Recently, a significant event has occurred at the Advanced Nurturing High School.
As the new semester begins, students returning to campus are buzzing with discussions, aside from exchanging greetings.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun. I hope we can get along well this semester too."
"...Good morning."
As Hikigaya entered Class D's classroom and made his way to his seat, Matsushita, who sat next to him, greeted him with a smile. However, there was an unmistakable pressure in her expression that Hikigaya couldn't quite place.
She seems a bit off... Could she be unhappy about the short summer break?
If that's the case, Hikigaya could understand her feelings.
After all, the so-called one-month summer break was just two weeks, half of which were consumed by exams.
It felt like a scam.
"Hikigaya-kun, don't you have anything you want to say to me?" Matsushita asked with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Are you referring to... the expulsion of Ike Kanji? The student council has already discussed it on the forum..."
"Who cares about that!"
...Whoa, hold on, that's quite a callous response from someone like you.
Hikigaya was about to give a formal reply when Matsushita's impatient interruption cut him off.
To think she could be so indifferent about a classmate's expulsion...
But then again, considering the circumstances around Ike's expulsion, it was hard to find much sympathy. Especially among the girls, who were likely to be even more repulsed by the situation.
Anyway, Hikigaya observed that the mood in the class was generally stable, with everyone chatting and laughing.
"So, what exactly do you want to say?"
"...You didn't forget about our agreement, did you?"
"Our agreement?" Hikigaya blinked in confusion. "If you're talking about treating me to a meal, I don't recall receiving any contact from you."
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and showed Matsushita the record.
"See, there's nothing here, right?"
"Wait, why is it up to me to contact you? Isn't it usually the guys who take the initiative in such matters?"
Matsushita's quiet protest was met with Hikigaya's calm demeanor.
"It doesn't matter who takes the initiative. The issue is, you're one of the popular crowd, and I didn't want to intrude on your schedule."
"...Eh?"
"Think about it," Hikigaya explained sincerely. "During the summer, you were out with friends almost every day. I didn't know when you'd be free, and I didn't want to disrupt your plans. It's more reasonable for you to contact me."
He added, "After all, other than my work with the student council, I mostly stay in my room. It makes more sense for me to fit around your schedule."
That was mostly true.
The time Hikigaya met Kushida was to buy a birthday gift for Inokashira, and his encounter with Kamuro was purely coincidental. As for Ichinose, it was on behalf of Class A... though ultimately, the plan fell through.
The only one who actively extended an invitation to Hikigaya was Shiina, though even that invitation was interrupted halfway through.
"Huh? Wait a minute, the way you're putting it..."
Matsushita seemed a bit perplexed, feeling as though the conversation had somehow turned against her.
"If you hadn't brought it up, I would have thought you had forgotten."
"How could I forget?" Matsushita replied with a hint of sorrow, "I've been looking forward to it... Anyway, until you fulfill your promise, this matter remains valid!"
"Alright, alright," Hikigaya responded dismissively.
It's just a meal. Not like he couldn't afford it.
Honestly, this kid is ridiculously greedy!
As the two of them were speaking, a loud shout suddenly rang out nearby.
"Who did this? Who's responsible?"
Turning around, they were surprised to see it was Hirata.
He stood where Ike's desk used to be, angrily questioning the surrounding students.
Since Ike had been expelled, his desk had long been removed. Yet, someone had placed a vase with white flowers in the vacant space... It was rather excessive. Ike wasn't dead, just expelled for taking secret photos of a girls' changing room.
While it might be seen as a figurative death from a social standpoint, playing such pranks was still inappropriate.
In any case, personal points shouldn't be wasted so frivolously.
"Hirata-kun, why are you so upset? It's just a harmless joke."
"Yeah, that guy deserved it."
"He's no longer one of us, so it's not bullying."
The other students were indifferent, laughing and chatting among themselves.
Even though Ike had gotten along well with the boys in the class, no one was willing to stand up for him in this embarrassing situation.
