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

After Hikigaya gave Nagumo a curt reply, the waiter finally arrived and forcibly kicked the furious Nagumo out of the restaurant, leaving only him and Asahina, the two students, in the huge restaurant.

The girl's slightly upturned eyes were a little red, and her hands rested on the table as if they were limp.

"Haha... I've made a fool of myself in front of my junior." After a long while, Asahina said self-deprecatingly.

She is very tired now. Nagumo's depravity and morbid possessiveness are making her very uncomfortable, and Nagumo happens to be the ruler of the second year.

If Nagumo shows her even the slightest bit of malice, she'll basically have no choice but to drop out of school, though that's unlikely.

But maybe that's for the best, so I can leave Nangumo's side.

Asahina's dejected look made Hikigaya sigh softly, "I have no intention of laughing at her at all; on the contrary, I feel guilty for my reckless behavior."

He was the one who invited Asahina to go on the trip, and he was also the one who sparked the argument.

He hadn't expected Nagumo to have so many informants. Judging from Nagumo's behavior just now, he figured she wouldn't let it go easily, and Asahina might also be targeted by her.

He has a responsibility to protect Asahina.

"Judging from Nan Yun's angry expression, he probably won't care much about your childhood friendship with her. If you need any help, be sure to tell me."

"In the name of the leader of Class B, I promise that I will do my best to help my senior."

"It seems like my junior is worried about me. I feel proud as the senior." Asahina smiled and perked up. "The positions have been reversed, and it's not my junior's fault."

Even if Hikigaya, Nagumo's formidable rival, didn't appear, she would eventually be unable to tolerate Nagumo's recklessness and break off their friendship.

She is simply herself, not the person her parents and classmates believe she must date, like her childhood sweetheart Nan Yun.

"........"

From Asahina's words, Hikigaya realized that she didn't want to ask him, her junior, for help when she encountered difficulties, so he had no choice but to say something harsh.

If Asahina becomes unhappy because of this, he will be devastated.

"Does my senior look down on me? Does she think I'm no match for Nagumo?" Hikigaya asked sternly.

"How could that be? How could I have such a thought?"

"If you still consider me a friend, please promise me you'll come to me if you ever get into trouble." With his hands on the table, Hikigaya leaned forward, staring intently into Asahina's eyes, which she tried to look away from. "Promise me, Asahina."

Since Asahina insisted on maintaining the senior-junior relationship and refused to ask him for help, Hikigaya simply stopped calling her "senior."

"I promise you, okay?"

After shaking her head helplessly, Asahina slumped onto the table, resting her head on her arm, and looked at Hikigaya sitting opposite her.

His eyes, hidden beneath his slightly disheveled hair, held a strong, determined look, and his well-defined features were filled with seriousness.

Unlike Nagumo's forceful approach, which annoyed her, Hachiman's forceful approach didn't make her uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, it made her feel much better.

Offering help to her during her second year, when she was completely under Nagumo's control, would be extremely troublesome. It would be easy to make excuses and pretend nothing happened if she insisted.

Why are you making trouble for yourself, junior?

"Finally, he's starting to look like a fierce tyrant." Asahina put Nagumo out of her mind. "The last few times we met, my junior was very polite and didn't look like a bad student at all."

This nickname has even spread to the second grade?

Which bastard started this in the first place? Can't you think about him? How is he supposed to respond when someone calls him that?

After pondering for a moment, Hachiman chose to change the subject, "The sports festival is coming in about two weeks, have you participated in any nomination projects, senpai?"

"I signed up for the 1200-foot relay race, but I don't know if I'll be selected. There are two girls in my class who run about as fast as me."

"Hey—that senior is quite athletic, ranking among the top in the grade."

At the opportune moment, Hikigaya offered praise and casually revealed a couple of embarrassing incidents from his middle school sports festival days, after which Asahina finally smiled.

At least their dinner didn't end in a bad mood.

...........

...........

In mid-September, there was still one week left before the students had to submit their competition entries.

Based on recent data, the students who will participate in the selection competition have been basically arranged by Bikiguchi, except for one group of two boys and two girls in a three-legged race that has not yet been decided.

Each class has three participating groups. The two groups that have been confirmed for Class B are Sudo and Onodera, and Hirata and Sato.

