〜
I suddenly hear soft music and open my eyes. At the same time, I get off the bed, remembering that I'm at a training camp.
The others also get off the bed, looking sleepy.
"Huh, sleepy"
Yoshida, who was occupying the bed above me, came down yawning, but he looked very sleepy.
"You look pretty sleepy."
"I woke up around 3am. Hikigaya doesn't seem to be sleepy at all."
"It's normal for me to hold Hiyori and the others for an entire night. To be honest, I can stay awake for an entire day."
It would probably not be possible for two full days, but a full day would be plenty. I stay up for a full day two or three times a month.
"Don't start saying things like that early in the morning! For an unpopular man, that would be a firing sentence."
"That's rude."
"Let's just leave it at that. For now, we should go to the place where a roll call is held."
While they were having a conversation like that, Katsuragi interrupted.
Well, from the standpoint of a person in charge, it's only natural to say that.
I leave the room without feeling particularly dissatisfied, use the restroom, and then head to the roll call area.
There were already 2nd and 3rd year students, so I nodded and lined up, and the teacher came over right away.
"I'm Yamaguchi, the homeroom teacher for 2nd grade A class. From now on, I'll be taking a roll call, but as soon as it's over, I'll be asked to clean the designated area. This is a daily routine every morning, and if it rains, I'll just clean the school building. This does not mean that the cleaning time will be shortened.In addition, there will be instructors coming from outside for classes starting today, so please be polite when interacting with them.''
After receiving such instructions, we headed to the assigned location.
The area my group was in charge of was between the main building and the branch building, but luckily it was adjacent to the area Hiyori and her group were in charge of, so I was able to treat my three lovers as eye candy in the morning.
At that time, most of my group members and Hiyori's group members looked at me in shock, but I didn't know.
Once the cleaning is finished, you will be guided to a dojo-like space.
According to the documents, zazen is practiced after cleaning, so this is probably where zazen is practiced.
As I headed to the location I was guided to, the air became cold.
This is because when I do zazen, I sit facing the other students, and Ryuen is among the people my group is facing.
But that can't be helped. Ryuen entered into a contract with A-class students during the desert island exam to receive hundreds of thousands of private points every month until graduation.
The students in class A would probably feel bad about it.
At Ryuen, Miyake, who is in my class, is in the group in charge, but he is quiet.
Since all the students haven't gathered yet, we can't start zazen, so let's talk a little bit.
"Yo Ryuen. Are you doing well?"
When I sit across from Ryuen and talk to him, Ryuen looks at me.
However, unlike before he lost to Ayanokoji, he doesn't have that ferocious smile.
"Did Sakayanagi ask you to look into me?"
"No. It's just my curiosity. You're a floating being."
"That's a line you don't want a stallion to say."
"Don't call me a stallion. Dragon Boy."
Basically, I use rubber, and even if I do happen to have sex raw, I always make sure it's safe and have pills ready.
"Oh? I'm going to kill you!"
Ryuen reveals his murderous intent. It looks like the fang wasn't completely broken.
"Try it. You came here for revenge...?"
"Tch"
As I was thinking about that, an elderly teacher came in and we both let out our murderous feelings.
"Everyone is here. Starting today, I will be doing zazen here in the morning and evening."
After saying that, the teacher begins to explain.
In this zazendo, whether you are standing or walking, you must make a fist, wrap it with your other hand, and bring it up to the height of Hato. This seems to be called a crossed-handed posture.
"Zazen is just a type of meditation. Some people think that it is something you do with a blank mind, but it is important to close your eyes and visualize it.''
Huh, I thought it was something to do with a blank mind. It seems that they are different.
"After sitting cross-legged, have each person place their feet on their thighs. This knee-crossed position will also affect the results of the test, so make sure you are able to do it.''
I try to imitate the teacher when asked, but it's not impossible, but it's quite painful.
In fact, out of the 15 members of my group, 9 can't do it, and I can hear groans from everyone around me, so it's definitely difficult.
The students who can't do it are doing the half-prostrate position with only one leg crossed, but Ryuen, who is right in front of me, is doing the full-prostrate position without any problem.
However, for me, it was so surreal to see Ryuen practicing zazen so seriously that I almost burst out laughing.
They spent a lot of time explaining it, only 5 minutes the first time, but thanks to the surreal nature of Ryuen, I ended up getting extremely tired.
By the way, when I mentioned this after zazen, nearly half of the group members burst out laughing, so it seems like my feelings are correct.
After zazen, it was time for breakfast. Instead of the dining room where I had dinner yesterday, I was guided to an outside dining area.
As a side note, the dining space is next to the kitchen where I made love to Masumi yesterday.
