Chapter 24

"Yo Hikigaya. It looks like it hurts a lot... so why is it bright red?"

"Shut up, don't talk about it, idiot!"

Hashimoto, who was earlier at the game center, asked me a strange question, so I brushed it off.

Hashimoto and I were chased by Kamuro, but Hashimoto ran away first and I was caught by Kamuro.

At that time, I tried to take various detours to disturb them, but in the end I was unable to escape and ended up getting slapped at the back of the dormitory.

That wouldn't have been bad, but I stumbled after being slapped, and my leg became entangled with Kamuro's, and we both fell together, but as soon as I fell, Kamuro's lips kissed my cheek.

After that, Kamuro turned bright red and left, but I still felt embarrassed inside of me.

"Haha, isn't that so? Did you also rub Kamuro's breasts when you fell?"

"It's different this time"

Hashimoto says this with a grin on his face, and I immediately denies it.

"Then it's her butt?"

"Come on, stay away from sexual harassment. I'm telling you, I haven't done anything to her."

I may have been the one who dragged her into this, but that kiss came from Kamuro.

"I mean, I thought you would be happy being hit by Kamuro."

"What do you think I am, Hashimoto?! Besides, I didn't want to die yet."

"About that, I'll die in the classroom tomorrow. Or rather, it's time to go to the arcade."

"That's right."

As we entered the arcade while having such a conversation, we were greeted by the typical noise of arcades.

"Then let's play a racing game first. If we lose, we'll have a drink."

"Got it"

At Hashimoto's invitation, I sit down in the racing game cabinet and hold my device over the steering wheel.

At the same time, a beep sounds, indicating that 100 private points have been reduced.

Then I received a request for a battle from Hashimoto, so I accepted it and selected a car, and the monitor displayed the car that Hashimoto and I had selected, as well as the CPU's 6 cars.

Then, the countdown begins, and the moment it reaches 0, you make a start dash.

The target is Hashimoto's car. I blows it out of the side and takes control.

but...

""Ah""

Hashimoto seemed to be thinking the same thing, and my car and Hashimoto's car collided with force, and we were bounced off.

And several CPU cars were pulled out in between. As a result, I ended up in 5th place and while Hashimoto in 6th place.

Hey Hashimoto, you have the nerve to try to blow it away from the beginning.

While clicking my tongue inwardly, I opened the accelerator fully, making smooth turns and passing one car at a time.

As a result, just before the finish line, I was in 1st place and Hashimoto was in 2nd place.

However, I have already lost the lead to Hashimoto many times, so we are neck and neck.

What makes the difference between victory and defeat is the curve a little ahead.

Once you pass that point, it's a straight line, so if Hashimoto is going to make a move, that's where it's at.

That's when I tried to turn the curve while concentrating on the monitor.

"Gah, Kamuro."

"What?!"

When Hashimoto whispers that, I instantly remember the softness of Kamuro's lips that I felt earlier. By the way, she's also at the game center...huh?

『GOAL!』

When they look around, Kamuro is nowhere to be seen, and an announcement is heard announcing the end of the game.

When I looked at the monitor, Hashimoto had passed me and was in first place.

Ah, I was framed by Hashimoto.

_______________

"You cowardly bastard."

I threw a can of coffee at Hashimoto and insulted him, but Hashimoto just laughed out loud.

"It's too bad. But you got nervous just hearing Kamuro's name. There must have been something going on."

"Shut up!"

Can I say it? Even though it was an accident, she kissed me on the cheek.

"Yes, yes. Well, it seems like your anger has flown away after leaving that mess of a classroom, which is great."

When Hashimoto said that, I remembered that I had forgotten my anger towards Sudo.

However, compared to when I was in the classroom, my anger was small.

Once you forget something, it doesn't seem to be the size it was before you forgot it.

"It seems so."

"Well, I was pretty scared back then, So? What do you think will happen in the end?"

Hashimoto is probably talking about the violent incident.

"I want C-Class to do its best and suspend that monkey!"

"You really don't have any interest in your class, given your immediate answers."

"There's no way. In fact, I only know the address of one classmate."

It's just that they forcefully exchanged it because they wanted the whole class, and if they didn't have that, there would be 0, but I don't really care.

"One person…"

"Don't get nervous there."

"No, that's too unexpected, isn't it? By the way, how many people are registered in your phone book?"

I'm sure my phone book is...

"Class A is you, Sakayanagi, and Kamuro, B class is Ichinose, C class is Ryuen and Hiyori, and D class is Kushida, seven people in total.''

"Why is it that you can complete the bosses of other classes, but you only have one classmate's address registered?..."

"Leave me alone. How many people do you have?"

"Me? I...34 people."

"It's too much, Hashimoto. You should n't make so many superficial friends."

"I belong to the tennis club. I also have my senior's address registered."

