Hachiman's Meritocracy Classroom Chapter 16

The footsteps made noise, especially since the school-provided student leather shoes weren't exactly quiet.

It was enough to draw the attention of the Horikita siblings.

"Hachiman-kun..." Suzune, who had been waiting to be punished by her brother, noticed the figure of a student approaching them.

Or rather, Hachiman-kun was easy to recognize.

The dead fish eyes and his apparent lack of interest in most things were memorable.

Yes.

Despite appearing weak, Suzune Horikita was also making her own efforts.

After being told yesterday about the three-year boarding system and that each student's ID card came with 100,000 points, she had gone shopping, gathered items, and practiced point-based shopping, looking into pricing issues.

She also discovered that the school provided essential living items for students without points.

She felt this school was strange.

So she was also gathering information.

And she had spoken with this Hachiman-kun in the evening.

And now... she had been seen by him in a... vulnerable state.

Suzune seemed a bit embarrassed.

Hachiman glanced at her, then walked directly behind Manabu Horikita.

"..." Manabu's movements seemed to halt. The hand he had raised mid-air changed course and moved to push his glasses up.

His posture looked quite elegant.

"Do you have something in mind?" Manabu asked. "Or perhaps, you've already taken photos or recorded this."

"If you took photos, there would have been a flash. There was no flash just now, but I can't be sure if you used points to ask the homeroom teacher to disable the flash function."

"So, what's the price for your silence?" Manabu asked.

Yes.

To him, he was the excellent Student Council President, and also a student in third-year Class A, while his sister had been assigned to the worst class, Class D.

Information about his sister alone could become a tool to attack him or his class.

Therefore, he needed the other party to keep quiet.

Manabu felt a bit blindsided.

He had thought no one would come here, but looking now... it wasn't exactly hidden.

"Hm?" Hachiman looked at him with some surprise.

"Heh heh..." Manabu chuckled. "Or perhaps your ambitions are greater. Indeed, you noticed the school's rules on the very first day of admission; your appetite must be considerable."

"But five hundred thousand is the maximum hush money I can offer," Manabu said. "Don't forget my position; I am the Student Council President."

"Are you sure you want to go against the Student Council President?"

"-0-"

Hachiman's expression probably looked something like this.

"Student Council President, do you think I recorded this or took photos just now, and that I've specifically come here to threaten you?" Hachiman asked.

"Isn't that the case? You deliberately stood there for a while, waiting for me to raise my hand before approaching, didn't you?"

Of course not.

Hachiman wasn't that dark.

However.

I see, one can be this shameless after all.

If he had recorded this, it would be worth five hundred thousand.

Through the Student Council President's personal demonstration, Hachiman felt the school's tolerance limits.

He also felt that the Student Council President's five hundred thousand seemed easier to earn than Chabashira-sensei's two hundred thousand.

Chapter 017: Hachiman: I suspect I've been deceived by a bad woman!

The Student Council President first stated information that was not currently accessible to me, and that he would pay one million.

Then he stated that the maximum hush money he could offer was five hundred thousand.

Is it that those in higher classes, and the Student Council President, are this wealthy?

But setting aside one million, Hachiman couldn't even get five hundred thousand right now.

Because he hadn't recorded anything, nor taken any photos.

Still, he could trick the Student Council President and fake it. He could swindle the points first.

However.

Hachiman felt there was no need to earn this kind of money.

Because.

"You've probably misunderstood," Hachiman said. "I just ate too much tonight and felt a bit uncomfortable, so I came out for a walk to aid digestion and then buy a coffee to speed up my stomach's work."

Is that so?

Are you just passing by?

Of course, that's the case.

Because Hachiman walked directly to the vending machine in front of the Horikita siblings and ordered a Max Coffee.

Then he took out his phone and opened the QR code for his student ID.

"Beep!"

"Thump!"

Accompanied by the sound of points being deducted and the sound of a can of Max Coffee rolling off the shelf.

