His account… had been suspended.
Staring at the glaring red text on the screen, Hikigaya momentarily blanked out.
Then, almost instinctively, a thought popped into his head—who was behind this?
Behind him, Hasebe curiously asked, "What's going on? System error?"
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone to check, but found nothing unusual.
"Don't worry about it, probably just some issue with my account," Hikigaya went along with her assumption. "I'll ask Chabashira-sensei about it later. I'll treat you to a drink next time."
"That's not a big deal. Go ahead."
Seeing Hikigaya remain so calm, Hasebe didn't think too much about it and assumed it was just a technical glitch.
After all, she had never heard of an account being suspended before. Even students who broke school rules merely had their points deducted.
"Alright, I'll head out then."
Hikigaya nodded, then added, "Oh, by the way, don't tell anyone about this. Not even your friends. You guys are probably planning to vote against me, right? No need to make them feel any extra guilt."
"Eh? Ah, uh… got it."
Hasebe's expression stiffened slightly.
It was something everyone tacitly understood, but hearing it directly from the person involved still felt awkward.
However, Hikigaya's real concern was making sure Ayanokoji didn't find out—just in case that guy decided to stir things up.
Of course, if this was Ayanokoji's doing, that was another story entirely… but the odds were low. There was no benefit for him in doing so.
As for the votes against him, Hikigaya didn't care.
Given the current situation, it was only natural for people to vote against him.
At least this way, their guilt would be lessened. No need to dwell on it.
After parting ways with Hasebe, Hikigaya made his way to the teachers' office, contemplating what was really going on behind this.
To be honest, he was just as baffled as anyone else.
Even that guy who scammed freshmen years ago had only had all his points confiscated—there had never been an account suspension before.
This school didn't allow the use of cash; everything had to be paid through the S-System. No matter what, they shouldn't interfere with a student's daily life like this. At least, not without prior notice.
Unless… no, forget it.
Hikigaya shook his head, brushing aside unnecessary speculation.
There was no point in making assumptions. It was better to just ask Chabashira-sensei directly.
And based on her answer—
Ding!
Just then, his phone chimed with a message.
It was from Nagumo.
He was being summoned to the student council office immediately for an important matter.
So that's how it is… guess I have no choice.
Changing course, Hikigaya headed toward the student council office.
As expected, the topic was probably about that.
"Excuse me."
Upon entering, he found Nagumo already seated, waiting for him.
"Oh, you're here."
Nagumo greeted him casually, then got straight to the point. "Hikigaya, I'll skip the pleasantries since time is short. You've noticed the issue with your account, right?"
"Yeah, my account seems to be suspended."
"About that… it's probably best if you see for yourself."
Nagumo picked up a document from the desk and handed it to him.
Hikigaya took a quick glance, and an overwhelming sense of absurdity washed over him.
Just to be sure, he read it again carefully. Unfortunately, his eyesight seemed to be just fine.
"This morning, a student from Class 1-B contacted me," Nagumo explained. "I know their complaint is a bit of a stretch, but they've gathered seven or eight people to support it. The student council can't just ignore that."
In short, several students from Class B were disputing the contract they had signed with Hikigaya back on the deserted island, claiming they had been coerced.
Their reasons varied—from the environment being too dark to see clearly, to being forced into signing under duress.
The most ridiculous claim was that since Sakayanagi's faction wasn't required to sign back then, and one of them had since joined her faction, he should be exempt from the contract and refunded all personal points collected so far.
Seriously… there should be a limit to how ridiculous you can be.
Hikigaya sighed internally.
To prevent such disputes, he had made sure each student signed the contract individually and had Mashima-sensei oversee the process.
But in the end, that was only effective against honest people.
That said, Class B did have the right to challenge the contract.
It was like someone being tricked or coerced into taking out a high-interest loan—of course, they could contest it in court. Winning the case, however, was another matter.
Likewise, Hikigaya doubted Class B genuinely expected to win.
So what was their real goal?
And more importantly—why had the student council accepted the case?
"Nagumo-senpai, you said earlier that the student council only accepted this because of the pressure from Class B?"
"Yeah." Nagumo nodded. "You know the school year is almost over. The student council doesn't want unnecessary trouble. If too many people complain, it becomes a hassle. Just go along with it for now."
Numbers equal justice—a universal principle.
But Hikigaya doubted Nagumo was the type to back down so easily.
Most likely, he had struck some kind of deal behind the scenes.
After all, when it came to Class B, one name immediately came to mind—Sakayanagi.
"Then why suspend my account? That seems excessive."
"Class B was worried you'd spend all your points before the issue was resolved."
Ah. So they were using Ishikura's old trick.
But Ishikura had been a third-year on the verge of graduating. Hikigaya was only a first-year—that excuse didn't really apply.
More importantly—
"If that was the concern, wouldn't it be enough to just freeze the points I got from Class B? Why suspend my entire account?"
"Class B claims you obtained those points through improper means and requested a full freeze until the case is settled."
Even Nagumo seemed to realize how flimsy that sounded and quickly added, "Hikigaya, don't take it too seriously. It's just temporary. Once the hearing is over, your account will be reinstated. Besides, you should know—I don't have the authority to suspend student accounts. The higher-ups approved this."
