COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Hikigaya's body stiffened, and he instinctively turned his head.

"Ah… Kamuro. You're here a bit early."

"Is that a problem?" Kamuro raised an eyebrow in response.

She looked no different from usual, but there was something off about her tone—she didn't sound very happy.

No, it wasn't just that she sounded unhappy… she was. Had she misunderstood something?

Hikigaya sighed internally. If he had known this would happen, he would have scheduled things separately instead of stacking them together.

"I didn't say it was a problem… but it's only 8:30, you know?"

They had previously agreed to go out for ramen together, so Hikigaya had taken the opportunity to invite Kamuro. At the same time, following his policy of "not leaving the dorm unless necessary," he also called Ryuuen along to discuss some matters.

Of course, he had planned everything properly—his meeting with Kamuro was set for 9:30.

But for her to arrive a whole hour early… that was kind of heavy.

"It's not what you think!" Kamuro seemed to have read his thoughts and spoke with irritation. "I just went out for a walk and happened to run into you here. I couldn't exactly pretend I didn't see you, could I?"

"…I didn't say anything, though?"

"It's written all over your face!"

Seriously? Hikigaya touched his face in disbelief, then glanced at Ryuuen for confirmation.

But Ryuuen ignored him entirely. Instead, he added fuel to the fire.

"Tch, dead-eyes, you sure are busy. Christmas just ended, and you're already arranging a new date… Oh, though I guess it's not exactly 'new.' Isn't she Sakayanagi's slave?"

"Hah? And what about you?"

Before Hikigaya could say anything, Kamuro shot back at Ryuuen.

"I remember you talking about finding some 'X' back on the cruise. So in the end, you two are just love rivals? Fighting over a woman?"

Looks like Kamuro had been keeping up with that situation—she must have asked Sakayanagi about it.

However, her taunt didn't seem very effective.

Ryuuen simply chuckled. "Isn't it normal for men to fight over a woman? What, are you jealous? Since it's something you'll never experience in your lifetime."

"Disgusting." Kamuro looked at him like he was trash. "Being liked by someone like you is nothing but bad luck. And your taste is awful—go get your eyes checked."

"Heh… as expected of Sakayanagi's lackey. Just as sharp-tongued as that little shrimp."

Probably realizing there wasn't much fun in this back-and-forth, Ryuuen stood up and patted Hikigaya on the shoulder.

"Dead-eyes, since we're done talking, I'm heading back to the dorm. Looking forward to hearing more of your romantic escapades next time."

"Oi."

What the hell was wrong with this guy? Why did he always have to make it sound like Hikigaya was some kind of womanizer?

The most frustrating part was that if Hikigaya had done something, that'd be one thing… but the problem was—he was completely innocent!

Even our hands haven't touched!

As they followed the path back, Ryuuen's figure soon disappeared, leaving only Hikigaya and Kamuro at the scene.

How should he put it…? Because of what just happened, the atmosphere felt a little awkward now.

Speaking of which, the meeting time was at 9:30.

Maybe he should let Kamuro take another walk?

…But if he really said that, she'd probably beat him up.

Just as Hikigaya was thinking about casually apologizing to smooth things over, Kamuro rubbed her head and spoke first.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to argue. That guy was just too annoying."

"…Heh, yeah, he is pretty annoying."

Hikigaya was slightly taken aback but soon smiled in agreement.

"But, well, he's kind of like Sakayanagi. Talking to him can be interesting sometimes."

"Is that why you two get along so well?"

"…No."

For some reason, Hikigaya felt like Kamuro's words carried some hidden meaning.

That "you two"—who exactly was she referring to?

"Alright then, let me ask another question."

Kamuro crossed her arms, glancing off to the side with a slightly mocking tone.

"I didn't hear it too clearly just now—how many did you play with on Christmas?"

"You heard it perfectly fine…"

And don't take that joke seriously!

Hikigaya was speechless. At this point, he could only give the official response.

"The school prohibits relationships inappropriate for high school students. And as a member of the student council, naturally, I would never break school rules."

"Heh, what a boring guy you are."

Though she said it with a disparaging tone, Kamuro's mood had improved.

…Does this girl just not want to see others in relationships because she can't get one herself? Hmm, good mindset.

Hikigaya once again confirmed that he and Kamuro got along quite well.

Originally, the plan was to gather at 9:30 and then go eat ramen. But at this hour, it was still too early, and neither of them had much of an appetite.

So, they decided to wander around for a bit. However, as they passed by a certain spot, Kamuro suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring intently upward.

"What is it?"

