"Then what do you want?"
In the end, it was Katsuragi who stepped forward, his expression solemn:
"Falling to last place is indeed disadvantageous for Class A, but Class B might not necessarily seize the next chance to rise to Class A."
"Furthermore, this is only the first year. Even if you briefly rise to Class A now, no one can guarantee what will happen in the future."
"Even if you drag us to last place, it doesn't mean much, does it?"
That was indeed true.
Even if they could shorten the distance now, as long as they weren't in Class A at the moment of graduation, all their efforts would be for nothing.
Comrades who are sacrificed cannot be brought back.
In fact.
Ichinose might even become demoralized because of it, which could have the opposite effect. Hikigaya didn't actually intend to blow himself up with Class A all at once.
That wasn't realistic.
"It's simple."
Hikigaya walked nonchalantly to a chair in the middle and sat down.
His expression was flat.
"No matter what rank this group gets in this exam, the people from Class A must hand over all the private points they earn from this exam to me."
"In that case, as long as you don't deliberately target me, I will just slack off and won't do anything to disturb you."
"If we drop below fourth place, then forget it—you guys can bear the deducted private points yourselves."
Regardless.
With such a good opportunity.
He certainly wasn't going to take the exam.
"What did you say?"
For a moment, Matoba Shinji doubted if he had heard correctly. The short-haired glasses guy beside him even laughed out of sheer anger:
"Not only are you skipping the exam, but you also want us to hand over all the private points we earn to you? Is there something wrong with your brain, or do you think we're all idiots who would agree to such an unreasonable condition?"
"How is it unreasonable?"
Hikigaya said, somewhat speechless: "Even with my poor math grades, I can calculate this clearly. Can't you guys?"
"Even if this group takes first place, there's a maximum of 140,000 private points. That amount shouldn't be much for Class A, right?"
Furthermore.
With him slacking off here.
Class A likely wouldn't get first place. At most, they'd get second, which would only be 70,000 private points.
For Class A.
That's just the amount of pocket money one person in Class A could get in a month.
It's not a big deal at all.
"This..."
The people from Class A were slightly stunned and turned to look at Matoba Shinji.
After calculating carefully, they realized.
This small amount of money really wasn't much. It seemed like it wasn't unacceptable; they were just a bit frustrated in their hearts.
"Whew."
Matoba Shinji breathed a sigh of relief and said after a moment of hesitation:
"Fine. As long as you don't disturb us anymore, once the exam ends, we'll have Katsuragi transfer those private points to you."
Clearly.
He wanted Katsuragi to bear the loss alone.
This amount of money wasn't much; even if Katsuragi bore it alone, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Sigh, alright."
Katsuragi sighed and nodded in agreement.
If only this many private points could lead to greater gains for Class A, he didn't have much of an objection.
After all, besides private points.
What Class A wanted more was the class points added for the top two ranks.
"No."
Hikigaya quickly raised his right hand to stop him:
"I don't care how you calculate it or who eventually bears the cost. The private points earned from this exam must be transferred to me by each of you individually."
"Hmm?"
The short-haired glasses guy said angrily: "You'd better quit while you're ahead. They're all private points—aren't they all the same?"
"I don't care."
Hikigaya shook his head repeatedly: "What if you guys push all the responsibility onto Katsuragi? What will I do then? Anyway, just transfer them to me and then ask Katsuragi for them yourself; that's your own business."
"Heh."
The group of Class A students laughed out of pure anger; they were almost about to explode from Hikigaya's behavior.
"Fine."
Matoba Shinji said, his teeth itching with hatred: "You think this can stir up trouble between Katsuragi and us? Make Class A fall into internal strife? Let me tell you, you're dreaming. Katsuragi, right?"
"That's right."
The honest man Katsuragi nodded.
Since Sakayanagi could use Katsuragi's trait of caring for his comrades, Hikigaya could naturally use it too.
"Then it has nothing to do with me. Let's sign the contract."
Hikigaya took out paper and a pen and quickly wrote out a contract.
No matter what rank they get once the exam is over.
The people from Class A must transfer their private point gains from this exam to him.
Hikigaya didn't play any word games, since everyone present was a smart person from Class A; poorly played word games would only be counterproductive.
"Sign it."
The people from Class A signed their names on the paper one by one. That short-haired glasses guy gave him a fierce glare after finishing.
"Hikigaya Hachiman, right? I'll remember you. Remember, my name is Morishige Takuro. Next time there's an exam, I won't give you such an easy opportunity."
It was indeed somewhat helpless.
Morishige Takuro only then realized that they truly seemed like idiots.
Clearly, this guy didn't even have to take the exam, yet he still got to enjoy all the private point gains, while they could only sign this unreasonable contract.
He truly felt a sense of powerlessness.
Is there something wrong with this world?
To rise to Class A.
They just had to endure this kind of unfair treatment.
"Oh oh, I really hope I don't run into you guys next time."
Hikigaya took the contract and ran, quickly returning to his bed: "Alright, everyone, hurry up and go to sleep."
In fact.
