The next day.
The classes hadn't even ended yet.
Hikigaya arrived early at the small grove behind the school building to wait. Anyway, he didn't need to attend classes, and this was all for the benefit of the class.
A short while later.
Horikita Manabu walked into the grove, took a contract out of his pocket, and handed it to Hikigaya.
The contract was covered with the signatures of everyone in the third-year Class A.
On the girls' side.
They probably got them to sign during lunch.
He really hadn't expected the entire third-year Class A to agree.
Perhaps the third-year Class A and the first-year Class B were similar in that they were both classes that placed great importance on their comrades.
However.
There was only one condition.
That was that his deduction must be useful, and the third-year Class A must have actually used his deduction for the contract to take effect.
As expected of siblings.
He really had the same personality as Horikita Suzune—everything was left to Horikita Manabu's personal judgment.
However.
Just like Horikita Suzune.
The siblings' credibility was not to be doubted.
"Alright, let's hear it."
"Yeah."
Hearing Horikita Manabu's words, Hikigaya signed his name on the contract and put it away before saying:
"Before that, I want to confirm first: the composition of Nagumo's group this time should be quite poor, right?"
After all.
During the previous selection.
Nagumo Miyabi's group was actually left until the end.
Although he didn't know many upperclassmen, the other first-years must have had their own reasons for making those choices.
"Not really."
Horikita Manabu pondered slightly: "However, there are indeed many students from the second-year Class D and Class C in there. In your eyes, it probably wouldn't be considered strong."
"But because of Nagumo's advocacy, many students were expelled from the second year. Those who were left behind are all considered very reliable people."
Hmm?
Many students were expelled from the second year?
It was the first time Hikigaya had heard of it, but he didn't care much. This only further proved that Nagumo Miyabi was a self-centered jerk who did whatever he wanted.
Truly pity these guys.
They actually still thought Nagumo Miyabi was a trustworthy fellow.
"Is that so."
Hikigaya nodded and said: "But it certainly can't compare to your group, Horikita-senpai, right?"
"Correct."
Horikita Manabu's face was calm.
Although Nagumo Miyabi's group wasn't weak, the people he had gathered were all elites enough to be trusted.
"Nagumo should be aware of this too."
Hikigaya continued his analysis: "From the very beginning, he was in a disadvantageous position. In other words, I don't think Nagumo ever intended to win against you, Horikita-senpai, in a head-on confrontation."
"Hmm?"
Power.
Horikita frowned in deep thought: "Although the average strength of Nagumo's group is indeed not as high as mine, it's not as if there's no chance for a fight."
"How much strength a group can exert depends largely on whether the person in charge can handle the internal conflicts within the group."
"Nagumo already took control of the entire grade during the second year. Even when cooperating with other classes, it's unlikely for conflicts to occur within the group."
"Is it a bit rash to judge based solely on this point?"
He directly dominated an entire grade level.
What is this?
That's a bit too impressive, isn't it?
However, what the other party said also made sense. An exam is by no means just a comparison of strength on paper. Judging like that was indeed a bit rash.
"Uh..."
Hikigaya was somewhat dazed: "What do you mean by 'domination'?"
"It means exactly what it says."
Gap.
Horikita Manabu explained with a calm expression:
"During the first year, Nagumo rose from the original Class B to Class A, and opened up a massive gap with the classes behind him."
"This also caused the lower-ranked classes to completely lose their chance of rising to Class A."
"Nagumo then proposed using twenty million points as a reason to let truly capable people transfer to Class A, thereby collecting personal points from everyone."
Points.
Hmm?
If the hope of rising to Class A was completely lost.
Capable people might indeed hand over their personal points in exchange for this sole possibility of rising to Class A.
But what about those without capability?
It couldn't be that.
All the second-year B, C, and D classes were just self-righteous idiots, right?
Anyway.
Hikigaya would never hand over his personal points, as he had self-awareness; his own strength was only slightly better than the average level.
Hikigaya was truly quite puzzled.
"Then what about those without capability?"
"Even those without capability have a chance to rise to Class A. That is judged by Nagumo."
Horikita Manabu explained in a heavy voice: "Furthermore, those who resist will be targeted. Nagumo will have them expelled during the exams. Consequently, over ten people have been expelled from the second year."
"How terrifying..."
Hikigaya gave a couple of dry laughs.
If one was threatened and there was still a sliver of hope to rise to Class A.
They would indeed choose to hand over their personal points.
It's just that, wouldn't that be a bit too shameless?
Whether one can rise to Class A.
Is entirely judged by Nagumo. This is completely using such a method to seek personal gain.
"Truly pity you guys for still thinking that guy is trustworthy..."
Hikigaya was truly somewhat speechless.
No matter how you look at it, this is a jerk who acts on a whim.
"Yeah."
Horikita Manabu said calmly: "It's mainly because Nagumo has never gone back on what he promised. Furthermore, when he was in the football club, he, like you, provided the school with many effective suggestions. Do these help with your judgment?"
"No..."
The other party hinted at returning to the main topic. Hikigaya nodded and said:
"It just makes me believe even more that he's a despicable jerk. Now back to the main point: do you feel you will lose, Horikita-senpai?"
"Hmm..."
Horikita frowned, carefully weighing the strength of both sides in his mind. Finally, his gaze landed on Hikigaya.
"If it weren't for you, I'm confident I wouldn't lose."
"..."
Hikigaya was suddenly a bit embarrassed.
Although his primary goal was to drag down Class A, he had indeed dragged down this large group.
However.
