Third floor cafeteria.
When Hikigaya arrived, Sakayanagi Arisu was already there. She was sitting in the sa private booth where he had first encountered her. However, unlike last ti, this wasn't an accidental intrusion; Sakayanagi had proactively invited him.
Though, the actual "invitation" consisted of Kamuro dragging him there by the arm without the slightest hesitation.
'Seriously, how is this girl so strong? Does she get a workout just from running errands for Sakayanagi?'
Hikigaya found his inner thoughts becoming increasingly active, which only made Kamuro's expression grow more pointedly sour, as if she could actually hear him.
But such a thing shouldn't be possible.
After all, in the Classroom of the Elite novels, Kamuro Masumi was just a side character who ended up being expelled in the third sester of the second year.
"...I brought him," Kamuro said in a stiff tone, then stood by the door looking sowhat dazed.
"You seem to have undergone quite a serious psychological journey," Sakayanagi Arisu remarked, noting Kamuro's state.
Initially, Sakayanagi had suspected Kamuro was daydreaming when she claid to hear voices, but once she started hearing Hikigaya's inner monologue herself, she realized both she and Kamuro had been chosen by the supernatural.
That would make her the one and only "True Heroine."
"..."
Though she didn't know why there were two "heroines" instead of one, looking at Kamuro's defeated expression, she guessed Kamuro must have heard sothing from Hikigaya that made her question her life choices.
It was rare to see Kamuro looking so frustrated.
However, she couldn't exactly tell Hikigaya to his face that they could hear his thoughts; she would have to question Kamuro later. For now, she had specifically cleared her lunch schedule for him.
"It seems it wasn't easy to get you to join ," Sakayanagi said, turning her gaze toward the dead-fish-eyed boy Kamuro had forced into the room.
To be fair, Hikigaya was quite tall, neither too thin nor too fat, and his facial features were decent. But those dead-fish eyes always felt like a major flaw.
In summary: Hikigaya Hachiman was intelligent and possessed sharp insight, but it was a pity his looks didn't quite suit her taste.
Then again, Sakayanagi Arisu viewed him as a "rival," not a romantic interest.
"I feel like you're thinking sothing very rude right now," Hikigaya said imdiately.
"Hehe—" Sakayanagi chuckled.
Now that Hikigaya was in the booth—less than five ters away—she was surprised his inner monologue hadn't started yet. Had he really not thought about her at all during the ti they spent apart, even when she was deliberately avoiding him?
She had expected him to share that sa sense of "destined rivalry" that she felt. Feeling a bit miffed at the thought, she pouted slightly.
Hikigaya noticed she seed displeased.
'Why is she unhappy? Does she want to imdiately praise her recent sche?'
Hikigaya didn't understand girls well, but he felt Sakayanagi's awkwardness was on par with Yukinoshita's. Perhaps there was sothing he had missed.
Oh. He noticed it.
On the table lay a black beret. Sakayanagi must have been wearing it before entering the booth.
Unlike the conduct exams in the first month, she had been wearing the beret almost constantly during this month's free period. He suddenly recalled the mont she smiled at him in the elevator before her raid on the Student Council.
His thoughts suddenly sparked to life.
'That's right, Sakayanagi Arisu's head was made for a beret. It fits her perfectly, almost enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
Though, co to think of it, Yukinoshita's head is also quite flat; a beret would probably suit her too. Hmm... I think a blue one would work.
It's just that Yukinoshita is always so cold, confident, and proud—and she's quite sharp-tongued toward .'
"...?"
'Who is Yukinoshita? There shouldn't be a girl by that na in the first year.'
Sakayanagi confird she could still hear his thoughts. She naturally accepted the praise, knowing she was indeed adorable. However, since she wasn't wearing the hat now, he must be reminiscing about their chance encounter in the elevator. The doors had closed quickly then; she hadn't been sure if he had seen her expression.
It seed he rembered it. But while he was talking about her, he was thinking of another girl. So, who was this "Yukinoshita"? If a person's inner monologue represented their true feelings, did that an Hikigaya-kun had already given his heart to this classmate?
"Sakayanagi?" Hikigaya noticed her dazing off.
"...Please, go ahead," Sakayanagi said, snapping back. "Do you have nothing to say about what happened this morning?"
'Nothing to say? So we're skipping the small talk and going straight for the reward?'
"If you intend to use this written exam as our battlefield, my answer remains the sa: I'm aiming for every student in the school to receive the 100-point reward.
As for your actions this morning—" Hikigaya paused.
Sakayanagi leaned in. She truly wanted to know his evaluation. Earlier this morning, President Horikita had already given his:
'"If you wanted my recognition, then regarding this incident, you have it. To skip two grades of logic and solve third-year questions in such a short ti—providing full solutions and steps—proves you have mastered the material and possess great talent.
