It’s a Done Deal

"Phew… Finally, I can be free."

Today had been nothing short of torture for Hikigaya.

With his injured arm, he had drawn plenty of attention from his classmates. Those strange looks made him uncomfortable, and to make matters worse, Matsushita seemed to be deliberately making things even more troublesome for him.

"Hikigaya-kun, what are you sighing about over there?"

"…Nothing."

"Honestly, haven't you heard? Sighing makes your happiness slip away."

Spouting such pointless words, Matsushita swiftly gathered the books and stationery from Hikigaya's desk and stuffed them into his bag. She even thoughtfully asked if he needed to compare notes, as if worried that he might have missed something during class.

Naturally, this bizarre scene caught the attention of the surrounding students.

Especially the guys—curious, envious, and maybe even a little jealous. Seriously, this was getting extremely uncomfortable.

The school was over already. Did these people not have club activities or a dorm to return to? Stop standing around and watching!

"Uh, I can do this myself, you know?"

Hikigaya, sweating nervously, tried to stop Matsushita. In fact, this wasn't even the first time today—he had already received her "help" during lunch.

She had even volunteered to run errands for him, queued up to buy him a yakisoba bread, and stubbornly refused to take any money for it.

At any other school, this would probably be mistaken for bullying… Wait, could that be the case here too?

But according to Matsushita, Hikigaya had given her plenty of pocket money during the summer, so this was simply her way of returning the favor.

Although he had corrected her on the spot that it was just payment for a job, Matsushita must have felt guilty for taking so many personal points without actually doing much, and now she wanted to make it up to him.

"It's fine. My seatmate's arm is injured, after all. How could I just ignore it?"

Matsushita said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world… even though she wasn't exactly the type to go out of her way to help others.

Frankly, Hikigaya would have preferred she spent her efforts on gathering intel on Satou instead of fussing over these minor things.

But… yeah, there was no way to say that out loud in this situation.

Sigh… I should just make my escape now.

"Here, take your bag."

As if she wasn't done yet, Matsushita even went as far as to personally sling his schoolbag over his left shoulder.

He could feel the surrounding stares growing sharper by the second… Was it just his imagination, or did he sense actual murderous intent mixed in there?

And by the way, Kushida, could you not make that terrifying "vajra" expression right now? You just became the class's hero this morning—this is not the time to break character!

To escape this suffocating situation, Hikigaya gave Matsushita a small nod as a farewell and bolted out of the classroom without waiting for her reaction.

There was no way he could endure staying there any longer.

Seriously… He was already busy trying to turn Class C against each other. Who had time to deal with the idiots in his class?

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Hikigaya turned his thoughts to his next move.

From his observations, the atmosphere in Class C today was particularly bad. Of course, their ranking drop played a role, but there had to be more to it.

Had Ryuuen already identified the traitor?

The sports festival had only ended yesterday, but considering how badly he had been humiliated, it wouldn't be surprising if he was acting this fast.

Either way, Hikigaya needed to find a chance to make contact.

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun."

Just then, someone called out his name from behind.

At this point, he didn't even need to turn around—he already knew who it was from the voice.

"Shiina. Heading to the library today?"

He hadn't expected to run into her here. Maybe this was an opportunity.

"Mhm. I haven't been able to go much lately because of the sports festival." Shiina smiled before adding, "Speaking of which, I appreciate your help yesterday. If you hadn't stepped in, I probably would have come in last place again."

"Don't mention it."

Just thinking about it gave Hikigaya a headache. He still held a grudge against whoever had come up with that ridiculous event.

"By the way, how's your class doing…? Especially Ryuuen."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Shiina tilted her head slightly.

"I mean, has he lost his temper or anything?"

Hikigaya paused for a moment before continuing.

"I'm mainly worried about whether there have been any… violent incidents. After all, he got played hard by X this time. Even if the traitor is a girl, I doubt he'll go easy on her."

"Oh? So Hikigaya-kun knows about X too?" Shiina looked surprised.

So Ryuuen had already started taking action. And from the way Shiina didn't react to his mention of the traitor being a girl, she wasn't surprised by that—only by the fact that he knew about it.

