"Mm... What time is it...?"
"It's six thirty in the morning. More importantly, you can let go of me now, right?"
"...Huh?"
I'd just woken up, and that was the first thing I heard. I turned my stiff neck—
"S-Sakayanagi...?"
Sakayanagi was glaring at me, her face bright red. I had both arms wrapped tightly around her, and tears glistened at the corners of her eyes, which were narrowed in embarrassment and anger.
My sleepiness vanished in an instant, and I immediately understood the situation.
Yesterday, following Hiyori's suggestion, the three of us had squeezed onto my bed to sleep. Somehow, I'd ended up holding Sakayanagi all night.
With her frail body, escaping my embrace would have been a pipe dream.
Or rather, the fact that she'd been stuck in that position until morning said it all.
"Um... Sorry."
I quickly let go and apologized.
The girl across from me kept glaring.
"Honestly. I woke up at around seven last night, and from then on, someone clung to me like an octopus and wouldn't let go. I had no choice but to stay the night."
"I'm truly sorry!"
I was completely in the wrong.
If she reported me to the school, I'd be finished.
As I bowed my head in sincere apology, Sakayanagi suddenly narrowed her eyes.
The usually poised young lady wore a languid expression. It was unexpectedly cute—to an unfair degree.
But if I said that out loud, I'd be in serious trouble, so I wisely kept quiet.
"...Are you really reflecting on what you did?"
"Mm, I am."
"Then, just like you did for Shiina, give me a spare key to your room, and I'll forgive you."
S-She was going to pull that move?
I hesitated for a moment, but appeasing this young lady was the priority right now.
I swung my legs off the bed, took the spare key from my desk drawer, and handed it over.
Sakayanagi nodded with satisfaction.
"Thank you. Then, as promised, I'll let you off for last night's offenses: forcing me to sleep in your arms, groping my butt, and sneaking a kiss on my cheek."
"..."
Cold sweat instantly soaked my back.
Was I really that bold in my sleep?!
No, wait. Wasn't the fact that she'd gone out of her way to say that proof she never planned to forgive me?
"Ah, I was only joking about everything except you holding me and not letting go."
"Don't make jokes that are so easy to misunderstand!"
I couldn't help shouting.
This wasn't my fault, was it? I looked up and saw Sakayanagi covering her mouth, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. She'd clearly succeeded in teasing me again.
"What's going on? Why are you suddenly yelling?"
The sound of an apron rustling came from the kitchen, and Hiyori walked in carrying a tray.
"N-Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Is that so? Anyway, breakfast is ready."
Three golden servings of scrambled eggs steamed on porcelain plates. Freshly baked croissants and corn soup were set beside them, and slices of ham were neatly arranged on top of salad greens.
"You even made enough for me. Thank you."
Sakayanagi gracefully slid off the bed and thanked her.
For some reason, just-woken Sakayanagi gave off a languid, alluring air. The collar of her pajamas revealed her collarbones, which gleamed white in the morning light.
"No need to thank me. But since we all slept in our regular clothes last night, we're all sweaty now. We should take a shower before school."
At her words, I noticed that my T-shirt was indeed sticking to my back.
A shower did sound necessary.
"By the way, Hiyori, were you asleep the whole time too?"
"Mm. According to Classmate Sakayanagi, Hachiman and I never woke up, and Classmate Sakayanagi was trapped in Hachiman's arms and couldn't move."
I see. In that case, she really couldn't do anything.
I sighed and started eating breakfast.
Hiyori's cooking really was second to none. Thinking about all the people who had to make do with the school's free vegetable set first thing in the morning, I couldn't help feeling sorry for them.
But even if my life depended on it, I'd never give up this exclusive breakfast privilege.
Thirty minutes later—
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."
After finishing breakfast and showering, we changed into our uniforms and met at our usual spot. Then, as always, we headed for school.
"Speaking of which, the two-week exam prep period starts today, right?"
"Mm. If you prepare seriously, Hachiman's class can earn Class Points again."
"That's true, but there are too many slackers in our class. Just worrying about whether someone's going to fail is exhausting."
"I can hardly believe it. If you just paid attention in class, getting an average score would be easy..."
Sakayanagi looked exasperated, but our class really was in a bad way. Most of them hadn't paid attention to a single lesson in April.
The midterms would be held at the end of May, and the exam material covered everything from April through mid-May.
In other words, if you hadn't paid attention in April, you were already unfamiliar with nearly sixty percent of the exam material.
Reviewing April's lessons and learning the May material in the two weeks left would be quite difficult.
