Class B classroom.
Looking at the bandage tied around Hikigaya's shoulder, Amikura Mako and the others gathered around him, their small hands raised slightly in uncertainty.
"Hiki, are you okay?"
Kobashi Yume leaned over halfway, tears faint in her eyes. To have to wear a bandage, it must really hurt.
"It's not..."
Hikigaya sat in his seat.
Noticing Himeno Yuki and the others around him, he said uncomfortably: "It's just a scratch. You guys are being too dramatic."
"Because..." Kobashi Yume's eyes reddened. "When I heard the teacher say you caused a violent incident earlier, I was scared to death."
"It was nothing."
Hikigaya was truly helpless.
He had simply run to the entrance of Gymnasium No. 1 ahead of time.
Then he opportunistically gave Albert a few "noogies," and when the other guy lightly pushed him, he just rolled all over the ground.
Simply put, he was faking an injury.
It was just a scratch, but the way Amikura Mako and the others acted—as if he were about to die—really made things difficult for Hikigaya.
"Phew."
Looking at Hikigaya surrounded by girls, Kanzaki, standing on the outside, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"You really managed to think of such a method. With this, Shibata should be able to secure a win."
"It was nothing," Hikigaya shook his head. "Just a method when there were no other options."
It was truly unclear why Ryuen always liked doing these half-hearted things.
If you want the opponent to leave, then be a bit more ruthless; but he seems afraid of punishment, so what's the point of doing these half-hearted things?
"However."
At this time, a girl tilted her head in confusion: "It seems Hiki was only disqualified from the exams. Isn't this punishment a bit too light?"
"Uh..."
Hikigaya was momentarily choked up.
He realized the girl's name seemed to be Ando Sayo, the main force and person in charge during the earlier Math Test.
But the two of them hadn't really spoken before. Why was she calling him "Hiki"?
"Yeah."
Hikigaya nodded and explained: "It seems Nagumo is quite lenient toward violence. He thinks students fighting and brawling is normal, so the punishment is lighter."
"I think I've heard that before."
The several of them looked at each other and nodded.
During the last student council election, Nagumo Miyabi had mentioned his administrative policy—he wanted to make the school more meritocratic.
He was more tolerant of violence.
Otherwise, Hikigaya felt that if Horikita Manabu were still in power, he would likely be suspended for several weeks and have to pay some private points to end the matter.
Although Hikigaya knew Nagumo Miyabi was a scumbag, as long as he wasn't a scumbag toward him, it was fine.
That guy occasionally did some good things, at least he carried his philosophy through to the end.
Bullying was of course not okay, but a certain degree of violence was allowed.
Just then, Shibata returned to the classroom, gesturing excitedly.
"Everyone, I won!"
"Congratulations!"
"Eh?"
Seeing many people just nod, Shibata said with some resentment:
"Why does it feel like everyone isn't very happy?"
"This was an opportunity exchanged for Hiki's injury," Ando Sayo said speechlessly. "What is there to be happy about?"
"Eh? Is it not just a skin injury?"
Shibata looked at the bandage on Hikigaya's arm, feeling baffled. If the injury were too serious, he naturally wouldn't be happy.
But this was clearly just a superficial wound.
It couldn't even compare to the injuries he got playing soccer; for boys, it was practically child's play.
What was there to worry about?
"However," Shibata ran up to Hikigaya and said excitedly, "as expected of you! I didn't think there was such a method."
Thump.
Kanzaki patted him on the back of the head.
He grabbed Shibata by the back of his collar and pulled him back before saying:
"There is still one match left. In any case, let's do our best first."
Just then, the teacher on the podium spoke in a deep voice.
"The seventh exam project: Taekwondo!"
"Number of people: Three. Required time: Ten minutes."
"Rules: Three minutes per match, direct strikes to the opponent are prohibited, follows elimination tournament rules."
"Event: Commander's Tower. You can replay any of the previous matches!"
Just hearing the event name caused everyone's expressions to turn heavy.
Three events from Class B were selected, while four events from Class C were chosen.
It wasn't just a matter of ability; today, Lady Luck was standing on Class C's side.
The few people whose names were called took deep breaths before leaving the classroom. No matter what, they had to give it their all.
Watching the others cheer them on, Hachiman Hikigaya let out a somewhat helpless sigh.
It seemed that he was the only "despicable" person in this class.
To be honest, Hikigaya didn't hold much hope.
He remembered that Ibuki Mio seemed very confident in her kicking techniques; she was likely a Taekwondo expert and an elite who had trained since childhood.
The probability of winning was simply too small.
If they wanted to win, there was only one method he could think of.
Glancing at the pale faces of several classmates in the room, Hikigaya felt even more helpless.
It would likely require a "pawn exchange" tactic.
Using these main players who were in poor physical condition to trade for several of Class C's main players.
Whether it was through violence, blocking their path to delay them, or even bribery—anything felt acceptable.
As long as Class C could be prevented from competing, it would work.
Only then would Class B have a chance to win based on average strength.
Unfortunately, Shibata and the others didn't seem to have such thoughts.
There was nothing to be done about it.
After all, fighting or harassment were not exactly praiseworthy methods.
With the "goody-two-shoes" mentality of Class B, it was perfectly normal that they wouldn't imitate these low-handed tactics.
Regardless of the reason, using dirty tricks would inevitably lower one's evaluation from the school.
Hikigaya was willing to risk suspension and loss of evaluation to initiate violence himself.
That was fine for him.
But as for instigating others to do unethical things, Hikigaya decided to forget it.
After all, a single action could change a person's nature.
If it were an opponent, an idiot, or some noisy brat, he would instigate them without feeling a shred of guilt.
However, Class B was full of kind, lovely, and approachable "good kids."
Hikigaya truly couldn't bear to make them do bad things.
However, he had already used his own way to tell Ichinose the possible method for winning. She likely knew the reason his exam eligibility had been revoked.
If they used the pawn exchange tactic, there was a chance to win.
But even if he was like that, given Ichinose's personality, it was even more impossible. Even if the method was laid out in front of her, it was futile if no one could carry it out.
Originally, this should have been arranged by Ichinose as the leader.
For the sake of the class's victory, everyone would have likely agreed after a moment of hesitation.
However, the expectations of the group had forced Ichinose into the position of leader, and the kind-hearted Ichinose wanted to do everything possible to meet those expectations.
This naturally couldn't be blamed on anyone.
It was a dead end.
Hikigaya felt they had hit a knot.
Unless someone who could be recognized by everyone voluntarily stood up as the leader, this knot felt impossible to untie.