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

"Are we almost at school?" Shiina asked, her eyes lowered and looking a little confused.

"It's coming soon."

With a light laugh, Hikigaya poked Shiina's soft little face. This gesture, which seemed like treating a child, made Shiina, who was gradually coming to her senses, somewhat dissatisfied.

Even in the dimly lit bus with the interior lights off, he could still see Shiina's pouting lips through the faint light shining through the windows; her dreamlike pink lips looked incredibly alluring.

"Hachiman!"

"Yes~yes~"

Hachiman stopped what he was doing when faced with a light, pink fist pounding his chest, even though it didn't hurt at all.

"Kanzaki-kun's abilities seem to be lower than I thought. I miscalculated this time."

After leaving Hikigaya's lap and returning to her seat, Shiina grabbed one of Hikigaya's hands and fiddled with both of them. This time, their B class being promoted to A class was not the result she had planned.

Ichinose was right in her judgment that she came in second place in the girls' group, but Kanzaki's performance in the boys' group was so poor that the points deducted from Ichinose's score were more than enough to offset his performance.

If this weren't the first special exam she had to lead as a leader, and if it weren't for the fact that the Ichinose group was capable of competing with her for first place, she wouldn't have risked being promoted to Class A to try and win first place.

"Being promoted to Class A isn't without its advantages; at least the other students are starting to respect you," Hachiman said with a smile.

Previously, the students in Class B obeyed Shiina's commands only on the condition that she endorsed her authority. Now, Shiina has transformed into the powerful figure who leads them to Class A.

Even without relying on his influence, Shiina already had the power to command the students in Class B.

"Hmph, all she does is say nice things. I wonder where she learned that."

Shiina rolled her eyes at Hikigaya, a faint smile appearing on her face as she gently stroked Hikigaya's protruding metacarpal bones with her soft palm.

Amidst their smiles, the bus slowly came to a stop.

They have returned to school after eight days away, but even though it was only eight days, many students felt that a long time had passed.

"I'll leave Hiyori in your care. I have something to do and won't be going back to the dorm yet."

"Ah."

Horikita, who also looked tired, nodded slightly. Seeing this, Hikigaya left the main group of Class B and went to the ramen shop in the center of Keyaki to treat his stomach, which was still not full after only eating one dinner.

His fight with Ayanokouji had drained a lot of his energy.

While eating ramen, Hachiman Hikigaya was replying to someone's messages on his phone. After finishing his meal, he went to a convenience store and bought a few cans of MAX coffee.

"Why are you still looking like this, Sakayanagi? Why don't you just drop out of school?"

Based on the location of the phone in the mountain village, Hikigaya found the trio of Sakayanagi and Kamuro on a deserted bench by the sea. At this time, Sakayanagi was still looking sad and dejected.

Just like a pet abandoned by its owner.

"I personally recommend Yin Lingqi, who has abandoned her private life."

Hikigaya distributed MAX coffee to Kamuro and Yamamura. Sakayanagi, who did not respond to his words, politely accepted the coffee and then put it aside.

"Sakayanagi-san hasn't said anything the whole time; it wasn't directed at Hikigaya-san," Yamamura quickly explained after thanking her, fearing Hikigaya might be angry with Sakayanagi.

Do people in the mountain village think I'm such a petty person?

"No, it's just...it's just..."

"Phew—stop teasing the mountain village, Hikigaya." Kamuro took a big gulp of iced coffee and let out a long sigh before speaking calmly.

"I just wanted to keep Yamamura from being unhappy because of Sakayanagi's love-struck mind."

Hikigaya patted the head of the somewhat panicked Yamamura, who was no longer radiating a depressed and lost aura.

Worried about Sakayanagi, who seemed withdrawn, Yamamura, knowing that the exhausted students just wanted to go back to their dormitories to rest, contacted him by phone to ask for his help.

How could he not want to spoil her?

"Can you please wake up? How long are you going to stay immersed in your own world?" Hachiman opened the MAX coffee next to Sakayanagi and pinched Sakayanagi's cheeks with his right hand.

