As December arrived, the first school day marked the beginning of the final exams.
That morning, Hikigaya deliberately woke up early to avoid the rush hour. He even skipped the elevator and quietly exited the dormitory through the emergency stairwell, arriving at school nearly an hour ahead of schedule.
Fortunately, he didn't run into any classmates along the way—not even many first-years. Otherwise, his plan might have been affected.
Not that failing would be a big deal… Hmm, no, I don't want to fail.
Instead of heading to the main classroom building, Hikigaya walked toward the secluded Special Teaching Block.
Unless required for a specific class, students rarely came here—especially not right before an exam.
Except in special cases.
For instance, due to his right hand not being fully healed, Hikigaya had applied to take the exam in the audiovisual room. There, he could use speech-to-text software to convert his answers into written text and make corrections on a computer if necessary.
Of course, this meant he had to be isolated from other students and take the test in a separate venue.
Advanced Nurturing High School was strict in many aspects, but it wasn't entirely inflexible. Students just had to discover and request such accommodations on their own—the school wouldn't proactively inform them.
It was the same in society: if you wanted benefits, you had to fight for them yourself.
With time to spare before the exam, Hikigaya sat on the stairs in a quiet corner, unwrapped an onigiri from the convenience store, and started eating.
Before long, the sound of footsteps echoed nearby.
"Huh? Hikigaya-kun, why are you here so early?"
"…Yukinoshita-sensei."
Looking at the familiar figure before him, Hikigaya had a bad feeling.
"…You're not my proctor, are you?"
"That's right~ It's your dear senpai." Haruno grinned as she leaned in and lowered her voice. "If you get stuck on a multiple-choice question, just give me a little signal. I'll hint at the answer with my eyes."
She even stuck out her tongue playfully… Is a grown woman doing this? That's just blatant weaponized cuteness.
More importantly, isn't that the kind of thing a teacher shouldn't be saying?
Hikigaya couldn't even be bothered to retort. He simply gave her an exasperated look. "No thanks. It's not like scoring higher would bring me any benefits, and I don't have to worry about passing."
"Heh, is that so?"
Haruno let out a soft chuckle and sat beside him. As always, her laughter carried an air of knowing too much.
"Hikigaya-kun… Are you really satisfied with this?"
"…Huh?"
"Oh? No denial, I see."
Closing her eyes, Haruno seemed to be lost in thought.
"I don't know exactly what's going on, but I can guess that your little scheme has something to do with that 'masterpiece' of yours, right? Did something happen between you two?"
"Nothing, just some trivial matters."
Even though Hikigaya tried to sound indifferent, he knew it was pointless.
"Sigh… You're still the same. Always bottling everything up. Just like Yukino-chan."
It seemed like a casual remark rather than an attempt to steer the conversation toward her sister.
Which was a relief.
"Anyway, back to the main topic—are you really satisfied with just this?"
"…What exactly do you mean?"
"I know you're doing this to relieve stress," Haruno mused, saying something unexpectedly cryptic. "But half-hearted measures like this won't work. The pressure will just keep building up. It's like telling yourself, 'Just one cookie won't hurt' while dieting—only to fall into a bottomless pit of indulgence. Wouldn't it be better to satisfy your cravings with a full-on feast instead?"
"…That depends on the person."
Despite his response, Hikigaya knew what she meant.
Even if his plan succeeded… so what?
Compared to what Ayanokoji had done, this wouldn't even count as punishment.
It wasn't nearly enough.
"…Haruno-san, is there another way? Besides expulsion?"
Hikigaya decided to be honest. He needed an expert in this field.
"Oh? You're ruling out expulsion?"
Haruno looked surprised but didn't pry further. Instead, she stroked her chin, deep in thought.
Then, suddenly, she raised her fist.
"In that case… just beat him up."
"…Hah."
Hikigaya started questioning whether he had asked the wrong person.
