Inside the haunted house.
The lights illuminated the place as bright as day, without a shred of a terrifying feeling.
The partition boards, which were originally semi-finished, were now painted with terrifying patterns, appearing to be basically completed.
The three of them—Hikigaya, Nanase Tsubasa, and Kiryuuin.
Followed behind Nishishi and Takatomi.
The two of them looked at each other, their gazes somewhat hesitant.
"Um..."
After a moment of silence.
Nishishi turned back with some hesitation, his voice weak as he said:
"Sorry... Vice President Hikigaya..."
"Sorry..."
Takatomi also hurriedly lowered his voice: "We had no choice either, if we don't do this, Nagumo will have us expelled."
Although their credibility was gone.
Nagumo Miyabi's deterrence remained.
During these three years.
Nagumo Miyabi had used various methods to expel nearly forty students of the same grade, though fifteen were due to being set up by Ayanokouji during the uninhabited island exam.
But clearly.
Nagumo Miyabi was not some kind or virtuous person either.
He only barely maintained a decent reputation by being a man of his word and acting on his promises.
Pity.
Now that reputation was gone.
What remained was only heart-shaking deterrence and extraordinary strength that surpassed the third-year grade.
And by comparison.
Sumida retreated again and again.
Hikigaya also canceled the punishment against them.
Wanting to completely abandon one's conscience was not an easy thing; the two were naturally somewhat grateful, but unfortunately, that bit of gratitude was not much.
"No need."
"I've said it before, haven't I?"
"I am not worth your gratitude, so naturally you don't need to apologize to me."
Hikigaya didn't care, reaching out to open a hidden door to inspect it seriously.
There wasn't much to inspect in a haunted house.
At most, it was checking if there were any sharp objects; it wouldn't be good to bump into them in the dark.
As for Nishishi and Takatomi.
Hikigaya truly didn't take them to heart.
He hadn't had any expectations to begin with, so naturally, there was no talk of disappointment.
In order to protect themselves.
It was a very normal thing for the two of them to surrender to Nagumo Miyabi again.
As for how long Nagumo Miyabi could keep them, that was the third-years' own business and had nothing to do with the second-years.
Nanase Tsubasa, who followed behind, had eyes that were sparkling.
Senior Hikigaya is truly magnanimous.
Kiryuuin, on the other hand, had a calm expression; heaven knows if what Hikigaya said was true or false, she was more inclined to think he was lying.
The people he let go out of kindness.
Actually turned around and stood on the opponent's side.
He must be somewhat annoyed.
Just then.
"No, no, no, even so, we are still very grateful for Senior Hikigaya's tolerance."
"Yeah, we know that you and Nagumo are different."
The two spoke in lowered voices.
But before the others could react, Takatomi lowered his voice and said:
"Vice President Hikigaya, we know your relationship with Nagumo is not good, it's just that this time, could you not be so strict..."
As soon as these words were spoken.
Hikigaya's palm paused for a moment, then he pretended as if nothing had happened and continued toward the next classroom.
Fine.
He was indeed annoyed.
It would have been better if they hadn't spoken; as soon as they opened their mouths, it made people feel a bit disgusted.
Truly accustomed to bullying the weak and fearing the strong; seeing that he was easy to talk to, they tried to push their luck.
"Don't worry, as long as there are no problems, I won't deliberately make things difficult for anyone."
Thinking for a moment, Hikigaya spoke flatly.
Hearing this.
Takatomi and Nishishi immediately breathed a sigh of relief; it sounded like Hikigaya had agreed, as long as the problem didn't fall on the two of them.
Wanting to pick faults didn't necessarily mean having to make things difficult for people.
Soon.
Hikigaya completed a serious inspection round.
Perhaps Nagumo Miyabi had already made preparations in advance; indeed, no problems could be found.
Although there were minor issues.
As long as one lifted a hand they could be solved, so Hikigaya was too lazy to fuss over it.
If he was to do it.
He had to do it in a way that left people unable to argue back.
