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

Seeing that he was still standing, Chazhu pointed to the sofa opposite her.

"I want to go back as soon as possible. Could you please make this brief, Mr. Chazhu?"

"sit."

This is troublesome. It shouldn't be about fighting, Hachiman thought to himself, and obediently sat down on the sofa.

"If you don't want to step up and lead Class D to promotion, then please behave yourself and don't bother others." Chazhu crossed his legs, his thighs clad in alluring black stockings beneath his suit skirt.

Obstacles? If we're talking about someone he's actively targeting, there's only one: Ayanokouji. Why would Chabashira connect the promotion to Ayanokouji?

By delving into historical memories, Hikigaya learns that Chabashira has always been obsessed with getting promoted to Class A, and that Ayanokouji, contrary to his usual behavior, began to interfere in Class D affairs after the midterm exams.

Hachiman decided to play dumb for now, "What are you saying, teacher? I don't understand."

"Whether you understand or not, just do as I say." Chazhu took out an A4 sheet of paper, which contained a printout of his personal terminal interface and his personal points transaction record.

The two million personal points collected by Class D that Hirata transferred to him were marked with a red line.

According to school rules, teachers are absolutely not allowed to participate in competitions between students, let alone do something as egregious as threatening students.

There must have been something that Hachiman didn't know that made Chabashira, who had been watching coldly, do this. Although he didn't lead Class D, he didn't do anything to harm Class D either.

Before today, there might have been a possibility that Chazhu would have "suddenly realized his mistake" and led Class D forward.

Hachiman sensed that the situation might be more complicated than he had thought, and tentatively suggested, "Then should I step in and lead Class D?"

"There's no need for that anymore."

...Are you kidding me?! Isn't this asking him to make way for Ayanokouji?! Why should he?!

Just as Hikigaya was about to retort, Chabashira leaned close to his ear and said, "I'm sorry, but a big shot has specifically requested that Ayanokouji lead Class D forward. I have no power to resist and do not want to resist."

"...I agree, goodbye."

As a teacher, Chabashira would naturally be protected by the school, but if, as she said, he couldn't resist, then he had no right to resist now.

Having been favored and nurtured by a young lady before his rebirth, he understands how terrifying those powerful figures can be. All he can do now is lie low and then—uncover the plans of these so-called powerful figures.

The closed door to the tea room opened after Hachiman left, and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji emerged expressionlessly, looking down at the tea stalk. "The deal is done, but you might regret it for trying to use me."

"Just keep trying to climb up if you don't want to drop out."

After Ayanokouji left the room, Chabashira leaned against the back of the sofa and sighed helplessly, realizing that she had stepped into an abyss.

Ayanokouji's father only conveyed to her that she should give Ayanokouji a push to get him to take action, while threatening Hikigaya was because Ayanokouji wanted to test how much she could do to get him promoted to A and also to remove an obstacle.

She's no longer fit to be a teacher after lying to and threatening two students in one day, but this is her best chance to achieve her long-cherished wish.

She was willing to do anything to help Class D get promoted to Class A.

............

After leaving the counseling room, Hachiman kept thinking about how to break the deadlock. Ayanokouji's background was still a mystery, and based on his performance when Sakayanagi came to see him last time, he felt that he could get the answer from Sakayanagi.

The first thing to do now is to find out who is behind Ayanokouji and what this person wants to achieve by letting Ayanokouji into this school.

Where there are those who gain, there will be those who lose.

If given the chance, he would like to be a companion to those he doesn't want to lose.

After finishing his student council duties after school in the afternoon, Hikigaya went to the western restaurant in the Keyakizaka Activity Center alone. After telling the waiter his private room number, he soon met Sakayanagi Arisu, whom he had once called a little devil.

Because he specifically requested it, she was the only person in the private room.

"To be honest, I never thought that someone as averse to trouble as you would take the initiative to come to me."

Sitting quietly in his chair, Sakayanagi smiled, his textured silver hair and frail body giving off a strange, ethereal, and fragile atmosphere.

"If I could, I wouldn't want to contact you, but there's something I want to know."

Hikigaya plopped down opposite Sakayanagi and took a sip of the juice, which was ten times more expensive than the juice in the supermarket but didn't taste as good. He was paying for the meal, so he figured he might as well drink it.

After swallowing his juice and vehemently criticizing capitalists, Hachiman looked at Sakayanagi and asked, "I'd like to ask Sakayanagi's daughter, what should you do if a student is threatened by another student using their family background?"

