Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

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It wasn't handed over to Class D, it was handed over to Katsuragi personally.

"Someone like Katsuragi should have graduated from Class A."

With a fearful and somewhat uneasy expression, Totsuka said something to Hachiman that night that Hachiman found incredibly cool.

“People change, and Totsuka is no exception,” Hikigaya sighed.

He didn't know what Totsuka saw or thought while Katsuragi was struggling to keep Class D running, which led him to make this decision.

But there is no doubt that Totsuka also experienced a spiritual growth—he no longer had to stand behind Katsuragi.

"Is that so?" Ayanokouji looked silently at Hikigaya's seemingly sentimental face.

In just two days, he misjudged two people: Kikyo Kushida and Yahiko Totsuka. It seems he still has a lot to learn.

However, he may no longer have the opportunity to study. If nothing unexpected happens, he will soon return to the institution called White House, where he has lived for more than ten years since birth.

Can he really grow in a place like the White House?

"Let's go, it's time to go back to the finish line and end this test."

Pushing aside the branches blocking the way, Hikigaya took the lead and cleared a path for everyone. When they leisurely returned to the meeting point, which was both the starting point and the end point, the teachers in charge of the exam didn't say much.

Even though Ayanokoji and Hikigaya both had marks on their faces from their fight.

The saying "Don't say things without evidence" is perfectly exemplified in this school, where force is also a form of strength recognized by the school.

"As the victor, I have a message for you, Hachiman."

After having a private chat with the ashen-faced Totsuka, Ayanokouji walked up to Hikigaya, intending to make one last use of him.

Based on his understanding of Atsumi Ayanokoji, giving up halfway is not in his nature.

From the fact that both Chabashira and Sakagami had learned about and helped him, he already knew that his admission to this school was entirely due to the manipulation behind the scenes by Ayanokouji Atsumasa.

"I, who was defeated and dropped out of school by you, must have failed to achieve that man's goal. He is not the kind of person who would give up halfway."

"So, your father still intends to send someone like you to this school?"

Hikigaya gasped. He knew perfectly well who the man Ayanokouji was referring to was Ayanokouji Atsumi.

The new player from Shiroya who can replace Ayanokouji must also be quite formidable, not to mention that the new Shiroya player is unlikely to have been exposed to him like Ayanokouji.

The fact that the transfer student was a second-year student is too obvious, so if the White House sends someone, it will definitely be a first-year student.

"I'm guessing that's the case, and to be on the safe side, there won't be just one." Ayanokouji gave a rare smile. "Please take good care of my juniors, Hachiman."

"The younger generation?!" Hachiman felt his stomach starting to hurt.

His future campus life will likely not be as uneventful as he had hoped.

Chapter 209 Hikigaya's Chosen Accomplice

Five o'clock in the evening, at the gymnasium.

It has been some time since all the students finished their exams. All the students have gathered in the gymnasium and lined up in rows. The person in charge of this forest school exam has also taken the stage.

The time for judgment has come.

Ayanokouji, who was about to be expelled, showed no sign of disappointment, and Hikigaya, who was successfully expelled, did not seem particularly happy either.

Unsurprisingly, the top boy was from Horikita Gakuen's Class 3-A, a large group that comprised most of the best students from the first and second years, and they had a huge gap in scores with the second-place student.

The second place went to the largest group, Class D of the first year, and the third place went to Class C of the first year.

The group with more students in Class B one year outperformed the group with more students in Class A one year by a narrow margin, ranking fourth. The group with Ayanokouji in last place was naturally the one with the most students in Class A one year.

The only group whose average score was below the school's passing grade was Ayanokouji's group.

"If there are any people to be buried with, please select them as soon as possible."

After speaking to Ayanokouji, the person in charge of the exam stood aside. As Ayanokouji's cold gaze swept over them, the students in the same group all lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

"Hachiman, which one do you want me to be buried with?" Ayanokouji asked Hikigaya, who had walked nearby.