The remaining male candidates had already been decided upon as Hachiman himself, while the female candidates had two options.

Yukinoshita and Horikita.

The two have advantages: one is that they are highly compatible and work well together, and the other is that they have plenty of energy.

The results were similar to those from the Hikigaya test.

"Did you hold back when you ran away with me?" Horikita stomped her foot with a somewhat unfriendly expression.

Just now, she and Hachiman tested the three-legged race again, which took even longer than yesterday, even though she had cooperated so diligently.

"You're getting a little impatient. It's just a two-person, three-legged race, what's there to fight over for positions?"

The off-the-shoulder, form-fitting athletic short-sleeved top accentuated Horikita's beautiful figure, while her long, slender, and fair legs were visible beneath the short athletic shorts. If it weren't for her cold expression, Hikigaya would have been happy to stay in front of her.

He couldn't understand what Horikita and Yukinoshita were arguing about. Were they just fighting over something?

"Did you have a falling out with Yukinoshita?" Hachiman asked, knowing that both of them were a bit sharp-tongued and had unconventional personalities who didn't mince words.

"No, there's still a week before I have to submit my entry form. Practice with me a little longer."

"Just practice."

"Be serious." Horikita lightly tapped Hachiman's arm.

She and Yukinoshita had nothing in common, so arguing was absurd.

The reason she fought for this spot was simply because she felt she couldn't let herself be outdone by the new transfer student, and the thought of it made her irritable.

She knew that Kiryuin and Hachiman's good teamwork was the result of their frequent evening practice sessions at the gym, but she wondered how Yukinoshita, the newcomer, could work so well with Hachiman all of a sudden.

She, who prides herself on being the most athletic girl in the class, couldn't even get selected for a three-legged race between boys and girls, which is embarrassing, not to mention her brother will definitely be disappointed.

"Yes Yes."

Hikigaya put his hand back on Horikita's shoulder and led her to the starting line. Yukinoshita stood beside her, helplessly rubbing her forehead. Her waist-length hair was tied into a single ponytail, just like Horikita's.

The two are about equally adorable.

"I don't really want to participate in the three-legged race between men and women."

Because it requires physical contact with a boy, Yukinoshita wouldn't have even taken the test if she didn't dislike Hikigaya.

However, Horikita Suzune disagreed with her decision to abstain.

"I don't need you to let me."

"I'm not saying this to let you win, and besides, our results are about the same," Yukinoshita sighed. Horikita was just too stubborn.

"Your fastest time is two seconds faster than mine, right?"

After saying that, Horikita Suzune turned to look at the track; she didn't want anything that others had given up.

Chapter 156 Ichinose Falls into the Trap

The Kamuro room where Hikigaya and the others were sweating it out.

Kohei Katsuragi and Ryuji Kanzaki, both boys, sat cross-legged on the floor, looking at each other, while the three girls sat on the bed in Kamuro.

"Why did you choose my room?" Kamuro complained, trying to avoid Ichinose's enthusiastic approach and shrinking into the bed.

During the sports festival, Class A and Class D are both rivals and teammates.

As teammates in the same red team, they naturally have areas where they can cooperate.

For example, try to avoid putting the best students from two different schools into the same group.

There are 20 groups in the individual 200-meter race. As long as the agreement is reached, the top ten groups can be arranged for the strongest students from Class A, and the bottom ten groups can be arranged for Class D.

"Because I just want to see that reluctant look on your face, Masumi-chan."

"Don't call me Masumi-chan!"

Feeling shy about being called Sakayanagi by his name, Kamuro took a pillow and gently patted Sakayanagi's back.

The pressure, which wouldn't hurt at all, made Sakayanagi chuckle. Kamuro was indeed a very interesting friend.

"Tell me how we can cooperate, Katsuragi," Kanzaki said calmly, which made Ichinose, who wanted to join in the banter between Sakayanagi and Ichinose, reluctantly give up.

"What I mean is to avoid having the strong students from the two classes meet. For each event in which all students participate, the groups should be divided equally. Class A can choose the earlier or later groups, and Class D can choose either."

"The same principle applies to the selection competition; Class D, whose group numbers cannot be evenly divided, can offer a discount."