"Today, the school will provide it, but if it's sunny tomorrow, you'll have to make it all within your group, so please discuss and decide on the number of people and how to divide it up as a whole."
While the teacher warns us, we prepare breakfast.
The meal consists of a simple soup and three side dishes. However, the amount was not enough for a growing male high school boy.
Once the food is served, each person begins to eat, and the seasoning is very simple.
It's not bad, but it's not particularly delicious either.
After eating for a while, Katsuragi, the person in charge, opened his mouth.
"I'm eating, but is it a little better? I'll start making food tomorrow, but I'd like to see who can cook for themselves, so if you can, please raise your hand."
When asked, I raised my hand. Hiyori is in charge of cooking now, but before I moved in with Hiyori, I used to make my own meals, and I originally wanted to be a stay-at-home husband, so my cooking skills are pretty good.
As a result, there are six students who are unable to cook for themselves: Shimizu, Yoshida, Morishige, Ishida, Machida, and Takemoto.
"There are more than I expected...what should we do?"
"I don't cook on the last day, and I have to cook six times. If it were to be done equally, each grade would do it twice, but at that time, three of the six students would assist the nine students who can cook for themselves, such as plating and serving the meal.''
"Well, the other three should be sleeping."
Everyone's attention is focused on my proposal.
"Huh? Is it good?"
"There's nothing to do if there are six people in the kitchen who can't cook for themselves. My idea is that Ishida, Shimizu, and Takemoto will assist in the first round, and Machida, Morishige, and Yoshida will assist in the second round. Well, if the group that can cook for themselves is against it, I'll drop the idea.''
After saying that, I looked around, but there were no opposing opinions, so my opinion was accepted.
I don't know if they were aiming for that timing, but Fujimaki-senpai from the same large group came over.
"We will prepare meals twice for each grade, but is there anything you would like to do?"
It's not my turn...I want to finish the troublesome things as soon as possible, and I want to make breakfast tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but it will be the same for 2nd and 3rd year.
I don't want people to pay attention to me by talking about it here.
"How about having each grade take turns once in a while?"said Katsuragi, the person in charge, and Fujimaki-senpai nodded.
"Okay. As for the order, is it okay to start with first year students?"
"Understood"
When Katsuragi said that, Fujimaki-senpai nodded in satisfaction and returned to the third-year group, but if they were going to make dinner tomorrow, they'd have to wake up about two hours early with plenty of time to spare.
Well, it doesn't matter to me, who can stay awake all day.
After we finished eating, we were led as a large group to a classroom that looked like a university classroom and sat down.
At the same time, a male teacher enters the room and begins class. This class is about speech.
After entering the workforce, it is important to convey your opinions clearly and in an easy-to-understand manner to others through presentations, and it is also essential to improve your communication skills.
Since I entered this school, I have been communicating with various people in order to succeed, but there is no doubt that I am still lacking in ability, and I need to study hard to prepare for the future.
"From now on, you will be asked to introduce yourself, but please remember that this is also part of the class. From now on, you will be asked to give a speech every day. The themes will be different for each grade, but there are four criteria for judgment. It's the volume of your voice, your posture, the content, and the way you convey it."
In other words, each person in a large group has to present their own speech.
First-year students are asked to give a speech about what they have learned since entering the school and what they will learn in the future, while second- and third-year students are asked to give a speech about more specific topics such as career paths and employment opportunities.
What I have learned since entering school and what I will learn in the future...
After entering the school, I learned how to earn a large amount of points, and from now on, I learned how to produce a large number of people to serve as pawns... Rejected.
After entering the school, I learned how to make people angry and then degrade them, and from now on, I learned how to expel students efficiently... This was also rejected.
After entering the school, I learned how to interact with girls, and from now on, I will learn how to make multiple girls happy... This is also rejected.
Yeah, since I entered the school, I've only learned things like that, objectively speaking, aren't good enough.
As a result, I ended up giving a random speech.
If I were to give a score, it would probably be around 50 or 60 out of 100, but if I gave a stupid honest speech I would probably get a 0, so it can't be helped.
_____________
Despite everything going on, the afternoon class went smoothly, and the last class just ended...
"It hurts..."
"It's numb..."
The men in the dojo were full of dead bodies.
The last class is zazen, but it's quite difficult to do zazen after all the different classes.
In particular, my group had an endurance run before zazen, so nearly half of them remained motionless even after zazen was over.
"I'm quite tired, so let's get some rest and then eat."
"I agree with that, but Hikigaya doesn't look tired at all, does he?"
Machida keeps saying things like that, but I just don't show it and I am pretty tired.
"I see. Is there any secret?"
"I train every day. The rest is about maintaining motivation."
"I understand, but it's impossible to motivate yourself, right?"
Yoshida says that and the other members nod...
