Take the class rankings at the start of the school year as an example—the higher the ranking, the more students actively participate in clubs.
Although this conclusion might be somewhat one-sided, as coincidence can't be entirely ruled out, the current situation indeed supports it.
Both Class A and Class B have many students involved in club activities, particularly in cultural clubs.
In contrast, Classes C and D have significantly fewer participants.
Class C isn't too bad; there are a few students in sports clubs. However, in Class D, you could count the club members on one hand.
Most of them are part of the "Go-Home Club"—as soon as the school bell rings, they rush out to have fun.
So, while they might seem to have an impressive lineup with swimming and archery, outside of those, there's not much to show for it.
Because of this, even if it was just a trivial piece of information, Hikigaya wanted to help lighten Horikita's burden.
However, for some reason… after hearing his words, the entire class fell silent.
…What's going on?
At least give me some kind of reaction.
Could it be that these guys want to mock me for meddling but don't have the nerve to say it out loud?
This strange atmosphere suddenly brought up some painful memories for Hikigaya.
Why is it that no matter how lively the conversation is, the moment I speak, everything falls silent?
And this time, I was the one being asked a question!
In the end, it was Horikita who coughed twice, breaking the awkward silence.
"Ahem. You've been a great help, Hikigaya-kun. The information you provided is crucial for this exam."
As she spoke, the others started whispering among themselves.
"As expected of Hikigaya. He even knows stuff like this."
"It must be because he's in the student council… By the way, what's up with him lately? Sometimes he seems so down, and other times he's surprisingly cooperative."
"Who knows?"
"I still prefer Hikigaya-kun with glasses."
"Same here."
These guys were making such a big deal out of nothing that Hikigaya found it baffling. He also ignored the last few comments entirely.
Seriously… This isn't even classified information.
And it doesn't have much to do with the student council either.
Sure, Hikigaya was well-informed about each club due to his student council work, but that didn't mean other classes couldn't gather the same intel.
The simplest method would be to just go to the clubs and ask around, right?
Even though this school has a large number of clubs, some, like the tea ceremony or flower arrangement clubs, were unlikely to be included as exam events.
For sports clubs like basketball or swimming, the top members were practically impossible to keep secret.
As long as you pretended to be a curious student and asked the upperclassmen nicely, they'd usually tell you.
In other words, anyone could gather this information if they put in the effort.
Unfortunately, Class D lacked people willing to take initiative.
No one had the drive.
"…Just to check, does anyone in our class know how to play chess or Go?"
The official list of competition events wouldn't be revealed until next week, but based on Hikigaya's intel, Class A was highly likely to choose those two.
If that were the case, it was necessary to prepare in advance.
However, only one person responded—Miyamoto.
"I've played a bit of Go with my family, but I only know the basic rules. I'm not good at it at all."
"I can play chess, but I have no clue about Go and have never tried it."
Shortly after, Ayanokoji also raised his hand.
"I see… Anyone else?"
Horikita scanned the room, but no one else raised their hand.
Horikita scanned the room, but no one else raised their hand.
It wasn't surprising. While most young people were at least aware of chess and Go, very few had actually played them.
After all, modern entertainment options were simply too abundant.
Unless someone had a genuine interest, people tended to prefer mobile games over board games that looked complex at first glance.
"This is overwhelmingly unfavorable for us," Horikita sighed. "It's fortunate that at least a few people have played before, but if we end up getting those two events drawn…"
She trailed off before shifting topics. "Leaving that aside, what about tennis or volleyball? Does anyone know how to play?"
If chess or Go were drawn, Class D might as well forfeit.
With only two weeks to prepare, unless they had a prodigy among them, there was no way their skills could improve significantly—especially against club members who practiced daily.
That being said, there was no need to voice such discouraging thoughts just yet.
As for tennis and volleyball, this time, quite a few students raised their hands.
Since both were frequently played in PE class, it made sense that more people were familiar with them.
But again, beating opponents who trained day and night would be a tall order.
Just like how Sudou was confident that no amateur could beat him in basketball, other clubs' aces would feel the same about their own sports.
"By the way, Hikigaya-kun."
At that moment, Horikita turned toward him.
"You specifically mentioned the gaming club earlier, which means you think some kind of game-related event might be submitted, right? But what exactly do you mean by 'games'?"
"There are plenty—Momotaro Dentetsu, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and so on. Any of those could be included," Hikigaya answered immediately.
Horikita, however, looked perplexed. "Those are… Would the school even approve them?"
"Of course, they would," Hikigaya replied, exasperated. "Just look up the rules. These games are valid."
Judging by her reaction, she probably had never played—or even heard of—any of them.
