Hachiman's Meritocracy Classroom
Author: Xiao Qianhua
Synopsis:
After recovering from a car accident in the hospital for three weeks, Hachiman Hikigaya had thought he had missed his chance to fit into a class.
Yet the principal handed him a special letter of recommendation.
It advised him to attend Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, which would not begin classes until May.
With the goal of not being isolated—and under his sister's demand that he find friends—Hachiman charged forward without hesitation.
And so, he finally made friends.
Kei Karuizawa: So, you've become my host. That means it's only natural for us to spend more time together, right?
Sakayanagi Arisu: You seem troubled by being an ordinary person. I have a reliable plan that will guarantee the next generation is a genius.
Suzune Horikita: I tried making a bento yesterday. If you don't mind...
Kikyo Kushida (Dark): Now that I know so many of your secrets, and you've gotten hold of mine too, it looks like we'll have to be tied together.
??
Komachi: ...Big brother, I don't think these are friends!
First Semester
Hachiman Hikigaya Wants an Exciting Introduction
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.
It was situated on an artificial island built with dedicated government funding.
And right now, in First-year Class D,
the new students were introducing themselves.
Arriving in a new classroom, introducing yourself, and getting to know one another—those things were important.
"Could I have everyone's attention for a moment? I'm Hirata Yosuke. Let's all introduce ourselves now. I hope we can get along as soon as possible and become friends."
Something like that.
There was also this.
"I'm next. My name is Kikyo Kushida, and my goal is to become friends with everyone here. I want us to make lots of memories together, so please come talk to me anytime."
And soon enough, it would be his turn.
At that moment,
a boy with short black hair sat by the window.
If one had to describe his appearance, he was probably the ordinary-handsome sort.
His dead-fish eyes slightly undermined his looks, but he was undeniably someone whose face grew on you.
His name was Hachiman Hikigaya.
He had originally attended Soubu High School in Chiba, but on his first day of school, he had saved a little dog that ran into the road and gotten hit by a car.
He had ended up recovering from his injuries for three whole weeks.
That was fatal for a new student, because little social circles formed within the first week of school—or rather, sometimes in just two or three days.
He could easily imagine that when he finally returned to class, he would once again spend his entire high school life alone.
However, something had happened.
His homeroom guidance teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, had pointed him toward another path.
She had recommended Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School to him.
The reason for the recommendation was simple enough: apparently, one of the school's new students had run into trouble, leaving an opening.
So Shizuka Hiratsuka, an alumna of that school, had thought of him.
And given him the recommendation.
That teacher was really far too kind.
At the same time, the school's benefits were excellent.
It publicly advertised a 100% Advancement Rate and Employment Rate.
Most importantly, tuition was waived, and students did not need to bring living expenses when enrolling.
Yes, he had heard that right: no tuition, and no living expenses required.
It was downright unbelievable.
Which naturally made him suspicious, because why would they receive such preferential treatment?
However,
despite how mysterious this school that practically seemed free was, his parents had signed the agreement.
It made Hachiman feel as though he had probably been adopted.
Still,
Komachi was only in her second year of middle school, and she would be applying to high school in two years.
And if her exam results were a little worse, the tuition would increase accordingly.
His parents' burden would increase as well.
So if he could save on his own high school tuition, that would be a good thing.
Hachiman Hikigaya thought to himself.
Besides,
he had nothing to lose.
The students at Advanced Nurturing High School had only just enrolled.
That meant he could seize this chance to fit into one of the little groups.
There was nothing inherently bad about being alone, but group living made it troublesome.
He had already experienced plenty of PE classes where he could not find anyone to team up with, leaving him to play tennis alone or baseball alone.
So,
if possible, he should seize this opportunity, even just a little.
His sister had also said that if he had the chance, he should fix that twisted personality of his.
In other words, he should truly take a step forward and make a friend or something.
And now,
Komachi, watch closely.
Making friends was actually pretty easy.
And now was his chance.
Thinking that,
Hachiman had already come up with a pretty exciting self-introduction.
For example.
Watching people's expressions, currying favor, keeping in touch, going along with conversation topics—none of that is real friendship. You can't even call them friends.
The kind of person who gets on a bike at two in the morning because you asked for help and races straight to you at fifty kilometers per hour—that person is undoubtedly a true friend.
So, if anyone here shares that goal, please become my friend.
And then...
Of course, that would be no good.
Could friends like that really exist in reality?
As he thought that,
"Suzune Horikita."
The stunning beauty seated behind him introduced herself, but her introduction was extremely brief, consisting of only her name.
And that was something Hachiman had been deliberately holding himself back from paying attention to.
Yes.
This class was strange.
While the boys were all remarkably ordinary-looking, and apart from a boy named Hirata Yosuke, whose features were refined, most of the other boys could practically be described as rough-looking,
the quality of the girls... was exceptionally high.
After attending the opening ceremony in the gymnasium, all the students had come to the classroom.
Twenty boys and twenty girls.
He did not know whether that gender ratio had been arranged deliberately.
But of those twenty girls, ten were very pretty.
Suzune Horikita, Kikyo Kushida, Maya Sato, Kei Karuizawa, Wang Meiyu, Chiaki Matsushita, Haruka Hasebe, and so on—
Most of them would have been the prettiest girl in their class at an ordinary school.
Yet they had all gathered in this one class.
Along with that advertised 100% Employment Rate and Advancement Rate,
it was definitely suspicious.
As he thought that, it was nearly his turn to introduce himself.
"Then next—"
Hachiman held his breath.
Then,
he began his introduction.
"I'm Hachiman Hikigaya... I'm from Chiba, and I like..."
"What are you all doing?"
But at that moment, a tall woman with a single black ponytail entered through the classroom's front door.
She had an excellent figure.
She wore a black women's suit, with a white suit jacket underneath. The black-and-white combination gave her a dignified air.
She wore black stockings, the garter-belt kind.
Her high heels struck the floor with a sharp clack-clack-clack.
The rhythm was steady.
Though her voice was slightly low, it was unexpectedly magnetic and pleasant.
So if he were an ordinary shut-in nerd, he would probably want her to step on him with those high heels right about now.
But Hachiman thought she would definitely turn heads if she put on a maid outfit for the contrast.
This woman had interrupted Hachiman's self-introduction.
Then she walked over to the podium and wrote down her name.
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