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

"Tell me about it."

"Since Hachiman doesn't want to talk about it, Sudo-san, it's best not to press him."

Just as Hirata was smoothing things over and Hikigaya thought the matter was over, Koenji's voice came from behind him.

"Red-haired boy, the girl you're talking about is right here, even though she's far away."

"Could it be Sakura-san?"

Shinmura's voice rang out. Koenji's hint was too obvious, and among the classmates, the only one whose hair color matched the girl's was the plain-looking Sakura.

"No way, Hasebe is telling the truth." Sudo recalled what Hasebe had said in a fit of excitement during the incident when Yamauchi lied.

"Thinking about it that way, it does look somewhat similar."

"Kōenji." Amidst the rising and falling discussions, Hikigaya turned around and sat up, looking at Kōenji's blurry figure. "Wouldn't this be bad for Sakura?"

Based on his judgment, Sakura is probably not ready to display that attitude at school yet.

"In my opinion, it's NO. You little rascal, hiding your beauty is not a good thing. I just gave her a push."

"I don't think Sakura is ready yet."

Koenji's voice was calm and steady, "You underestimate today's idol girls, and I believe she will appreciate me giving her a reason to show herself."

Sakura also wants to show herself? Hikigaya really couldn't think of a reason why Sakura wanted to show herself, and he hadn't noticed any changes in Sakura recently.

"How did you make that judgment?"

"That's for you to find out for yourself, you little rascal. I'm not a man who can't appreciate humor."

"How am I supposed to sleep tonight if you say that?"

Hachiman smiled wryly; he figured he wouldn't be able to fall asleep until later that night.

"Haha, then I can't help you."

After a soft laugh, no more sounds came from Koenji's side.

The discussion on Sudo's side gradually subsided until it disappeared completely.

Chapter 72 I'm going to bury you, Ayanokouji

The second day of the exam on the deserted island

After taking attendance and assigning tasks in the morning, Hachiman left the base and wandered around the island, confident in his memory and unafraid of getting lost.

After walking around and stopping frequently, Hachiman marked several supply points in his mind. It was about time to eat, so he went to Class C's base to freeload a meal.

The area around the well site is densely wooded, and there is only enough space to set up two tents in the areas without trees. Longyuan chose to use hammocks to make up for the lack of accommodation space.

"Give me a bowl too, Ayanokouji."

As soon as he arrived at Class C's base in Hikigaya, he found Ayanokouji distributing food, which was the same as what he had eaten last night: fish soup with some crops to fill his stomach.

Hikigaya took out the rice bowl he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Ayanokouji.

"Longyuan...."

Although Ayanokouji remained expressionless, Hachiman seemed to be somewhat speechless.

"give him."

With his hands behind his head, Ryuen lay leisurely in a hammock, issuing commands, while Albert and Ishizaki sat leaning against a tree next to him.

"Where's Hashimoto? I have something I want to ask him." Hachiman, holding his fish soup, sat down next to Albert and looked at Ryuen.

As a traitor, Hashimoto was naturally not allowed to stay at Class A's base. He would only go back when roll call was scheduled, and the rest of the time he would be in Class C.

"We'll go fishing by the sea. I'll have Ayanokouji take you to him later."

"Okay." After taking a sip of soup, Hachiman felt his stomach warm up.

"Want to guess who the leader of Class C is, Hachiman?" Ryuen squinted from his hammock.

"How could I have guessed who the leader of Class C is? Long Yuan, you've been so good to me. Not only did you take me with you when you went to Class A to freeload, but now you're even treating me to dinner. I'm starting to like you."

Despite putting on a grateful expression, Hachiman's nonsensical ramblings only earned him Ryuen's indifferent gaze.

"If you dare to talk nonsense again, I'll kill you."

"The intelligence about the leader of Class A should be either Katsuragi or Totsuka, with Totsuka being more likely."

"Ayanokouji, bring up all the fruit we collected yesterday for Hachiman to choose from." Ryuen demonstrated what it means to change one's expression.

Among the fruit Ayanokouji offered, Hachiman picked out some of the best-looking ones and put them in his pocket.

"I ran into the two of them on the way to capture the cave stronghold yesterday. As expected, their destination was the same as mine."

"Judging from this, they are indeed highly suspicious. After confirming their identities, we'll sell you two million personal points at a discount."

There was no one more suitable than Hashimoto to find out who the leader of Class A was, and Ryuen also realized that Hikigaya was using him as a pawn.

"No problem, I won't renege on my promise as long as it's real."

"Pleasant to work with."

"Pleasant to work with."

The two reached an agreement smoothly with smiles on their faces. This is the best thing about dictators. They don't need to ask for other people's opinions. Their efficiency in doing things is excellent.

"Ayanokouji, take Hachiman to the beach to find Hashimoto, and bring him back after you're done."

After the agreement was reached, Longyuan also kicked people out.

"Hey—can't we ask someone else? Manabe-kun, are you going or not?"

Ayanokouji looked at the girl next to him who had once offered Hikigaya an unknown drink.

"That's your former classmate, isn't it? I'm not going."

After being rejected by Manabe, who has the same gyaru (gal) vibe as Karuizawa, Ayanokouji had no choice but to go for it himself.

"Nice to meet you, Hachiman."

"I will definitely take good care of you, Ayanokouji."

"......"

After leaving Class C's base, Hashimoto followed Ayanokouji through the jungle to the seaside. In the shadow of the large rocks, Hashimoto sat cross-legged, fishing rod in hand, looking rather bored.

