The timeline shifts back to the night of the KTV gathering.
"Sigh… Throwing water is one thing, but Calpis? That's just too much… What's with this weird smell?"
Stepping out of the private room, Hikigaya sniffed the strong milky scent clinging to his clothes and couldn't help but complain.
At the very least, if they were going to drench him, couldn't they have used MAX Coffee instead?
"Don't take it too hard," Matsushita said with a smile beside him. "That's just the kind of person Karuizawa is. She often throws tantrums for no reason. She even had conflicts with girls from other classes before because she cut in line on purpose."
She was probably referring to Class C—specifically, Manabe and her group, who used that as an excuse to bully Karuizawa.
Now that he thought about it, considering what had just happened, it was impressive that Matsushita could act as if nothing was wrong.
Hikigaya, on the other hand, was a little startled.
He had managed to stop Kushida in time, but he hadn't expected Matsushita to slip through the cracks.
That girl had calmly splashed juice all over Karuizawa's face and then even smiled cheerfully afterward, bidding her goodbye with a "See you tomorrow." Honestly, that was a little scary.
But… it was also kind of satisfying.
"Hikigaya-kun, why do you keep staring at me?" Matsushita curiously touched her own face.
"Is there something on my face? Where?"
"...I was just thinking that this might cause trouble later."
"Hmm? What kind of trouble?"
Seeing Hikigaya's helpless expression, Matsushita stopped playing dumb and chuckled. "If you're talking about Karuizawa, there's no need to worry. After all, she's… well, let's just say that's the kind of person she is. Since I already agreed to help Horikita-san, it's about time I got serious."
Huh? What did she mean by "getting serious"...?
Forget it. It was best not to delve too deeply into girl problems—not that he wanted to know anyway.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind them, and soon, someone forcefully squeezed between Hikigaya and Matsushita.
"Hachiman, I'll go with you."
Before Hikigaya could respond, Matsushita spoke first, pretending to be surprised. "Oh, my? Isn't this Kushida-san? What brings you here? I thought you were still singing karaoke with the others."
"With things turning out like that, who'd still be in the mood to sing?" Kushida snapped.
"True. It's my fault for ruining the mood."
"...Hmph."
Kushida shot Matsushita a sidelong glance. Of course, she knew that this woman wasn't feeling guilty—she was gloating.
"Hachiman, why did you stop me just now?!" Kushida complained, still upset. "That Karuizawa girl is out of her mind! It's one thing for her to protect Hirata, but now she's sticking her nose into everyone's business? Does she think she's the queen of the class?!"
"There's no need to argue with her. Besides… or is it just me?"
True, Karuizawa was naturally willful.
But Hikigaya couldn't shake off the feeling that something about this situation was off. There was no reason for her to step in like that.
Could it be ordered from the "Masterpiece"? But why?
No matter how much he thought about it, Hikigaya couldn't figure out Ayanokoji's intentions.
It wasn't just some petty grudge, was it?
"Tsk, what are you mumbling about?"
Kushida was still fuming.
"Hachiman, you're way too easygoing. If I were you, I would've slapped her on the spot!"
"That's a bit extreme…"
Hikigaya was about to retort when Kushida suddenly lowered her head.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asked, "Hey, Hachiman, that drink… was it good?"
"You mean the Calpis?"
"No! I mean the one from my cup!"
"Huh?"
Hikigaya froze.
To be honest, he hadn't given it much thought at the time. He had been too focused on stopping Kushida, and since the cup was nearly full, he assumed no one had drunk from it. He had taken a sip absentmindedly to cool his temper.
But now that she mentioned it, wait… What the hell?
Why did she have to bring it up?!
Wouldn't it have been better to just pretend nothing happened?!
"Hehehe, Hachiman, your face is turning red."
Kushida giggled and poked his cheek with her finger.
"Don't tell me you realized it was an indirect…" She smirked. "Wow, you're surprisingly pure, huh?"
"...You should look in a mirror before saying that." Hikigaya shot back without hesitation.
"W-What?! There's nothing wrong with me!"
"I'm telling you, go check the mirror…"
Matsushita watched the two bickering with an indifferent expression. They were so childish that she couldn't help but cough lightly to interrupt them.
"Ahem. Hachiman-kun, we've arrived at the laundromat."
"What do you mean, 'arrived'? It's across the street—" Kushida suddenly stopped mid-sentence and turned to glare at Matsushita. "Wait a minute. What did you just call him? Why are you calling him by his first name?!"
"And why shouldn't I?"
Matsushita casually stepped around Kushida and linked arms with Hikigaya.
"Hachiman-kun, is it okay if I call you that?"
"...Call me whatever you want."
Hikigaya nonchalantly pulled his arm back, but internally, he was exhausted.
Why did everyone insist on using first names like some kind of normie ritual?
Was this some new trend of playing the "good friend game"?
No way.
That was the one thing he would never imitate from Hayama.
"Ugh… Damn it! This is all Karuizawa's fault!"
Kushida ground her teeth in frustration but couldn't find a valid reason to object, so she directed her anger elsewhere.
