The hallway on the floor where Suipara was located was shrouded in silence.
The reason was simple: Hachiman's frustration and murderous intent was too strong.
Meanwhile, the silence is broken.
"I'm sorry for creating this kind of atmosphere. As Hachiman-kun's future wife... I apologize Ichinose-san."
Hiyori bows to Honami and the B class girls. At that time, Masumi, who is next to Hiyori, understands that Hiyori was trying to tell her that she is Hachiman's future lover, and looks at her with a blank stare, a blue line appearing on her forehead.
"It's not for Hiyori-chan to apologize, I was the one who went too far in the first place."
Honami, on the other hand, makes a small wave to show that she doesn't care.
“Thank you for saying that.”
"No, but shouldn't we go after Hikigaya-kun? I haven't seen him like that before."
Honami said so, and Masumi was of the same opinion. Masumi had heard about Hachiman's past from Hachiman himself, but she had never expected him to reveal so much emotion, especially anger.
Masumi thinks that he should be left alone as Hachiman says, but at the same time she also thinks that she can't leave him alone.
Hiyori on the other hand...
"It's okay. Hachiman-kun isn't one to break down like this, and if he gets hurt, I'll just do my best to heal him."
She answered that. There was no hesitation there. It was obvious that she had a strong trust in Hachiman.
(As Sakayanagi said, Shiina is the strongest enemy after all! )
That's what Masumi-san thought about Hiyori.
Even before Masumi fell in love with Hachiman, she had been told many times by Arisu that Hiyori was a strong enemy, but she actually came to terms with it now.
"Alright, I'll leave him alone for a while. We're going to eat cake now, but if you'd like, would you like to join us?"
"Of course it's fine."
"Thank you. Let's go."
Hiyori said as she started walking, followed by Honami and the B class. Masumi let out a sigh at how quickly the conversation was progressing, but compared to Arisu's instructions, she was no better at all, so she started walking without any complaints.
_______
"Huh..."
I sit on the bench at the observation deck and sigh. I went outside to be alone, but I didn't feel well.
Even if I entered a school that cut off contact with the outside world and had Hiyori and the others accept my past, I didn't think that I would be as irritated this much.
After all, it seems that the horrible past of my middle school days has become assimilated into my body, and even if I try to forget it, I won't be able to forget it.
"Hey, hey. You're sighing a lot, Hikigaya."
When I heard such a voice, I turned around and saw Ryuen coming towards me with a disgusted look on his face.
Since I've already been living on the ship for several days, there's no way I'm going to come to the observation deck unless I have a really good reason.
If that's the case, I can guess that Ryuen found me by chance and followed me.
"What's the point? I'm really irritated right now, so let's not talk about boring things, okay?"
When I answered that, Ryuen didn't just grin, but instead had an interesting look on his face.
"I'm surprised. You have such an irritated look on your face."
"I get irritated too. Or is it really that surprising?"
"When I said I was going to crush Sakayanagi, you had a cruel expression on your face. I thought you were the type to get angry quietly, but I never expected you to look like that."
Apparently I am quite irritated. Well, I am aware of it.
"I'm curious if you act like that. Please tell me, okay?"
"Go home. Or go back to the earth."
I dismisses Ryuen's request. Even if I told Ryūen about my bad memories, he would definitely do harm and no benefit.
"I don't mind. Well, I guess so."
"So, what do you need? Have you discovered the law of preferential treatment?"
“Of course I did. It was pretty boring after I found it.”
I expected Ryuen to discover the Law of the Favorite Person, but it happened sooner than I expected.
After all, this guy is smart, and he's much stronger than clever guys like Horikita and Katsuragi.
"I see. Why don't you just send an email quickly?"
If that happens, the C class will be able to win by a landslide.
"That's not a bad thing, but it would be a waste to finish the exam early. It wouldn't be a bad idea to know what the people in other classes think."
"I see. Well, if you're thinking about the future, that's important too. However, I think it would be difficult for other people to see through the law of preferential treatment."
"Ah. You won't be able to figure out the law of preferential treatment if you're a close-minded person."
Ryuen is right. The key to seeing through the law of preferential treatment lies in the teacher's words, "Ignore class relationships.''
Most people think of ignoring the conflict with the class and cooperating, but that idea ends up getting stuck in a deadlock.
Actually, just as the text says, all you have to do is remove the letters of the class written in the list.
