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

Hikigaya, who was sitting in a chair at his desk, slid his chair over to Shiina Hiyori's side. "The information was definitely worth it. The last student who scammed students out of their personal points has already been expelled."

If the intelligence is flawed, Longyuan will definitely teach him a lesson about what it means to be a lawless outlaw.

After signing and reading the information at Ryuen, Shiina, who had entered without saying a word, also took the blank sheet of paper with the information recorded on it. After looking at it for a long time, she nodded to Ryuen.

Although Ryuen Sho is a tyrant, he cares about every student in the class, and he acknowledges Shiina's judgment.

"How many points does it take to buy a transfer qualification?" Long Yuanxiang asked, resting his chin on his hand. "Ten million? Twenty million?"

The fact that points can prevent expulsion and class transfers was not included in the intelligence; Ryuen probably deduced this from his actions.

"Twenty million."

“You keep all the personal points from selling information. How about I pay you 20 million to buy you into Class C?” Long Yuan jumped off the table, walked up to him, and put his hands in his pockets. “The final victory belongs to me. You just need to stand behind me.”

Long Yuan's words were as resolute as his current gaze, giving one the feeling that following him would lead to victory.

Chapter Six: Shiina Hiyori

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid of pain, so please allow me to refuse."

“Boring. Shiina, why don't you stay and chat with him? I'm leaving now.” Ryuen Sho looked at Shiina, who maintained a calm expression. “I noticed he has quite a few novels on his desk. Haven't you always wanted a book-loving friend?”

Most of the students in Class C are athletic, but Shiina Hiyori, who likes to spend time in the library, is an exception. Seeing that she is alone, Ryuen tries to include her in his group, but he can only give up when he sees that she is not comfortable.

Before Shiina could answer, Ryuen walked out of the dormitory and slammed the door shut, leaving only Hikigaya and Shiina staring at each other in the room.

Her long silver hair cascaded down her back, tied in two sections with small black ribbons. Her delicate face lost its usual calm expression, and under the incandescent light, her originally snow-white skin gave off a crystal-clear feeling.

If it weren't for Hiyori Shiina looking at him blankly, Hikigaya might have stared at her like that for half an hour, no, maybe even an hour.

"What kind of books do you like to read? I personally prefer literary works."

Shiina Hiyori, who was standing still, showed no intention of leaving. Hikigaya understood that she did indeed hope to gain a fellow reader, just as Ryuen had said. Based on her determination to stay, Hikigaya couldn't bring himself to ask her to leave.

Under his guidance, Shiina sat down at the desk, where several books that had been borrowed from the library not long ago were on it, and were somewhat messy because Ryuen had sat there.

"The book I recently finished rereading is Natsume Soseki's 'I Am a Cat.'" Standing next to Shiina, Hikigaya picked up the book he had been reading for a long time last night from his desk and placed it in front of her.

Because Hikigaya was standing to her right and couldn't see her face, Shiina Hiyori's tense mood gradually relaxed. After sitting down, she raised her hands, which had been resting on her thighs, and opened the book in front of her.

The familiar passages evoked memories of when she read the book before. "I miss it so much. I read this book during my first summer vacation in junior high school."

Because she wasn't used to interacting with people, she had no friends during junior high school. Back then, she would always stay in the study quietly reading next to her father. Her father, a writer, was always busy with his manuscripts and his unkempt appearance was her companion on weekends.

Would Hikigaya be willing to become her next companion?

"You were reading literature in your first year of junior high? That's amazing. I mostly read novels back then." The male classmate next to me said in a deep and magnetic voice, seemingly remarking.

"I probably started liking this kind of literary stuff when I was in the second year of junior high school. Shiina-san, do you have any book recommendations for your favorites?"

"Raymond Chantler's 'Goodbye, My Love'." Shiina's voice became noticeably higher, as if it contained boundless excitement.

"There's been a Raymond Chantler craze among second graders lately, and I had to go to the library several times before I finally managed to borrow it. It's definitely a very interesting book."

"Oh, I see. I'll definitely read it then. I'll come get it from you tomorrow... or the day after tomorrow, Saturday." Hikigaya, now the student council secretary, remembered she'd have to go to the student council after school tomorrow to endure the drudgery of life, and wondered how busy she'd be.

"I'll go back to my room and get it now."

"There's no need for all that trouble. Running up and down to get me books like this might spoil me into becoming a useless person."

"That's too much, Hikigaya-kun." Shiina, whose excitement had subsided somewhat after being pushed back into her chair, added, "I'll get it for you tomorrow."

"Okay okay."

After that, Shiina enthusiastically discussed the works they had both read with Hikigaya. Although Hikigaya was a little uncomfortable with her, he tried his best to respond, and time flew by.

Finally, Shiina noticed him checking his phone frequently and apologized before leaving. She told him at the door that she would definitely remember to bring him the book the next day before reluctantly leaving.

It's past nine o'clock now, and the time spent on the transaction with Ryuen is less than half of the time spent discussing with Shiina. The consequence of being delayed is that I've received many text messages from Kushida urging me, and his words are becoming increasingly impolite.