Hikigaya followed her gaze and saw a sign for a ping-pong hall.

Huh…? Ping-pong?

"What do you think?"

Without any subject in her sentence, Kamuro simply pointed her thumb toward the entrance.

"I'm fine with it."

Hikigaya had no objections. Both of them were wearing sneakers anyway, and exercising a bit before eating would make the food taste better later.

"But just so you know, I'm pretty strong at this."

"…Heh."

Kamuro didn't say anything in response to that half-truth. She simply walked straight into the ping-pong hall.

Damn, this girl is seriously rude.

Was she completely underestimating him?

They bought their tickets at the entrance, took the borrowed paddles, and walked to a table in the corner.

Speaking of which, this place was surprisingly busy.

It wasn't even 9 a.m. yet, but there were already four or five pairs of players nearby, happily knocking the ball back and forth.

No, calling that a match would be an overstatement.

It was more like they were just entertaining each other—especially the guys, who were holding back way too much.

Of course, when it came to entertaining matches, Hikigaya was no stranger.

Back when he played ping-pong with Komachi, he had deliberately trained himself to create the illusion of a close game so she could enjoy herself. He even unconsciously activated "handicapping mode" when playing other games.

After all, if he won too hard, Komachi would sulk…

But with Kamuro, he had no such concerns.

"Hey, Hikigaya, the loser has to treat the winner."

See? No need to hold back at all.

Kamuro casually tossed her jacket onto the nearby sofa and bent down into a proper athlete's stance.

She's taking this seriously.

But her physical ability was indeed top-tier among girls, so this was likely to be a tough battle.

Thinking that, Hikigaya didn't slack off either. He took off his jacket and tossed it aside.

Might as well play a little mind game.

"I don't mind treating, but how many rounds are we playing?"

They stood on opposite sides of the table, facing each other.

With only a black athletic top underneath her jacket, Kamuro's slim and toned figure became even more pronounced. It made Hikigaya's heartbeat speed up a little.

"You decide."

"Then let's do seven rounds, like a real match."

Kamuro had no objections. Perfect—just as Hikigaya had hoped.

Even if her technique was better, a girl's stamina would never match a guy's.

"You can serve first."

Kamuro generously gave up the serve, probably assuming Hikigaya was terrible at sports.

Well, she wasn't exactly wrong, but ping-pong just so happened to be one of his strong suits.

Time to give her a surprise!

"Alright then… let's begin."

As soon as he announced the start of the game, Hikigaya aimed for the corner of the table and swung with all his might.

"Huh?!"

Kamuro's face showed clear shock. Maybe she had underestimated him too much—while she barely managed to hit the ball, she couldn't return it properly, and it arced off into the air before landing outside the playing area.

Yes! The first point was secured!

Hikigaya made a victory gesture in his mind, smugly saying,

"How was that? Not bad, right?"

"I was just warming up."

"Heh, don't underestimate me. I'm a guy who can easily beat my sister and underclassmen."

Kamuro raised an eyebrow. "…All girls?"

"…Of course! My sister is a girl!"

This girl is getting ruder by the second!

Choosing to ignore her implied insult, the match resumed.

Soon, though, Hikigaya started regretting playing so seriously at the start—now he couldn't stop.

Ping-pong might not seem physically demanding, but in a real match, it could be exhausting—especially when it came to picking up the ball. Halfway through, he was already feeling worn out.

Before he realized it, the game had turned into an intense battle.

"Hey… huff… Kamuro, are you hungry?"

"Let's… huff… finish this first."

Kamuro was panting heavily too, but she had no intention of backing down.

"But—"

"Keep going!"

Hikigaya had considered slacking off, but Kamuro radiated an aura of "don't you dare go easy on me."

No choice but to keep going.

The game went back and forth until, finally, a winner was decided.

In the end, Hikigaya won by a single point.

But rather than feeling triumphant, he was just exhausted… Next time, he should think twice before provoking Kamuro.

On the other hand, Kamuro, despite losing, looked refreshed, as if she had thoroughly enjoyed the match.

"Phew—haven't sweated like this in a while." She wiped her forehead and praised, "You're pretty good, Hikigaya. I thought you'd go down in no time."

"Don't underestimate me. If it's a game I can play alone, I excel at it."

Like tennis or ping-pong—the wall had always been Hikigaya's best opponent.

After the match, the two slumped onto the nearby sofa to rest, casually chatting about recent hot topics.

And, of course, the biggest topic was the infamous battle royale incident.

"What the hell is up with Ayanokoji? Did he take down Class C all by himself?"