Was her level of social isolation this extreme…?
"Besides, didn't Chabashira-sensei say that as long as the game had clear rules to determine a winner, anything was fair game? I bet even rock-paper-scissors would be allowed."
"You're right… This exam is turning out to be even more difficult than I expected," Horikita muttered.
Even someone as well-rounded as her would be helpless if Class A submitted a game from the gaming club.
Fortunately, there was still time.
And thanks to the intel Hikigaya provided, they could start preparing in advance.
This small head start might just determine the outcome of the exam.
Thanks to Hikigaya, Horikita was able to fully dedicate herself to class affairs, meticulously confirming the details of their upcoming project with those involved to ensure the optimal outcome.
With no need for frequent group discussions anymore, their after-school meetings gradually decreased.
Conversely, Class D's dedicated chat group became increasingly active, with everyone shifting their special exam discussions online.
It was quite a clever move—many students weren't comfortable speaking up in front of others, yet they were much more expressive online.
As a result, the exchange of opinions became significantly more frequent than before.
Hikigaya was perfectly fine with this—not because he enjoyed participating in the chat. In fact, ever since he was added, he hadn't sent a single message, remaining completely invisible.
He was just relieved that he no longer had to stay behind for meetings every day.
Now that he didn't have to go to the student council for the time being, who would want to waste precious time on class matters?
After school that day, Hikigaya grabbed his bag and rushed back to the dorm.
Due to… certain unexpected events over the past two days, he had missed a lot of new anime episodes and absolutely needed to catch up.
However, as soon as he stepped out of the school building, he spotted Hashimoto and Albert standing in a nearby corner, seemingly in the middle of something.
…Huh?
What were these two doing together?
Hikigaya rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he was seeing things.
But reality was clear—Hashimoto and Albert were indeed facing each other. Hashimoto was waving his hands as if explaining something, while Albert remained completely silent, simply staring at him.
How should he put it…? It was kind of terrifying.
Hikigaya knew that Albert wasn't the type to randomly attack people, but his sheer size alone was intimidating.
Honestly, anyone would feel at least a little panicked if a nearly two-meter-tall, muscular black guy cornered them.
And Hikigaya had no intention of experiencing that himself.
Without hesitation, he decided to act like he hadn't seen anything and quickly walked away.
Unfortunately, Hashimoto's sharp eyes caught him immediately.
"Yo, Hikigaya! Took you long enough—I've been waiting forever."
"Stop making things up. I don't know you."
Hikigaya instantly saw through his little scheme—clearly, he was just looking for an excuse to escape.
But Hashimoto was nothing if not shameless.
He waved at Albert while grinning. "See? I told you, my friend was waiting for me. So, I'll be going now."
"Uh…" Albert, as usual, said nothing and didn't try to stop him—just silently watched as Hashimoto ran off.
Hikigaya had no idea what was going on.
But in a way, that made the situation even more unsettling.
…So that's how it is.
Realizing something, Hikigaya let out a small sigh.
"Thanks, you really saved me this time," Hashimoto said nonchalantly, patting Hikigaya's shoulder—he didn't look scared at all.
"So?" Hikigaya gave him a side glance. "What kind of trouble did you get into this time? Did you mess up so bad that Ryuuen had to send Albert after you?"
"Wait, hold on! I didn't do anything!" Hashimoto protested.
"Really? I don't believe you."
"What's with that reaction? I'm telling the truth!"
Hashimoto sighed and decided to explain. "I was just about to head back after class when Albert suddenly started approaching me. I tried saying hi, but he ignored me and just kept closing in until I was cornered. Scared me half to death."
"I couldn't tell you were scared at all." Hikigaya raised an eyebrow.
"Haha, I was just pretending to be calm on the outside. Deep down, I was freaking out." Hashimoto laughed it off. "If you hadn't passed by, I wouldn't have known how to get away. Seriously, thanks a lot."
"…Cut the act."
Hikigaya wasn't the type to be easily fooled by a few flattering words and immediately called out the lie.
"You usually like wandering around campus after school, but today you decided to head straight back? What, did you suddenly change personalities?"
"It's just a whim. Can't I go back early once in a while?"
It sounded reasonable, but Hikigaya wasn't buying it.
This guy could lie just as smoothly as Sakayanagi.
"Hmph… If you ask me, you went snooping around Class C and got caught, so Ryuuen sent Albert to warn you."
"No, no, I'd never do something like that," Hashimoto denied, shaking his head furiously.
"Whatever. I don't really care either way."
With that, Hikigaya picked up his pace, trying to get away from him.
But Hashimoto wasn't about to let him go so easily. "Hey, hey, don't walk so fast! I'm not the only one they've been messing with—Class C has been giving our class trouble lately too."