Hikigaya gave a wry smile and nodded. "Yeah. I happened to be there when X sent Ryuuen the recording yesterday… He was so mad his face turned blue."

Strictly speaking, though, Ryuuen hadn't been all that angry about X's tactics. What broke him was Hikigaya's words.

But that was for his good.

Someday, Ryuuen would understand.

"By the way, has anyone in your class figured out who X is?" Hikigaya asked.

"Hmm… Nope." Shiina shook her head but quickly added, "But I do know for sure that it's not you, Hikigaya-kun. Not even as an accomplice."

"…Why?"

"If you had known about Ryuuen-kun's plan beforehand, you would have told Horikita-san. You wouldn't have just let her get hurt on the field."

Seeing Shiina's confident expression, Hikigaya instinctively looked away, feeling a little awkward.

This kind of trust was… heavy.

"Anyway, it seems like your class is fine for now." Hikigaya quickly changed the topic. "But I'm just worried about what Ryuuen will do once he finds X… What do you think?"

"Well, knowing Ryuuen-kun, he'll resort to violence to make them submit."

Shiina's face clouded with worry.

"I'm a little curious about X's true identity too, but if Ryuuen-kun finds out, he'll surely take things too far… He might even push that person to a breaking point."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about."

As expected of the smartest student in Class C—her thoughts aligned perfectly with Hikigaya's.

Ryuuen would most likely lure X somewhere without cameras and beat the truth out of them… though whether he could win was another question.

Even if he could win, such an approach was meaningless.

This was still a school, and X wasn't in the same class as him. If Ryuuen got caught, it would all be over.

Shiina understood that too, which was why she felt so helpless—she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Honestly… Why can't everyone just get along?" She slumped her shoulders in defeat. "I get that conflicts happen during exams, but petty disputes escalating into violence is just awful."

"…Because there are too many ridiculous people in the world."

Whether it was Ayanokoji or Ryuuen, neither of them was driven purely by the desire to reach Class A. It was just something that interested them.

Just then, Hikigaya noticed something.

"…Wait, why is your classroom door closed?"

"Is Ryuuen interrogating the traitor?"

"Mhm. Ibuki-san and the others are there too."

"I see… I guess I should drop by and say hello."

After gathering enough intel from Shiina, it was time to apply some pressure.

"Huh?"

For some reason, Shiina looked surprised.

"But Hikigaya-kun… Didn't you say you'd go to the library with me?"

"…Did I?"

Hikigaya blinked. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't recall agreeing to that.

But arguing about it now would be pointless. He waved a hand lightly.

"Sorry, I'm not really up for it right now. Plus, all these stares are annoying… But I'll be getting my cast removed this weekend, so I'll be back to normal soon."

"Oh, that's good."

Shiina sounded a little disappointed, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Well then, let's meet next week."

"Yeah. Next week."

"Mm!"

Receiving Hikigaya's assurance, Shiina beamed with joy, clasping her hands together slightly as her eyes narrowed in delight.

Ah, this girl is an angel.

"Well then, I'll be off."

However, just as she was walking away, Shiina suddenly turned back.

"Hikigaya-kun, if you happen to forget, I'll come to Class D to pick you up."

...I take back my words.

She may be an angel, but she's also terrifying!

Weird. Why are all the girls I know so forceful?

Thinking back, it had always been this way since middle school. The only one remotely soft and adorable was Totsuka... Yeah, better not go down that road.

Hikigaya shook his head to clear his thoughts, then made his way straight to Class C's classroom.

From inside, he could faintly hear voices and the sound of someone slamming a desk. Most likely Ryuuen.

Now then, what kind of opening line should I go with?

...Forget it, I'll just say whatever.

Resolving himself, Hikigaya pulled open the door.

A single glance inside revealed not only Ryuuen and his usual lackeys but also Manabe and her two friends, standing there with their heads down like criminals.

Looks like my guess was spot on.

"Oh? Are you guys having a party here? Mind if I join?"

"Dead eyes… get the hell out."

Ryuuen immediately greeted him with a warm welcome.

"Don't be like that. I'm here out of concern," Hikigaya replied casually. "I heard you're looking for 'X'? How's that going? Considering you openly discussed how to frame Horikita in front of the whole class and then got recorded by a spy, I'd say you'll never find them."

