Chapter 165: Hirata, Get Off My Bed
Perhaps because the school heard Hikigaya's innermost thoughts, a cross-grade special exam was held just before the start of the final semester.
Of course, this was also why Sakura had been so busy. She had now completely taken over the position of Secretary from Tachibana. A year of training had given her the ability to stand on her own, and she was doing an unexpectedly excellent job in her duties.
The stage for this special exam was the forest school facility. Everyone was sitting on the bus heading to the destination. Hikigaya's left and right sides were occupied by Sakura and Karuizawa, respectively, while Ichinose and Kushida sat opposite him.
Karuizawa: "Hey, what's up with you! What's with the attitude when you talk to me now? Did you grow wings or something? Can you fly now?"
Sure enough, the moment she saw Hikigaya, Karuizawa instantly vented all her inner resentment onto him. But...
How was he supposed to explain this situation? Not only was Kushida watching him menacingly, but even if he did explain, it would be a troublesome matter.
'It's simply impossible to explain that kind of thing...'
Ichinose wasn't as temperamental. Although her invitations had been rejected by Hikigaya an untold number of times, she was still very confident in herself.
Karuizawa: "You better explain yourself clearly, Hikigaya!"
Hikigaya: "....."
Karuizawa: "What do you mean by not talking? Fine, fine, you're avoiding me, right? No matter what, I'm sticking with you in this special exam. Don't think you can escape."
Horikita: "No, Karuizawa-san, although I know you're anxious, please don't bring personal feelings into the group. The team formation needs to be based on compatibility and circumstances."
Ichinose: "I agree with that. Karuizawa-san, you can't keep messing around."
Kushida: "Exactly, exactly, that's absolutely right!"
Hikigaya sighed. He never wished for his school life to be like this.
Sakura remained silent throughout, occasionally responding to their conversation with a smile, but mostly kept her gaze outside the window, sometimes shifting her eyes to Hikigaya.
Even an observer could tell that she seemed to be running into some kind of trouble.
Kushida: "Hey, Sakura, what's been up with you lately??"
As the person who visited Hikigaya's room the most, she was the clearest about this: Sakura hadn't been visiting Hikigaya's room much lately. At first, she thought Sakura was just indisposed, but seeing Sakura's current state... it didn't seem that simple.
Sakura was still the same, with her long twin tails, returning a comforting smile, and then saying in a low voice: "It's nothing, Kushida-san. It's just that there have been more troubles in the Student Council recently."
Hikigaya: "Is it Nagumo Miyabi?"
Hearing the three words 'Nagumo Miyabi,' Sakura's body couldn't help but tremble. Her brain seemed to crash, and she was momentarily stunned in front of everyone.
Hikigaya noticed her distress and subconsciously held her hand. This intimate action instantly drew everyone's attention.
Sakura also felt the warmth coming from Hikigaya's large hand, immediately recovered, and fixed her gaze entirely on Hikigaya.
That gentle look was like a scorching gaze, instantly melting the deepest darkness in Hikigaya's heart.
"Perhaps this exam is the final showdown between Nagumo Miyabi-senpai and Horikita-senpai..."
Hearing the three words 'Horikita Manabu,' Horikita's body also noticeably trembled, but she quickly composed herself and asked: "What does that Nagumo Miyabi guy want to do? What does my brother's graduation from third-year Class A have to do with him? Why does he have to go this far?"
Sakura shook her head helplessly. Clearly, even she, who was inside the Student Council, didn't know many things.
However, Sakura turned to face Hikigaya again and said gently: "Hachiman, no matter what happens, no matter how the future changes, you must hold on to your original intention. Maybe that road will be a little crooked, a little difficult to walk, and you will pass through many hardships, but you will definitely reach the place you wish for, because you have an unquenchable belief in your heart."
For some reason, after being told that by the girl, Hikigaya's heart instantly felt like it was burning with a scorching flame.
'Unquenchable... belief?'
Karuizawa: "Wait, let's put those troubles aside for now. I just want to know what's going on with you two right now."
Karuizawa's gaze had been fixed on their hands. Until Karuizawa spoke, they didn't seem to intend to let go, as if they were already completely used to it.
Ichinose's gaze also lingered on his hand. She seemed to realize something and laughed in relief.
Sakura and Hikigaya both withdrew their hands awkwardly, then lowered their heads in silence.
After all, this wasn't their room. Being watched by so many people made them feel somewhat embarrassed.
