The Last Days of First Year! 9k (End of Volume) (continued)

"..." Now, Hachiman and Matsushita have arrived at Kushida's old spot.

That is, at the railing.

But there's no one here right now.

It's a perfect time to talk about some private things.

Result.

This is what Matsushita's private information is about.

Um.

Over the past year, Hachiman has come here more than seventy times. Although he usually hears Kushida talking trash, there are also some of the students' secrets hidden in Kushida's trash talk, which makes him feel quite surprised.

It must be said in a secluded place.

As a result, it seems that this place has been somewhat wasted.

At that time, when Hachiman was tired of Kushida the railing and cursing, Hachiman asked her for information about Matsushita.

Kushida's reply was as follows.

"They're probably faking it, but I don't think it's a big deal."

Um.

This is Kushida's evaluation.

Now, he has come into contact with Matsushita's work.

But...

This information is really quite ordinary.

Or it could simply be the normal development of an ordinary girl from a wealthy and privileged family.

Matsushita, perhaps noticing Hachiman's expression, continued,

"My grades are very good, but being too outstanding is like a tree that stands out in the forest and gets blown down by the wind. Like Horikita, it's hard to make friends," said Chiaki Matsushita.

And that is correct.

Because humans are inherently flawed, and truly excellent people are relatively few, if you want to make some silly friends, you really can't afford to be too far removed from them.

Otherwise, it's easy to be envied or taken advantage of.

Therefore, Matsushita has been lenient in many areas.

It's about running.

"I played it all the time before, but I didn't play it during the running segment at the Sports Festival."

At the previous All-School Sports Festival, she replaced Horikita, who couldn't run, and ran the last leg. "After all, it was for the class, and when girls run against each other, no matter how fast they run, the students will ignore them, so it's no problem to show my strength."

"Of course, this is all your Hachiman Hikigaya. If you hadn't chosen me to be the last one, I wouldn't have put in all my effort."

Then.

Although she was in the final leg alongside the Student Council President, Miyabi Nagumo, and other top-performing players from other classes, she still managed to contribute points to her class.

They really went all out. They were contributing to the class.

Oh, I see.

"However, you can actually start working on your criteria for choosing a partner right now."

Hachiman said, "There are people in our class who meet your requirements."

"It can't be... you, can it?"

Chiaki instantly became a little wary.

Because Hachiman is very calm right now.

Furthermore, although everyone thought he was dating Horikita, lately there seemed to be a lot of speculation about his relationship with Ichinose.

Even Classmate Sakayanagi in Class A, had a great fondness for him.

If it's just charm, that's a bit too much, and he's not a succubus.

Therefore, Matsushita is feeling some pressure.

Could it be that Hachiman got the cute girl to contact him through improper means?

"Of course not," Hachiman said. "If you were exceptionally strong, or if you wanted to make a push for the future, I might be able to offer you a deal, but unfortunately, you don't meet my standards."

Forehead.

Does that make it sound like she's not strong enough?

"Um... I was just letting the ball slide before—" Matsushita said.

"But their level isn't particularly high either," Hachiman said. "You could say they're about the elite of Class A."

"The Commander Exam last month," Hachiman said. "You and Yukimura took the mental arithmetic exam together."

"Although I performed well, I was still overtaken by Katsuragi, and in the last 5 questions, I had no way to beat Katsuragi."

"And Katsuragi isn't exactly a genius, but he is an elite."

"So," Hachiman said. "Matsushita, although you've been hiding your true strength, that's only in terms of being from Class D. But in Class A, you're just averagely excellent."

Forehead.

Matsushita was speechless.

Because.

In the abacus mental arithmetic competition, Yukimura only got the first question, and then she began to turn the tide.

She tied with Katsuragi on the second question, and got the answers to the third and fourth questions.

However, starting with the terrifying and incomprehensible fifth question, it became something she couldn't be of any use anymore.

At that time, I actually felt a sense of frustration.

Now, Hachiman has brought it up again.

"I don't want to work hard anymore," Hachiman said. "I don't want to be in Class A anymore, but I hope to become a stay-at-home dad in the future, so I hope my other half can support me. Of course, I will also pay some of it. I will pay her the 20 million yen I would have spent to get into Class A."

