The large groups were divided.
Under the lead of the teachers.
Hikigaya and the others arrived at a dormitory. Inside the room were wooden bunk beds, enough to accommodate sixteen people.
Gazing at the scenery inside the room.
Hikigaya naturally walked to the deepest part, climbed the ladder, and took the top bunk.
The window was right next to it.
From here, he could see the scenery of the forest school.
Although the bottom bunk is more convenient, the advantage of the top bunk is not being disturbed by the movements of others.
It should be considered the most popular spot in this dormitory.
Watching his actions.
The people from Class A frowned. They looked at each other but didn't say much, quickly assigning their own bed spaces.
After all, they were all from the same class.
In this regard, no conflicts occurred.
"Hikigaya-kun."
Matoba Shinji walked to the bunk below Hikigaya and looked up with a smile:
"Just like we agreed earlier, these next few days you only need to participate in the exam to the best of your ability. If you have any thoughts, you can communicate with us at any time. Class A will try to meet your requirements. Let's get along well for these few days."
The underlying meaning:
You grabbed the best spot in the room the moment you walked in without discussing it with us; what an impolite guy.
Normally, Hikigaya indeed wouldn't do this; he would usually wait for them to finish choosing and then sleep in whatever spot was left.
But today was different.
"Is that so?"
Hikigaya sat on the bed leaning against the wall, looking down from above:
"It seems students need to make breakfast themselves; I'll leave that all to you guys. As for the usual lessons and exams, I won't be participating. Just treat me as if I don't exist and do your best in the exam."
"???"
Matoba Shinji was instantly stunned. Katsuragi and the others also frowned and looked over.
"Hikigaya, what do you mean by this?"
A short-haired boy narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a faint hint of a threat.
None of them were idiots.
They had understood Hikigaya's meaning: this guy was going to directly skip the exam.
"Hikigaya-kun, don't forget."
Matoba Shinji still tried his best to maintain a smile:
"While we won't intentionally drag others down with us, if you deliberately cause damage, Katsuragi won't hesitate to drag you down as well."
"No way."
Hikigaya said indifferently: "The only ones who face expulsion are the individuals in the last-place group whose average score falls below the school's passing line."
"With Horikita Manabu and so many excellent people from Class A here, as long as you all work hard to cover my portion..."
"No matter what, it's unlikely we'll fall to last place or below the school's average, right?"
Exactly.
Fourteen people in this group were students from Class A.
Whether it was communication skills or unity, they were irreproachable. Even if there were problems, Katsuragi and Matoba Shinji could surely solve them.
Furthermore.
With a "super thigh" like Horikita Manabu, the possibility of falling to last place was extremely low.
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the fourteen guys from Class A instantly became unfriendly.
"It seems."
Matoba Shinji narrowed his eyes and sized up Hikigaya: "You are deliberately trying to sabotage us while fully understanding the contents of the exam."
"Yeah."
Hikigaya nodded frankly.
Compared to working hard to help Class A make a big profit, it was much easier to just drag them down.
Suppose.
He could drag this large group down to fifth place.
Then Class A would be docked 42 class points, while Class B would only lose 3 points.
But any lower than that.
He would face the risk of being dragged down by Katsuragi to "be buried" with them.
The scale was not easy to control.
However.
As long as Horikita Manabu and this group of Class A students worked desperately hard, Hikigaya didn't think his sabotage would be very effective.
Dragging them down to third or fourth place would already be a struggle.
But regardless.
Dragging them down was easy and simple, and the benefits certainly outweighed the disadvantages.
Why bother working hard?
"You bastard."
That short-haired guy with glasses seemed to have a bad temper. He stepped forward as if to start something, but was stopped by Matoba Shinji.
"Hikigaya."
Matoba Shinji's face turned completely cold: "If you insist on this, then we will also just not participate in the exam. Once we fall to last place, you can just wait to be dragged down by Katsuragi."
"Oh, do as you like."
Hikigaya said nonchalantly.
If Class A really slacked off collectively, it was indeed very likely they would drop to last place. Even if Horikita Manabu was strong, he would be powerless to change it.
But isn't it just expulsion?
What is there to be afraid of?
Even if he was expelled, this incident would still be more beneficial to Class B, whereas it would be a massive blow to Class A.
"You?"
Matoba Shinji was suddenly dumbfounded. Even the short-haired glasses guy was momentarily stunned.
This person isn't even afraid of expulsion.
"Stop it."
Just then, Katsuragi, who was sitting on his bed, spoke with a plain expression:
"This guy has made the most advantageous choice for Class B based on his understanding of this exam. Don't waste your effort."
"Shut up."