"Maybe so. In that case, are you planning to betray all at once just before the time to betray ends?"
"That's about it. Well, if there are many betrayals by then, I'll hurry up. By the way, I owe you a debt for the D-class, so I won't nominate you."
"You can do it if you want. I don't really care."
I've already given up on D-class. I don't deny that there are some talented people out there, but there are so many idiots who are so stupid that it makes you wonder if they are really high school students.
When I say that, Ryuen snorts a laugh.
"That lack of hesitation...you're such a refreshing waste, you stallion."
"Don't call me a stallion. I'm better than that pathetic bastard who calls himself a king. Are you saying that you're going to become the god of the new world someday?."
At that moment, Ryuen throws a kick at my leg, so I parry it with my right foot and then immediately use my left hand to throw an elbow blow at Ryuen's face.
But before I could do that, Ryuen stopped my elbow strike with his right hand, and as if to counter, he punched me in the shoulder with his left hand.
This causes a dull pain, but I ignores it and grabs Ryuen's left hand and headbutts him.
Gosh...
At the same time, I heard a dull sound, and Ryūen flinched, but his eyes were not dead at all, and on the contrary, he looked at me with a look of pleasure.
This guy... Normally, if he was assaulted by violence, he would feel anger, fear, pain, etc., but this guy doesn't show any of those emotions at all.
Ryuen's mentality is stronger than I expected, and it will be impossible to break Ryuen's heart with half-hearted efforts.
This guy is seriously troublesome.
Even though the surveillance camera was on the observatory, they were ruthless in setting it up.
It was time for me to take action to break out of this situation that had become a 100-day situation while sighing inwardly.
"What are you doing?!"
When I heard that voice, I turned around and saw Hiyori and Masumi. I didn't tell them where I was, so it seems like they came here by chance after tea time.
"Hiyori and Sakayanagi's minion? It's nothing, it just happened when I fell down."
“When I saw them grabbing each other, it didn’t really look like that, did it?”
"Yeah, If I accidentally fell down, I'd hit Hikigaya with my foot, and Hikigaya would block it, then stumble and throw an elbow at me, and when I caught Hikigaya's elbow, I'd accidentally lose my balance. I hit Hikigaya on the shoulder with my left hand, and when Hikigaya grabbed my left hand, he unexpectedly lost his balance due to the impact and hit his head against mine.''
“Ryuen-kun, Do you think it will work if you say things like it was just a coincidence?”
"...." Ryuen.
He was taken aback by Kamuro and Hiyori's words...
"It's okay, there's no need to bully Ryuen like this besides I'm not particularly angry."
In fact, I am grateful to Ryuen. I was able to release a lot of the stress I had built up earlier by headbutting him.
"...If Hachiman says so, I won't say anything else. What about Shiina?"
"I don't have anything special to say either, but please do it in moderation."
"...I'll do my best."
While saying this, I let go of Ryuen's uniform, and Ryuen also let go of mine.
"Kukuku, the irritation you had earlier has disappeared. Did you use violence to release your stress? Or was it because you met Hiyori and the others?"
"It's the latter."
Well, I can't deny that I felt refreshed after headbutting Ryuen. But at the same time, I was horrified by Ryuen's mentality.
After all, I don't want to deal with this guy.
"I see. In any case, now that your legal wife and mistress are here, I'm not going to get in the way, so I'm going home."
"Wait, Ryuen I don't have a legal wife or a mistress, okay?!"
To begin with, I'm not old enough to get married, so I don't have a legal wife or a mistress.
"Think of it like that now... but I'll make a prediction. You'll have relationships with multiple women by the time you graduate."
After saying that, Ryuen leaves. When I saw off the elevator Ryuen was on, the two approached me.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"No problem. It was even worse in front of Ichinose and the others."
It was obvious that showing my irritation like that made them feel uncomfortable.
I'll have to apologize to Ichinose and the others later.
As I was thinking about this, Hiyori wrapped her arms around my neck and then pulled me into her chest.
"Don't worry about it. As I said before, there is no one here who will bully Hachiman-kun, so please take three years and rest. I will always be on Hachiman-kun's side."
As Hiyori says this and pats me on the head, I feel warmth and can feel my negative emotions disappearing.
Then, I felt a presence of being hugged from behind. Is this Masumi?