Wanting to cater to everyone's thoughts, Hikigaya didn't think he had that kind of strength in the first place. He could only say sorry to the upperclassmen.
Anyway, they weren't close to begin with.
"So if you lose, what will happen to you, Horikita-senpai?"
"Nothing much. I just need to win it back next time."
Horikita Manabu didn't care at all.
While he didn't want to lose, if he lost, he lost. He wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose.
"Right? Actually, it doesn't matter even if you lose."
Hikigaya nodded and said: "From Nagumo's obsession with you, I don't think he would care about such a meaningless duel, especially one where it's easy to be held back by those around you."
Just like now.
He had already dragged down Horikita Manabu's large group to this extent.
It clearly was no longer a fair match.
If Nagumo Miyabi really wanted a fair duel based on average scores.
He should have approached him to talk or warn him long ago, or asked Horikita Manabu to postpone the match until the next time.
But Nagumo Miyabi hadn't.
Clearly, Nagumo didn't actually take such a match to heart.
Losing would just be losing.
There would be no loss whatsoever.
"That makes sense..."
Horikita Manabu narrowed his eyes: "Then how do you think Nagumo will act?"
"Uh..."
Hikigaya said with some difficulty: "He's challenging you to a duel, Horikita-senpai, so he should be looking at what you care about most."
If it were him.
He would definitely search for the opponent's weakness and attack it relentlessly—picking on the weak. After all, that's just the kind of despicable person he was.
And Nagumo Miyabi was clearly not a good person either.
"In my case... it should be my comrades, right?"
Horikita Manabu's brow was tightly knit as he said solemnly: "However, if he intended to make a move on the people in my group, I don't think he could easily succeed."
After all.
Horikita Manabu wasn't an idiot.
People from all three grade levels were attending classes together.
If Nagumo Miyabi were to pull any small tricks, they would surely be noticed by Horikita Manabu.
"Then it must be the girls' side."
The exams were divided by gender.
The only opportunities to meet were during the lunch break.
But since Nagumo Miyabi had the ability to control the entire second year, making a move on the girls should also be an extremely easy task.
"This..."
Horikita Manabu's pupils shrank, and he quickly thought of something terrifying, but then he shook his head rapidly:
"That shouldn't be the case."
"The only way I can think of is to have one of the third-year representatives drag our Class A classmates down with them into expulsion."
"We've spent three years together. I really don't think anyone in our class would fall for that easily."
"Furthermore, for Nagumo to be able to control the second year, besides his ability, the most important thing is that he has earned the trust of most of the second-year students."
"This time it has already been agreed that no one else will be involved. If he breaks his word, the credit system he has built will collapse."
After all.
Hikigaya wasn't familiar with the others.
But since Horikita Manabu said so, he could only assume that was the case.
The third-year Class A certainly wouldn't be idiots.
Nagumo Miyabi couldn't personally take the field either; at most, he could only give remote commands. Wanting to deal with the girls of the third-year Class A was not something that could be easily accomplished.
"Hmm, dragging someone down with you?"
Hikigaya felt a chill just thinking about it.
It was already near graduation. Could there really be people among the upperclassmen who were indifferent to being expelled?
Impossible.
Those who were meant to be expelled would have been long ago.
How could anyone be willing to be expelled just to drag someone from the third-year Class A down with them as a sacrifice?
Unless.
Nagumo Miyabi had prepared twenty million personal points to cancel the expulsion penalty.
Spending twenty million.
Just to play around with Horikita Manabu.
Hikigaya felt it was unrealistic; at least, he certainly wouldn't be willing to spend that much money. However, Nagumo Miyabi might be different.
After all, Horikita Manabu certainly knew Nagumo Miyabi better than he did.
Taking what Horikita Manabu said as true, the only issue was the trust system.
"I think."
Hikigaya said somewhat helplessly: "In Nagumo's eyes, trust might just be a weapon. What do you think, Horikita-senpai?"
"As I said just now, he is someone who does what he says he'll do."
Horikita Manabu clearly didn't see it that way; he apparently still had a fair amount of trust in Nagumo Miyabi.
But Horikita Manabu still nodded and said:
"However, the focus here is on your reference. Even if he uses trust as a weapon, so what? It's not an easy task to get back lost trust."
"To discard a hard-earned trust relationship just for a duel with me—I personally don't think it's worth it. Or do you think he might actually do such a thing?"
"No."
Hikigaya shook his head and said: "If he's using trust as a weapon, then the only one who can discard that trust should be himself."
"What do you mean?"
"For example."
Hikigaya said nonchalantly: "He could tell the second year in advance what the outcome of this exam will be. That way, the trust system he built won't collapse. The only one who will feel dissatisfied with Nagumo will be you and your group, Horikita-senpai."
"I see."
Horikita Manabu's brow was heavy as he closed his eyes in deep thought.
Based on Nagumo Miyabi's past experiences, he really didn't believe Nagumo was that kind of person.
However.
Necessary insurance was definitely a must.
"But."
Horikita Manabu said somewhat heavily:
"Assuming for a moment that things are exactly as you said."
"Nagumo plans to use twenty million personal points to have a representative drag our third-year Class A girls down with them."
"Although I don't think my comrades would deliberately fail the exam or boycott it."
"If this method succeeds, it seems there's no way to counter it."
"Is that not so?"
Aside from telling his comrades to be more careful.
He seemed powerless.
Spending twenty million to drag someone down—such a tactic was indeed unsolvable.
Hikigaya, however, showed a smile:
"How is that possible? If that's the case, it's actually quite easy to solve."
After all, for the sake of twenty million personal points.
Hikigaya wouldn't give up easily.