"I want Gokyou and Tonegawa to drop out with me!"
Tokito's declaration sent a wave of commotion through the second-year students.
They should have been used to expulsions by now—after all, seventeen students had already left. But most of those were from Class C and Class D.
Especially after Nagumo led his class to Class A, such a situation had never occurred within his own ranks.
"Some of you, please remain quiet. While this is regrettable, Tokito must take responsibility for his group and accept expulsion. He may also apply for joint responsibility within his group. After that, come see me. Now, let's move on to announcing the first-place female group."
The teacher on the podium tried to calm the students, but by now, few were paying attention to the rankings. Everyone's focus was on the unfolding drama.
Hikigaya only caught parts of the announcement. The first-place female group belonged to a third-year Class C student named Ayase Natsu.
If he remembered correctly, the group centered around Class D girls—including Kushida—was part of that larger group. That meant they would be earning a good amount of points.
Looks like Kikyo-chan is making a big splash.
Thinking of this, Hikigaya glanced in Kushida's direction and saw that she was completely absorbed in the spectacle unfolding among the second-years. Well, not surprising—watching drama was human nature.
And this was indeed a rather entertaining show.
"Don't be ridiculous! What does this have to do with me?! I'm a victim too!"
Gokyou finally lost his patience and limped forward, shouting, "I didn't fail because I was slacking off! You know the truth, don't you? Tonegawa and I were set up by Ayanokoji! That's why the boar injured my leg! This isn't our fault!"
They had actually tried to report Ayanokoji to the teachers, but their complaint was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
Not surprising—Ayanokoji had run into the forest, and even if he got attacked by a boar, that was his own business.
But Gokyou and the others had insisted on following him and ended up getting caught in the chaos. No matter how one looked at it, that wasn't Ayanokoji's fault.
Already frustrated by the situation, Gokyou completely lost it upon hearing that he was being dragged down with Tokito.
And then, Tokito locked eyes on him.
"How is any of that my problem? I just refuse to accept being the only one expelled… Might as well choose you. You're the only one I can take down with me."
"Wha—?! Why me?!" Gokyou shouted, completely livid.
"You jumped out on your own. That's reason enough. It's decided. I'll go tell the teacher now."
Perhaps realizing that there was no way to reverse the decision, Tokito's voice was filled with unwavering resolve—he had no intention of backing down.
Even if dragging someone else down with him wouldn't change the fact that he was getting expelled, most people found solace in knowing they weren't suffering alone.
Just as Tokito was about to report to the teacher, Asahina suddenly stepped forward.
"Wait, Tokito! Let's talk this through!"
"There's nothing to discuss. I'm about to be expelled. I don't have to listen to Nagumo anymore." Tokito sounded completely indifferent—like a dead man walking.
"No, I mean, maybe there's still a way to fix this. Just wait a little longer."
With that, Asahina turned to Nagumo.
"Ya, how many points do you have left? If we all chip in, we might be able to gather twenty million."
The goal wasn't to save Tokito but to ensure that he didn't drag Class A down with him.
Nagumo understood that perfectly and answered honestly, "I have just under twelve million left. Any more, and I'm completely drained."
"Really?" Asahina looked skeptical. "You should know, right? If you're hiding anything, it could cost Gokyou his future. You can't afford to hold back now."
"What are you trying to say? Are you accusing me of lying?" Nagumo frowned.
"Isn't it obvious? You stood before everyone and challenged Senior Horikita. Even I fell for your lies."
Asahina didn't hold back as she chastised her childhood friend.
"Not only did you break your promise, but you also put the class in a passive position. No matter how you look at it, this is your responsibility."
"Fine, fine. I admit I lost." Nagumo let out a wry laugh. "But what good does that do us now? What we should be focusing on is how to fix this mess. And I really am telling the truth—I only have twelve million left."
"…I don't think our class can come up with another eight million." Asahina's face darkened with worry.
She immediately took action.
"Everyone, please listen! Gokyou has contributed a lot to our class. This incident isn't his fault. I don't think we should stand by and let him be expelled. Please help!"
It was clear that Asahina was well-liked in the class.
Upon hearing her plea, the students of Class 2-A quickly checked how many personal points they had left.
Unfortunately, just as she feared, even after pooling all their resources, they were still five million short.
As for the other three second-year classes? They were even poorer—there was no way they could help.
Despite the grim situation, Nagumo remained calm.
Because an idea had suddenly occurred to him.
"Ishikura-senpai, this is truly unfortunate."
Nagumo spoke with exaggerated politeness, but in reality, he had come to settle accounts.
"The failure wasn't my fault—it was caused by Igari-senpai's betrayal. So, the 20 million personal points I transferred to you should be returned. I trust you understand that, right?"
"No, I don't." Ishikura flatly refused. "Once you gave them to me, how I use them is my business. I have no obligation to return them."
