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

"Do they really have to drop out of school?"

It was already four in the morning, and the entire dormitory building was as quiet as if no one was alive. In Hachiman's room, Sudo lay on his beanbag chair like a corpse.

"Ike is the mastermind, and he deserves to die the most. As for Yamauchi, he even tried to use me to invite Kushida. I almost became an accomplice."

After finishing his MAX coffee, Hachiman threw the empty can into the trash can. When he returned, he bought a whole case of MAX coffee and brought it back to his dorm.

Sudo took the unopened coffee, opened it, and took a sip. His face was filled with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. "How did things suddenly get to this point?"

He was about to lose two friends in less than a day. How could he possibly accept that?

"Everyone has to pay the price for their mistakes. If you want to hate someone, hate me. It was I who insisted on dropping out of school. They even monitored you to prevent you from tipping them off."

If Sudo had sought help from Hirata instead, the chances of Yamauchi and Ike dropping out would have been slim, as Hirata's excessive care for his students had reached an unhealthy level.

If they bumped into him, Yamauchi and Ike would definitely not be able to stay.

"I don't hate you." Sudo closed his eyes. "I used to hate my scumbag parents and never wanted to become like them, but looking back, I've become more and more like them."

"Thinking that the child born of a scumbag would naturally be a scumbag as well, I vented my violence without any restraint until I was tricked by Class C and learned that I would be expelled from the basketball club. Only then did I regret why I used violence."

"At that time, I didn't expect you to help me, after all, you are so handsome and dazzling."

Me? Dazzling and aloof? He's been sitting alone in his seat every day since the start of the semester and hasn't talked to any other students. It's not like he's just a student council secretary.

Hikigaya silently opened a can of coffee and continued listening to Sudo's thoughts.

"I envy so much that he is so carefree and relaxed even though he is all alone. I can't do that. When school started, I thought I would resist introducing myself because I was all alone, but in the end I took the initiative to talk to Yamauchi."

“Especially now I understand my own mental weakness even more.” Sudo pounded his chest hard.

"Even though your body is already so strong, you don't have the determination to make Yamauchi and the others stop even if you have to use violence, nor do you have the determination to inform them even if you are beaten down here."

Seeing Sudo's self-pitying expression, Hikigaya simply stood on the side of V.

"Then try to defeat me. If you defeat me, I will let Yamauchi and Ike go and will not pursue the matter."

"..." Sudo opened his eyes and slowly stood up. "Okay."

After piling all the clutter into the corner, Hikigaya looked at Sudo, who was less than two meters away. Having never formally studied fighting, he could only imitate the fighting style of the karate (nine) neighbor Liu Si 3〃 Lu 『Saki (two) Hadou match, clenching his fists and holding them in front of his chest.

"It might hurt a little, so please try not to scream."

After reminding Sudo, Hikigaya took a half step forward and made a front kick, then paused with his lower leg and switched to a high sweeping kick, easily breaking through Sudo's defense and kicking him in the chin.

Without uttering a single cry, Sudo closed his eyes and fell into a deep, infant-like sleep. After Hachiman quickly helped him up, the early morning confrontation came to an end.

While thinking how amazing Onishima-senpai's skills were, Hikigaya had Sudo sit against the edge of his bed.

The night is long, and the appointed time for judgment is still far off.

Sudo can sleep, but he can't.

--------

"Get up, get ready, have breakfast, and then we'll head out."

Without any hesitation, Hachiman kicked the sleeping Sudo. Then, Hachiman sat down at the table and ate the cooked noodles. After Sudo finished getting ready and eating breakfast, Hachiman took Sudo to the swimming pool in the center of the Zelkova tree.

On the way to the Keyaki Recreation Center, Hikigaya met the beloved student council president and the familiar Fujimaki-senpai, who were waiting there in advance.

"Good morning, President, Fujimaki-senpai." After greeting them, Hikigaya handed Sudo over to the two of them. "I'm going to meet my classmate now."

"and many more."

Horikita pushed up his glasses with a cold expression. "Are you really going to do this? It's not too late to back out now."

The student council has to issue a notice to explain the serious matter of a student dropping out without passing the special exam. Now that Hachiman has chosen to participate in and lead this matter, his name will be on the notice.

When the student council notice is issued, Horikita Manabu and Hikigaya will be listed as the persons in charge. However, compared to Horikita Manabu, who is a third-year student, more students believe that this incident was led by Hikigaya, who is also a first-year student.

Hikigaya will bear the infamy of expelling two classmates.

"A bad reputation is still a reputation. If my brother becomes successful and outstanding, maybe my cutest little sister in the world will be happy for me."

Hachiman thought, why not? In fact, it would be better. Nothing unites a class more than a common enemy.

