May 28th, Friday. 7:55 AM.
On the south side of the first floor of the school building, a boy with dead-fish eyes—eyes supposedly rich in DHA—yawned as he walked slowly toward his destination.
"Hey! Hikigaya, you're way too slow!"
Ishizaki, who had been waiting for ages, couldn't hold back his frustration the moment he saw him. With the countdown to the agreed time ticking away, he and the others had been on edge, worried that Hikigaya might not show up.
But this guy just strolled in like he'd just woken up, as if he had all the time in the world.
Do you have any idea we didn't sleep at all last night, you bastard?!
"What's the rush? There's still five minutes left."
Hikigaya looked completely drained, a stark contrast to the person Ishizaki had seen last night.
He really hadn't slept well—not because of Ryuen and the others, but because of... something else. Something so embarrassing that he couldn't even bring himself to say it out loud. Even now, he still couldn't figure out why he'd had such a weird dream.
"You damn fish-eyed bastard! The contract signatures are all set, so don't try any tricks! Or else you're done for!"
At that moment, Ryuen stepped forward, looking noticeably worse for wear. A bandage was wrapped around his forehead, but his eyes were still as sharp and ruthless as ever.
"I've heard that line from you so many times already. Can you say something new for once?"
Ignoring Ryuen's intimidating aura, Hikigaya lazily replied, "Also, you do remember that dogs who bite don't bark, right?"
Ryuen snorted and didn't respond. He probably understood that no matter what he said, it would just be the words of a beaten, defeated dog.
Hikigaya took the contract from Ishizaki and skimmed through it.
All 40 students of Class C had signed their names.
To get every single student to sign in just one night—Ryuen really lived up to his title as Class C's 'Tyrant.'
The only question was whether he'd used words or fists to convince them.
After double-checking everything and confirming there were no issues, Hikigaya and Ryuen, along with the others, arrived at the faculty office. Any agreements or contracts between students or classes only held legal validity and binding power if witnessed by a teacher. Otherwise, they were invalid.
This was clearly stated in the student handbook distributed at the start of the school year. Seeing this, Ryuen clicked his tongue in frustration, while Hikigaya shook his head—this guy was always trying to pull some kind of trick.
After knocking on the door and entering, Hikigaya found only Chabashira-sensei and Class B's homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie. If possible, he really didn't want to draw Chabashira-sensei's attention. He had a bad feeling that getting involved with her would only bring trouble.
As a Class D student, Hikigaya couldn't exactly walk up to another class's teacher right in front of his own homeroom teacher, could he?
That would basically be a slap in the face for his own sensei. It would almost feel like another class was stealing one of her students right in front of her.
Yeah… that wouldn't end well. Hikigaya was sure of it—one hundred percent.
Well, in reality, the moment Hikigaya and Ryuen's group entered the office, Chabashira-sensei's eyes locked onto him and never looked away.
Left with no choice, Hikigaya braced himself, walked up to Chabashira-sensei, and handed over the contract while explaining the situation.
Chabashira Sae looked at the "unremarkable" student in front of her, then at Ryuen's group beside him. She glanced down again at the contract in her hands, and after a brief silence, finally spoke.
"Hikigaya, you're saying that a student from Class C used violence against you, deeply regretted it afterward, and signed this contract as compensation? Do I have that right?"
Her expression practically screamed, *Are you kidding me?*
And maybe it was just his imagination, but Hikigaya had the feeling that Hoshinomiya-sensei, who was standing nearby, was paying very close attention to this situation.
Without any change in his expression, Hikigaya nodded. "That's right. I've already forgiven them. If you don't believe me, sensei, you can ask the Class C students yourself."
Hearing that, Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others behind Ryuen widened their eyes, looking like they wanted to rush forward and beat Hikigaya up.
Chabashira-sensei shifted her gaze to Ryuen's group. Ryuen just scoffed and ignored her, while Albert and Ibuki remained silent. In the end, Ishizaki hesitantly stepped forward and nodded, confirming Hikigaya's statement.
"Alright. If both parties agreed to this voluntarily, then as a teacher, I have no reason to interfere."
With that, the contract between Hikigaya and Class C was officially validated under Chabashira-sensei's supervision. Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others all let out a sigh of relief. Ryuen shot Hikigaya a cold glare before leaving the office, his eyes clearly saying, *Just you wait. I'll be back.*
As Hikigaya was about to leave the office, a voice suddenly stopped him.
"Wow, so you're Hikigaya from Class D? You're pretty impressive."
The speaker was a teacher with beautiful brown hair and a cute face—Hoshinomiya Chie, Class B's homeroom teacher.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, is there something you need?"
Hikigaya responded politely.
From what he had seen, Hoshinomiya-sensei was well-liked by the students. Not only was she attractive, but she also had a friendly and easygoing personality. She often blended right in with her Class B students.
In contrast, Chabashira-sensei was the complete opposite. Many Class D students had complained about this before.
This was Hikigaya's first time interacting with Hoshinomiya-sensei, but even with just this brief exchange, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Something about her gave off a warning sign—a subtle, almost imperceptible sense of danger hidden beneath her seemingly carefree smile.
What was with the teachers at this school?!
Wasn't there a single normal one? Well… then again, even Shizuka-sensei had a mean right hook.
The vibe Hoshinomiya gave off reminded Hikigaya of Kushida—if Kushida had reached her final form.
"Hey, Hoshinomiya-sensei, that's one of my students. Watch yourself."
A cold, sharp voice cut in. Chabashira-sensei glared at Hoshinomiya-sensei, clearly not pleased.
Uh… in comparison, Hikigaya suddenly felt like his own homeroom teacher was a lot easier to understand. At least she wore everything on her face.
"Aww, come on, Sae~ I was just checking in on his well-being. And weren't we best friends? You used to call me 'Chie' all the time. Why so formal all of a sudden?"
Hikigaya wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he swore he saw a vein pop on Chabashira-sensei's forehead.
"Chie! Stop talking nonsense in front of the students. Midterms are coming up, and I won't let you distracting them."
Chabashira-sensei scolded her with a serious tone.
Why did this feel like a mother hen protecting her chick?
Hikigaya also noticed that Chabashira-sensei seemed very wary of Hoshinomiya-sensei. From their conversation, it was clear they had some kind of past beyond just being coworkers. But their dynamic was weird…
"Sae, I'm so jealous of your class. First, you had Ayanokouji, and now you have Hikigaya. Looks like you're really shaking things up."
Hoshinomiya-sensei's tone was light, but there was a trace of something deeper in her expression.
Hoshinomiya-sensei walked behind Hikigaya and placed her hands on his shoulders. His body stiffened—what was she trying to do?
"Sae-chan, you're not thinking of stepping out of line, are you~?"
Her voice came from right behind him. Hikigaya couldn't see her face, but he could feel the strange, tense atmosphere—like an invisible standoff.
Stepping out of line? What did that mean? Did he accidentally hear something he wasn't supposed to? No way… right?
"Don't be ridiculous. That's impossible."
Chabashira-sensei replied with a blank expression. But was that really what she thought?
"Heh, yeah, I suppose that is something Sae-chan couldn't pull off~"
Hoshinomiya-sensei's tone sounded almost suggestive.
"Hikigaya, the exam is about to start. Get back to class. Now!"
Chabashira-sensei suddenly turned and snapped at him.
"Well then, Hoshinomiya-sensei, Chabashira-sensei, I'll head back to class to get ready. See you later."
Hikigaya instantly got the message. He didn't dare linger and hurried away without looking back.
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