He really hadn't thought that much, and he wasn't thinking about driving a wedge between Katsuragi and Class A; a few tens of thousands of private points wasn't that significant.
However.
Hikigaya wanted to dampen their enthusiasm.
It would be best if he could make this large group fall to the fourth or fifth position.
Even if they worked hard on the exam, they wouldn't get any profit.
Even if there were still small class point rewards, the thought that all the private points they earned would be handed over to someone else would make most people a bit slack.
After all.
They were Class A, not a bunch of overly nice people like Class B.
The fact that they all wanted Katsuragi to bear the loss showed that Class A was more focused on individual interests than other classes.
Once there was no profit to be had.
He believed the mindset of Class A would change. Even if their discipline was strong enough to participate in the exam, there would surely be some oversights.
At least, they wouldn't be as hardworking as the other large groups.
Probably.
With that thought, Hikigaya fell into a deep sleep. He really wouldn't cause any more trouble for them; as a corporate slave, this was the most he could do.
...
Six o'clock in the morning.
Light background music played in the room.
The Class A crowd woke up slowly. Hikigaya also opened his blurry eyes—damn, this trash bed was not comfortable to sleep on at all.
After washing up.
Hikigaya followed the crowd to the classroom. A middle-aged teacher walked onto the podium.
"I am Onodera from the third-year Class B. After I finish taking attendance, go to the designated area outside to clean, and then clean the school building. This will be the morning routine every day."
"Starting today, lessons will not only be taught by school teachers; there will also be various figures in charge of different courses. Please be sure to greet them properly and treat them with courtesy."
After he finished.
Everyone picked up cleaning tools and went outside the school. Hikigaya nonchalantly found a step and sat down to rest.
It wasn't that he wanted to come; he just wanted to check the process first...
Watching this scene.
Morishige Takuro and the others' teeth itched with hatred, but they didn't say much. They had already blacklisted Hikigaya in their hearts.
Even in Class B, there was such a despicable and shameless guy like Hikigaya.
Next.
Everyone came to the dojo to practice Zen meditation, which seemed to be a course for tempering the spirit. Hikigaya saw Kanzaki and the others; it seemed like multiple groups were practicing at once.
Hikigaya tried sitting cross-legged and felt it wasn't difficult.
He quickly gave up and sat randomly on the floor.
"That student, why aren't you practicing?"
The bald monk in charge of teaching asked with a smile.
"No reason."
Hikigaya nodded and said: "This is my way of fighting."
Because his mom at home believed in Buddhism, he was still somewhat respectful toward monks.
"Way of fighting?"
"The other members of my group and I are from different classes."
As soon as these words came out.
Kanzaki, Shibata, and the others couldn't help but frown and look over. This "dragging them down" was a bit too obvious.
If they fell to last place, he would be dragged down by Katsuragi to be "buried" with him.
The two of them couldn't help but worry.
However, seeing Matoba Shinji and the others looking like they were biting their teeth in hatred yet not saying a word, it didn't seem quite right.
It looked like they had been completely manipulated by Hikigaya.
How on earth did he manage that?
"I see."
The monk nodded with a gentle expression: "I'm not very clear on the affairs of this school, but since I've been invited here to train you, I will be responsible to the end."
"You all will eventually enter society, so you must never forget the spirit of considering the other person. The courses held here are meant to influence the spiritual level; one of those is Zen meditation."
"Integrating into a group, being considerate of others, and finally reflecting—reflecting on what kind of person you are and what you can achieve."
"Even if you have other reasons that require you to hold others back, you can choose to give up on the final day of the exam."
"For now, try to maintain your meditation and train your spirit. This will be more beneficial for your future."
That's right.
Even if he wanted to slack off, he could just not participate on the final day. Usually, he should still put on a good performance.
"Master."
Hikigaya put his hands together and said with a face full of respect: "My dream is to become a stay-at-home husband. This profession does not require integrating into society, so meditation is of no use to me."
"..."
Katsuragi and Matoba Shinji, who were beside him, were simply stunned.
They originally thought Hikigaya was despicable and shameless enough, but now they realized they had still underestimated him; he was actually this thick-skinned.
"..."
The monk also gave a smile that wasn't quite a smile, finally squeezing out a grin:
"Although this old monk has not entered the secular world, I know that wanting to be a stay-at-home husband in today's society is by no means easy. You don't really think you can succeed, do you?"
"..."
A master is truly a master.
The words spoken are so full of truth.
Hikigaya couldn't help but fall into silence.
To be honest.
Hikigaya still had some self-awareness; with his conditions, the difficulty of becoming a stay-at-home husband was too great.
In the end, he would likely enter an ordinary company.
Become an ordinary corporate slave, marry an ordinary (strike that), and live an ordinary life just like his shitty old man.
"Master."
Hikigaya put his hands together and said: "Every company has those guys who take the money but do nothing. If so, I hope to become that kind of 'salary thief' who only takes the paycheck."
"Heh."
The master gave a thin smile and brushed his sleeves as he walked away.
"Truly a hopeless student!"
What was that?
The master's spiritual level isn't that high either.
Hikigaya felt indignant; he wouldn't believe in Buddhism anymore.