"By the looks of it, you are famous in the tennis club."

Hashimoto's appearance is best described as a "Handsome boy". Did this guy join the tennis club because he wanted to be popular?

"If you ask me that, I don't have anything to say in response, but Kamuro is more surprising. She's in the art club."

What? Kamuro is an art club. This is even more unexpected than Hashimoto's tennis club. Well, in Kamuro's case, the cultural club is probably more of a character than the athletic club.

"That's surprising... or rather, getting back to the topic of the violent incident, if things continue like this, Sudo will be suspended from school and Class D will have its class points reduced, but this is what I want most."

If that happens, Sudo will become a little quieter, and I will be able to live a quiet life after school. If you still don't calm down, I'll put you in the same position as the C class students and expel them.

"There are people who appear to be witnesses, but we don't have much hope."

"why?"

"She refuses to interact with other people any more than I do, and she belongs to our D-class."

"Your class really has shitty luck. If you're in the same class, people will  get suspicious."

"Plus, when my homeroom teacher asked about witnesses, she didn't come forward."

It would be one thing if she had come forward when Sensei spoke, but even if Sakura, who did not come forward, now claims that she witnessed it, there is little credibility.

Plus, there's no proof that Sakura witnessed it. Without conclusive evidence, Sakura's value as a witness is low.

"In that case, the D-class will probably try their best to reduce the sentence as much as possible."

"That's the best, but..."

I don't think it will work that well.

Sudo doesn't think it's his fault at all.

In fact, I can clearly see a future in which he becomes violent during deliberations and has his sentence increased.

"Well, no matter what happens to him, it won't have any negative effects, so it doesn't matter."

Even if you run out of class points, there are many ways to earn private points. In fact, if Sudo is found not guilty, he will probably take advantage of the plot and show no remorse, so his class points should be reduced.

"Next time, I'll play a fighting game. If I lose in a best-of-five match, I'll treat you to dinner."

"Up to 1,000 points."

With that said, we headed towards the fighting game cabinet.

___________

"I'm home"

"Welcome home, Hachiman-kun. You were late today."

"I had a little fun."

After hanging out with Hashimoto at various places like the arcade, maid cafe, and bookstore until 10 o'clock, I returned to the dormitory and was greeted by Hiyori in her pajamas.

That alone is soothing...

"I see. You shouldn't waste too much money."

"I know. I have no intention of dropping below 1.6 million private points, at least during July."

The amount I spend each month easily exceeds 100,000 private points, but just in case, I always set a line at the beginning of the month that I cannot fall below.

In this month's case, as of the beginning of July, I owned 1,853,680 private points, but I have decided not to drop below 1,600,000.

"Then that's fine. The bath is already boiling."

"I see. Thank you as always."

I am forever grateful to Hiyori.

"I've said it many times, but I'm only doing it because I want to do it."

Damn it, it's soothing after all. I really want to kill Sudo for insulting this oasis of my heart.

"Still, I'm going to take a bath instead, but if you're sleepy, go to bed first."

I played around a lot today, so I'm going to bed early.

"No. If I fall asleep first, I won't be able to kiss you goodnight, so I'll wait."

Well, that's how it came... This is so unexpected.

Although I was inwardly shuddering, I bowed to Hiyori and headed to the changing room to take off my clothes.

Then, just as I was about to take out the device from my pocket and place it on top of my washing machine, I received an email.

The sender seems to be Sakayanagi, what's the point at this hour?

When I opened the email with a question mark...

"Were Masumi-san's lips soft? "

"Gaha!"

It seemed like an event that ranked high among the things I didn't want to know had been found out by the most sadistic person to me.

"...Then let's go to bed, Hiyori."

I'm getting anxious about Sakayanagi's email, remembering the softness of Kamuro's lips in the bathroom, and I'm going to sleep with Hiyori now...I'm afraid I'll get stabbed if my classmates find out.

"Okay, Hachiman-kun, please," she said, sticking out her forehead.

"Okay...good night.'' I kissed her forehead, and Hiyori nodded, her cheeks blushing .

"...Yes, good night, Hachiman-kun." She kisses my forehead and hugs me.

You spoiled brat...please be more spoiled brat.

No...actually, please be serious

___________

"Wow, I still can't get over my tiredness..."

I get on the elevator while yawning. Naturally, Hiyori, who lives with me, is next to me.

"Are you okay? Please limit your night out."

"I know"

When I nod at Hiyori's words, the elevator door opens and I go outside.

Then, as I headed towards the entrance, I saw Sakayanagi as usual, and Kamuro as well.

Sakayanagi seemed to have noticed us as well, smiling like she was having fun, and Kamuro blushed a little before turning away from us.

Looking at the two of them, I feel a little irritated and extremely embarrassed.