He ignored Sakayanagi, who was surrounded by a somber atmosphere; now that he was about to drop out of school, Sakayanagi was no longer of any use to him.

If it were Sakayanagi instead of Katsuragi who had 20 million personal points, he would definitely say a few nice words to Sakayanagi.

Unfortunately, Sakayanagi didn't have that, so he only focused on Hachiman, who was more interested in him.

"You'll choose just because I've made a choice?"

"Yes, I'll choose whoever you choose."

"Then let's go to the outer village."

Without a second thought, Hikigaya pointed directly at the man from the outskirts of the village who dared not meet Ayanokoji's gaze, and who also dared not meet his gaze.

I don't know what Ayanokouji's motivation was for making him choose, but choosing Sotomura is never a bad choice.

Even though months had passed since the day he secretly filmed at the pool, the fact that he had always considered another person from outside the village as a backup option for dropping out of school remained unchanged.

"No, don't choose me! Ayanokouji, you promised you wouldn't choose me!" Sotomura cried out in anguish.

"What's going on, outside the village?"

Hirata couldn't sit still any longer. He had thought that Hachiman would choose Sotomura and use 20 million personal points to save him, but judging from Sotomura's performance, he didn't think Hachiman would save him.

Furthermore, why would Ayanokouji agree to let Sotomura not choose him?

“Ayanokoji, we used to be friends too.”

"This is what Hachiman the Great Demon King ordered us to do; we have no choice but to complete it."

Using the same answer Sotomura had once given him, Ayanokouji ignored the tears streaming down Sotomura's face and walked toward the exam proctor, choosing Sotomura as his scapegoat.

"Hachiman, what's going on?" After watching Ayanoji walk away, Hirata, unable to get any answers from the other villager, approached Hichiman again.

"Just as you thought, Sotomura betrayed my will and chose to help Ayanokouji in this exam."

As he spoke, Hachiman took out the cell phones that had been reissued to the students after the exam.

"Totsuka, what is your account ID?"

"My account ID? It is..."

With a puzzled look in his eyes, Totsuka gave out his account number. He didn't know why Hachiman wanted his account. Ayanokouji hadn't chosen him to die with him, so logically Hachiman shouldn't need to give him anything.

"Twenty million points have been transferred; consider it payment."

"Twenty million?!"

Totsuka exclaimed, instantly attracting a large crowd of students. No one could resist the allure of 20 million, a sum enough to allow a student to switch classes.

Hashimoto from Class C, in particular, looked at Totsuka with eyes practically shining with envy.

"Why? I don't think this is the reward Totsuka deserves."

“Ge Yi 〢Cage 〤One Qi 4 Ou??Shi Jiuba〕Cheng classmate....."

Katsuragi, who had been watching Totsuka closely, quickly approached Hikigaya and placed his hand on Totsuka's shoulder, who was trembling with shock. Totsuka instantly understood Katsuragi's meaning.

This means he should refuse the payment.

"I don't care what you think, I care what I think," Hachiman said with a hint of mockery. "How embarrassing would it be for me, as the student council president, to take back the rewards I've already given out?"

The fact that Totsuka was not required to use those 20 million personal points to transfer Katsuragi to Class A was not a test for him, but rather an affirmation of his abilities.

Since Totsuka was willing to drop out of school himself to help Katsuragi graduate from Class A, he was happy to give up those two million.

Although some students dismissed the claim that he deliberately saved 20 million personal points from helping his classmates from other villages, this only accounted for a small part of the reason.

This is Hikigaya's ode to Totsuka's courage.

"You've surprised me again, Hachiman."

Ayanokouji, who had already reported to the teacher that the person buried alive was from another village, turned back. He didn't expect that Hikigaya would give Totsuka Yamashita, who had not been expelled, ten million personal points.

This is more than half of Hachiman's savings, and Hachiman should also know that the first task of the new successors of the White House when they come to this school is likely to be to defeat him, the one who defeated him.

