Dodgeball was divided into infield and outfield players. Now, aside from the three players standing in the outfield, only one person remained in the infield for Class D—Kōenji.
If he got hit, it would mean defeat. Meanwhile, Class A still had four players left. Just looking at that disparity was enough to make one despair.
Admittedly, this match was turning out a little ugly, but thinking about it carefully, it wasn't that surprising.
Class D wasn't losing due to physical ability. With Sudō and Hirata taking the lead, they had some top-tier athletes, and even among the girls, people like Horikita could hold their own against Class B.
The real problem was their utter lack of coordination.
Apart from Hirata and the outwardly friendly Kushida, most of the class never thought about working together. Even Horikita only stepped up when it involved exams.
And besides, dodgeball had been written off from the start.
After all, with only a week to prepare, capable students like Hirata had to split their focus across multiple events.
It wasn't like anyone was a time management wizard. There simply wasn't enough energy to spare for something that required assembling at least ten people.
On top of that, there wasn't any intel suggesting Class A was actively training for dodgeball, which is why Class D had decisively abandoned the event.
Yet when it came time for the exam, Ichinose still chose this event.
Neither side had practiced. At best, they just memorized the rules.
Now it all came down to the players' on-the-spot chemistry.
And clearly, Ichinose had made the right bet.
Class D's weakest point was precisely in that department. And having just won six matches in a row, everyone except Horikita had lost their "must-win" drive.
To put it simply, their current mindset wasn't all that different from Hikigaya's:
—Winning is nice, but losing doesn't matter.
With that kind of half-hearted attitude, these guys were treating this like a P.E. class. They looked like they were just goofing around.
Naturally, against a Class A that was desperate to at least win one round, the result spoke for itself.
…Man, when's this gonna end?
Hikigaya yawned, watching the giant screen with a bored expression.
Probably out of caution, the main player Shibata hadn't gone for a final blow yet. Instead, he kept passing the ball around with the outfield players, trying to mess with Kōenji's judgment.
But honestly, that felt kind of pointless.
Because Kōenji was just standing there with his arms crossed, not even opening his eyes!
Everyone in Class D knew this guy wouldn't take the game seriously, but this blatant slacking off was almost comically flagrant. Sudō and the others on the sidelines couldn't stop grumbling about it.
Still, maybe it was precisely because of this odd behavior that Shibata was being so cautious.
So yeah, this was just pointless overwor—huh?
Just as Hikigaya was silently complaining in his mind, something unexpected happened on the court.
After several rounds of passing, Shibata suddenly swung his arm and hurled the ball at Kōenji without any warning.
The throw was so fast and so out of the blue that almost none of the onlookers had time to react.
But faced with this seemingly inescapable strike, Kōenji suddenly opened his eyes, raised one hand, and caught the ball effortlessly like it was nothing.
Wait, wait… are you serious?
Hikigaya wasn't even shocked anymore by Kōenji's ridiculous antics.
It was just a waste of emotional energy.
After all, this guy once wrestled a wild boar barehanded—he couldn't be judged by normal human standards anymore.
What annoyed Hikigaya was that Kōenji looked like he was about to stir up trouble again.
Wouldn't it be nicer if he just got eliminated and everyone could go home early?
Why go out of your way to cause unnecessary chaos?!
"Energetic boy, that last throw wasn't bad at all," Kōenji said with a bright smile.
…Energetic boy? Was he talking about Shibata? At least remember the name of a classmate from the same grade, come on!
"I could feel that fierce desire to win from you guys." Kōenji swept his hair back. "Although I'm not particularly interested in this boring match, I do admire your spirit in fighting until the very end."
"In that case, I wish you'd go easy on us," Shibata said, but his stance didn't loosen in the slightest. He remained fully alert to Kōenji's movements.
He could sense that winning wasn't going to be easy this time.
Sure enough, Kōenji spread his arms and replied with a sigh, "Unfortunately, I can't allow even a scratch to mar my beautiful face. It would break the hearts of my lovely ladies."
No, no, no, no one was aiming at your face.