"...I don't know what kind of pain and stress you went through because I wasn't there, but I'm sure it's hard to hold back too much, so if something like this happens again, you can vent to me."
As she says this, Masumi, who is behind me, tightens her embrace.
These girls are really... extremely kind.
However, it was nice to meet such a friendly person. If I had attended Sobu High School, I might have committed suicide by now, or I might have lost my patience and committed a crime.
When I think about it, I can definitely say that meeting these three people, including Arisu, who isn't here, was the best encounter for me.
______________
At 11:30 pm on the first day of the exam, I wasn't in my room but was exploring the ship. There are many reasons for this, but it was because when I was in my room in the morning or afternoon, my classmates would come in and I'll get in trouble.
If someone comes and complains even when you're in the room, it's not worth it.
As I was walking down the hallway with a sigh, my cell phone in my pocket started ringing, so I took it out and found a text from Hiyori.
"If you're still awake, would you please come to the deck? The stars are beautiful.''
That's what the email was about. To be honest, I had some free time, so I couldn't turn down Hiyori's invitation, so I thought I'd go.
I immediately replied that I understood, then got on the elevator and pressed the button for the floor that would take me to the deck.
When I arrived at my destination floor, the door opened. The cell phone in my pocket started ringing even though it was on silent mode.
This is actually an email from the school.
When I reflexively take out my cell phone...
"The monkey group exam has ended.
Those in the monkey group do not need to participate in any further tests. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
I received a notice that the monkey group has ended. Three groups have now been completed.
The Dragon group finished first. I told Ryūen who was the preferred recipient, and Ryūen finished the exam.
The next group that ended was the Snake group that I belong to. I finished it right after Ryuen finished the exam.
And I have no information about the monkey group that has just ended.
The only groups I know about are mine, Hiyori, Masumi, and Ryuen's group.
(I don't know who betrayed, but it would be troublesome if Ryuen made a move here, so I sent an email to Masumi...)
I was actually thinking of having her betray on the second day, but I had Masumi make the move before Ryuen, who probably knows the rules of preferential treatment, could make a move.
I quickly told Masumi, "The Pig group's preferential recipient is Chie Heiwajima, a class B student.
I send an email saying, 'Send it quickly.'
Then, in less than a minute...
"The test for the Pig group has ended.
Those in the Pig group do not need to participate in the exam from now on. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
You will receive an email notifying the end of the Pig group.
Most of the students will be panicking about this. After all, the exam started today and 4 out of 12 groups betrayed even though it would have been 4 days if we had answered normally without betraying them.
Moreover, 3 out of 4 groups will probably get it right.
Then, I received a call, so I looked at my phone and saw that it was from Ryuen.
"Hello? I have a guess about what's going on, but what's it?"
“Was it your fault that the Monkey Group and Pig Group’s exams ended?”
Well, if I were to be the first to suspect it, it would be me.
After all, I figured out the law of preferential treatment even before we had our first discussion.
"I'm the one with the Pig group, but I'm not the one with the Monkey group."
"In that case, the traitor of the Pig group is Sakayanagi's Minion. If I exclude the monkey group, class A will have 50 points, class B will have minus 100 points, class C will have 50 points, and class D will have 0 points.''
Don't let that happen.
First, Ryuen from C class nominates Kushida from D class, giving C class 50 points and D class minus 50 points.
So I, who is in class D, nominates Shiranami from class B, and class D returns to 0, class C gets 50 points, and class B gets minus 50 points.
Finally, when A-class Masumi nominates B-class Heiwajima...
Classes A and C have 50 points, class D has 0 points, and class B has -100 points.
It's the same calculation as Ryuen.
"So, if it works like you said at noon, class A will get minus 100 points, class B will get minus 150 points, and class C will get plus 250 points?"
As for D class, if there is no further progress, it will end with 0 points.
"I don't know about the monkey group, so there's a possibility that it will happen. There may be someone other than us who will discover the law of preferential treatment. Well, in order to avoid that, I'm going to crush all A-class and B-class preferential givers from now on.''
Oops. This will cause major damage to A and B classes.
Well, it's better not to crush D-class.
"Well, good luck. I have something to do, so I'll hang up."
“At this time…ah. You should use contraception? It would be unbearable if a classmate dropped out of school to give birth or raise a child.''
This bastard... he totally thinks I'm going to fuck Hiyori.
