Even if Ayanokoji wanted to probe Hikigaya's true intentions, he found himself at a loss on where to start.
From a long time ago, Hikigaya had been extremely wary of him.
However, since they had rarely interacted, and Hikigaya had never done anything significant, Ayanokoji had simply kept his distance without worrying too much.
But now that they had become partners… such an attitude might have unpredictable consequences on the exam.
While thinking about this, Ayanokoji glanced over at Hikigaya.
At that moment, Hikigaya happened to turn his head as well—but rather than looking at Ayanokoji, he seemed to be focused on Kouenji, who was seated nearby.
After a brief hesitation, Hikigaya spoke up.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, Kouenji."
"What is it, Dead-Eyed Boy? Do you have something to say?" Kouenji responded without even turning around.
Hikigaya looked slightly annoyed… No, rather, he seemed frustrated about something else entirely.
Then, he said something that took Ayanokoji by surprise.
"This isn't what we agreed on, is it? Didn't I tell you that scoring around forty points would be enough?"
"Indeed, and I did score in the forties." Kouenji confidently replied. "Forty-nine points is still within the range of forty, no? Besides, controlling my score was more difficult than I anticipated. A slight deviation is only natural."
"Slight deviation, my ass… sigh."
Realizing that arguing with Kouenji would be pointless, Hikigaya gave up, merely stealing a glance at Ayanokoji before slumping face-down on his desk in frustration.
…So that's how it is.
Now, Ayanokoji understood. It seemed Hikigaya had no desire to partner up with anyone and had been aiming for a twentieth place in the class. To achieve that, he had enlisted Kouenji's help.
It was just that Kouenji had refused to cooperate—a hardly surprising outcome.
Even so, Ayanokoji couldn't shake a lingering sense of confusion.
It felt like there was something he was missing.
And more than that, Hikigaya's reaction puzzled him. It was just a matter of being assigned a partner—was there a need to be so dejected?
Or… was the problem with him?
Was Ayanokoji really that unpleasant to work with?
As he was questioning his existence, Chabashira-sensei, standing at the podium, spoke with an impressed expression.
"Judging by the results, it seems someone in the class figured out the true intent behind the quiz and shared it with everyone. Well done."
Understanding the intent wasn't difficult—the challenge lay in getting the entire class to cooperate.
Given Class D's track record, this was already a huge improvement.
"That concludes today's homeroom. You're free to use the remaining time as you see fit."
With that, Chabashira-sensei gathered her materials and prepared to leave the classroom. But just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.
"Oh, one more thing—Hikigaya, come see me. I have something to discuss with you."
…Huh? What's going on?
Ayanokoji's attention was instantly drawn to this.
It was rare for Hikigaya to be called out by Chabashira-sensei. Had he done something wrong?
That seemed hard to imagine.
Looking at Hikigaya's expression, there was no fear or anxiety—only a heavy gloom on his face.
Just from that, Ayanokoji could tell that Hikigaya was in a terrible mood.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't concern Ayanokoji, and he had no reason to pry. But since they were partners for this exam, he felt it might be worth investigating.
However, Hikigaya had already left with Chabashira-sensei. He'd have to ask someone else instead.
"Hey, Horikita."
Naturally, the first person Ayanokoji turned to was his desk neighbor.
"Has anything happened with Hikigaya lately? He seems kind of… off."
"Why are you asking me?" Horikita shot him a glance. "Besides, the answer is obvious, isn't it? He got paired with an unreliable partner, so he's feeling anxious about the upcoming exam."
"This isn't the time for jokes, you know?"
"I'm not joking."
"Uh…" Ayanokoji was at a loss for words.
After all, he had been playing the role of an unremarkable, slightly unreliable student. At this moment, he had no way to refute her statement.
Horikita frowned. "Besides, there's no need for you to worry about Hikigaya, is there? With his grades, there's no way he'll fail. And his hand injury should be almost healed by next month."
"You're not wrong."
Logically speaking, there was no need to be concerned.
But Ayanokoji still felt uneasy. It might be worth gathering some information—there was no harm in doing so.
With that in mind, he subtly turned his head toward Karuizawa, who was discussing study group plans with Hirata and the others.
He'd send her a message about it later.
"By the way, Ayanokoji-kun, you seem free right now."
Horikita suddenly made this remark… which was never a good sign.
"I'm not free at all." Ayanokoji quickly shook his head. "As an unreliable student, I'm extremely busy. I have to study hard just to reassure my partner."
Even though he deliberately used Horikita's own words against her, it didn't seem to have much effect.
She ignored him completely and continued, "To raise our class average, we tried holding study sessions last week. But the results weren't great. Aside from the number of weak students, another issue is that some people are too… too solitary and don't fit into the study group's atmosphere."
"Are you talking about yourself?" Ayanokoji asked with a straight face.
"Shut up and let me finish."
Horikita glared at him, and he immediately closed his mouth.
"The problem is that only three people can teach—me, Kushida, and Hirata. Well, there's also Yukimura. He has excellent grades and experience tutoring others, but he frequently clashes with people, especially girls. There have been a lot of complaints."
"So, you want him to contribute properly?"
"Exactly." Horikita nodded. "That's why I want you to take on this task—managing him and the other solitary students."
"Hold on, spare me from that." Ayanokoji firmly declined.
"I'm not asking you to teach anyone. Just serve as a bridge between them."
"That's the problem—I don't think I can communicate with them normally."
Seeing Ayanokoji's reluctance, Horikita decided to play her trump card.
"If I recall correctly, you were in the same group as Yukimura during the VIP exam, right? You two even worked out a strategy together… and used my name to report to Ichinose."
"Uh, that wasn't entirely my fault." Ayanokoji hesitated.
