"A satisfying... result?"
Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, anyone with half a brain could understand what Hikigaya meant at this point.
"Hikigaya, please wait a moment." Katsuragi couldn't help but step in. "This exam is quite unique. It's not about competing with other classes but about internal selection within the class. I believe interfering with another class's process is inappropriate."
As expected, Katsuragi had no intention of using this opportunity to eliminate Sakayanagi.
From the perspective of class interests, his reasoning wasn't wrong. After all, she was the top student in their grade and wouldn't act as unpredictably as Kouenji during an exam—at least, not on the surface.
Even the students of Class D had come to understand that in this test, the weaker students would have to be sacrificed.
Class B should be even more aware of this reality.
Unfortunately, at this moment, all Katsuragi could do was say a few nice words—nothing more.
He had once been a sharp and decisive leader, someone who tried to keep personal feelings out of the exam process.
But in the end, he was still just a high school student, someone who had things he cared about. He simply couldn't be completely impartial.
Even in his lowest moments, Yahiko had never abandoned him, remaining steadfastly by his side.
Though most of the class disliked Yahiko—he lacked ability, had caused major losses for the class, and was little more than a lackey—in Katsuragi's eyes, Yahiko was his most trusted friend.
At this moment, Katsuragi must have felt truly torn.
To put it bluntly, his situation was no different from Hirata's.
He wanted to protect the class's interests, but he also didn't want to sacrifice anyone.
Especially now that the option of self-sacrifice had been taken off the table, his inner turmoil was obvious.
So just sit back and watch this time.
With that thought, Hikigaya feigned confusion and asked, "What are you talking about? I never said I was interfering with your class's vote, did I?"
"But you—"
"I only said I hope you'll reach a satisfactory conclusion," Hikigaya interrupted. "That doesn't count as interference, does it? After all, I never asked you to cast a censure vote against a certain someone."
Just like how Sakayanagi refused to admit that she was behind the rumors about Ichinose, Hikigaya was simply returning the favor.
"Also, you shouldn't take out your anger on a child just because of their family's mistakes."
Hikigaya continued his insincere persuasion.
"Sure, Sakayanagi's father was dismissed and investigated for misconduct, but that only makes him a suspect—it doesn't mean he's a criminal. And it certainly doesn't mean he was the one who designed this exam... But then again, this school has been unfair from the start."
He raised a finger and began listing examples.
"First, they lured us in with promises of great benefits, then told us we had to compete for Class A. On the deserted island, they tricked us into thinking it was a vacation. Then there was the forest training camp, which they claimed was a simple outdoor trip... This school is full of lies!"
"You know... that's true."
"…Now that you mention it, yeah."
Hikigaya's words sparked dissatisfaction among Class B's students.
When they first enrolled, they had been in Class A. Because of that, they didn't have any complaints when they were told that only Class A students would receive special treatment upon graduation—some even believed it was only natural.
—After all, we're the elites of Class A. Why should those defective products from other classes be treated the same as us?
That kind of arrogance vanished the moment they fell to Class B.
And when they dropped to Class C, it was erased.
If they hadn't experienced firsthand what it was like to plummet from the top to the bottom, they would never have changed their mindset.
"Ah, speaking of fraud, that reminds me of something."
Hikigaya suddenly turned his gaze toward a certain scheming little girl.
"Sakayanagi, your plan to have Yamauchi rally Class D to vote against me—it's been exposed. He got chewed out pretty badly by our classmates yesterday."
"…Huh?"
At his words, shock spread across Class B's students—except for Sakayanagi and her close followers.
Ignoring their reactions, Hikigaya continued, "And to think he got caught in just one day. Your ability to pick pawns isn't great, huh? By the way, Yamauchi is now trying to repair his reputation by spreading rumors about Ayanokoji. You're good at ruining people's lives, huh?"
Though the latter part confused some students—what did Ayanokoji have to do with this?—they did understand one thing.
So this whole mess started because their leader provoked the other side first.
Not only did she have her people report Hikigaya to the student council, but she also secretly recruited students from other classes to force him out.
Wasn't it only natural for him to retaliate?
Some of them had already sympathized with Hikigaya's stance. Now, they had nothing left to say.
As for Sakayanagi herself, she didn't try to argue or deny it this time.
Even if she protested, who would believe her at this point?
Since Yamauchi had been exposed so completely, all anyone needed to do was ask the students of Class D to confirm it.