"When have I ever offended you? You didn't even leave me alone after I was transferred to Class C."

As the two got closer to Hashimoto, Ayanokouji finally asked him the question that Hikigaya had expected.

His hostility towards Ayanokouji is out in the open, but Ayanokouji can't find a reason for his hostility.

"Because I'm going to bury you, artificial genius."

Thinking that saying "I want to beat you up" was too low, Hachiman borrowed Sakayanagi's words without any remorse.

In intellectual circles, it's normal for things to be borrowed from each other.

"You know about my past?"

Ayanokouji stopped in his tracks. Even the scorching sun couldn't extinguish the chill emanating from him, and his lifeless eyes held an unfathomable darkness.

The term "artificial genius" undoubtedly encapsulates the vast majority of his life from birth to the present.

"Sakayanagi from Class A also knows that his father, Chairman Sakayanagi, is your father's disciple. You can get closer to her."

Even enemies can be used against them. Hachiman doesn't mind using Ayanokouji to increase Sakayanagi's strength, since she cares about Ayanokouji so much anyway.

"I just want to stay quiet and not do anything unnecessary. I don't want my peaceful campus life to be disrupted."

"What if I insist on destroying it?"

Hikigaya stared directly into Ayanokouji's calm, emotionless eyes.

"If you can do it, then give it a try. Two people can come together."

"You're even more infuriating than Sakayanagi, you bastard."

Hikigaya shifted his gaze from Ayanokouji to the distant sea and sky, even though the two colors were similar, they were completely different things.

Sakayanagi looked down on him, but Ayanokouji was even more arrogant, openly disregarding both of them.

"Hello, Yellow Hair Number Two".

He casually lay down on the beach next to Hashimoto Hikigaya. The shadow of the rocks only covered his upper body, making him feel a sensation of both ice and fire.

He said he would pass on a message to Hashimoto to go back and find Ryuen. Hikigaya told Ayanokouji to go back first, and now it was just him and Hashimoto here.

Hashimoto casually reeled in his fishing rod, now that the bait had been eaten. "What a lame nickname. And who's number one?"

"Second-year vice president Nan Yunya."

"looking for me?"

"Miki Yamamura introduced me to her. I accidentally bumped into her in the hallway before and was thinking of apologizing to her."

Hikigaya's request for information about Yamamura Miki from Hashimoto was not to apologize, but simply to understand Yamamura so he could address the problem effectively.

Yamamura was incredibly useful in this deserted island test; her presence was so subtle it was almost like a superpower, yet she was a top-notch scout.

If Class C investigates the leader of Class A, Class A might also be able to investigate the leader of Class C.

"Why do you talk as if I would definitely help you find the answer? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation."

Hashimoto was speechless. He stopped fishing, put the fishing rod aside, and lay down like Hachiman.

"Isn't it only right that I punish you when you do something wrong?"

"Give me some room to stay, you #淋贰児.彡玲罢{〇児. You could have secretly taken me under your command. You and Sakayanagi don't get along, do you?"

"I haven't stooped so low as to force someone to betray their own class; I have my bottom line."

“I would betray you even if you didn’t force me. Just give me some personal points. I’d betray you if I had 20 million Dragon Garden.”

Hashimoto's tone changed from frivolous to something else, making Hachiman feel that he genuinely thought so.

"You are both hateful and pathetic."

Hikigaya looked at the white clouds blocking the sun with a sigh.

Chapter 73 Miki Yamamura, can you...?

The third day of the exam on the deserted island.

After exchanging information about Yamamura with Hashimoto, Hikigaya did not leave the base after taking roll call today.

A few hours later, he caught a girl who came out of the makeshift toilet in Class D.

As Hashimoto's information indicated, Yamamura was an invisible person in the class, having no friends and belonging neither to the Sakayanagi nor the Katsuragi faction.

Therefore, there were no people in the mountain village who could come with them.

"I have something I'd like to discuss with my classmate from the mountain village. Shall we talk as we walk?"

The girl, whose path was blocked by Hachiman, knelt down, her hands clenched into fists and placed on her chest, revealing a frightened expression. But even though she seemed somewhat unwilling, she nodded.

They are not good at communicating and will not take the initiative to talk to their classmates. Also, because of their weak sense of presence, they will not be talked to by their classmates. Such people from mountain villages are not good at refusing others.

Hashimoto's information was very accurate and relevant.

Walking a little further away from the crowd, there was a flat, shady spot with a protruding rock. Hachiman gestured for Yamamura to sit there, and then he sat down against a tree trunk a few steps away from her.

Yamamura seemed to be about as shy as Sakura, and he didn't want to put too much pressure on her.

"I'm sorry, Hachiman."

"Why did you suddenly apologize, Yamamura-kun?"

In Hikigaya's eyes, the girl with the dark blue side ponytail lowered her head, her eyelids drooping, and her hands, placed on her thighs, were nervously intertwined.

According to the logic of the current mountain village, they should not know that Hikigaya has already discovered that she is a stalker.

"The pictures in that anonymous post on the school forum were all taken by me. I didn't expect Sakayanagi-san to do this. I'm sorry..."

"Why say it out loud? Even if you don't say it, no one will necessarily find out." Hachiman tried to probe Yamamura's thoughts.

"I...I think this is something I absolutely have to apologize for. What Sakayanagi-san did went too far."

"What is your reason for working for Sakayanagi? If you feel guilty about doing such a thing, wouldn't Katsuragi be a better fit for you to follow than Sakayanagi?"