest, Hachiman was very good at routine small talk, but Kanzaki was a bit peculiar.
For some reason, Kanzaki's attitude toward him fluctuated. Lately, it had unexpectedly become better.
While he wasn't a bad person, he felt a bit neurotic.
Just then, Horikita Suzune, Ayanokouji, Yukimura, Sudo, and others passed by in a hurry, clearly trying to catch up to someone.
A smile touched the corner of Hachiman's mouth.
He went to the vending machine, bought a can of MAX coffee and some chips, and slowly followed them.
A fight is brewing!
On the tree-lined path back to the dorms, Ryuen, Ishizaki, and others had a tall blond guy surrounded, confronting Horikita Suzune's group.
Hachiman sat down on a bench at a rest area, popped the tab of his coffee, opened his chips, and watched them from a distance.
He took a sweet, rich sip of his MAX coffee.
Speaking of which, he remembered that during the Sports Festival, Class C had a very strong-looking Black guy, but Ryuen didn't seem to like bringing him along.
He hadn't seen much of this tall blond guy before.
Even though he was surrounded by Ryuen's gang, the blond guy remained indifferent, taking out a hand mirror and admiring his own reflection with total self-satisfaction.
Truly a narcissist.
Compared to him, Hachiman felt his middle school experiences could hardly be called "dark history" anymore.
However, Class D seemed full of such self-absorbed people, so it wasn't that surprising.
Hachiman was just curious.
Even just observing, that blond guy was the sturdy type.
Yet, whether it was the uninhabited island exam or the Sports Festival, he hadn't seen this guy do anything remarkable.
With such a unique personality, anyone who saw him once would inevitably have a "trashy" impression burned into their brain.
Yet Hachiman had almost no memory of him.
What was going on?
"Bang."
At that moment, Ryuen snatched the hand mirror and threw it onto the ground. The mirror shattered into several pieces upon impact.
Oh, oh! The fight is starting!
Just then, Sakayanagi appeared before the group, accompanied by three others.
"I was wondering what was happening. This is quite an interesting combination of people."
As she spoke, Sakayanagi found an empty bench and sat down. It happened to be right across from Hachiman—the perfect spot for spectating.
"Sakayanagi, huh? Your timing is almost too perfect," Horikita Suzune and the others turned to glare warily at Sakayanagi. Her presence was simply too overwhelming to ignore, despite her mobility issues.
"Ugh..."
Hachiman looked disgusted.
It was indeed an interesting group, but it stopped being fun the moment you arrived.
Since Sakayanagi was here, the show was likely ruined. Hachiman stood up to leave immediately.
"Stay right there."
Sakayanagi's face darkened, and a metaphorical "tick mark" appeared on her forehead.
She had just sat down, and the guy opposite her stood up with a look of pure disdain. That was simply too rude.
She forced a smile and said, "It's very impolite to show such a look of disgust the moment you see someone's face, Hachiman Hikigaya."
"No, no it's not that."
Was I that obvious? Hachiman managed a strained smile and held up his bag of chips.
"It's these chips. They don't suit my taste; they're actually quite terrible."
At those words, even Ryuen and the others were briefly distracted.
They had noticed Hachiman from the start, but the guy had been sipping a drink and eating chips with his dead-fish eyes as if saying "hurry up and fight already."
It was exasperating. Because of that, no one had taken him seriously.
"Is that so?"
Sakayanagi narrowed her beautiful eyes.
"Isn't Hikigaya here because he's curious about who 'Target X' is—the person Ryuen is looking for in Class D?"
Hachiman's cheek twitched. No way.
"Looking for a Target X? What for, does he want them to sacrifice themselves to him? I'm just here by chance. You all seem busy, so I won't disturb you."
With that, Hachiman slung his shoulder bag and practically ran away.
He only wanted to watch the drama; he didn't want to be dragged into it.
Furthermore, with Sakayanagi there as a third party, it felt like Class C and Class D weren't going to fight anymore anyway.
However, following those words, everyone couldn't help but look at Ryuen. Kamuro Masumi from Class A let out an accidental snort of laughter.
"That's what he said, Ryuen-kun," Sakayanagi added with a slight smile.
Koenji, who was surrounded in the center, also let out a hearty laugh.
"How tragic, Dragon Boy. I am indeed not the Target X you speak of. However, if you're looking for someone to 'sacrifice' themselves to you, I have no interest in that department either."
Ayanokouji, on the other hand, didn't take it to heart, though he was a bit surprised.
Hachiman might not have done it on purpose, but he seemed to have the ability to change the atmosphere of a room.
"Um, Ryuen-san, what did he mean by that?" Ishizaki asked in a low, confused voice, sensing the unnatural smiles around him. It seemed there was an implication he didn't understand.
"Shut up," Ryuen barked, staring intently at Hachiman's retreating back.
That idiot, whether intentionally or not, always managed to pull the rug out from under him.
Truly irritating.
Once I deal with Class D's "Target X"...
Thinking of this, Ryuen felt a bit uneasy.
Although he usually had no interest in a guy like Hikigaya, who was so obvious and lacked ambition, once he finished with Class D's Target X, he was definitely going to "perform surgery" on Hikigaya.
That guy was just too annoying!