Hikigaya wanted to throw out a snarky comment, but his voice wouldn't reach the court anyway. He felt a little stifled.
"In that case, we'll just have to—"
Before Shibata could finish his sentence, something whooshed past his ear.
A scream rang out beside him from one of his teammates.
"Wha…?"
His mind went completely blank, refusing to accept what had just happened.
It wasn't until a white ball rolled to his feet, and Kanzaki's frantic shouting from outside the court reached his ears, that he snapped back to reality.
"In that case, we'll just have to ask you to leave the stage," Kōenji finished the sentence for him. Bathed in sunlight, he stood like a gleaming golden statue in the center of the court.
"And since we've already won six matches, letting me put the finishing touch on it feels rather fitting—a beautiful conclusion, perfectly suited to me."
"Ah… ahaha…"
Shibata couldn't muster anything beyond a dry laugh.
He had a bad feeling that he'd just encountered the most formidable opponent of his entire life.
…
"—That's enough."
With the last remaining Class A player struck down by Kōenji's clean throw, Mashima-sensei solemnly declared the result.
The seventh event had come to an end.
"Class D wins the previous event. Thus, the outcome of this special exam is 7 wins, 0 losses. Class D is victorious. Both sides… performed admirably."
Though those were the words, Mashima-sensei paused slightly before finishing the last sentence.
Sakagami-sensei's expression was just as complicated.
The results of this exam were beyond anything anyone could've predicted.
Against the top-ranked Class A, not only did Class D win, but they also achieved a flawless victory.
Calling it an upset didn't even begin to cover it.
And yet… when they remembered who the commander was—Hikigaya—it didn't seem all that strange anymore.
If it had been Hoshinomiya-sensei, she might've still been scratching her head in confusion.
But these two were homeroom teachers for Classes B and C. They understood all too well.
Their classes had been utterly wrecked by Hikigaya's various schemes—driven right into a pit. If he hadn't held back, their classes might've completely fallen apart.
To put it bluntly, Class A merely lost in a special exam. The opponent had won fair and square—no one could argue with that.
Now, a 310-point class shift was underway… it was truly astonishing.
"Thank you for your hard work. Sensei's" said Hikigaya.
On the other side, after putting the light novel back into his bag, Hachiman Hikigaya stood up and greeted the two teachers.
"May I go back now? I don't need to return to class, right?"
"Yes, that's it for today. You can head back to the dorms directly."
"Then I'll excuse myself."
Finally, some good news for once.
Hikigaya let out a quiet sigh of relief and picked up his bag, heading toward the door.
Honestly, he hadn't expected this result either… at least not a complete victory. Beating Class A wasn't all that surprising.
Just as he had analyzed before, Class A had a major flaw in their strategy.
They completely failed to leverage their overall strength. Take the English test, for example—only eight people were required to participate.
At first glance, that might seem like a decent number, but if they had upped it to over ten, Hikigaya probably would've leaned toward giving up on that event entirely.
Even with just eight, he'd had to cobble together a team from scraps—including even calling in Horikita as a backup.
The likely reason for this? Ichinose probably didn't want to overburden her classmates.
She likely aimed to minimize the number of events each person had to take on.
Unlike Class D, where the capable ones were worked to the bone—Sudou took on all the athletic events, Hirata handled that and prepared for the written tests, and Matsushita and Kushida had to tutor the average scorers while also serving as backups for events like the girls' swimming contest.
After all, there was always a chance someone like Onodera might fall ill the day of the test. No one could predict that kind of thing.
In short, Class D's success was built on the backs of a small group of elite students. And Class A failed to properly respond to that reality. It was a huge misstep.
On top of that, Ichinose had a lot of problems as a commander.
She didn't bet when she needed to bet. She didn't give up when she should've given up.
Winning is important, sure—but even more important is knowing when you can't win, and then shifting your strategy to minimize losses.
And her mentality… honestly, it was disappointing.
Until Hikigaya left the multipurpose room, Ichinose didn't say a single word. With the screen in the way, he couldn't see her expression, but he got the feeling she hadn't moved an inch.
Even Sakagami-sensei was unusually merciful this time—he didn't rush her to leave, just quietly tidied things up on the side.
