Hachiman's Meritocracy Classroom

This was something even his sister, Komachi, had never done.

And this is what a girl's body temperature feels like?

However.

Hachiman nodded.

"If you want to come," Hachiman said.

He didn't believe Kushida had any feelings for him beyond friendship. In fact, they weren't even friends yet, so he couldn't imagine she'd have such a close liking for him.

Perhaps her actions were a result of him mentioning the school and teachers being under a gag order just now.

In other words.

She wanted to get information from him.

Kushida... you're a bit too pragmatic.

Even as he thought this.

"Could you let go of my hand now?" Hachiman said.

"..." Kushida.

"Mhm."

Kushida's expression seemed to freeze for a moment, then she lightly touched the ends of her not-so-long hair.

She seemed a little embarrassed, but she quickly followed Hachiman once he started walking.

Perhaps she was surprised by his bluntness.

After all, she was so cute, yet he acted so heartless.

This much was certain.

Hachiman didn't believe in absolute goodwill, nor did he believe in romantic interest from the opposite sex.

Girls were creatures easily misunderstood. When they showed kindness, it was easy to mistake that kindness as being directed solely at oneself.

And if one became smug or overconfident because of it, it would quickly lead to a bad breakup, hurting both parties.

He detested this.

Because... the source of this realization... was him.

And so, they walked towards the school building together.

Kushida walked quite close to him, their shoulders about 20 centimeters apart.

"Hachiman, have you ever been hurt by a girl before?" Kushida suddenly asked.

"Huh?" The impact of this question was immense.

Hachiman stopped in his tracks.

"It feels like you don't really let anyone into your heart, Hachiman," Kushida said.

But is that what you want, to get into his heart?

"I had a bit of a black history," Hachiman said. "It was back in middle school. A girl in my class was exchanging numbers with other students using her phone, and I exchanged numbers with her. I misunderstood."

Misunderstood, huh.

So, he had a crush, a romantic black history, and that's why he's so distrustful of contact with the opposite sex?

"I see."

Kushida seemed to accept his answer, nodding gently. "But I think your way of thinking is a bit different from other students."

"And this way of thinking seems more mature."

"I think girls would like that. At least, I do."

Is that so?

Hachiman was just used to being alone, immersing himself in his own world, and complaining.

He didn't think it was mature at all.

Wait a minute.

Hachiman realized.

Because.

Are you trying to charm him?

Hachiman noticed that when Kushida spoke to him just now, the 20-centimeter distance between their shoulders had shrunk to 10 centimeters.

A faint, feminine scent wafted over.

And when he turned to look at her, she tilted her head up slightly, showing a cute expression.

"..." Hachiman.

Don't waver, Hachiman. Kushida definitely doesn't have any more than classmate-level feelings for you.

She was only trying to achieve her goal of becoming friends with everyone.

And she also just wanted to understand this peculiar school, and she wanted to borrow your strength.

So… don't, don't waver.

"The school building is just ahead," Kushida said.

Hmm.

Hachiman quickly calmed himself.

They were now on the first floor of the first-year building.

They had been busy with enrollment, attending the entrance ceremony, and then gathering in the classrooms in the morning, so they hadn't paid much attention.

But now, standing on the first floor, they noticed the setup: a bulletin board. Just like the school's promotional brochure they received before enrollment, the school's facilities were high-class, and even the bulletin board was a liquid crystal display.

Next to the bulletin board hung a small blackboard.

But the blackboard was blank.

The bulletin board only displayed a welcome message from the Student Council for the new students, with text stating that the opening ceremony would be held in the gymnasium at 10 AM.

Hachiman didn't stop and walked forward.

He arrived at the third-year building.

It was the weekend, and the upperclassmen seemed to have no classes.

On the first floor, they saw the same setup: a bulletin board and a small blackboard.

The content on the bulletin board was the same as on the first-year building's board, a welcome message for the new students.

However, Hachiman noticed that the small blackboard in the third-year building had some writing on it.

Several intriguing numbers were written there.

A 2530

B 1300

C 300

D 20

Hachiman took out his phone and took a picture.

Kushida didn't find the small blackboard strange and continued, "Should we go up to the school building?"

"No need. It's the weekend, and I don't know if the upperclassmen's classrooms are locked."

"Besides, if no one is there and we go in, it would be troublesome if something went missing," Hachiman said.

"Mhm," Kushida nodded.

So, the two headed to the second-year building.

Just as they had paused at the third-year building, Hachiman looked for differences in the setup at the second-year building compared to the first-year building.

The bulletin boards were all the same, but the second-year building also had a small blackboard.

The blackboard also had numbers on it.

Class A 2000

Class B 600

Class C 400

Class D 200

Unlike the numbers on the third-year building's blackboard, the numbers here looked much better, as if they had been organized.

Hachiman took out his phone, preparing to take a picture.

"You're first-year students, aren't you? Why are you here in the upperclassmen's area?"

However, at that moment, a voice called out.

The voice was somewhat authoritative.

And somewhat familiar.

Hachiman and Kushida quickly looked over and saw the Student Council President from the entrance ceremony, along with a girl with her hair in buns.

The Student Council President stood still, but the girl with purple buns ran towards them.

"That senior with the buns, her name seems to be Akane Tachibana. She introduced herself at the entrance ceremony," Hachiman said. "She's the secretary of the Student Council."

"Hachiman, your memory is truly amazing," Kushida said, then looked at him with a slightly admiring gaze.

"..."

Hachiman.

Please, Kushida, don't do that.

Hachiman already wanted to surrender.

But facing the upperclassman who walked over.

"We just arrived at the school and are getting familiar with the environment," Hachiman said. "We've already passed through the first-year area and the third-year area, and now we've come to the second-year area, but we haven't gone upstairs."

"I see," the upperclassman with a bun said.

Perhaps the act of new students exploring the school wasn't uncommon, so this upperclassman didn't make things difficult for them. Instead, she returned to the Student Council President.

She reported to the Student Council President.

"It seems they're just ordinary new students touring the school."

"That's quite normal in the outside world, arriving at a new place and getting familiar with the environment," the upperclassman reported to the Student Council President.

"That might not be the case," the Student Council President said, pushing up his glasses. "You didn't see it just now, but that guy took a picture with his phone. He was taking a picture of that small blackboard."

"In other words, he's discovered something about this school," the Student Council President said. "And that guy and the girl, they are students from First-year Class D."

"Huh?"

"Alright, we should go intervene at the Chess Club," the Student Council President said.

Yes.

They had discovered that a new student from Class A, First Year, had posted on the forum about widely challenging others to the Chess Tournament, acting very arrogantly.

However, the opponent's chess skills were formidable, and by playing chess, they had already amassed nearly a million points.

Furthermore, upon investigation, it turned out the opponent wasn't alone but had roped in nearly half of their classmates.

In other words, after arriving at the school and receiving preferential treatment, they chose not to go shopping or scout the school, but instead to extract points from the upperclassmen.

They understood the principle of "[Points can buy anything][So, collect as many points as possible to buy the information you need]."

This meant that Class A, First Year, was quite something this year.