"Haah... I'm still so tired..."
I yawned as I stepped into the elevator. Hiyori, who lived with me, was standing beside me as usual.
"You okay? Try not to stay out too late having fun."
"Got it."
I nodded to Hiyori, and the elevator doors opened. As we headed toward the lobby, I saw Sakayanagi, as always, with Kamuro standing beside her.
They noticed us too. Sakayanagi beamed with delight, while Kamuro's cheeks reddened slightly before she quickly turned away. Seeing the two of them made me feel both irritated and intensely embarrassed.
"Good morning, you two. It's lovely weather today."
Sakayanagi spoke first. She was definitely in a good mood. Normally, she was pretty aloof, but when it came to teasing me, she got especially enthusiastic.
"Good morning, Classmate Sakayanagi, Kamuro. I look forward to your company today."
"...Morning."
"..."
Hiyori greeted them politely. I gave a stiff greeting, while Kamuro kept her face turned away.
Sakayanagi smiled. "Masumi, that's very rude. You should look people in the eye when you greet them. Morning greetings are important." Even so, she was clearly just hoping to watch Kamuro and me squirm.
At Sakayanagi's words, Kamuro looked reluctant, but after glancing at Sakayanagi's smile, she sighed and turned toward us. "Morning, Shiina... Morning to you too, Hikigaya."
"Yeah, morning."
"...Oh, morning."
The greetings were a little awkward, but they went smoothly enough. Sakayanagi nodded with interest and started walking.
We were strolling along the road from the dorms to school when we heard footsteps behind us. I looked back and saw Ichinose running toward us.
"Good morning, Hikigaya! Good morning, Shiina, Sakayanagi, and Kamuro!"
"Did you run over here especially to talk to Hikigaya?"
"Sort of. About the assault incident, our Class B decided to help with the investigation."
"Oh? I thought the other classes would stay neutral."
"We shouldn't treat each other differently just because we're in different classes. The school may make us compete, but letting lies go unchallenged is dangerous. And, personally, I can't just look the other way."
Ichinose didn't look like she was lying. But there had to be another reason. If it were just her, that would be one thing, but that wasn't enough to explain why all of Class B was getting involved.
"There's more to it, isn't there? If Class C wins this dispute, they'll gain even more momentum. You want to stop that, right?"
Sakayanagi exposed her with a light laugh, and she was probably right. The gap between Class A and Class B, and between Class C and Class D, was huge, but the gap between Class B and Class C wasn't. Letting Class C, led by Ryuen, pull ahead would be dangerous.
"Hehe... You guessed right, Sakayanagi. We can't let Class C close the gap while we still don't know much about the S-System."
Ichinose gave an awkward laugh, though she didn't need to.
"By the way, are you planning to take action, Sakayanagi?"
"Personally, I'd like to trip up both Class C and Class D, but if I make a move over something this trivial, the Katsuragi Faction will start nagging me again."
The Katsuragi Faction was the conservative faction. If she acted outside of an exam, they'd definitely find fault with her.
"Huh? You're so close to Hikigaya and the others, but you're not going to go easy on them?"
"Of course not. I may be friends with Hikigaya and Shiina, but I don't let personal feelings get in the way of class competition. Besides, they aren't interested in class rivalries anyway."
As Sakayanagi said, I had no interest in class rivalries, and Hiyori was more or less the same.
"I see... So you're not planning to do anything over summer vacation either?"
"Summer vacation... Come to think of it, our homeroom teacher said we'd be getting a summer break. Though I bet it'll just be a Special Exam disguised as a holiday. Have you heard anything, Sakayanagi?"
"No. I only know there'll be a long vacation trip, but there's a ninety-percent chance it'll involve some kind of activity tied to Class Points."
"Probably. If Ichinose's talking about that kind of activity, I'll cooperate as much as I have to, but I won't throw myself into it."
I'd risk life and limb for someone important to me, but I wasn't about to do that for people I didn't care about.
"Same here. If Ryuen tells me to act, I will, but I'm not going to do anything on my own."
"You two are so cold."
"Aren't you the same, Kamuro? If you weren't Sakayanagi's sidekick, you wouldn't be so eager to act."
"...Can't deny that."
"Masumi, you should be more proactive. Like when you used magic on Hikigaya."
"Shut up!"
Sakayanagi laughed as she dredged up Kamuro's embarrassing past, and Kamuro bristled with anger. I could understand how she felt.
"Magic? What happened?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about."