"Finally, a confidentiality agreement is also mandatory, and those who violate it must apply for expulsion."

Katsuragi crossed his arms, a contract with both risks and rewards. To reduce the risk of Class A betraying them, he proposed extremely severe punishments.

If we sign a group agreement here and then Ichinose goes to Hikigaya to organize Class B and Class C to target the group that Class A was assigned to, then it's game over.

Although it's dangerous, Class D has to take this risk because there aren't many physically strong students in Class D, and there's a high chance they'll end up in last place without any strategy.

"Isn't this punishment a bit too much? And what if Class D betrays information and frames Class A? In that case, although Class D's sports festival is over, we will also lose our leader."

Kanzaki wasn't stupid; the punishment Katsuragi wanted him to sign was simply unacceptable.

"Then you can sign the contract instead. I can accept any student from Class B."

Consider Katsuragi's solution: if it were an ordinary student, unless it was Ichinose who dropped out, the benefits of Class D's self-destruction and betrayal would be pitifully small.

If Class A isn't even willing to sign this, then Katsuragi will have to prepare for the worst.

Class A and Class D were already at a disadvantage against Classes B and C of Hachiman and Ryuen, and the fact that Class A had no intention of signing a contract could only mean that Class A already had its own countermeasures.

Given Class A's class culture, they wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics like Ryuen Hikigaya and his group. Therefore, Class A's only option was to cooperate with one or two of Classes B and C.

"I think it's okay to sign, just let me sign." After considering for a moment, Kanzaki looked at Ichinose, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

He assumed that Ichinose's silence at this moment stemmed from a feeling that it was wrong to let his students take such a risk by signing a contract.

The cooperation plan proposed by Katsuragi is entirely beneficial to Class A. If problems arise with Class D, they could even expel Katsuragi, the leader. Class A will benefit no matter what.

"We need to go back and discuss this with our own students before we can give an answer."

When Kanzaki thought that Ichinose, a trustworthy leader, would readily let him sign the agreement, Ichinose did not give an immediate reply.

The list of students from Class A who participated in the competition had already been revealed to Hikigaya. Ichinose would never allow her students to sign such a contract, but only she knew about it.

Therefore, she needs to prepare as soon as possible and find an excuse to dissuade the students in Class A from signing the contract with Class D.

"Don't rush, Ichinose-san."

Just as Ichinose finished speaking and was about to get up as if to immediately discuss something with his classmates, Sakayanagi stretched out his slender arm and blocked Ichinose's way.

"Isn't there a class group? You can just ask in the class group."

"I don't think anyone would object, after all, this is very beneficial for them to get the top three prizes."

Sakayanagi sat down next to Ichinose and smiled meaningfully. "Or have you secretly reached an agreement with Class B of Hachiman Hikigaya—behind your own class's back?"

"........"

After Sakayanagi finished speaking, Ichinose did not answer immediately, nor did he take out his phone to solicit opinions from the students in the class group, which made Kanzaki's expression very serious.

Kanzaki never imagined that they could cooperate with Class B in this sports festival. Whether it was within the same grade or in the Red and White Division competition, Class A was always a competitor of Class B.

Unless Hachiman goes crazy again like he did during the preferential treatment exam and betrays Class B's interests to fund Class A, but after that incident they also discussed and gave Hachiman a reward of nine million personal points.

Although Class A currently has over 1,600 class points, its public funds are pitifully small.

Therefore, Class A had already held a meeting and agreed to save at least 20 million personal points as relief funds before considering using personal points to cope with the special exam.

"It seems that Ichinose-san is likely to become the only female 'tyrant' in the first year, without even consulting her classmates."

Sakayanagi's delicate little hand touched Ichinose's cheek, but Ichinose quickly stood up and dodged it.

"Sigh." Looking at Ichinose Sakayanagi with his elegant smile, he sighed, "Let's go back first, Kanzaki-san."

Completely out of control, Ichinose felt she shouldn't have come.

However, Kanzaki had already approved Katsuragi's request to meet without informing her, which forced her, as the leader, to attend the meeting.

She didn't refute those questions when Sakayanagi raised them simply because she knew that lying was pointless.

As long as this mutually beneficial agreement isn't signed, Class A's collaboration with other classes will be exposed.