"Wow… Didn't expect you to play dirty, Senpai."
Nagumo was momentarily taken aback, then broke into a grin.
"But don't forget—we signed a contract. If I file a formal complaint, the school will support my claim."
This wasn't an empty threat—Nagumo had prepared for this from the start.
Before transferring the points, he had Ishikura sign a contract to ensure that the money couldn't be used without his permission and to prevent a situation like this.
In other words, that twenty million was as good as his.
"Do as you please. Whatever you do is your business."
Ishikura remained completely unfazed, ignoring Nagumo altogether.
"Come on, Senpai. This is pointless. That money has to be returned sooner or later. Dragging this out will only lead to two students getting expelled."
"…Tch."
Faced with Nagumo's reasoning, Ishikura simply turned away, unwilling to entertain the conversation any further.
"Well, well… Looks like Senpai is set on this."
Though Ishikura refused to budge, Nagumo wasn't the least bit upset. If anything, he seemed pleased.
But outwardly, he maintained a frustrated expression and turned to Asahina.
"No choice. Ishikura won't return the money… Sorry."
"Wait… so there isn't any way left?"
"Nothing more."
Nagumo shook his head, clenching his fist as if in regret.
In reality, there wasn't a trace of remorse in his heart.
At this rate, the only losses would be a single student and one hundred class points.
Gukyou had been a convenient tool to use, but replacements were plenty, and Nagumo was extremely disappointed in his performance this time.
Besides, that guy wasn't worth such a heavy price to save in the first place.
As for the one hundred class points, it was nothing to Class 2-A.
And those 20 million personal points—he could easily get them back from Ishikura once they returned to school.
In other words, Nagumo had lost practically nothing this time. The only real blow was to his pride.
But pride didn't matter. As long as he still controlled the pathway to Class A, the second-years wouldn't dare oppose him.
"…I've reported it to the teacher."
Seeing no other options, Tokito let out a deep sigh and informed the teacher of the one responsible under the joint liability rule.
The school quickly acknowledged it and Gokyou was expelled alongside the others.
For joint liability to take effect, either the student in question had to have poor grades, or the entire group had to unanimously decide that they were deliberately causing trouble.
Nagumo had implemented this rule specifically to frame Tachibana Akane.
But in the end, it was his classmate who ended up facing the punishment first.
What a poetic twist of fate.
Just as Hikigaya was thinking Ishikura suddenly doubled back and walked towards Tokito, who was about to be taken away by the teacher.
"Hold on, your name's Tokito, right? Take out your phone."
"H-Huh? Why?"
"Just do it. And give me your ID."
Hearing Ishikura's tone, Tokito instantly understood.
He quickly opened the S-System on his phone and displayed the interface.
At the same time, Nagumo seemed to realize something as well and immediately rushed over.
But he was too late—by the time he got there, Ishikura had already finished his transaction.
"I just transferred 20 million to you. Do with it as you please."
"A-Ah! Really?! Thank you so much, senpai!"
Overjoyed, Tokito wasted no time canceling his expulsion with the teacher.
Nagumo, however, looked far less pleased. His expression darkened as he confronted Ishikura. "Are you joking, Ishikura-senpai? Those were my point!"
"And so what?" Ishikura replied indifferently. "You're welcome to file a complaint with the school. But that'll have to wait until we're back."
"Tch… Teacher, there's a dispute over the ownership of those twenty million personal points," Nagumo argued, unwilling to let his money go so easily. "I also had a contract with Ishikura-senpai. I request that the points be temporarily frozen!"
"You're shameless, Nagumo!" Tokito couldn't help but curse. "I took on the role of representative under your orders. If not for that, I wouldn't have been expelled! You have a responsibility to save me!"
Technically, that was true. But Nagumo had blatantly betrayed him in front of everyone.
That guy had no moral compass—of course, he wouldn't care.
Fortunately, the teacher didn't accept Nagumo's request. "You're the student council president. You should know the rules. Unless you filed for arbitration in advance, it won't be processed now."
"…Understood."
Realizing that further arguments would be useless, Nagumo chose to give up.
But he was undoubtedly furious inside.
If Ishikura transferred the 20 million to another student or used it to switch classes, Nagumo could easily reclaim it after arbitration once they returned. Even a transferred student could have their switch reversed.
But an expulsion was different. It wasn't as simple as canceling a class transfer.
At that point, it would just become a convoluted issue… and the school would likely take a passive stance to avoid making a big deal out of it.
They'd probably opt for a repayment plan.
Ishikura seemed to be thinking the same thing as Nagumo. Smiling, he said, "Relax, Nagumo. I'll pay you back. I've got about a hundred thousand on me now, and for the rest, I'll transfer all my points at the start of every month. If you're still worried, you can even have the school deduct it directly from me."
