Chapter 014 Hikigaya Doesn't Want to Give It Away for Free
Wanting to make friends in other classes because he's being ostracized in Class D...
It sounded fairly reasonable.
Kushida Kikyo looked deeply at Hikigaya, feeling like he was hiding something.
"Of course, if Kushida-san is willing to go on a date with me..."
Hikigaya rubbed his chin, a strange light flashing in his dead-fish eyes.
'Now that's more like it...
Cunning dead-fish eyes!'
Kushida Kikyo thought she had seen through Hikigaya's little trick of "playing hard to get." She clapped her hands together in an encouraging gesture: "While I don't mind going on a date with Hikigaya-kun, considering your wish to make more friends, I'll help you get the contact information for the other classes!"
"Ah, I see..."
Hikigaya let out a deliberate sigh of regret.
Seeing this, Kushida Kikyo became even more convinced of her guess.
'Regretting it now? Trying to play mind games with me? You're still too green!'
Kushida Kikyo's efficiency was extremely high. In less than ten minutes, she had obtained contacts for the other three classes.
Perhaps to cut off Hikigaya's "romantic prospects," she specifically found contact info for three boys: Katsuragi Kouhei from Class A, Kanzaki Ryuuji from Class B, and Ryuen Kakeru from Class C.
"Thank you, Kushida-san.
I'll remember this favor."
Hikigaya thanked her sincerely.
This actually threw Kushida Kikyo for a loop.
'Huh? He's not disappointed at all... Could it be he really just wants to make friends?'
Watching Hikigaya walk away quickly without looking back, Kushida Kikyo suddenly had a weird sense of déjà vu, as if she had been used as a tool.
"Those dead-fish eyes... how is that possible?"
Kushida Kikyo muttered to herself, dismissing it as a mere hallucination.
-
-
-
Faculty Office.
"You've arrived."
Chabashira Sae sat with her black-stockinged legs crossed, a flash of excitement in her eyes that was hard to conceal.
'Waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree...
As expected, did she find him through the surveillance?'
Seeing this, Hikigaya stopped wasting time and got straight to the point: "Chabashira-sensei, I'd like to apply to purchase an anonymous account."
"Oh?
Setting the reason aside for a moment, what makes you think you can buy one?"
Chabashira Sae's crossed-arm posture made her ample chest even more prominent as she sized him up with interest.
'Trying to use gravity to lower my IQ?'
Hikigaya's dead-fish eyes didn't waver. He thought to himself: Even though Sensei's power is strong, I've already seen someone no weaker than you!
"Didn't Sensei say so? As long as you have points, you can buy anything in this school."
Hikigaya used her own words to explain.
"Why do you want to do such a thing?"
Chabashira Sae narrowed her eyes, continuing her questioning.
"Because I see my classmates consuming points excessively. At this rate, they'll run out before the end of the month."
To increase his credibility, Hikigaya listed some examples: "Like game consoles, laptops, brand-name clothes, bags, and things like that..."
"What... they really dare to spend like that?!"
Chabashira Sae's attention was instantly diverted. Her expression looked a bit difficult to maintain!
"Yeah. To avoid being charged a 'good friend fee' by others, I plan to buy an anonymous account to transfer my personal points into."
This wasn't entirely a lie; Hikigaya really did need to take precautions.
"What is a 'good friend fee'?"
Chabashira Sae didn't get it.
"Hey~ Hikigaya, I'm a bit short on cash lately, can you lend me some?
We're good friends, right!"
'Ito! (Hikigaya's middle school classmate) I will never forgive you in this lifetime!!'
"Hikigaya, your past experiences are... quite something..."
Chabashira Sae understood instantly and gave him a somewhat sympathetic look.
"Buying an anonymous account costs 30,000 points.
If you're sure you want it, just transfer the points directly to me."
Judging by her practiced reaction, someone must have bought one before.
Hikigaya readily transferred the 30,000 points and received an anonymous account officially certified by the school.
"Thank you, Chabashira-sensei. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Wait a minute!"
Chabashira Sae frowned, staring at him seriously: "Since you already know the mechanism of the S-System, don't you plan to do something?"
"The mechanism of the S-System? I don't really understand."
Hikigaya looked completely blank.
"Don't play dumb!"
Chabashira Sae's gaze turned cold.
"If I'm not mistaken, senseis aren't allowed to interfere in class competition, right? Even the homeroom teacher."
Hikigaya sought further confirmation.
"..."
Chabashira Sae suddenly fell silent.
"While I personally like getting things for free, I don't like being used for free by others."
Hikigaya's attitude was clear: his intelligence wouldn't be given away for nothing. As the saying goes, "Even brothers keep clear accounts," let alone mere classmates.
Of course, his little sister was an exception...
"Tsk~
What a troublesome brat."
Watching Hikigaya's retreating back, Chabashira Sae silently lit a cigarette.
On her desk lay the student files of Horikita Suzune, Koenji Rokusuke, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and Hikigaya Hachiman.
Horikita Suzune: Academic and athletic all-rounder, but has an egoistic personality; social skills are practically negative.
Koenji Rokusuke: From his surname, it's easy to associate him with the famous Koenji Conglomerate.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: Entrance scores were exactly 50 in all six subjects; this disguise is quite exasperating.
Hikigaya Hachiman: A liberal arts specialist, socially withdrawn, but has extremely sharp observation skills. He saw through the S-System mechanism on the very first day.
These four were the "seed" students Chabashira Sae had filtered from Class D.
It was vital for Chabashira Sae to learn more about them. However, a teacher's authority did not allow access to detailed information about a student's past; that part was hidden by the Advanced Nurturing High School.
"It seems I can only start from the outside.
Fortunately, I have an old classmate teaching in Chiba.
I'll try starting from there."
Chabashira Sae took out her staff-only phone, which could be used for external contact.
.
.
.
'I've been targeted by Chabashira-sensei...'
From the first moment he stepped into the office, Hikigaya could tell Chabashira Sae was a troublesome woman.
'Is she so concerned about the class competition because the homeroom teacher's bonus is linked to the class rank?'
Hikigaya made a reasonable deduction, then shook his head. That might be part of the reason, but it definitely wouldn't be the primary one. Based on her attire, she didn't look like someone lacking money.
Just those Balenciaga suspender stockings she was wearing would cost no less than 100,000 yen on the market!
Chabashira Sae's intense focus on the class competition must have a deeper reason...
But whatever, what did that have to do with him?
In the afternoon, through his hidden account, Hikigaya sent a small portion of intelligence regarding the S-System to Katsuragi Kouhei, Kanzaki Ryuji, Ryuen Kakeru, and Hirata Yousuke respectively.
He actually already had Kamuro Masumi's contact info for Class A, but he didn't want to use her. After all, Kamuro Masumi was his "number one" since coming to this school.