After forcing him to open his mouth, he directly poured a mouthful of MAX coffee, which Karuizawa found cloyingly sweet, into Sakayanagi's mouth.

"What are you doing, Hachiman!"

After Hikigaya let go, Sakayanagi's face turned angry, but his eyes regained their liveliness.

"Is it delicious? This is my favorite drink."

"Who would drink that? It's half sugar, isn't it? My mouth feels all sticky." Sakayanagi stood up and glared at Hachiman in front of him.

"We can't waste it if we don't drink it."

Raising his head, Hachiman drank the MAX coffee he had just forcibly fed to Sakayanagi in one gulp. The familiar taste and the caffeine made him even more clear-headed.

According to the information I received from Ayanokoji.

Surprisingly, Sakayanagi is a hopeless romantic.

Chapter 211 The Biting Sakayanagi

"Indirect! Indirect kiss—" Yamamura covered his face, his cheeks flushed red as he peeked out from between his fingers.

He indirectly kissed that brat Sakayanagi?!

Staring blankly at the empty coffee shop in his hand, Hachiman realized what he had just done.

She glanced down at Sakayanagi, whose face was now flushed with embarrassment.

“What’s there to be swayed about, Yamamura? We’re not elementary school kids anymore.” Hachiman said slowly, his face expressionless. “I’ll go throw the empty can in the trash can and come back.”

"You think you can just walk away after doing something like this?"

Sakayanagi raised her head and grabbed Hikigaya's clothes tightly. Her anger at Hikigaya's recklessness dispelled the sense of loss and confusion that Ayanokouji had felt from dropping out of school.

Once upon a time, someone pinched her cheeks and forced her to drink overly sweet coffee, and that person even continued drinking from the spot they had already drunk from.

Isn't this just like what Yamamura said—an indirect kiss?

"Excuse me, could you please temporarily return to your previous state, like this—" With his mouth slightly open, Hikigaya spread his gaze, making his dead fish eyes even more lifeless, looking like a boy who had witnessed his girlfriend cheating.

"Hikigaya Hachiman!"

With great effort, Sakayanagi tried to pull Hachiman closer to her, but with her strength, she not only failed to budge Hachiman at all, but also lost her balance and uncontrollably lunged at him.

My legs suddenly went weak at that moment.

"Are you a child? How could you be so careless?"

Hachiman quickly crouched down and, before Sakayanagi could fall to the ground, pulled her onto his left arm and wrapped his right arm around her back. His excellent core strength prevented him from being pulled down by Sakayanagi.

"You're the child!"

Looking at Hikigaya's face so close to hers, Sakayanagi's pent-up grievances exploded, and she threw herself onto his shoulder, opening her mouth wide.

This person is the one who ruined her mood.

Now they're even coming right up to her, making fun of her and watching her make a fool of herself.

To prevent anything that would make her even more embarrassed from flowing from her slightly moist eyes, she bit down hard on a piece of flesh on Hachiman's shoulder.

so hard!

Sakayanagi felt even more aggrieved and clung tightly to Hikigaya's shoulders with both hands.

"I was wrong. Arisu isn't a child; he's a puppy."

Sensing the grievance in Sakayanagi's words, Hikigaya gently patted her back, his tone becoming very soft, and his cheek rested against the back of her head through her smooth silver hair.

He ignored the slight pain coming from the shoulder that was being bitten.

The sight of Sakayanagi now reminded him of how his younger sister Komachi used to suffer, which caused his "onii-chan power" to explode.

"Let me go, Hachiman." Sakayanagi released his mouth and leaned on Hachiman's shoulder for a while before his face suddenly turned red.

His exceptionally gentle words, the tender pressure on his back revealing his doting affection, and the warmth emanating from his body that was even higher than her own body temperature.

Unconsciously, she fell into the comfort of being in Hikigaya's arms, her mind went blank, and she didn't want to leave. Most of her anger and grievances dissipated during the time she leaned on his shoulder.

