The meditation ended.
Kanzaki and the others quickly ran over to Hikigaya, and others couldn't help but cast curious glances.
This guy is so brave.
He even talked back to the teacher.
"Hikigaya."
Kanzaki frowned and said: "What do you mean by this?"
"Hmm?"
Hikigaya lowered his voice slightly: "I'm dragging Class A down; don't worry about it."
"But."
The pure-hearted Shibata was also worried: "If you get dragged down by Katsuragi to be 'buried' with him..."
"It's fine."
Hikigaya spoke indifferently: "Our large group has Horikita-senpai, and the second-year students are also mainly from Class B. The large group chosen by Matoba and the others is very strong. We won't end up in last place. I'll just try my best to make their ranking drop as much as possible."
"..."
What you said makes so much sense that for a moment, I am speechless.
Kanzaki and Shibata looked at each other.
Their expressions were somewhat complicated.
"But."
The pure-hearted Shibata said with some difficulty: "If things go on like this, what will you do if you encounter an exam like this again? I'm afraid it will be very difficult to find suitable teammates."
It had to be said.
Shibata's concern was quite reasonable.
He believed that after seeing today's performance, no one would be willing to team up with Hikigaya in the future.
"It's fine. When the time comes, I'll just join whatever group is left."
Hikigaya didn't care.
Anyway, there would always be someone left over. Joining any group at that point would be the same.
"Alright, it's almost time to eat."
Hikigaya turned and left.
In any case, the worst-case scenario was just expulsion; there was nothing to worry about.
Zazen ended.
Hikigaya and the others were led to the playground, where a spacious dining area and several cooking stations had been prepared.
"The school will provide breakfast today, but starting tomorrow, as long as it's sunny, you will all make your own breakfast within your groups. You should discuss and decide on the number of people and the division of labor as a whole."
Hearing this.
The people from Class A immediately breathed a sigh of relief. There seemed to be a few boys who were good at cooking. Seeing this, Hikigaya also breathed a sigh of relief.
This immediately made the faces of the Class A students look a bit ugly.
Without even guessing, they knew that this guy definitely wouldn't help with the cooking.
The few of them ate the breakfast prepared by the school.
"What's going on with you first-years?"
A person who looked like the second-year representative suddenly spoke up.
"Sorry, Senpai."
Matoba Shinji quickly pointed at Hikigaya and complained: "It's all because of this guy. He's been holding us back and doesn't care about the feelings of those around him at all."
"Hmm?"
That second-year representative looked at Hikigaya and frowned.
"From what I heard earlier during Zazen, you intend to deliberately hold everyone back? Everyone is working hard for the exam, yet you're the only one causing trouble. Don't you feel ashamed?"
"Hmm? Is Senpai lecturing me?"
Hikigaya didn't feel there was any need for him to be lectured.
"That's right."
The second-year senpai's expression was calm: "You might feel like you've made the choice that suits you best, but have you considered the feelings of your classmates?"
"Kanzaki and the others are clearly worried about you. If they keep participating in the exam with this state of mind, it's very likely to affect their grades."
"Don't you consider them?"
While there was some truth to it, he had already told Kanzaki and the others not to worry.
Furthermore, given the "do-gooder" nature of Kanzaki and the others, they probably wouldn't need to worry about this exam.
"Then, Senpai."
Hikigaya was silent for a moment, then looked up at that senpai: "If Class B fails to rise to Class A because of this, will you take responsibility for it?"
"..."
The second-year senpai's face froze.
He wouldn't take responsibility.
There was nothing else to say.
Hikigaya was truly annoyed by these people who were full of grand principles and loved to boss others around; they shut up the moment they were asked to actually be responsible.
His own strength wasn't that high to begin with.
Being able to hold them back here was, in Hikigaya's opinion, already the limit of what he could achieve.
Furthermore.
Compared to working like an ox or a horse for Class A.
This was definitely a choice more beneficial to Class B. It wasn't the place of people from other classes to point fingers.
Of course.
If the other party promised to help them rise to Class A, that would be a different story, but this guy clearly didn't have that kind of power.
"Alright, Kiriyama, let's stop here," Horikita Manabu said calmly.
"Since this is a first-year problem, let the first-years solve it themselves. We just need to work harder to improve the large group's ranking."
"Let's discuss tomorrow's breakfast. For the sake of fairness, each grade will handle it twice. How does that sound?"
"Fine, let's do that. Senpai, you can leave it to us with confidence!"
Matoba Shinji patted his chest as a guarantee.
After all, Japan has a seniority system, and he was always thinking about showing off in front of his elders.
However.
Assuming the remaining time remained sunny.
There would be six meals to cook in total.
Twice per grade level was indeed fair; there was nothing to be dissatisfied about.
"Then we third-years will be responsible for tomorrow and the final day. The rest will be left to you."
Horikita Manabu took the initiative to shoulder the most burdensome tasks.
