COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

Seeing Horikita's surprised expression, Hikigaya immediately knew she had no understanding of this situation—she hadn't even tried to learn about it.

That alone was enough to prove that Horikita still wasn't as sharp as Ryuuen… which was exactly why he didn't want to tell her in the first place.

"Hikigaya-kun, from what you're saying, it sounds like President Nagumo isn't just trying to defeat my brother—he outright sees him as an enemy, doesn't he?" Horikita frowned.

"No, common sense doesn't apply to him." Hikigaya shook his head slightly. "In a way, Nagumo actually admires Horikita-senpai's strength. That's precisely why he's even more determined to prove himself. And since he's the kind of guy who will use any underhanded means necessary, Horikita-senpai has always chosen to avoid his provocations."

Perhaps this was what people would call a twisted enthusiast.

At that moment, Kushida asked in confusion, "But if that's the case, why did Horikita's brother get involved with Ayanokoji? And according to you, Hachiman, shouldn't Nagumo be targeting you as well?"

"Those two questions are essentially the same."

Every time he thought about it, Hikigaya couldn't help but chuckle.

His Masterpiece Defense Line plan had been a huge success. Nagumo no longer saw Ayanokoji as just a toy—he was taking him seriously now.

Most importantly, the satisfaction that came with this achievement was simply unparalleled.

"You all heard what Nagumo said at his inauguration, right? He wants to turn this school into a place of true meritocracy, which means the number of expulsions will increase dramatically. Horikita-senpai wants to stop Nagumo's reckless ambitions, so I recommended Ayanokoji as his ally."

"…Not you, but Ayanokoji-kun?" Horikita looked incredulous. "Putting everything else aside, I don't see Ayanokoji-kun willingly helping to oppose the student council president. Once my brother graduates, he'll probably just forget about the whole thing."

Hikigaya smiled and nodded. "You're right. He'll do that. But the problem now is that Nagumo won't let him go. After all, Ayanokoji has proven to be just as strong as Horikita-senpai… and that fact has already been thoroughly confirmed."

"I see… So Ayanokoji-kun was essentially your offering to President Nagumo?"

"I was simply catering to the boss's preferences."

Matsushita was the first to catch on. The other two followed suit, their expressions lighting up with realization.

No wonder Hikigaya had been making a series of moves against Ayanokoji recently. And since those actions hadn't caused any real harm, it was now clear what his true intention had been all along.

It was convenient talking to smart people—they picked up on things so quickly.

"In any case, Nagumo has completely set his sights on Ayanokoji. He even enlisted a few students from Class C to help."

With that, Hikigaya recounted what had happened earlier at the karaoke lounge.

After hearing his story, Matsushita was surprised. "The student council can set the rules for an exam? I didn't know they had that kind of authority."

"Only to a certain extent."

The specific details of an exam should still be decided by the school administration. Otherwise, it would be far too unfair to the other students.

As for the consequences of failure… to be honest, Hikigaya doubted Nagumo's plans would be that simple. Either he was keeping something hidden, or he had more tricks up his sleeve.

Matsushita also voiced her doubts. "The penalty of expelling the chosen leader seems severe, but there are still too many uncertainties. If Nagumo is as cunning as you say, Hachiman-kun, then he should've come up with a plan that truly forces Ayanokoji into a corner."

"Before that, there's another point we can't ignore." Horikita frowned in confusion. "Nagumo only confirmed Ayanokoji-kun's strength after the rooftop fight, right? But that wasn't long ago. How could he have prepared a scheme to trap Ayanokoji-kun so quickly?"

That was exactly why Hikigaya suspected Nagumo had a different objective.

With the information available, if Nagumo was even slightly cautious, this plan wouldn't work so easily.

If he thought something this simple would be enough to take down Ayanokoji, then he was gravely underestimating him.

That said… these two were smart. They had arrived at the same conclusion as he had.

Hikigaya nodded approvingly. "You're right. That's why I suspect Nagumo's real target this time isn't Ayanokoji, but Horikita-senpai. After all, there's only one semester left before he graduates, and Nagumo doesn't have many chances left to go after him."