Kushida also covered her face, feeling like she 'couldn't bear to look.'
As Karuizawa relentlessly questioned them, the bus heading to the forest school continued to speed on.
[Kushida: "Isn't there something wrong here? I mean... that blockhead is already taking the initiative to hold a girl's hand. I really don't believe nothing happened between them."]
[For a girl who often surfed the internet, Karuizawa understood that topic instantly. Combining what Kushida said with the previous video anomalies and the strange conversations among everyone, a huge question was now hidden deep within her heart.]
[But soon, she shook her head frantically, as if trying to deceive herself.]
[No, absolutely not... I shouldn't think of him that way. In Karuizawa's heart, Hikigaya was an upright, honest, highly sympathetic, and absolutely kind person. It was normal for him to do this in the face of Sakura's worries. She absolutely must not overthink it.]
[Kamuro: "That's disgusting. Five girls surrounding one boy. Won't the other classmates in the class despise this?"]
[Kitō: "I'd say, Kamuro, envy is practically written all over your face, yet you're still so two-faced. I admire you for that."]
[Kamuro, blushing: "I, I didn't mean that... The main thing is that this shameless couple is holding hands like this, which is even more incomprehensible. It's simply corrupting the class atmosphere, a disgrace to the grade."]
[Kitō: "You didn't say that when you were doing it before."]
[Kamuro: "Shut up."]
[Kitō: "Alright..."]
[Ryūen: "Heh, he's lucky. Even knowing about Nagumo's problem, he's so relaxed. Could it be that this guy hasn't thought about breaking through Nagumo's blockade? If this continues, it won't just be the second year, the first year will definitely be affected too."]
[Sakayanagi: "Then why don't you submit to me, Dragon-boy?"]
[Ryūen: "I, Ryūen, would rather die, die outside, or jump off this building, than accept even a tiny bit of help from you."]
[Sakayanagi smiled slightly, clearly not taking Ryūen's words to heart. She was quite aware that for someone like herself, controlling a class was simple, and driving or utilizing people through self-interest was easy, but the person who could truly lead an entire grade was definitely not her.]
[She didn't have that ability. And neither did Ryūen, Sakayanagi, Ichinose, or Horikita, who had always acted as overt leaders.]
[Yuigahama and Yukinoshita were still kept in the dark. Iroha, on the other hand, seemed to have figured it out, looking at Hikigaya completely stunned. Hayama also frowned slightly, then focused his attention on Hikigaya.]
[Miura: "He really did a number on her... Hikigaya."]
[Yuigahama still forced a smile: "Ah, hahahaha, I never thought Hikki would proactively hold a girl's hand. I really didn't see that coming."]
[Hikigaya: "After all, Sakura has helped me so much..."]
[Yuigahama: "That's true..."]
[Yuigahama might say this, but Yukinoshita certainly wouldn't. She would only quietly let go of the hand she had been holding with Hikigaya, and then switch to a fierce offense, directly pinching his flesh.]
[Eating from the pot and thinking about what's outside the pot. This guy completely disregards me, Yukinoshita.]
[Yukinoshita was breathing heavily in anger, her eyes cold, but the strength in her body seemed endless, making Hikigaya suffer agonizing pain.]
[Hikigaya: "I was wrong, I was wrong..."]
[Yuigahama: "Where were you wrong?"]
[Yukinoshita also showed a triumphant smile: "Yes, Hikigaya-kun, where exactly were you wrong?"]
[Hikigaya: "..."]
[He was tormented not only in the video but also completely unforgiven outside the video. Perhaps this was the ordeal Hikigaya had to go through.]
On the bus, Chabashira finally began to read the rules of the exam:
The purpose of this special exam is a training camp aimed at mental growth, cultivating students' basic abilities to survive in society, and confirming whether they can establish interpersonal relationships, and so on.
Therefore...
Upon arrival at the destination, all students across all grades must separate by gender and form 6 small groups. Each group must contain students from at least two classes, with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 students. The members must be decided through unanimous agreement after consultation. Groups with even a single dissenter will not be accepted.
After each small group confirms a leader, they will combine with the second and third years to form 6 large groups, cooperating across grades in competition.