Curious about the mysterious incident, I still didn't ask. If I did, Kamuro might actually kill me.
We chatted casually as we made our way to school.
Incidentally, as soon as I got to the classroom, Sudo picked another fight, apparently without learning a thing. I provoked him again, and he flew into a rage like an idiot before Hirata and Kushida held him back. Whatever. If he ended up getting expelled over it, everyone could finally have some peace and quiet.
Though the morning had been eventful, lunchtime arrived as scheduled. I picked up the lunch Hiyori had specially made for me and left the classroom. She'd arranged to have lunch with a senior from the Tea Ceremony Club, while Sakayanagi and Kamuro, who had been eating together frequently lately, seemed to be having lunch with the girls in their class. I'd made plans to eat with Hashimoto.
(But Hashimoto really is a strange guy...)
He was great at socializing, yet every now and then he'd casually invite me to eat with him. It always reminded me of my little sister's next-generation hybrid loner vibe. Of course, unlike Komachi, he was actually smart.
On my way to our meeting place, I spotted Hashimoto facing off against two boys. One of them was a bald giant—Katsuragi, who was opposed to Sakayanagi. The other was a completely ordinary-looking guy yelling at Hashimoto, who was yawning.
Hashimoto noticed me and jogged over, completely ignoring the commotion behind him. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go." He passed me without breaking his jogging pace, so I turned and followed him.
"So what was that about?"
"When Sudo was about to hit you, I tried to take a picture. Katsuragi caught me and told me to stop stirring things up."
Just as I'd thought. As the conservative faction opposing Sakayanagi's more aggressive faction, Katsuragi wouldn't want to give them any opening, even when it came to the weak.
"Lay low for now. If we're going to make a move, we can do it over summer vacation."
"That's what I was thinking. Sakayanagi wants to establish a dictatorship before the second term, too."
"I'll see how things go then. I'll have to get ready to jump ship to Class A as well."
Honestly, Class A was worthless as long as its two major factions were at odds. No matter how capable Sakayanagi was, it would be hard to keep things going with half the class against her. If things continued this way, Class A might be demoted to Class B by the time we reached our second year.
But if Sakayanagi or Katsuragi managed to establish their leadership, and the class united, I'd want to aim for Class A—though on my own terms. Class D had plenty of talented people, but it had even more people who got on my nerves.
"When that time comes, my points might find their way to you, Hikigaya."
Hashimoto was referring to the loan from before.
"If they find out, won't they kill you?"
"Can't deny that. If the class finds out I'm sitting on a fortune, the vultures will tear me apart."
"That's a vivid image... We're here. I'll go buy meal tickets. You grab us a seat."
I watched Hashimoto hurry over to the vending machines, then took two cups of complimentary barley tea and found us seats.
When he returned with a specialty set meal, I couldn't help admiring Class A's extravagance—it was the most expensive meal in the cafeteria.
I opened my lunchbox to find Japanese dishes like salmon, simmered chicken and vegetables, rolled omelet, and beef simmered with ginger. The most eye-catching thing of all was the heart-shaped rice.
"That looks delicious. Did Sakayanagi make it? Or Shiina Hiyori?"
"The latter. Hiyori's cooking could easily sell for three times the price in the cafeteria." Thanks to her, I rarely had to buy lunch.
"That's practically a love bento. Can I have a bite?"
"Shut up. Not a chance." I thought so too, but I couldn't let on. Even if Hashimoto pulled out a hundred thousand points right then, he couldn't have a single grain of rice.
"I'm kidding. By the way, Hikigaya, is it true you turned down the Student Council's invitation?"
"Where'd you hear that?" I was genuinely surprised. Even Sakayanagi and Hiyori hadn't mentioned it.
"A third-year from the Tennis Club in Class 3-A overheard Tachibana talking with someone from the Student Council."
"It's true. President Horikita tried to recruit me, but I turned her down." The Student Council at this school seemed to have power, but I didn't want to get involved with anything that brought back those memories.
"Hmm... Still, their selection criteria are weird. Katsuragi was on the student council in middle school, and he still didn't get in."
"Yeah. Ichinose said she was rejected in the first round, too."
I'd merely discovered a flaw in the S-System. There was no reason to reject Ichinose over that. Would letting her or Katsuragi join the Student Council put President Horikita at a disadvantage? Whatever. It had nothing to do with me anyway.
I was just about to go back to eating when I noticed Hashimoto trying to steal some of my beef simmered with ginger, so I gave him a good beating.
Before you continue