Oh?
Hikigaya chuckled inwardly and waited for him to continue.
"They've been picking fights with us, tailing us, and today was the worst—Albert actually cornered me. Does he not realize how terrifying he looks? Even a gorilla is more handsome than him!"
"…Heh."
Hearing that, Hikigaya couldn't help but chuckle.
"Sounds like Ryuuen's pulling the strings again."
The reasoning behind this isn't hard to guess. By applying continuous pressure, Class B students not only suffer mental strain, making it difficult for them to focus on the exam, but they might also slip up and inadvertently reveal crucial information about the test.
To make up for their lack of combat strength, this is exactly the kind of tactic Ryuuen would resort to.
From this perspective, Ayanokoji choosing to go head-to-head against Class A was not a bad decision.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry about such underhanded tactics.
Even an elite group like Class B was complaining about it—if Class D were targeted in the same way, the damage to their morale would be unimaginable.
"That guy, without a doubt." Hashimoto sighed as if he had a headache. "Hey, Hikigaya, you're in the student council, right? Can't you do something to stop them?"
"Katsuragi is in the student council too. Go ask him."
"But he said that Class C's guys aren't technically breaking any school rules, so he can't do anything. All he did was warn us not to engage with them."
"Well, if that's what he said, then just follow his advice."
It might sound cowardly, but Katsuragi's words were undoubtedly correct.
When faced with this kind of petty provocation, the only real option was to endure it.
A thug isn't scary—what's scary is a thug who understands the rules.
Many businesses dealing with gang-related trouble find that even calling the police doesn't help. In the end, they often have no choice but to compromise.
After all, the other party might understand the law even better than the police.
"Anyway, just put up with it for now. It'll be over once the exam ends," Hikigaya offered, his words hardly comforting.
"Don't be so cold." Hashimoto pressed on. "Helping us would benefit you too, right? If we win this exam, that just pushes your class closer to Class C."
Hikigaya chuckled. "Even ignoring the fact that I don't care about class rankings, if we're talking about Class D's interests, then having your class lose would actually be more beneficial for us."
"Huh? Why?"
"It's simple. Your class is much harder to deal with than Class C."
For Class D, there were plenty of opportunities to defeat Class C.
But against Class B? That was a different story. Hikigaya had no real confidence—at least not in a direct confrontation.
Whether they moved up to Class C didn't really matter. The only true victory was graduating as Class A.
"Besides, why are you coming to me with this? Go talk to Sakayanagi."
"I'd love to." Hashimoto groaned. "But ever since… ever since you 'domestically abused' her, she's been completely out of it. She hasn't participated in any discussions about this exam. She just disappears after school."
That lined up with what Kamuro had told him.
…Wait, what the hell does he mean by 'domestic abuse'?
I saved her from expulsion, for crying out loud!
Then again, from a certain perspective, that might've been the greatest humiliation for Sakayanagi… Whatever. She brought this upon herself.
"This isn't funny. Anyway, I don't have a solution for you. Just treat this as an exercise in patience."
"Come on…"
Hashimoto let out a bitter laugh, but then his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had just thought of something.
"Hikigaya, I already mentioned that I'm not the only one. There are others in my class being harassed by Class C."
"That's got nothing to do with me."
Even if Class B and Class D weren't enemies in this exam, Hikigaya had no reason to help them.
More importantly, he had no interest in getting involved.
"Heh, don't be so quick to brush me off. Just hear me out."
For some reason, a confident smirk spread across Hashimoto's face, making Hikigaya feel slightly uneasy.
"One of those people being harassed is Kamuro."
"…You're lying."
"What reason would I have to lie?"
Seeing the slight change in Hikigaya's expression, Hashimoto exaggeratedly spread his hands.
"It's Ibuki, you know? That tomboy can fight. Kamuro's put up with it for now, but I get the feeling those two are going to end up throwing hands sooner or later."
"…I see. Let me think about it."
Seeing Hikigaya fall into thought, Hashimoto wisely remained silent, though inwardly, he couldn't help but grumble.
Wow, this guy really does abandon his friends the moment a girl is involved.
I've been talking this whole time, and all I got was a "not my problem." But the moment I mentioned Kamuro, he suddenly started thinking of a plan.
No wonder he even turned down Ichinose's confession.
Speaking of which, I heard he started wearing glasses the other day, and now a bunch of girls are talking about him. But today, he's not wearing them again. What's up with that?
While Hashimoto was lost in thought, Hikigaya finally spoke up.
"I think… well, this is just my opinion, but since Ryuuen's goal is to figure out which five events you've picked as your 'main' ones, why not just tell them?"