Katsuragi had already mentally prepared himself for expulsion in this exam.
Although he felt a bit unwilling, he understood that he had indeed caused significant losses to his class. Thus, he was ready to take responsibility and accept the consequences silently.
However, at this moment, Hikigaya gave him a chance to turn things around.
If he could seize this opportunity, the long-standing issues troubling Class B could be resolved, and all he had to do was join the student council.
"…Hikigaya, may I ask for your true reason for doing this?"
After thinking for a while, Katsuragi felt it was best to clarify before answering.
"What true reason?" Hikigaya smirked. "I just want to invite you to join the student council. What else could there be? I didn't propose any other conditions, did I?"
"That's…"
Although what he said was technically true, anyone with keen eyes could tell it wasn't that simple.
A condition this favorable couldn't come without some underlying motive.
On the surface, it seemed that Hikigaya wanted to support Katsuragi as a counterbalance against Sakayanagi.
As Katsuragi's status rose and Sakayanagi's reputation suffered recent blows, it was possible that Class B would once again fall into internal strife.
That was certainly not good news, and it was something Katsuragi wanted to avoid at all costs.
Back when he ran for class leadership, it was to help his class. But if his actions ultimately led to the class ranking falling even further, that would be completely counterproductive.
Even with this opportunity right in front of him, Katsuragi had no intention of continuing an internal battle against Sakayanagi.
However, reality didn't allow him to refuse Hikigaya.
Because…the offer was simply too tempting.
Leaving aside the contract cancellation, just joining the student council was already highly appealing and beneficial for the class.
Under normal circumstances, Katsuragi would have agreed without hesitation.
The problem now was that, after Hikigaya's warning, he had begun to suspect that Sakayanagi had manipulated the class votes behind the scenes.
If her only goal was to expel him, then fine—he was planning on leaving anyway.
But if things were as Hikigaya suggested, and she wasn't actually targeting him but rather aiming for Yahiko as the real sacrifice…
Then Katsuragi didn't know what to do.
"Hey, hey, you better think carefully."
Noticing his hesitation, Hikigaya deliberately reminded him, "Don't forget that your class has already been penalized with three months of lost personal points. The 3.3 million points owed to me won't be reduced—if anything, it will accumulate as debt. However…if the contract is canceled, then that won't be a problem anymore."
This statement made the students who had signed the contract panic, their gazes turning to Katsuragi with desperation, as if willing him to accept on their behalf.
But Katsuragi remained frozen in place.
Because of Hikigaya's conditions, he had no way to leave now.
If he didn't get expelled, then another student had to take his place.
And the first candidate in line was Yahiko, whom Sakayanagi seemed to have set her sights on.
That was something Katsuragi absolutely didn't want to see happen.
Even though he was well aware of Yahiko's shortcomings and the losses he had caused the class, he still found it unbearable to watch his friend be expelled before his eyes.
As for the others in the class, while their abilities varied, none had harmed the class as Yahiko had.
Moreover, Katsuragi had no intention of sacrificing anyone else just to save his friend.
Originally, his own expulsion had seemed like the best solution—at least he wouldn't have to deal with these headaches.
But Hikigaya had now forced him into a trolley problem.
Either he insisted on his own expulsion, causing continued losses for the class, or he let his best friend be expelled, which would benefit the class.
"Hikigaya…you really put me in a tough spot," Katsuragi said with a helpless wry smile.
"Katsuragi, you…?"
The others were shocked to see Katsuragi, usually so composed, showing such an expression. They didn't even understand what was troubling him.
From their perspective, wasn't accepting the deal the obvious choice? He wouldn't have to drop out, and the class would benefit—what was there to hesitate about?
Hikigaya, however, had a good guess and kindly offered some advice. "Katsuragi, you don't have to overthink this. Try broadening your perspective a little."
"My perspective?"
"Yeah, like—never mind, forget it."
Hikigaya stopped mid-sentence, changing his mind.
He figured that no matter how much he pushed, Katsuragi would never suggest expelling Sakayanagi.
The reason was simple—Katsuragi was someone who valued the collective.
He might disapprove of Sakayanagi's actions, but he undeniably recognized her strength.