It would be hell for anyone who'd already gotten into the habit of slacking off.
But I didn't care what happened to the group at risk of failing.
I'd studied hard myself, so I was fine. The most I needed to worry about was discussing reward points with the teachers.
"They'll fail because they didn't pay attention in class. Anyway, you can manage without chess or the café for the next two weeks, right?"
"? Would it really hurt to ease up a little on your studies, Hikigaya?"
"Better safe than sorry."
We still didn't know how the actual exams would go. Giving it everything we had was the right approach.
"Then I suppose I have no choice. You'd better spend lots of time with me after the midterms."
"Got it. Hiyori, if taking care of me is a hassle, you don't have to come."
"No, I want to take care of you, Hachiman. Please don't worry about it."
Hiyori replied with a smile.
She was just too considerate... Honestly, I even wanted her to take care of me for the rest of my life.
With that unrealistic fantasy in mind, I headed for school.
"So, you should memorize this concept like this..."
Scratch, scratch, scratch...
During the last class of the afternoon, the classroom echoed with the sound of pencils on paper and Chabashira-sensei's explanations.
It was the first week of May. After learning the truth about the S-System, nearly everyone in Class D had stopped chatting and playing on their phones and started paying attention in class.
This was how high school students were supposed to act, but compared to last month, it was a huge improvement.
The only exception was Sudo.
Even though he knew the truth, he was still fast asleep.
None of the other students tried to wake him either. They were probably afraid he'd suddenly lose his temper.
But most of the class really did dislike him.
As I was thinking about that—
"Waaah!?"
A sudden cry rang out. I turned and saw Ayanokoji clutching his arm in pain.
"What's wrong, Ayanokoji? Are you feeling sick?"
"N-No, I'm fine... I got something in my eye..."
He was obviously lying.
Who would cry out like that over something getting in their eye...? I glanced at Horikita, his seatmate. She had the point of a compass aimed at Ayanokoji. She'd definitely stabbed him.
I pretended not to see and continued listening to the lesson.
When the bell rang, the tense atmosphere eased a little.
"That's all for today's lesson. We'll have a homeroom meeting now. I have one announcement: exam prep begins today. The midterms are in two weeks, so anyone who failed the regular quizzes will need to work especially hard. That's all."
"Chabashira-sensei, may I ask you something?"
The teacher was about to leave the classroom in a hurry, so I quickly called out to her.
"That's unusual, Hikigaya. You actually have a question?"
"During swimming class, you said the fastest swimmer in the class would receive reward points. That means teachers have some authority over Private Points, right?"
"That's right. Teachers can't touch Class Points, but we can decide how to award Private Points."
As expected, it was important to hear that confirmed firsthand.
"Then can we get reward points for good results on the midterms?"
The classroom immediately grew noisy, and Chabashira-sensei sneered.
"Oh? You've earned so many already, and that's not enough?"
"Of course not."
I'd already realized when I made the deal with Ryuen that points were everything at this school.
We had to earn every point we could.
"Fine. But let's be clear, Hikigaya—"
"Yes?"
"You'll set the reward criteria. I'll approve them if they satisfy me, but don't think you can suggest easy conditions like 'ten thousand points for passing' or 'twenty thousand for an average score.'"
Chabashira-sensei said this while glancing over at the students at risk of failing.
She really didn't pull any punches.
Then how about...
"How about the top three in each subject and the top five overall?"
"That could work. How many points are you proposing?"
"Thirty thousand for first place, twenty thousand for second, and ten thousand for third in each subject. For the overall ranking, fifty thousand for first, forty thousand for second, thirty thousand for third, twenty thousand for fourth, and ten thousand for fifth. How does that sound?"
I'd already decided what to prioritize.
The midterms covered five subjects: Japanese, math, science, social studies, and English. The overall ranking was based on the combined scores in all five.
I'd already given up on competing in math, science, or the overall ranking.
Instead, I'd focus on Japanese, social studies, and English, where I had a shot at placing.
People online said that high overall scores might earn a reward, but with my math and science scores dragging me down, there was no chance.
My skills had improved through exam prep, but I still couldn't beat people who were naturally good at science and math.
There was no way I could place near the top overall.
So I'd focus on individual subjects.
I'd earn points in the subjects where I had a chance.
"...Fine. Class D will use Hikigaya's proposal for these midterms. Any other questions?"
"No. Thank you for approving it."
"Don't mention it. This will help boost the class's morale, too."
With that, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.
All right. Starting today, I'd study as hard as I could.
Before you continue