Even though the official report on the forums explained everything clearly, Kamuro still found it unbelievable.

"Technically, it was four people."

"The Black guy too?"

"Yeah."

"I see. No wonder Sakayanagi is so fixated on him…"

When Kamuro brought it up, Hikigaya suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, did you follow Ayanokoji before?"

"Huh? How do you know that?" Kamuro frowned. "Did Sakayanagi tell you? Or did you just happen to see me?"

"Neither… Ayanokoji told me."

"…What?"

Kamuro looked completely dumbfounded.

Feeling a little bad, but unable to suppress his amusement, Hikigaya decided to tell the truth. "Seriously, he said you started following him after Paper Shuffle ended, mostly on the way back to the dorms and at Keyaki Mall. He even took pictures of you and showed them to me—otherwise, I wouldn't have known."

"Seriously…?"

Despite looking so happy after losing the match earlier, Kamuro now seemed utterly deflated.

Was this the part she cared about?

"Alright, don't be like that," Hikigaya consoled her. "I'll treat you to some ramen. You'll feel better after eating."

"…But I'm the one who lost."

"Doesn't matter, doesn't matter."

Hikigaya grabbed Kamuro and pulled her up, leading her out of the ping-pong hall.

Sigh… If I had known she cared this much, I wouldn't have mentioned it.

…But if I hadn't, she'd never improve her tailing skills.

…Wait.

That's not something she should be improving in the first place!

As Hikigaya was internally ranting to himself, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, startling him enough to instinctively duck into a nearby corner.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"No… I just saw someone I don't want to run into."

"What are you even talking about?"

Following Hikigaya's line of sight Kamuro glanced over and spotted a blond-haired young man sitting alone. He looked vaguely familiar.

"That's the student council president, right? Nagumo, or something?" Kamuro said, frowning in confusion. "Aren't you also in the student council? Why are you hiding from him?"

"Yeah… good question."

Thinking back, Kamuro had technically met Nagumo once before—on Haruno's birthday, when they had coincidentally run into him on their way back to the dorms that morning. That had been Hikigaya's first real conversation with Nagumo. In hindsight, that moment had marked the beginning of him setting traps for Ayanokoji.

Kind of a sentimental memory, in its way.

But the reason Hikigaya was hiding had nothing to do with Kamuro's presence. It was pure, unfiltered guilt.

Lately, he had been having Kushida and Matsushita gather intel on Nagumo—specifically his interactions with third-year students.

Honestly, the findings were both valuable and useless. As student council president, Nagumo naturally had frequent contact with the third-years, making it difficult to discern anything truly unusual.

"So? You planning on tailing him?"

Kamuro made a random guess at Hikigaya's intentions.

"Look at him sitting alone in that café. He's probably waiting for someone… Oh, there they are."

Right as Kamuro finished speaking, a stylishly dressed woman entered the café and took a seat across from Nagumo, beaming as she did so.

"Who's that? Doesn't seem like a first-year."

"…Igari Momoko. Third-year, Class B."

"Wow? You even know that?" Kamishiro looked mildly impressed.

It wasn't much of a feat—Hikigaya had simply memorized every student's name through his student council work.

Unfortunately, knowing who she was didn't provide much actual insight.

There was no way to tell whether Nagumo was just hitting on her or if there was something more to this meeting. And if Hikigaya tried to get closer, he'd be recognized on the spot.

…Forget it. Time for ramen.

Just as he turned to leave, Kamuro suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Oi, Hikigaya, where do you think you're going?"

"…To the ramen shop?"

"You can still think about food at a time like this?" Kamishiro said as if it were the most absurd thing in the world. "Can't you feel it? That student council president is radiating an aura of conspiracy."

"…Is he?"

"Of course!"

Hikigaya was suspicious of Nagumo, sure, but why was Kamuro getting so fired up about this?

"You want to know what they're talking about, don't you?"

Kamuro looked at him expectantly.

…Ah. Now he got it.

She must have been frustrated after getting outplayed by Ayanokoji and wanted to regain some dignity by uncovering something about Nagumo.

But Hikigaya had no intention of dragging her into this, so he immediately shook his head.

"I don't—"

"No, you do."

Kamuro cut him off with absolute certainty.

"Go wait for me at the ramen shop—the one we went to last time. I'll be there soon."

And with that, she strode toward the café without even waiting for his response, eyes gleaming with excitement.

…There she goes again.

Hikigaya genuinely appreciated her help—he did want to know what Nagumo was up to.

But seriously…

Why were all the girls he knew so damn pushy?