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

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morning,

Sunlight streamed into the room, and the short cries of seagulls woke up Hachiman, who was feeling somewhat tired.

Unlike his physical exhaustion, Hachiman felt mentally fulfilled, having done everything except the last step.

Ichinose's hands are very soft.

It wasn't a safe period and he didn't have that thing, so no matter how much anger he felt, he could only vent it elsewhere. As for getting Ichinose to take medication afterward, that was impossible; those medications would harm her body.

Although Ichinose said he didn't mind, how could he not mind?

Good morning, Hachiman.

"Good morning."

As Hikigaya stared at Ichinose's cute and charming sleeping face, she woke up at that moment, a smile spreading across her face.

He passed under Ichinose's legs and back, then carried her in a princess carry, kissed the shy girl with her eyes closed, and took her to the bathroom.

They spent more than an hour in the bathroom before emerging looking completely refreshed.

Looking at the old-fashioned wooden clock in the room, Hachiman realized that it would be lunchtime in another hour or two.

“Hachiman, H,” Ichinose said coquettishly.

It's not his fault he's irritable when he wakes up in the morning; who could resist seeing Ichinose's bare skin peeking out from under the down comforter?

"It's all because Honami is too cute." Hachiman patted his belly and felt like he could eat a whole cow right now. "I'm going to go outside and get some food. Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he patted Ichinose's head.

Her long, pink hair, which had just been washed, was still a little damp.

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The sunlight outside the room was just right, as bright and cheerful as Hachiman's mood.

Chapter 104 The Task for Kushida

"Yo, good morning, Kanzaki."

"What time is it now and you still call it morning? Hachiman, are you still half asleep?"

When faced with Hikigaya greeting him with a cheerful expression, Kanzaki felt inexplicably unhappy and even wanted to punch him in the face.

Based on the size comparison between the two, Kanzaki felt that he should bring Ryuen along so that he could leave Hachiman with the same panda-eye trophy.

No, why is he seriously considering this question?

Kanzaki shook his head. "By the way, didn't you used to pretend you couldn't see me and not say hello? Have you changed your ways this time?"

Because Kanzaki had been acting like he was looking for trouble for a while, Hachiman didn't want to provoke him or talk to him.

He's not a jerk who's deliberately looking for trouble.

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it. I was just thinking about something happy." Hachiman waved his hand and walked past the bewildered Kanzaki to the restaurant to bring Ichinose breakfast.

Is Ichinose with you?

On his way back to his room, Hikigaya received a call from the intelligence ace who had been out of contact for several days. Speaking of which, Kushida hasn't vented his dark emotions for about ten days now. Is that why he contacted him?

Hikigaya: [No. 】

He couldn't admit it. Although Kushida was an old friend of his, if something happened to Kushida, he would betray him without hesitation to protect himself.

He would never forget what the little angel looked like underneath.

Kushida: [Keep watch for me tonight.]

Hachiman: [I have something to do tonight, but I'm free before 6 PM.]

According to my memory, the special exam on the luxury cruise ship started at 8 o'clock, but the past is the past, and it is not surprising that the rules have changed. It is only natural to give yourself enough time.

Kushida: [Okay, I'll contact you in advance. Also, make sure Ichinose comes back soon. There's a girl named Chihiro Shiranami in Class B who seems to be looking for Ichinose.]

Hachiman: [Fine, if you don't believe me.]

After replying to Kushida, Hikigaya put down his phone. Shiranami was the girl who had scolded him on the deserted island. She seemed very close to Ichinose, giving the impression that her mind was still stuck in middle school.

They look kind of silly and cute.

Back in her room, while having breakfast with Ichinose, Hikigaya mentioned to her that Shiranami seemed to be looking for her.

"Chihiro-chan." Ichinose rarely showed a confused expression.

"What's wrong with Bai Bo? He seems to listen to you quite well."

"She's becoming a bit too clingy, and her actions are getting more and more intimate." Ichinose sighed. "Asako and the others have also told me that Shiranami seems to want to confess to me."

"..." Hachiman never expected that Shiranami was actually a lesbian, and that she even wanted to turn Ichinose gay.

However, Hikigaya can't help Ichinose with this. Given his current status as her ex-boyfriend, Shiranami, asking Shiranami would only make things worse. Besides, Ichinose is capable of handling this matter himself.

