13 - Hikigaya Hachiman felt a sense of anticipation.
"The situation with Saotome Mary isn't your fault."
Suzui Ryota sat in front of Hikigaya Hachiman and Jabami Yumeko, holding a cup filled with cold water. In return for Yumeko's favor, he had decided to treat them to a meal and, out of goodwill, wanted to explain the current situation at Hyakkaou Academy.
Despite being the one most often manipulated by Saotome, he was unusually refraining from taking the opportunity to exact revenge on her.
'Such a person, though lacking in usefulness or upward mobility, will always have luck on their side.' Hikigaya took a spoonful of curry beef and put it in his mouth, giving an honest assessment.
Even someone as ambitious as him had no particular opinion about Suzui Ryota.
'A thoroughly ordinary nice guy.'
Yumeko's plate was filled with tempura, golden and crispy. She first picked up a piece and ate it, savoring the rich flavor. Then, she placed her chopsticks beneath it and offered it to Hachiman.
The meaning behind the gesture was already clear.
"Cough, um... I'm not used to eating other people's food." Hikigaya silently recited prime numbers and coldly rejected her.
'Seriously, has their relationship gotten to this point?! This is basically feeding play!' Suzui Ryota thought, tears in his eyes.
"Uh, are you two even listening to me?"
"Mm-hmm, we're listening, Suzui-kun. Continue," Jabami Yumeko casually replied, putting another piece of tempura into her mouth while covering up the slightly rude chewing motions.
"This is the rule at this school."
"Rules?" Hikigaya put down his chopsticks, his interest piqued. He needed such information to systematically piece together everything he had learned over the past few days.
Suzui Ryota's expression grew serious, and deep within his eyes, an uncontrollable fear was evident. "Yes, rules. Many of the children here are from political and financial elites. In the future, leadership will require skill, mind reading, and the strength to overpower the weak. This is how the school operates."
"So, those with strong gambling abilities gain high prestige, and even special status students like Saotome can do well."
After saying this, Suzui suddenly realized that Hikigaya Hachiman was also a special status student. He hurriedly explained, "No, no, I didn't mean to look down on special status students."
"It's fine. I don't mind. Go on," Hikigaya waved his hand dismissively.
Suzui Ryota let out a sigh of relief. "On the other hand, those with weak gambling abilities are bullied by others. Specifically, the school has a class system. The student council collects the students' fees, and the amount determines their class status."
"The highest class is the student council members, whose gambling skills are exceptional. No one dares to defy their will."
"Next are the managers of the school's various casinos. They control their respective areas with their gambling skills and are not to be taken lightly."
Casinos? Hikigaya suddenly remembered the closed activity rooms and the people wearing dog tags he had seen yesterday.
"Then there are students like Saotome, and after them, the general students. Finally, at the bottom, there are the 'livestock.'"
"Student rankings are regularly announced. If a student is in the bottom 100 of the 3000 students in the entire school, they become a non-cooperative student, colloquially known as 'livestock.'"
This really was a society with clear class divisions. Hikigaya's eyes flashed. The division of the upper and lower classes, the person who created this system—this was indeed interesting.
"Eh, that's too much..." Jabami Yumeko said, though she couldn't help but squeeze her thighs together. Hikigaya Hachiman fell into a moment of silence.
This woman... truly beyond saving!
As Suzui was speaking, he saw a group of boys nearby casually toss their plates in front of a boy wearing the "livestock" tag, showcasing the privileges of the higher-ups. Even though the boy wearing the livestock tag was clearly resentful, he could only silently clean up, as his gambling skills were lacking.
Lacking gambling skills meant lacking the ability to manipulate and read people's minds, which led to a destined life of relative failure.
Watching this scene, Suzui sighed. "It wasn't this bad before. It all started a year ago when the current student council president took office. Since then, everything has only worsened."
"The current student council president? Who is it?"
"Momobami Kirari."
"The student council at this school is the strongest gambling group. Winning the position of student council president made her the strongest of them all."
Upon hearing this name, Jabami Yumeko's hand hesitated for a moment, though Hachiman noticed it immediately.
Momobami? Her surname also contains the character "kui" (meaning "eat"). Could she be a distant relative of Jabami Yumeko?
"She only joined our school in high school, yet suddenly became the student council president. She challenged the previous president to a gamble for the position, won the game, and then established the current student council. Since then, the students' class consciousness has evolved into what it is now."
"Ah, sorry if I scared you two."
Suzui Ryota tried to detect fear in the eyes of the two transfer students, hoping his warnings about the dangers of gambling would be acknowledged.
However, to his surprise, their reactions were far from what he expected.
Jabami Yumeko nervously clenched her legs together, the sound of her thighs rubbing under her black clothing filling the air. She leaned her head on Hikigaya Hachiman's shoulder, gently placing her thumb in her mouth. Her neat white teeth, glistening with saliva, bit down on her thumb.
Breathing heavily and glistening with sweat, she spoke with a playful laugh, "Hehehe, really. This school is becoming more and more unimaginable the more I hear about it. I'm so glad I transferred here. Don't you think so, Hachiman?"
Cough. Hikigaya Hachiman expressionlessly took off his coat and draped it over Yumeko's thighs, preventing her hand, which had instinctively begun to reach inside her skirt, from being seen by others.
A rare spark of excitement burned in his eyes, but it wasn't aimed at Jabami Yumeko. It was at the fascinating, absolutely fair, and exploitative system of the school.
The capable rise, the mediocre fall.
This was the life Hikigaya Hachiman sought. He wanted to win. He wanted to win, always.
"This is really something to look forward to." Hikigaya Hachiman expressionlessly took a sip of his tea. "Using their spear to attack their shield... hehehe~"
This...
Suzui Ryota couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. This damn tacit understanding—what on earth were these two talking about?
They didn't feel scared at all? Well, Jabami Yumeko could be excused, but he had expected Hikigaya to listen and try to talk some sense into her, to warn her not to fall too deeply into this.
But instead, Hikigaya seemed just as enchanted by it?!
This world was insane...
The three of them were all caught up in some strange emotional state, until—
A clear female voice from the second-floor restaurant snapped them out of their reverie.
"I won this round!"
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