Cote:010

Chapter 10

　　Yamauchi: "That's right, his grades aren't that great, and he looks like a gloomy person."

　　Shinohara: "This kind of person is probably almost a psychopath. He even caused our entire class to be recorded as absent from class."

　　Karuizawa kei: "By the way, who is he? When did such a person appear in our class?"

　　"…."

　　The discussion about him has not stopped yet, and Horikita Suzune seemed to understand something suddenly. Her whole body trembled slightly and her eyes stayed on his seat.

　　Hirata also wanted to find an opportunity to explain for Hikigaya, but he found that he could not intervene at all.

　　The atmosphere of the entire Class D has almost been fully formed.

　　If I had to say, only koenji was still crossing his chest with his hands, not caring about anything, while Sakura still had her hands on her inner thighs, looking a little confused.

　　[ike "Ah, this guy actually used such a method, and we still have to scold him like this... I really feel like I deserve to die."]

　　[Sudou: "Provocation? I'm not going to really go and beat him up, am I?"]

　　[Karuizawa ike "He really changed our fate of having 0 points... He's amazing. I just feel sorry for this guy. Even after doing this, I still can't remember his name."]

　　[Sakura Airi: "It's so pitiful that I still get scolded even though I did such a thing..."]

　　[Yamauchi said as if it was a matter of course: "There's nothing we can do about it. Who told him to say that to us?"]

　　[Horikita Suzune: "Is this the method he mentioned? Isn't this the same as when we were on the bus..."]

　　[Ichinose Honami: "You're trying to protect the entire group by yourself... This kind of behavior is definitely not allowed."]

　　[Ichinose's expression is somewhat worried. As an angel, everything she has is based on others, and if she lets one person sacrifice to such an extent to save a class, she can't do such a thing.]

　　[Ryuen: "It would be much more interesting if such a person could be in our class..."]

　　Sakayanagi still maintained that faint smile. This ability of the boy only belongs to him. Even the silver-haired girl has never seen it since she was born. If she can make good use of it, the consequences will be disastrous.

**

　　At Chabashira Sae's call, Hikigaya walked out of the classroom and headed towards the end of the corridor.

　　In the dim corridor, the tall woman in uniform seemed to have been waiting for him for a very long time.

　　Chabashira Sae lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and then exhaled all the air from his mouth.

　　"What are you doing? You're so handsome. Are you possessed by Hiratsuka Shizuka?"

　　Even after what happened just now, the woman was still not angry at all. Hikigaya originally thought that he would be scolded, but in fact, Chabashi Sae just looked at him.

　　"To be honest, I had received resumes from every student before the school started. At that time... I simply thought you were an ordinary student, just like most people in Class D."

　　Hearing Chabashira Sae's words, the boy did not smile, but replied very seriously:

　　"The truth is, I'm just an ordinary person, like most people."

　　'Self-righteousness is a disease, thinking that you are different from others, that you are smarter and cuter than others. This kind of arrogant behavior is nothing more than being unable to accept your own ordinariness, thus deceiving yourself.'

　　Chabashi Sae did not argue with the boy on this point. Since the boy thought so, she could not say anything more.

　　"Hikigaya, well done."

　　"I wanted to praise you like this, but I realized... I am not qualified to make any comments about you now. You figured it out, didn't you? You used your own efforts to figure it out bit by bit, and put all the information about this school into your brain, even though the method you used in the end was very clumsy."

　　"Even so, you are the first student in my nearly ten years of teaching who can change the fate of Class D in the first month of school."

　　"Your observation skills are simply terrifying. To be honest, I have seen countless talented students, but I have never seen someone with such sensitive observation skills and strong reasoning ability, and finally changed this class with one person's strength."

　　Chabashi Sae was not stingy with her praise, and at this moment, even she herself found it a little unbelievable.

　　How could I possibly give such a high evaluation to a student?

　　Hikigaya did not completely lose himself because of these compliments, but instead reminded Chabashira in front of him again.

　　"Teacher, I'm here to be criticized."

　　"Also, you don't have to praise me so much. As I just said, everyone is the same, including you, Chabashira-sensei."

　　"If the class isn't randomly assigned, then the teacher shouldn't be either. In other words, you've been teaching in Class D for a long time, and you want to move up..."

　　Chabashira's body trembled slightly. She really didn't expect that the boy had observed her to this point. Now...how many secrets does she have left?

　　"A detailed understanding..."

　　"But, unfortunately, all I want is a peaceful high school life. I am not interested in all the competition and even want to stay away from it, so..."

　　Chabashira Sae took a deep puff of the cigarette in her mouth and threw it into the trash can. Then she hugged her chest, leaned against the wall, and looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with a cold smile.

　　"Do you think that you can stay out of this situation when you are in the middle of it?"

　　"In this school, you face competition all the time, competition between classes and competition between students. You should be very aware of this."

　　Hikigaya nodded. He could not deny this. After all, this place was indeed different from the school he was familiar with. The so-called S-point rating mechanism was a mechanism for rewarding students, but at the same time, it was also a mechanism for initiating competitions in terms of grades and rankings at any time.

　　Although he had only been in school for two weeks, he could feel that living in this school was definitely not as easy as it seemed.

　　Chabashira-sensei continued:

　　"How many people can understand you after you have done that? If I hadn't brought you out, you would have been criticized by the students in the class. So... can you still say these words as if nothing happened?"

　　Hikigaya admitted that he could not do it, and indeed from this point of view, he had to thank the woman in front of him. To be honest, she really could not give him the same feeling as Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka, but now she had indeed saved his life.

　　"As long as you promise me and help me get into Class A, I will promise you that you will not suffer any loss in the next three years. And...if you are faced with the storm of expulsion again one day, I will also do my best to protect you."

　　"This is a good suggestion, isn't it?"

