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

Matsutake mushrooms? Buy them!

After filling a basket with groceries, Hachiman bought several kinds of fruit. When he came out of the supermarket, both his hands were full of things, just like a housewife returning late from the market.

"found it."

With a voice like a child finding someone after playing hide-and-seek, Sakayanagi approached step by step, leaning on her small cane. This time, Kamuro, who usually maintained a cool and aloof demeanor, followed her.

"It's outrageous that the student council president would lead the way in leaving early."

Kamuro, who had accompanied Sakayanagi to the fourth-floor student council room only to find it empty, gave Hikigaya a cold look, but Hikigaya didn't seem to care much about the cold treatment.

In a great mood, he even found Sakayanagi, that troublesome little brat, much more agreeable.

"As you can see, I'm busy right now, so you'd better speak quickly." Hachiman lifted two almost full shopping bags.

Some of the dishes are quite complicated and he doesn't usually make them, so he wants to allow plenty of time to prepare them.

He's used to having someone with him for meals, but now he's often alone at night and rarely cooks for himself anymore.

"My father wants to see you."

“You mean—” Hachiman glanced at Kamuro.

Now that Kamuro is here, does that mean Sakayanagi no longer intends to hide her identity as the chairman's daughter?

Is it that you don't want to hide it from Kamuro, or that you don't want to hide it from everyone?

“Masumi already knows, and Yamamura-kun also knows.”

“I understand. Since it is Chairman Sakayanagi who invited me—” Hikigaya paused, “please allow me to go another day.”

Logically, he shouldn't and couldn't refuse an invitation from such an important figure as the chairman, but Shiina said he would come today.

He figured they could discuss any problems later, since he judged that Chairman Sakayanagi wasn't the type to be so petty.

"Aren't you afraid my father will be angry?" Sakayanagi looked at Hachiman with curiosity, as far as she knew, Hachiman wasn't such a tough person.

“There’s nothing I can do about being angry. At most, I’ll bow down and apologize. Please ask my lovely Sakayanagi-san to tell the chairman that I have important business to attend to and can’t go see him immediately.”

Do you think I'll speak well of you just because you praise me?

"Probably not, but I believe that Chairman Sakayanagi will not blame me for raising such a smart and polite daughter as Sakayanagi."

After patting each other twice, and with Sakayanagi unable to suppress a smirk, Hachiman bid farewell and returned to his dorm to begin meticulously preparing a lavish feast.

.........

.........

"Welcome back, Hiyori."

Hearing the door close from the entrance, Hachiman, holding a soup ladle in one hand, walked out of the kitchen to greet his long-awaited regular guest.

But Shiina wasn't the only one who caught his eye; Horikita Suzune and Yukinoshita were also with him.

With the two people who often maintained indifferent expressions following her, Shiina's originally somewhat bland expression became amiable.

"Hachiman, what's with that expression? Are you not welcoming me?" Horikita Suzune raised an eyebrow, Hikigaya's wooden smile making her want to punch him.

So you only welcome her when you need her to cook, huh? What do you take her for?

"No, no, how could we not welcome Horikita-senpai's sister? I just bought a lot of groceries and we'll stay for dinner later."

Hikigaya looked at Yukinoshita, who had been looking around the room since entering, and said, "Yukinoshita, come along too. We can eat and chat at the same time."

"This is not good."

Yukinoshita withdrew her curious gaze from the surroundings and turned her attention back to Hachiman, who was known as the most ferocious tyrant among the first-year students.

"There's nothing wrong with it; consider it a return gift to thank you for your help."

Although Nagumo Masa has lost her dominance in the second year, Asahina can no longer consider the students who once drifted away from her as friends.

A broken mirror cannot be mended.

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation." Yukinoshita nodded slightly.

After inviting everyone to sit down for a while, Hachiman went back into the kitchen, added two spoonfuls of rice, and started cooking to continue the unfinished dish.

