Chapter 078: The Good News Brought by Kushida!
That afternoon, after school.
"Katsuragi, there's a new announcement on the bulletin board."
In Class 1-A, the last period of the afternoon was chemistry, and Katsuragi was still sitting in his seat.
Most of the other students in Class A had already left the classroom.
Some headed to the cafeteria, while others went to their club activities.
As students of Class A, they were essentially model students—passionate about studying, dedicated to their clubs, and, of course, eager to maintain their position in the class.
Thus, they were actively gathering all sorts of information.
However, there was an issue within Class A—Katsuragi had noticed that tensions between the two factions in the class were growing.
Even the seating arrangements had visibly split apart.
The class was now divided into the Katsuragi faction and the Sakayanagi faction.
And this was definitely not a good thing.
At that moment, one of Katsuragi's supporters, Totsuka Yahiko, jogged over to report some news.
"The student council member list?" Katsuragi asked.
The student council in this school held considerable authority. It was said that the student council president even had a certain level of influence over the special exams held every month.
And wasn't that terrifying?
If a biased student council president deliberately targeted Class A, the pressure on them would skyrocket.
Of course, such cases were rare—after all, someone with ulterior motives wouldn't be able to climb to the position of student council president in the first place.
But still…
The release of the new student council roster was significant.
"It seems a new member has been added—and it's a first-year student," Totsuka Yahiko said excitedly. "So, could it be that you joined the student council, Katsuragi?"
"About that…"
Katsuragi began to speak, wanting to correct Yahiko's assumption. After all, his application to the student council had already been rejected by the president.
Yahiko knew this.
But even so, he probably still hoped that maybe—
Yahiko admired him almost fanatically.
That kind of loyalty wasn't unpleasant, but Katsuragi still believed it was necessary to remain level-headed.
At that moment—
Another student from Class A spoke up.
"Isn't this interesting? Katsuragi didn't join the student council, but someone else did instead."
The one who spoke had beautiful blonde hair, a tall and slender figure—Class A's popular guy.
Hashimoto Masayoshi.
"Hashimoto!"
Totsuka Yahiko immediately glared at Hashimoto.
Hashimoto had initially been an early supporter of the Katsuragi faction, but after it was revealed that he also had ties to the Sakayanagi faction—
He had even moved his desk over to the Sakayanagi side.
Yahiko immediately understood.
So this was a traitor of the Katsuragi faction.
And now, he was deliberately trying to provoke Katsuragi.
"I'm not wrong, though," Hashimoto said. "I got the information—the new student council member is a first-year from Class C."
"First-year Class C… you mean the former Class D?" Yahiko frowned. "That class was a complete mess, but they moved up because of Ryuen's downfall. They just got lucky."
"Yahiko, don't say that," Katsuragi interjected, cutting him off.
For one, speaking ill of others wasn't the conduct of an exemplary Class A student.
But more importantly—he had been thinking deeply about something.
There had been rumors.
Sakayanagi Arisu had been frequently seen having meals with a certain male student from Class C.
That student was—
Hikigaya Hachiman.
Yes.
Katsuragi had already memorized this name.
And it wasn't just Sakayanagi who had taken notice of this student.
Even the student council president had extended an invitation to him.
So—
Could it be that the reason Ryuen's attack on Class D had failed…
Was because of this Hikigaya Hachiman?
If so—
"Sakayanagi, is this the reason you were paying attention to Hikigaya?" Katsuragi asked.
Now that a new student council member had been announced, it meant Hikigaya had ultimately declined the offer to join, right?
"What do you think?" Sakayanagi Arisu, who was still in the classroom, responded.
"The announcement says the newly appointed student council member is a first-year from Class D named Karuizawa Kei," a student who had already checked the bulletin board reported.
"..." Katsuragi.
Huh.
So Hikigaya had actually turned down the offer to become the student council secretary. Instead, he had pushed for someone from his own class to join—but that only got them a position as a disciplinary committee member.
