Chapter 47

"Then I'll go... hmm."

"Wait, please before you go... hmm."

During the first discussion on the second day, Hiyori kisses me on the forehead right before entering the room assigned to her group, so I return the kiss on Hiyori's forehead.

If I don't, Hiyori will be bored or beg.

"Thank you. Now..."

Hiyori bows before entering the room, so I see her off until the door closes and face Masumi.

"Now, where should we kill time until the discussion is over?"

I asked Masumi a question while waiting for the elevator. However, I did enjoy the entertainment facilities on the ship. To be honest, I'm bored.

"I don't mind anywhere as long as I can spend time with Hachiman. Why don't we go to the observation deck anyway?"

The observation deck is not for viewing the scenery. I was called to the observation deck by Masumi before...

"...Do you feel like kissing me again?"

"...(cough)"

Masumi turns bright red but nods slightly. Are you serious? No, it's not that I don't like her, but I also kissed Hiyori.

As I was waiting for the elevator, the door opened and when I entered, I saw an unexpected person.

"Hikigaya..."

The person there was Katsuragi, an A-class student, looking at me with open hostility.

However, I ignore that and press the button on the floor where the observation deck is located.

Honestly, I feel embarrassed, but if Masumi asked me to do something, I wouldn't be able to refuse.

As soon as the door closes, Katsuragi speaks to Masumi.

"Kamuro. You haven't sold information on A-class preferential treatment to Hikigaya or Ryuen, have you?"

"I'm not selling it. In fact, I received information about the preferential treatment from Hikigaya."

"...What's the matter?"

Katsuragi's gaze turns towards me.

"It's just as you said. I just told Masumi about the Pig group's preferential treatment."

"You can't put your personal feelings into the exam. It's the height of stupidity."

"It's fine. I contributed to the class on the deserted island. Besides, the real idiots are idiots like Totsuka, who caused so much trouble for everyone in the class that he lost his place in the class. "

After living on a deserted island, I saw him eating alone on a boat.

"You lowlifes…!"

At that moment, anger erupted from around Katsuragi. What, you can even make that kind of expression? I didn't know that.

If it wasn't for his own stupidity, he wouldn't have been forced to make a contract with Ryūen.

"I was just telling you the truth. And I warned you in advance that if I told you, it would put you in a worse position. And you agreed, that's all.''

After speaking that far, the elevator door will open. It's not an observation deck, so it's probably the area Katsuragi was trying to go to.

"Quickly get off. We're heading to the observation deck."

"...I don't know what you're planning, but with your personality, you'll see hell sooner or later."

"Hell? Ha, I experienced something like that in middle school."

"..."

He got off the elevator with a puzzled look on his face at those words, but I was treated as an enemy by not only the entire school, but my family as well.

From the middle of my second year of middle school until I graduated, it was hell.

"...Do you still have some trauma?"

"No. I've overcome the trauma to a large extent, but objectively speaking, I think it's true that that time was hell."

When I first started school, it was traumatic. However, I have become much better since I got involved with Arisu, Hiyori, and Masumi.

Well, there are times when I suddenly remember things like yesterday.

While I was thinking about it, I arrived at the observation deck, so when I got off the elevator, the only view around me was the ocean.

The only people who use the observation deck are those who have secret discussions and those who kiss like us, and I don't think there are any students who come just for the view.

"Huh...I'd like to sit down for now."

"Yeah..."

When I sit down on the bench, Masumi gets close to me and then holds my hand.

I've patted her on the head, hugged her, kissed her good morning and good night, and kissed her on the lips, but Masumi just shyly holds my hand, which is embarrassing.

Why does Masumi look so innocent?

"...Hachiman"

"What?"

"If you feel dissatisfied with the old days, you can vent it to me, okay?"

Masumi says something like that. I'm honestly glad she said that.

But I'm going to refrain. I don't want to spill my ugly feelings on someone I recently come to think is important to me.