If it weren't for the sudden appearance of her two companions in her mind, she might not have let Hachiman release her so quickly.

Why are you suddenly being so gentle with me? You ignored me just like Ayanokouji did at the gymnasium, and you were just teasing me.

She was gently placed on the bench as if she were a precious jewel. Looking at the boy in front of her with an indescribably gentle expression, Sakayanagi suddenly felt a surge of resentment.

"Don't let your friends worry anymore, Sakayanagi."

Hikigaya sat cross-legged in front of the three friends, not caring whether the ground was dirty or not. Since he hadn't showered, the first thing he planned to do when he got back to the dorm was to take a shower and go to sleep.

"It's just a little bit... I understand, okay?"

Looking down at Hikigaya, Sakayanagi wanted to make some outrageous remarks, but seeing Kamuro's mocking gaze beside her, she decided it was best not to do so.

“That’s great, Sakayanagi-san.”

Yamamura grabbed Sakayanagi's hand happily, and Kamuro also placed his hand on Sakayanagi's head and gently stroked it, revealing a somewhat gratified expression, as if he were moved by the growth of his own naughty child.

Sandwiched between the two, Sakayanagi pouted, her delicate and cute face showing annoyance but unable to vent her grievances.

Seeing this, Hachiman's lips slowly curled up.

Sakayanagi has undoubtedly moved on from losing Ayanokouji. With Kamuro and Yamamura by her side, she certainly won't choose to drop out of school like Hikigaya did when he first saw her.

The future that the mountain village feared has been erased.

..........

..........

"I failed."

"waste."

Having just returned to school, Sakagami worked overtime in the dead of night to process Ayanokouji's withdrawal from school.

Once the formalities were completed and he left the school, a black sedan appeared at the school gate. Less than an hour after getting in the car, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka met his father, Ayanokouji Atsumasa, a biologist.

A dignified and upright posture, and a meticulously styled hairstyle.

The man remained exactly as Kiyotaka Ayanokouji remembered him, but this time, he managed to glimpse the anger within the man's heart.

Looks like you can't keep that poker face forever.

As their figures clashed, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji stepped past the angry man and entered the white-themed building, returning to the room where he had lived for over ten years.

The room was exactly the same as when he left, except that it was different from other rooms.

He truly felt that he was learning something from the students at this highly nurturing school.

With questions about what she had actually learned, Ayanokouji lay down on the familiar yet unfamiliar bed.

“Mr. Ayanokouji, what should we do next? The best work has failed in the hands of a commoner. I have looked into his background and there is not a single thing about him that is commendable.”

The driver of the car that brought Ayanokouji Kiyotaka back was sitting on the sofa in front of Ayanokouji Atsume, casually swirling a glass of red wine in his hand.

"According to Kiyotaka, I learned that four people defeated him by force this time."

"Hachiman Hikigaya, Rokusuke Koenji, the future heir to the Koenji Foundation, Fuka Kiryuin, the rebellious daughter of the Onishima family, and Manabu Horikita, the former student council president."

"Among the four, I judged that Hikigaya Hachiman's fighting strength was the highest, and he was not much worse than me."

With his eyes closed, Atsushi Ayanokouji pondered how to salvage Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's failure. The long-running plan would not end because of Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's failure alone.

"The highly trained freshmen will be enrolling in less than three months, and I need three places."

“Three positions, huh? But that’s a piece of cake for me.” Yuecheng said with a faint smile. “It seems your plan is to continue.”

"I'll have someone send you the information on the personnel who can cooperate with you during the training period."

Ayanokouji Atsumasa stood up from the sofa without touching the red wine that Tsukishiro had poured for him.

"The task of restoring the White House's reputation is entrusted to you."

"learn."

Raising his wine glass to Ayanokoji Atsume, Tsukishiro drank it all in one gulp.

Chapter 212 Getting up at noon tomorrow is also fine.

February 1st.

The notice board on the floor where the first-grade students are located has been updated, and the class order for the first-grade students has changed.