It didn't make sense.
Compared to a low-tier position like a disciplinary committee member, the role of secretary was obviously far more valuable.
So why?
"Heh—" Sakayanagi Arisu gripped her cane and stood up. Then, she glanced toward Kamuro.
"..." Kamuro.
Understanding the silent command, Kamuro picked up Sakayanagi's bag along with her own.
Having served Sakayanagi for a month, Kamuro had learned to anticipate her intentions. Right now, Sakayanagi probably found the name "Karuizawa Kei" unfamiliar and wanted Kamuro to investigate.
What a hassle—always making others do her work.
.
.
.
Meanwhile.
At the same time after school.
Many students from Class C were still in the classroom.
After a month, only four students had joined clubs:
• Hirata, who, as the class's social leader, had to familiarize himself with the upperclassmen.
•
• Onodera, who was good at track and field but had joined the swimming club instead.
•
• Miyake Akito, who didn't seem interested in much but turned out to be surprisingly skilled in archery.
•
• Sudo, who, after resolving the previous fight incident, had regained his position as a regular member of the basketball team.
•
Most of the others were part of the "go-home club."
Hachiman and Horikita Suzune were no exception.
However, some students had gone downstairs and seen the bulletin board.
"Eh!?"
"She got invited to the student council!?"
"Congrats, congrats!"
"Karuizawa, that's amazing!"
A group of girls could be seen surrounding Karuizawa Kei, congratulating her.
After spending a month at the school, they all understood how prestigious it was to become a student council member.
"Oh, it's nothing… I just got lucky and was randomly chosen," Karuizawa responded vaguely.
Even though her explanation was questionable, her classmates didn't overthink it.
This solidified her status as the leader of the girls.
She now had an honor that set her apart from the rest—a student council position.
And that was the solution.
Karuizawa had once said that she came to this school seeking a stable life, to avoid being bullied. So she played the role of the kind of person she used to hate.
Following that strategy—this would be her next buff.
Strengthening her gyaru image in a more positive light.
At the same time, since she was now part of the student council, the issue with Manabe could be completely dealt with.
After all—
Would you really want to go against a student council member? You'd have to be out of your mind.
Faced with this situation—
"Looks like you've secured her," Horikita Suzune said.
She knew Hachiman had been trying to bring Karuizawa into his circle as an ally for class advancement.
And now that Karuizawa had accepted the student council position, it meant she was officially on board.
"Eh."
But even though he had accomplished something, Hachiman let out a small sigh.
"Horikita, do I really come off as someone who just deals with everyone's problems?" Hachiman asked.
From this whole Karuizawa situation, it was clear—Hirata was supposed to suggest a reliable candidate.
But instead, Hirata kept bringing problem children to him.
Every time he solved one of their issues, he ended up gaining another ally.
But seriously—
Hirata, you're taking the easy way out! Because all these troublesome classmates came running to him for help instead.
"..." Horikita Suzune.
Hachiman's words seemed to make her pause for a moment.
Because—
Wasn't that exactly the kind of person he was?
At the very least, Horikita had watched him resolve several issues firsthand. And even her older brother had acknowledged him.
Beep beep!
At that moment, Hachiman's phone vibrated.
He had received a message.
[Got the intel.] - Kushida
"It's here!"
Seeing the message, Hachiman immediately perked up. "The key to this exam."
.
.
.
He and Horikita headed to the cafeteria to meet Kushida.
It wasn't that he had to bring Horikita everywhere—rather, Kushida was still working on improving her relationship with Horikita.
Giving Kushida some motivation would make her put in even more effort.
Kushida was already waiting in the cafeteria.
The three of them found an empty table, away from the crowd.
Since it was still early for dinner, the cafeteria was mostly empty.
They were sitting in a corner.
Kushida lightly clenched the fingers of her left hand and spoke.
"I've been trying to get in touch with upperclassmen these past few days."