I understand you want to secure the sa candidacy opportunity that Class 1-B holds.
But using the entire grade as your bargaining chip and causing such widespread panic is, in my view, biased. In this regard, you are inferior to Hikigaya Hachiman."'
That was the President's assessnt. Although she gained his recognition and secured the second candidacy slot (drawing level with Class B), she had received a "poor" rating for her thods.
Horikita Manabu was a stern man, but he was ultimately a "nice guy"—not stubborn, but always looking out for the vulnerable.
If she had actually leaked the exam instead of just the "Review Materials," it would have been a devastating blow to third-year Classes C and D. For the top classes, it was a competition of rit, but for C and D, the gap in evaluation points ant they had already lost the race to graduate as Class A. This month's 100-point "welfare" was their only chance to get an extra 10,000 points for food money.
To Horikita Manabu, Sakayanagi's thod was too violent.
However, Hikigaya knew that if the "Review Material Leak" had failed to coerce the President, Sakayanagi likely wouldn't have actually sabotaged the seniors' welfare.
There was no profit in doing so.
Now, it was Hikigaya's turn to judge.
"You're a genius," Hikigaya said. "In less than six days, you mastered the third-year physics curriculum and even accounted for previous versions. Sakayanagi, you are a genius at studying."
"..."
Six days. Sakayanagi almost wanted to applaud him in her mind.
'Can't you evaluate sothing else? Just studying? You should know that being good at studying is quite cheap in this school.'
"If the goal was simply to show you could master third-year material as a freshman, couldn't you have just shown the completed paper to the President directly?" Kamuro Masumi suddenly interjected from the doorway.
Clearly, Kamuro also felt that the "Review Material Leak" had caused unnecessary panic among the third-years and even made the first-years tremble. She felt Sakayanagi had gone too far. What annoyed her more was that when she t Hikigaya this morning, he had guessed Sakayanagi's plan imdiately.
Hikigaya shook his head.
"A student who is rely good at studying—even one who masters senior subjects—won't earn Horikita Manabu's recognition. Rember, the last person to enter the Student Council and beco Vice President was Nagumo Miyabi.
He earned recognition by leading Class B to Class A. Sakayanagi wants candidacy, which is a high-ranking privilege. Horikita Manabu places a lot of weight on that position.
Your Class 1-A is currently split into two factions; you can't even achieve unity. To Horikita Manabu, that's a derit. Furthermore, your class ranking is currently less than 50 evaluation points above mine. If you aren't careful, my class might overtake yours in this very exam.
With that level of 'strength,' how could you possibly catch Horikita Manabu's eye?
So, getting candidacy wasn't going to be easy," Hikigaya said.
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of the lie he had told Suzune. He had tricked her into aiming for 20,000,000 points, claiming her brother gave him the candidacy so easily just so he would look after her.
But look at Sakayanagi: she had to jump through hoops, launch a public attack, and dirty her reputation just to get it. Now, every class representative would be wary of her.
'Wait... did Horikita-senpai really just give the candidacy as a 'bribe' to look after his little sister?'
He pushed the thought aside to focus back on Kamuro's curiosity.
"So, Class A has many drawbacks, making it harder to gain the President's approval. You had to take a risk.
You had to show a portion of your power while holding the third-years hostage—all while maintaining the perfect balance. If you had leaked the actual exam today instead of the 'Review Materials' with detailed steps, you would have failed.
Specifically, you identified that the Student Council President is the type to compromise for the 'greater good.' Since the President himself is hard to attack, you attacked the students he needs to protect. He cares deeply about whether Classes 3-C and 3-D get their living expenses from this exam."
'Is that it?' Kamuro looked at Sakayanagi. If that was the case, Sakayanagi was basically bullying a President who cares for everyone.
That's just bullying an honest man!
"..." Sakayanagi Arisu kept her smile, but she pouted again internally. She felt it would have been better if Hikigaya had just stuck to calling her a "genius at studying."
"The Student Council President is not soone so easily bullied," Sakayanagi remarked.
'Is that so?'
Hikigaya felt he was quite an honest person. Manabu was powerful, but he placed too much importance on his peers—much like Class 1-B. In the original story, Class 1-B fell apart because of that, but with him here, things might be different. For example, as long as he kept Ichinose from falling in love, she wouldn't lose her head and ruin the class.
As for Sakayanagi... since she was a rival, maybe he could do the opposite. If he could get her to fall in love with him, she might lose her edge and hand Class A over on a silver platter.
Of course, that was a pretty scummy thought, and Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't the type of person to do sothing so underhanded.
"What are you thinking about?" Sakayanagi asked, seeing him lost in thought.
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