"come on."

Hikigaya gave Ichinose a helpless look, which made Ichinose pout in dissatisfaction.

After breakfast, Ichinose rushed back to deal with her classmates in Class B, while Hachiman went to the cruise ship's library and happily read books all afternoon until Kushida's invitation arrived.

Taking the elevator, Hachiman quickly arrived at the fourth basement level, which consisted of electrical control rooms and other machine rooms. It was a place that had nothing to do with students, and since it was located at the bottom of the ship, even the staff rarely came down.

After leaving the elevator and opening the only door, a gentle girl with a lovely face stood in the straight corridor.

Upon seeing him arrive, Kushida's gentle expression instantly crumbled, turning cold. "Just keep an eye on the elevator for me and make sure no one pushes the door open and comes in."

"it is good."

Silently closing the door, Hikigaya leaned against the door and took out his phone, facing the elevator. The signal, which had been a few bars strong on the ship, dropped to zero, and he lost his ability to surf the internet.

It's possible that a signal jammer has been installed here for some reason.

Then we can only wait.

Hikigaya put away his phone and closed his eyes. From behind the door came Kushida's somewhat frantic cursing, accompanied by the dull thud of iron being kicked.

Ryuji Kanzaki.

Chihiro Shiraha.

Ji Yeyue.

These three people appear most frequently in Kushidaguchi, with Kanzaki appearing the most, followed by Shiranami, and then Himeno.

Kanzaki, Kanzaki, what did you do to make Kushida resent you so much?

After more than half an hour, the sounds behind the door gradually stopped. Kushida, still somewhat menacing, pushed open the door and walked out in front of him.

The cute A-line skirt is paired with a beige short-sleeved top with open sleeves. Her bust is just as full as Ichinose's. Dressed casually, Kushida is undoubtedly the second most desirable girl to date after Ichinose.

“You look cute in casual clothes,” Hachiman said with a smile.

When he saw Kushida Hikigaya, he turned into a flatterer; his flattery was so effective, it could never be hidden.

Kushida won't lose anything by venting his frustrations; it's a win-win situation with no cost.

"Don't praise me for being cute every time I'm out for a walk; I'm almost immune to it."

"You're still not fully immune, are you? Does this make you feel any better?"

“Just a little bit.” Kushida’s expression softened a bit. “Can’t you beat up that bastard Kanzaki, like you beat up Ryuen? That guy keeps comparing me to Ichinose Ichinose in his ear all the time, it’s infuriating.”

"......"

What angered Kushida the most was not that Kanzaki compared her to Ichinose, but that she was inferior to Ichinose in every way.

It's one thing if her learning and athletic abilities aren't as good as Ichinose's—there's always Horikita as an example—but it's unacceptable that Ichinose surpasses her in her most outstanding trait: friendliness.

When she was in Class D, Kushida didn't realize it. Before going there, she probably thought she could at least be on par with Ichinose. But after going there, she found that the whole Class B was a huge fan of Ichinose.

"Am I such a violent person? Others may not know me, but you do." Hachiman shook his head. "If you get caught fighting, at the very least you'll get a suspension, and expulsion isn't out of the question."

"Tch." Kushida rolled his eyes at his reply.

"By the way, I'm assigning you a long-term task: help me record the various abilities of the students in Class C, such as their performance in which subjects and what sports they are good at or not. Don't worry about anything special; protecting yourself is the most important thing. The reward for this task is one million personal points."

Ignoring Kushida's disdain, Hikigaya offered her a reward of one million personal points, which he would then take back from Shiina's class funds.

Although Long Yuan and his brother seem to be on good terms now, they will eventually become adversaries as their interests change.

"Class A doesn't need it?"

Kushida smiled as she looked at the reward of one million personal points. Although she was not a big spender, the class fund for Class B was as high as 75%, and the rest was only enough to get by, but would be gone after a few shopping trips.

“Not for now.” Hachiman walked toward the elevator.

It's hard to say how much strength Class A can currently unleash; if they're too weak, the value of their intelligence will be greatly diminished.

Chapter 105 The Preferential Treatment Examination

Shortly after returning to a place with a signal, Hikigaya's phone, even on vibrate mode, still emitted a sharp, high-pitched sound. It was a notification text message from the school, which would alert students as long as their phones were not turned off.

