Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

“I’ve already said that the president is a person too, and a person can’t live alone.” Hikigaya walked up to Horikita Suzune and lowered his voice, “Try to make friends with the president and understand her.”

"You talk as if you know your brother better than I do." Horikita Suzune bit her lip, somewhat unwilling.

With a light laugh, Hachiman's voice revealed a strong sense of pride, "Of course I know my brother better than you do, because we're both siscon."

"Don't describe your brother like a strange person, and what are you so proud of?"

Horikita returned to his normal demeanor, gave him a light tap on the back, and then went back to the kitchen to continue his work.

"Shiina, don't forget today's mission."

Hachiman pulled Shiina, who was engrossed in her conversation with Horikita, to the kitchen door, gave her a push from behind, and then closed the kitchen door. "Good luck."

In the kitchen, Shiina, who was pushed in, immediately met the gaze of Horikita, the great demon king in her heart.

"I...I'm Hiyori Shiina from Class C. Hikigaya asked me to come and help."

"No need, I can do it myself."

Horikita's cold voice made Shiina hesitate, but remembering Hikigaya's instructions to her, she mustered her courage and looked directly at the 'big boss' in front of her.

The weapon for defeating the BOSS, Hachiman, has already been given to her; she cannot let him down.

"Horikita-senpai just said he was hungry and wanted to eat as soon as possible."

"..." Horikita Suzune sighed helplessly, "Then why don't you go and wash the vegetables over there for me first?"

Pointing to the shopping bags on the ground, Horikita Suzune continued with her own business.

Although I felt that Shiina might be lying, I had no choice but to do so because it concerned my brother.

Outside the kitchen, Horikita Manabu and Hikigaya sat facing each other at a small dining table.

"You two have such an awkward relationship."

“I have my own difficulties too.” Horikita took a sip of the tea that had been brewed on the table. “Go ahead and guide her to grow. She’s not used to this society yet.”

Hikigaya, who also believes in Horikita's theory, thinks there is some truth to it. Horikita Suzune is too straightforward. Just thinking about what it would be like for someone who has had no friends since the first grade of elementary school to go through in society is terrifying.

Aren't you afraid I'll corrupt your sister?

"Although you can be a bit eccentric and like to say random things sometimes," Horikita Manabu said with a smile, "I'm sure you're a good kid, and so is Shiina-kun."

"Since I'm a good kid, could you please help me? I'm interested in the position of student council president."

The next president of the student council is usually nominated by the previous president and then elected by the students. If there is only one nomination, there is no need for a vote.

"It would be impossible for me not to nominate Nagumo."

"But you can nominate me again, and try to stay in the position of president for as long as possible. I will try to get the position before you graduate."

"Do you realize how significant Nagumo's current advantage is?"

"clear."

Since Hikigaya had designs on that position, he must have known about Nagumo Masaru. Almost 99% of the second-year students had been won over by Nagumo, and he also had a close relationship with Class B of the third year.

Previously, Nan Yun had tried to reach out to the first-year students, but he accidentally cut off his hand. Perhaps he had already secretly started dating Ryuuen Sho from Class C without Nan Yun's knowledge.

But right now, he's in the shadows while Nagumo is in the open, so he still has room to maneuver. Class 3C and Class 3D are too low in class points to threaten Class A, and Nagumo, who is only interested in Horikita Manabu, hasn't yet extended his reach into those two classes.

"Nominate your time."

"The later the better."

“Okay, keep an eye out for the students from Class C you ran into downstairs earlier. The only use for those flying helium balloons in this school is…” Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses. “You’re not the target, are you?”

Based on today's inexplicable encounter, Hachiman could only smile wryly. "If I'm not mistaken, it must be me. Someone in Class D betrayed me."

The key card that was once taken away from his room, the helium balloon used to block the camera, and Ibuki Mio who was probably on lookout by the elevator—all these signs indicate that Ryuen Sho is planning to give him a big surprise.

This means that Ryuen already knew about his role in the fight with Sudo, indicating that there was a traitor in Class D.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Inviting Grandpa Yamauchi to His Death

Hikigaya patted the cushion next to him and gestured for Horikita Suzune to sit next to him.

Since it's a single dormitory, the room isn't very big. To make room for movement, one side of the small dining table is against the wall, and the remaining space is also small, so the seating arrangement is two people per side.

He preferred Shiina to sit next to him rather than Horikita, but in order for Horikita Suzune and her brother to have a proper conversation face to face, he let Shiina sit opposite him.

The food was served: stir-fried pork belly with green peppers, miso salmon, sizzling tofu with bonito flake miso soup, and every dish looked delicious and appealing.

"Brother... please..."