"Yeah, cross-year exams are pretty rare."

Horikita agreed, but then asked, "Even if he's targeting my brother, do you think forcing a leader to drop out is enough to defeat him? I seriously doubt it."

"That's true," Hikigaya admitted, a little concerned. "The full details of Nagumo's plan will only be revealed once the exam is announced… I just hope it won't be too late by then."

If Nagumo was hiding something, he had a reason for it.

And the worst-case scenario? The moment they stepped into his trap, the outcome would already be decided.

That possibility couldn't be ruled out.

Still, there was no point in overthinking it now. They would just have to adapt when the time came.

"Alright, that's enough. I've told you everything, so you can go home now." Hikigaya issued the dismissal order.

"No way, we're not done yet!" Matsushita waved her hand. "Normally, isn't this the part where we discuss how to help Horikita-senpai? Why are you kicking us out?"

"Wait, who said anything about helping him?" Hikigaya looked baffled.

Matsushita looked just as confused.

"Huh? But you—"

"Horikita asked me what was going on, so I explained why Nagumo was targeting Ayanokoji. As for Nagumo going after Horikita-senpai, that's their business."

Saying that, Hikigaya turned to Horikita.

"So, what's your plan? Are you going to help your brother?"

"…I don't think my brother needs my help." Horikita hesitated. "He's so exceptional—I can't even imagine him losing. If I act on my own, he might just scold me for meddling."

Seeing her indecisive expression, Hikigaya found himself irritated.

He didn't want Horikita getting dragged into this, but only if she trusted her brother. If she wanted to help but was too scared to act, she was just bottling up her feelings.

That wasn't healthy.

"Horikita-senpai is outstanding, but if it's a cooking contest, the outcome might be different."

"W-Wait, Hikigaya-kun?!" Horikita jumped up in shock and quickly covered his mouth. "Don't bring that up in front of them! That's private information! I'll sue you for invasion of privacy!"

It seemed she cared about her brother's perfect image and didn't want others laughing at him.

But honestly, what was the big deal? A person was more interesting if they had a few flaws—wait.

For some reason, Kushida and Matsushita were staring at them expressionlessly.

Their gazes were terrifying.

"Horikita! Keep your hands off my Hachiman!" Kushida exclaimed, yanking Horikita back onto the bed.

"I wasn't thinking anything weird!"

"Who knows what you were thinking?!"

—Please don't fight over me!

Hikigaya considered saying that, but the thought alone made him cringe, so he decided against it.

"Oh, right, Hachiman-kun, the next exam is at a forest camp, right?"

Matsushita ignored the argument and smiled at him.

"If it's a camp, it must be in the mountains. You have to go exploring with me."

"Hey, Matsushita! That's unfair!" Kushida immediately caught on. "Hachiman already promised to go with me!"

"Matsushita, altering memories is wrong."

"I'm not altering anything! He'll agree sooner or later anyway!"

"…That's altering."\

Seeing Matsushita's helpless expression, Kushida was about to refute her, but her face suddenly froze as if she had just thought of something.

"Hey, Hachiman."

"What is it?"

"At the forest camp, aren't boys and girls supposed to be separated? I remember hearing about it from a third-year senpai I was close with."

"I wouldn't know about that."

Hikigaya shook his head. He hadn't heard anything about it.

But if that were the case, it would certainly be less of a hassle… Wait.

In that instant, as if a spark of insight struck him, he suddenly realized what Nagumo was planning.

"That can't be, right?" Matsushita said doubtfully. "On the uninhabited island, boys and girls lived together. I'd assume they'd only be separated at night."

"No, that senpai said that back then, she really missed her boyfriend, but they could only see each other briefly during lunch. The rest of the time, contact was strictly prohibited."

At first glance, this seemed like an insignificant piece of information—just casual gossip.

But sometimes, it's the small details that point directly to the truth.

Considering the unique nature of this school, being able to hear such things from a senior was proof of just how terrifying Kushida's social skills were.