From the perspective of the class as a whole, Sakayanagi wasn't someone who should be expelled in this exam.
But Hikigaya's true goal had only been to block off the option of Katsuragi choosing self-sacrifice.
The rest would be left to the anger of the class.
"By the way, I bet you're all wondering why I brought up the name Mikki Yamamura just now."
Hikigaya glanced around the classroom, noting that she still hadn't returned—probably still eating lunch.
Oh well, it didn't matter.
She was just a pawn of Sakayanagi, not worth wasting extra effort on. His focus should be on the mastermind.
"Excuse me, but what happened with Yamamura-san?" someone asked in confusion.
Everyone was puzzled since there seemed to be no connection between them.
However, a few students showed uneasy expressions.
Looks like some of them had already guessed the truth.
"It's actually nothing much," Hikigaya said casually. "Yamamura, along with eight others from your class, under Sakayanagi's orders, went to the student council to file a complaint against me. Of course, that was within their rights, so I have no reason to complain."
"…Huh?"
The room fell silent in shock.
At the same time, many students finally understood the situation.
Some had been wondering why Hikigaya had returned after dealing with Sakayanagi before. Some even found it annoying.
Turns out, their own leader had provoked him again?!
Many students were now looking at the petite "villainous loli" with rather complicated expressions.
Sakayanagi, however, remained unfazed, her thick skin deflecting their glares. She simply asked, "Hikigaya-kun, you claim I was behind this. Do you have any evidence?"
"I say you did it, so you did. If you think I'm falsely accusing you, feel free to report me to the student council again."
Hikigaya showed no interest in reasoning with her.
If Ryuuen openly broke the rules, then Sakayanagi was someone who pretended to follow them while secretly doing whatever she wanted.
That was evident from how she spread rumors about Ichinose—she had covered her tracks so well that no one could pin anything on her.
Against people like her, logic and reason were pointless.
"In any case, I just wanted to let those nine people know," Hikigaya said, his gaze sweeping over them. "Filing a complaint was your right. But in return, I also have my rights—while I can cancel everyone else's contracts, your names will never be removed."
Fortunately, he had taken the time to get each signature individually.
"Until graduation, you'll all be my slaves, working hard to pay me tribute."
"W-Wait! This wasn't all my fault!"
One student panicked and stood up to protest. "I was tricked by Yamamura! She pressured me into doing it!"
"…Pressured?"
Just as Hikigaya was about to respond, a cold voice came from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Yamamura standing at the back of the classroom, lunchbox in hand, having just returned.
Speaking of which, why does this girl have no presence at all…? Could she be like a ninja, completely lacking in existence?
The others also seemed to have just noticed Yamamura's presence. But since someone had already taken the lead, they naturally seized the opportunity to follow suit, all starting to blame her.
"Yamamura! It's all your fault. What kind of terrible idea was that?"
"Yeah, you totally tricked us!"
Facing their accusations, Yamamura seemed either uninterested or half-asleep, her eyes slightly narrowed.
Without even sparing them a glance, she casually packed her lunchbox into her bag before turning to look at Hikigaya.
"You must be Hikigaya-kun. I was indeed the one who initiated the complaint because I found the terms of that contract to be unreasonable. I don't believe I did anything wrong."
"That's fine. That's your choice."
However, Hikigaya left it at that and didn't bother with her any further. Instead, he turned to the students who had just accused her.
"Hey, you guys… Don't go around blaming people so carelessly, alright?"
"…Huh?"
"You all keep saying it was Yamamura who instructed you, that it was her idea." Hikigaya glanced at her as he spoke. "Is it really her? Why do I feel like that's not the case?"
"It's true! It was really her—"
"Say that again. Are you sure it was her?"
Hikigaya raised his voice, cutting them off, making everyone exchange uneasy glances.
At that moment, at least one sharp-minded person finally caught on.
"N-No! We were mistaken! It actually wasn't Yamamura!"
"…Then who was it?"
What surprised Hikigaya was that the one who spoke up was Yahiko… huh?
Oh right, this guy was one of the accusers too!