"The human heart is indeed wondrous and unfathomable," Ayanokouji thought to himself.

It's impossible to control someone so easily.

Kushida, Totsuka, and Hikigaya are all examples of this.

"Aren't you going to comfort Sakayanagi? She begged me to let you go."

"I will most likely never have any further contact with them in the future."

Following Hikigaya's gaze, Ayanokouji naturally saw the girl who had been waiting for him to speak to her, but he didn't understand why Sakayanagi was so persistent with him.

According to her, she only met him once when she was a child.

They never even had a conversation, even though they were separated by a glass window.

This was even harder for him to understand than the group of Kushida and Hikigaya.

"I still have a lot to learn."

After leaving Hikigaya bewildered with these words, Ayanokouji left the gymnasium without looking back.

Soon, Hikigaya stopped caring about what Ayanokouji meant by his last words and, ignoring Sakayanagi who was standing there blankly, seemingly lost in thought, went to find Shiina among the girls.

In the six girls' groups, the group that included Shiina's group won first place, while the group that included Ichinose's group won second place.

"Our group is in first place, Hachiman." With a smile on her face, Shiina leaned close to Hachiman and stretched her head within reach of him.

"As expected of my Hiyori, she's wonderful."

Seeing Shiina's adorable smile, though somewhat tired after a day of exams, Hikigaya felt a relief from the complicated feelings he had after dropping out of Ayanokoji's school.

As Hikigaya gently stroked Shiina's silver hair, enjoying the smooth and comfortable feel, he squinted his eyes in pleasure, just like Shiina being stroked.

To hell with the idea that there are multiple Shiroya students among the first-year students.

Now, Hikigaya feels that he just needs to quietly enjoy the sense of security that Shiina brings him.

Chapter 210 Sakayanagi, the Love-Obsessed Man

On a dimly lit, remote road, a line of buses was traveling at a slow pace.

The sun had long since set, and almost all the students on the bus who had been taking exams since early morning were asleep due to exhaustion.

On the bus carrying the B-class students, even Tomura, who had already been expelled, cried himself to sleep. Shiina, who was somewhat frail, naturally also fell into a deep sleep—in Hikigaya's arms.

"Hachiman~~"

"Yes, I'm here."

Hikigaya responded to Shiina's murmured dream, her head resting near his shoulder, in an almost inaudible voice. His left hand, which wasn't around her, was gently playing with a strand of soft, silver hair.

Listening to Shiina's gentle, breeze-like breathing, his thoughts became increasingly calm.

The changes in the first-grade class scores in this forest exam were not significant. Like Class A, each class had its own gains and losses, with girls performing well while boys came in fifth. In the end, the scores only increased or decreased by a few dozen points.

However, because Class A is reduced and Class B is added, Class B of the first year will replace Ichinose's class as the new Class A when the class points are updated in February.

Class A: 1395 points

Class B: 1426 points

Class C: 949 points

Class D: 830 points

The gap between Katsuragi's Class D and Ryuen's Class C has narrowed a bit, and judging from the current situation of Class D as observed by Hachiman, their morale has rebounded somewhat.

After learning that Totsuka received 20 million personal points as a reward for Katsuragi's transfer to Class A after graduating in his third year, they stopped resisting Katsuragi's one-man rule.

At least on the surface, they won't make any more sarcastic remarks about Katsuragi, fearing he might shirk his responsibilities.

Sakayanagi's disgraceful behavior during this special exam has completely led them to abandon their view of her as a potential leader.

What will the relationships between the classes be like in the next special exam?

"Hachiman?"

"I'm here, Hiyori."

The cute, slightly ethereal voice brought Hikigaya's thoughts back to normal.

As the bus lurched as it passed the speed bump in front of the school, Shiina, who had been huddled in front of her chest, began to rub her sleepy eyes. At that moment, Hikigaya helped her up and smoothed her slightly messy long hair.