"And I finally managed to integrate into a small circle," she continued, speaking casually about something most people wouldn't be able to do.
"I heard this from a senior: our exam papers have always been reused from previous years. That means the second- and third-year students already have the exact test we're about to take."
"So, this time, it's likely the same."
"Their year, and the year before that, all took the same exams. The papers were just passed down."
After revealing this crucial piece of information, Kushida turned to look at Hachiman and Horikita Suzune.
Naturally, since Horikita was her primary target, she looked at her first.
However, Horikita's expression remained unchanged.
But—
Internally, she was completely shaken.
Was this really happening?
"The school actually allows students to cheat openly?" Horikita asked.
As an academic overachiever, she was shocked. She even found it unfair.
"..." Hachiman.
"A normal test is meant to assess what we've learned. But—"
"The special exams in this school can't be understood with common sense," Hachiman said. "Maybe they're designed to train us into the kind of people society needs."
"So, the first exam after entering school might actually be testing whether we can figure out the true nature of this place."
"And even if I hadn't tampered with the surveillance cameras, causing our class's evaluation points to be exposed, and even if the teachers hadn't had to explain the rules of the school ahead of time, they would've informed us about this on the first of the month anyway."
"In other words, they're guiding us not to have rigid thinking."
If what Kushida said was true—
If the exam papers were reused from previous years, then just memorizing the answers would be enough to pass!
And that would be the key to clearing this test.
With this in mind, they could approach the upperclassmen and acquire the test papers.
However—
"Just to confirm," Hachiman said. "Kushida, which grade and class is this senior you contacted from?"
"Third-year, Class D. Is there a problem?" Kushida asked.
Yeah.
Of course, there's a problem.
"Did she name a price?" Hachiman asked.
"Eh? How did you know? She said if we wanted it, she'd sell it for just 40,000 points."
40,000 points.
So, she was selling the papers.
That made a lot of sense.
Because students in third-year Class D were poor. They had little money and were stuck eating those awful mountain vegetable meals. Of course, they'd want to earn some extra cash.
That also meant that buying and selling test papers among students was considered acceptable at this school.
Still—
"Let's contact Ichinose first," Hachiman said. "Their class has also contributed to this test."
In other words, information sharing.
"Got it, got it."
Kushida got to work but, just as she was about to take out her phone, she put it away again.
Because—Ichinose Hanabi was already in the cafeteria.
"Ichinose!"
"Kushida."
From a distance, Kushida waved enthusiastically and walked toward her with a bright smile.
"What a coincidence."
Kushida's expression was full of joy, with a hint of relief. "I'm so glad we ran into each other here, Ichinose."
"Eh? Is something wrong?"
Ichinose looked a little surprised and asked softly.
"Um, it's like this."
Kushida paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts, then whispered, "I got some information from a senior. Apparently, this time's exam is actually a reused test from previous years. So, the second- and third-year students still have the same test papers. I thought this might help Class B, so I rushed over to tell you."
"I see."
Ichinose nodded slightly, but her expression didn't change much.
"I already knew about that, actually. In fact, I was thinking about telling you guys as well."
Ichinose nodded again, her face showing a sweet smile. "But still, thanks for letting me know, Kushida."
"Eh? You already knew?"
Kushida looked surprised. How did Ichinose find out?
"Well, a senior from the student council told me."
Seeing Kushida's reaction, Ichinose hesitated for a moment before whispering, "That senior wants me to join the student council and help with things. So, he shared this information with me."
"I see."
Kushida nodded and smiled sweetly.
She had been unsure whether the information was true, but now that Ichinose confirmed it came from a student council member—
It was almost certainly real.
However, Hachiman was deep in thought.
Because any student council senior who would willingly give Ichinose such information—
Probably had an ulterior motive.
After all, they were all taking the same written exam.
Yet, Horikita's older brother—who was also experienced and had a close connection—had said nothing.
So, that student council senior might have their own agenda.