"Die, you bastard!"
I say that and end the call. I'm gonna seriously kill him. As a student, I'm sure I wouldn't have the confidence to raise a child even if I were to have one.
Even if I have a baby, it will be after I get a job and get used to the job.
Even as I was thinking about this, I stepped out onto the deck and saw a sky full of stars.
It was so fantastic that you would never see it in Tokyo.
As I was staring at it, I saw someone waiting for me, who seemed to notice me and waved at me.
When I approach Hiyori, who is waiting for me, she hugs me tightly as usual, so I hug her back as usual.
"I'm sorry for calling you so late at night, but I'm glad you came."
While saying this, Hiyori starts to slurp on my chest and is completely spoiled.
This spoiled brat is seriously too cute.
“I don’t mind that, but did you invite me to look at the stars?”
"...Yes. I wanted to see the beautiful stars with Hachiman-kun."
While saying this, Hiyori stops slurping and looks up, which makes me look up as well.
No matter how many times I see it, it is so beautiful that it takes my breath away.
"Hachiman-kun...I have a favor to ask of you."
"What?"
"Can I...kiss you?"
You too? Masumi once coerced me at the observation deck at night, but do girls want to kiss at night?
But what should I do? I didn't refuse Masumi's request before, but...damn.
「………」
As I was thinking that far, Hiyori begged me, silently but with an upturned look.
Don't look at me like that. Because I seriously can't say no.
That's when I wondered what was wrong.
Music that signifies an incoming call from school begins to play from Hiyori and I's pockets. And not once or twice, but four times in a row.
Hiyori and I couldn't help but look at each other...
"The Mouse Group's exam has ended. Those in the mouse group do not need to participate in the exam from now on. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"Cow group testing has ended. Those in the cow group do not need to participate in any further trials. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"The sheep group exam has ended. Those in the sheep group do not need to participate in any further trials. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"The bird group exam has ended. Those in the bird group no longer need to participate in the exam. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
I received an email announcing the end of the exam for Group 4. If you receive an email at this time, it's probably that bastard.
Then, the 4 groups of preferential givers will be the A class and B class preferential givers.
Originally, Ryūen had said that he would not aim for D-class, but that must be true.
If Ryuen had targeted D-class, more groups would have ended.
There were originally four groups that had been completed: the dragon group, the snake group, the monkey group, and the Pig group, but the rat group, cow group, sheep group, and bird group have also been completed, bringing the test to eight groups.
The rest are the tiger group, rabbit group, horse group, and dog group.
So, there will be two people each from C class and D class.
“It has developed quite rapidly.”
When I said that, trying to get away from the topic of kissing earlier, Hiyori gave a small nod.
"That's right. A person with good intuition would think that Ryuen-kun made the move, so our group will thoroughly implement the plan that Katsuragi-kun created."
That's the best. Even if the other guys were suspicious of Class C, if they used Katsuragi's strategy they wouldn't be able to attack them blindly.
"It's a good plan"
"Hachiman-kun. Let's get back to the topic..."
Hiyori immediately finishes talking about the exam and returns to what she was talking about before the email arrived.
"Can I kiss you?"
She makes the same request again. I don't think it's worth it to kiss me, but Masumi'd already did it.
Why do you want a kiss?
"……Reason?"
"On the last day of the desert island exam, I was so full of love that I kissed you, but at that time I felt so happy, so I really want to experience that happiness again... Please."
In addition to looking up at me, Hiyori leans up and asks me for a kiss.
Sigh...well, I usually take care of Hiyori...
"……understood"
I accept without saying no. For a moment, Hiyori appears to be extremely happy.
"Thank you...I'm glad. Well then..."
Hiyori said that and wrapped her arms around my neck, then stretched herself even further...
Thuuu
She kisses me softly on the lips. This is the second time I've kissed Hiyori, but I instantly feel embarrassed and heat builds up in my body.
But along with the shame, I also felt a sense of joy. I'm kissing a beautiful girl, Hiyori, whom I trust, so I can't help but be happy.
"Hmm... Hachiman-kun."
Hiyori said that and asked for my lips, so I relaxed my strength and continued to let Hiyori go free until she was satisfied.
After that, when our lips parted, we were both bright red and remained silent until we returned to the room.
I didn't know Hiyori was that much of a carnivorous and needy girl.