"I'll think about it."

I replied while shaking Masumi's hand. Masumi's soft and warm hands reduce my mental fatigue.

"Also, Masumi. I'm glad you're feeling that way, but you don't have to be so nice to me, okay? I think my personality is somehow distorted."

I don't have anything against my current personality, but I think it's strange to the world. This has been going on since my middle school days, but in the past, no matter how irritated I was, I would just hold back without showing it.

However, ever since I entered this special school, whenever I get irritated with someone, I start to think about whether or not I should crush the person who irritated me.

This school preys on the fittest, but I'm probably quite an anomaly.

And if Masumi is kind to an abnormal person, there is a possibility that Masumi will also be thought of as an abnormal person.

Thinking of this, Masumi lets out a sigh.

"I don't really care. I'm being manipulated by Sakayanagi, who has a distorted personality, and I used to shoplift a lot when I was in middle school, so I can't say I'm a good person."

By the way, this girl was caught shoplifting by Arisu and ended up getting into Arisu's favor.

"She used to have a cool attitude, but Masumi is so cute now that I forgot about it.''

"Tsk...you idiot."

Then Masumi suddenly dissed me with red cheeks, did I do something strange again.

"Don't suddenly call me cute...idiot."

It looks like I thought out loud again. I'm so fucking embarrassed.

"I-It was bad. Please forgive me."

"...Do you want me to forgive you?"

"Yeah"

"...Then kiss me."

Is that what you're asking for here? No, I've already done it twice (three times including when I lost consciousness)...

"...please"

"Understood..."

In the end, I couldn't refuse Masumi's request. After exhaling, I hugged Masumi...

"Hmm..."

Take my lips just like that. At that time, Masumi closes her eyes, wraps her arms around my neck, and seeks my lips.

That's when the heat built up in my face and I felt like I was going to explode.

"It's a nice view after all, and it would be best to have a snack here!"

"Well, just in case… huh?"

The elevator door opens and several men come to the observation deck. The only boy she knows is Kanzaki, who is in Class B, but they all seem to be in Class B since they seem to be close.

When I was thinking that much, the other side noticed us too, but I immediately froze, and at the same time I realized my current situation again.

Me→Hugging Masumi and kissing her

Masumi → She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me.

...It's out!

Masumi, on the other hand, momentarily looks towards the elevator, but then immediately resumes kissing.

Should I continue in this situation?!

I hurriedly parted my lips and tried to make an excuse, but...

"S-That's it! I didn't mean to disturb you! We're leaving, so feel free to use the observation deck!"

The cheerful-looking boy apologized, blushing brightly, and got back into the elevator.

The other boys all turned bright red, including Kanzaki who bowed his head awkwardly, and followed the boy who apologized into the elevator.

As a result, the elevator headed down before I could even open my mouth. Well, that's the worst...

"I want to die..."

"What are you talking about now? You and Shiina proudly kissed on the last day of living on a deserted island."

Masumi says this without any particular shyness, but...

"That makes people think I'm a two-timing bastard."

"That's been the case since the second day of school."

Oh, that's right. Yeah, I guess so. I don't care about it now, but from the second day of school, I was treated like a two-timing bastard.

"So you just have to be dignified and prove the rumours true"

Isn't the mentality of girls too strong at times like this? Well, maybe it's just Masumi's mental state.

Well, it can't be helped if I don't return to the cover and gets found out, so I'll be dignified like Masumi said.

"I understand, Masumi. I won't worry about it at all."

"Well then, let's continue."

"Huh? Do you want to continue?"

Weren't we got interrupted earlier? To be honest, I'm just thinking about what if someone comes again...?

As I was thinking that, Masumi instantly wrapped her arms around my neck...

"Hmm..."

This time, Masumi kisses me. I close my eyes, press my lips firmly against hers, and she sends her breath into my mouth.