Aside from the blow of losing the exam, that whole Valentine's incident probably played a part too… wait, was that my fault?
Hikigaya couldn't help but wonder—if she hadn't been up against him, would Ichinose have performed better?
…Well, even if that were true, there's nothing he could've done.
This sort of thing wasn't something he could decide for her. It was something Ichinose had to overcome on her own.
Forget it. No point dwelling on it.
No matter how much he thought about it, it'd all be hypothetical anyway.
That said… what the hell is wrong with that Kouenji guy?
He clearly said he wasn't going to lift a finger—and then at the very last moment, completely out of nowhere, he made a move.
Was it because everyone else in class had made their mark during the test, and he felt like he'd lose face if he didn't show off?
One of those "can't live without being flashy" types… no way.
In any case, thanks to that, people's impressions of Kouenji might improve a bit.
Not that he cared what others thought of him… though, during the last class vote, he did seem to be unusually motivated.
Still, this time it just felt like he was acting on a whim.
As Hikigaya mulled over these meaningless thoughts, his phone suddenly buzzed with several notifications.
He opened it to find messages from Horikita and the others, checking in on him. Kikyo even asked if he wanted to join the victory party.
…As if I'd go to that.
I haven't even finished that novel yet!
Just as Hikigaya reached the lobby of the special teaching building, an unexpected figure appeared in front of him.
"My, if it isn't Hikigaya-kun. Good day."
"…Sakayanagi? What are you doing here?"
Hikigaya looked at her with obvious confusion.
Regardless of whether Class B and Class C had finished their match, she shouldn't be here… Wait, was she here to pick me up?
No, that's way too narcissistic.
As if reading his thoughts, Sakayanagi smiled sweetly and said, "I'm here to pick you up, Hikigaya-kun. Also, congratulations on defeating Ichinose-san."
"Oh, cut it out…"
He'd still been unsure, but hearing those words from this conniving little gremlin made it crystal clear—she wasn't here for him.
Then, with a puzzled expression, he asked, "Wait, how do you even know I won?"
"I just looked at your face and figured it out."
"…Seriously?"
Instinctively, Hikigaya reached up and touched his face. Was he really that happy?
Then he caught the smug look on her face.
"Sorry, I lied," Sakayanagi said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "Your classmates were just way too loud—cheering so loudly the whole floor could hear them… but I actually heard it from Masumi-chan. When I was on my way here, it sounded like your match hadn't finished yet."
Since Sakayanagi walked slowly with her cane, it took time for her to get from the school building to here. Which meant—
"So your class's match is still ongoing… Is it taking place in the multipurpose room?"
"As expected of you, Hikigaya-kun. You catch on so quickly—it's always such a pleasure talking to you."
Sakayanagi nodded in satisfaction, then brushed past him, heading toward the elevators.
"I'd love to chat longer, but I can't keep our guest waiting. Please excuse me."
…So she was going to act as the new commander.
According to the rules, the commander couldn't be replaced lightly.
But just like in Ayanokouji's case, if a student's physical condition took a sudden turn, the school might allow a mid-exam substitution.
Of course, the penalty for losing—and the resulting expulsion—would still fall on the new commander.
But that Yamamura Miki girl looked fine this morning.
Sudden illness or whatever… honestly, it just felt fake no matter how he looked at it.
Barring some kind of genuine emergency, that only left one explanation—
—Ryuuen, huh?
Heh. So this is the peak of adolescent drama.
As Hikigaya smirked to himself, he turned and called out to Sakayanagi.
"Hey, you'd better not lose, you hear?"
"Huh?"
Sakayanagi turned back with surprise, the corners of her lips twitching upward.
"What's this, Hikigaya-kun? Are you saying you don't want me to get expelled?"
"Don't flatter yourself."
"Hehehe, I get it—that's your tsundere talking, right?"
"Tsundere, my ass!"
Hikigaya shot her a deadly glare. But considering she was about to take part in the exam, he kept it short.
"I'm just telling you… If any reviews happen soon, it likely won't be Nagumo handling them… yeah, that's all."