As the noise subsided, the ship's loudspeaker broadcast a message instructing students to immediately check the text message they had received, stating that all students would receive it and that those who had not should report to their teacher.

[A special exam is about to begin. Students, please assemble in your designated rooms at the designated time. Please arrive at room 209 on the second floor before 8:40 PM tonight. Please put your mobile phones on vibrate or turn them off before coming to the assembly point.]

8:40? That's still some time.

After reading the text message, Hikigaya pondered for a moment and then opened the class group chat. The messages were refreshing rapidly, and many students were posting the meeting times they had received. After discovering that most of them were different, they started discussing it.

One of the earliest students to receive the assignment was Karuizawa, who was at the same time as Horikita Suzune and Shiina.

"Moshi moshi, is this Karuizawa?" Hikigaya dialed Karuizawa's number.

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

In a corner of the ninth-floor restaurant, a special exam meeting for Class D began. The girls included Shiina Horikita and Karuizawa, while the boys were Hikigaya and Hirata.

"You've listened to everything, right?" Hikigaya handed the phone back to Karuizawa after it had played the recording twice.

The recording contains the exam rules and explanations that Karuizawa heard after entering the exam room.

The first-year student council is divided into twelve groups, each consisting of students from each class who gather at the same time. Each group must have at least twelve members. The purpose of the test is to assess their thinking abilities. Each group must meet to discuss for two hours each day, at 1 PM and 8 PM. This will last for four days, with one day being a completely free day.

[There will be one "preferential candidate" in each group of students. The exam will be conducted to identify this "preferential candidate," and there are four possible outcomes for each group. The "preferential candidate" will receive a confirmation email at 8:00 AM tomorrow.]

The four results are as follows:

All group members share the privileged status to pass the exam.

If no one answers, the one who receives preferential treatment wins.

The traitor discovered the privileged status.

The traitor misjudged the status of the privileged.

Similar to the exam on the deserted island, there are also some prohibitions, such as not forcing students to show their phones to others, and only those who are eligible for preferential treatment can be identified by showing their phones themselves.

Copying and forwarding emails from recipients, as well as changing recipients, are not permitted.

"So if the person receiving preferential treatment is even from our class, we won't know unless they say so. If the person receiving preferential treatment can hide until the end, that's fine, but if they can't, Class D will suffer a loss."

Forcing someone to look at another person's emails will result in expulsion from school. Furthermore, according to exam result two, those who receive preferential treatment will receive 500,000 personal points as a reward if they remain hidden until the end of the exam, which is not a small amount.

It's not surprising that Class D appeared as a privileged individual, Hikigaya, who was hiding his identity.

If the truth cannot be hidden and is discovered by other classes, it will become exam result three. The class that is discovered will have 50 class points deducted, while the class that discovers it will be rewarded with 50 class points.

"Ordinary classmates wouldn't hide their identities, would they? I don't think they'd think we'd betray them. Emails sent by the privileged class itself are not accepted."

"I don't trust the abilities of most of the students in Class D." Hikigaya looked at Hirata, who was speaking up for his classmate. "After everyone finishes the exam rules explanation tonight, organize a class meeting. I need you to confiscate the students' cell phones then."

“If someone reports Hirata, won’t he be expelled? That would be a huge loss.” Horikita frowned.

"A report needs to be corroborated. If anyone from Class D dares to stand up and expel Hirata, I can only say that person is a brave man, and I will avenge Hirata afterwards."

Given the current situation in Class D, no one dares to confront him directly. Hirata is a big star in the class, and anyone who dares to drop out will be banned from Class D.

Based on my memory of the preferential treatment exams I took, Class C must have reached an agreement with Class B. Class C guessed all the preferential treatment recipients for Class A. If it weren't for Koenji's unexpected appearance and guessing Class B's preferential treatment recipients, Class D would have gotten nothing at that time.

There should be certain patterns in the selection of the twelve groups of preferential treatment recipients, and the more preferential treatment recipients you know, the easier it is to discover them.

Therefore, Hachiman must find out who the special treatment recipients are in Class D. It's unavoidable to let Hirata take some risks; he can't very well do it himself.