　　The meaningful gaze seemed to be knocking on the boy's heart. What could he get if he boarded this ghost ship?

　　Unlimited points? Or other rights? To be honest, he didn't care about any of them.

　　Moreover, if I sell myself to her, I will have to serve the teacher in front of me for three years. What is the difference between this and a contract with the devil?

　　Seeing that Hikigaya was still hesitating, Chabashira Sae continued:

　　"Hikigaya, think about it. If I go in and tell you the whole story of the 100,000 points, you won't be criticized by anyone and you may even be very popular in the class. On the contrary, if you continue like this, you will be forced to drop out sooner or later."

　　Hikigaya clenched his fists. He had completely overlooked this point this time. Although Chabashira in front of him wanted to be promoted to Class A, he had no intention of helping him out and even wanted to control himself.

　　He had taken into account every possible variable, except for the teacher in black uniform, whom he had not expected to take this step.

　　She had actually gone so crazy as to want to completely control her students.

　　Hikigaya sighed deeply. He didn't expect that after making it this far, he still lost.

　　"I answer..."

　　"Chabashira-sensei, you have to think about it carefully."

　　Behind the two of them, a black-haired girl had appeared.

　　Horikita Suzune held up the phone in her hand, and at this moment the four big words "Recording" were extremely conspicuous on the bright white screen.

　　The boy, who had great observation skills, actually failed to notice the girl's appearance, and the same was true for Chabashi Sae.

　　One was almost forced into a desperate situation, while the other wanted to take Hikigaya into his own hands at all costs.

　　The black-haired girl had a calm expression, and even when facing the teacher, she would not change at all.

　　"This contains all the conversations between you two. If you really want to be promoted to Class A, this conversation can instantly destroy the bond between you and your students."

　　Chabashi Sae looked at Horikita Suzune with her arms around her chest as if she had seen something interesting.

　　"Is this really okay? Horikita, didn't you come to this school to pursue your brother? If you dream of getting into Class A, it would be a huge blow to you if this voice is leaked."

　　The young boy Hikigaya, who was listening to the conversation between the two, once again thought of the man with the eyes who performed at the opening ceremony in the gymnasium.

　　"Sure enough, we are a family."

　　Horikita Suzune seemed to be affected by the teacher's words, and her raised hand began to tremble for a moment. Seeing this, Chabashira also revealed an amused smile.

　　"but..."

　　"Um?"

　　"Since Hikigaya has done this for the class, I will also..."

　　"Yeah?"

　　After getting the answer, Chabashira Sae no longer smiled, but turned back into a normal teacher as if he had seen a boring answer.

　　She turned and walked towards the dark corridor ahead.

　　"By the way, your actions today saved this year's Class D."

　　After saying this, the woman stepped into the endless darkness.

　　Hikigaya felt it once again that this school was definitely not something that could be judged by ordinary people's thinking. If it weren't for Horikita's help today, he would have really become Chabashira's person.

　　From now on, we must never take it lightly.

　　"Thank you for just now..."

　　Horikita: "What a disgusting thing. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for Class D. Since we already know that if we want to be promoted to Class A, we need the whole class to work hard together. There's no reason to just sit there and do nothing. After all, you're also a member of Class D."

　　"Besides, the most important thing is not me. The atmosphere in the class right now is one of criticism towards you. Although Hirata and Kushida keep speaking well of you, the effect is just a drop in the bucket. You know that too, you did that kind of thing."

　　Hikigaya nodded. He knew this kind of thing best. It was not the first time he had done this, to bring all the hatred onto himself and create a world where no one was hurt.

　　At least, judging from the results, he has achieved his initial goal, making sure that no one would be absent-minded in class and have points deducted.

　　But, I really need to stay out of the spotlight for now.

　　Hikigaya: "Anyway, thank you."

　　Horikita: "...Um...I don't consider you as a companion, absolutely not!"

　　Hearing the girl's answer, Hikigaya just smiled slightly, then turned around and stepped into the same darkness as Chabashi George.

　　Today, he really needs to take a good rest.

　　However, he never imagined that his fame would become so popular throughout the entire school due to word of mouth among his classmates.

　　Although it was a bit exaggerated, the senior students and the students in Class ABC who already knew the rules of this school just smiled in response, and then remembered the name thoroughly in their minds.

　　Hikigaya Hachiman....

　　The short Saturday and Sunday passed. Although Hikigaya only stayed in the dormitory for two days, even if he was not in this school, he would mostly stay at home on weekends.

　　Time always passes very quickly like this, and in the blink of an eye, it seems like it's time to go back to school again.

　　After organizing all the supplies, Hikigaya took a deep breath, picked up his schoolbag and walked towards the teaching building.

　　On the way, he could always hear people around him pointing fingers at him and discussing his stupid behavior.

　　However... these sounds were nothing but smoke to Hikigaya. It was not the first time for him to experience such a thing, so he naturally got used to this feeling.

　　Anyway, I have always been alone...

　　Just as the young man was walking with his head down, a huge figure appeared in front of him, completely blocking his way.

　　"Albert, don't bully our school's little celebrity."

　　The voice of a young boy with long red hair slowly came from behind the black man in front of him.

　　"Wow, you guys are really not gangsters? By the way... this guy is the one I saw in Class C."

　　The boy, whose way was blocked in this way, became the focus of the entire school's attention for a moment.

　　Hikigaya and Ryuuen just stared at each other.

　　After a long time, Ryuuen was the first to let out a thunderous laugh.

　　"Hahahahahahahahahaha! Interesting, interesting. Really, really interesting!"

　　"Did this guy see through me? It seems... they also know the unspoken rules of this school."

　　Hikigaya didn't say anything, but just looked at Ryuuen's almost crazy smile in front of him with an expressionless face.

***

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