That phrasing had been very polite.
It was also the result of careful thought.
Sakayanagi Arisu was probably just playing around, while Hachiman had no intention of fooling around with her.
"Are you sure?" Sakayanagi said. "If you stay in Class D, you won't have much spending money next month."
Oh.
I see.
By the way, you sure knew a lot.
Both Chabashira-sensei and the Student Council President had tacitly agreed that students had to pay a price to learn the school's rules.
In other words, that was indeed how it worked. By provoking upperclassmen and bleeding them dry, Sakayanagi Arisu had obtained a huge number of points.
Through point transactions, she had grasped a complete set of the school's rules.
But that statement was also rather concerning.
What did she mean, he would not have much spending money next month?
Hachiman had thought the school wanted students of the same year to compete by class and improve themselves through exams and the like, but now... Sakayanagi Arisu's attitude seemed to suggest that... the exams had already begun.
"Perhaps that's true," Hachiman said. "And the class I'm in may have made the outcome even worse than you expected."
"Then why not come over?" Sakayanagi Arisu said. "The compensation I offered is already quite generous."
She seemed somewhat puzzled.
After all, Hachiman was not stupid, and he could understand what she was saying.
So why was he being so stubborn?
He had even stated his own wish before: he wanted someone to support him.
So little Sakayanagi had thought this might be a perfect match.
"Because your plan to hire a spy was just a whim," Hachiman said. "You don't actually have any interest in class competition or maintaining Class A's position, do you?"
"Hehe..."
That made Classmate Sakayanagi from Class A laugh.
She was quite cute, and her smile was bright and charming.
But—
"You're right," Sakayanagi said. "I really have no interest in class competition."
"Because it's so boring."
"I thought this school would give me a new experience, but after experiencing it for real, it was nothing special."
Nothing special...
What an arrogant thing to say.
Hachiman was sure of it now.
Although Sakayanagi Arisu looked frail, this girl's offensive power was remarkably high.
If he had to describe her, he could call her a Tyrannosaurus rex.
She had not grown up yet, though, so perhaps she was a little T. rex, or a juvenile T. rex.
"To be honest, I've never experienced school life before. I hoped I could encounter something interesting here, but it's so boring."
"So."
Sakayanagi Arisu said, "Hachiman, can you understand this feeling?"
Understand that feeling?
Of course... he could not.
What was so bad about this school? Tuition was waived, and if he did well, he could save up money before leaving.
For someone like him, who did not want to work hard, it could not have been better.
But Sakayanagi Arisu had started out with a huge number of points and still found it boring.
In other words, Sakayanagi Arisu really was some rich young lady.
She was completely unconcerned about money.
She had come here to play.
Damn rich little girl.
"Since you're so bored, do you want to experience the little shock of Class D?" Hachiman said. "In exchange, I want the information you know about this school."
"..."
"..." Sakayanagi Arisu.
Classmate Sakayanagi seemed to ponder it for a moment.
"How much do you know about this school?" she said.
"Basically, points come first. You can buy anything with points, including unknown information. The school isn't running a charity, so students' living expenses can't possibly be provided for free. Instead, students of the same year compete by class for resources. The initial class assignments weren't fair either. Class A has the highest-quality students, while Class D was probably treated like a dump," Hachiman said.
"..."
"..." Sakayanagi Arisu.
You already knew quite a lot, didn't you?
"Fine." Classmate Sakayanagi lightly moved her cherry-colored lips, like those of a cat, and revealed a sly yet polite smile. "Then let me experience the 'little shock' of Class D you speak of."
And then—
Sakayanagi Arisu experienced... despair.
The terrible students of Class D. Damn them. That bastard, Hachiman Hikigaya!
A plug for a big shot's book.
Synopsis:
To hide the dark history of being obsessed with death metal in middle school and becoming an ultimate delinquent-looking punk,
Kotobuki Hikaru buried everything from his past and abandoned his former self.
He even gave up the skill of playing guitar with his teeth and chose to work hard as a keyboardist instead.
To escape his dead memories, he left home and chose a high school in Shimokitazawa.
One day.
His older sister, Kotobuki Tsumugi, pointed at a recommendation on the homepage of a video website.
"Go make friends with this child."
A punk boy and a socially anxious girl met.
"Ah... if I can't make a living with my guitar, I'll become a shut-in living off my parents." Gotouitori.
"Ahhh, same here. If I can't get the band going, I'll be forced to go back and inherit the family business." Kotobuki Hikaru.
"?"
Sakayanagi Arisu: I Admit It! The Students of Class D Really Are the Worst!
Sakayanagi Arisu had never experienced school life before, so she had come to Advanced Nurturing High School with expectations.
But on her very first day after enrolling, she provoked upperclassmen, acquired the points in their possession, and then bought the true nature of the school from her homeroom teacher.
Then she discovered that she had been assigned to the best class.
She had even gained the support of some of the students in her class.
She had instantly reached the peak of her life.
As for the school's class competition, logically, all four classes would struggle against one another, making things lively. But Class A's students had strong fundamentals, and there were barely even any poor students among them.
So their overall stats were extremely high.
They were fully equipped.
Wouldn't the other classes just be a bunch of misfits? Even Class B was full of little lambs.
So how could she lose?
In other words, she had already seen the outcome at graduation the moment she enrolled.
So to her, this so-called school life was nothing special.
The greater her expectations for life at this school had been, the more disappointed she now felt.
But she had promised her father that she would not drop out halfway through, so she was currently stuck in a state of boredom.
And now.
First-year Class D, Hachiman, could he bring her some amusement?
"Fine."
Sakayanagi Arisu accepted Hachiman's bet.
As intelligent as she was, she had already understood that Hachiman seemed to want to obtain, for free, the information about this school that would otherwise cost two million points to buy from the homeroom teacher.
In other words, this boy was quite shameless. He wanted to freeload.
However.
According to Kushida, Hachiman had all kinds of dark history, yet his insight was extremely sharp. Moreover, he was not fake, but—
So Classmate Sakayanagi felt slightly expectant.
As she was thinking that, she noticed Hachiman walk up to her.
"To ensure honesty, could you hand over your phone first?" Hachiman said.
Oh.
He was worried that she might record him.
Indeed.
Although this school aimed to cultivate talent, it did not demand that its students be completely upright and righteous, so it also allowed certain underhanded methods.
That was part of the "worldliness" needed to adapt to society.
Classmate Sakayanagi had been very generous today, because she had not recorded anything.
Otherwise, the instant Hachiman showed even the slightest sign of agreeing to become her spy, she would have been the one freeloading off him.
With a recording of him betraying his class, she could simply refuse to give him any points.
But he had not fallen for it.
He had rejected her offer of support.
Thinking that—
Sakayanagi Arisu took out her white phone and placed it on the chair.
"You need to put down your phone too," Sakayanagi said.
"Fine." Hachiman nodded.
He also placed his phone at the other end of the bench. Then, as though still uneasy, he looked at Sakayanagi's phone.
"You're not recording or talking to someone, are you?"
Sakayanagi's phone screen was dark, but that did not guarantee she was not doing something else.
"No," Sakayanagi said.
She picked up her phone and unlocked it by pressing her left thumb against the fingerprint sensor.
It showed that no applications were running.
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