Besides, Ike was already expelled. There was no need to offend others over a 'dead man'; if anything, they were eager to distance themselves and maybe even step on him to prove their innocence.
Even Yamauchi and Sudo were unusually quiet, showing no reaction to the other's actions.
"Anyway! This is wrong!" Hirata was the only one standing up for Ike, though even he couldn't defend Ike effectively.
After all, the situation had been thoroughly investigated by the school, and Ike had been sent home with his parents.
Fortunately, he was still a minor; otherwise, a lawsuit wouldn't have been surprising.
Hirata took the vase away and sat silently at his desk, ignoring any attempts by others to engage him in conversation.
Gradually, the mood in the class turned somber.
This atmosphere persisted until the class bell rang, and Chabashira-sensei entered the room to start the class meeting.
"Today marks the beginning of the second semester. There's something I need to report to you, though judging by your expressions, you probably already know about it."
Even students who hadn't seen the announcement were likely informed by others first thing in the morning.
"Teacher, why wasn't the class informed before Ike-kun's expulsion?"
Hirata was still unwilling to accept the situation, hoping to find a way to avoid Ike's expulsion.
"Because it wasn't necessary," Teacher Chabashira replied coolly. "Ike's actions were a serious violation of school rules. Don't think that personal points are all-powerful… To give you an extreme example, if you committed murder, do you think paying personal points would let you escape punishment? It's a similar principle."
"But..."
Faced with this straightforward logic, Hirata struggled to find words, finally sitting down in frustration.
Soon after, other students began raising their hands with questions.
"Chabashira-sensei, the announcement mentioned that Ike was the main culprit. Why weren't the names of the accomplices revealed as well?"
"That's the school's decision, and I have no authority over it."
This answer left many dissatisfied. According to common sense, the accomplices should also be punished, considering they were responsible for the class's point deductions.
At least their names should be disclosed.
Perhaps the school was trying to avoid potential bullying incidents by keeping that information hidden.
However, Hikigaya had different thoughts on the matter.
Although it was just a guess, he couldn't shake the feeling that the school's handling of the situation was overly cautious.
Originally, the plan had been to expel the main culprit and issue warnings to the accomplices. Yet, in the end, only the main culprit was expelled, and the accomplices' identities were protected.
Was this change in the plan due to… Ayanokoji?
From the first discussion with Sakayanagi about Ayanokoji, Hikigaya suspected that the school's chairman must know about Ayanokoji. Otherwise, someone with such a dubious background wouldn't be admitted.
[T/N: For those who didn't get it, Hikigaya's original plan was to defame Yamauchi and Ayanokoji, especially the latter to limit his activities. The original idea was to expel Ike while giving warning to the rest while making their name public, to humiliate them.]
If the chairman was indeed shielding Ayanokoji, it could create serious problems.
Oh well… It's pointless to think about it now.
"That's all for this matter. On a brighter note, congratulations, your class's points have nicely returned to zero after a few months of effort."
Chabashira-sensei's words were somewhat cutting but not mocking.
From her perspective, expelling a useless student at the cost of 200 points wasn't a bad deal, especially since it served as a warning to other students. Usually, this would cost 300 points, so it might even have been a bargain.
In reality, the students of Class D didn't react much. They already knew about it, and due to their contract with Ryuuen, they weren't receiving personal points anyway.
Whether points were deducted or not, they had to live in poverty, so they weren't overly concerned.
Aside from Class D, the other three classes had not committed any violations during the summer break, so their points remained the same as after the preferential treatment exam.
Class A under Ichinose had 1,133 points, Class B under Ryuuen had 788 points, and Class C under Sakayanagi had 724 points.
Overall, no one could have anticipated this outcome when the S System was officially announced in early May.
As for Hikigaya, he received his monthly personal points deposit on time this morning.
During the summer break, due to expenses for visiting Komachi and other costs, he had spent about 600,000, leaving him with a little over 240,000.