Denying it now would just make her look pathetic.
She simply sat in her seat in silence, staring straight at Hikigaya without saying a word.
This was probably the last bit of dignity she had left.
"Sakayanagi-san..."
The students of Class B had probably never seen Sakayanagi so powerless before. Within her class, anyone who dared to question her would always be left speechless, retreating in frustration after being overwhelmed by her words.
But this time, facing Hikigaya, she could do nothing but lie down and accept the ridicule.
A few girls even cast worried glances in her direction.
"Alright, I think I've said everything that needed to be said. Sorry for interrupting, everyone."
Sensing that the timing was right, Hikigaya chose to wrap things up.
Forcing Sakayanagi to drop out was almost an impossible task.
Unfortunately, the timing this time was just too terrible.
Even worse, her weakness had been completely exposed and grasped.
If the rumor that 'this unreasonable exam was created by Chairman Sakayanagi' had given Class B students a reason to resent her, then Hikigaya's two contracts had given them the motivation to expel her.
Losing 1.9 million personal points every month—no one could ignore that.
Still, just in case some people weren't great at math, it was best to give them a small reminder.
"By the way, your class currently has 783 points, right? But most of you have to contribute at least 70,000 points… Hmm, I was just wondering—what if your class points drop below 700? In that case, you'd have to keep paying me back until graduation."
Back when Ryuuen made the contract with Class D, it specifically stated that any unpaid amount wouldn't be considered debt, mainly to prevent Class D from completely giving up.
However, in the end, Class D still ended up at zero points…
But Hikigaya wasn't that kind. Or rather, he didn't care whether the other party could afford to pay or not.
For Class B students, however, this was a serious problem—they didn't want to spend the rest of their school days eating wild vegetables.
This only pushed them further toward accepting Hikigaya's terms.
"Oh, right."
Just as he was about to leave, Hikigaya suddenly turned back as if remembering something.
"If someone in your class is worried about expulsion, I might have a suggestion. Class A is currently trying to gather 20 million points to prevent anyone from being expelled. I heard they're still short by a little over 2 million and are looking everywhere to borrow it."
This was something almost everyone in the year already knew.
Class A had been running around trying to collect that money for a while now—Ichinose even sold small home appliances like her hair dryer to get more funds.
But whether it was Ichinose, Kanzaki, or Himeno, none of them had asked Hikigaya for help.
After all, they weren't the type to shamelessly take advantage of others. Unless they had no other choice, they wouldn't do something that might make them seem greedy.
Not that Hikigaya would care… but at this point, even if they asked, it was already too late.
"Why did you suddenly bring this up?" Kamuro asked, looking puzzled.
"I just wanted to give someone a little reminder," Hikigaya replied, unable to suppress the smirk at the corner of his mouth. "Right now, if someone could provide 2 million points, they could easily get 20 or 30 praise votes from Class A, right? Then there'd be no need to worry about expulsion at all."
Sakayanagi: "…"
It seemed that she understood—those words were meant for her.
Most of Class B couldn't afford this sum of money. However, Sakayanagi hadn't signed the contract, making her the only one exempt from payment.
That alone was enough to make others resent her.
In any case, Sakayanagi had millions of points. After all, when she first met Hikigaya, she had given him 200,000 points as a token of appreciation.
From the very beginning of the school year, she had amassed a fortune through gambling across various clubs.
But she must have been well aware—Hikigaya's proposal was not out of kindness.
While it was true that this method could prevent expulsion, it also meant relying on Ichinose, someone whom Sakayanagi looked down upon.
Even if Ichinose herself wouldn't see it as one-sided charity and would instead be grateful that Sakayanagi was willing to lend a hand, the issue was that Ichinose was never at risk of expulsion in this exam—she was simply trying to save her classmates.
This created an imbalance between their positions.
For someone as prideful as Sakayanagi, such a situation was utterly unacceptable.
It was easy to understand—Sakayanagi regarded Ichinose as someone as disposable as Katsuragi.
From the start, the only opponent worthy of her attention had been Ayanokoji.
Yet reality had slapped her in the face.
She even found herself feeling pathetic—back then, she had boldly declared in front of Hikigaya that she would have a showdown with Ayanokoji. But in the end, she had been forced to write two letters of reflection, her hidden strength had been exposed, and she had become a thorn in the student council's side.
Another person was even facing the crisis of expulsion.