When Hikigaya first saw his name, he hadn't thought much of it, assuming that the girl named Yamamura had just put on a convincing act. It made sense that Yahiko initially had no idea Sakayanagi was behind it and was simply deceived.
But now, looking at the situation… Yamamura was the one who first suggested Yahiko should drop out, and in the end, he even agreed to go along with the accusation?
…Weird. Why does this feel like a mental puzzle I'm not equipped for?
"It was Sakayanagi!"
Yahiko, oblivious to Hikigaya's thoughts, excitedly pointed at Sakayanagi.
"She was the one who instructed Yamamura to use us! We were all deceived!"
"So that's how it is..."
Hikigaya couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, feeling like his brain was struggling to keep up.
What was this, Infernal Affairs?
In reality, he was just overcomplicating things.
The reason behind all this was simple—Yahiko absolutely hated him. Almost as much as he hated Sakayanagi.
So when Yamamura mentioned that there was a chance to make Hikigaya suffer—and possibly even annul the contract—Yahiko had agreed without hesitation, not even caring that it meant suggesting Hikigaya drop out.
And now that he heard Sakayanagi was the mastermind behind all this, of course, he turned against her.
"Yahiko, you..."
Katsuragi seemed genuinely shocked. It was clear that this had been done behind his back.
But at this point, none of that mattered. What was important now was how Sakayanagi would respond.
Strangely enough, when faced with Yahiko's accusation, the little schemer just froze for a moment before silently taking a seat.
...Huh?
Was she disappointed in her classmate? Or did she simply think it wasn't worth responding to?
Hmm… it had to be the latter.
Or, more likely, she just couldn't refute it—just like how Ayanokoji was constantly getting dragged into ridiculous situations by Yamauchi, suffering one humiliation after another.
First, there was the time on the uninhabited island when Ike and Yamauchi shoved a pair of underwear onto him. Then, Yamauchi accused him of pouring mud on Horikita at his command, nearly getting him beaten up by Sudou.
Lately, the rumor that "Ayanokoji is using hidden cameras in his room to power a generator" had been spreading like wildfire through the school…
Uh.
Come to think of it, maybe geniuses really are countered by idiots.
Like in Stratego, where a rat can take down an elephant.
But even though Sakayanagi chose to play dead, Hikigaya's turn wasn't over yet.
"Oh, right, right. I know some of you might be getting bored at this point, since that contract didn't involve the whole class—eighteen of you have nothing to do with it. So, to make things a little more interesting, I prepared this!"
As everyone stared at him in confusion, Hikigaya pulled out another contract.
"This should look familiar, right? This was also signed back on the uninhabited island. The one between Katsuragi and Ryuuen."
"Hikigaya, don't tell me...?"
A look of disbelief spread across Katsuragi's face.
Because a certain, nearly impossible scenario had just crossed his mind.
And in the next second, Hikigaya confirmed it for him.
"That's right, exactly what you're thinking." Hikigaya grinned. "I got this contract from Ryuuen. Starting next month, those 800,000 personal points will be flowing straight into my account."
"T-That's allowed?!"
"Of course it is. I wouldn't lie about something that could be exposed in a second. If you really don't believe me, you can ask the homeroom teacher."
This revelation completely stunned the students of Class B.
In other words, their class would have to pay Hikigaya 1.9 million points every month from now on.
Their total class income barely exceeded 3 million, and now they had to give up more than half of it—not to mention the three-month penalty they were already dealing with.
"Haha, your expressions are priceless."
At this moment, Hikigaya was probably the only one who could still find humor in the situation. Everyone else was suffocating under the weight of this reality.
Even though they had been paying this amount for months, at least part of it had gone to Ryuuen.
But now, all of it was going to a single person. That made a world of difference.
To put it bluntly, the students of Class B now felt like they were going to school just to work for Hikigaya.
"That said, I'm not a demon or anything. Honestly, I have more points than I know what to do with. So, if you want, I can cancel either contract for you."
"Eh?"
"Of course, it won't be for free."
At last, Hikigaya revealed his fangs.
"As long as you give me a result I'm satisfied with in this exam... I'll free you from this burden immediately."