After sending a text message to Kushida, there was a knock on the door. When the door was opened, Kushida, Hirata Yosuke, and Horikita Suzune appeared outside. All three were dressed in school uniforms and probably hadn't showered yet.

"I've been waiting for you for so long, Hachiman Tadashi."

"Hey, don't give me such a weird nickname."

"Isn't it you who's acting strangely? Let me think of a way to describe your odd behavior that day."

"I'm sorry, it was my fault. Please come in."

Hikigaya apologized without the slightest hesitation after his defeat. Hirata and Horikita asked him to sit on the bedside, while he and Kushida stood in front of them.

"I've called you here today to sell some information to Class D. The price is two million personal points. I'll leave the task of collecting personal points in the class to you. Of course, Kushida will also help."

He didn't intend to hide his plan to transfer classes from the two of them, nor could he. Hirata and Horikita were the ones he planned to promote to be the leaders of Class D. Hirata was helpful, had extensive social skills, and was also very charismatic. His weakness was that he would become indecisive when the class was hurt.

Horikita Suzune possesses exceptional observational skills and is self-assured and unafraid of offending others. Her weaknesses are her maverick nature, lack of social skills, and inability to integrate into groups.

Hikigaya hopes that the two can learn from each other through cooperation and lead Class D forward well. Although there are annoying people in Class D, there are also good people.

"Are you transferring classes? Did Yamauchi upset you? I can apologize on Yamauchi's behalf."

Hirata's previously smiling face was now clouded with gloom. He had caused the class to fall apart in the past, and this was a nightmare that he could not get rid of.

It all started with his friend's suicide after he failed to help them when they were being bullied. Guilt drove him to use ruthless violence to control the class and stop bullying. Whenever classmates argued, he would punish both sides equally, inflicting physical pain. Gradually, bullying disappeared from the class.

But at the same time, the students in the class slowly "broke" and became like robots. There were no more students playing during breaks, and even communication between students gradually disappeared. No one knew what they might say wrong or what the other person might say wrong that would bring about the tyrant's punishment.

He failed without a doubt. He came to this school to reform himself and tried to guide his classmates to unite and get through high school life with his selfless attitude as a good guy.

"I don't hate Yamauchi that much, it's just that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji in my class is a monster I absolutely don't want to coexist with."

From the first day of school, Hikigaya silently collected information about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's words and actions to deduce his thoughts. Combining this with his past memories, he concluded that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was only human in appearance.

"He is rational but not emotional. He is just learning to be a person. We may just be the resources for his progress."

Chapter Seven: Beating the Phoenix and Locking Up the Dragon

"That's an exaggeration. I think Ayanokouji is just a little gloomy and expressionless."

"No, perhaps it's not as exaggerated as Hikigaya said, but I also think that Kiyotaka Ayanokoji is not an ordinary student."

As Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's deskmate, Horikita Suzune had many conversations with him. She thought Ayanokouji's strange feeling was a misjudgment, but with Hikigaya's affirmation, she chose to trust her own feelings.

Hikigaya was just giving them a heads-up, and he didn't really care whether their opinion of Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would change. He thought that since he had said it, they would understand. This was arrogance, just the speaker's self-satisfaction.

"Let's not talk about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. This is mainly an information exchange." Hachiman handed the two men a piece of paper with the information written on it. "Goods first, payment later. I trust you."

The information sold to Class D was different from that sold to other classes; it included the information that 20 million personal points could be used to transfer classes. Hirata and his companion immediately started reading it together as soon as they got their hands on it.

"..."

After watching, Hirata tilted his head back and closed his eyes, his mindset relatively calm. In contrast, Horikita Suzune's state was so volatile that it was obvious at a glance.

"Impossible... Absolutely impossible. With my abilities, I would never be assigned to Class D."

If the government only focused on cultivating high-achieving students, it wouldn't invest so much money. Advanced education aims to cultivate elite leaders, and Horikita's aloof personality is completely unsuitable for leadership.

"That's just your personal opinion; that's all the school thinks of you," Hikigaya said, putting his hand on Kushida's shoulder. "My personal opinion is that Kushida is better than you."

Class D is a group of students with various personality issues. Based on the irritable messages he just received on his phone, Hachiman judged that Kushida had been under a lot of pressure these past few days and needed to let her vent through Horikita, whom she disliked. If Kushida were caught venting secretly as before, he'd be in big trouble.

“I’m starting to figure out why Kushida hates me.” Horikita Suzune looked up at Hachiman with a scrutinizing gaze. “You… do you hate me too?”

"I've always wanted to be friends with Horikita-kun."

"I have my own judgment."

Kushida's rebuttal was ruthlessly silenced by Horikita. Now, she is just as Hikigaya had once expected of her: she is true to herself, doesn't want to rely on anyone, and expresses her inner feelings frankly.

"Not yet...maybe."

That was the only answer Hachiman could give her. She wasn't yet the 'evolved' Suzune Horikita he'd imagined—the Suzune who dropped out of school in her second year after the special exams. He just occasionally found himself imagining the two of them, and sometimes he'd unconsciously do inappropriate things.