Using Horikita's name without permission… If it had succeeded, fine. But if it failed, it would be like dumping a bucket of filth over her head.
He hadn't expected Ichinose to see through it—that was his mistake.
He had underestimated her.
If Hikigaya hadn't run his mouth, Ichinose probably wouldn't have sent the betrayal message.
In a way, that guy was even more unpredictable than Kouenji.
"I'm not blaming you. I'm just asking you to help me like you did back then. It's just management, that's all. Please?"
Though she said "please," her tone had already shifted into a threat.
Under the weight of that pressure, Ayanokoji could only nod.
Sigh… There goes my chance to slack off.
At least he didn't have to worry about tutoring or making test questions.
And as for Hikigaya… he needed to keep an eye on him.
"Oh, right. Horikita, do your 'solitary students' include Hikigaya?"
It would be great if Hikigaya joined—then Ayanokoji could observe him.
"And since his grades are good, can you convince him to help with tutoring?"
"Ayanokoji-kun… do you realize how foolish that sounds?"
Horikita sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"Could you convince Kouenji to do that?"
"…Sorry, that was dumb of me," Ayanokoji admitted his mistake instantly.
Gaining Hikigaya's full cooperation would take a long time.
However, by then, Ayanokoji felt that he would finally be able to step away.
He could only hope that the peaceful life he longed for would arrive soon.
...
Class D's study sessions proceeded in an orderly manner, held almost every day except for weekends.
After all, students needed time to rest as well.
Sometimes, overexerting oneself only leads to diminishing returns, making it harder to concentrate.
On Saturday, Hikigaya had arranged to meet with Horikita to discuss exam questions.
If it had been his middle school self, he probably wouldn't have had the courage to invite a girl to his room. But after experiencing so much, it no longer felt like a big deal.
He even had the leisure to wonder if he should buy some snacks and drinks.
After all, it wasn't just Horikita coming over—there were other important guests as well.
"Maybe I should make a quick trip..."
Back when he was recuperating at home, many people had come to visit him, yet all he had to offer was barley tea.
Looking back, that had been rather impolite of him.
Taking this opportunity, it wouldn't hurt to stock up on some supplies.
With that thought in mind, Hikigaya quickly changed and stepped out of his room.
However, just as the elevator doors opened, an unexpected figure appeared before him.
"Good morning, Rotten-eyed Boy."
"...Morning."
He hadn't expected to run into Kouenji first thing in the morning—hopefully, his blood pressure wouldn't spike.
Hikigaya stepped inside as the elevator doors slowly closed, while Kouenji continued his usual eccentric display.
As always, he was bizarre, combing his hair while admiring himself in a small mirror, murmuring narcissistic remarks under his breath.
By now, though, Hikigaya had grown used to it.
Sometimes, Kouenji could even be surprisingly helpful.
"By the way, thanks a lot for last time."
"Hehe, no need to thank me," Kouenji replied with a slight smile. "I simply agreed to our deal and fulfilled my end of the bargain. Besides, Dead-eye Boy is quite generous, and the tasks he asks for aren't particularly troublesome. To me, you're an excellent business partner. I'm even thinking of calling you 'Rich Boy' from now on."
"Please don't."
That's right—what happened during the quiz was no accident.
The conversation between Hikigaya and Kouenji had merely been a performance, staged for the so-called "Masterpiece" to see.
First, he had Horikita tell Ayanokoji a little story, using it to predict his reaction.
As expected, that guy never changes. Just like before, he intentionally scored exactly fifty points. And Hikigaya, having paid Kouenji 100,000 private points in advance, ensured that Kouenji scored 49 points—just enough to push Ayanokoji down to 19th place.
At this point, everything was going exactly as planned.
Or rather, Hikigaya's scheme was already a success. No matter how much the "Masterpiece" struggled, he was now completely at his mercy.
"Dead-eye Boy, I assume the real show is about to begin? I hope you won't disappoint me."
"Ah, ah, look forward to it."
That was one of the reasons Kouenji agreed to help.
Beyond private points, he only took action when something piqued his interest. He was a rich kid who operated purely on personal whims.
Of course, he had likely already deduced that Hikigaya's target was Ayanokoji.
And it was all thanks to Ayanokoji's overwhelming performance at the sports festival.
Kouenji had taken an interest in that final relay race, curious to see just how much strength Ayanokoji had been concealing. If not for that, Hikigaya wouldn't have convinced him so easily.
"I have a date with a beautiful lady, so I'll be taking my leave. See you."
As soon as the elevator reached the ground floor, Kouenji disappeared like a gust of wind.
That guy was always so effortless… Money did make life easier.
Even though students at ANHS were cut off from the outside world, and it seemed like everyone shared the same environment, the reality was vastly different. The education one received from birth shaped them in ways most people could never catch up to.
Kouenji was proof of that.
And the same applied to Ayanokoji.
The very reason he was called the "Masterpiece" was that he had received the best education this country had to offer. The vast majority of people could never match his comprehensive abilities.
Both of them were unquestionably strong.
Even so, as a self-proclaimed weakling, Hikigaya had no intention of conceding defeat.
In fact, he could understand—at least in part—why Chairman Sakayanagi felt some sympathy for Ayanokoji. He could even admit that he wasn't capable of reaching such a mindset himself.
Maybe, in a way, he even admired it.
But that didn't change anything. The anger in Hikigaya's heart hadn't faded in the slightest.
He still held deep resentment toward those who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. And if he didn't find a way to vent, it wouldn't be good for his health.
As for what he needed to do? It was simple.
Since Ayanokoji preferred to stay in the shadows, avoiding the spotlight, always acting like he had everything under control—
Then Hikigaya would make sure he couldn't have his way.
As long as the "Masterpiece" remained in this school—
He would never know peace.