[T/N: Warning! Extremely Satisfying chapter! LoL]
"...Eh?"
"In other words, you are the student who received the highest number of criticism votes—a total of twenty-seven votes. What a pity."
Seeing Yamauchi frozen in shock, Chabashira-sensei seemed worried that she hadn't made herself clear enough and decided to explain in further detail.
But all that did was push Yamauchi off a cliff once more.
For reference, the second-to-last place was Sotomura, who received twenty-two votes.
The third-to-last was Sudou, with nineteen votes.
For Sotomura, it was most likely due to the incident where he secretly took photos, which had severely affected how the class viewed him—especially since the girls had zero tolerance for such behavior.
As for Sudou, it was probably due to his past reputation.
There was no helping it—he had caused trouble right from the start of the school year, always picking fights.
One could say both of them were simply reaping what they had sown.
However, unlike Yamauchi, their improvements were evident. One day, they might earn the class's recognition and become irreplaceable members.
"T-Twenty-seven votes?! How could there be so many?!" Yamauchi couldn't help but shout.
In reality, it wasn't even that much.
Considering everything he had done recently, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had received thirty-eight criticism votes.
In a way, this number showed that he had put in some effort.
Since this exam required students to write down three names for criticism votes, even though the class had agreed to vote for Hikigaya, Yamauchi must have been worried about potential mistakes. He had likely tried his best to secure praise votes or at least prevent people from voting against him.
People like Sudou, Hirata, and his other friends would have definitely cooperated to keep him from ranking last.
Normally, this tactic should have worked. His calculations weren't bad.
Unfortunately, against Hikigaya's overwhelming eighty-eight praise votes, no strategy could hold up.
Which raised the question… why did this happen?!
At this point, Hikigaya finally snapped out of his shock.
He was genuinely stunned.
Eighty-eight votes…?!
Wait, was it because his birthday was August 8th?
Was that why he got exactly eighty-eight votes?
I see, I see—like hell that was the reason!
Hikigaya was completely baffled. He quickly scanned the room and noticed that most people looked just as confused.
In other words, this wasn't some secret surprise from Class D.
Those guys had definitely voted against him—at least the vast majority must have.
So then, the real problem was…
Even after deducting Class D's criticism votes, he still had eighty-eight praise votes left. That meant he had received over a hundred praise votes from the other three classes?!
That… was impossible!
Although it might sound arrogant, Hikigaya figured he could get one or two praise votes from other classes—that would be normal.
But a hundred?
"Haha… could it be that I've suddenly become popular?"
Holding his head, Hikigaya muttered to himself, as if trying to escape reality.
And as if to add insult to injury, Matsushita, sitting nearby, also recovered from her shock and immediately went into teasing mode.
"Hehe, it's true. Hachiman-kun is really popular. So many people like you—how nice."
"Uh…" Nice my ass!
Wait… why did this feel so familiar?
"Hey! Hikigaya!"
Just as Hikigaya was silently complaining to himself, Yamauchi suddenly turned to him and accused him loudly.
"What the hell is going on?! What kind of trick did you pull to frame me?!"
"…Are you expecting me to explain?"
"Hah?! W-What kind of attitude is that?!"
In reality, attitude had nothing to do with it—Hikigaya genuinely had no idea what was going on.
Yamauchi, sensing that something was off, immediately tried to rally the class.
"Not just to me, but to everyone! We had an agreement! Why am I the one ranked last?!"
"…Who knows why."
Hikigaya propped his chin up with one hand, looking completely uninterested.
This whole situation was making his head hurt.
More importantly… there was no way he could leave now, was there?
What about the Mont Blanc he had been looking forward to?!
Damn it, who was behind all this? Such a pain.
Seeing that Hikigaya wasn't responding, Yamauchi was about to argue further when suddenly, a loud and cheerful laugh echoed through the room.
"Hahaha! I thought this was going to be a boring exam with a predictable result, but Dead-eye Boy put on quite a show. Not bad, not bad."
"K-Kouenji?! What do you mean?!"
"I mean, the exam is over, so you can leave now."
"Shut up! Stop talking nonsense!"
Yamauchi shouted from the depths of his soul, then quickly turned to Hirata.