"Good morning, both of you. The weather is nice today."

Sakayanagi was the one who started it. In this case, I guess it feels good.

She's usually pretty cool, but she gets excited when she's teasing me.

"Good morning, Sakayanagi-san and Kamuro-san. Thank you for your continued support today."

"...Good morning"

「...…」

Hiyori greeted politely, I greeted bluntly, and when it came to Kamuro, I just kept looking away.

Then Sakayanagi opens her mouth with a smile.

"Masumi-san. That attitude is rude. Please look them in the eye and greet them properly. Greetings in the morning are important."

That's what Sakayanagi says, but in this case, I guess she wants to face Kamuro and me, which is getting awkward.

At Sakayanagi's words, Kamuro made a smile on her face, but when she saw Sakayanagi's smile, she finally let out a sigh and turned to face us.

"Good morning, Shiina... Hikigaya too."

"Yes, good morning."

"...Ah, Good morning, Kamuro-san."

Although I was a little nervous, I was able to greet everyone without any problems. Sakayanagi sees this and she nods in amusement and starts walking, so I follow her.

As I was leisurely walking down the road from the dormitory to the school for a while, I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around and saw Ichinose running towards me.

"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun. Good morning, Shiina-san, Sakayanagi-san, and Kamuro-san."

"Good morning, Ichinose-san. Does the fact that you came all the way here mean you have business with Hikigaya-kun?"

"Well, you see. Regarding the violent incident, I, or rather, Class B, decided to cooperate."

"Huh. I thought the other classes would take advantage of the opportunity."

"It doesn't matter whether it's class B or class D. This school has classes competing with each other, so there's a risk of trouble. This is the first time something like this has happened, but it would be a problem if the one who lied won. I guess it's because I personally can't overlook it."

Ichinose replied. From the look on her face, I don't think she's lying.

But it's definitely not just that. It doesn't matter if it's Ichinose herself, but if the entire B class is going to move, it's too weak a reason.

Just like I thought, Ichinose's class is the weakest among the whole first grade.

(Even weaker than D Class, if we ignore some scumbags).

Or it's just Ichinose brainwashing her

classmates.

You're pretty scary, Ichinose-san!

"That's not all, right? Maybe if the C class wins, it will gain momentum, so it's also to stop that."

Sakayanagi says that with a small smile, but it's probably true.

Currently, there is a considerable difference between A class and B class, C class and D class, but there is not that much difference between B class and C class, so let Ryuen's C class go unchecked.

Probably because it was deemed dangerous.

"Nyahaha... Sakayanagi-san is correct. I don't want to get close to C-class without understanding the S system yet."

Ichinose laughs, looking a little embarrassed, but she's not doing anything bad, so there's no need to make that expression.

"By the way, does Sakayanagi-san move?"

"Personally, I would like to inflict damage on both C-class and D-class, but the Katsuragi faction is likely to be bothered if we act in such a small exchange."

I'm sure the Katsuragi faction was conservative. Thinking about it that way, if Sakayanagi moves even though it's not even an exam, there's no way I'll get into trouble.

"What? Even though you are good friends with Hikigaya-kun and Shiina-san, you don't show any mercy."

"Of course. Hikigaya-kun and Shiina-san are friends, but they don't involve their personal feelings in conflicts between classes. Besides, the two of them have no interest in conflicts between classes, so it's not really a problem."

Like Sakayanagi said, I'm not interested in conflicts between classes, and it's probably more similar to Hiyori.

"I see...so you don't do much during summer vacation?"

"Summer vacation... By the way, my homeroom teacher said there was going to be a vacation. It looks like there's going to be a special exam called vacation. Have you heard, Ichinose-san?"

"No. I only know about long-term trips during summer vacation, but most likely there will be events where you can earn class points."

"I guess so. If it's that kind of event, I'll do the bare minimum necessary, but I'm not going to risk my life."

If this is for someone important to me, I'm willing to sacrifice myself, but I'm not going to sacrifice myself for someone I don't care about.

"Me too. If Ryuen-kun orders me to, I'll move, but I won't do anything on my own."

"You're too dry."

"Even Kamuro wouldn't be active if she wasn't following Sakayanagi's orders."

"...I won't deny it though."

"Masumi-san, please be a little more proactive. Like when you used magic on Hikigaya-kun."

"You are bothering me!"

Sakayanagi laughs and digs up Kamuro's dark history.

Kamuro also gets angry at this. Well, I know how you feel.

"Magic? What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing, so don't worry about it."

Ichinose, who is the only one who doesn't know about Kamuro's magic, seems curious, but has no intention of talking.

If she speaks, Kamuro will probably take Sakayanagi's cane and run away.

We headed to school like this, with Kamura glancing at Sakayanagi's cane from time to time.