While frying the expensive Kobe beef he had bought, he would glance at the kitchen doorway every now and then, until a silver-haired girl with her hair tied back in a single ponytail walked into the kitchen, at which point he smiled.

"let me help you."

Hikigaya, all excited, grabbed the apron hanging on the wall before Shiina could and stood behind her. The aroma of the food mixed with Shiina's familiar fragrance filled his nostrils.

"I didn't say I wanted to eat here." Shiina pursed her lips into a thin line, letting Hikigaya put the familiar apron on her.

She came to see Hachiman on important business today and planned to leave after the meeting.

However, seeing the abundance of ingredients laid out in the kitchen, she knew she had no choice but to stay for dinner.

"Consider this a reward for my heroic act of defeating Class A for Ms. Hiyori. Please do me the honor of having a meal with this hero," Hikigaya joked.

"Hehe, wasn't Class A your chosen opponent from the beginning? You were worrying for nothing."

Speaking of this, Shiina pursed her lips even tighter. After getting the answer from Hachiman in Class C and Class D winning both battles, she guessed that Hachiman must have planned this all along.

She invited Horikita and Yukinoshita to come today for this very reason.

Hachiman has once again made a name for himself. Now, almost all the students in the other three classes are not only afraid of him, but also pay more attention to Class B, which he leads.

She came to ask Hachiman to 'step down'.

Chapter 188 Hachiman chose to abdicate

"thanks for treatment."

After enjoying a delicious meal, the four people at the table all wore satisfied smiles. It can only be said that there is a reason why the high-priced ingredients are so expensive.

These two ordinary housewives, with the help of good ingredients, have reached the level of master chefs.

"Hachiman, you went too far this time. Not only did you team up with Class D to scheme against Class A and Class C, but you also publicly expelled two students from Class C." Shiina turned to look at Hikigaya beside him.

Based on the complete victory of Class B and Class D, Class A could not possibly fail to deduce that Class B and Class D had joined forces.

Hachiman's move to expel two students from Class C severely damaged the class and brought their class points down to within fifty points of Class A. This would undoubtedly cause a stress response from Class A.

First of all, cooperating with Class C is inevitable, and Class D may also be lured away by Class A and Class C. It's obvious to everyone that Kanzaki can't beat Hachiman.

Class B may seem prosperous now, but in reality, it's a case of overheating and burning.

One wrong move and it becomes a three-team attack.

"So what does my strategist plan to do to resolve Class B's dangerous situation?"

Looking at Shiina's adorable appearance with her bright eyes and white teeth so close to him, Hikigaya relaxed and casually placed his hands on his knees.

Great minds think alike. When Class B was at its peak, he, as the leader, could not have failed to see that Class B was outwardly strong but inwardly weak. Now, Class B's academic ability is gradually closing the gap with Class A and Class D, which were initially classified as the top classes, but it is only closing the gap.

His physical abilities are generally stronger than those of Class C, but not by a significant margin; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to employ the "Tian Ji horse racing" strategy at the Sports Festival.

The taller the tree, the more the wind will blow against it. His judgment was the same as Shiina's, and he had also come up with a solution.

Since he is too intimidating as a leader, let's replace him with a different leader.

Horikita Suzune is an honest, naive, inflexible leader who seems easy to bully.

This way, Class D, having tasted the benefits of cooperating with Class B, will not be easily lured away by Class A and Class C.

"I'm not yours."

Shiina's face flushed slightly. She knew that Yukinoshita and Horikita Suzune were also there, and their gazes towards them changed slightly, especially Yukinoshita's gaze towards Hachiman.

It was clearly the look one gives a scumbag.

"Ahem, Hiyori, tell me your thoughts." Hikigaya pretended not to see, since he had brought these two along, he believed Shiina had something to say.

Both Horikita Suzune and Yukinoshita have the ability to act as leaders. While they may not be exceptionally outstanding, they are certainly capable.

He'll at least be better than Kanzaki, the current student in Class A.

"My idea is to ask Hachiman to step down."