So, even if it was just to maintain her dignity, Sakayanagi would never seek help from Ichinose.
But taking an extreme hypothetical—if she did, it wouldn't be without consequences.
On one hand, Sakayanagi had first exploited Ichinose's predicament to secure a partnership with Nagumo, only to ultimately sabotage his plans.
With that, the possibility of future cooperation between them was practically gone—they might even become enemies.
On the other hand, just days ago, Sakayanagi had spread rumors attacking Ichinose. And now, she would have to ask for her help to avoid expulsion.
To put it bluntly—how would the rest of the grade see this?
Even the students of Class B would completely lose respect for her.
And if she barely survived thanks to praise votes from other classes, after receiving so many criticism votes from her class… could someone like that still be qualified to lead?
So even if Sakayanagi didn't end up being expelled, Hikigaya's goal would still be achieved.
That was to render her incapable of stirring up trouble at school ever again.
Of course, if Sakayanagi was smart enough to obediently seek help from Ichinose and quietly stay in her class from now on, that wouldn't be a bad outcome either.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya couldn't afford to be so optimistic.
That girl would rather be expelled than bow her head to Ichinose.
As the others watched, Hikigaya left Class B's classroom.
Just as he was about to find a place to eat his lunch, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him—someone was chasing after him.
To his surprise, when he turned around, he saw that it was Miki Yamamura.
Huh… why her?
Or was she just passing by, maybe in a rush to the restroom or something?
"Excuse me, Hikigaya-kun, I have a question for you."
…Okay, guess not.
Hikigaya had no idea what Yamamura wanted to ask, but since she had gone out of her way to catch up with him, he figured he might as well hear her out.
"What is it?"
"Come to think of it, this is our first proper conversation. Please allow me to introduce myself—I'm Miki Yamamura from Class 1-B. Pleased to meet you."
As she spoke, she bowed slightly.
"…Oh."
Normally, he should return the courtesy, but he wasn't in the mood for that.
"If you've got something to say, make it quick—I'm starving."
"Then forgive me for being blunt. Do you think this is worth it?"
Yamamura always seemed indifferent to everything, but her question carried an unexpected sharpness.
That said, judging from her demeanor, it didn't seem like she was trying to be aggressive.
"Before I answer, can you define what you mean by 'worth it'?"
"To get Sakayanagi expelled—don't you think the price you're paying is too high, Hikigaya-kun?" Yamamura asked directly. "Setting aside your contract with our class, I assume the reason you have both Katsuragi-kun and Ryuuen-kun's contracts is that you traded them with Class C, right?"
That was an easy deduction to make.
"But from what I've gathered, in terms of value, that wasn't a profitable deal at all. And all of this… just to take revenge on Sakayanagi? I don't know what happened between you two, but I don't believe Sakayanagi hates you. At the very least, she wouldn't want you to be expelled. If that's what you're worried about, then I hope you can talk it out with her properly."
Contrary to her reserved appearance, Yamamura was quite articulate.
"Also, I may not fully understand you, Hikigaya-kun, but I do know you're capable. With the resources you have, I believe there's a more peaceful way to reach a compromise with Sakayanagi—one that wouldn't require you to make so many sacrifices. That way, both sides would benefit."
"No, I've never thought about taking revenge on anyone, nor do I care about the cost."
Some might think Hikigaya was lying, but he was simply speaking his true thoughts.
"And yeah, I did trade contracts with Ryuuen, but I didn't lose out."
"Why?"
"Because I also made Class C promise to give me praise votes. So no matter how much Sakayanagi struggles, it's useless."
"…I see."
That, however, was a lie.
But Hikigaya was well aware that his actions weren't commendable. At the very least, he shouldn't have exploited the fact that Sakayanagi's father had been framed.
For that reason alone… even if it wasn't an apology, the least he could do was ensure she left this school.
"And one more thing—you asked if this was worth it? Do you know what truly matters to me?"
"…I'd like to hear it."
Sensing Hikigaya's sincerity, Yamamura unconsciously tensed.
This was the thing she most wanted to understand—where the gap between them lay.
"If I don't have class points, I can still study and get into college on my own. If I don't have private points, I can live off wild vegetables. So even if Sakayanagi locked my account, it doesn't matter—those things never mattered to me in the first place."
Hikigaya's voice was slow but resolute.
"The only thing that truly matters to me is a school without Sakayanagi."