Footsteps made noise, especially since the school provided students with leather shoes, so they were not quiet.
Loud enough for the Horikita siblings to notice.
"Hachiman..." Horikita's little sister, who had been waiting to be punished by her brother, noticed the student walking toward them.
Or rather, Hachiman was easy to recognize.
His dead-fish eyes and his apparent lack of interest in most things had left an impression on her.
Yes.
Though she appeared weak, Suzune Horikita had been making her own efforts.
Yesterday, after learning about the three-year boarding system and that every student had received 100,000 points on their student ID, she had gone shopping, gathered items, tested point-based purchases, and investigated prices.
She had also found out that the school provided relief supplies for students without points.
This school felt strange somehow.
So she had been gathering information as well.
She had even spoken with Hachiman that evening.
And now... he had seen her... timid side.
Horikita seemed somewhat embarrassed.
Hachiman glanced at her, then walked directly behind Manabu Horikita.
"..." Manabu Horikita seemed to stop moving. He changed the course of his raised hand midway and instead adjusted his glasses.
The motion looked quite elegant.
"Do you have any thoughts?" Manabu Horikita said. "Or have you already taken photos or made a recording?"
"If you took photos, there would have been a flash. There was no flash just now, though I cannot rule out the possibility that you spent points to have your homeroom teacher disable the flash function."
"So, what price do you want for your silence?" Manabu Horikita asked.
Yes.
To him, he was an outstanding Student Council President and a student of Third-year Class A, while his little sister had been assigned to the worst class, Class D.
Information about his little sister alone could become a weapon against him or his class.
So he needed the other party to keep quiet.
Manabu Horikita felt he had miscalculated.
He had thought no one would come here, but now it seemed... this place was not secluded at all.
"Hm?" Hachiman looked at him in surprise.
"Heh..." Manabu Horikita chuckled. "Or perhaps your ambitions are greater. You noticed the school's rules on your very first day, so your appetite surely will not be small."
"But 500,000 is the maximum hush money I can give you," Manabu Horikita said. "Do not forget my position. I am the Student Council President."
"Are you sure you want to oppose the Student Council President?"
-0-
Hachiman's expression probably looked like that.
"Student Council President, do you think I recorded or photographed you just now, and that I came here specifically to threaten you?" Hachiman asked.
"Is that not the case? You deliberately stood nearby for a while, then only came over when I raised my hand, did you not?"
Of course not.
Hachiman was not that underhanded.
But.
I see, so someone could be this shameless.
If he had recorded it just now, it would have been worth 500,000.
Thanks to the Student Council President's personal demonstration, Hachiman had gotten a feel for the limits of what this school tolerated.
And the Student Council President's 500,000 seemed even easier to earn than Chabashira-sensei's 200,000.
The Student Council President had started by saying, "This is not information you can know right now. I will have to pay you one million."
Then he had immediately followed that by saying that 500,000 was the maximum hush money he could offer.
Were upper-class students and Student Council Presidents really that rich?
But never mind one million—Hachiman could not get even 500,000 right now.
Because he had neither recorded anything nor taken any photos.
He could have fooled the Student Council President and fabricated something. He could have tricked him into handing over the points first.
But.
Hachiman felt there was no need to earn money like that.
Because.
"You probably misunderstood," Hachiman said. "I just ate too much tonight and felt uncomfortable, so I came out for a walk to aid digestion, then planned to buy a coffee to speed up my stomach's work."
Was that so?
Had he merely happened to pass by?
Of course that was so.
Because Hachiman walked straight to the vending machine in front of the Horikita siblings and selected Max Coffee.
Then he took out his phone and opened his student ID's QR code.
Beep!
Clunk!
Along with the sound of points being deducted came the sound of a canned Max Coffee rolling down from the shelf.
Hachiman took the coffee.
He opened the can and took a sip.
It was low in sugar and somewhat bitter, but its energizing effect was excellent.
"..." Manabu Horikita.
Manabu Horikita watched Hachiman's actions and adjusted his glasses again.
But his little sister behind him said, "Hachiman, did you really record words that could harm my brother?"
Then she turned toward Manabu Horikita with a serious expression.
"If my existence has brought such a great risk to my brother, then... I... perhaps... should choose to withdraw from school."
She had not wanted to withdraw even when she was about to be hit, but now Suzune Horikita could casually speak of withdrawing from school.
"..." x2
Manabu Horikita and Hachiman seemed to wear the same expression at that moment.
It showed that Horikita's little sister wanted to protect her brother.
So, good for you two.
It also showed that the siblings had quite a good relationship.
Hachiman looked back at Horikita, whose expression remained cold.
But Hachiman felt that inside, he was probably screaming like a marmot.
Although his little sister had chosen to withdraw, could she really just say something like that out loud?
Besides.
She probably did not understand at all why Manabu Horikita had treated her that way.
Horikita's little sister completely failed to understand her brother's good intentions.
And setting aside whether Horikita would withdraw, if she really did leave school, Hachiman's task of gathering information on her and helping Chabashira-sensei create a file would be ruined.
Potential points: -200,000.
That seemed a little unprofitable.
And since he now knew this school valued Meritocracy, there was naturally no reason to offend Manabu Horikita, a Third-year Class A student and the Student Council President.
Especially since Hachiman had noticed during the entrance ceremony that the Student Council had hosted it, with no teachers or principal present.
So this Student Council's authority was probably nothing like that of an ordinary high school's Student Council.
That made it even less necessary to offend such a big shot.
And Horikita's brother was probably troubled too.
After all, he had a little sister with hardly any social awareness.
From that perspective, Hachiman was fortunate as an older brother. Komachi had incredibly high emotional intelligence.
So.
"I did not record anything just now," Hachiman said. "If news broke that the Student Council President hit his little sister, it could negatively affect the Student Council President."
"And to prevent such a scandal from being exposed, the Student Council President would naturally ask me to keep quiet."
"Just like before."
"But I truly did not record anything," Hachiman said. "Because I did not think I could record any valuable information, nor could I take any valuable photographs."
"..." Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses.
His gaze was cold and sharp. "Do you think I would not have struck her?"
What he meant was that a photo of the Student Council President hitting his little sister could cause a sensation.
But if he had not actually hit her, it would merely be a rumor.
Hachiman might even be dealt with.
In other words, the odds of safely getting the money were low.
Instead, he would attract a pile of trouble.
Only by capturing an established fact could it become leverage.
Therefore.
"Yes, you would not have hit her," Hachiman said. "Since I knew you would not strike her, then... why would I take a photo?"
"..." ??
Hearing Hachiman's words, Horikita's little sister seemed moved. She had thought she would definitely receive a slap.
So her brother had not intended to do that?
"You are quite interesting." Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses again. "Hachiman Hikigaya, First-year Class D. Since childhood, you have accumulated all sorts of embarrassing history. The most notable is that you have always been alone. In other words, you have no friends. You were even suspected of having autistic tendencies. But one cannot judge everything from records alone. Hachiman, you are quite observant."
"...?" Hachiman looked at the Student Council President.
"As the Student Council President, my authority is greater than you imagine."
Manabu Horikita said, "That includes the authority to expel students."
Oh.
So you were terrifying.
You could make people withdraw whenever you wanted.
But that meant not choosing to threaten him just now had been the right decision.
Still, the file he mentioned... did every student have a file?
And could the homeroom teachers view those files as well?
Before you continue