"—To be honest, I'm a little disappointed in you."
Hearing Hikigaya's words, Nagumo paused for a moment before breaking into a smile.
"Oh? Are you blaming me for betraying Horikita-senapi's trust? I suppose you have a point. That guy never agreed with my methods, but when I declared that I'd face him in a fair match, he still chose to believe me. After all, I've always been a man of my word. The longer we interacted, the more he came to trust me, even if only to a certain extent. That, ultimately, was his downfall."
The words were shameless, but Nagumo showed no trace of guilt as he continued his monologue.
"This school is just like that, you know? Trust is worthless. What matters is—"
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to interrupt you for a second."
Hikigaya really couldn't listen anymore. More than anything, it was just too much pointless chatter to be worth his time.
"Nagumo-senpai, I think you've misunderstood something. I already made my stance clear yesterday, didn't I? Since Horikita-senpai accepted your challenge, it was his responsibility to see through any tricks you might pull. If he got played, that just means he wasn't strong enough."
"But at the time, you thought I was targeting Ayanokoji, right?" Nagumo smirked. "In reality, I was aiming for Tachibana-senpai. You didn't think to give Horikita a little warning? At least so he'd be prepared?"
Tachibana Akane had always looked out for Hikigaya when she was still in the student council. Sometimes, she'd even throw jealous glances his way for reasons he couldn't quite understand. But overall, she had been a good senior.
Nagumo knew all of this, yet he still chose to ask… Hah. No need to get angry.
No need to get angry.
Hikigaya mentally reassured himself like a self-induced hypnosis before responding expressionlessly, "Is there even a need for that? Horikita-senpai is graduating in a few months anyway. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll probably never see each other again for the rest of our lives. I have no intention of making an enemy out of the current student council president over this."
"Haha, what a pragmatic way of thinking… But I like it."
Nagumo grinned, clearly pleased.
"But in that case, what exactly is it that disappointed you?"
"I'm talking about the results," Hikigaya slowly shook his head. "Nagumo-senpai, think carefully. Sure, your setup might have caught Horikita off guard, but looking at the outcome… it's pretty underwhelming, don't you think?"
"Underwhelming?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Horikita-senpai will undoubtedly step in to save Tachibana-senpai and prevent her from being expelled, right?"
"Of course. After all, the two of them share a deep friendship—or maybe even love?" Nagumo chuckled in agreement.
This guy is something… A textbook manipulator.
How terrifying.
"But that brings us to the real problem," Hikigaya continued. "The leader of Tachibana-senpai's group is Igari Momoko from Class 3-B. She agreed to self-destruct and drag Tachibana down with her, but I doubt she'd be willing to sacrifice herself for the class, don't you think?"
Nagumo nodded. "You're right. Class 3-B will also step in to save Igari. That means they'll need to pay another 20 million personal points. I'm sure you've already figured out where that money is coming from."
"No one other than you, Nagumo-senpai."
"Heh. If each of us in the second year contributes just under 200,000 points, we can gather the sum easily. Pretty cheap, if you ask me."
It was a massive amount of money, but Nagumo spoke as if it were pocket change.
Of course, it wasn't money he had worked hard to earn or save. Spending it carelessly didn't pain him in the slightest.
"I take it this entire exam was structured around that strategy?" Hikigaya asked.
"No, I only proposed the rules regarding rewards, leadership, and shared responsibility. The eight-day, seven-night special training itself was arranged by the school."
"So the exam content was practically irrelevant."
"That's not incorrect." Nagumo nodded with a smile.
"Which is exactly my point." Hikigaya sighed deliberately. "You went through all this trouble, but in the end, all you did was exchange your own 20 million for Horikita's 20 million. Don't you think that's… a bit excessive? You might as well have just handed the money directly to Class 3-B."
"No, my goal was simply to make Horikita take a fall."
"Is that so? Then congratulations… I guess."
Nagumo frowned slightly at Hikigaya's tone.
If someone accused him of being untrustworthy or underhanded, he'd merely smile and accept it.
But this?
This was outright mockery.
Not from a moral standpoint, but as a challenge to his capability.
And that was something Nagumo absolutely could not tolerate.
"In reality, that's just how it is," Hikigaya shrugged. "Even if Class A loses a significant amount of personal points, as long as the gap in class points remains the same, it won't matter much to Horikita. Or did you think that 20 million points would allow Class 3-B to catch up?"
The school constantly emphasized the importance of personal points, but in terms of actual exams, their influence was limited.
Not once had there been a situation where personal points could single-handedly overturn the outcome of a test.
"Nagumo-senpai, yesterday you confidently declared that you'd defeat Horikita. I had some expectations."
Hikigaya sighed deeply, his expression growing increasingly contemptuous.
"I thought you'd eliminate Ayanokoji as a potential obstacle, or perhaps completely knock Horikita-senpai down from his position in Class A. But in the end… this is it? No matter how impressive your words were, the trouble you caused Horikita amounts to barely anything. Honestly, it's laughable."
As he spoke, he even made a deliberately mocking gesture with his thumb and index finger.
"…Then what do you propose?"
Nagumo had always been the one looking down on others. He had never once been looked down upon himself.
At most, some bookish types might criticize him for being ruthless or unscrupulous, but he never paid them any mind.
But this?
This was different.
Hikigaya was mocking him for making a big fuss over nothing.
And for the first time, Nagumo found himself unable to refute it.
Because when he thought about it… there was something anticlimactic about it all.
And it was precisely because it was Hikigaya saying this that Nagumo was willing to listen.