As a side note, when I arrived at the classroom, Sudo lunged at me without any remorse, so when I tried to provoke him again, he got furious like a fool and was stopped by Hirata and Kushida.

Let's do whatever we want with Sudo. If that happens, everyone will be at peace if they are expelled from school.

____________

Despite all the trouble, it's lunch break, so I leave the classroom with Hiyori's special bento in hand.

Hiyori had promised to eat with a senior from the tea ceremony club, Sakayanagi, and Kamuro, who had recently started eating together, was apparently going to eat with a girl in her class, so I promised to eat with Hashimoto.

(But Hashimoto is unique...)

I know that he has good communication skills, but every once in a while he would casually invite me to dinner.

He smells like a next-generation hybrid Snake, just like my little sister.

Well, unlike Komachi, he's smart.

While thinking about this, I headed towards the meeting place and found Hashimoto facing two men.

One of them was Katsuragi, who was in conflict with Sakayanagi, a giant bald man.

But the other guy is a nondescript guy, and the latter is yelling at Hashimoto, but Hashimoto is yawning.

Then, Hashimoto seemed to notice me and came trotting towards me. One of the boys is making a noise behind him, but Hashimoto doesn't pay any attention to it.

"I kept you waiting. Let's go."

Hashimoto continued to trot past me, so I turned around and chased after him.

"So? What were you doing?"

"Sudo tried to hit you and I tried to take a picture, right? Katsuragi found out about it and told me not to do anything that would cause trouble."

Got it. Katsuragi is the conservative opposite of the aggressive Sakayanagi.

He must be thinking that he should not give any chance to a lower-ranked opponent to take advantage of him.

"Just do it in moderation for now. If you want to move, do it around summer vacation."

"That's my intention. Sakayanagi also plans to establish a dictatorial system by the time the second semester begins."

"I see. Depending on the situation at that time, I will also prepare to go to A class."

To be honest, the current A-class, with its two major factions clashing with each other, has no value.

No matter how good Sakayanagi is, it will be tough if half the class is against her.

To be honest, if the current situation continues until the second year, there is a possibility that the A class will fall to the B class.

However, if Sakayanagi or Katsuragi clearly rises to the top, we will be united, and I am also aiming for A class.

Personally, of course.

There are many talented people in D-class, but there are even more small fry and annoying people like Yamauchi.

"If that happens, my points might go to Hikigaya."

Hashimoto says so, but he's talking about the loan.

"But if they find out, they'll kill you, right?"

"I won't deny it. When the people in my class found out I had a lot of points, they gathered around like hyenas."

"I can't help but notice... Wow, we've arrived. I have to buy a meal ticket, so please reserve a seat for me."

Hashimoto said that and headed to the ticket machine, so I grabbed two cups and poured the free barley tea into them to secure two seats.

As I was sitting there, Hashimoto came over with a special set meal. As expected from an A class student, he ordered the most expensive set meal in the cafeteria.

Even as I thought so, I opened the bento box and looked inside, revealing Japanese side dishes such as salmon fillets, Chikuzenni, tamagoyaki, and beef shigureni.

However, the most eye-catching item is probably the rice with the heart symbol on it.

"It looks delicious. Is it Sakayanagi? Or did Hiyori Shiina make it?"

"It's the latter. Hiyori's food is seriously delicious. If it were sold at the cafeteria, it would be three times the price of the special set meal."

Thanks to that, I basically don't use food tickets during lunch breaks.

"It's like a beloved wife's bento. Give me a bite."

"Shut up. And don't ask me again!"

I thought so.

And Hiyori's bento is not given to anyone. Even if Hashimoto handed over 100,000 points on this occasion, I would not have the slightest desire to do so.

"That's very rude, Hikigaya. By the way, are you serious that you were scouted by the student council and turned it down?"

"Where did you hear that?"

I was honestly surprised. I haven't told Sakayanagi or Hiyori about this.

"I heard a senior from the tennis club's 3rd year A class talking to Tachibana-senpai from the student council.''

"I see. The conclusion is true. President Horikita invited me, but I rejected it."

The student council of this school seems to have some power, but I have bad memories of it, so I have no intention of joining it.

"Hmm...but I don't know the criteria for joining the student council. Even though Katsuragi failed. He was on the student council when he was in middle school, so I didn't expect him to be rejected."

"That's right... Ichinose also said that she was rejected in the first interview."

It's true that I found a hole in the S System, but I don't think he'd go so far as to kick Ichinose aside to recruit me.

Then, something inconvenient will happen to President Horikita if Ichinose and Katsuragi join the student council...?

No, there's no need to think about it any further.

I have no intention of joining this complicated student council.

With that in mind, I resumed eating, but as I was doing so, Hashimoto tried to steal the beef shigureni, so I ridiculed him for a while about his so called 'Superficial friends'.