G-Get Tastier~! Moe Moe Heart Beam!

"Hachiman, did your points come in?"

"Hm?... Oh, right. Today's July 1, so it's points day. Hang on."

On a July morning, after I'd finished breakfast with Hiyori as usual and we were getting ready to head to school, she suddenly brought it up. I opened the screen on my terminal—

Hikigaya Hachiman

PPT

That was what the display showed. Between the rewards from the midterm exams, the bet with the Chess Club, and the extra questions teachers occasionally gave us in class, I'd managed to build up over 1.5 million Private Points.

But... my balance hadn't gone up since yesterday.

"No change. I guess our Class Points are still at zero."

Even though we'd scored well on the midterms and put a stop to tardiness, absences, and chatting in class, our Class Points were still at zero. The negative impact of the commotion back in April must have cost us points somewhere behind the scenes.

"My terminal hasn't received any points either," Hiyori added. According to her, although Class C had plenty of troublemakers, their classes were orderly enough that their Class Points shouldn't have fallen to zero.

In that case...

"It might be a problem with the school's system, so none of the students received their points. If you need some, I can lend you a few."

If it was Hiyori, I didn't mind lending her points without even asking her to sign an IOU. In the three months since we'd started school, she'd become someone very important to me.

"No need. I still have over a hundred thousand points. I only asked because it seemed strange."

"We'll get an announcement once we're at school, anyway. Let's go."

"Okay."

After making sure Hiyori had linked her arm through mine like she always did, we left and headed for the elevator. When the doors opened, we found Sakanayanagi already inside.

"Morning, Sakanayanagi."

"Good morning to you both. I was just about to ask—did your points come in?"

"Neither Hiyori nor I got any. Even you, in Class A, didn't get them. Looks like the whole first year is affected?"

"Indeed. But the school, which keeps a close eye on the students through surveillance, couldn't possibly have forgotten to issue our points. Either the school has encountered an unforeseen problem and can't pay us, or there's going to be a major change to our Class Points, and they've delayed processing them."

That made sense. Sakanayanagi could be right. Maybe the rumored Special Exam was about to begin.

"Either way, we can get by on our Private Points even without Class Points."

"That's true for you, Hikigaya. You'll be aiming for a perfect score on this month's final exams, too, won't you? You'll earn reward points that way."

"Of course."

I'd earned less than I'd expected on the midterms, so this time I'd start studying as soon as they were over and aim for a perfect score in every subject.

"That ambition is admirable. If you're interested in moving up to Class A, Hikigaya, I could ask a friend to finance you, provided you agree to join my faction."

The fact that she'd made that offer meant the Sakanayanagi Faction already trusted her quite a bit.

"Tempting, but I don't like being part of a group."

"I thought you'd say that. But if you ever grow dissatisfied with Class D, you're welcome to join us."

"Thanks."

We chatted as we walked to school. There were only a few weeks left until summer break. I really hoped to get through them peacefully.

◇

I was studying chess endgames in the classroom as usual when the bell rang and Chabashira-sensei walked in.

"Good morning, everyone. You seem especially restless today."

As soon as she spoke, Ike jumped to his feet. "Chabashira-sensei! We didn't get zero points again, did we? I checked this morning, and nothing came in!"

"I see. So that's why."

It seemed the other classes hadn't received their points either. I'd sent Ichinose in Class B an email earlier to check, and she'd confirmed the same thing.

While Ike continued to complain, Chabashira-sensei tried to reassure us. "Don't jump to conclusions. The school knows how hard Class D has been working." As she spoke, she unfolded a large sheet of paper and put it up on the blackboard.

"I'll now announce this month's Class Points."

The sheet read:

Class A: 1004 points (increased since enrollment)

Class D: ...87 Class Points, meaning each student will receive 8,700 Private Points.

"Eighty-seven points means... we improved?! Yes!"

Yamauchi's cheer set off an uproar throughout the class. After all, for everyone but me, this was the first time in two months they'd received Class Points. Of course they were overjoyed.

"It's too early to celebrate. Look at the other classes' points. Their gains are about the same as yours, or even greater. This is simply a reward issued to every class that passed the exam."

I see. That meant the gap wouldn't be getting any smaller.

"Horikita, you don't look very happy."

