Chapter 28 Hikigaya's Final Exam

In mid-March, middle schools across Japan began their final exams. For the students at Chiba City Harumori Junior High School, where Hikigaya is studying, this exam is particularly important because the school will reassign classes based on final exam scores once the grade is upgraded. Except for those students who have decided to pursue vocational and technical education after graduation, most students and parents hope to be placed in the front class in the new school year.

For Hikigaya, being promoted to Class A in his final year of junior high is just the beginning. Only about one-third of the students in Class A will eventually be accepted into Sobu High School, but Hachiman does not view this as a difficult challenge.

Hikigaya's reputation in his class has changed dramatically in the past six months. Thanks to his significant improvement in personal image, enhanced academic performance, and growing confidence, his classmates have begun to recognize this once-autistic boy who rarely communicated with others. Although he still doesn't talk much, people no longer harbor malicious thoughts about him.

On the morning of the exam day, Kaori Orimoto, who hadn't spoken to Hikigaya for a while, approached him.

"Good morning, Hikigaya-san. How are your exam preparations going?" 

Orimoto's voice remained bright and cheerful, evoking a sense of nostalgia in Hikigaya.

"Good morning, Orimoto-san. Just hang in there and do your best."

"Eh? In the last quiz, Hikigaya-san, you were already in the top ten of your grade. That doesn't sound like a normal performance, does it?"

Kaori Orimoto had the same deadpan expression as Hikigaya, seemingly speechless at his pretentiousness.

"Well, anyway, when I enter the third year of middle school, Hikigaya-san will move to Class A, so we won't be in the same class anymore," Kaori continued, sounding somewhat reluctant.

"Orimoto, I think you're very smart. If you spend more time studying, you'll do well."

"Wow, is that a standard line for a good student, Hikigaya-san?" 

Kaori Orimoto stuck out her tongue, waved goodbye to Hikigaya, and walked toward her classroom for the exam.

"It's been almost a year since I came here, and I have indeed changed a lot…" Hikigaya sighed, reflecting on the passage of time before entering the examination room.

The junior high school exams concluded quickly, and the papers were graded just as swiftly. Two days before spring break, the final exam rankings for each grade were posted on the bulletin board. Hikigaya huddled with a group of classmates, searching for his name.

"Sixth? … As expected, my math score is low," he muttered. Although individual subject scores were not visible, his liberal arts scores were still the highest in the grade. Others could only catch up to or surpass him by excelling in math. 

Upon returning to class, Hachiman was praised by the homeroom teacher for being the class leader, as their class had never had a student with such a high grade ranking.

After returning home, the Hikigaya family held a graduation celebration party for Hachiman and Komachi. Hikigaya Komachi would officially become a junior high school student after the spring break and, naturally, attend the same Harumori Junior High School as Hachiman. Hachiman thought he could finally go to school with Komachi, but before he could feel happy about it, he learned the unfortunate news: to reduce traffic congestion near the school, the third graders would have staggered school times compared to the first and second graders. He couldn't help but put his hands on his head, trying to escape from reality.

"Don't be sad, brother. At least you can still see me at school, right?"

Komachi comforted Hachiman while gently stroking his head.

Despite making a significant amount of money, Hikigaya's home life remained largely unchanged. Aside from being able to put better food on the table, they still maintained their regular routine of work and school. Both of his parents knew the bank account password, but the money just sat there, accumulating interest. Thanks to the relatively stable performance of the Japanese yen over the years, Hachiman had no intention of investing it.

"But we still need to buy a house..." Hikigaya thought to himself. He planned to move out after starting high school. He selected a junior high school nearby so he wouldn't have to spend much time traveling. However, once he entered Sobu High School, the commute would become a significant factor. He didn't want to waste two and a half hours each day just traveling to and from school. In fact, he had his eye on an apartment building very close to Sobu High School, but only the top floor was available, leaving him feeling uncertain.

The school was located in the Mihama District, close to the sea. Housing prices in the area were moderate, at about 350,000 yen per square meter. The apartment building that intrigued Hikigaya was one kilometer from Sobu High School. Each apartment had a floor area of 90 square meters. The remaining two units were both on the 11th floor. Hikigaya couldn't find any faults with the apartments, aside from their height being a bit daunting.

"Forget it. I'll think about it during the summer vacation," he decided. With the apartments priced at over 32 million yen each, Hikigaya wasn't worried that they would be sold quickly.

"Sixth in the grade? That's impressive, Hikigaya-kun! It looks like you can easily get into Sobu High School without my help," Yukinoshita Haruno said over the phone. She knew Hikigaya's exams had recently concluded and wanted to ask about his grades. In her opinion, Hikigaya would have surely struggled to balance his writing and studying, but she was pleasantly surprised by his excellent academic performance, which ruined her plans to tutor him.

"It's okay, senior sister. I believe I can still improve my grades. My performance in liberal arts is strong, but math is a weak spot for me. I might still need your help," he replied.

"Sure! You can always reach out to me if you need anything. By the way, Hikigaya-kun, have you read that very popular novel recently?" Haruno changed the topic, sounding mischievous.

"Hmm? I haven't read much lately, so I guess I haven't heard of it. What's the title?" Hikigaya, who had been focused on writing his own book and neglecting reading, was curious but suspected he knew where Haruno was going with this.

"It's called 'Confessions.' You should find it prominently displayed in any bookstore," she said.

"'Confessions'? Hahaha, that sounds like a sweet love novel. I bet girls like you love to read it," Hikigaya replied, pretending to be oblivious. However, he realized that Haruno wasn't responding on the other end of the line.

At that moment, Haruno was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter, her body shaking as she held back her amusement.

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