"Sister complex is disgusting." Horikita chuckled. "In that case, go ahead."

"You talk as if you're not a sister-complex person."

With a wave of his hand, Hachiman walked into the Keyakizaka Entertainment Center and found Kushida Yamauchi and his friends waiting for him. The boys were Yamauchi, Ike, and Sotomura, and the girls included Kushida Horikita, whom Hachiman had invited, as well as Karuizawa and Shinohara Satsuki.

"As the person who invited you, you're late. I think I need to re-evaluate your character," Horikita Suzune, dressed in light blue casual clothes, said bluntly.

Shinohara, standing to the side, also looked somewhat dissatisfied, but dared not speak like Horikita Suzune.

"Whatever you want." Despite feeling sleepy, Hikigaya waved his hand to indicate that they could set off, and the group arrived at the swimming pool, which had just opened that morning.

There weren't many students who arrived at the pool early in the morning, especially as final exams approached. There was only one couple flirting in the pool.

"I'm so envious." Looking at the couple flirting, Ike said enviously, and Yamauchi also looked on in agreement.

Seeing this, Karuizawa gave Ike a disdainful look and said, "Then you can be envious all you want. We're going to buy tickets and change clothes."

"I've already bought everything with Yamauchi, so I'll go in first."

Chi, who had been acting like a pig, grabbed Yamanouchi's arm and quickly headed towards the ticket gate, while Soimura walked at the front of the line to buy tickets.

When the first out-of-towner to buy a ticket arrived at the ticket window, he fumbled in his backpack for his phone but couldn't find it. Hikigaya kindly paid for his ticket and told him he didn't need to pay it back.

After today, there won't be a single personal point in the card of the outside village, and no one will dare to lend him personal points.

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Pool Where Tears Flowed

After resolving the minor hiccup of not being able to find their phones and pay for tickets in the outlying village, the group successfully bought tickets, passed through the ticket gate, and obtained the keys and bracelets for their lockers in the changing room.

"Ouch."

Just as the boys and girls were about to separate near the changing room, Tomorrow, who was dawdling at the back of the group, tripped and fell flat on his face, his key bracelet flying to the feet of Hachiman, who was walking at the front.

"Are you alright, classmate from the other village?"

With a worried expression, Kushida went over to comfort Sotomura, but made no move to lend a hand. He knew what kind of person Sotomura was, since Hakiya had called him over.

"Boys are just clumsy." Shinohara followed Kushida over and looked down at the village with disdain.

"Why would you and Shinohara accept the invitation from Yamauchi and the others?"

Hikigaya approached Karuizawa and lowered his voice; the Karuizawa group was at the forefront of despising the Three Idiots.

"Yamachi said you would go too, and Satsuki said she wanted to go as well, so I agreed. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble. You seem quite unhappy."

"You can even tell that?" Hachiman pulled out his phone and looked at his expressionless reflection on the screen. Karuizawa was somewhat surprised by his keen observation skills.

"There's no trouble. Just follow the instructions of Akane-senpai who's waiting in the locker room."

"Oh, I see."

Without asking any further questions, Karuizawa obediently nodded.

Meanwhile, in the men's locker room

"Is it not ready yet, Kanji?"

Peeking over the group of Hikigaya who had fallen and stopped in their tracks in the outer village, Yamauchi lowered his voice and urged Ike, who was remotely controlling a car to secretly film them, to hurry up.

If they don't go out soon, they'll stay in the locker room for too long and it will look suspicious.

"Almost there, I'm adjusting the angle. The grille on the ventilation duct is obstructing the shooting angle too much." Sweating profusely, Chi nervously and slowly operated the remote control.

"As long as you can get the shot, hurry up."

"Youth should not leave regrets! Haruki!"

Yamauchi rubbed his hands together, a mixture of excitement and unease, and looked out of the locker room. "Salute to youth! Kanji, don't let our efforts go to waste!"

"Of course!"

With a determined look, Ike gave Yamauchi a thumbs-up.

.........

"Stop acting, get up, outsider."

Seeing Yamauchi and Ike come out of the men's locker room, Hikigaya shooed all the girls to the locker room, then kicked the key bracelet off the ground and sat down on the ground to say that he had fallen and was in pain and needed to rest.

"I don't understand what you mean by 'act,' Hikigaya-kun." Beads of sweat began to appear on Tomomura's forehead.

"You secretly filmed the remote-controlled car, didn't you? The school records every student's expense; you can't deny it."

Looking indifferently at Tomomura's face, which had turned deathly pale, Hikigaya sent a text message to the chairman saying that they could proceed with the plan.

Upon receiving the text message, Horikita Manabu immediately led Sudo over from the pool entrance, while Fujimaki-senpai was left at the ticket booth to prevent other students from buying tickets.