(Oh, that's enough. Whatever happens)

I couldn't resist the charm of Masumi's kiss, so I chose to go with the flow.

As a result, as time passed, I started kissing her back, and I ended up kissing her right before the end of the discussion.

_____________

"Puh..."

It was 2 o'clock when the discussion ended, but I noticed that it was 1:55, five minutes before that, and I pulled away from Masumi's lips.

At that time, a bridge is formed by the transparent liquid and it makes my heart pound.

"Despite your cool expression, you're fierce..."

Masumi blushes and says this while looking at me with a confused expression, but does she realize that she is a boomerang?

Even you, I'm sure, lost your usual cool vibe and went for it.

"Leave me alone. I'll go get Hiyori instead."

When I say that, Masumi also removes her arm from my neck and stands up, so we both get on the elevator and head to the floor where the discussion is being held.

As I was walking down the hallway, the door of a certain room opened and a person came out.

Among them, Ayanokoji and Ichinose caught my eye. If I remember correctly, these guys were part of the rabbit group.

As I was thinking, Yukimura appeared from behind Ayanokoji, noticed me, and headed towards me with a displeased look on his face.

"Hey, Hikigaya. Are you responsible for the massive amount of betrayal that happened last night?"

"It's not me. It's Ryūen."

Well, I'm involved in one of them. It would be troublesome to talk about this, so I'll keep quiet. It was also troublesome when I told Ryuen about the preferential treatment.

"I guess it's true. You even told Ryūen about the preferential treatment, so I can't trust you."

"I don't need your trust. If you have time to complain to me, why don't you look for the law of the privileged people? The A-class and B-class privileged people have already been wiped out by Ryūen."

"Is that true?"

Then Ichinose, who was listening nearby, spoke to me with a serious expression.

"Ah. Yesterday, traitors emerged from the Monkey Group and the Pig Group, and I guess they thought it would be unbearable if more traitors emerged from outside of C-class."

"Hmm, but Ryūen-kun must be quite confident in completing the exams for all four groups at once."

"He looked at all of his classmates' cell phones. There's a lot of information, so it's easy to find out the laws of preferential treatment."

"That's a foul!"

"It's not a foul. It's a foul to threaten them or something, but the C-class guys agreed and showed Ryuen their phones, so there's no problem."

I replied, thinking about Yukimura's cries. I also told Horikita this story.

Well, Ryuen's methods are crazy in a lot of ways, so I understand how you feel.

"Well, Ryuen-kun might be able to do it. Is Hikigaya-kun teaming up with Ryuen-kun?"

"There's no way we'll team up. Don't put me together with idiots like Katsuragi."

He teamed up with Ryuen on a deserted island, but to me it just looked like he was teaming up with a demon named Ryuen.

The punch line is that even if you team up with the devil, you'll be betrayed.

"Katsuragi-kun? What do you mean?"

"It's too long to talk about, so ask Katsuragi. Also, Ichinose, I felt bad for letting out my frustration yesterday. I don't want to apologize, but I'll tell you which class the preferential students in your group are in, okay?"

"Don't be silly, Hikigaya. I won't tolerate such a selfish imitation."

"I'm not going to tell her the rules of favoritism, so it's not a problem. So, what do you say Ichinose?"

"Hmm...I'm glad that you're okay now, but if you do that, Hikigaya-kun might get in trouble in class, so I'd like some hints about the law of preferential treatment."

Wow.

"...Well, that's okay. Just a hint, first of all, try to get an idea of what the school we'll be attending is like. Think about this exam while keeping that in mind. If you're lucky, you'll understand the hint given by the teacher about the law of preferential treatment."

I'm not telling a lie. The teacher's hint regarding the law of preferential treatment is to "ignore relationships in all classes.''

Me, Ryuen, and Koenji realized that it was important to exclude the characters of the class written on the list, but the others thought "Ignore class conflicts and cooperate with each other.''