"H-Hey, you! Stop spouting nonsense! What does this have to do with you?!" Ishizaki yelled.

But as he thought about it, he realized—Hikigaya was completely right.

Not just him. Everyone had been blaming the traitor, but after Hikigaya's words, they began reconsidering.

Even Manabe and her friends started feeling like their mistake wasn't as big as they had thought.

As for Ryuuen himself… He quickly closed the distance between them.

Then, without hesitation, he launched a powerful kick.

"Whoa? Are you lashing out in embarrassment or just panicking?"

Too bad for him—such a childish sneak attack was effortlessly dodged by Hikigaya, who even had the leisure to throw in a jab.

To his eyes, Ryuuen's speed was sluggish—compared to the student council president, he moved like a slug. Even an old lady crossing the street was faster.

Does this guy think he can beat the 'Masterpiece' with this level of skill?

Ayanoukoji would smoke Ryuuen.

"Hey, quit resorting to violence," Hikigaya sighed in feigned helplessness. "Good thing I dodged. If it were someone else, you might've gotten expelled, you know?"

Clicking his tongue, Ryuuen narrowed his eyes. "What the hell do you want?"

"I told you already—I'm here to help you find 'X'."

Hikigaya never liked wasting time bickering with Ryuuen, so he extended his olive branch again.

"As usual, if you agree to work with me, I'll cancel those contracts requiring a combined monthly payment of 1,876,000 points."

"Eh?!"

Since 200 points were deducted during the sports festival, Class C's actual tribute wasn't that high anymore. But that part wouldn't take effect until November, and he couldn't be bothered to recalculate now.

Even so, this amount was enough to shock everyone except Ryuuen and Ibuki.

"Wait, Hikigaya-shi, are you serious?!" Kaneda adjusted his glasses, urgently confirming.

This guy talks like Zaimokuza... Another otaku?

Hikigaya was about to answer, but Ryuuen cut in sharply.

"Kaneda, shut up! I've already told you—you're just pawns. You have no say here."

"Hey, hey, that's no way to treat your classmates."

The students of Class C feared Ryuuen, but Hikigaya had no reason to, so he mocked him without hesitation.

"If you know you're incompetent, at least have the humility to admit it. You didn't lose to 'X' because of a momentary mistake—you lost because you're an idiot. Even now, you still don't understand how to make the right choices."

"GET! OUT!"

"Jeez, no need to yell."

Faced with Ryuuen's face darkening to the point where it looked like he was about to start dripping ink, Hikigaya remained completely unfazed.

"If you're not satisfied with the contract, I can offer an alternative—20 million personal points."

With that, he pulled out his phone and opened the S-System interface.

"I currently have over ten million. I'll pay the remaining ten million within a year. How's that?"

Hikigaya's monthly living expenses were around fifty thousand. Even if he splurged occasionally, he wouldn't exceed eighty thousand. Adding in the three million he received as compensation for his injury…

By October, his personal balance had reached 12.6 million points.

Sure, flashing money around wasn't the best idea, but if he wanted Class C to bite, he needed to show proof.

Judging by their shocked expressions, his tactic had worked perfectly.

It made sense. While other students were struggling to climb to Class A, he had already amassed ten million points in just half a year.

"Don't worry, I won't go back on my word. We can sign a contract if needed."

But this wasn't directed at Ryuuen—it was meant for everyone else.

"Think it over. Contact me anytime."

With that, he turned on his heels and left without bothering to wait for their reaction.

Behind him, a loud bang echoed, followed by Ryuuen's furious roar.

Jeez, could he be a little gentler with the classroom door?

Overall, things went pretty smoothly.

Hikigaya wasn't even slightly worried about failure.

Class C's loyalty to Ryuuen stemmed from their belief that he could lead them to Class A. But now, with 20 million points right in front of them, that foundation was crumbling.

Of course, they were students. They might hesitate in the short term out of pride.

If necessary, he could extend the offer to the entire class. While Ryuuen's closest followers might resist temptation, the average students certainly wouldn't.

Given time, someone would come around.

However, Hikigaya had underestimated just how quickly they would act.

That very night, he received a message.