"I hate violence. And besides, I've never been in a fight—I doubt I'd even win."
"Violence isn't ideal, true. But sometimes, it's the only answer." Haruno smiled knowingly. "As for the whole 'winning' part… Did you know that even Mike Tyson had to hire bodyguards while he was in prison?"
…So she's suggesting a sneak attack? Or a gang fight?
Before Hikigaya could process that, the warning bell rang.
Haruno stood up first. "Alright, the exam is about to start. Let's head in."
"…Yeah."
For now, it's best not to dwell on those thoughts. Just focus on the exam.
The first subject was Japanese—Hikigaya's strongest subject. However, using voice input would undoubtedly lead to many typos. It felt even more troublesome than writing with his left hand.
After receiving the test paper, he quickly skimmed through the questions.
It was evident that Class C had put considerable effort into crafting this exam. This was most likely the result of Shiina and Kaneda's hard work.
For over a month, Hikigaya hadn't visited the library, nor had he contacted Shiina.
After all, it was exam season. He didn't want to bring even the slightest suspicion onto Shiina, and she was surely busy herself.
Besides preparing the exam questions, she also had to tutor the idiots in Class C—what a hassle for her.
Unfortunately, while the test paper was decent, it still fell short compared to Class D's.
There were noticeable signs of forced revisions by the school, likely overcorrected with excessive effort.
The key to this exam wasn't about making it difficult—it was about finding the right balance.
A difficulty level that the school would accept but would still challenge the students.
Both Horikita and Kiriyuin had experience in this, so Hikigaya was confident that Class D's test would be the hardest among the four first-year classes.
Based on his estimates, compared to the previous midterms, the class average would likely drop this time.
Although Chabashira-sensei deliberately set the passing score higher, no matter how you looked at it, 800 points were impossible. At best, it would be around 750.
Ayanokoji had probably noticed this as well, so he was unlikely to score a perfect 100 in all subjects.
Looks like the headline would have to change from "Ayanokoji's Perfect Score in Eight Subjects" to "Ayanokoji's Near-Perfect Score in Eight Subjects" … Not that it made much of a difference at first glance.
Even if it wasn't a perfect score, the result would still be absurdly high.
Considering the difficulty of this exam, there was no way someone who usually scored only 50 or 60 points—like Ayanokoji—could achieve such results.
Hopefully, he would have a good explanation when the time came.
The day after the exam, Hikigaya went to school as usual.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, all kinds of gazes shot toward him… Well, that was expected.
No matter how little presence he had, skipping the exam was bound to get him noticed.
"Oi, Hikipigu!" Yamauchi was the first to start yelling. "You didn't even show up for the exam, so why are you here now? You're getting expelled soon anyway, right?"
Hikigaya glanced at him and let out a small sigh.
"So what? You probably didn't even score 20 points, yet you still dare to come to school."
"D-Don't talk nonsense! Who—Who said I couldn't get 20 points!?"
His voice sounded… oddly unsure. Wait, could he not get 20 points?
Hikigaya had always known Yamauchi's grades were terrible, but if even a month of intense studying couldn't guarantee 20 points, his future was truly bleak.
"No matter what, I'm still better off than you—the guy who's about to be expelled! Ha, not only are you dropping out, but you're also dragging Ayanokoji down with you!"
Yamauchi was desperate to regain some dignity, refusing to let up.
Meanwhile, Ayanokoji himself remained eerily calm, silently observing the situation with an expressionless face.
It seemed like he had achieved the scores he needed.
"Yamauchi, you're seriously annoying."
Hikigaya was growing tired of the pointless back-and-forth and decided to shut him up.
"Also, why do I get the feeling that when you mentioned Ayanokoji dropping out, you sounded kind of… happy?"
"H-Huh?! You're talking nonsense—"
"Oh! I get it now!" Hikigaya deliberately interrupted him, feigning sudden realization. "You're relieved that there's one less person who knows about what you and Ike did, right? After all, the fewer people who know, the less likely it is to get exposed."