"Not really. For example, imagine a girl you like meditating in a skirt."
When I say that, the people listening to me turn red, but it seems that my delusional power is strong.
"Isn't that completely disqualified as zazen?"
I hear such voices, but I don't know.
It would be impossible for the teacher who was grading him to look inside his head, so there would be no problem.
"Well, it's not bad to think about something fun."
It's important to distract yourself when you're doing something you don't like.
While talking about this, we headed to the dining room.
Dinner time is one of the few times when you can interact with girls, so you have to cherish it.
As I was walking down the hallway, Arisu's group came into view from around the corner.
The other person notices me too and smiles.
"Then I'll excuse myself here. See you later."
"Yes, yes. Damn it, I want a girlfriend too."
"Me too. Explode you bastard!"
While listening to such resentment and dissatisfaction, I quickly heads towards Hiyori and the others.
"Good job. How's class going?"
"There's no problem. Everyone's doing everything smoothly. Instead, Hachiman-kun, let's have dinner together like we did yesterday."
Arisu invites me like that, and of course I means it.
"Oh, but before that, can I borrow Matsushita for a while?"
Those words caused an uproar from Arisu's group.
"Huh? By any chance, Matsushita-san is captured too?"
"Then it's four legs...it's truly divine."
A girl from class A says something like that.
Matsushita in question looked at me with blank stares, while Hiyori, Arisu, and Masumi looked at me with blank stares.
"Don't look at me like that. There's something I'd like to talk about. It'll only take a minute or two."
After saying that, the three of them turned away their stares and exhaled.
"Okay. I'll go ahead and save you a seat."
With that said, Arisu, Hiyori, and Masumi went to the cafeteria first, and Arisu's group members also headed to the cafeteria.
"So? Do you have something to ask of me?"
Matsushita also seems to understand why I stopped her. She speaks quickly and I feel at ease.
"Ah. Actually..."
With that in mind, I will explain the details of the bet I made with Pres Nagumo yesterday.
"That's why I would like you to investigate the small group and large group for 2nd and 3rd year students."
"I see. Well, Sakayanagi-san is physically weak, Kamuro-san is a follow-up to Sakayanagi-san, and Shiina-san is not suited for intelligence activities, so I'm the right person... 30% is fine."
In other words, if I succeed in my bet and get 1 million, you'll give me 300,000.
I don't dislike that boldness.
"Okay. Even if I make a mistake in the nomination, would 30,000 be enough?"
"Good. Then, from now on, I'll report in the courtyard near the toilets on the downstairs floor of the dining room during the first five minutes of dinner time."
"Okay. Nice to meet you."
In response, Matsushita heads to the dining room first, and I follow, one step behind.
Then, when I looked around, I saw Arisu and the others, so when I headed over there, they seemed to have noticed as well, so Hiyori and Arisu were staring at me, and Masumi was looking at me with a worried look.
"I'm sorry that I made you wait."
"It's okay. But what did you talk about with Matsushita-san? I don't think it was possible, but-
"Don't worry. I just asked her to look into girls' groups."
Phew....
"Is that so? I was worried that you would end up getting a fourth fiance."
Arisu exhales in relief, and Hiyori and Masumi make similar gestures.
"Hachiman-kun. We're the only three fiance's, right?"
"You can't talk about mistresses either, okay?"
"If you want enough love, we'll give you more love than we already have, okay?"
The three of them say so, but they feel like I'm going to die from being so happy.
"Ah, please."
After saying that, I received the food at the serving port, sat down at a suitable seat, and started eating.
"So, what will happen to your group's relay race?"
Arisu can't walk without a cane, and they'll probably do the relay race without her
However, given the nature of this school, they will probably make up for it in some way.
"I won't be participating in the relay race, but my score will change in other areas.''
Well, that's probably about it.
"Are you okay with class?"
"Yes. As far as I can see, there is no problem with anything else other than physical activity. Is Hachiman-kun okay?"
"No problem."
I don't know if I'll get a perfect score, but I'm sure the result won't be so bad as to fall below the border.
Well, this test doesn't earn many private points, so it's not very important.
In fact, the bet proposed by Pres Nagumo is far more important.
"That would be great. Anyway, this exam is unique. Hachiman-kun is close to President Nagumo, have you heard anything?"
Arisu is probably talking about the person in charge and her companions.
It is true that the system regarding the person in charge and her companions is different from previous exams.
There is no doubt that Pres Nagumo will use these two systems to do something outrageous in this exam.
However, since I made a bet, there's no way I would answer even if I was asked.
"Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about it. Well, it won't have any negative effects on first-year students."
Nagumo does not interfere with the first-year students during this exam, his purpose is to use his subordinates to gather information, and I don't think he will do anything.
Even if you set it up, there's no problem.