If there was someone who had the same thoughts as us, they would have betrayed us long ago.

But that's no good. For those who attend this school, it's a world where the fittest fight for seats in class A, which will give them the best possible start after graduation.

Since this is a test given by a school like that, there is always a way to outperform other classes.

"Hmm..."

"Well, it's difficult for Ichinose and Class B, and it's easier to see through people with bad personalities like me and Ryuen, so there's no need to force yourself to find them." I said in a way to not hurt her feelings, basically I just tried not to call her an idiot.

But

Woah! Ichinose's face turned ugly for a moment, or is that just my imagination?!

I've heard from Hiyori and Masumi that the B-class led by Ichinose is working together to find preferential treatment, but I don't think they would think much of trying to outwit them without cooperating.

When you think about it, I think that I, who is worried about points, Ryuen, who wants to be at the top, and Arisu, who hates losing, are better suited for this exam.

While I was thinking about it, the door to another room opened and Hiyori came out. When she notices me, she comes over with a big smile on her face.

"Sorry I made you wait"

"Don't worry, I didn't wait that long. How are you doing?"

"I'm trying various things to find preferential treatment, but most of them are just crap."

"I see. As I said before, I can't give out information about preferential treatment, but good luck."

"Yes. I'll do my best and accumulate points."

Hiyori and I are having a conversation full of lies.

Of course, they should convey false information to the people in Hiyori's group and the group members around her, to reduce the possibility that Hiyori will be thought of as a preferential treatment.

Fortunately, I'm also better at poker faces than Hiyori, so some of the faces here might believe our story.

After saying bye, I press the button on the nearby elevator, and after a while the door opens...

"Hey, hey. Aside from Ichinose, why is Hikigaya on this floor after the exam?"

I realized that Ryuen is inside. It doesn't seem like his subordinates are with him, but he comes down from the elevator with a ferocious smile on his face.

As a result, most of the people present here look wary. Especially since the two boys behind Ichinose were glaring at him.

By the way, I heard that the B class guys were teased by the C class when they first entered the school, but does that have something to do with it?

"I just came to pick up Hiyori."

"Ha. That must be a lot of work."

"Unfortunately, I've never had any trouble welcoming Hiyori."

I'm just going to pick her up because I want to pick her up. I have never felt any hardship.

"Thank you... hehe."

While saying this, Hiyori hugs me in her arms with a happy expression on her face.

A lot of people are looking at us, but it's much better than when I was kissed on the last day on the desert island.

"You love her"

"Leave me alone. But you seem to be in a good mood. What happened?"

"Ah. I just met with Katsuragi and some of the A-class members, and I told in front of them who the A-class recipients were. So, it seemed like it was a bingo game, and their pale expressions at that time were the best."

Ryuen says this with a grin, but the atmosphere here freezes. Well, it might be unavoidable since it was a sudden bomb.

"You have a bad taste."

"They say other people's misfortune tastes like honey, right?"

A kiss from Hiyori, Arisu, or Masumi would be far sweeter and more delicious than honey.

Well, I won't say it because if I say it, Ryuen will provoke me and Masumi will blow me away.

"Exactly now, Ichinose, come with me as I check the answers of the B-class reward recipients. I'm sure you know who the reward recipients are in your own class."

Ryūen turns to Ichinose, and Ichinose also looks back at Ryūen.

"You're overestimating me.  I don't have that kind of trust, and I'm not checking it out."

Well, given Ichinose's 'kind' personality, she probably wouldn't  force people to ask about VIP, right?

Unlike Ryūen.

However, the formula does not necessarily hold true: not asking about the preferential recipient = not knowing the preferential recipient.

"I guess so. But since you're trusted by your classmates, aren't you being consulted by people who have given you preferential treatment? For example...like Chihiro Shiranami, who was nominated by Hikigaya before the discussion?"

""...!"

The two boys behind Ichinose held their breath and expressed their surprise at Ryuen's words.