This forest school assessment has four main categories: Morality, Mental Discipline, Etiquette/Discipline, and Self-Reliance. Activities start with a morning task after waking up, followed by Zen meditation in the dōjō, then breakfast. The mornings are dedicated to studying various lessons and insights. Lunch is a collective meal for all students, regardless of gender, in the cafeteria. The afternoon lessons are followed by another meditation session before dinner. The evening time is relatively free, allowing for flexible arrangements for bathing and sleeping. There is a full-day holiday only on Sunday, and a half-day of lessons on Saturday.
Result Evaluation: The results of all members in each large group will be aggregated to determine an average score.
First Place in Large Group Average Score: 10,000 personal points, 3 class points.
Second Place: 5,000 personal points, 1 class point.
Third Place: 3,000 personal points, 0 class points.
The above rewards are issued per individual. Additionally, there is a special reward mechanism based on the specific situation of each small group...
If a small group is composed of two classes, the reward is the normal 1x. If composed of three classes, it becomes 2x. If it includes four classes, the reward will be raised to 3x.
Furthermore, the total number of students in the small group will also have an impact. Since the members of each small group may not be equally distributed, the small group's total number of people will affect the reward by a multiplier of 0.1. A 10-person group is 1.0x, and a 15-person group is 1.5x.
The above is applicable to the reward mechanism for the top three places. Next is the punishment mechanism.
Fourth Place in Small Group Ranking: Subtract 5,000 personal points.
Fifth Place: Subtract 10,000 personal points, 3 class points.
Sixth Place: Subtract 20,000 personal points, 5 class points.
Here, there is still a special rule: the leader and their same-class teammates will receive double the reward, but...
If the last-place small group's score falls below the average line set by the school, the leader of that small group will be expelled.
Of course, the school is not entirely unfeeling. If there is a student from another class who deliberately dragged down the score within the group, the leader can designate that student to be expelled alongside them. The school will verify the alleged student's deliberate score-lowering through various means, including witness testimony and physical evidence. These are the specific rules for the forest school special exam.
Calculating the maximum benefit, the ideal scenario is to form a small group with the highest limit of 15 people, consisting of 12 classmates and one student from each of the other three classes, with a member of your own class as the leader. If they achieve first place in the large group average score, they can obtain a total of 10,000×3 (class composition) ×1.5 (headcount) ×2 (leader/teammate) ×12 (total teammates) personal points, totaling 1,080,000 personal points, and 3×3×1.5=13.5 class points (The class points calculation here is slightly confusing based on the rules. Using 3×3×1.5×2 for the class points part based on the stated multipliers being applied to the rewards: 3×3 (class composition)×1.5 (headcount)=13.5. If the 'double reward' for the leader and teammates applies to the class point base of 3, the calculation is complicated and likely refers to the base points being multiplied: 3 (base)×3 (class comp)×1.5 (headcount)=13.5 class points). Even with a conservative estimate, this colossal amount is enough to overturn the entire grade ranking. Of course, this is clearly an ideal situation. If even a Class C student can think of this, the leaders of the other classes must have already anticipated this scenario.
Leaving aside whether they would hinder it, the very act of establishing a mixed group of 15 people with only one student from each of the other classes is an impossible feat.
Considering both class interest and psychological factors, the probability is basically zero, as the opposing leader would not be so foolish as to insert one of their own students into another class's group.
Next comes the so-called leader. Although the rewards are high, the risks are also substantial. The outcome of this mixed pairing is unpredictable. For someone like Hikigaya, who has limited understanding of his own classmates, having to understand classmates from other classes is completely ridiculous.
After just listening, Hikigaya immediately understood that this exam had been adjusted by Nagumo. This exam was specifically designed to guard against students with formidable individual abilities, such as Horikita Manabu. If he happened to be placed in another third-year class, and if Nagumo Miyabi offered enough incentives to buy out the other classmates, he might still end up in last place.
Considering the above, Class C's primary goal for this exam should be self-preservation and steady progress. Although Class C's current combat strength is sufficient, their mental state is definitely not stable, and the possibility of a disastrous failure is extremely high.
After Chabashira finished reading the rules, the bus immediately erupted in discussion about the exam. Karuizawa, meanwhile, sighed heavily.
"What's the big deal? Such a complicated exam, and we're separated by gender. It's so boring."
Ichinose: "Karuizawa-san, this is an opportunity for us to prove ourselves!"
Kushida breathed a sigh of relief: "Separated by gender, huh..."
Sakura remained silent for most of the time. After hearing the exam rules read out, she also sighed helplessly.
Nagumo Miyabi had finally begun. Half a month after taking over, he was finally making his move.