"…But senpai, you're graduating in two months, aren't you?"
"Hahaha, exactly."
Nagumo's expression turned even darker as Ishikura laughed.
"I've only got two months left in this school. Too bad no clause in our contract prevents me from graduating if I don't pay you back. Looks like I'll just have to conveniently forget."
"Hmph… Very well." Nagumo's voice was ice-cold. "Ishikura-senpai, don't think this is over. I suggest you watch your back."
"Do whatever you want."
Ishikura didn't take the threat seriously at all. Instead, he smirked and added, "You and your lackeys have been looking out for me all this time. Consider this my little parting gift to you."
"Ugh…"
Hiding in the crowd, Hikigaya couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
Ishikura must have had enough of Nagumo's antics. This was his way of getting back at him.
But… it was a damn effective move.
Personal points weren't real currency. The school had the final say in how they were handled.
This meant that once Ishikura graduated, Nagumo would have no way to get his money back. He'd just have to swallow his frustration.
Of course, the points weren't the real issue.
The real issue was how humiliating this was.
This was probably the most humiliating moment for Nagumo since he entered the school.
Not only had he lost to Horikita Manabu, but his plans had also crumbled, and now Ishikura had scammed him like a gullible fool.
Then, Hikigaya decided to add to the chaos.
Pushing through the crowd, he walked up to Asahina and asked, "Flat-Fall-senpai, have you gathered enough points to save Gukyo-senpai?"
"We're still five million points short—wait, what did you just call me?"
Asahina almost reflexively answered before suddenly realizing something was off.
"Hm? I just called you Asahina-senpai, of course." Hikigaya played dumb. "If you need 5 million, I happen to have that amount."
"Wait… you have 5 million points?!"
"Yeah, I heard you guys were in trouble, so I borrowed some from my friends."
That was a complete lie. Hikigaya had been standing there watching the whole time.
If he had intended to lend them money, he would've done so earlier.
"The question is… are we still in time?"
"Yes, yes! We are!" Asahina lit up. "So, what do you want in return? I-I'll give you an interest rate of 3% per month, how about that?"
"Uh, no need for that. I'm not a loan shark."
Hikigaya couldn't help but sweat.
This "Flat-Fall-senpai" was quite something. She was willing to go to such lengths for her classmates.
No wonder she had just as much influence as Nagumo in her class.
"Just pay me back in six months. I'll transfer the points to President Nagumo now."
"Alright, I'll tell Yaya!"
Asahina excitedly ran over to explain the situation to Nagumo. However, instead of looking relieved, Nagumo's face only darkened.
It seemed he had never intended to save Gokyou in the first place.
After all, it was a huge sum of money, and it would also cost 300 class points.
But with Asahina pressuring him, he reluctantly nodded with a forced smile. "Thanks, Hikigaya. You went out of your way for us."
"No need to thank me." Hikigaya put on his best fake sincerity. "Gokyou-senpai has always looked after me, so I just wanted to return the favor."
That was, of course, nonsense.
Gokyou was the student council's secretary, but he only followed Nagumo's orders.
Whenever Nagumo wasn't around, he'd slack off and dump his work on others.
Specifically, on Hikigaya… since the only first-years in the council were him and Ichinose.
"Alright, I'll transfer the points now."
"I'll write you an IOU right now, then."
"No need." Hikigaya waved his hand. "I trust President Nagumo's character. Is paying it back within six months okay?"
"...Alright, I'll repay you as soon as possible."
For some reason, Nagumo froze for a moment upon hearing those words, but he quickly masked his reaction and agreed as if nothing had happened.
He was probably considering whether he could get away with not paying it back.
However, with so many teachers and students present as witnesses—and a transaction record on his phone—shirking the debt would be difficult.
More importantly, Hikigaya actually hoped Nagumo would try something sneaky.
A sum this small wasn't a big deal. Depending on the situation, it might even lead to some unexpected benefits.
After all, Nagumo was the type who always wanted more—he had to have everything.
His original plan had been quite successful, but his greed got the better of him. That's why he listened to a certain someone's misleading advice, choosing to pressure Ishikura into abandoning Inokari. That gave Hikigaya the opening he needed.
Otherwise, if Nagumo had stuck to his initial strategy, the situation would have been a deadlock.
In that case, he would've had no choice but to watch this guy gloat and mock him.
On top of that, Nagumo never should have tried to provoke Ayanokoji while dealing with Horikita Manabu.
Perhaps he thought that since he controlled the entire second year, taking down a lone Ayanokoji would be effortless. He might have even foolishly believed that doing so would help divert attention elsewhere.
Never make two enemies at once—that's one of the most basic rules of strategy.
But Nagumo only thought about winning, winning, and winning.
And in the end, he lost everything.
A well-deserved downfall.