After school, Hikigaya called out to Sakura. Since everyone in class was busy focusing on past exam questions, no one paid attention to their conversation.
"Sakura, I need your help with something tonight. I also need you to keep it a secret. Of course, I'll make sure you're properly rewarded afterward."
To be safe, Hikigaya needed a partner for tonight's plan. After thinking it through, the only person he could truly trust turned out to be none other than the quiet and unnoticeable Sakura. A month ago, he never would have expected this.
Without much hesitation, Sakura nodded. She still kept her head down, but beneath her thick bangs, a small smile formed—one that seemed to say, *I can finally be useful.*
...
At 9 PM, on a dimly lit and deserted path near the dorms—the same place Hikigaya had been cornered by Class C students half a month ago—he was already waiting.
He was certain that, given Ryuen's arrogant nature, he would show up. Of course, what probably mattered more to him was the content of the message.
Before long, a familiar figure with striking red hair entered Hikigaya's view.
"Oh? And you even brought backup. Looks like you're not as strong of a leader as you pretend to be."
It wasn't just Ryuen—he was accompanied by Ishizaki, Albert, and Ibuki. It seemed these three were his true inner circle.
Hikigaya wasn't surprised at all by their appearance. If anything, he sighed inwardly. *Ryuen, you're really asking for it this time.*
Hands in his pockets, Ryuen had the usual unbuttoned collar, a piece of gum in his mouth, and his school jacket draped over his shoulders—your typical delinquent look.
He probably thought he looked cool.
Yeah, right.
To Hikigaya, Ryuen's outfit was downright embarrassing. Who actually dressed like this in real life? And he still insisted he wasn't suffering from a massive case of chuunibyou? What was this, a high school action manga? Or had he been brainwashed by Tokyo Revengers, Crows Zero, Bofurin?
Ryuen smirked at Hikigaya's provocation, then gave a small nod. Immediately, the towering Albert stepped forward and grabbed Hikigaya by the collar with one hand, lifting him off the ground.
"Hah. I knew it. When you don't have brains, the only solution you can come up with is violence."
Hikigaya's face showed no fear. If anything, he still had the nerve to mock Ryuen.
"Shut up."
Ryuen's expression darkened. At the same time, Albert's fist slammed into Hikigaya's stomach. Hikigaya instantly doubled over, clutching his abdomen in pain.
But Albert frowned slightly. Something felt... off. The impact of his punch didn't feel quite right.
"Who the hell said this guy just eats protein powder all day?! That punch hurt like hell!"
Hikigaya groaned as he slowly straightened up. If he hadn't come prepared, that hit might've actually made him throw up his dinner.
"Oh? Didn't expect you to be tougher than a dried-up sardine."
Ryuen and the others looked genuinely surprised. Taking a punch from Albert wasn't something just anyone could handle.
*Oi! Why do all you chuunibyou freaks love giving people weird nicknames?! Damn it!*
"You'll find out soon enough just how expensive that punch was."
Hikigaya shot Albert a challenging look before turning to Ryuen.
"Looks like the self-proclaimed king of idiots still doesn't realize the situation he's in."
"Hahahaha!!"
Ryuen burst into laughter, pulling out his phone with a sneer.
"You mean that nonsense about the past exam questions being fake? You think I'd actually believe some random lie you made up? And you even have the guts to threaten me with it? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Hikigaya blinked, then suddenly let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.
"I used to think someone who could climb to the top of Class C wouldn't be a total idiot. But now... I see I gave you too much credit."
He had assumed that the moment Ryuen received the message, he'd realize how serious things were.
But from the looks of it...
"You're seriously just lying to yourself at this point."
"Oi! Hikigaya, quit spouting nonsense! How the hell could the past exam questions be fake?!"
Ishizaki, furious, immediately jumped in to shout at him.
"Yeah! There's no way they're fake! After all, last year, the year before that, even the freshmen from past years all used the same questions. They've never changed!"
"I knew it! Hikigaya, you're just—"
"But!"
Before Ishizaki could finish, Hikigaya cut him off, smirking at Ryuen and his group.
"Trading test questions—that's a serious violation, straight-up cheating, right? If this gets exposed, none of you will get away with it. You'll all be expelled, no exceptions."
"The hell are you talking about? Are you out of your mind?"
Ibuki, looking impatient, finally spoke up.
Hikigaya ignored her glare and instead turned to Ryuen, who had been silent this whole time.
"Still playing dumb, Ryuen?"
His cold gaze swept across Ishizaki, Ibuki, Albert, and Ryuen.
"If I want to, I can make sure your little test-trading scheme gets exposed. Not only will you be punished, but more importantly, that so-called 'practice test' you got will be completely useless. No—more accurately, it'll be invalidated."
"If that happens, do I even need to explain what it means?"
"Wh... what do you mean?"
Ishizaki looked confused, but Ibuki, after a brief moment of shock, suddenly realized the implications.
"You idiot! If the test is invalidated, then all the students who memorized those questions and answers are screwed! Even worse... we don't have any time left to study for the real test!"
"Ah?!"
Ishizaki finally grasped the situation and froze in place.
Without those answers, the weaker students—who had barely studied at all—stood no chance of passing the midterms.
And because so many of them had been relying on that test, they had spent the last few weeks slacking off, wasting time instead of preparing.
Even the students who could have passed with some effort were now in danger.
By the time everything played out, at least a third of Class C would end up failing... and getting expelled.
The realization hit everyone like a truck.
If Class C lost that many students, it would be a disaster—a complete collapse.
They'd drop to the level of Class D, and recovering from that would be nearly impossible.
"Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, Ryuen burst into laughter, even clapping his hands.
"Looks like this school isn't full of idiots after all."
The next second, his laughter stopped.
Ryuen narrowed his eyes, his tone dripping with mockery.
"I'll admit, it's a pretty clever move.
"But go ahead. Report us.
"See if the school actually does anything.
"This so-called 'practice test' is something the school itself provided.
"In other words, they know about it. They allow it.
"So tell me—what right does a piece-of-trash Class D student like you have to act tough in front of me?"
The smirk on Ryuen's face grew even sharper.
"You really think I'd be dumb enough not to check whether this test was real?
"You're a joke, Hikigaya."
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