Unlike Ichinose, who could be played with and discarded at will, Hikigaya was different. He had achieved significant success in his first year and had nothing to gain from Nagumo.
Ichinose was disposable.
But Hikigaya? He was a rare talent—one whose opinion even Nagumo had to respect.
"Simple," Hikigaya smirked. "Since you claim you want to defeat Horikita, why not go all the way? Don't just make him take a hit—make sure the former student council president cannot graduate as a member of Class A. That would be a true victory for the current president, wouldn't it?"
"I was aiming for that. But this exam alone isn't enough."
"Why not? Isn't the perfect opportunity right in front of you?"
Nagumo immediately understood what Hikigaya was implying.
Shaking his head with a laugh, he replied, "I see your point. I even tried persuading Ishikura, but he was just as naive as Horikita. He refused to abandon Igari, so I had to settle for giving Horikita a little 'surprise' instead."
Unknowingly, Nagumo had just let slip a critical piece of information.
So the 20 million points were in Ishikura's hands. Now, there was no doubt about it.
Hikigaya had originally planned to probe the situation himself, but now he could save himself the trouble.
"Did you seriously try to convince him?"
"That was—wait, no."
Nagumo suddenly realized something and gave Hikigaya a suspicious look.
"Hikigaya, something feels off. As far as I know, you and Horikita-senpai get along well, but why are you going against him now? Don't tell me… you're mad at him because he favors Ayanokoji?"
"As if. I'm not you, President Nagumo," Hikigaya said dryly. "I just think letting Class A graduate as Class A is way too boring."
"What do you mean?"
"This school investigates every student's past and sorts them before enrollment. Class A is full of elites, while Class D is just a bunch of rejects… Honestly, that really pisses me off."
"Haha, I get what you mean," Nagumo chuckled in agreement.
"Horikita-senpai was the same. He started in Class A and stayed in Class A until the end like it was all predetermined from the start."
Hikigaya spoke calmly, without any concern that Nagumo might suspect him—because this was his genuine belief.
"You are an unpredictable guy," Nagumo sighed, shaking his head. "But like I said, persuading Ishikura-senpai is impossible. He's not the type to break his promises easily."
"…Then let me try," Hikigaya said unexpectedly. "I'll convince Ishikura-senpai myself. I refuse to believe he'd sacrifice everyone's chance of graduating from Class A just for the sake of one classmate."
"Oh? You're taking matters into your own hands?" Nagumo's interest was piqued.
He had looked into Hikigaya's actions before, but only from secondhand sources—he had never seen them firsthand.
This might be a perfect opportunity.
"Are you going to stop me, President Nagumo?"
"Haha, not a chance," Nagumo laughed. "If anything, I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do. But I'll give you a heads-up— Ishikura-senpai and Igari-senpai have a close bond, one not unlike that of Horikita-senpai and Tachibana-senpai."
"Even so, Ishikura-senpai isn't Horikita-senpai. The pressure they bear isn't even comparable."
"Hmm, you've got a point there."
Horikita Manabu had always led from the front, while Ishikura had spent three years in his shadow, never able to surpass him.
Even someone as noble as Melos once wavered about betraying a friend—let alone a real person like Ishikura.
The human heart is not impervious to temptation.
"Well then, let me handle this. But before that, I'd like to ask for a small favor from you, Nagumo-senpai. Would that be alright?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"You already know about this—I had a little misunderstanding with Mikiya-senpai this morning," Hikigaya spoke indifferently. "But I still think my breakfast proposal was reasonable. I'd like you to talk to Mikiya-senpai and ask him not to hold a grudge against the first-years."
Nagumo nodded in satisfaction. "Now that's the right attitude. You should show more respect to your seniors. I'll smooth things over for you this time, but don't be rude next time."
"Understood."
Of course, what he called "smoothing things over" was just strong-arming Mikiya into agreeing.
But if Nagumo liked playing these little games, Hikigaya had no problem letting him.
He had more important things to focus on right now.
Now, all that was left was to wait for tomorrow.
"Hey, Hikigaya, just how the hell did you pull this off?"
At five in the morning, the group members were already up and preparing breakfast—yet none of them complained.
Other groups had woken up at four, and their members were all yawning nonstop.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya's group had not only first-years but also several third-years, including Ishikura, who were helping instruct the students on plating and other simple tasks.
"How did you convince the second-years?" Kanzaki whispered. "Honestly, when you told me yesterday, I thought you were just bluffing. You're a terrifying guy… in every sense."
Thanks to Nagumo's mediation, Hikigaya's group had finally reached a compromise.
The third-years had split into two teams—each taking turns preparing breakfast with the first-years and second-years for three days, right up until the exam.
Come to think of it, Nagumo was impressive.
Even though he wasn't in their group, he effortlessly made Mikiya submit.
Even the third-years couldn't strong-arm him.
I'll make good use of this opportunity in the future.
"It's nothing, I was just reasoning with them," Hikigaya replied casually.
"There's no way... Never mind."
Naturally, Kanzaki didn't believe him. But he also knew that pressing further wouldn't get him anywhere, so he had to let it go for now.
However, after this incident, he became even more wary of Hikigaya's abilities.
This guy defied common sense.
It wasn't that Kanzaki had anything against Hikigaya, but considering that Hikigaya had the ability to shake up Class A, it was necessary to prepare in advance.
For example, if one day they became enemies, what should he do then?
Class A couldn't afford to see him as just a friend.
As for Hikigaya, he had no idea what Kanzaki was thinking—or even if he did, he wouldn't care.
Right now, he had more important matters to deal with.
"Ishikura-senpai, could I have a word with you?"