"Ah—"
Yamauchi froze, clearly never expecting Hikigaya to call him out so directly.
Honestly, how could someone be this stupid?
Even if Hikigaya wasn't directly involved in the matter, as a student council member, there was no way he wouldn't know the truth.
Still, thanks to Yamauchi's idiocy, the class's attention quickly shifted.
"Hey, Hikigaya's talking about that thing from summer break, right?"
"Yeah, there's nothing else it could be."
"So Yamauchi was part of it, huh?"
The murmurs spread rapidly throughout the class, with some even whispering, "Does that mean Ayanokoji was involved too?"
Hikigaya felt a bit guilty… No, Ayanokoji deserved it.
If anything, he should be thanking Hikigaya.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! I had nothing to do with the hidden camera incident!"
Yamauchi's face turned pale, then red—practically confessing on the spot.
Sigh. Someone this stupid was almost pitiful.
Hikigaya decided to ignore the clown and returned to his seat.
The moment he sat down, Matsushita leaned in and whispered, "As expected of Hachiman-kun, stirring up trouble the moment exams are over."
"Don't say it like that… Wait. What did you just call me?"
"Of course, Hachiman-kun. You told me to call you whatever I wanted, right?"
Matsushita spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world…
Wait. Was she going to call him that in front of the whole class from now on?
Hey, that wasn't funny.
But Hikigaya had no way to refute her—he had said she could.
The only consolation was that Matsushita wasn't as popular as Kushida.
That meant fewer guys would want to kill him… hopefully none at all.
Just then, Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom.
The room instantly fell silent.
After a month of studying, most of Class D felt fairly confident about their results—at the very least, they should pass.
Still, they were students. When it came time to announce the scores, tension was inevitable.
Especially since someone in the class was bound to be expelled.
Most students didn't know that Hikigaya was voluntarily dropping out. They only knew he hadn't taken the exam.
However, there was nothing unusual in Chabashira's demeanor.
To most, she was a cold, distant teacher who wouldn't care about students getting expelled.
But in reality, it was the opposite.
She was deeply invested in the class rankings, unable to let go of her past as a student. She had always been searching for an opportunity to turn things around.
And now that Ayanokoji had finally revealed his true abilities, she was probably struggling to suppress her excitement.
"Looks like you're all eager to know the results."
She said this seemingly pointless line, likely to calm herself down.
"But this time, there's no need to be too nervous. Or rather, you all performed exceptionally well. Not a single group failed, and even I was shocked by the outcome."
Relieved sighs and excited murmurs filled the room.
Then, confusion set in.
Why was there no one getting expelled?
As students exchanged puzzled glances, Chabashira posted the results on the blackboard.
The rankings were, as usual, from lowest to highest.
"…Eh?"
A brief silence followed before the classroom erupted.
The reason was obvious.
"E-Eight perfect scores… Is this real?"
"But Hikigaya didn't even take the exam, right?"
At the very bottom of the list were Hikigaya and Ayanokoji.
While Hikigaya's average score was around 90, what truly shocked everyone was Ayanokoji's.
Next to his name, eight perfect 100s lined up neatly.
This was beyond comprehension.
If it were an ordinary exam, it wouldn't be a big deal. But the difficulty of Paper Shuffle was already high— even the top students in the class, like Horikita, Yukimura, and Kouenji, only managed an average score of 96 at best.
Almost no one could understand how Ayanokoji had achieved such an absurd score.
This wasn't something that could be brushed off with a simple explanation.
Yet, the only one aware of the truth, Hikigaya, sensed a different kind of unease from Ayanokoji's actions.
Why did he score a perfect 100 on everything?
If it were just one or two subjects, it would still raise suspicion, but at least it would be easier to explain—far better than the situation now.
As it stood, it almost felt deliberate.
That guy… what exactly is he up to?