This is because the large group that Arisu and others belong to has A class students in every grade, so the risk of expulsion is extremely low.
And my priorities are set.
First of all, Hiyori, Arisu, and Masumi tied for 1st place, me in 2nd place, and everyone else in 3rd place, and there is an absolute difference between 2nd and 3rd place.
Therefore, as long as Hiyori and the others are safe, that's fine.
I don't care if anyone else leaves school.
If I thought about it that much, I would get stabbed in the cheek, so I stopped thinking and found Hiyori and the others looking at me with strange eyes.
"Are you thinking about something?"
"Huh? Ah, I just realized once again that you guys are important."
"...I don't know what made you think that way, but I also care deeply about Hachiman-kun."
"That's right. I love Hachiman-kun as much as Hiyori-san."
"...I won't lose either."
Hiyori, who was sitting in front of me, held my hand with a warm expression on her face.
At the same time, Arisu and Masumi, who were sitting on either side of me, hugged my arms as if competing with each other.
I feel like I'll ascend to heaven just by doing that.
Hopefully, I want to spend my time like this even after I graduate. At the very least, I would like to avoid having to deal with my classmates from middle school.
I almost died mentally because of those guys, without using metaphorical expressions.
...Come to think of it, will the bratty juniors who were thrown around by the service club like me be okay?
They were their own person and there was some part of it that was their own fault, but it was the fault of two idiots who couldn't understand the essence of the request that led to the worst possible outcome.
They complained about each other's misfortunes, but let's hope they have a wonderful encounter like I did.
When I finished dinner, I kissed the three of them goodbye like I always do, then went straight to the bathroom to relieve myself, and at the same time Ayanokoji came out of the private bathroom.
"Hey, how are you doing?"
That's what I'm talking about. I would like to know as much information as possible about other groups.
Especially since there are three monsters in Ayanokoji's large group: Ayanokoji, Koenji, and Nagumo.
"Koenji is moving around freely. He said he was stuck in the bathroom cleaning in the morning because of stomach pain.''
Well, it's definitely Koenji. I had expected it, but I didn't think it would be going his own way so far.
"Well, I guess that's fine. You won't be expelled from school?"
"It's not likely."
The person in charge of Ayanokoji's small group is Yukimura from my class, so even if we were to use the companion system, there would be almost no chance of Ayanokoji being accompanied.
Lately, I've seen Ayanokoji getting along well with Yukimura, and it's easy to imagine that Ayanokoji will pass the exam smoothly, even if he's cutting corners, and won't be used as a companion.
"And will you do anything in the exam?"
"No, I'll only move to the bare minimum. By doing so, I'll show Sakayanagi and Nagumo that I have no intention of fighting."
"Is it to graduate peacefully as a regular student? If that's the case, give up. Arisu is looking for a way to fight you."
"...Is there something you can do?"
"It's impossible. You should give it your all. You'll be found out sooner or later."
The main players in each class must already be aware of Ayanokoji's unfathomable power.
Not to mention Arisu and Ryuen, Horikita, who is being kept in the dark, probably knows the depths of Ayanokoji, and Ichinose is not an idiot, and even if she doesn't know, she probably has a vague idea.
「...…」
Ayanokoji, on the other hand, was silent.
He doesn't want to give his all at all, but I can understand what he's saying... I guess.
Well, according to my prediction, Ayanokoji will be doing his best by the time he reaches his second year.
As I was thinking about this, Ayanokoji came out of the bathroom and I followed.
As I was about to return to my room, I noticed a strange crowd of people in front of me.
What? What are you doing with so many people gathered in a hallway. It isn't that wide, right?
"Sorry, bad, are you okay?''
"No, don't worry.''... These voices were Yamauchi and Arisu.
When I understood this, I quickly headed to the scene, and the crowd was in the way, so I stretched out and saw Yamauchi holding out his hand, and Arisu trying to pull herself up using a cane and the wall.
Only then did I understand what had happened.
Yamauchi, who was mostly looking around, probably bumped into Arisu.
Meanwhile, I tried to get through the crowd, but Arisu stood up before I could.
Yamauchi was a little confused, but withdrew his outstretched hand.
"Then, um, I'll go…?"
"Yes. Don't worry," Sakayanagi said and looked away from Yamauchi.
The onlookers who witnessed this also lost interest and left the scene.
Yamauchi, on the other hand, walks toward the boys' room. It was annoying that he bumped into Arisu, but he probably didn't do it maliciously.
If he purposely bumped into Arisu, who can't walk without a cane, he'd get a big bash.
I'm a little annoyed since he doesn't have any malicious intentions, so I don't want to take it out on Yamauchi.
That was then.
"No, Sakayanagi-chan is cute, but she's disgusting."
...…Huh?