The Class B classroom.
It was mid-December.
The results of the Paper Shuffle pair exam were posted on the blackboard. The expressions of the Class B students were slightly dejected.
Class B had lost to Class A by a narrow margin, losing 100 class points. However, Class C had also lost to Class D, losing 100 points as well.
The class point totals shifted once more:
Class A (Sakayanagi): 974 Class B (Ichinose): 716 Class C (Ryuen): 592 Class D (Horikita): 209
The gap that they had worked so hard to close over the last few exams had been widened again by Sakayanagi.
Hachiman slumped on his desk.
There was no other way but to work hard, so losing with such a strategy was perfectly normal.
In this world, who doesn't work hard?
Especially against Class A, who were more talented to begin with.
If this continued, Class A would likely pull ahead alone, leaving Classes B, C, and D to fight amongst themselves.
The only silver lining was that no one was expelled in this exam.
Then again, that was because Class B had good grades to begin with.
Relying solely on Ichinose might not be viable; from now on, it was probably more appropriate to focus on collecting personal points.
Come to think of it...
Is reaching Class A really that important?
Hachiman watched Ichinose, Kanzaki, Shibata, Himeno Yuki, Kobashi Yume, Okakura Asako, and Hamaguchi Tetsuya from his desk.
And also Chihiro Shirami, who was currently poking his back. Maybe more people too.
He was just doing what little he could for some self-satisfaction.
But they all seemed to desperately want to reach Class A.
However, even if they reached Class A and got the chance to work at their dream companies, most would just become entry-level employees, betrayed by their own dreams.
He thought of his parents, who often worked until midnight and fell asleep the moment they hit the bed.
He thought of Komachi, who had to help with cooking and taking care of the family since starting middle school.
As a member of a working-class family, Hachiman believed that regardless of the company, being an exploited corporate slave was never a beautiful thing.
You're just changing the location where you slave away; why be so obsessed with Class A?
A high salary is important, of course, but a high salary also means you must put in a corresponding amount of labor.
If you ruin your health for money, you might as well choose a more relaxed job as a corporate slave.
Hachiman truly couldn't understand it.
After school...
"Could everyone wait a moment? I have something to say."
After calling out to everyone, Ichinose walked to the podium and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
"I'm sorry! It's my fault that the class lost the exam!"
"That's not true!" Asakura mako quickly stood up and waved her hands. "Honami-chan's grades are already excellent; there was hardly any room for improvement. It's my fault—if I had scored a bit higher, we wouldn't have lost."
"Yeah," Kobashi Yume joined her at the podium, looking guilty. "How could failing an exam be the responsibility of just one person? We all share the responsibility. If only we had worked a little harder!"
"Exactly, Honami doesn't need to take all the blame on herself," Shibata added. "Just like Kobashi said, we all share the responsibility for this failure."
"Everyone, you don't have to be like this." Seeing this, Kanzaki stood up to comfort the class. "While it's a shame we lost this time, it's only one defeat. We still have a chance. We just need to work harder next time to win it back!"
"Everyone..." Feeling the warmth from the hands of Kobashi and Okakura, a smile finally returned to Ichinose's face.
Thinking back to what he saw on the cruise ship, Hachiman felt she would still find somewhere to shoulder the burden alone.
"Sigh." Hachiman couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
While it was true, as Kanzaki said, that except for the VIP exam where Ryuen found the root rules, the previous losses were mainly because Class D had a traitor.
This was actually the first time Class B had suffered a strict, direct defeat. It wasn't the end of the world.
However, talking about responsibility without any system of reward or punishment meant that pressure wasn't being distributed effectively.
Moreover, the responsibility was completely mismatched with the roles.
Since Ichinose was the leader, how could "everyone" be responsible? At the very least, those who scored higher than Class A's average shouldn't be responsible, right?
Oh? Even if there was blame, the biggest share should be on Ichinose.
But the problem was that Ichinose didn't ask to be the leader; she was pushed into it by everyone else.
In that case, you couldn't really blame her.
Honestly, did no one in Class B want to be the leader?
It was a prestigious position where you could lead 39 people, control the class budget, and gain massive fame in the school.
If someone applied now, they would surely be accepted! Hachiman would certainly support them.
Seriously, why did no one want such a good position?
Please, someone stand up and say they want to be the class leader! Hachiman would shove the job onto them in a heartbeat.
As for him? Hachiman knew his own limits. If he took charge, Class B might not just drop down—they might plummet straight through Class D and out of the school.
And...
Hachiman stole a glance at the podium. An "alien object" was mixed in with the students, rubbing Ichinose's head, presumably trying to comfort her.
