Although he didn't manage to get another girl to have lunch with him, after school let out and dinner ti approached, Hikigaya Hachiman successfully asked Horikita Suzune out. Of course, since he didn't have the younger Horikita's contact information, he sent the ssage through Kushida Kikyo.
This ti, however, Kushida did not follow along.
She had to distribute the "Old Questions" to the class.
Yes, despite her intense anxiety that morning, she had sought out Chabashira Sae after class. From the teacher, she received confirmation: the school had no intention of rewriting the exam papers just because of the third-year leak that morning. Even the Student Council remained unmoved, simply treating the scattered "Review Materials" as trash to be cleared away.
The exam questions had not leaked; therefore, the "Old Questions" in her possession were still valid. Thus, she requested the class to stay behind and distributed the materials to them.
Her explanation was: "I got these from a senpai—they're the papers from this ti last year. We can use them as review materials, because the senior said they only realized after the exam that the previous year used the sa paper."
It was a blatant hint—stating outright that the exam would be the old questions.
While this revelation was shocking, the discerning mbers of the class imdiately understood, given the unusual nature of the school. This exam was not just about avoiding expulsion; it was about their survival.
For over half a month, those who had saved points from the previous month had mostly run dry, forced to eat the free, unappetizing mountain vegetable sets. They had to think about next month's living expenses.
Under the montum provided by this small group of students, practically the entire Class D beca aware that the exam would very likely be this specific paper. If they could morize it, they wouldn't just avoid expulsion; they'd have a chance to earn the maximum 100-point evaluation reward!
Next month, they might actually have 10,000 points to spend!
However, everyone had to promise to morize the "Old Questions" in their entirety and agree never to leak them. This was the mont that determined whether they'd be stuck eating those awful mountain vegetable sets for another month. Thus, even the fragnted Class D, with its various cliques and small circles, actually began to coalesce at this mont.
But... doing such a thing right under the school's surveillance caras—even if they weren't deducting extra points this month—was perhaps a bit too blatant. Even if the class really used
the old questions and everyone scored well, would they truly receive the 100-point reward? One could only say it depended on the school's "mood."
Hikigaya had gathered the above information about Class D from a ssage sent by Ichinose. So students in Class D were on good terms with her and reported their class's movents in real-ti. Ichinose's social network was truly terrifying. Of course, it was also possible that the wiser mbers of Class D realized their class was beyond saving; if they couldn't graduate from Class A, they at least had to secure so living expenses for themselves. Everyone was struggling to survive.
Normally, the logical move would be to avoid distributing the exam papers directly. One could break the paper down into "practice problems" and give them to study groups to solve. But Kushida didn't do that. On one hand, Class D's mutual study groups existed in na only, so actual tutoring was difficult. On the other hand, doing it that way wouldn't force the students to morize the answers or ensure they felt indebted to "Kushida-san" for providing the questions.
'Kushida Kikyo... it seems she doesn't just like making friends and collecting secrets; her vanity is also quite strong' Hikigaya thought.
He chose a milk tea shop as the eting place with Horikita and arrived first. Holding a massive amount of points, Hikigaya was not stingy; he not only ordered a drink for Horikita Suzune but also several portions of exquisite tea cakes.
Horikita Suzune arrived shortly after.
"..."
Horikita was sowhat silent. A trace of confusion crossed her brow as her gaze fell on the table. There, four tempting cakes were lined up: a Blueberry Cube cake, a Rich Red Velvet cake, a Chocolate Cheese Mousse, and a Tiramisu Cupcake. Each one radiated an alluringly sweet aroma. Naturally, the prices were equally "beautiful." This set alone probably broke 10,000 points.
Far from being delighted, she felt a bit of pressure.
"No need to go Dutch," Hikigaya said imdiately. "I asked you out, so it's my treat."
Generally, when n and won go out, they split the bill—the AA system. This often continues even after they start dating—unless one is a "freeloader." Even when Hikigaya previously offered to give Kushida a cara, she politely declined because accepting such a gift ant having to return sothing of equal value. It was a matter of etiquette.
While Horikita Suzune's interpersonal skills were poor, she understood basic social graces. In this regard, she was quite like Yukinoshita. Hikigaya even recalled Yuigahama giving Yukinoshita a birthday present; Yukinoshita wanted to return the favor and proactively asked him out, but she had no experience picking gifts, considering clothes solely based on material and cost-performance.
But Yukinoshita wasn't here.
One had to say, as soone often called a "downgraded Yukinoshita," Horikita's re presence gave Hikigaya a strange sense of inner peace.
.
.
.
Since he had ordered quite a few cakes, they sampled them together.
Hachiman noticed that Horikita didn't seem to dislike sweets.
"Am I... strange?" Horikita noticed Hikigaya's gaze on her.