"If that ugly woman hadn't dragged us to KTV—"
"Wait, you mean it wasn't Hirata or Horikita who decided on the location?" Hikigaya interrupted.
"Yeah." Kushida nodded. "At first, we were going to use Hirata's room, but Karuizawa threw a fit and insisted on meeting at KTV. She said she was exhausted from studying and wanted to take this chance to relax… Hah, what a selfish and annoying woman!"
"I see."
So that sense of discord wasn't just his imagination.
It wasn't strange for Karuizawa to want to go to KTV. But considering the attendees—Horikita, Yukimura, Ayanokoji, and Sudou—none of them were people she particularly liked.
If she just wanted to hang out with friends, she wouldn't have picked this group.
Something was off. Was this another one of the "Masterpiece's" tricks?
Even so, it probably wouldn't interfere with his plan.
At the laundromat, the staff assured them that the clothes would be ready by early morning, so they wouldn't be late for school. This was a relief, but the service was pricey, and they'd have to wake up half an hour earlier.
Thinking about that put Hikigaya in a sour mood.
Maybe he should just skip a class in the morning… No, better not.
"Oh, right, Hachiman-kun," Matsushita suddenly asked, "You're doing all this to force Ayanokoji-kun to go all out, right? But what if he catches on?"
Not just Horikita and Kushida—Matsushita was also in on the plan. Otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted Hikigaya's 'withdrawal' so easily.
"He won't. I'm betting he won't dare to." Hikigaya was confident. "And even if he sees through it, so what? It's not like I'll lose anything."
Although his reason for dropping out was indeed a lie, it wasn't entirely false.
In reality, Hikigaya's grandfather had fallen seriously ill a few years ago and passed away just a few weeks later.
At that time, his parents had returned to the countryside to take care of him, leaving Hikigaya and Komachi temporarily in the care of a neighboring aunt—though her role was more of a light supervision than anything else.
During that period, Hikigaya had been anxious. He rushed home every day after school to cook and constantly worried about whether Komachi would feel lonely.
Now, he was merely replicating that past state of mind.
If anything, with his ever-growing sister complex, it felt even more real than before.
As the three of them arrived at the entrance of the shopping center, they happened to run into Horikita.
However, she wasn't alone—beside her were two drunken adults.
"Horikita-chan~, don't you think Sae-chan is so mean? She's always so harsh on me!"
"Hoshinomiya-sensei... you're drunk."
Horikita sighed and pressed her fingers against her forehead, clearly exasperated by the clingy, intoxicated woman before her.
She had originally planned to wait at the exit for Hikigaya and the others to head back together, but unexpectedly, she had run into Chabashira-sensei and her best friend here.
The two of them had apparently just finished drinking and were planning to move to another bar when they somehow latched onto her.
"Chabashira-sensei, please say something to her."
"Sigh... Chie, that's enough. Stop bothering my student already."
Chabashira-sensei had also had a fair amount to drink, but she was handling it far better than Hoshinomiya-sensei.
Still, Horikita couldn't shake the feeling that Hoshinomiya-sensei was deliberately acting drunk... Could it be that, like Kushida, she had bottled up too much stress?
Thinking back, this teacher always wore a cheerful smile no matter who she was dealing with. Maybe there was some truth to that.
"What's this?! What's this?! Why are both Sae-chan and Horikita-chan so cold to me?!"
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Hoshinomiya-sensei angrily pointed at the two of them.
"Oh! I got it! Horikita-chan is Sae-chan's daughter, isn't she? No wonder you two look a bit alike! So you're mother and daughter!"
"Hoshinomiya!" Chabashira-sensei's forehead twitched with visible veins. "Say one more word and I swear I'll tear your mouth apart."
"Hmph, I'm not scared of you, you single mother—hmm? Oh! Isn't that Hiki-penguin-kun!"
Hoshinomiya-sensei suddenly pointed at Hikigaya and the others, who had been trying to sneak away unnoticed. She then lunged straight at them.
"Hiki-penguin-kun! Out on a date with a girl this late at night? Careful, or I might just tell Ichinose~!"
"Oi, what's up with this teacher?"
Hikigaya had already anticipated this, which was exactly why he didn't want to get involved... And at the very least, could she bother getting his name right?
"Chie, enough already."
Even Chabashira-sensei had had enough. Like picking up a stray kitten, she grabbed Hoshinomiya-sensei by the collar and dragged her away.
"Hikigaya's right hand hasn't fully healed yet. He can't even take the exam properly this time, so don't go causing him any more harm."
"What harm?! I'm the school nurse, you know! How could I possibly do such a thing?"
Hoshinomiya-sensei protested loudly, but then she suddenly smiled, and the drunken haze on her face disappeared in an instant.
"But… unable to take the exam properly? Heh, Sae-chan, it sounds like you're implying something."
"That's just your own misunderstanding. Enough, let's go."
Chabashira-sensei remained expressionless as she forcibly dragged Hoshinomiya away.