The higher-ups?
That's true. The student council president didn't have that kind of power. At most, he could influence the justification behind the request, but final approval had to come from the school's administration.
That meant…
It was submitted this morning and approved by noon?
Even setting aside the review process, that was way too fast.
Could it be… Tsukishiro?
Hikigaya couldn't think of anyone else. Only the chairman had the authority to freeze a student's account that quickly.
But why?
Wasn't that guy supposed to be after The Masterpiece?
If this was Tsukishiro's doing, then Hikigaya had no way to contest it.
After all, he had received 10 million points from Sakayanagi's father. That could easily be framed as an illegitimate transaction.
And if that was the case, no amount of arguing would help.
With that realization, Hikigaya asked, "When is the hearing?"
"Next Monday."
Nagumo's response was exactly as bad as he had expected.
So that's what they were playing at.
At that moment, everything clicked into place.
Even if he was still missing a few key pieces, it was enough.
"Why delay it until next week?"
Not that he needed to ask. It was just for show.
Nagumo smirked. "So you can gather evidence. Make sure you prepare well. You wouldn't want to drag this out any longer than necessary, right?"
"I'm not speaking on her behalf—just analyzing things for you."
"Well, thanks a lot for that."
Honestly, if Nagumo were to outright admit he was a lolicon, Hikigaya might actually believe him.
It'd certainly be better than this nonsense.
"But since you think so highly of Sakayanagi, why not just invite her to join the student council?"
"That would depend on her willingness, of course."
"Oh? The way you say that... sounds like you've already asked her?" Hikigaya covered his mouth in mock surprise. "Don't tell me she turned you down? Oh dear, no way! A student who dares to reject the great student council president? I thought only Ayanokoji had the guts to do that."
"...What exactly are you implying?"
After getting hit with one wound-exposing remark after another, even Nagumo's face began to darken.
Hikigaya let out a disdainful chuckle. "Come on, President Nagumo, what are you getting so worked up for? I was just asking a simple question. Someone who doesn't know better might think your account got suspended due to an abuse of privileges—and that the person responsible also borrowed a huge sum of money from you. Sorry, my grades aren't great. What's the term for that again?"
"No, you've got it all wrong. I already said I don't have that kind of authority."
Even as he denied it, Nagumo felt a twinge of guilt.
At this point, Hikigaya was practically spelling it out—implying that Nagumo and Sakayanagi were in cahoots. There was no explaining his way out of this now.
Nagumo was well aware that Hikigaya had stormed into Class 1-B's classroom before, publicly humiliating Sakayanagi on the spot.
If he really pissed off this guy, and Hikigaya decided to replicate that move in Class 2-A... Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Forget everything else—his reputation would take a huge hit.
Sure, you could always come up with an excuse to avoid repaying a debt. But you couldn't stop someone from pointing a finger at your nose and calling you out.
Of course, a shameless thug wouldn't care.
But Nagumo wasn't just anybody—he had an image to maintain.
All he could do was attempt to pacify the situation. "I know you must be feeling wronged, but the school has already approved it. There's nothing I can do now... How about this? If you have any demands, just let me know. I'll see what I can do to make it up to you."
The moment he said that, Hikigaya was absolutely certain.
The one who spread the rumor about him having twenty million points in Class D was none other than Sakayanagi.
She had then instructed her subordinates to file a complaint—not to win a case, but simply to stall for time.
Using that as leverage, she must have convinced Nagumo to cooperate, helping her temporarily suspend Hikigaya's account.
As for why Nagumo agreed? Simple—he owed Hikigaya five million points.
If Hikigaya got expelled, that debt would conveniently vanish.
And if he didn't? Well, Nagumo could just claim he was simply fulfilling his duties as student council president.
No matter the outcome, Nagumo wouldn't lose anything. He probably figured there was no harm in giving it a shot, so he agreed to Sakayanagi's plan.
If there was one miscalculation, it was that he hadn't expected Tsukishiro to approve everything so quickly.
Under normal circumstances, it should've taken at least two or three days. That delay would've caught Hikigaya off guard.
But now, it had given Hikigaya time to react instead. Nagumo hadn't expected this, and it left him unprepared, forcing him to call Hikigaya in at the last minute.
In that sense, maybe he should be thanking Tsukishiro.
As for the operation itself... well, you had to admit—it was impressive.
It was a special exam, after all. Students targeting each other was par for the course, especially when dealing with other classes. There was no reason to go easy.
Even if Sakayanagi's goal was to force someone out, that was simply how this exam worked. If anyone was to blame, it was Tsukishiro.
Most importantly, as long as the methods weren't too excessive, Hikigaya could accept it.
After all, he'd used his own privileges to mess with Sakayanagi before. It wouldn't be fair to cry foul now that the tables had turned.
They were even, more or less.
"Since you're offering, President Nagumo, I do have a small request."
Of course, Hikigaya wasn't planning on letting this slide without a response.
"I've always thought the student council is severely understaffed. There's endless work to do every day, and in the first-year division, it's just Ichinose and me... So I'd like to recommend another outstanding student to join. Would that be okay?"
After all, it was only fair to send a little greeting to Sakayanagi in return.