After taking a deep breath to calm his agitation, Shiina stood up from the cushion. Hikigaya, though unaware of why Shiina had stood up, nodded slightly.

Shiina shared the same idea, and the next special exam was a forest training camp, a large-scale special exam conducted by all three grades.

This time, he planned to give Horikita Suzune a chance to challenge herself and work with her brother Horikita to take on the special forest training camp exam.

As long as Horikita Suzune doesn't cause any trouble, Class B shouldn't suffer any major losses according to the rules of the forest training camp.

"I will be the leader of Class B." Shiina's voice was not joking at all, and he looked firmly at Hikigaya, whose expression had turned astonished by his words.

Having been by Hachiman's side for so long, she noticed that Hachiman's obsession with Class C and Class D had inexplicably disappeared, as evidenced by his attack on Class A.

Class A was no longer seen by him as an insurance policy to suppress Class C and Class D.

In other words, he no longer has the reason to be a leader; now he is merely mechanically assuming the responsibilities that come with his position, and the leadership role is dispensable to him.

Since that's the case, let her be the leader; she has the right to be one.

She wants to lead Class B to completely suppress Class A, where Ichinose is located, and ruthlessly crush them until the day Ichinose returns to the leadership.

Then—she wanted to prove herself.

She couldn't swallow that anger.

"Why? Hiyori, you're not the kind of person who wants to be a leader, are you? Don't you prefer to be a strategist?" Hikigaya rubbed his temples and asked in confusion.

He couldn't figure it out, he really couldn't figure it out.

Why would Shiina propose becoming a leader at this point, and why does it seem like it's not just a temporary idea?

“People can change.” Shiina smiled and patted Hachiman’s head. “If Hachiman doesn’t want to—then he can just drop out of school, you naughty boy.”

Even though she knew perfectly well that Hikigaya would never drop out of school, Shiina still said those words.

This is the first time she has threatened someone.

With Hachiman, she experienced another first-time experience.

"I think we can let Shiina give it a try."

"I also think Shiina has the ability, and I don't like your overly domineering way of dealing with students."

Following Horikita's words, Yukinoshita also expressed her opinion.

She couldn't agree with Kiguchi's approach of using terror to achieve rapid growth. Although it was effective, just because something is effective doesn't mean it's good.

"Hiyori, you know perfectly well that I can't possibly drop out of school." With a sigh, Hikigaya didn't dodge Shiina's soft little hand. How could he possibly drop out of school with this friend who had been by his side for less than a week after the start of the semester?

One of his best friends whom he had wronged.

"Since Hiyori wants it, then the position of leader of Class B will be yours."

Turning his head, Hachiman looked at his two 'sisters' who remained remarkably calm after hearing that he was stepping down as leader, especially Horikita Suzune, the younger sister of his eldest brother, Horikita Manabu.

Do you even know that you just lost the leadership position you wanted most?

This means you won't be able to compete against your brother in the forest training camp exam.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Horikita was a little puzzled by Hikigaya's intriguing gaze.

"nothing."

After calmly answering Horikita, Hikigaya looked at Yukino, who, like Horikita, expressed dissatisfaction with his actions. Yukino did not flinch when facing his gaze.

His ice-blue eyes were clear and bright, seemingly without a trace of impurity.

"Indeed, my approach is not exactly ethical, but it is undoubtedly the most efficient method."

"The concept of justice does not exist in this school. You'd better watch yourself."

A school built by politicians to boost their political achievements will naturally be influenced by the political masters who own it.

This is absolutely not suitable for a student like Yukinoshita with such high moral standards.

However, this might be a test from the Yukinoshita family for her, since Hikigaya knows that Yukinoshita Yukino also once had the idea of ​​inheriting the family business.

"Hiyori."

Finally, Hikigaya turned his gaze back to his friend standing in front of him.

"I don't know why you want a leadership position, but since you've taken it on, please take responsibility for it."

"If you encounter any trouble, come to me. I will always be there to support you."