Outside the haunted house.
Nagumo Miyabi had already been waiting for a long time.
Looking at the returning Hikigaya, his face wore a smile.
"How is it? Vice President Hikigaya, if there is anything inappropriate, you can say it; we will certainly work hard to correct it, striving to leave the best memories for everyone."
The meaning between the lines.
People.
I, Nagumo Miyabi, am wholeheartedly thinking of everyone, yet you, Hikigaya, are abusing private power to destroy everyone's beautiful cultural festival; you are a despicable petty person.
"No major issues, rather, the level of your haunted house is quite high; it should be very popular with everyone."
Hikigaya spoke flatly and told the truth.
Originally, this was a group of elites gathered from all over; although there were funding limits, the school still provided the money.
The standard should far exceed ordinary schools.
Although Hikigaya had never seen ordinary students, looking at it, it was quite terrifying; it should be very scary once the lights are turned off.
"Hmm?"
Once these words were out.
Nagumo Miyabi suddenly didn't know how to respond.
He had already prepared to be targeted, so why are you praising me instead?
"I see."
Nagumo Miyabi's mouth twitched, and his voice was somewhat stifled:
"At that time, we plan to charge only one hundred private points; I am also preparing to hold a rehearsal before the cultural festival officially starts, striving to bring the best experience to everyone, and also to allow each class to be well-prepared. What do you think?"
The school authorities did not force a rehearsal.
How to do it.
Was entirely the freedom of the students.
After all, for the sake of winning, some might want to hide their class projects more.
But there was no real need for such a thing.
After all.
By the time the class project is discovered, the private points will have been spent, and the shops will have been fully set up.
Thinking of changing one's mind temporarily would be completely impossible.
The rehearsal only allows students to prepare in advance and detect if there are any inappropriate aspects in each class's project to learn from the experience.
After all.
It's the first time students are opening shops; more or less, they will encounter some problems.
If someone leads the rehearsal.
Other classes would probably follow suit; hiding class projects doesn't have much meaning.
"...Quite good."
Hikigaya said flatly: "Whatever you want to do is your freedom; the Student Council has no right to interfere."
Matters that fall outside the scope of jurisdiction.
The Student Council also has no way to handle them.
"However."
Speaking, Hikigaya changed the topic, pointing at the entrance of the haunted house behind Nagumo Miyabi:
"You need to hang a sign at the entrance; otherwise, I can only exercise Student Council power and have you undergo a complete rectification."
"Hmm?"
Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes, immediately becoming alert:
"What a joke, undergoing rectification now is fundamentally impossible to finish in time; what on earth do you mean?"
Being the former Student Council President.
Nagumo Miyabi naturally knew very well what powers the Student Council President possessed.
One indeed possesses the power to manage safety regulations.
But basically, no one would use it; not just him, he believed that Horikita Manabu or anyone else who became Student Council President wouldn't use it.
It was the same as improper male-female relationships.
The Student Council also concurrently holds the duties of disciplinary committee members and could similarly manage them.
But as long as they are students.
Everyone holds very high expectations for the cultural festival; basically, they try to be as lenient as possible.
To hold the biggest and best cultural festival.
Leaving behind youth memories that one wouldn't regret.
Unexpectedly.
Hikigaya even started managing this.
Most importantly, Nagumo Miyabi had made preparations; there were fundamentally no problems, or if there were, they were only minor issues.
Leaving the dating couples alone, yet coming to manage these things.
Clearly, it was for the cultural festival rankings, or simply targeting Nagumo Miyabi specifically.
Abuse of power.
Too shameless.
On the other side.
Homeroom Teacher Mashima similarly furrowed his brows.
From beginning to end.
He had only quietly followed behind, responsible for supervision.
He originally didn't need to come; it was Hikigaya who dragged him here.
If one wanted to interfere with the cultural festival.
It wouldn't work without a legitimate reason.
As long as an unfair situation arose.
Teacher Mashima would not be polite with him.
Abuse of power.
Requires being prepared to accept punishment.