"Sudo, didn't you say you weren't coming?"

After completing the plan, Yamauchi wore a long face, and he mistook the student council president next to Sudo for someone who had come to find Hachiman to go swimming together.

Even without mind-reading abilities, Hikigaya could tell that Yamauchi's walnut-like brain was thinking that Sudo was there to reap the benefits without sowing, and that he was probably cursing Sudo in his heart.

"Haruki..." Sudo turned his head away in the face of Yamanouchi's question.

"The student council received a report that some students are planning to secretly film the women's changing room through the ventilation ducts in the men's changing room. You guys come in with me to verify this." Horikita Manabu took a step forward and looked at the two of them coldly.

Upon hearing this, both Yamauchi and Ike inevitably showed expressions of horror. Yamauchi immediately looked at Hachiman with pleading eyes, "How could such a thing happen? It must be fake, right, Secretary Hachiman?"

“That’s right, the whistleblower must be making things up, right, Hachiman?” Ikeya quickly interjected.

Seeing Yamauchi and Ike's helpless state, Hikigaya was both angry and amused. Even now, these two were hoping that he, who was not their friend, would stop the president from going to the locker room for their sake.

“I was the whistleblower, you idiot.” Standing next to Horikita Manabu, Hachiman slowly spoke.

Looking at their despairing faces, he now understood where Chabashira Sae's perverse sense of humor in mocking the D-class students came from.

After forcibly bringing the three prisoners into the men's locker room, Tachibana Akane, carrying a remote-controlled car with a video camera and cell phone strapped to it, also walked in with a stern face.

The metal grille of the ventilation duct only has four screws. With just a screwdriver, you can easily remove the metal grille and take out any foreign objects inside.

"Why? Why did you report us? Aren't we your classmates, Hachiman!"

Faced with overwhelming evidence, Yamauchi realized he was doomed. He yelled at Hikigaya with a ferocious expression, and Ike Kanji glared angrily at Hikigaya as well. Only Sotomura sat trembling on the ground.

"You're the ones who did something wrong, how dare you still be angry here?"

Akane was so angry that her face turned red. She had been holding back her anger ever since she discovered that someone dared to take pictures of girls without her consent. Now that the two prisoners were arguing and blaming others, she was even angrier.

How could there be such a shameless person?

“What’s it to you? We’re talking to Hachiman.” Yamauchi raised his fist in an attempt to intimidate Akane, but Hachiman immediately delivered a heavy punch to his face.

Amidst Ike's shocked expression, Hikigaya, expressionless, kicked Yamauchi to the ground again.

Since it was one of their own people who were in control today, Hikigaya, who had been wanting to beat up the restless and erratic Yamanouchi, finally gave in to his urges and started hitting him.

I have to say, beating up Yamauchi was really satisfying. It's a pity that coward Ike didn't dare to make a move, otherwise Hachiman would have given him a beating too.

"The student council's punishment for you is expulsion. You can pack your things now, fill out the expulsion form, and then you can leave the school."

After killing Yama Keike to shut the two up, Horikita Manabu coldly issued the punishment.

Even Ike, the only one of the trio who was still standing, couldn't stand anymore and knelt down on the ground without any dignity, begging Horikita Manabu.

"No, please don't! Class D still has a lot of class points, right? The student council can deduct as many as they want, it's no problem. Please don't expel me! Besides, I still have tens of thousands of points that I haven't used. Student council president, I'll kowtow to you and please let me go."

In this country, dropping out of school is recorded in one's file. With Chi's grades, only the worst and most lousy schools would accept him for transfer, and nine and a half out of ten transfer students who are expelled are bullied.

Seeing that Horikita Manabu remained unmoved, Ike turned to Hachiman and said, "I'll do whatever you ask, and I'll listen to you from now on. Please, just this once, I promise I'll never do it again, Hachiman."

"If I give you a chance, who gives the girl you almost secretly filmed a chance to have? You beast."

Hikigaya simply stared indifferently at the pool where tears were streaming down his face.

Chi is definitely dropping out of school today; even Jesus can't save him.

Chapter 57 Conversation with Ichinose

"It was Chi who did it, it was all Chi who did it, it has nothing to do with me, I was just asked by him to keep watch... Yes, I was just keeping watch, it shouldn't be a punishment of expulsion."

Knowing he was going to be expelled, Yamauchi stopped wailing and knelt down close to Horikita Manabu, seemingly trying to beg for mercy.

"That's enough, Haruki, that's enough." Sudo blocked his way, unable to bear the embarrassing state of Ike and Yamauchi any longer. "Dropping out is the best outcome for you."

"Key! Could it be that you betrayed us?!"