It was Chie Hoshinomomiya.
You're a teacher; don't you feel ashamed mixing in with the students like that?
And stop touching Ichinose's hair; she's going to go bald from all that rubbing.
Most of Class B wanted to reach Class A. But as for their homeroom teacher...
It felt like Hoshinomomiya was more obsessed with crushing Class D's Sae Chabashira than actually reaching Class A.
They were former classmates. Something bad probably happened back then, and Hoshinomomiya was still holding a grudge.
She likely didn't care about Class D right now because their points weren't a threat to the upper classes yet.
Wanting to reach Class A while maintaining such a loose atmosphere... did these people really want to move up?
Hachiman seriously doubted it.
Wait, oh?
Could it be that they only say it, but actually don't care about moving up?
After all, if the problem was this obvious, how could Kanzaki not see it? Are they actually just "lying flat" (slacking off)?
Oh, then never mind.
Why does nobody in this class want to take actual responsibility?
December 22nd.
Tomorrow was the start of the highly anticipated winter break.
After school, Hachiman rushed back to his warm dorm room.
The school provided water and electricity for free. Therefore, the air conditioner was basically on twenty-four hours a day.
Even though tuition was free, maintaining Advanced Nurturing High School definitely relied on taxpayers' money.
In the middle of all that, there were surely plenty of corrupt officials using the opportunity to line their pockets or achieve personal goals.
His parents were high-quality corporate slaves who worked hard. They paid a lot of taxes every year.
"Don't worry."
"Dad, Mom."
"Your son will definitely earn back all the taxes you've paid! This is your son's way of showing filial piety."
"Please work hard and leave me a generous inheritance."
Hachiman lay on his bed, playing a handheld console, mumbling to himself incessantly.
He had a habit of talking to himself in middle school, but after Komachi showed her disgust, he stopped doing it at home.
But now, he was alone.
And he had to admit, the soundproofing in this school was excellent. Hachiman still didn't know who lived next door.
As for the handheld console, he had brought it back from the Wool Club, of course!
Although the school strictly forbade taking club property out of the school, Hachiman found that the inspections weren't strict.
So, he just brought it back.
It wasn't that he was breaking the rules; rather, if supervision isn't strict, it's basically encouraging the crime.
Hachiman decided to teach the school a lesson.
This was for the sake of making Advanced Nurturing a better place. He hoped the school would correct itself!
At worst, he'd just pay for it. A console didn't cost that much.
If he could get away with it, he would. After all, the school was spending "Hikigaya family money," making them enemies who wanted to steal his inheritance.
The only person allowed to compete with him for the inheritance was Komachi!
In fact, he would probably give most of the inheritance to his sister. Stealing his money was the same as stealing Komachi's money.
Therefore, for a common enemy of the Hikigaya family like this school, he had to give them a piece of his mind.
Don't worry, Komachi! Big brother will protect your property, so let me use this console in peace!
"Ah..."
Hachiman opened his mouth and suddenly sat up on the edge of the bed.
He seemed to have forgotten something.
Today was the last day of the second semester. The unreliable Hoshinomomiya-sensei had said the club was closed today.
Right. He hadn't gone to the club today.
Crap!
The plugs in the club weren't pulled; the power wasn't turned off.
Usually, a day or two wouldn't matter, but during a long winter break, if a fire started while no one was watching...
That wouldn't be something an expulsion could fix. Even if his family went bankrupt, it might not be enough. His and Komachi's inheritance would go up in smoke.
What was he thinking? It was just a small matter.
Hachiman got up, took off his pajamas, put on his uniform, and left the dorm.
He just had to go back and turn everything off.
The school.
Since he was returning late, there was hardly a soul in sight.
Just then, a sneaky figure appeared in the hallway ahead.
Hachiman looked up to observe the other person, but he could only see a slender back.
Yellow waist-length hair tied in a high ponytail, and a white pleated school skirt.
One thing was peculiar: even though it had turned cold, she had her wine-red school blazer tied around her waist, revealing only her blue shirt.
Truly an idiot who prioritizes style over temperature.
She looked like the kind of "gyaru" (gal) who liked to cause a scene in middle school.
However, Hachiman was surprised to see that this "gyaru" was currently trembling, shoulders hunched, repeatedly dialing a number on her phone and holding it to her ear.
But the person on the other end didn't seem to have any intention of answering.
Was she... afraid?
Though she looked familiar, he didn't actually know her.
It was best to keep a distance from someone with a gyaru personality; having one Himeno Yuki was already enough to deal with.
Hachiman decided to stay away. This girl looked like trouble.