A "Pleasant" Collaboration?

Hikigaya had always been cautious around Hashimoto, knowing that even within Class A, Hashimoto was among the best—a man with both brains and brawn. It was clear to him that one day, Hashimoto's true talents would surface, and Hikigaya needed to be prepared.

"After all this time, you actually asked me to figure it out myself?" Hikigaya said, his voice laced with exasperation. "I thought you'd just tell me who the captain is. You're such a useless traitor."

"Hey, hey, that's not on me," Hashimoto replied, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Katsuragi's crew was keeping too close an eye on me, so they sent me to Class C… By the way, speaking of Class C, Katsuragi made an interesting deal with Ryuen."

"...Exchanging personal points for supplies?"

"Oh? You already knew about that?" Hashimoto looked momentarily surprised before his expression softened into an amused grin. "You're pretty impressive, managing to charm a girl so much that she's willing to betray her class! Why don't I have that kind of skill?"

Hikigaya dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "That's not exactly how it went… Never mind. I don't know the specifics—how much did Ryuen make from this?"

It wasn't hard for Hikigaya to deduce the situation. Katsuragi's resources were limited, and with the class instructors on the island, any contract signed in person was guaranteed, eliminating the risk of non-payment.

Hashimoto answered, "Ryuen exchanged enough supplies for Class A to last a week on the island. In return, we're all giving him 20,000 points per month, which adds up to 800,000 points."

"But didn't Sakayanagi show up?" Hikigaya asked, puzzled.

"Even though the princess isn't here, the points will still be paid. The rest of the class will split the cost equally."

"I see…"

Hikigaya couldn't help but sigh. It wasn't often that Ryuen made deals that weren't entirely self-serving. "I didn't expect Ryuen to be so generous. This deal seems like a bit of a loss for him."

"Where's the loss?" Hashimoto looked genuinely confused. "He's going to be earning 800,000 points every month. He's likely to become the wealthiest student in our year."

"That's not how it works." Hikigaya shook his head. "Even if everyone in Class A pays 20,000 individual points, they can recoup the exam points later, which effectively gives them 200 class points for free, further widening the gap with the other classes."

Hikigaya continued, "If it were me, I'd have asked for 40,000 per person at first. Katsuragi might have countered with 20,000, and I'd settle at 30,000, which would be just about right."

"…You're ruthless," Hashimoto commented, though he knew that even at 30,000, Katsuragi might have agreed. After all, the value of class points far exceeded that of personal points, and even at a two-to-one exchange rate, it wasn't a fair trade.

In truth, Hikigaya's estimate was conservative. Given the deep-seated rivalry between the Sakayanagi and Katsuragi factions, even if most students wouldn't outright betray their class, they wouldn't hesitate to make things difficult for Katsuragi. They weren't as loyal as the students in Class B, but were still better than Class D who could almost start a fight over something as trivial as a toilet.

In time, the 270 class points of Class A would likely be spent by the Sakayanagi faction under various pretenses. Perhaps Katsuragi had foreseen this, prompting him to make a deal with Ryuen—a move uncharacteristic of his normally cautious nature.

As long as the class's supplies were secured in advance and an agreement was made that no one could touch the 270 points, any attempt to spend those points would be seen as an act of betrayal, even by the Sakayanagi faction.

Hashimoto added, "Actually, there are a few extra conditions in the contract. One of them is that Ryuen has to provide information about the captains of Class B and Class D."

Hikigaya had anticipated this. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for the spies to carry digital cameras just to take pictures for Katsuragi. But he still had a question.

"What if the task isn't completed? Does Class A still have to pay?"

"That's not how it works. For each piece of captain information that Ryuen provides, each member of Class A will have to pay an additional 10,000 points."

Hashimoto's explanation cleared up Hikigaya's doubts. There was no way Ryuen would do this for free—Class A had already gained significantly by trading personal points for class points. Providing captain information without compensation would be too generous, even for Ryuen.

"By the way, the fact that Katsuragi would strike a deal with that tyrant shocked all of us," Hashimoto chuckled sarcastically. "It seems like he's desperate after he failed in the student council election. But it's understandable. After that incident, a lot of his supporters left."

This was something Hikigaya hadn't considered. In April, he thought that with Katsuragi's methodical approach and the formal announcement of the S-system, he'd attract A-class students who were inclined to secure their class status. But Katsuragi's failure to get elected to the student council had made his classmates question his competence.

