Chapter 3 - Hikigaya Loyalty
"The announcement just now said there's a club recruitment event at the gym after school. Want to go with everyone, Hikigaya-kun?"
"Sorry, I don't really like moving around with large groups of people."
"I see. I'll keep that in mind next time."
Don't say it like that, it sounds like I did something wrong…
Faced with the gentle smile of Hirata Yousuke, Hikigaya felt a bit annoyed. He picked up his school bag and headed out of the classroom.
Hirata Yousuke—a handsome and refined guy who leads his classmates to be united and friendly with his nice-guy persona—had already organized the Class D introductions.
Even though it was just the second day after the opening ceremony, and not even two days after classes started, a good number of girls had already gathered around him.
"Ugh, what's with that arrogant attitude?"
"Just ignore him, Hirata-kun..."
Hey hey, I heard that, you know. Without breaking stride, Hikigaya continued on toward the gym. Such childish mockery was nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.
Having secured Kushida as a card in advance, he now had more time to tackle things he had originally planned to postpone—like joining the student council. He could do that today.
The student council of Advanced Nurturing High School wielded more authority than at any other school. Not only did it have the power to mediate disputes among students, but it could also propose rule changes in the special exams that decided class rankings.
The simplest example of the council's power was that it could, without prior notification to the school, issue expulsion orders to students who made serious mistakes.
Finding a quiet corner in the gym, Hikigaya waited until the end of the student council president Horikita Manabu's recruitment speech, then intercepted him and the student council secretary Tachibana Akane outside the gym.
"I'm Hikigaya Hachiman from Class 1-D. I want to join the student council," Hikigaya said, locking eyes with Horikita Manabu's sharp gaze without flinching.
"You may submit an application."
"Applications from Class D probably won't even make it to your desk, senpai."
"Don't worry, I treat all first-years equally."
"That makes it worse. I want to be special. If I go through the trouble of applying only to be rejected with a 'Thanks for your interest,' I'll be quite disheartened."
Based on previously known information, Horikita Manabu's student council had rejected all first-year applications—even those from students he considered outstanding. Judging from a previous school-wide special exam, where the second-year vice president Nagumo Miyabi tried to get Horikita's classmate Tachibana Akane expelled, perhaps some estrangement had developed between them.
"Then prove yourself to me, Hikigaya Hachiman." Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses and gestured to silence Tachibana Akane, who had a displeased look and seemed about to speak.
"There seemed to be fewer second-year students at the opening ceremony. Vice President Nagumo really is something else." Horikita Manabu's expression remained as calm as ever, and Hikigaya couldn't glean anything useful from it.
"But I think you're more impressive, Horikita-senpai. Class 3-A hasn't had a single dropout so far—the only upperclass class with perfect retention."
"Interesting. Tachibana, send him a student council invitation via phone." Horikita glanced at Tachibana Akane, the purple-haired girl with two buns on her head, who quickly acknowledged the command.
The cold and stern student council president, the adorable girl with eyes full of admiration—Hikigaya felt like he had stepped into a romantic comedy with a domineering CEO.
"I heard the student council still has an opening for a secretary." Being a regular member wasn't enough for him.
To wrest decision-making power from Class B, he first had to prove his abilities. In a situation where every other first-year had failed, securing the secretary position would be undeniable proof of his strength.
"Hikigaya, are you serious? The student council at this school isn't as simple as you think." Tachibana Akane's displeasure was written all over her face—though Hikigaya still found her quite cute.
Tachibana's height was about the same as his little sister Komachi, and her face was a bit similar too. She was so cute that Hikigaya felt like patting her on the head.
"This school's personal point system says you can buy anything." Hikigaya nodded to Tachibana and looked at Horikita. "Please sell me the secretary position."
"Wow, you're seriously the worst. The president would never—"
"I can. If you produce 100,000 personal points now, I don't mind selling the position to you," Horikita Manabu cut her off and held out his phone, displaying a payment QR code.
"Thank you for your generosity, President. As expected of the senpai I respect most."
Hikigaya took out his phone and scanned the code without hesitation. Borrowing 50,000 points from Kushida the night before had paid off. He had expected the cost to be over a million, so Horikita must've given him a steep discount.
Such a great leader was hard to find even with a lantern. Hikigaya decided he had to properly express his undying loyalty to Horikita Manabu.
Recalling a scene from a Korean movie where someone pledged loyalty, Hikigaya stood at attention with his legs together, raised his right hand, fingers pressed to his temple, and shouted:
"LOY! AL! TY!"
"..."
"..."
From Horikita Manabu's blank expression, Hikigaya could tell he was speechless. Tachibana Akane also looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Let's go, Tachibana."
"Y-yes."
What the hell am I doing… Hikigaya thought as he watched the two of them walk away. Only after their footsteps had faded did he lower his raised hand and look up at the sky.
The weather's really nice today. A perfect day for someone to be expelled.
"What were you just doing?" A voice with a hint of chill interrupted Hikigaya's delusion.
.
.
.
Horikita Suzune was in a great mood today. On stage, she had seen her older brother for the first time in two years since entering this school. Even after two years, her brother—now student council president—was still the aloof and excellent person she remembered.
Back in middle school, she had been distanced by her brother, but she believed it was because she wasn't good enough to stand beside him. Her brother couldn't be wrong. As long as she became excellent, he would surely acknowledge her.
After basking in the praise her brother received from others in the gym, Horikita Suzune had walked out with her head held high—only to see her classmate from afar speaking to her brother, even making a strange gesture while shouting loudly.
The word "loyalty" had been loud enough for her to hear. As someone who excelled in Japanese, she understood the word—but couldn't make sense of it coming from that particular classmate.
Full of confusion, she approached the inconspicuous, gloomy-looking Hikigaya.
"I was praying. You heard nothing."
"Actually, I did, Loyalty-kun."
"..."
Special Hikki Skill: Dead Fish Eyes Beam!
Hikigaya activated his signature skill.
"Hm?" Horikita Suzune raised two fingers and squinted slightly—Hikigaya immediately understood what she meant.
"I just got the student council secretary position from your brother," he said, not caring about secrecy.