The hallway on the floor where Suipara was located was shrouded in silence.
The reason was simple: Hachiman's frustration and murderous intent was too strong.
Meanwhile, the silence is broken.
"I'm sorry for creating this kind of atmosphere. As Hachiman-kun's future wife... I apologize Ichinose-san."
Hiyori bows to Honami and the B class girls. At that time, Masumi, who is next to Hiyori, understands that Hiyori was trying to tell her that she is Hachiman's future lover, and looks at her with a blank stare, a blue line appearing on her forehead.
"It's not for Hiyori-chan to apologize, I was the one who went too far in the first place."
Honami, on the other hand, makes a small wave to show that she doesn't care.
“Thank you for saying that.”
"No, but shouldn't we go after Hikigaya-kun? I haven't seen him like that before."
Honami said so, and Masumi was of the same opinion. Masumi had heard about Hachiman's past from Hachiman himself, but she had never expected him to reveal so much emotion, especially anger.
Masumi thinks that he should be left alone as Hachiman says, but at the same time she also thinks that she can't leave him alone.
Hiyori on the other hand...
"It's okay. Hachiman-kun isn't one to break down like this, and if he gets hurt, I'll just do my best to heal him."
She answered that. There was no hesitation there. It was obvious that she had a strong trust in Hachiman.
(As Sakayanagi said, Shiina is the strongest enemy after all! )
That's what Masumi-san thought about Hiyori.
Even before Masumi fell in love with Hachiman, she had been told many times by Arisu that Hiyori was a strong enemy, but she actually came to terms with it now.
"Alright, I'll leave him alone for a while. We're going to eat cake now, but if you'd like, would you like to join us?"
"Of course it's fine."
"Thank you. Let's go."
Hiyori said as she started walking, followed by Honami and the B class. Masumi let out a sigh at how quickly the conversation was progressing, but compared to Arisu's instructions, she was no better at all, so she started walking without any complaints.
_______
"Huh..."
I sit on the bench at the observation deck and sigh. I went outside to be alone, but I didn't feel well.
Even if I entered a school that cut off contact with the outside world and had Hiyori and the others accept my past, I didn't think that I would be as irritated this much.
After all, it seems that the horrible past of my middle school days has become assimilated into my body, and even if I try to forget it, I won't be able to forget it.
"Hey, hey. You're sighing a lot, Hikigaya."
When I heard such a voice, I turned around and saw Ryuen coming towards me with a disgusted look on his face.
Since I've already been living on the ship for several days, there's no way I'm going to come to the observation deck unless I have a really good reason.
If that's the case, I can guess that Ryuen found me by chance and followed me.
"What's the point? I'm really irritated right now, so let's not talk about boring things, okay?"
When I answered that, Ryuen didn't just grin, but instead had an interesting look on his face.
"I'm surprised. You have such an irritated look on your face."
"I get irritated too. Or is it really that surprising?"
"When I said I was going to crush Sakayanagi, you had a cruel expression on your face. I thought you were the type to get angry quietly, but I never expected you to look like that."
Apparently I am quite irritated. Well, I am aware of it.
"I'm curious if you act like that. Please tell me, okay?"
"Go home. Or go back to the earth."
I dismisses Ryuen's request. Even if I told Ryūen about my bad memories, he would definitely do harm and no benefit.
"I don't mind. Well, I guess so."
"So, what do you need? Have you discovered the law of preferential treatment?"
“Of course I did. It was pretty boring after I found it.”
I expected Ryuen to discover the Law of the Favorite Person, but it happened sooner than I expected.
After all, this guy is smart, and he's much stronger than clever guys like Horikita and Katsuragi.
"I see. Why don't you just send an email quickly?"
If that happens, the C class will be able to win by a landslide.
"That's not a bad thing, but it would be a waste to finish the exam early. It wouldn't be a bad idea to know what the people in other classes think."
"I see. Well, if you're thinking about the future, that's important too. However, I think it would be difficult for other people to see through the law of preferential treatment."
"Ah. You won't be able to figure out the law of preferential treatment if you're a close-minded person."
Ryuen is right. The key to seeing through the law of preferential treatment lies in the teacher's words, "Ignore class relationships.''
Most people think of ignoring the conflict with the class and cooperating, but that idea ends up getting stuck in a deadlock.
Actually, just as the text says, all you have to do is remove the letters of the class written in the list.