"No," Hikigaya shook his head.
He was thinking about how frugal she usually was.
He had more than once run into her at the shopping district supermarket, selecting the free survival supplies the school provided for students without points—items like radishes and green vegetables.
He hadn't expected her to look like an ordinary girl while tasting sweets.
'Does Yukinoshita have a side like this too?'
Yukinoshita's specific trait was her love for cats; she had zero resistance to anything cat-related. As for Horikita Suzune... her weakness was likely her brother.
That morning, Sakayanagi's maneuver had caused a panic.
Horikita had rushed to his class in a state of tension, but he had cald her down. He had essentially done her a favor. Thus, asking her out now was effortless. Furthermore, back on the 12th, he had already begun "guiding" her toward the difficult task of collecting 20 million points to leave Class D.
As the freshman with the most personal points, Hikigaya Hachiman had a lot of authority on the subject. 20 million points sounded impossible, but it wasn't unachievable.
"These are my points," Hikigaya said, pulling up his student ID information.
Horikita noted the numbers:
[Na: Hikigaya Hachiman]
[ID: ST1045666068]
[Class: 1-B]
[Gender: Male]
[Private Account Balance: 2,516,995 points]
It was indeed a terrifying figure.
"How do you think these points are obtained?" Hikigaya began testing her.
"I imagine so prepared classes might pool their students' points together to act as a class fund for the exams," Horikita deduced, trying to explain the source of the massive amount on his phone.
Even with a Class Evaluation of 1000, a full class only receives 1000*100*40 = 4,000,000 points total per month.
For him to have over 2.5 million in the second month of school, "class funds" was a logical conclusion. Class B was chasing Class A closely, so they likely had an awareness of point reserves.
"No, the class funds are with Ichinose," Hikigaya said.
"In last month's conduct exam, Class B scored a high 911. The Student Council rewarded both our class and Class A with a Secretary position. I sold that position to Class A for 2 million personal points to use as class funds."
"A Secretary position... can be sold?" Horikita's voice rose slightly in surprise. She looked incredulous.
She was quite eye-catching in this state. At that mont, a tall, handso blonde guy who was passing by suddenly stopped and walked into the shop. He ordered several cups of milk tea that girls typically liked.
Hikigaya's gaze swept over him. He recognized the blonde as Nagumo Miyabi, the antagonist from the original story, but he didn't point it out. He continued his conversation with Horikita.
"Yes. Class 1-A loves their status more than you can imagine. To seize an advantage, they were willing to buy the reward position my class earned, even at a premium."
"I see... so that's Class A," Horikita nodded.
"And regarding Class A's actions this morning, they achieved their goal," Hikigaya continued. "But regardless of intent, they've made an enemy of the third-years."
Horikita continued to nod, but her mind was no longer on Class A. Since it was confird the third-year exams were unaffected, she had nothing to worry about. Or rather, she thought back to his words: "Your brother is stronger than you imagine." What support could a "weakling" sister in Class D offer her powerful brother? If anything, according to Hikigaya, her brother had entrusted him to look after her.
She felt like a worthless sister living under his wing.
However, while she had spoken with Hikigaya on the 12th, she had finally made up her mind today. Leading Class D was impossible; she would choose the path of 20 million points to transfer, despite the obstacles.
And here was Hikigaya, already possessing over 2 million points—less than nine-tenths away from the goal. The progress bar was visible. Consultation with him was definitely the right move.
"About gathering 20 million points," Hikigaya continued, "The 2.5 million points I have aren't class funds. They were given to voluntarily by the students as a fee for leading the class. It's their recognition of ."
"But—" Horikita knew Hikigaya was teaching her how to get points, but his successful experience didn't seem to fit Class D.
When the truth about the school's points was first revealed for 200,000 points, Class D could only scrape together 50,000. And for this purchase of old questions, she had asked Kushida how much they cost, but Kushida said she couldn't collect points from the class yet. She said they'd only pay once the exam was confird to be the sa paper and everyone succeeded. Kushida told her not to worry about it and covered the entire expense herself.
The idea of getting hundreds of thousands or millions in "leadership fees" from Class D was a fantasy. This experience wasn't practical for her.
"What I'm saying is, points co from living expenses and special exam rewards. The legitimate way is to secure the benefits we deserve from the class. Leading as a representative is one part, but—"
"But..." Horikita felt a sense of sha, her voice trailing off. "Class D... can't do that."
Not only could they not do it, they had no evaluation points and no living expenses to give a representative.
"Pfft—"
At that mont, an unrestrained laugh ca from the booth behind them. It was Nagumo Miyabi. After ordering his milk teas to go, he had sat down not far from them.
Sensing their gazes, Nagumo-senpai raised his left hand.
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