Just like just now, just like what happened this morning with Yamauchi, if it were any other student, Hikigaya would have stopped Yamauchi, but at that time he was just an observer. Although he knew that Yamauchi would not succeed, that was not an excuse.

He knew he had made a mistake again.

"That's enough for today. We'll talk about the personal points tomorrow." Hachiman felt like he had a weight on his mind.

"Sure, I also have a lot of things to verify."

After Hirata and Kushida said their goodbyes, only Hikigaya remained standing there in the room, feeling a little cold even though winter had passed.

------

After school, Hikigaya declined Hirata's invitation to the class meeting, citing his need to report to the student council. With dark circles under his eyes, he climbed to the student council office on the fourth floor. Realizing that his recent behavior had been a bit frivolous, Hikigaya reflected on it for a long time last night.

"Wow, those eyes look like they're dead."

At the student council entrance, Hachiman encountered another secretary and president of the student council. The petite girl with the bun hairstyle still harbored the malice she had shown him that day.

"Horikita-sama, I want to report a student who has slandered the student council secretary. This is no ordinary student. I suggest we take strong action against her."

“You…” Akane’s eyes flashed with fury.

"When working, you should address your senior by their job title, and you should also show respect to your senior colleagues."

Taking his key out of his pocket, Horikita Manabu opened the door and went inside, brightening up the previously dimly lit classroom.

In the middle of the office was a long wooden table, with several office chairs on three sides. Only at the far end of the classroom was there a single chair, and it was obvious whose seat it was.

"I'll have Ju show you around for the next couple of days. You can sit next to her."

"Understood, President."

After the two sat down, Hikigaya also sat next to the pouting upperclassman. Although Tachibana Akane was a little annoyed because it was Horikita Manabu's request, she earnestly taught him the work of the student council.

Before long, the other student council members gradually arrived, listening to Akane's pure voice. One of them, a blond-haired guy, kept looking at him with interest.

Huang Mao is the vice president of Nangumo Masaru and the leader of Class 2-A. He once sabotaged Horikita Manabu's class and expelled Tachibana Akane during the special exam at the end of the first year, but was saved by Horikita Manabu using 20 million personal points.

Explode, you social butterflies!

Although he used to be a lazy bum, Nagumo was so famous at school that people couldn't help but hear many rumors about him, such as having had many girlfriends, dominating the entire grade, and always trying to compete with Horikita.

"Now that everyone's here, Horikita-senpai, won't you introduce us to the new secretary? I'm very interested in Hikigaya-junior, who was specially admitted by Horikita-senpai."

"Sorry, my sexual orientation is normal." For some reason, Hachiman always felt that he disliked this blond guy, even though he had a handsome face.

"Hello everyone, my name is Hachiman Hikigaya. I like girls and I hate work. Please take care of me."

After standing up and greeting him, Hachiman sat down and shrank to sit next to Akane Tachibana, but Masaru Nagumo was not going to let him off the hook.

“It’s not good to hate your job. With great power comes great responsibility. Didn’t Secretary Hachiman earn six million personal points today with his own abilities?” Nagumo rested his chin on his left hand, his eyelids slightly lowered. “I admire talented people.”

"Can the student council check the personal points held by students?"

Hikigaya thought only the school could view it, but he didn't expect the student council could as well.

“The president is fine, but the vice president is not.” Horikita Manabu took a break from his work on the table. “We can also see all the students’ exam scores. The school will record the students’ progress, and the school will pay special attention to outstanding students.”

"How many personal points does Vice President Nanyun have?"

"Much more than you."

"Understood." Since Nagumo was interested in him, Hachiman felt he had to take advantage of him, and he had no qualms about launching a heavy attack on the blond-haired guy.

"Six million points, betting on who between us understands Horikita-senpai better."

The bet and its terms were printed out using the student council printer, and after Hikigaya signed it, he threw it directly in front of Nagumo.

The bet included bait for Nagumo's special attack, and this move was his attempt to defeat the Phoenix Dragon.

Chapter 8 Busy After-School Life

The bet is simple and there will be no tie. The first question is who Horikita Manabu cares about most in this school. The second question is whether Horikita Manabu runs faster than Nagumo Masaru in the 200-meter race. The winner is who answers the second question correctly.

The first question was merely an appetizer for Nagumo's special operations; the second was the main course that Hachiman had carefully selected.

Having already conquered his grade, Nagumo found himself in a state of bewilderment, looking around with his sword drawn. Horikita Manabu, the student council president hailed as the most outstanding and dazzling student in the program, naturally became his target.

Despite Nanono Masaru's various provocations, Horikita Manabu never responded to him. Since the special exams for each grade were usually separate, Nanono Masaru had no way to deal with Horikita Manabu's avoidance of battle.

"Hachiman, you're a really interesting person." Nagumo Masa closed her eyes and signed her name in less than three seconds. "Don't disappoint me."

"I'll handle things with the president. I'll let you know once the time is confirmed."

"Then let me look forward to it."

"..."