Chapter 7: "You're Right, But That's Just Hikigaya Hachiman…"
Hikigaya Hachiman was now facing a huge problem— No, this was quite literally the biggest problem he had ever faced.
…It felt like being hit by an exploding snowball the moment it touched a wall.
From just reading the pamphlet, Advanced Nurturing High School seemed like a dream school written in fantasy: No tuition or boarding fees, 100,000 points granted upon enrollment, and complete freedom to choose any university or company after graduation…
However, this school enforced a strict full-boarding system—students were not allowed to leave the campus.
If he couldn't see his little sister, it didn't matter if they gave out 100,000 points a day— It was pointless!!
Wait a second… Did he just hesitate for a moment there? Maybe his love for his sister wasn't quite strong enough after all.
Huh? Points…
In the silence of the classroom, as everyone was deep in thought, Hikigaya suddenly stood up.
With his eyes shining, he stared straight at Mashima-sensei and asked:
"Sensei, how many points would it take to buy permission to leave the school?"
After all, the teacher had just said it— "As long as it exists within the school system, you can buy anything." Then surely, even permission to leave the school could be bought with points.
"Hm? Interesting question." Mashima-sensei frowned and turned his sharp gaze to the gloomy boy in the corner. "And why exactly are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Obviously to see my beloved little sister again!"
—Though Hikigaya had high specs, everyone turned to look at him with visible discomfort. It might be better not to say that out loud, even if it was the truth.
"Uhh, I mean, kind of…" Hikigaya stammered, trying to dodge the topic.
"Never mind," Mashima-sensei sighed, but still gave him an answer. "Though I don't understand your obsession, I can tell you it would cost at least 500,000 points."
Alright. New goal: survive for five months without food or water. Komachi, wait for me!
Now satisfied with Mashima-sensei's answer, Hikigaya sat back down, content.
"Ehh—?!" The rest of Class A gasped in shock at the conversation.
So these points… not only could they be used to buy daily necessities— They could even bend the school's rules? You could literally purchase permissions that went directly against school regulations?
Inspired by this, both Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita turned to glance at the guy in the corner, who was now silently grinning to himself, probably imagining his "One True Sister" scenario again.
'It's probably something dumb like 'Little sisters are the best!' again…'
In that moment, the ice queen and the tiny tyrant shared the exact same thought.
Hikigaya Hachiman— A boy with incredible insight far beyond the average person— But also an inflexible siscon with a twisted personality.
"Then, Mashima-sensei, how many points would it take to make you 'able to answer' us?" Immediately after Hikigaya's question, Yukinoshita stood up and asked her own. Though she was simply asking the teacher a question, her demeanor felt more like she was declaring open war.
To Yukinoshita, you can't plan a strategy without first identifying the problem.
100,000 points sounded like a lot. But if the school stopped granting more next month, then even if they spent wisely, it'd only last about three months.
But if they could gather more information about the point system— They might discover ways to earn even more points.
That's right. If "we can't answer that," then we'll use points to make them talk.
—Kind of sounds like bribery, doesn't it?
"If everyone chips in some points together, we could uncover the truth the school's hiding. And if we get information the other classes don't have, we might even gain an early advantage." Sakayanagi's voice was soft, gently persuading the others.
Sakayanagi, are you trying to delay my reunion with Komachi too?! Let me make this clear—I'm not giving up a single point! I need every one of them to go see my sister!
Hikigaya shot Sakayanagi a fierce glare. After all, wild beasts kill with their eyes.
Grrrrrrrr…
Sakayanagi glanced at Hikigaya with an amused smile.
Hikigaya crossed his arms. Hikigaya hung his head. Hikigaya gave up.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he opened his student ID app, feeling a dull pain in his chest— As if somewhere far away, his sister was waving him goodbye.
"…Right. Mashima-sensei, if we pool our points together, that should be enough to get the information, right?" "I'll contribute points too." "Me too!"
The rest of Class A quickly caught on and opened their student ID apps.
"Two million points." Mashima-sensei, with a mix of admiration and helplessness, gave a specific number after a moment of careful calculation.
To uncover the trap the school had laid out on the very first day of school, and for the entire class to unite and agree to pay for the truth— Such a group of students had never appeared in his career. Possibly not even once since the school was founded.
This year's Class A is extraordinarily capable.
Despite the huge number of points, everyone grew excited. After all, it showed just how important the hidden rules really were.
Split among everyone, it only took 50,000 points each to discover the school's truth—a great deal.
Soon, the students of Class A scanned the payment code Mashima-sensei displayed and completed the transaction.
After confirming the funds had been received, Mashima-sensei finally spoke the truth:
As the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, had stated— This school operates on pure meritocracy. Everything is determined by ability.
Admission was decided through a composite score, combining written tests, interviews, middle school records, and more. Students were sorted into classes from highest to lowest: Class A at the top.
In fact, appearance and demeanor during the interview weighed more heavily than written scores.
Those who performed well and had no blemishes on their record were placed in Class A. Those with poor performance or problematic histories were dumped into Class D.
In short, the difference in ability was built-in from the start.
Top talent is concentrated in Class A, nurtured to become society's elite. Office-worker material ends up in Class B. Sociable types go to Class C. And Class D… It's a dumping ground for all the rejects and troublemakers.
Also, the school's 100% graduation and job placement rate—was true.
But…
At graduation, Classes B, C, and D would be discarded, issued a diploma from a different high school.
Only students who graduate from Class A after three years get the promised elite treatment.
How harshly realistic and cruel.
But there was still one thing that puzzled Hikigaya.
Being recognized as an exceptional student by the school was certainly a good feeling— But he still couldn't understand why his own evaluation had been so high.
If appearance mattered so much, then why was he, constantly being called "dead fish eyes" by Komachi, assigned to Class A?
Even if he had aced the written and oral exams by some miracle, being placed in another class should still have been possible. After all, his middle school teacher had once openly called him, "The guy everyone hates—Hikigaya! (lol)"
…Could it be because he wore glasses?
Hikigaya always avoided eye contact, so during the interview, he wore black-rimmed glasses to hide his "rotten" eyes— and to avoid looking like a sketchy intruder.
Looking back, the female interviewer that day had seemed a little off…
Could it be that her slip-up was the reason he got placed in Class A?
He was grateful, sure, but he really hoped she'd do her job properly—
Because if a few more useless guys like him ended up in Class A, someone's definitely getting fired.