No wonder Totsuka Yahiko was so eager to cause trouble for Hikigaya. Besides Sakayanagi's instigation, the student council's affairs were also a significant factor.

Hikigaya paused to consider this new information.

"So how many people are in the Sakayanagi faction and the Katsuragi faction now?"

"The Sakayanagi faction has eighteen members, the Katsuragi faction has sixteen, and the remaining six are neutral."

"I see…"

With the deal between Katsuragi and Ryuen in place, Hikigaya knew it would be difficult to deduct any more points from Class A. The only way left was to deceive Katsuragi into guessing the wrong captain from another class.

But Katsuragi was careful. He wouldn't just write down a captain's name unless he had undeniable proof, like a photo or key card. To outsmart him, the class being targeted would have to secretly change its captain—an operation that wasn't as simple as it sounded.

The problem was that Hikigaya couldn't make this happen. Without a legitimate reason, you couldn't just swap out a team leader, much like how taking a sick day from work required a doctor's note. Knocking out the captain with some military boxing wasn't an option either.

So, this plan was a dead end.

However, Hashimoto's words sparked another idea in Hikigaya's mind.

"Hashimoto, does Katsuragi still stick close to Yahiko like before?" Hikigaya asked.

"Yahiko… oh, you mean Totsuka."

Hashimoto seemed confused at first, then asked, "Are you close to that guy? You actually called him by his first name."

"Of course not. I just don't like calling him by his last name."

"Huh? Why's that?" Hashimoto asked curiously.

"It's a personal issue. Don't worry about it," Hikigaya said impatiently. "Anyway, is Katsuragi still glued to Yahiko all the time?"

Hashimoto shook his head. "Not really. He's split his faction into several groups to secure points. The team members change daily, and our Sakayanagi faction is either gathering food or observing other classes, so I haven't found an opportunity."

"That doesn't matter. I don't necessarily need the captain's information."

"Oh? What are you planning to do?"

Although Hashimoto's curiosity was evident, Hikigaya wasn't ready to share his plan just yet.

"You'll see when the time comes. For now, just keep an eye on Yahiko. Let me know if Katsuragi isn't with him. I'll be on standby near the Class D camp for the next two days."

Hikigaya then added, "You know where our class's base is, right?"

"Of course. Don't underestimate my intelligence."

"Good. I'll be waiting for your good news."

With that, Hikigaya was about to take his leave when he noticed Hashimoto grinning mischievously at him.

"…What? That smile of yours is really unsettling."

"Hehe, thanks for cluing me in." Hashimoto narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I understand now just how ruthless you are. No wonder the princess sees you differently."

It seemed Hashimoto had caught on to Hikigaya's plan. He wasn't stupid, after all. As Hikigaya remained silent, Hashimoto threw an arm around his shoulders.

This guy was overly familiar.

"Well then, here's to a successful partnership."

"…Yeah, sure. A pleasure working with you."

Hikigaya looked at Hashimoto's smug face and couldn't help but find the situation a little amusing.

Cooperation was possible, but enjoyment? Not so much. Or rather, if the plan worked, neither the Katsuragi faction nor the Sakayanagi faction would be happy.

But this was all Sakayanagi's doing, after all.

Though Hikigaya disliked working with others, he was reliable. He'd make sure this operation was successful. After parting ways with Hashimoto, Hikigaya didn't return to his base camp. Instead, he made his way to the tower.

He remembered Katsuragi mentioning yesterday that they wouldn't use the tower as a stronghold but would station people there to wait for an opportunity.

Hikigaya decided to check it out, curious how the arrogant Class A students would react to being mocked—especially when no cameras were around.

However, when he arrived, he found that someone else had beaten him to it.

It was none other than Ayanokouji.

Hikigaya saw two unfamiliar students flanking Ayanokouji, one holding a branch threateningly close to Ayanokouji's throat, questioning him. It looked more like intimidation than a simple inquiry.

The other student was even more aggressive, searching for Ayanokouji with no regard for his personal space.

And Ayanokouji just let it happen, answering their questions without resistance, almost too compliant.

Hikigaya was dumbfounded.

Masterpiece, what are you doing?

Even if you're pretending to be an ordinary student, do you have a warped understanding of what that means?

Any normal person would be angry!