"She has a smooth path to success, and I can do even better, can't I?" Hachiman without mincing words. "But Matsushita, I don't think that just because I've laid out a path for you, you can take off. Because you don't have the ambition to improve yourself."

"Ugh—" Matsushita thought Hachiman hadn't bothered with the riddles at all.

This is how the other party felt her future wouldn't be very promising.

But that should be the case.

Because of her privileged family background, she didn't consider pursuing further education; she felt that being adequate was enough. She genuinely didn't want to keep striving for higher goals.

"Okay, so who is it?" she continued. "The person you said fits my criteria for a partner."

The criteria for choosing a partner that she just mentioned are indeed her standards, so she is somewhat interested.

Because she herself hadn't even noticed that there were such people in her class.

"Rokusuke Koenji," Hachiman said.

But this made Matsushita jump up immediately. "Takao -Koenji- kun!"

"That's right. He's the only son of a big tycoon and is already a director himself. His parents are rich, so he has a lot of financial resources—and you've seen how strong they are."

"No, no, wait—my worldview is about to be crushed, let me come to my senses."

Chiaki quickly stopped him from continuing.

If it is true, then it is true.

But Rokusuke Koenji.

The whole class ignored it.

Because she was too arrogant and didn't like to pay attention to people, even a kind and angelic person like Kushida was rejected.

So the other girls didn't even give him a second glance.

But now, they're saying that Koenji is the one who fits her criteria for a partner, which makes Matsushita feel like she's about to vomit blood.

She refused to do that.

"Then think carefully about whether you want to continue just getting by," Hachiman said. "If you don't want to work hard and are content with the status quo, then your future will be with Kōenji or someone even less capable than Kōenji."

Damn it.

She refused to do that.

Then.

After Matsushita finished packing lunch for his friends and went back, his friends noticed that Matsushita unusually depressed that day.

Then I discovered that Matsushita had actually started studying seriously.

Because Asahina-senpai was mentally prepared, Hachiman received a transfer on his phone in the afternoon.

A transfer worth 7 million.

"..." Hachiman.

Asahina said that she had 6 million yen given to her by Nagumo, and now this 1 million yen, does it include the money she spent to buy a position in the Student Council?

Does this mean that you don't want to owe Nagumo a single penny and want to return everything?

Although he felt he didn't understand girls again, Hachiman still went to the chairman's office and exchanged the corresponding amount of cash.

This time, the school was entrusted to deliver the food to other organizations.

Since it wasn't his own money, Hachiman had Asahina-senpai witness the whole process.

"The matter is settled," Hachiman said.

"Perhaps we'll need to trouble you again in the future, junior," said Asahina-senpai.

However, the trouble that might arise later probably doesn't refer to exchanging cash, but rather that he might need to contribute in class competitions at school.

"If I can do it." Hachiman didn't rule out the possibility, or rather, although he offered Asahina advice, the benefits that followed might be shared by both of them.

First.

Asahina doesn't have the same ability to control the situation as Nagumo, and Kiriyama from Second Year Class B hasn't been expelled, so Asahina-senpai's class doesn't have much of an advantage.

As for the fact that Second-year Class A now has a 400-point advantage over Second Year Class B.

But.

400 points?

I'm afraid I'll be surpassed in just one exam.

What Hachiman meant wasn't that he wanted to help the other person with the exam, but rather... cooperation.

Choosing to be a member of the class and then graduating from Class A is too difficult, but it is still possible to raise 20 million on your own.

As Asahina is Nagumo's childhood friend, and Nagumo has been taming her for a whole year in her second year, Hachiman thinks that if they encounter a joint exam with upperclassmen in the upcoming semester, it is possible to get the cooperation of third-year students and thus gain points.

At that time, Asahina-senpai will be able to make money, and so will he.

This is a win-win situation.

Therefore, Hachiman prefers cooperation to helping others.

In this way.

After shattering Nagumo's last hope, Hachiman's vacation has begun.

Previously, he and Ichinose were the only ones working in the Student Council, so they were quite busy.

Now, thanks to Katsuragi's help, things have become much easier.

Moreover, since it's currently the holidays, students don't need to use the Student Council much, so basically only one or two people are needed to be on duty.

Today, Hachiman doesn't need to be on duty.

Only.