Since the enemy was that fake esper, Hikigaya returned to the dormitory to prepare for the birth ceremony of the God of MAX Coffee before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, to avoid that "lunatic," he decided to get up ten minutes early, only to encounter "Flying-Fish Head" again.
Looking at the "Flying-Fish Head" still standing outside the elevator, Hikigaya fell into silence once more.
He couldn't help but suspect in his heart:
This guy is doing it on purpose, right?
Right?
Definitely, right?
Could he have some designs on me?
To be honest,
Having originally taken pride in his grades, they seemed not even worth mentioning at this school; Hikigaya truly had no self-confidence. The only thing worth praising was probably this above-average face of his.
Could it be...
How terrifying...
Is society really this dangerous?
On the opposite side,
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was already certain—he was being watched. He was definitely being watched. The person opposite him was absolutely someone with special fetishes.
How terrifying. He must avoid this guy as much as possible.
At this moment, Hikigaya gave another slight nod. Ayanokouji nodded back and walked to the other side, further away than yesterday. Hikigaya couldn't help but glance sideways.
What does this guy mean? Does he not want to be in the same elevator as him? Whatever, that's great; he thought he was being targeted by some pervert.
Feeling the gaze of those dead-fish eyes, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka felt a bit creeped out; this should clearly express his rejection.
Could this guy be angry?
The two left the elevator.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka hung back behind him the whole time, making Hikigaya suspect once more if this guy was a pervert, following him all the way to school.
Class 1-B.
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun~"
"Good morning, Hikigaya-kun. How did you sleep yesterday? You won't be dozing off today, right? Haha."
"Well, if you have any troubles, you can tell me anytime."
As soon as he stepped into the classroom, quite a few people greeted him. Hikigaya forced a smile and nodded slightly in response before returning to his seat.
What is wrong with these people? They're overly enthusiastic.
By the way, that last person didn't intend to help at all; rather, they just wanted to make fun of him.
Little Blackie, don't hide—I'm talking about you!
He saw through No-Yuki's fake smile at a single glance.
In his mind, he could even hear the other person's disgusted tone: I'm just joking, don't actually come looking for me.
As the bell rang for class, the students returned to their respective seats.
Under the pressure from "Little White," he no longer dozed off; otherwise, the other party might actually poke him to death.
However, Little White seemed to truly have a habit of dropping things.
Based on observation, the reason was that this guy was 100% daydreaming in class, with most of his attention focused on Ichinose.
This won't do, Little White.
Improper relationships between men and women are forbidden.
Hmm?
If it's girl-on-girl, would it be okay?
With all sorts of wild thoughts in his head, time flew by, and the morning quickly passed.
During breaks, Ichinose would always bring a few friends over to chat with him. Hikigaya only responded with awkward smiles and nods.
"Hikigaya-kun, shall we go have lunch together?"
Looking at "Little Black," "Little White," Ichinose, Shibata, and some people he didn't recognize in front of him, Hikigaya could only nod awkwardly.
These people were simply over-enthusiastic.
Come to think of it, he hadn't even spoken to most of them and didn't even know their names.
However.
It seemed like no one had ever gotten his name wrong.
As expected of a nationally renowned high school; they were all excessively outstanding.
Cafeteria. This was his first time coming to the cafeteria.
Aside from being more luxurious, it was no different from an ordinary cafeteria.
The most important thing was...
There was actually a free Wild Vegetable Set Meal.
Finally, he didn't have to eat toast and cup noodles.
That's great~
Without a second thought, he chose the Wild Vegetable Set.
His taste buds only required MAX Coffee; that's right, he was a man determined to become Optimus Prime!
Fortunately.
The cafeteria tables sat four people.
Ichinose, the hero Kanzaki, and the "normie" Shibata sat beside him, while the others reluctantly chose other empty seats.
"Although we said it's best to save points..."
Shibata looked at Hikigaya, who was chewing on wild vegetables, and said with some confusion:
"But there's no need to save this much. I've heard the Wild Vegetable Set doesn't taste very good. Hikigaya-kun, you could choose the more delicious and nutritious B or C sets."
"Hmm? Aren't personal points better the more you have?"
Hikigaya responded absent-mindedly, completely unconcerned with the taste.
As long as he had MAX Coffee, he could survive staunchly; this was a superpower only possessed by the chosen ones.
Actually, these wild vegetables were bitter, astringent, and tasted too terrible. They weren't even as good as cup noodles, though they were indeed healthier and more nutritious.
Only...
Hearing his words, the trio of Ichinose, Kanzaki, and Shibata all froze.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Hikigaya followed suit with a "Huh?" and shrank back nervously, asking, "What's wrong?"
Oh no.
Was his attitude just now not good enough?
I'm sorry, please forgive me.
"It's nothing."
Kanzaki's gaze was sharp as he asked: "Just what did you mean by 'personal points' just now?"
"What do I mean? The literal meaning?"
Hikigaya asked back in confusion.
"No."
Kanzaki shook his head, casting a scrutinizing look: "At this stage, we only have the concept of 'points.' I feel that your so-called 'personal points' differ from the points we recognize. Could you please explain in detail?"
Come to think of it.
Hoshinomiya-sensei and the others also emphasized this point, only using "points" to explain the rules.
What the heck.
After all that, you guys didn't know?
Perhaps I am actually quite impressive?
"Points are divided into Personal Points and Class Points..."
Hikigaya briefly explained his conversation with Hoshinomiya-sensei.
He only made some minor revisions that didn't change the essence—maybe he just forgot—anyway, it was roughly the same.
"So that's how it is..."
Shibata, the normie sitting nearby, pinched his chin and fell into thought: "I felt it was unnecessary for the school to hide it before; now it makes sense."
"However."
Kanzaki's gaze was somewhat displeased as he asked: "Why didn't you tell us before?"
"Hahaha."
Hikigaya gave a dry laugh: "You guys told me to save points, so I thought you already knew."
Man, this guy is so terrifying.
Fine, from today on, you are demoted from "Hero Kanzaki" to "Ice Boy."
"I see."
Kanzaki's gaze softened: "It was indeed a lack of communication on our part that caused an unnecessary misunderstanding."
"Yes, we still need to strengthen communication in the future; everyone has their own areas of expertise."
Ichinose clapped her hands, full of admiration, and nodded to Hikigaya: "We thought this was the school's test for students—that the better we performed, the more points we'd receive monthly. We never even considered competition between classes. Hikigaya-kun, it's really impressive that you noticed this!"
"Hahaha."
Hikigaya gave another dry laugh: "It's nothing, knowing this doesn't really change much."
It really didn't mean much.
Even if they knew, it wouldn't have any impact on Class B.
"You can't say that."
Shibata shook his head and smiled: "We were just lucky before. As long as we are one step ahead of the other classes, it has plenty of meaning."
"More importantly."
Kanzaki nodded with an appreciative look: "Because of this, we know your strength. No need to be humble; this insight of yours will undoubtedly be one of Class B's most powerful weapons."
Since it would be competition between classes from now on, Hikigaya's ability was indispensable.
"Not a weapon."
Ichinose quickly corrected him: "Even without this ability, Hikigaya-kun is our most important partner."
Kanzaki paused and nodded slightly, looking at Hikigaya's Wild Vegetable Set:
"I misspoke just now. Forgive me. As an apology, how about an A-set meal?"
"No need, I'm already full."
Hikigaya gave a dry laugh; if you were going to treat me to a meal, you should have said so earlier.
For some reason.
Regarding the matter of the twenty million personal points to move up a class.
He didn't really want to tell these people