Hachiman took the coffee.

He opened the can and took a sip.

It was low in sugar, tasting bitter, but it was very effective at waking him up.

"..." Manabu Horikita.

Manabu Horikita watched Hachiman's actions and pushed his glasses up again.

But his sister, standing behind him, spoke up. "Hachiman, did you really record words that were disadvantageous to my brother?"

Then, with a serious expression, she turned to Manabu Horikita.

"If my existence puts my brother at such great risk, then... I... perhaps... should choose to withdraw from school."

She hadn't even considered withdrawing when she was about to be hit, but now Suzune Horikita was casually mentioning dropping out.

"..." X2

Manabu Horikita and Hachiman wore the same expression at that moment.

This indicated that the Horikita sister wanted to protect her brother.

Well, aren't you two just the best.

This also showed that the relationship between the siblings was quite good.

Hachiman glanced back at Student Council President Horikita, who maintained a cold expression.

But Hachiman felt that inside, he was probably screaming like a groundhog.

Because even though his sister had chosen to withdraw, could she really say such a thing so casually?

Moreover.

She probably completely misunderstood Manabu Horikita's intentions in treating her that way.

Suzune Horikita completely failed to understand her brother's difficult intentions.

Setting aside whether Suzune Horikita would withdraw or not, if she withdrew immediately, Hachiman's mission to gather information about her and create a profile for Chabashira-sensei would also be a bust.

The points gained would be -200,000.

It seemed like a loss.

Furthermore, now that he knew this school operated on meritocracy, there was no need to offend Manabu Horikita, a student in third-year Class A and the Student Council President.

Especially since Hachiman had noticed at the opening ceremony that the student council presided over the event, with no teachers or the principal in attendance.

Therefore, the student council's power here was likely completely different from that of a student council in an ordinary high school outside the school.

So, there was even less reason to offend such a powerful figure.

And this Horikita brother was probably quite troubled.

Because he had a sister with very little emotional intelligence.

From this perspective, his brother was very fortunate, as Komachi had extremely high emotional intelligence.

Thus.

"I didn't record anything just now," Hachiman said. "If news of the Student Council President hitting his sister were to break, it could have a negative impact on the Student Council President."

"And to avoid the exposure of such a scandal, the Student Council President would naturally demand my silence."

"Just like just now."

"But I really didn't record it," Hachiman said. "Because I don't think I could have captured any valuable information, nor would I have taken any valuable photos."

"..." Manabu Horikita pushed his glasses up again.

His gaze was cold and sharp. "Do you think I wouldn't have hit her?"

This question implied that if a photo of the Student Council President hitting his sister were taken, it could cause a sensation.

But if he didn't hit her, then it would be a rumor.

And he might be disciplined.

In other words, the chances of getting the money safely were slim.

Instead, it invited a pile of trouble.

So, only by capturing the fait accompli would it become a bargaining chip.

Thus.

"Yeah, you wouldn't hit me." Hachiman said. "Since you knew you wouldn't keep hitting me, then... why take a picture?"

"..." ??

Listening to Hachiman's words, Suzune Horikita seemed somewhat moved, because she had just assumed she would definitely get slapped.

Did her brother not actually mean that?

"You're quite interesting." Manabu Horikita pushed his glasses up again. "Hachiman Hikigaya, First-year Class D. You have a variety of dark histories from childhood to the present, the most notable of which is being alone. In other words, you have no friends. You've even been suspected of having some autistic tendencies. However, you can't judge everything from the files alone. Hachiman, you're a very sharp observer."

"..."? Hachiman then looked at the Student Council President.

"As Student Council President, I have more authority than you can imagine,"

Manabu Horikita said. "This includes the authority to expel students."

Oh.

So you're terrifying.

Expelling students if you want to expel them.

But this also means that it was the right choice not to threaten you just now.

However, about those files you mentioned... do they refer to files that all students have?

And can homeroom teachers also view these files?