"H-Hirata! Everyone! We agreed before, didn't we?! Hikigaya was supposed to pay 20 million points to cancel the expulsion penalty!"
"Hehe, weren't you the one who said you didn't owe dead-eye Boy any gratitude that day?" Kouenji cut in. "Did you forget what you said? But even if you did, it doesn't matter—after all, dead-eye Boy never said he would pay."
"W-What?"
"Isn't that right? All he asked was for you to vote against him."
With Kouenji's reminder, the others slowly started to recall the situation.
Now that they thought about it, Hikigaya had never mentioned anything about two million points.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't have paid.
His account was still frozen. He had been relying on a few girls for meals these past few days.
Wait… did that mean he had already started living off women?!
"B-But… Hirata! Say something! Are you going to watch a classmate get expelled?!"
Realizing Hikigaya wouldn't listen, Yamauchi resorted to guilt-tripping Hirata instead, hoping to pressure the entire class into forcing Hikigaya to comply.
"I…"
But the problem was that Hirata didn't know what to say either.
On one hand, he already felt guilty about Hikigaya.
On the other… he suddenly realized how terrifying Hikigaya truly was.
Eighty-eight praise votes were beyond his imagination.
On the surface, it seemed like Hikigaya had compromised that day.
But in reality, he had stood his ground completely, as if silently declaring, "Even if I stand alone against the entire class, you can't do anything to me."
And this result was proof of that.
Could someone like him be persuaded?
Yet, looking at Yamauchi's desperate expression, Hirata couldn't bring himself to refuse outright.
Just as he was about to reluctantly plead for him, Chabashira-sensei, who had been observing the situation, suddenly spoke up.
"Hirata, I know you have a lot on your mind, but your worries never existed in the first place."
"W-What do you mean by that?" Hirata felt a sense of foreboding.
"It's simple."
Chabashira glanced at Hikigaya before continuing.
"There were never 20 million personal points available for this class to use."
"…Huh?"
Not just Hirata—everyone was stunned.
Yamauchi was the first to react, shouting in panic.
"That's not possible, sensei! Hikigaya has the money!"
"If you're talking about Hikigaya, my answer is no. And as I just said, the entire class combined doesn't have two million."
"That's impossible! Sakayanagi said he did!"
Yamauchi refused to believe it.
But Chabashira merely sighed and shook her head.
"In any case, there's no way to save you. Face reality."
"I refuse! Why—why do I have to be expelled?!"
Yamauchi shook off Chabashira-sensei's arm as she tried to approach him.
Then, he turned his anger toward Hikigaya. "This is all Hikigaya's fault! Why didn't he say from the start that there weren't enough points? He should take responsibility and drop out! Everyone, don't you agree?"
"…Haruki."
Of course, such absurd ranting didn't earn any support.
On the contrary, many students—just like Hirata—couldn't help but feel a deep-seated fear toward Hikigaya.
Even Sudo, Yamauchi's friend, couldn't stand his disgraceful display and instinctively lowered his head.
"Haha, hasn't dead-eyed boy already explained everything to you with his actions?"
Since the results had been announced, Kouenji had been fanning the flames nonstop.
"It's not just you. Every one of you thought you could manipulate others with your petty schemes, yet from beginning to end, you were all nothing more than playthings in dead-eyed boy's hands. How pitiful. How laughable."
"H-Hey…"
Hearing those words, Hikigaya was completely dumbfounded.
Wait… Kouenji-dono?
Could you please not make it sound like I'm some kind of mastermind pulling the strings from the shadows?
Hachiman seriously doesn't know anything!
"Enough already!"
Yamauchi roared at Kouenji, but then, as if suddenly grabbing onto a lifeline, his expression shifted.
"That's right! Sensei, please ask Sakayanagi! She promised to vote for me! She's going back on her word—how can that be forgiven?!"
"Sigh, I'm at a loss for words. Are you even thinking straight?"
Before Chabashira-sensei could respond, Kouenji beat her to it, ridiculing Yamauchi without a shred of mercy.
"The little girl herself was so desperate that she had to rely on the dead-eyed boy to secure votes just to avoid expulsion. Do you think, in such a situation, she would rally others to vote for you? Besides, even if that weren't the case, she would never honor such a verbal promise. She's not that kind-hearted."