Horikita Suzune, looking like a shy little girl, hoped that Horikita Manabu would be the first to taste her cooking, and Horikita Manabu had no reason not to.

With a slow and elegant motion, Horikita picked up a piece of pork belly with his chopsticks. The pork belly looked golden and crispy, with a tender interior.

After putting it in his mouth and chewing it slowly for a few bites, Horikita Manabu gave Horikita Suzune a "not bad" rating.

"Is it alright?" Hachiman quickly picked up a bite and put it in his mouth. It was soft, smooth, and fragrant, with the aroma of oil filling his mouth. "It's obviously delicious, but you can't pretend otherwise, President."

"I have my own judgment."

Horikita Manabu tried to salvage the situation by giving his sister a sharp look, "I'm quite satisfied that you were able to see the truth about the passing score before the exam today, but what you did afterward was unacceptable. If it weren't for your classmates coming to your rescue, were you planning to keep arguing with the opponents until the exam started?"

"Hachiman, what would you do if you were in his shoes?" Horikita Manabu threw the question to Hachiman, who was waiting to hear the gossip. It was Hachiman who had tipped him off about his sister's situation.

"How do I do this?" Hikigaya thought about the argument between Horikita Suzune and Yukimura Teruhiko that morning, and instantly came up with several ways to resolve the conflict. The premise of coming up with these methods was that he understood Yukimura Teruhiko.

He is aloof and has a high opinion of himself, but he is powerless to resist the requests of cute girls. As long as he lets Kikyo Kushida talk to him for a bit beforehand, there will be no argument.

The way to handle a dispute is to first call Yukimura out of the classroom before talking to him. Sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys are at the age when they care most about their reputation, and criticizing him in public will only put Yukimura in a difficult position.

Even without knowing Yukimura, you can find a good-natured student to act as an informant beforehand. When Horikita makes a suggestion, just be faster than Yukimura to agree and create an atmosphere where those who disagree are bad people.

"Monday morning quarterbacking is useless." Hachiman took a sip of miso soup. "If a leader can't solve a problem, it's your sister's problem."

"Huh? I don't really want to lead these people who have no sense of the big picture either." Horikita immediately retorted in response to Hikigaya's accusation.

"But you want to move up to Class A, right? If you choose the 20 million transfer method, I can lend it to you for free because of the president's favor towards me."

Hikigaya took out his phone and opened the terminal, where his personal points showed that he already had more than 17 million.

"If you save more money in the next two years, you can save up the remaining three million before graduation."

The intelligence fee was eight million, Nagumo generously sponsored six million, and the remaining three million was the funds raised by Class B this month for buying people.

"Seventeen million...that's astonishing."

Horikita Suzune pursed her lips. It was impossible for her to accept this. What she wanted was not the favor of being a member of Class A, but her brother's approval.

"Brother..." Horikita Suzune murmured softly, her face showing a pitiful yet endearing expression of someone who had been bullied.

She felt like she was still the child following behind her brother, always wanting his help whenever she encountered setbacks. But when she met her brother's sharp eyes, she also understood her situation.

It's not good to always seek help from your brother, which is why he distanced himself from her. All those years of chasing after him were not in vain.

After closing her eyes for a short while, Horikita Suzune opened them again, her expression returning to its usual cool and aloofness. "I will no longer say these complaining things, and I will reflect on my failures."

"I will definitely lead Class D to Class A." Horikita Suzune turned her gaze from Horikita Manabu to Hachiman.

"If you can do it, then give it a try."

Hachiman revealed a provocative smile, his tone like that of a major villain. But inwardly, he was screaming, "How cheesy! How could someone say something so childish? I want to die! I feel like I've been given the wrong script!"

"Just keep struggling."

Picking up the small bowl of miso soup, Horikita Manabu took a sip and finally couldn't help but add, "I'll be looking forward to your performance, Suzune."

"Yes, I will try my best...brother."

With a relieved smile, Horikita Suzune bent down and solemnly expressed her determination.

"Let's try to make friends first, Suzune," Hikigaya imitated Horikita's tone before returning to his own, "The student council president thinks so too, right?"

"You are not allowed to call me Lingyin."

I got a karate chop to the side from some unlovable little sister.

"And you're not allowed to call my brother 'brother'."

"Yes...yes." Because the pressure wasn't too great and the pain wasn't intense, Hikigaya quickly straightened up. "Now, let's make friends with Shiina Hiyori, the good kid your brother has certified."

"A person who cannot communicate cannot be a leader."

"I understand without you saying it." She glanced at Hikigaya Horikita Suzune, who straightened up and looked at Shiina Hiyori, who was eating her food in silence.