"Hold on a second. Listen to me."

Seeing Hikigaya suddenly turn serious, the three girls exchanged glances and quietly waited for him to continue.

"If nothing goes wrong, I've figured out what Nagumo is really planning."

Taking a deep breath, he slowly said, "He doesn't just want to defeat Horikita-senpai in a single exam—he wants to make sure Horikita-senpai can't graduate from Class A. That's what it means to truly defeat a genius like Horikita Manabu."

"Not being able to graduate from Class A…"

Horikita froze for a moment before her expression turned puzzled.

"Even if that's the case, how exactly does he plan to defeat my brother?"

"Sigh, you really are a serious honor student." Hikigaya sighed. "What I'm saying is that Nagumo isn't targeting Horikita-senpai—he's targeting his classmates."

Horikita was stunned. Kushida and Matsushita also looked shocked.

Hikigaya continued explaining, "Nagumo is an outstanding student. If he can win outright, he will. But if he encounters a difficult opponent, he has no problem using any means necessary. He fully understands Horikita-senpai's strength, and his chances of winning in a direct confrontation are close to zero."

"In other words, he doesn't care how he wins." Matsushita nodded as if she finally understood.

"Exactly. Someone like him wouldn't be fixated on the form of victory—he only cares about winning."

That was precisely why Hikigaya felt that Nagumo and Ayanokoji were similar in many ways.

Especially in how infuriating they both were.

"I already knew this, but Hachiman, you really are terrifying," Kushida sighed in admiration. "To be able to predict things to this extent… You understand Nagumo's way of thinking way too well."

"There's no helping it. To put it bluntly, this is the way a scumbag thinks. And since I'm not much different, I can understand exactly what they're planning."

It was the same when dealing with Ayanokoji.

Hikigaya never thought of himself as a good person. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to predict things so thoroughly. He had even considered that if he couldn't handle Nagumo directly, he'd start by going after Asahina instead.

At their core, everyone was the same—full of scheming thoughts.

But at that moment, Horikita spoke up, her expression firm.

"That's not true. Hikigaya-kun isn't a scumbag. He's a very kind man… That much, I can vouch for."

"…Thanks."

Other than expressing his gratitude, Hikigaya didn't know how else to respond.

…Wait, why did he just hear a clicking of the tongue?

And what was that about "This woman beat me to it"… Was he hallucinating?

Changing the subject, Matsushita asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"But in that case, who exactly is Student Council President Nagumo targeting?"

"If we consider it from the perspective of attacking Horikita-senpai… then without a doubt, it has to be Tachibana-senpai."

Hikigaya answered almost instantly, without much thought.

If the boys and girls were truly separated during the forest school trip, the easiest target for Nagumo would be a girl. After all, the boys' side still had Horikita Manabu watching over them.

"Tachibana-senpai… Is that the girl with the bun hairstyle?" Horikita recalled. "I remember seeing my brother with her last time. If I'm not mistaken, she was the student council secretary back then?"

"Yeah, Tachibana-senpai is one of the very few people Horikita-senpai cares about."

Horikita Manabu wasn't the type to show favoritism. Tachibana Akane had earned his recognition through her own ability.

But since she had always been by Horikita Manabu's side, Hikigaya couldn't help but feel that she lacked independent judgment.

Most importantly, Nagumo knew exactly how close the two were—how they had always supported each other along the way.

Given his twisted personality, there was no doubt that Nagumo would target Tachibana Akane.

He would probably love nothing more than to see Horikita-senpai's face contorted in regret…

What a deranged psycho.

Still, even though Hikigaya had figured out Nagumo's intent, dealing with it wouldn't be easy.

Originally, he had planned to act behind the scenes when the time came. But if the boys and girls were separated, even he would be out of options.

Nagumo, on the other hand, didn't have this problem. He had complete control over the second years and even had connections with some third years. With his ability to plan ahead, he could set everything up perfectly in advance.

Realizing this, Hikigaya found himself looking at the three girls in front of him.

…Wait a minute.

In the end, was he really going to have to rely on them?