Deep down, Yamauchi probably understood that as well.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been struggling so desperately these past few days.
But in the end, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
"Why?! Why, why, why?! Why does such a ridiculous exam exist? Why do I have to be the one to drop out because of it?!"
Under Kouenji's relentless attacks, Yamauchi's mental defenses finally collapsed, and he let out a scream of despair.
Still… how should I put it?
"Isn't this a bit too dramatic?"
Rather than feeling sympathy, Hikigaya was more at a loss for words.
At worst, it was just expulsion.
Sure, that would mean losing all the benefits of this school, but if he still wanted to study, couldn't he just transfer to another high school and continue like normal?
It wasn't like his life was over…
But maybe, for Yamauchi, the real issue was being unable to accept that he was unwanted by his classmates and had no place in this class.
…Sigh.
You just have to get used to things like this.
After all, Hikigaya had long since gotten used to it!
"Alright, there's no point making a fuss. You can think whatever you want, but this decision isn't going to be overturned, Yamauchi."
Chabashira-sensei, clearly fed up with the commotion, reached out to drag him away.
But Yamauchi clung tightly to the desk, shouting, "This is unfair! It's too unfair! How could I ever accept this?!"
"Oh dear, you're still this pathetic even at the very end?"
Even the usually composed and elegant Kouenji looked like he had had enough.
"From the start of the school year until now, you've learned nothing. You're still the same miserable, ugly, and hopeless reject."
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
With Kouenji's relentless provocation, Yamauchi finally snapped.
He grabbed his chair and charged straight at Kouenji, seemingly intent on smashing it over his head.
If that hit, it wouldn't be a joke.
Seriously… why did it have to turn into this?
But Hikigaya wasn't the least bit worried. He had seen Kouenji's strength firsthand—he could catch that Albert guy's punches with his bare hands.
It wouldn't even be a contest.
And sure enough, Kouenji effortlessly caught the chair's backrest. Then, like an eagle snatching up a chick, he easily pulled Yamauchi toward him.
"You threw the first punch. No complaints no matter what happens next, right?"
"Ah… ah!"
Before Yamauchi could react, Kouenji smacked him hard across the face, sending him flying.
Right into Ayanokoji.
With his level of skill, dodging would normally be easy, but the tables and chairs blocked the front and back, the right side had Yamauchi flying toward him, and the left side was the window…
With a scream, Yamauchi crashed into Ayanokoji's arms.
A mixture of blood, tears, and saliva completely soaked Ayanokoji's shirt.
…Ugh. Just looking at it was disgusting.
Hikigaya, grateful that he was standing far away, also found Kouenji's actions odd.
Logically, he didn't need to go this far.
It was almost as if he was deliberately drawing Yamauchi's hatred onto himself…
Well, whatever. He was always an unpredictable guy.
Maybe he just did it on a whim.
"Alright, that's enough."
Perhaps worried that Kouenji would take things further, Chabashira-sensei quickly stepped in.
Not that she needed to.
"Teacher, this was self-defense, right?" Kouenji smiled slightly. "Heh, though for me, it was no different from flicking away an annoying little insect."
"…Yes, I suppose Yamauchi did act rashly."
Chabashira-sensei sighed and turned toward Yamauchi, who was still collapsed in Ayanokoji's arms, unable to get up.
"Don't make any more trouble. I'll pretend I didn't see what just happened. This is for your own good."
At the same time, the classmates around them sent him gazes mixed with pity and sorrow.
At that moment, something inside Yamauchi seemed to break.
"Ugh… Uwaaaaaahhh!"
He went completely limp in Ayanokoji's arms, sobbing like a baby.
As for Ayanokoji…
He probably didn't want his classmates to think he was heartless, so he couldn't just throw Yamauchi onto the floor.
But his face was utterly lifeless.
Honestly, the scene almost looked… artistic.
Maybe.
Even Hikigaya couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.
But that aside…
Wait. This is just an expulsion, right?
Does it really have to be this dramatic?
Or maybe he was the real one who should be crying—he had already packed his bags, and now all that effort was wasted!
And to make matters worse, Kamuro saw everything…
Ugh.
Just thinking about what came next made Hikigaya's stomach ache.
How was he supposed to face Masumi after this…?