After all, the final day required an exam, so the heavy workload went without saying. The first day could also serve as a way to scout the path for the other grades.
How long does a meal take? How much earlier is it appropriate to wake up?
Surely.
Tomorrow, Horikita Manabu would tell them everything without reservation.
As expected of Horikita Manabu.
Even though he claimed it was for the sake of fairness on the surface, he silently bore the heaviest burden.
It might be for the sake of the overall large group ranking.
But it couldn't be denied that he was indeed an excellent leader for the upperclassmen.
After finishing breakfast.
"Hikigaya, where are you going?"
Matoba Shinji stared at Hikigaya's back and said in a heavy voice.
"Nowhere, I'm just going back for a nap. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Hikigaya said indifferently. After speaking, he turned and left the classroom.
He was straight-up skipping the test.
Anyway, as long as Katsuragi and the others each scored a few more points, the average for this group wouldn't be low.
Whether he participated or not basically made no difference.
It just made things more tiring for Matoba Shinji and the others.
Since they wanted to get a good rank and rise to Class A, they naturally needed to endure all kinds of unfair treatment.
They were just like "corporate slaves" who chose to compromise for the sake of a salary.
Watching his departing back.
Matoba Shinji and the others all had ugly expressions. This feeling was just too damn frustrating.
Near noon.
Hikigaya finally woke up leisurely. He walked to the cafeteria without any rush. It seemed the time was about right, as there weren't many students in the cafeteria.
In front.
He came to the service window.
Looking at the few scraps of leftovers inside, Hikigaya was truly somewhat disgusted.
It was just like breakfast.
There were only three dishes and one soup, and even the portions were very meager.
Could the school be embezzling funds?
"I should come earlier tomorrow."
Looking at the leftovers on his tray, Hikigaya felt quite helpless. Even he felt like he couldn't get full.
One could imagine.
How difficult it must be for those students who were working hard for the exam.
Hikigaya took his tray and found an empty seat. A moment later, two girls in gym clothes appeared in front of him.
They were Ichinose and Amikura Mako.
"Time is limited, so I'll keep it short."
Ichinose sat opposite Hikigaya, her pretty face showing a complicated expression: "Hikigaya-kun, why are you doing this?"
Likely.
What happened this morning had already spread throughout the entire school. It wasn't surprising that Ichinose knew about it.
However.
Hikigaya had already predicted that Ichinose would definitely come to persuade him.
"I actually don't understand why you're asking why..."
There was no risk of expulsion.
Although it wasn't much, he could still earn some personal points.
He could also hold Class A back, giving Class B a better chance to rise to Class A.
Why not do it?
"But..."
Amikura Mako said with some hesitation: "Everyone everywhere is saying that Hiki-ga-ya is a very terrible person who doesn't care about the feelings of those around him at all. But it's clearly not like that."
"Gossiping behind my back?"
Hikigaya showed a disdainful smile: "There's no need to take such a small matter to heart."
With such a tiny price—or rather, it didn't even count as a price—it was practically a huge gain.
"But still."
Ichinose pursed her lips, also appearing somewhat hesitant, not knowing what to say.
After all.
Thinking rationally.
There was nothing wrong with Hikigaya's approach.
For Class B, this was definitely a choice where the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
And Hikigaya himself had said not to worry about it, and it seemed he really didn't take it to heart.
Yet Ichinose always felt something was wrong but couldn't say why; she just felt a wave of irritation.
"But."
Finally, Ichinose said somewhat strained: "If things continue like this, what if Katsuragi and the others do something excessive?"
"..."
Law.
Target.
Hikigaya suddenly fell silent.
He felt that being expelled was fine, which was how he managed to intimidate Matoba Shinji and the others, but Ichinose likely wouldn't accept that explanation.
"It's fine."
Hikigaya said indifferently: "Don't worry, I'm actually quite afraid of pain. I won't provoke them excessively."
"Hmm..."
Ichinose was still somewhat hesitant.
Hikigaya's approach was indeed very helpful to Class B. If he said he knew where to draw the line, then there shouldn't be any problem.
At least.
Whether it was Ichinose or Amikura Mako.
Neither of them could think of any loophole in this approach.
As long as Matoba Shinji and the others still wanted to maintain Class A's status and pursue a higher ranking, Hikigaya was one hundred percent safe.
If.
The class could rise to Class A just like this.
For some reason, Ichinose felt a bit of dislike, but she still couldn't think of a reason why.
"Alright."
"You two have classes this afternoon, right? You can't stay here for long."
"Yeah, then we'll head out first."
Watching the two of them leave, Hikigaya enjoyed his lunch indifferently.
Since he had been reminded by Ichinose.
Hikigaya still gave it another thought.
No matter how he thought about it.
There was no problem!
With Horikita Manabu there and the Class A people being so united, the average score couldn't possibly be low. The large group's ranking definitely wouldn't be too low either.
No problem.
He could perfectly pass this exam without even needing to attend classes!