"Maybe so. In that case, are you planning to betray all at once just before the time to betray ends?"
"That's about it. Well, if there are many betrayals by then, I'll hurry up. By the way, I owe you a debt for the D-class, so I won't nominate you."
"You can do it if you want. I don't really care."
I've already given up on D-class. I don't deny that there are some talented people out there, but there are so many idiots who are so stupid that it makes you wonder if they are really high school students.
When I say that, Ryuen snorts a laugh.
"That lack of hesitation...you're such a refreshing waste, you stallion."
"Don't call me a stallion. I'm better than that pathetic bastard who calls himself a king. Are you saying that you're going to become the god of the new world someday?."
At that moment, Ryuen throws a kick at my leg, so I parry it with my right foot and then immediately use my left hand to throw an elbow blow at Ryuen's face.
But before I could do that, Ryuen stopped my elbow strike with his right hand, and as if to counter, he punched me in the shoulder with his left hand.
This causes a dull pain, but I ignores it and grabs Ryuen's left hand and headbutts him.
Gosh...
At the same time, I heard a dull sound, and Ryūen flinched, but his eyes were not dead at all, and on the contrary, he looked at me with a look of pleasure.
This guy... Normally, if he was assaulted by violence, he would feel anger, fear, pain, etc., but this guy doesn't show any of those emotions at all.
Ryuen's mentality is stronger than I expected, and it will be impossible to break Ryuen's heart with half-hearted efforts.
This guy is seriously troublesome.
Even though the surveillance camera was on the observatory, they were ruthless in setting it up.
It was time for me to take action to break out of this situation that had become a 100-day situation while sighing inwardly.
"What are you doing?!"
When I heard that voice, I turned around and saw Hiyori and Masumi. I didn't tell them where I was, so it seems like they came here by chance after tea time.
"Hiyori and Sakayanagi's minion? It's nothing, it just happened when I fell down."
“When I saw them grabbing each other, it didn’t really look like that, did it?”
"Yeah, If I accidentally fell down, I'd hit Hikigaya with my foot, and Hikigaya would block it, then stumble and throw an elbow at me, and when I caught Hikigaya's elbow, I'd accidentally lose my balance. I hit Hikigaya on the shoulder with my left hand, and when Hikigaya grabbed my left hand, he unexpectedly lost his balance due to the impact and hit his head against mine.''
“Ryuen-kun, Do you think it will work if you say things like it was just a coincidence?”
"...." Ryuen.
He was taken aback by Kamuro and Hiyori's words...
"It's okay, there's no need to bully Ryuen like this besides I'm not particularly angry."
In fact, I am grateful to Ryuen. I was able to release a lot of the stress I had built up earlier by headbutting him.
"...If Hachiman says so, I won't say anything else. What about Shiina?"
"I don't have anything special to say either, but please do it in moderation."
"...I'll do my best."
While saying this, I let go of Ryuen's uniform, and Ryuen also let go of mine.
"Kukuku, the irritation you had earlier has disappeared. Did you use violence to release your stress? Or was it because you met Hiyori and the others?"
"It's the latter."
Well, I can't deny that I felt refreshed after headbutting Ryuen. But at the same time, I was horrified by Ryuen's mentality.
After all, I don't want to deal with this guy.
"I see. In any case, now that your legal wife and mistress are here, I'm not going to get in the way, so I'm going home."
"Wait, Ryuen I don't have a legal wife or a mistress, okay?!"
To begin with, I'm not old enough to get married, so I don't have a legal wife or a mistress.
"Think of it like that now... but I'll make a prediction. You'll have relationships with multiple women by the time you graduate."
After saying that, Ryuen leaves. When I saw off the elevator Ryuen was on, the two approached me.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"No problem. It was even worse in front of Ichinose and the others."
It was obvious that showing my irritation like that made them feel uncomfortable.
I'll have to apologize to Ichinose and the others later.
As I was thinking about this, Hiyori wrapped her arms around my neck and then pulled me into her chest.
"Don't worry about it. As I said before, there is no one here who will bully Hachiman-kun, so please take three years and rest. I will always be on Hachiman-kun's side."
As Hiyori says this and pats me on the head, I feel warmth and can feel my negative emotions disappearing.
Then, I felt a presence of being hugged from behind. Is this Masumi?
