The ANHS Student Council was much faster than Hikigaya had expected.
The morning after the recruitment event, an updated list of student council members was posted on the bulletin board in the school building.
On the white paper, everyone had their class listed next to their name.
At first glance, it was all second and third-year students.
But what truly caught the attention of the gathered students wasn’t the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, at the top, but rather the Student Council Secretary—Hikigaya Hachiman—the only name with “first-year” written next to it.
“That Hikigaya definitely cheated his way in.
Katsuragi, who’s so outstanding, was rejected.
How could he possibly become the secretary right off the bat?” Among the crowd, a short-haired boy voiced his discontent to the tall, bald boy next to him.
Hikigaya quickly saw and recognized the bald man’s identity due to his towering height that made him stand out.
Katsuragi Kohei, one of the two leaders of Class 1-A, had stepped down from his leadership position after suffering defeats in two special exams for the first years.
He had a calm demeanor and a steady, cautious approach to strategy.
“Don’t say things without basis; you should mind your words and actions.” Katsuragi scolded his classmate, Totsuka Yahiko, in a deep, strong voice, and then they left together.
“Though it’s a bit hard to believe, you weren’t lying after all.” Horikita Suzune appeared behind him at some point, sighing with unease.
“You won’t cause trouble for the president, right?” While admiring Horikita Manabu, Horikita Suzune also feared causing trouble for him.
That’s why yesterday she had asked him not to mention her brother when talking about Horikita Manabu.
“If you caused him trouble, I think he’d be happy.” “How is that possible?
Are you an idiot?” *You’re the idiot*, Hikigaya thought, only daring to retort in his mind.
He turned and walked away.
Horikita Suzune could actually get physical when provoked.
To understand a person, you need to look not only at what they say but also at what they do.
Yesterday, Horikita Suzune had painted Horikita Manabu as a cold, ruthless, outstanding CEO type, claiming their strained relationship was due to her own lack of excellence.
However, in Hikigaya’s eyes, Horikita Manabu was only cold on the outside.
The existence of some students being expelled in special exams wouldn’t bring any disadvantage to the class; instead, it would provide an opportunity to weed out “inferior” students.
Even Class A had its share of flaws.
Like Totsuka Yahiko from Class A who had just spoken so carelessly.
With Horikita Manabu’s abilities, abandoning people like them would allow him to more easily maintain Class A’s throne until graduation.
But he didn’t.
The reason Horikita Manabu kept his distance from his sister was not because he disliked her for not being excellent enough.
In fact, as far as Hikigaya knew, the current Horikita Suzune was an outstanding person.
Her only flaws were likely a lack of empathy in dealing with others and a tendency to get lost in her own world.
Her appearance wasn’t just pretty; well-proportioned legs encased in black over-the-knee socks revealed her “absolute territory.” Her smooth black hair cascaded down her back, and a small braid was tied on the right side with a ribbon.
On her delicate face, a pair of beautiful, fox-like eyes were glaring fiercely at him.
He’d been discovered.
Hikigaya quickly turned his head to look out the classroom window at the corridor.
His seat was in the back row by the corridor, with Sakura Airi sitting between him and Horikita.
“Go…
Good morning, Hikigaya-kun.” Sakura, who always arrived just before class started, had to greet Hikigaya when their eyes met.
Her fiery red bangs almost covered her eyes, and beneath her unfashionable red glasses were slightly panicked eyes.
“Good morning, Sakura-san.” Hikigaya smiled.
“Do you want to go to the cafeteria for lunch?
I found a pretty good set menu yesterday.” When he was expelled before, two people had accompanied him.
Although he didn’t have much of a relationship with them at school, after his expulsion, Hikigaya had become friends with them at the initiative of one of them.
“Ah…
Lunch, I…”, Sakura’s bodyShrank back, her face showing a wavering expression.
Sakura Airi had a gentle personality but was extremely shy.
If you didn’t approach her, she would quietly stay in a corner.
Although she longed for friends, she was afraid of getting hurt.
This was the first time a classmate had invited her to lunch, and it was a challenge for Sakura.
Hikigaya, who planned to stay in Class D for a long time yet, didn’t intend to pressure Sakura too much.
“If you’re busy at lunch today, we can do it another time.” “O…
Okay.” As the bell rang, Ms.
Chabashira Sae, who was never early, also walked into the classroom with the ringing of the bell.
She pretended not to see students still playing with their phones and began lecturing like a programmed robot.
Today was already the fourth day of school.
Some students who had initially attended class diligently found that no matter what they did during class, sensei wouldn’t scold them, so they gradually let themselves go.
Some played on their phones, some slept.
Students violating school rules would result in deductions from class points.
Fewer class points meant less “private points” distributed to students.
For Hikigaya, who needed to collect a large sum of private points, the more points Class D lost, the harder it would be for him to gain points from them.
He had now donned the “tiger skin” of Student Council Secretary.
After class, feeling it was the right time, Hikigaya used his phone to notify Kushida about arranging meetings with the leaders of each class to sell information.
The first reservation was with Class B, the easiest to handle, followed by Class A, then Class C, and finally the most difficult, Class D.
After receiving Kushida’s confirmation, Hikigaya shut off his phone screen and put it back in his pocket.
“I heard you pulled strings and became Student Council Secretary.” Yamauchi Haruki, who sat in front of Hikigaya, suddenly turned around.
“Is the Student Council President someone you know?
Introduce me too, so I can hang around.” “The Student Council isn’t a place for someone like you, who plays on their phone during class, to join,” Horikita Suzune said, standing up abruptly.
“If you can convince Horikita-kun, I’ll help introduce you.” Since someone was stepping up because their brother was being insulted, Hikigaya thought that a nosy and unappreciative troublemaker like Yamauchi Haruki should be left to the brother-loving Horikita.
“Does the Student Council let just anyone in?” “The Student Council President in middle school also invited me, but I didn’t join.” “In middle school, I was the ace pitcher for the baseball team.
I’m still recovering from an injury I sustained in the high school league.” Yamauchi Haruki’s voice grew louder, and he stood up.
“Hikigaya wasn’t the only one who applied for the Student Council in the first year.
You can’t just get in because you want to,” Horikita said, crossing her arms.
“Besides, junior high students can’t participate in the high school league.
If you’re going to lie, at least do it properly.” “Huh?
I just misspoke for a second.
Your mouth is so sharp, no wonder you don’t have any friends.” “I just don’t see the need for friends.
Only pathetic men like you think you can’t live without them.” Bypassing Sakura Airi, who had shrunk into a ball, Yamauchi, his face bright red, reached out with both hands, attempting to grab Horikita’s collar.
Then, just as Hikigaya had predicted, Horikita performed a hip throw.
“Horikita is awesome!” Standing up gently, Hikigaya vanished from the classroom in a flash.