"So, Hachiman, what kind of shock are you planning to show Class D? That even a trash class like D can rise up and overthrow those above it? But nothing like that has ever happened at this school before," Sakayanagi said.
"As for that." Hachiman seemed intent on keeping her in suspense. "I think you already know what the overall quality of my Class D students is like."
Hachiman took her phone and prepared to place it at the other end of the bench as well.
But he paused midway through the motion.
Still, he explained, "It's terrible, right? So under normal circumstances, next month's living expenses will be very low."
Oh.
Sakayanagi nodded. That was indeed true.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Sakayanagi Arisu finally noticed that something was wrong.
Because Hachiman had not only taken her phone, but her cane as well.
At the same time, his fingers were operating her phone.
"It's nothing major." Hachiman said. "I'm just sending Kamuro a message telling her to go eat first."
?
"..." Sakayanagi Arisu.
Uh.
Eh.
Ah.
"You don't have some other idea, do you?" Classmate Sakayanagi's smile seemed ready to disappear.
"Classmate Sakayanagi." Yet Hachiman showed no mercy. He displayed the message window.
[You worked hard today. It was my fault for making you sacrifice yourself to invite a boy, so I'm giving you some free time. You can rest now.]
[But please wait for me at the library at 13:10 this afternoon. There's a book I want to borrow.]
That was what Hachiman had typed.
But now...
That was truly cruel.
Because Sakayanagi Arisu clearly saw that after receiving the message, Kamuro replied.
Tch! If you already knew, then don't make me do such troublesome things!
Though it was only text on a screen, Kamuro's feelings could easily be imagined.
I'll wait at the library entrance at 13:10.
And that follow-up message seemed to show that Kamuro had not doubted for a second that Hachiman was using Sakayanagi's phone to message her.
So she had not realized it was not Sakayanagi herself.
And worst of all, Classmate Sakayanagi heard footsteps—but they were growing farther and farther away.
That meant Kamuro, who had been guarding the stairwell on the fifth floor like a puppy, had left.
Kamuro had been lured away.
"..." Sakayanagi.
"And Classmate Sakayanagi, you find school life rather boring, don't you?" Hachiman said. "So I've decided to give you a little stimulation."
A little stimulation?
She had thought this school was nothing special, without any waves or excitement.
But what he was giving her now was not stimulation. It was terror.
As clever as she was, she immediately understood Hachiman's plan.
He had taken her phone to lure Kamuro away.
Then he had taken her cane as well, leaving her unable to move.
This was the rooftop. It was spacious, and the air was nice.
But...
It was lunchtime, which meant the sun was out.
The place where she currently sat was shaded, but the other bench was bathed in sunlight.
Just looking at it made it seem... rather hot.
And if her frail body were thrown over there, she definitely would not be able to endure it.
So if she were left under the blazing sun... if she were left under the blazing sun...
As she thought that,
she found Hachiman standing before her.
Then he said,
"As you can see, Class D has been treated as a garbage dump, and the quality of Class D's students is difficult to measure."
Uh.
Difficult to measure... did that mean they had no bottom line? That they were shameless?
But.
"Classmate Hachiman..."
Sakayanagi Arisu stared at him.
She seemed to be trying to awaken his sympathy, his empathy.
But.
Hachiman reached out with both hands, placing one behind her back while the other slipped beneath her knees.
Thump.
Before she could react, Sakayanagi Arisu found herself lifted into someone's arms.
Then he carried her forward.
And the direction... was toward the bench in the sunlight.
Was he really going to carry her to that bench where the sun would shine directly on her?
Hey, hey, hey.
Were you really this deranged?
Hachiman!
The students of Class D were truly awful!
The School's True Nature: Meritocracy!
Hachiman came before Sakayanagi Arisu and sat down on the bench in the shaded area where she had just been sitting.
Sakayanagi Arisu was on his right.
There were twenty centimeters between them, a rather unfamiliar distance.
Yet even with that distance between them, he could still smell a pleasant, faint fragrance.
Though she was a little cutie, she had not forgotten to use a light perfume.
Of course, it might simply have been her natural scent.
Hachiman had no experience with girls. His only contact had been shaking hands with Kushida, and at the time he had thought that girls were soft and smelled nice.
So he had nearly started to think that all girls might smell good.
Hachiman turned to look at Sakayanagi Arisu, but Classmate Sakayanagi had closed her eyes, as if resting with her eyes shut. She appeared calm, though perhaps she was merely spacing out.
When he had just made it seem like he was going to carry her over to be roasted by the sun, she had immediately chosen to beg for mercy.
In truth, Hachiman had already been very kind.
After all, he had confiscated the guard she had arranged, then taken away her means of communication, and even removed her means of transportation.
That made her like a fish on a chopping block.
No matter what frightening thing he did, she would be unable to resist.
That was the real danger of such a situation.
But if he actually did anything, he would be expelled.
And naturally, Hachiman would not do that. He was not that kind of bad person.
He merely hoped that she would maintain a degree of caution toward other people.
Still, Classmate Sakayanagi proved fairly reliable.
She revealed some inside information she had learned in advance.
After enrolling, she had taken the promotional brochure and immediately felt that it was nonsense. Every student was directly given one hundred thousand points, with purchasing power equivalent to one hundred thousand yen in cash.
Was the school running a charity?
So she did the math and concluded that the school was hiding something.
Then she discovered the School Forum on her phone. When she saw that some clubs were offering point rewards for joining, she realized that upperclassmen had money.
So she shared her theory with some of her classmates.
Then they formed a group and started farming the upperclassmen.
They earned an enormous number of points and immediately began using them.
She paid two million points to have their homeroom teacher, Majima-sensei, explain the school's rules, as well as the truth and methods behind obtaining points, to the class.
But after learning that she had paid such an enormous amount, the students of Class A decided to share the cost.
So now, aside from Sakayanagi Arisu, every Class A student had at most fifty thousand points remaining.
In other words, the Class A students had properly made use of the rule their homeroom teacher had mentioned: [You have points. At this school, you can buy anything.]
But when put that way, it was rather terrifying.
Because not only had the Class A students learned the school's rules ahead of time, they had also displayed Class A's unity.
Because.
Just think about it. If someone similarly wanted to spend two million points to buy information from their homeroom teacher, what would happen in Class D?
The person who proposed paying the two million would probably have to pay it alone, while everyone else would say things like, "Ah, I don't have any money," or, "Points are so important. We should use them more carefully."
In other words, they would most likely start passing the buck.
And that was why, after Hachiman had gone after Chabashira-sensei and she hinted that he did not have enough points, he had not returned to the classroom to collect them.
Because he felt that if he opened his mouth, he would definitely end up carrying the debt himself.
That sort of thing was terrifying.
Still.
Hachiman took out his phone, opened the notes app, and began recording and organizing the information he had obtained from Sakayanagi Arisu.
Part of it overlapped with his expectations, but some of it filled in missing details.
Putting it all together, this was a true meritocracy academy.
The school's advertised 100% Advancement Rate and Employment Rate were both real.
Every year had four classes: A, B, C, and D.
But when the third years graduated, Classes B, C, and D would all be abandoned, and their graduates would be presented as graduates of some other high school.
In the end, only those who graduated from Third-year Class A received the treatment promised in the advertisements.
That was simply outrageous.
Before you continue