Hikigaya looked up. What met his eyes was a girl with long black hair, an exquisite face, and skin as fair as a baby's. Only those purple-red eyes made one feel a hint of chill.
"I touched this bottle of shampoo first. You are slower than me by about 0.5 seconds, so this bottle of shampoo should belong to me."
The girl's face was cold and her tone flat, as if she wasn't arguing but stating an objective fact.
"Is... is that so? Sorry." Hikigaya accidentally apologized, quickly letting go with his right hand to turn and grab another bottle.
What is this? Too scary.
He felt like he was going to be frozen solid for a moment just now. And there are so many more next to it, is it necessary?
However, the other party didn't actually despise the thing he had touched. If it were his middle school self, he would probably be moved to tears. Maybe she's actually a decent person.
Hikigaya didn't think too much about it. He continued taking several towels and toothbrushes and then turned to leave.
"Wait!" the girl suddenly spoke.
"Um, is there something?" Hikigaya turned back, a bit confused. He shouldn't have taken anything strange, right? He peeked at his shopping basket with a bit of self-doubt.
"I see you only chose free daily necessities and supplies." The girl carried her shopping basket to him, stopping at a distance of one step. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be scrutinizing something: "Why?"
"Uh... as for why, because I want to save some points?" Hikigaya swallowed hard.
What is with this person? Her speaking tone is as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, just like those women who hated him in the past. Too scary.
"Save points?" The girl was somewhat puzzled. "Looking at what you chose, you should be a freshman like me. The school gave everyone 100,000 points. It's completely enough to use. There should be no need to save."
"Didn't you also pick all free items?" Hikigaya was speechless. How do you have the nerve to talk about me?
"I am me, you are you. They cannot be mentioned in the same breath." The girl looked the man in front of her up and down, saying flatly: "You look like the type who is content with the status quo, lacks ambition, and usually spends money lavishly. Why would you want to save points now?"
"..." Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
This person is really excessive. He took back his statement about her being a "good person." To give such a blunt evaluation to someone met for the first time—her personality was wretched to the extreme.
However... it was all the truth. Although he had no requirements for material life, if it weren't for saving 20 million points, he indeed was the type to spend lavishly and live paycheck to paycheck.
Are people in this school all this excellent? She actually saw through his essence at a glance.
As for why he was saving points, it wasn't that he couldn't tell her, but strictly speaking, the relationship between classes in this school is one of competition.
By the way, who exactly is this person? He couldn't even recognize everyone in his own class, let alone the person in front of him.
"By the way, who are you?" Hikigaya gathered his courage and spoke in an unfriendly tone, hoping she would back off. He had no obligation to answer her, anyway.
"Year 1 Class D, Horikita Suzune!"
"Ah, oh, I am Year 1 Class B, Hikigaya Hachiman."
"I didn't ask your name. What about the answer from just now?" Horikita Suzune said flatly.
This person is really excessive. When the other party introduces themselves, exchanging names is basic etiquette.
"Sorry, since you are from Class D, I can't tell you." Hikigaya was speechless. After saying that, he turned to leave.
By the way, she was standing more than a meter away and knew how to maintain social distance, which actually made him feel much more at ease. Should he thank her? Or was it just that she didn't want to get close to him? Then forget the thanks.
"Wait." Horikita Suzune instantly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.
"Eek." Hikigaya snapped his head back, his face turning red and a strange sound escaping his mouth.
This kind of pure action could make a boy misunderstand and eventually lead to their doom. If you understand, from now on, you must ensure no physical contact, no sitting on a boy's desk after class, and don't ask boys to borrow things if you forget them. Understand?
"Is there anything else?" Hikigaya said helplessly. By the way, this person's strength is so great; it feels even stronger than his. Is she really a girl?
Or is it that the people in this school are truly all this excellent? Whether it's Ichinose, Kanzaki, Shibata, or the Horikita Suzune in front of him, they are all so excellent it makes him feel a bit inferior. Even if he goes all out, he believes expulsion is only a matter of time. Competing with these people is simply impossible.
"Because I'm Class D, you can't tell me?" Horikita Suzune's snow-white hand tightened a bit more, as if she had caught a key point. She said solemnly: "What exactly does that mean? Please explain properly."
Excessive! This person definitely has no friends!
"It means what it says. You're free to think what you want," Hikigaya imitated Hoshinomiya's tone, having no intention of humoring her. "Can you please let go?"
"I see. Good, I understand."
What? Is she going to hit me? Hikigaya swallowed silently. This is too scary.
"What do I have to do for you to tell me?" Horikita Suzune released her hand and asked with burning eyes.
Hikigaya looked at the girl in front of him with some helplessness. It seemed she really wanted to know. Strictly speaking, this wasn't some incredible intel; the whole school would probably know in a while anyway. But after all, classes are in a competitive relationship. It felt a bit bad to collude with the enemy.
"You should go ask your homeroom teacher." Hikigaya raised his hand as a gesture and turned to leave. It was the limit of what he could do.
By the way, why must she ask him? Can't she just ask the upperclassmen? Even if there are rule restrictions, she could ask a teacher. Isn't it common sense to find a teacher if there's a problem?
He just didn't know that most people couldn't even figure out what specifically to ask.
Horikita Suzune bit her lip unwillingly. If she knew what to ask, she would have asked already.
"I understand. How about 20,000 points? Tell me everything you know."
Hearing this, Hikigaya stopped. Hmm.
He already had conjectures about the Class Points. Looking at Class D's performance at the entrance ceremony just now, they were not Class B's match at all.
The intel wasn't that important. Exchanging intel for some individual points didn't seem to be a problem. By the way, he just realized—intel can actually be sold for money! It's just that it was a bit impossible for him to go and negotiate with people. Just thinking about it felt awkwardly unbearable.
But is 20,000 too little? Since someone is buying, it should be fine to sell for a bit more.
"25,000!" Hikigaya immediately turned back and said, "I'll tell you for 25,000!"
"Deal!"
"Wait, wait, I said it wrong. 30,000. It's 30,000."
"Deal!"
"Wait..."
"30,000 is my limit. Information right at the start of school cannot possibly have a value greater than this."
"I... I see..." Hikigaya said awkwardly.
What she said made sense. If his intel didn't get the class's approval, it really didn't have much value. But human laziness and habits are not things that can be changed in a day. Given Class D's performance just now, it felt like it would be a waste of effort even if Horikita Suzune knew.
"Should I say it here?" Hikigaya looked around. There were quite a few people in the convenience store. Who would let these guys benefit for free?
"The information comes from you. Where do you think is appropriate to talk?" Horikita Suzune crossed her arms, not meaning anything by it.
"Let's find a place where no one is around," Hikigaya said dismissively. "I still have something to do. Please wait for me for a moment."
"No problem." Horikita Suzune had no objection, though she felt some doubt inside. Could a man like this, who spoke nonsense and loved petty advantages, really know any valid information?
However, whether the information was worth 30,000 depended entirely on her judgment. The man in front of her seemed quite easy to bully.