Judging from that reaction, there is no doubt that Shiranami is a preferential recipient.

In other words, it has been confirmed that 50 class points will be transferred to D-class and 500,000 private points will be transferred to me personally.

"Ha, judging from that reaction, you must be looking at the facts."

"...Ryuen-kun really saw through the law of preferential treatment."

"Rather, why don't you notice? If you ask, you'll probably be able to figure out who's receiving preferential treatment in your class."

"I feel like it should be left to the autonomy of the individual. There's no way I can arbitrarily adjust the rights of being chosen as a preferential recipient."

Woah, Ichinose said some scary things!

She just told lies naturally like breathing. I mean, doesn't she feel ashamed using words like 'autonomy' and 'individual' after brainwashing her classmates to follow her like a Goddess?!

"No offense. There's no need to demand autonomy from the pieces."

Even when Ichinose, who tries to move up by brainwashing her classmates into becoming mindless good little angels, and Ryuen, who tries to move up while recognizing his classmates as pawns, talk to each other, they only become parallels.

As I was sighing inwardly, Ryuen cut the conversation off.

"You should learn from what I did in this exam. I'm telling you, if you just latch onto Ichinose's thighs and don't betray Class B and make a profit, you'll fall to Class C."

See, Even Ryuen is amazed by Ichinose's brainwashing powers!

But if Ichinose really switched into her dark personality, it'll really turn ugly for other classes.

Her classmates will definitely become fallen angels, and follow Ichinose's opinion without their own thoughts.

I'm really worried about their future after graduation, they won't be able to use their power of friendship and will just be mindless sheeps like social animals!

I hate them the most!

That's why I want to grab a rich woman's thighs and become a house husband.

So, I looked at Ichinose-san warily.

At the moment, the class points for each class are...

A class 1019 points

B class 850 points

C class 600 points

D class 452 points

That's what it feels like.

Then, Ryūen was able to identify the recipients of the five groups, and was able to almost certainly guess all of the recipients.

Class-B VIP's are all wiped out.

I think Koenji's Betrayal probably hit the C class preferential person, but the C class still gets 200 class points and the B class loses -150 class points.

Of course, there is a possibility that a C class preferential recipient will be nominated, but if things continue like this, there is a possibility that B class will fall to C class.

If you think so...

"Well, no matter how you act, it won't even be an appetizer. Neither Suzune nor Katsuragi will be involved in that."

"Then what about Sakayanagi-san and Hikigaya-kun?"

"Sakayanagi is the main dish, and stallion is the meat dish before that."

After saying that, Ryuen gets on the elevator and is about to leave...but puts his hand to stop the gates from closing.

"Huh...Hikigaya, you look quite pale.... no, terrified in fact?" Ryuen followed Hikigaya's gaze.

"Ichinose? Why are you looking at Ichinose like you have seen a ghost or something?!" Ryuen was really  dumbfounded.

He didn't think Ichinose was that much of a threat.

"...." Ichinose, "Uh... Hikigaya-kun, did I do something to make you afraid of me?" She was also confused by his very nervous gaze towards her.

It was the same on the deserted island, but Ichinose thought it was nothing. 'Is my face really that scary?'

Ichinose becomes sad for some reason.

"... It's nothing." I closed this conversation entirely.

I didn't want to blow Ichinose up, who knows what'll happen!

Then Ryuen looked at both of their faces again, and pressed the button in the elevator.

"That bastard, don't openly call me a stallion…"

Because I'm a virgin.

Nevertheless, a stallion is a stallion...I want to be popular enough to be called a stallion!

As I was thinking about it, I felt someone staring at me, so I looked over and saw Hiyori and Masumi staring at me.

"What's up?"

''... It's nothing.''

Even though they say that, they both don't stop staring, but what the heck is going on?

As a result, both of them remained grimaced for a while, but when I patted their heads at the observation deck, I was relieved when they both started smiling.