Matoba Shinji snapped back without hesitation: "Katsuragi, don't think that standing on Hikigaya's side will keep you safe. If push comes to shove, you can get lost along with Hikigaya."
Hmm.
They're arguing. Nice, nice.
Hikigaya leaned against the wall, ready to watch the show. Matoba Shinji obviously thought Katsuragi was only speaking up because of his role as the person in charge, fearing expulsion.
What a pity. Katsuragi's good intentions weren't understood by the others.
"I don't care if I'm expelled."
Katsuragi said with a calm face: "At this stage, neither Class A nor Class B could possibly have twenty million private points."
"It would simply result in Hikigaya and me being expelled together. At that time, both Class A and Class B would lose a hundred class points, falling into a situation where they have to compete with Class C and Class D."
"Furthermore, most of Class A's people are here, while Class B's main forces are in other groups. Class A would have wasted this exam opportunity for nothing."
"Presumably, Class B will close the gap, or maybe even overtake Class A in one go."
Nice, nice.
As expected of Katsuragi.
He fully understands the situation.
Even if both of them are expelled, the loss to Class A would be greater.
As for Class B.
Hikigaya couldn't help them there; he could only rely on Kanzaki and the others to work hard. In any case, his job here was to drag Class A down.
"Everything that needs to be said has been said."
Katsuragi said with a steady face: "What you decide to do is up to you. Even if you want me to drag him down with me, that's fine. I will cooperate at any time."
The group from Class A looked at each other, their expressions turning incredibly sour.
Although Katsuragi had lost to Sakayanagi, he was still a former leader of Class A. How could they possibly deal with him?
Clearly, what Katsuragi said made sense.
"No way!"
"I really can't swallow this. If he were trying his best, I'd let it go, but why do we have to carry a guy like this?"
The short-haired glasses guy pointed at Hikigaya and cursed loudly.
If it were a lack of ability, he could endure it, but this guy clearly has an attitude problem.
The guy is already acting like "I'm going to desperately drag you guys down," yet they still have to "lick his face" and carry him.
Even knowing Katsuragi's words made sense, who could take this kind of disrespect?
"Don't be like that."
"It's just carrying one more person. Even if he does nothing, it's not a problem as long as each of us takes on a little more."
"We still have to consider the big picture."
A small guy with white hair voiced a different opinion.
Oh oh.
Yes, consider the big picture!
They're finally starting to argue. Even as Class A, you guys aren't that united, are you?
Hikigaya couldn't help but nod.
"For fuck's sake."
The short-haired glasses guy cursed. How could there be such an unreasonable thing in the world? He pointed at Hikigaya and said fiercely:
"Don't you feel ashamed doing this? If Ichinose and the others knew, how would they look at you?"
"Hmm..."
Hikigaya thought for a moment and then nodded: "They would probably think I'm doing something wrong and give me a lecture."
It's over.
While Ichinose is deeply trusted by all the students in the school, at the same time, all the students likely know her very well.
They have completely mastered Ichinose's way of doing things.
Given Ichinose's personality, if she knew he was causing trouble for others like this, she would likely scold him.
"However."
Hikigaya quickly added: "So what? I'm doing this to reach Class A; I'm contributing to Class B."
Even if this method isn't recognized by the class, it's the most effective way Hikigaya could think of.
"By the way."
Hikigaya continued to fan the flames: "Did Sakayanagi not consider this? Why would she choose this way to form the groups?"
The underlying meaning:
Your Class A's Sakayanagi isn't that capable; you'd better put Katsuragi back in charge
"Stop being provoked by him."
Katsuragi glanced at him plainly: "This guy is just looking for ways to stir up conflict between us so that Class B can rise to Class A. Just do your best in the exam to cover his part."
Unfortunately.
Katsuragi is a good leader who treasures his comrades.
Even after being backstabbed by Sakayanagi so many times, Katsuragi still single-mindedly stands on Class A's side.
Even just by sitting there, Katsuragi can serve to stabilize morale.
Perhaps it was precisely because she saw this point.
That Sakayanagi let Katsuragi be the person in charge. Regardless, Katsuragi's strength is still worthy of recognition.
"Katsuragi."
"You don't need to play the good guy here; we know."
Many people looked at Hikigaya, their teeth itching with hatred.
If it weren't for the fact that getting physical would get them disqualified from the exam, someone probably would have attacked him already.
Sakayanagi had naturally considered this.
But she only thought someone might be lazy, or perhaps work slowly in front of them to drag them down.
She never imagined.
That there was such a despicable and shameless person in the world.
No face at all.
He just said to their faces that he was going to slack off until the end.
Simply shameless.
But they would soon find out.
What true "shamelessness" looks like.