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Troublesome Ayanokoji Kiyotaka (Please continue reading!)

Sakayanagi Arisu's father, Sakayanagi Morishiro, is the chairman of the school's board of directors. He is a bit thin and wears black-rimmed glasses, giving him the appearance of a kind-looking middle-aged man.

“Impossible, Father would never allow something like this to happen,” Sakayanagi said, somewhat surprised.

The Advanced Educational High School is the foundation of their family's politics. The previous chairman was her grandfather, and if nothing unexpected happens, she or her future husband will inherit the position.

Generally speaking, no one would dare to go against his father's wishes and interfere.

"I received a warning from my homeroom teacher not to get in Ayanokouji's way, and I immediately agreed," Hachiman skillfully cut the steak on his plate with a knife.

"You agreed instantly?" Sakayanagi was a little angry, thinking about how Hachiman had mocked her as a little girl last time. "You have no backbone. You're a man, aren't you?"

"Even if I were Superman, it wouldn't work," Hachiman chuckled self-deprecatingly. "The person who can raise a monster like Ayanokouji must be a monster himself."

Even if Chabashira tries to pressure him by mentioning Sakayanagi Chairman, he won't be afraid, because he can deduce from Sakayanagi Arisu that Chairman Sakayanagi is a rule-abiding person.

"You're really perceptive. You're nothing like an ordinary student."

Because she knew who was behind Ayanokouji, Sakayanagi also knew that Hachiman was doing the right thing. She also knew how terrifying that person was, but threatening Hachiman was not like that person's style.

“I will ask my father to investigate this matter.” Sakayanagi didn’t think Hachiman would joke with her. “You owe me a favor for helping this time.”

"it is good."

It's only natural to owe favors, but Sakayanagi has no obligation to help him.

"Could you tell me about Ayanokouji's background? I'll owe you another favor."

"No, Ayanokouji is my designated opponent, I can't let him have him."

Sakayanagi rejected him with an unquestionable attitude, and he understood that there was no point in pestering her.

After finishing their meal and paying the bill, he walked outside the restaurant with Sakayanagi. Surprisingly, Kamuro Masumi, whom he had expected, was not waiting at the door. Sakayanagi usually took her with him when he went out.

"Kamuro hasn't arrived yet?" Hachiman looked around. "Isn't she usually the one serving you?"

"I'm not so weak that I need someone to be with me."

Sakayanagi, leaning on her cane, slowly walked towards the stairs. Hikigaya quickly followed beside her, afraid that she would fall. Although he knew she wasn't that frail, he was still a little worried.

After Sakayanagi walked down the stairs, Hikigaya slowed down and followed her about four or five steps behind, intending to escort her back to her dormitory.

Sakayanagi, who was walking in front, was barely 1.5 meters tall, even shorter than Akane Tachibana, the short upperclassman in the student council. He thought that if Sakayanagi had a bun hairstyle like Akane Tachibana, he would look taller.

Imagine a silver-haired bun hairstyle paired with a beret; even Hikigaya thinks it would suit Sakayanagi perfectly.

Sakayanagi, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned to look at him. "I feel a disgusting gaze. If you want to take me back to my dorm, please walk right next to me."

"That won't work. There are a lot of students on the street, and you don't want rumors to spread that you're closely related to me," Hachiman chose to refuse.

A person walking with a girl, especially a cute and famous girl like Sakayanagi, will definitely become a hot topic of gossip among first-year girls.

"You care about what others say?" Sakayanagi smiled elegantly. "Besides, I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of? Are you going to disobey me, the daughter of the student council president?"

...Speechless for a moment, Hikigaya followed Uesaka Yanagi's footsteps. Uesaka Yanagi, who had just shown a bit of a feminine charm, had a smug expression on her face. The closer you got, the more you could feel her petite size.

Despite her petite stature and limited mobility, she possesses a powerful aura that gives her a queen-like presence.

As you walk out of the dimly lit tree-lined avenue, the streetlights become brighter as you get closer to the dormitory buildings, and you encounter more and more students going out or returning.

As they approached the dormitory building, Sakayanagi suddenly stumbled and moved closer to him. Hachiman, quick-witted and agile, bent down and grabbed her arm and shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"It's alright," Sakayanagi said, showing no sign of panic.

After supporting Sakayanagi for a few seconds and feeling that he had regained his balance, Hachiman released his hand. After helping Sakayanagi into the building and onto the elevator, Hachiman also found the dormitory manager.

"I lost my spare key card for my room, and I'm worried that someone might find it, so I decided to change the lock."