"...I don't know what kind of pain and stress you went through because I wasn't there, but I'm sure it's hard to hold back too much, so if something like this happens again, you can vent to me."
As she says this, Masumi, who is behind me, tightens her embrace.
These girls are really... extremely kind.
However, it was nice to meet such a friendly person. If I had attended Sobu High School, I might have committed suicide by now, or I might have lost my patience and committed a crime.
When I think about it, I can definitely say that meeting these three people, including Arisu, who isn't here, was the best encounter for me.
______________
At 11:30 pm on the first day of the exam, I wasn't in my room but was exploring the ship. There are many reasons for this, but it was because when I was in my room in the morning or afternoon, my classmates would come in and I'll get in trouble.
If someone comes and complains even when you're in the room, it's not worth it.
As I was walking down the hallway with a sigh, my cell phone in my pocket started ringing, so I took it out and found a text from Hiyori.
"If you're still awake, would you please come to the deck? The stars are beautiful.''
That's what the email was about. To be honest, I had some free time, so I couldn't turn down Hiyori's invitation, so I thought I'd go.
I immediately replied that I understood, then got on the elevator and pressed the button for the floor that would take me to the deck.
When I arrived at my destination floor, the door opened. The cell phone in my pocket started ringing even though it was on silent mode.
This is actually an email from the school.
When I reflexively take out my cell phone...
"The monkey group exam has ended.
Those in the monkey group do not need to participate in any further tests. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
I received a notice that the monkey group has ended. Three groups have now been completed.
The Dragon group finished first. I told Ryūen who was the preferred recipient, and Ryūen finished the exam.
The next group that ended was the Snake group that I belong to. I finished it right after Ryuen finished the exam.
And I have no information about the monkey group that has just ended.
The only groups I know about are mine, Hiyori, Masumi, and Ryuen's group.
(I don't know who betrayed, but it would be troublesome if Ryuen made a move here, so I sent an email to Masumi...)
I was actually thinking of having her betray on the second day, but I had Masumi make the move before Ryuen, who probably knows the rules of preferential treatment, could make a move.
I quickly told Masumi, "The Pig group's preferential recipient is Chie Heiwajima, a class B student.
I send an email saying, 'Send it quickly.'
Then, in less than a minute...
"The test for the Pig group has ended.
Those in the Pig group do not need to participate in the exam from now on. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
You will receive an email notifying the end of the Pig group.
Most of the students will be panicking about this. After all, the exam started today and 4 out of 12 groups betrayed even though it would have been 4 days if we had answered normally without betraying them.
Moreover, 3 out of 4 groups will probably get it right.
Then, I received a call, so I looked at my phone and saw that it was from Ryuen.
"Hello? I have a guess about what's going on, but what's it?"
“Was it your fault that the Monkey Group and Pig Group’s exams ended?”
Well, if I were to be the first to suspect it, it would be me.
After all, I figured out the law of preferential treatment even before we had our first discussion.
"I'm the one with the Pig group, but I'm not the one with the Monkey group."
"In that case, the traitor of the Pig group is Sakayanagi's Minion. If I exclude the monkey group, class A will have 50 points, class B will have minus 100 points, class C will have 50 points, and class D will have 0 points.''
Don't let that happen.
First, Ryuen from C class nominates Kushida from D class, giving C class 50 points and D class minus 50 points.
So I, who is in class D, nominates Shiranami from class B, and class D returns to 0, class C gets 50 points, and class B gets minus 50 points.
Finally, when A-class Masumi nominates B-class Heiwajima...
Classes A and C have 50 points, class D has 0 points, and class B has -100 points.
It's the same calculation as Ryuen.
"So, if it works like you said at noon, class A will get minus 100 points, class B will get minus 150 points, and class C will get plus 250 points?"
As for D class, if there is no further progress, it will end with 0 points.
"I don't know about the monkey group, so there's a possibility that it will happen. There may be someone other than us who will discover the law of preferential treatment. Well, in order to avoid that, I'm going to crush all A-class and B-class preferential givers from now on.''
Oops. This will cause major damage to A and B classes.
Well, it's better not to crush D-class.
"Well, good luck. I have something to do, so I'll hang up."
“At this time…ah. You should use contraception? It would be unbearable if a classmate dropped out of school to give birth or raise a child.''
This bastard... he totally thinks I'm going to fuck Hiyori.