According to his contract with Class B, the current amount was 1,576,000, while Ryuuen still owed him 300,000. The contract with Class C amounted to 1,100,000.
Adding this, his fixed monthly income was 2,976,000.
Additionally, there was a reward of 1,000,000 from the preferential treatment exam and 200,000 from Sudo.
Altogether, Hikigaya's points totaled around 6,580,000, with a small fraction not counted.
It seemed that the biggest loser in this incident was Ryuuen.
According to his contract with Class D, they were supposed to supply 800,000 each month. However, due to insufficient class points… he had only received 364,000 for August and nothing for this month.
It was a bit amusing.
So, it's important to target the right people when cutting costs.
The afternoon classes turned into a two-hour class meeting.
As Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom, she began distributing materials and explaining.
"From September to early October, we will have additional physical education classes to prepare for the sports festival. Please keep the new timetable safe, and also review the materials about the sports festival carefully."
No one expected such disheartening news on the first day back from summer vacation… What a joke.
Hikigaya had known about this well in advance; after all, the sports festival was held during this period every year, so he had long given up hope.
During middle school, he had served as an executive committee member, and apart from the fatigue and trouble, he had no other thoughts about it.
Given the school's system, the sports festival here would likely be even more troublesome.
Although he had trained under the chairman's guidance and learned some combat skills, those were for self-defense and escape, not for contributing to the class.
Anyway, this time he'd just go with the flow.
Hikigaya wasn't the only one with this mindset. Hearing the word "sports festival," some students who weren't good at sports let out small cries of despair.
"Also, the school website has posted details about the event. If you need more information, please check it."
"Sensei, is this also one of the special exams?" Kushida suddenly raised her hand to ask.
Originally, this should have been Hirata's responsibility, but now he seemed to be in a semi-closure state.
"Interpreting this is up to you, but there's no doubt it will have a huge impact on each class," Chabashira-sensei said with her usual ambiguous tone. Ultimately, it would just mean losing a few points.
This announcement drew cries of despair from students who weren't athletically inclined. However, they seemed to forget that Class D had little left to lose at this point.
Even if their performance led to point deductions, it wouldn't cause any significant harm. It was a case of having nothing left to fear, as the saying goes: "Those without shoes don't fear those who do."
"Awesome!"
"Finally, it's my time to shine!"
In contrast, a small number of students who were good at sports, like Sudo, expressed great enthusiasm for the upcoming sports festival. It was as if they were starring in a sports drama.
Hikigaya Yūichirō, however, flipped through the materials with disinterest. As he had suspected, this school's sports festival was plagued with annoying rules.
"As those who have read the materials should have noticed," Chabashira-sensei suddenly said, "This year's sports festival will feature a competition where all grades are divided into two teams. Class D has been placed in the Red Team, and Class A will also join the Red Team. This means that during the festival, Class A will be your ally."
In contrast, Classes B and C would form the White Team. The sports festival would see a showdown between the Red Team and the White Team.
This revelation surprised many students in the class. They hadn't expected a team competition, especially one that crossed grade levels—a different cooperative approach compared to the preferential exams on the ship.
"First, observe the results of the sports festival," Chabashira-sensei continued, tapping the materials to emphasize the key points. "I won't repeat this multiple times, so listen carefully."
Despite this, Hikigaya found little to be concerned about. The rewards for the sports festival were meager at best. The competition between the Red Team and the White Team meant that the losing team would face a deduction of one hundred points for each class, while the winning team would simply avoid losing points.
Additionally, each grade would have its ranking. The class with the highest combined score would receive fifty points, the second-place class would retain their points, the third-place class would lose fifty points, and the fourth-place class would be deducted one hundred points.
In simpler terms, even in the best-case scenario, a class could only earn fifty points, while the worst-case could result in a loss of two hundred points.
But for some classes, losing points didn't matter much.
As always, Class D had little left to lose.