Horikita: "See? Karuizawa, even if you wanted to be in the same group as Hikigaya this time, I couldn't help you, since the boys and girls are separated."
Karuizawa: "I feel like you're a little bit gleeful, Horikita..."
Chabashira looked at the enthusiastically discussing students, lightly clapped her hands, and once again focused all the attention on herself.
"Although it's a bit early to say, you must know that there is one way to protect a leader in this exam."
Ike: "What is it!?"
Hirata: "Indeed, if one can become a leader and ensure they won't be expelled, the benefits will certainly increase."
Shinohara: "That's easy to say... but isn't that too much of a risk?"
Chabashira: "By paying 20 million personal points and deducting 300 class points, you can nullify the punishment for this special exam."
The terms were the same as the last expulsion exam, perhaps even more severe.
As soon as this was said, everyone sighed. Paying 20 million personal points was impossible, even if the whole class chipped in, and deducting 300 class points was equivalent to instantly returning to the original Class D. This situation... was too unclear.
Generally speaking, it was safer not to become the leader. Even without the maximum profit bonus, at least they wouldn't be expelled. The saying goes: 'Where there is life, there is hope.' Moreover, as the first cross-grade exam faced by the first-year students, there were too many variables, especially compared to previous exams, due to the critical lack of information on the second and third years.
For the class leaders, the situation was now different. Previously, Hirata was in charge, and during his period of negativity, everything was basically handled by Horikita and Ichinose. Since the boys and girls would separate immediately upon reaching the forest school, they now had to quickly elect a representative for the girls' side.
However, Ichinose was very sensible about this. After all, she came to Class C as a 'hostage' and could only serve as the backbone. If she were to become the class leader, it would be difficult to account for it to her classmates in Class B.
Therefore, the decision was quickly made: Horikita would be in charge of leading the girls, with Ichinose and Kushida assisting. Naturally, none of the classmates had any objection. As for the boys' side, Hikigaya had originally intended to simply coast through.
However, Hirata abruptly nominated him, hoping that Hikigaya could assist him, causing the water Hikigaya had just drunk to instantly spray out.
The most crucial thing was...
Ike: "I have no problem. Hikigaya-kun also successfully helped us get through an exam during the Command Tower Special Exam."
Yukimura adjusted his glasses: "I have no problem either."
Sudō: "Me neither."
Akito: "Me neither."
....
Kōenji: "Hikigaya-boy, I approve."
....
Hikigaya: 'Why are they playing me like this...'
Having received the approval of most of his classmates, Hirata now gave Hikigaya a smug smile.
"Then, Hachiman, let's cooperate well."
"Wait, is there something wrong here... Chabashira-sensei, I want to ask if the accommodation is single rooms or shared lodging."
Chabashira didn't expect the usually smart boy to ask such a silly question, and for a moment, she was too lazy to answer.
Hirata: "Doesn't Hachiman know that forest schools always involve shared lodging? This is a great opportunity. Let's foster our relationship well."
'Something's not right, very not right... Wait...'
Karuizawa was also completely stunned: "I say, have none of you noticed a terrifying opponent..."
Ichinose's usual smile also vanished, replaced by a very serious expression.
"Hirata... I didn't expect him to be into that."
Kushida: "If those two sleep together, won't something happen..."
Sakura also stopped thinking about Student Council matters and was infected by the group: "Probably..."
Horikita: "I suggest, maybe, we ask Sudō for a favor."
The collective minds of the girls seemed to suddenly open up. Without any prompting, they nodded vigorously in unison.
Although Sudō and Hikigaya's relationship was also unusual in the eyes of outsiders, they were at least brothers, and Sudō planned to spend his life with his beloved basketball. He was far better than Hirata.
Hirata... had completely evolved into a yandere.
Thus, on the bus, Sudō experienced the bombing of his phone for the first time in his life.
Messages from five girls in the class came in like a bomber plane, frantically sending messages to Sudō's phone, and the content was surprisingly consistent.
Sudō looked pitifully at his phone. After roughly understanding the messages, he gave a very sympathetic look to Hikigaya Hachiman, who was surrounded by the five girls.
"Brother... My dear brother, seriously, I'm crying for you."
Hikigaya felt a chill run down his spine. He clearly hadn't recovered from Hirata's words. If Hirata climbed into his bed tonight, Hikigaya couldn't even imagine what would happen.
(End of this chapter)