"Oh, and you guys should head back soon, too. It's late—don't loiter around outside."
She reprimanded the students, but her gaze suddenly flicked toward Hikigaya.
"And remember, any form of cheating during the exam is strictly forbidden. Even if you have unrelated test materials on you, depending on the situation, you might still be suspected of cheating. Your exam results could be invalidated. I've already had a student ask me about this, so you'd better keep it in mind."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
Horikita wanted to ask more, but Chabashira didn't bother answering and left with Hoshinomiya without looking back.
However, Hikigaya had picked up on something.
Normally, Chabashira-sensei wouldn't specifically mention cheating, let alone say that a student had consulted her about it. …Wait, seriously?
"Hikigaya-kun." Horikita noticed his expression and asked, "Did something come to mind? Was Chabashira-sensei hinting at something?"
"…Forget about it."
Hikigaya shook his head slightly.
"I'm not entirely sure yet. But even if I was, it wouldn't be anything too serious—I can guarantee that much."
"…I see. Understood."
Horikita seemed to accept Hikigaya's judgment.
In truth, Hikigaya was fairly confident in his guess. Because in his mind, Ayanokoji was exactly the kind of guy who would pull something like this.
That bastard was probably planning to frame him for cheating to get his results invalidated.
That's why Chabashira-sensei emphasized "cheating suspicion"—that way, the punishment would be limited, and he wouldn't get expelled.
And with that in mind, the strange incident at the karaoke place suddenly made perfect sense.
Ayanokoji must have predicted how things would unfold. First, he had Karuizawa spill a drink on Hikigaya. Then, whether it was Hirata, Matsushita, or someone else, there was bound to be someone who'd show concern for Hikigaya's coat. Once they confirmed he didn't have a spare, the next step would be to use it against him.
He wrote the perfect script, and everyone unknowingly followed his arrangements.
Hmm… yeah, this is a bit of a hassle.
But to Hikigaya, it was only "a bit" of a hassle.
Even if Chabashira hadn't given him this heads-up, even if he had gone into the exam completely unaware, Ayanokoji's so-called "masterpiece" wouldn't have succeeded.
The reason was simple.
Hikigaya was only pretending to want to drop out—he fully intended to take the exam properly.
And once he was seen answering questions in the exam hall, Ayanokoji would immediately realize the truth.
That's why Hikigaya had no plans to show up at the exam that day.
It's not like Ayanokoji could just accuse him of cheating out of thin air, right?
"Hey, Horikita."
Kushida narrowed her eyes at her. "It's late. Who are you waiting for? Ah, could it be Sudo-kun?"
"No. I'm waiting for you."
Horikita couldn't be bothered to engage with the provocation. She brushed her hair aside and looked at Hikigaya.
"Now that everything's settled, let's head back. It's getting pretty cold at night."
"Yeah, and it's also sti—hmm?"
Just as Hikigaya was about to respond, his phone suddenly chimed.
He checked the screen—it was a message from Kiriyuin-senpai, containing a set of problems.
Finally, it was here.
For this exam, besides Horikita's help, Hikigaya had also enlisted Kiriyuin to create some test questions. The deal was 500,000 points for 100 difficult problems.
However, since Kiriyuin's schedule was unpredictable and she was often hard to reach, Hikigaya had simply told her to message him once she was done.
Horikita would handle the final review anyway.
"Hachiman-kun, what is it?" Matsushita asked curiously.
Hearing her, Horikita's brow twitched slightly, but she said nothing.
"It's about the test questions." Hikigaya didn't hide it and forwarded the message to Horikita. "I asked another upperclassman for help. Check it when you get it, and if you're unsure, feel free to make any edits."
"Another upperclassman? Not my brother?"
"No, not him."
Hikigaya didn't want to mention Kiriyuin, mainly because it'd be a pain to explain.
But Kushida, as if equipped with some weird radar, immediately guessed it. "The upperclassman you're talking about… could it be that gorgeous silver-haired senpai I saw before? I remember you calling her Kiriyuin."
…She actually remembered that?
Just as Hikigaya was about to deny it, Matsushita added, "Oh, I know Kiriyuin-senpai! She's not only beautiful, but she's also among the top in both academics and athletics in the second year. There's even a rumor that she might surpass Nagumo-senpai."
Why do these people always know such unnecessary things?
"Hachiman-kun, you're amazing." Matsushita gave him a forced smile. "To think you know such an outstanding senpai. Could you introduce me next time?"
"…No. It's not her."
Hikigaya was determined to deny it to the end. No matter who asked, he wouldn't admit it.
"A-Anyway, it's already late. Let's go home."
Ignoring the piercing gazes behind him, he quickly walked away.
Despite the little hiccups, things had gone pretty smoothly overall.
With the strongest minds from both second and third years assisting him, even if Sakayanagi herself could keep up, her subordinates certainly couldn't.
This Paper Shuffle had already been scripted.
[Under the leadership of Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, who scored a perfect eight-subject score, Year 1 Class D defied the odds, achieved a stunning comeback, and secured victory against the former Class A.]