"No, that's not it. We can infer a few things from this result."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Ike couldn't help asking after Horikita's cryptic remark.

But even with everyone watching her, Horikita showed no sign of explaining.

Hirata spoke in her place. "The deductions from all the whispering we did before weren't carried over as hidden negative points, were they?"

"Oh, I get it! If there were hidden deductions, our points would still be zero this month!" Hirata's accurate guess and simple explanation made it click for Ike.

"Then why haven't the points come in?" The question had come full circle. The public notice said our Class Points were 87, but our terminals hadn't received the 8,700 Private Points. Neither had the other classes' terminals.

"There was a system error, so the points are delayed. Just be patient a little longer."

So it was the school's mistake. That was a relief.

"If it was the school's mistake, shouldn't they give us compensation points?"

"That's up to the school. Once the problem is fixed, the points will be issued as usual—assuming you still have any points left in your account to deduct."

Wait! What did she mean by that last part?!

"That's the situation. From what Chabashira-sensei said, someone in Class D has screwed up. The delay is the school's mistake, but our class might not get any points at all."

"Probably that guy Sudo, right? He picked a fight with a second-year student on the first day of school, and he's always losing his temper."

During lunch, I was complaining over a sandwich in the cafeteria when Hashimoto, from Class A, offered that possibility from across the table.

We'd gradually gotten to know each other after that Maid Cafe incident. Last week, we'd gone to a Maid Cafe together, only to run into Kamuro on our way out. We'd laughed so hard we could barely stand and almost got beaten up.

"Should we have pretended we didn't know him back then?"

"You mean during the midterm exam incident? Yeah. If we'd left him to his fate, our Class Points might've taken a hit, but at least we wouldn't have to spend every day worrying about getting expelled."

Neither Hashimoto nor I said it outright, but it was obvious we both knew what the other meant. Sudo was a ticking time bomb—short-tempered and self-centered, and completely isolated from the rest of the class.

"I don't care about Class Points. I just want to enjoy a peaceful school life. I'm not joking."

"Then let me make you laugh."

Hashimoto suddenly pulled out his terminal, tapped a few times, and shoved the screen in my face—

"G-Get tastier~! Moe Moe Heart Beam!"

"Pfft! Ngh... Pfft, hahaha!"

On the video, Kamuro's face was bright red as she made a heart over an omelet rice dish. Help! I'd seen it dozens of times, but I still couldn't stop laughing!

"You're laughing pretty hard."

"You're forcing me to laugh! But yeah, it is funny..."

"Right? I've watched it dozens of times, and it still cracks me up." So this guy watched it on repeat too? I could understand why. It was just that addictive. I felt like Sakanayanagi watched it in secret a lot too. Once, I caught her trying not to laugh as she stared at Kamuro.

"Oh, right. That Maid Cafe has a new item. Want to try it after school?"

"Sorry, I went there the day before yesterday. And the new item's too greasy. I don't recommend it."

"Really? Maybe next time. Anyway, Hashimoto..."

As I spoke, I took out my terminal—

"G-Get tastier~! Moe Moe Heart Beam!"

"Pfft!"

I gave him a taste of his own medicine. I didn't like being the only one getting teased.

If Kamuro saw this, she'd definitely kill us both.

After school, I was getting ready to leave the classroom as usual when something unexpected happened.

"Sudo, I need to talk to you. Come to the faculty office."

Chabashira-sensei stopped Sudo as he hurried off to club activities. My conversation with Hashimoto at lunch immediately came to mind.

"Huh? I've got basketball practice."

"I've already spoken to your advisor. Come or don't, but you'll be responsible for the consequences."

What kind of ominous conversation was that? The classroom went still in an instant.

"What's going on? This won't take long, will it?"

"That depends on how cooperative you are."

Chabashira-sensei turned and walked away. Sudo clicked his tongue and followed her.

At the same time, the frozen classroom came back to life, and whispers broke out.

"That guy never learns. We should've let him get expelled back then."

Similar comments passed from student to student. They were obviously worried that this incident would reduce our Class Points to zero.

I could understand their anxiety, but I really didn't want to stay in an atmosphere full of hostility. I quickened my pace and left the classroom.

So, what should I do to kill time after school today?