Soon.
Three days later, after school.
Hoshinomiya Chie took Hikigaya's arm and headed to the multimedia classroom.
"Alright, Hikki have you decided on the opponent for this battle?"
"Isn't there a drawing of lots? It's not like my decision counts."
Hikigaya looked around with some helplessness: "Besides, this is still school, shouldn't you pay a little attention, Sensei?"
"What's there to be afraid of..."
Hoshinomiya Chie stood on her tiptoes and leaned into Hikigaya's ear, showing a thief-like smile like a little fox:
"After all, Hikki~ will be the owner of this school in the future. From now on, my whole life depends on you."
"So that was your goal..."
Feeling the softness coming from his arm, Hikigaya rolled his eyes but didn't take it to heart much.
"Then does Sensei want to work under a student?"
"I don't want to."
Hoshinomiya Chie pouted with some displeasure.
"You don't know, a homeroom teacher only gets a two-month break after finishing a class cycle. Although this job has a high salary, there's absolutely no rest time. I'm basically out of touch with society."
That was indeed true.
Whether it was summer vacation or winter vacation.
Hoshinomiya Chie and the others never seemed to have a holiday, unlike ordinary teachers.
"So of course, it's you earning money to support the family."
Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes sparkled with little stars, her gaze full of longing.
"Then, I'll be responsible for being beautiful, and then go traveling every day."
"Sigh."
Hikigaya let out a sigh.
"Thinking that working for a lifetime is just to let Sensei go traveling, I feel like I have no motivation at all."
"Mua."
Hoshinomiya Chie gave Hikigaya a kiss on the cheek.
She said with some pride.
"This should be enough, right? Don't worry, I'll leave the protection of your harem to me. I will definitely help you keep Arisu firmly in your hands."
"Haha..."
Hikigaya looked around and gave a dry laugh.
The way adults consider problems is truly realistic.
During the small talk.
The two arrived at the multimedia classroom.
Ryuuen, Ayanokouji, and Katsuragi were already waiting there.
As for the method of drawing lots.
It was the same as the first-year pairing exam: nomination plus drawing lots.
Under the supervision of Mashima-sensei.
It was finally decided that Class A would duel Class D, and Class B would duel Class C.
That meant Hikigaya would duel Ryuuen, and Katsuragi became Ayanokouji's opponent.
Only then did everyone turn and leave the multimedia classroom.
To prepare for the subsequent exam.
"Phew...."
Katsuragi visibly let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at Hikigaya with a smile:
"Hikigaya, you'd better be more careful of that guy Ryuuen. That guy will do whatever it takes to win."
"Yeah, I'll pay more attention. Katsuragi, you should also watch out for Ayanokouji. That guy might be a lot more powerful than imagined."
Hikigaya nodded.
He didn't really care either way, but Katsuragi's "fear of snakes" (Ryuuen) seemed to have become more serious.
It makes sense.
With Katsuragi's honest personality, it would probably be very difficult for him to deal with someone like Ryuuen.
Compared to a guy who plays tricks like Ryuuen.
Katsuragi probably prefers an opponent he can fight fair and square.
Although Hikigaya felt that being Ayanokouji's opponent was not a good thing, as long as Katsuragi was happy, it was fine.
Time passed.
The exam was in two weeks.
A few days later at noon.
Everyone was enjoying lunch in the classroom.
"Has that guy Ryuuen done anything lately?"
Hikigaya asked with some concern while eating his bento.
Because he and Ichinose were still members of the Student Council, they didn't spend much time in the class and basically didn't participate in study sessions anymore.
Therefore.
Most of the class matters were being handled by Kanzaki.
Most of the class's situation needed to be reported by Kanzaki or others.
"Um..."
Kanzaki frowned and thought for a while.
"Yesterday, when we held a study session at the Karaoke, they intentionally came to pick a fight. Just like before, they're looking for trouble."
"There's nothing else particularly worth noting, or perhaps I haven't noticed."
"However, I've almost gotten used to it. It's not much of a problem."
Hikigaya was a bit speechless.
Although he didn't know if Ryuuen had any clever schemes, for now, Ryuuen's routine was the same as usual: intentionally picking fights to apply psychological pressure.
Should he say they've been trained for it?
Kanzaki seemed to have gotten used to it.
"I can't do it."
Watanabe, sitting next to him, said somewhat bitterly:
"Every time I see Albert and Ryuuen standing in front of me, it feels terrifying. I can't concentrate on studying at all. Hikigaya, can you think of some way?"
Even though he said that, Watanabe himself probably knew in his heart that there likely wasn't any good way.
Although the school strictly forbids violent incidents now.
Ryuuen's actions were merely repeatedly testing the boundaries of the rules; he certainly wouldn't dare use violence.
But even if they knew that psychologically.
Facing a big guy like Albert and a delinquent like Ryuuen, Watanabe and the others still couldn't help but feel a bit afraid.
In terms of applying pressure.
Ryuuen's approach was a success.
A person like Ryuuen is the type that Watanabe and the others are least capable of dealing with.
"~~Hmm..."
Hikigaya pinched his chin in thought.
So far, Ryuuen hadn't done anything beyond expectations.
As long as it's a normal competition.
Given the gap in raw power between them and Ryuuen's class, victory was practically guaranteed.
Although the question types include everything from the three years.
It's very likely that topics like Judo or Karate will appear, which should be the strength of Ryuuen's class.
But among nearly 600 tasks.
The proportion of such question types shouldn't be very high.
But continuing to endure like this indeed wasn't a solution.
It really was affecting the study efficiency of Watanabe and the others.
And.
He didn't know if Ryuuen would have the courage to do what he did in the first year.
Drugging them.
If evidence was caught, it would surely be used to get him expelled.
"How about this..."
Hikigaya thought for a moment and told them.
The handover was coming soon, and he had to handle Student Council matters, so he couldn't participate too much in class decisions.
However.
If Ryuuen was just picking fights, it wouldn't be hard to deal with.
Ryuuen's method would only work on a nice person like Ichinose; it was completely useless against him.
"Eh!?"
Watanabe and the others were still somewhat hesitant: "Would this be bad? It wouldn't be good if things escalated."
It couldn't be helped.
With their personalities.
Most of them held the mindset of wanting to settle things peacefully; they'd just endure it and it would pass. Even if it had an impact, it wouldn't be too much.
On the side, Kanzaki very much agreed.
"I think this plan is good. We should give him an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. He should pay a price for always using such mean and petty tricks."
"Then Kanzaki, I'll leave it to you."
Hikigaya nodded.
Fortunately, the class still had Kanzaki.