"Die, you bastard!"
I say that and end the call. I'm gonna seriously kill him. As a student, I'm sure I wouldn't have the confidence to raise a child even if I were to have one.
Even if I have a baby, it will be after I get a job and get used to the job.
Even as I was thinking about this, I stepped out onto the deck and saw a sky full of stars.
It was so fantastic that you would never see it in Tokyo.
As I was staring at it, I saw someone waiting for me, who seemed to notice me and waved at me.
When I approach Hiyori, who is waiting for me, she hugs me tightly as usual, so I hug her back as usual.
"I'm sorry for calling you so late at night, but I'm glad you came."
While saying this, Hiyori starts to slurp on my chest and is completely spoiled.
This spoiled brat is seriously too cute.
“I don’t mind that, but did you invite me to look at the stars?”
"...Yes. I wanted to see the beautiful stars with Hachiman-kun."
While saying this, Hiyori stops slurping and looks up, which makes me look up as well.
No matter how many times I see it, it is so beautiful that it takes my breath away.
"Hachiman-kun...I have a favor to ask of you."
"What?"
"Can I...kiss you?"
You too? Masumi once coerced me at the observation deck at night, but do girls want to kiss at night?
But what should I do? I didn't refuse Masumi's request before, but...damn.
「………」
As I was thinking that far, Hiyori begged me, silently but with an upturned look.
Don't look at me like that. Because I seriously can't say no.
That's when I wondered what was wrong.
Music that signifies an incoming call from school begins to play from Hiyori and I's pockets. And not once or twice, but four times in a row.
Hiyori and I couldn't help but look at each other...
"The Mouse Group's exam has ended. Those in the mouse group do not need to participate in the exam from now on. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"Cow group testing has ended. Those in the cow group do not need to participate in any further trials. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"The sheep group exam has ended. Those in the sheep group do not need to participate in any further trials. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
"The bird group exam has ended. Those in the bird group no longer need to participate in the exam. Please be careful not to disturb other students.''
I received an email announcing the end of the exam for Group 4. If you receive an email at this time, it's probably that bastard.
Then, the 4 groups of preferential givers will be the A class and B class preferential givers.
Originally, Ryūen had said that he would not aim for D-class, but that must be true.
If Ryuen had targeted D-class, more groups would have ended.
There were originally four groups that had been completed: the dragon group, the snake group, the monkey group, and the Pig group, but the rat group, cow group, sheep group, and bird group have also been completed, bringing the test to eight groups.
The rest are the tiger group, rabbit group, horse group, and dog group.
So, there will be two people each from C class and D class.
“It has developed quite rapidly.”
When I said that, trying to get away from the topic of kissing earlier, Hiyori gave a small nod.
"That's right. A person with good intuition would think that Ryuen-kun made the move, so our group will thoroughly implement the plan that Katsuragi-kun created."
That's the best. Even if the other guys were suspicious of Class C, if they used Katsuragi's strategy they wouldn't be able to attack them blindly.
"It's a good plan"
"Hachiman-kun. Let's get back to the topic..."
Hiyori immediately finishes talking about the exam and returns to what she was talking about before the email arrived.
"Can I kiss you?"
She makes the same request again. I don't think it's worth it to kiss me, but Masumi'd already did it.
Why do you want a kiss?
"……Reason?"
"On the last day of the desert island exam, I was so full of love that I kissed you, but at that time I felt so happy, so I really want to experience that happiness again... Please."
In addition to looking up at me, Hiyori leans up and asks me for a kiss.
Sigh...well, I usually take care of Hiyori...
"……understood"
I accept without saying no. For a moment, Hiyori appears to be extremely happy.
"Thank you...I'm glad. Well then..."
Hiyori said that and wrapped her arms around my neck, then stretched herself even further...
Thuuu
She kisses me softly on the lips. This is the second time I've kissed Hiyori, but I instantly feel embarrassed and heat builds up in my body.
But along with the shame, I also felt a sense of joy. I'm kissing a beautiful girl, Hiyori, whom I trust, so I can't help but be happy.
"Hmm... Hachiman-kun."
Hiyori said that and asked for my lips, so I relaxed my strength and continued to let Hiyori go free until she was satisfied.
After that, when our lips parted, we were both bright red and remained silent until we returned to the room.
I didn't know Hiyori was that much of a carnivorous and needy girl.