"Hello, Shiina-kun, I'm Horikita Suzune."

"...Ahem...Hello, Horikita-kun." Shiina hurriedly replied, swallowing the food in her mouth.

..........

After finishing their meal, Horikita Manabu quickly said goodbye and left. Horikita Suzune and Shiina Hiyori washed the dishes together in the kitchen, although neither of them spoke much.

But as long as you stay together, you'll naturally start to communicate more, and it will gradually become a habit.

After eating and drinking his fill, Hachiman didn't forget that he had been targeted by Ryuen from Class C. As for who the traitor from Class D was who betrayed him, he would have to rely on his top intelligence ace.

Kushida-ju, you're the one!

Hikigaya took out his phone and texted Kushida to ask if he had heard any rumors from friends about whether Yamauchi and Ike, the three idiots of Class D, had ever hung out with people from Class C.

[This is true, and it's quite widespread among girls. A cute girl named Yabu Nanami from Class C was seen walking side-by-side with Yamauchi.]

[There's definitely something wrong with this. How could someone as trashy as Yamauchi attract the cute girls in Class C?]

I really want to sew that idiot Yamauchi's mouth shut; he never says anything worthwhile.

...It's a good thing the traitor was found so quickly. Now he doesn't have to devise separate plans to test these two idiots. However, Kushida has a lot of resentment towards Yamauchi.

It seems he has no choice but to follow public opinion and ask Grandpa Yamauchi to die.

Chapter Twenty-Four: One-on-One Battle at Dragon Garden

The temperature in early May is not high, and most students will wear a light jacket when they go out. During this neither cold nor hot period, the swimming pool at the Beech Activity Center is rarely visited by students, especially on Saturday mornings.

"There are really very few people here in the morning."

It's rare to see Ichinose so quiet and empty at the Beech Activity Center; she usually comes with her classmates during busy times.

"You don't need to grab my wrist, right? Nobody's watching anyway." Hachiman shook off Ichinose's grip on his left hand. "Besides, I told you you don't need to bring your swimsuit today."

Ichinose was carrying a small bag containing her swimsuit in her left hand.

He has swimming lessons, and although he can swim, he doesn't like it. Today, he came here with Ichinose to go fishing, not to see Ichinose's swimsuit temptation.

Kushida was very useful; with her excellent communication skills, she easily passed on the information he needed to inform Ryuen to Yamauchi, the mole.

He's a chauvinist and doesn't want his girlfriend to wear a swimsuit in front of others, but he still wants to see her. So he chooses Saturday morning, a time when there are basically no people around, to have a "real-life" activity together. That makes perfect sense, right?

There were absolutely no surveillance cameras in the men's changing room, and he was all alone. He didn't believe that Longyuan wouldn't take the bait.

"Hey—Ryuen-kun, aren't you going to swim a bit since you didn't take the bait?" Ichinose let go of his hand and took out a pair of men's swim trunks from the small bag. "I've already prepared swim trunks for Hikigaya-kun."

"No, it's too late. Longyuan has taken the bait."

After his phone vibrated, Hikigaya immediately took it out to check. It showed a text message from a third-year senior saying that Ryuen had taken the bait. After typing a reply, the men's locker room was already in front of him.

"Just wait for my message in the women's locker room."

"Ah."

Watching Ichinose walk into the women's changing room not far away, Hikigaya slowly walked into the fairly spacious men's changing room. There were several shower stalls on the right side of the entrance, and lockers for personal belongings on the left side, leaving the middle empty.

After taking off his jacket, Hachiman took off his inner short-sleeved shirt, and stood shirtless at the end of the men's locker room waiting for Ryuen and the others to arrive.

He did not prepare any video recorders or other devices here that could later threaten Longyuan.

The future where Ichinose wanted to swim with him today will not come, because he is going to have a grand tatakraw today.

......

When Long Yuan walked into the men's locker room with a smile and a light hum after putting up a "Under Repair" sign outside, his smile gradually froze on his face.

Upon seeing him enter with Yamada Albert, Ishizaki Daichi, and Ibuki Mio, Hachiman Hikigaya, who was standing there, looked as if he had expected this.

"You're in good shape, Hachiman." Ignoring the sudden footsteps behind them, Ryuen led the group to Hachiman and stopped in front of him. "I didn't expect you to be the type who looks slim in clothes."

The man in front of Ryuen was wearing black athletic pants. His upper body, though not showing eight-pack abs, was also free of any excess fat, with firm and well-defined muscles.

Looking past Hachiman's body into his eyes, and seeing that gaze, so different from before and no longer revealing any laziness, Ryuen immediately understood Hachiman's thoughts.