“Who’s threatening whom remains to be seen,” Hikigaya said with a helpless chuckle at Kanzaki’s warning.
“But don’t worry, I have absolutely no intention of hurting Ichinose.” Kanzaki Ryuji just snorted in response.
“What are you whispering about?” Shibata Sou sidled up, slinging an arm around Hikigaya’s shoulder.
“Hikigaya, can you tell me who confessed first?” “I did.” Hikigaya remembered Shibata Sou.
He was one of the few people in the second year with an athletic ability rated A by the school, and his personality was much like a male version of Ichinose.
He had a clean-cut appearance and was a rising star in the soccer club, popular with many first-year girls.
“That’s amazing,” Shibata said, his hand on Hikigaya’s shoulder suddenly squeezing his bicep.
“Hikigaya, are you in a sports club?
Those muscles are good.
Want to have a contest with me?” Academic ability, athletic ability, critical thinking, and social contribution are the criteria this school uses to evaluate students.
At the time of his enrollment, Hikigaya’s athletic ability was rated C by the school.
After training in the dorm every night, Hikigaya was no longer sure how strong he currently was.
Since his rebirth, he felt full of energy, with noticeably improved stamina and strength.
“I just exercise regularly.
We can have a contest if you want.” Even for someone who’s friendly right away, they wouldn’t immediately challenge someone to a strength contest.
Hikigaya could guess Shibata’s ulterior motive.
Ichinose’s charm was undeniable, and he wanted to gauge his own physical strength against Shibata, whose current rating was B+.
Their quick stances as they prepared to compete attracted the attention of the girls.
Ichinose and Amikura Mako both came over, even pinching their bulging muscles.
Shiranami Chihiro and Kobashi Yume also turned their gazes toward them.
As Amikura Mako exclaimed, “They’re like real men,” Hikigaya and Shibata slowly began to exert their strength.
They started with a round of mutual probing; both understood that using too much force at once could lead to injury.
Their hands gripped tightly, and as they applied more pressure, the veins on the backs of their hands became more prominent.
Hikigaya, able to apply more force, could no longer feel Shibata increasing his grip.
Seeing Shibata’s tense, flushed face, Hikigaya could only silently apologize and slowly increased his pressure, bit by bit, pushing Shibata’s hand down onto the table.
He felt no joy in being able to surpass Shibata in strength after only a month of training.
It felt like cheating, and he felt somewhat bad for the others.
“I lost,” Shibata said, leaning back on the sofa with a sigh.
He then added, “Sorry.” Hikigaya, unsure of what to say, looked at Kanzaki.
“Want to give it a try too?” “I’ve already competed with Shibata,” implying he didn’t want to make a fool of himself.
Kanzaki was taciturn, the cheerful Shibata was now half-exhausted, and Hikigaya didn’t know Watanabe Kinji well.
Hikigaya quietly picked up his phone and went into invisibility mode until the girls got tired of singing.
After asking everyone if they wanted to continue singing and getting a negative response, Ichinose turned off the music and sat next to Hikigaya.
This gathering wasn’t just to introduce Hikigaya to her classmates but also an opportunity for him to showcase his abilities.
“If Class B continues like this, we’ll never reach Class A.” After putting down his phone and speaking, Hikigaya looked at the expressions on everyone’s faces.
Not a single one looked like they were about to get angry and hit him.
If they were students from Class D, they would have immediately started ranting instead of waiting for him to continue like this.
“The school assigns students ratings from A to E based on interviews: academic ability, athletic ability, critical thinking, and social contribution.
I looked at the evaluations for each class through the student council’s backdoor, and Class B is the worst.
Only Ichinose ranks A in two categories.
Other classes have three or more students with A ratings.” Kanzaki found it hard to accept.
“That’s impossible.
Since Hoshinomiya-sensei said that class placement is based on student evaluations, how can our Class B be stronger than Classes C and D?” “Even without me, D class has five students with higher ratings than you, two of whom are stronger than Ichinose.
It’s just that Class D also has many weaker students, so they appear to be worse.” “I feel a little unhappy,” Ichinose said, leaning closer to Hikigaya.
“Hearing from Hikigaya-kun that I’m not as good as others.
So, Hikigaya-kun, what advice can you give us?” “Two approaches: one is to strengthen ourselves, and the other is to weaken others.
The most effective way is to pool our resources and buy over excellent students from other classes.
Kushida from Class D could be your target; she’s considering transferring.” Class D is too strong; it’s unplayable unless weakened.
Plus, Hikigaya believed Class B was a better fit for Kushida.
The students in Class B were all little angels who spoke nicely.
He hoped she’d have to spend less time watching his back.
“Speaking of the school’s major events, the Sports Festival is unavoidable.
To achieve good results and earn class points, it’s best to start training now.
Study sessions shouldn’t just be held before exams.” “We also need to pay attention to information.
Hide our own information and record information about students in other classes.
It might be useful in future special exams.” The school’s exams are comprehensive ability tests.
Even at the Sports Festival, the class with higher athletic ability doesn’t necessarily win.
By gathering information from other classes and employing a strategy like “Tian Ji’s horse racing,” one can overcome stronger opponents with weaker forces.
“I feel like Hikigaya…
how should I put it, is very mature.
After listening to you, I also feel the reality that the four classes are currently in competition.” Amikura Mako said this.
Her hairstyle was a single ponytail, like Karuizawa Kei’s, but shorter, just past her shoulders.
She had a beautiful face and was tall but somewhat slender.
Hikigaya understood her words.
At the beginning of the school year, before the special exams that lead to dropouts have started, most students don’t feel the pressure of being in a competitive environment.
“Now I’m a little curious, Hikigaya-kun.
Aren’t you in Class D?
Wouldn’t Honami-chan be disliked by her classmates for helping us like this?
And don’t you want to graduate from Class A?” “I don’t care if I’m disliked by my classmates.
It’s the same whether I graduate from any class because my abilities are sufficient to get into any university I want.” Hikigaya, with his cheat-like powers, was that confident.
Originally, his academic ability would have only allowed him to get into some ordinary public universities, but now, with the buff of enhanced memory, he could even get into Tokyo University.
His biggest goal at this school was originally to become a leader in Class B and try to get Ayanokouji Kiyotaka expelled through a special exam.
If not Class B, then Class A.
But Ichinose’s actions went beyond his expectations; he could now control Class B to some extent without being a class leader.
Since he wasn’t a class leader, he wouldn’t face resistance from other first-year classes if he ran for student council president.
He might even be able to replace Nagumo Miyabi, who was slated to be the next student council president.
He really held grudges, especially against guys with yellow hair.