"I was ostracized in Class D, so I wanted to make friends from other classes…"
That sounded perfectly reasonable.
Kushida Kikyo studied Hikigaya intently, sensing he was hiding something.
"Of course, if Kushida-san is willing to go out with me…"
Hikigaya touched his chin, and a strange glint flashed in his dead-fish eyes.
Perfect. Cunning dead-fish eyes.
Kikyo, convinced she'd seen through his "playing hard to get" act, clasped her hands in encouragement. "Although I don't mind dating Hikigaya, if your goal is to make more friends, I'll help you get the contact information of other classes!"
"Oh, so that's it…" Hikigaya pretended to sigh regretfully.
Seeing this, Kikyo became even more certain of her guess. Do you regret it? Are you playing tricks on me? You're still young!
True to form, Kikyo efficiently gathered the contacts of three classes in less than ten minutes. Perhaps to block Hikigaya's "romantic luck," she specifically included three boys: Katsuragi Kōhei from Class A, Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B, and Ryuen Sho from Class C.
"Thank you, Kushida-san. I'll remember this favor."
Hikigaya's tone was sincere, which made it hard for Kikyo to argue with him.
Huh? I wasn't disappointed… Is it possible he's really just making friends?
Watching him walk away without a backward glance, Kikyo felt a twinge of being used.
"These dead-fish eyes… how is this possible?" she muttered softly, dismissing it as her own imagination.
***
Teacher's office.
"You're here."
Chabashira Sae sat with her thighs crossed in black stockings, her eyes betraying a barely contained excitement.
Sit tight and wait… did they really locate him through surveillance?
Hikigaya stopped talking and said straight to the point, "Chabashira-sensei, I'd like to apply to purchase an anonymous account."
"Oh?"
"Let's not discuss the reason for now. How would one go about buying it?"
Chabashira crossed her arms, emphasizing her figure while fixing him with an interested gaze. Want to use gravity to lower his IQ?
Hikigaya's dead eyes remained unshaken. Although the teacher was strong, I've seen people no weaker than you.
"Didn't you say anything in this school can be bought with points?" Hikigaya reminded her.
"Why would you do such a thing?" Chabashira asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Because I saw classmates spending too many points. If they continue like this, they'll run out before the month ends."
To sound more credible, he added examples: "Game consoles, laptops, brand-name clothes and bags…"
What… they actually dare to spend points like this?!
Chabashira's attention sharpened, her expression tensing.
"Yes. To avoid being charged a good-friend fee, I plan to buy an anonymous account and transfer my personal points to it."
It wasn't entirely a bluff—Hikigaya genuinely needed to be cautious.
"What is this good-friend fee?" Chabashira asked, clearly puzzled.
"Hey, Penguin-kun, I'm a little short on points—can you lend me some?"
"We are good friends!"
Ito! (Hikigaya's junior high classmate.)
I'll never forgive you for this in my life!
"Hikigaya, your past experiences are quite…?" Chabashira's gaze softened with some sympathy.
"To purchase an anonymous account, you need 30,000 points."
"If you're sure, just transfer the points to me directly."
Judging by her confident reaction, someone must have purchased one before.
Hikigaya did so, officially obtaining a school-certified anonymous account.
"Thank you, Chabashira-sensei. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Wait a moment!"
Chabashira's frown deepened. "Now that you understand the S-System, don't you plan to use it?"
"The S-System? I don't quite understand it," Hikigaya said, feigning ignorance.
"Don't play dumb!" Her eyes turned cold.
"If I'm not mistaken, teachers can't interfere with class confrontations, correct?"
"Even homeroom teachers." Hikigaya confirmed further.
"…." Chabashira fell silent briefly.
"While I personally like free things, I don't like being taken advantage of."
Hikigaya's position was clear: he wouldn't give away information for free. Brothers settle accounts clearly; classmates should be no different. Of course, his sister was an exception…
"Tsk… what a tricky guy."
Watching Hikigaya leave, Chabashira lit a cigarette silently.
On her desk were the student files of Horikita Suzune, Koenji Rokusuke, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and Hikigaya Hachiman.
Horikita Suzune: excellent academically and athletically, selfish, poor social skills.
Koenji Rokusuke: surname evokes the famous Kogenji zaibatsu.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: entrance exam scores a perfect 50 in six subjects—his disguise was impeccable.
Hikigaya Hachiman: humanities-focused loner, keen observer, Cynical Intelligence.
These four were the "seed" students Chabashira selected from Class D.
She needed more information on them, but teachers had no authority over students' pasts—this was hidden by the Highly Developed School.
"It seems we'll have to start from external sources. Conveniently, an old classmate of mine teaches in Chiba. Let's start there."
Chabashira retrieved her exclusive faculty mobile, capable of external communication.
***
Chabashira-sensei is targeting me…
Hikigaya had known from the start that she would be troublesome.
"So you care about class rivalry because the homeroom teacher's bonus is tied to the class?" he guessed.
Shaking his head, he realized it might be part of the reason, but not the main one.
Judging by her outfit—Balenciaga suspenders alone worth over 100,000 yen—there had to be a deeper reason she valued class competition so highly.
But what did that have to do with him?
In the afternoon, Hikigaya sent limited S-System info to Kōhei Katsuragi, Ryuji Kanzaki, Sho Ryuen, and Yosuke Hirata through his anonymous account.
Class A already had Masumi Kamuro's contact info, but Hikigaya didn't intend to use it. After all, Masumi Kamuro had been the first person he met upon entering Advanced Nurturing High School.