Longyuan has copied his access card countless times, and when we ask him to return it, we can't be sure if he has any spares. We have to change the lock.

After paying the points and agreeing to have someone change the room the next day, Hachiman arrived at the back of the dormitory building. There were no security cameras there, but there was a vending machine and a chair that could seat two or three people.

He bought a can of his favorite MAX coffee from a vending machine, took a sip, and the sugary taste lifted his spirits.

Real men should drink MAX coffee.

Not long after he sat on the bench slowly savoring his beloved MAX coffee, the loyal man was greeted by his dearest older brother, Horikita Manabu.

"Help me, boss."

"..." Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses with a cold expression. "Is there anything that can only be said in person?"

Most of Hachiman's communication with him was done via mobile phone. This was the first time they had to go out to meet, especially in a place without surveillance cameras.

"Are there any cases of homeroom teachers being dismissed at this school?"

With a speechless expression, Horikita Manabu sat down next to him.

"At least I've never heard of such a case. What did Mr. Chazhu do to make you think this way?"

Because his younger sister was in first grade, he paid a lot of attention to the first grade. He had read the information of all four teachers in the first grade. Although he was a student, as the student council president, he had more power than ordinary teachers.

"She threatened me."

"Threatening you to make you lead Class D to upgrade to Class A?"

As Horikita Suzune's homeroom teacher, Horikita Manabu also paid close attention to Chabashira. He knew that all the first-year teachers, except for the C class teacher, were students from a certain year at this school. He also knew that Hoshinomiya-sensei from B class and Chabashira were once students in D class at the same time.

"You threatened me not to stop a student named Kiyotaka Ayanokouji from leading Class D to A," Hikigaya said, finishing his coffee in one gulp. "Does the student council president know Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's background?"

"I have an impression."

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, a student who scored 50 points in all subjects on the entrance exam, was remembered by Hachiman shortly after the new students enrolled, but he couldn't provide the information that Hachiman needed.

“I once checked his admission information, and it didn’t even have information about which junior high school he attended or his home address. It was supposedly a special admission.”

"Troublesome." Hachiman threw the empty bottle into the trash can and decided to buy another can.

Could Ayanokouji, with his blank information, be an experimental subject cultivated by a special research institution? Just how troublesome could he be?

Chapter Thirty: Beatings and Lies

"President, I remember Suzune said you have the skills of a fifth dan in karate and a fourth dan in aikido. Could you teach me?"

After enjoying another can of MAX coffee, he was full of energy. During his fight with Longyuan, he realized that he needed to learn some fighting skills to better utilize his excellent physical abilities.

“Yes, it’s a good thing to be good at both academics and sports at this school.” Horikita Manabu stood up from the bench. “When does it start? I’m usually only free in the evenings.”

"Now."

Good things should not be delayed, and besides reading, he had no other entertainment activities at night.

"As for the venue, I go to the gym I frequent. They have secluded rooms that you can rent."

After going to the gym with Horikita Manabu, Hikigaya readily paid for three months' worth of fees, and even when Horikita Manabu was sometimes unavailable, he could ask Horikita Suzune to teach him.

"Come on, hit me."

Lowering his center of gravity, he stood with one foot in front of the other, hands placed in front of his chest. After entering the room, Horikita Manabu struck a pose as if he wanted to test his skill level first.

"Then I'm here."

Following the example of fighting matches he had seen on TV, Hikigaya raised his hand and intended to punch Horikita Manabu in the left chest, but Horikita Manabu simply stepped back, causing his right fist to miss.

"Continue," Horikita Manabu said calmly.

Hearing Horikita Manabu's order, he continued to attack. Horikita Manabu skillfully dodged the attack as before, but this time after dodging, he immediately closed the distance and threw a straight punch back.

The punch was fast, but Hachiman's reaction was just as quick, and he caught the punch with his left arm, preventing it from hitting him.

"Okay." After giving a word of praise, Horikita Manabu suddenly squatted down and delivered a sweeping leg kick.

Hachiman, who had been on high alert, jumped up immediately.

Then he died.

The cunning Horikita Manabu was just feinting. His slow sweeping leg left Horikita with nowhere to dodge and he was swept to the ground, where he then received a rabbit kick from Horikita Manabu.

"If you want to learn fighting, you must first learn to take a beating."

After enduring the pain to stand up, Horikita Manabu in front of him made a devilish declaration.

......

They would go to school, and after school, they would do manual labor. After finishing the labor, they would be beaten by the student council president.