COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

Hikigaya felt his stomach ache with frustration. Koenji was driving him to the brink of madness. He couldn't tell if the guy was just full of energy or deliberately causing trouble.

Hikigaya hated being the center of attention.

"Hey, Hirata, how many people know about this?" Hikigaya asked urgently.

"At the time, Kushida took most of the group to scout the area. Only a few of us stayed back at the camp to set up tents—about ten people, maybe fewer," Hirata replied calmly.

Hirata understood the gravity of the situation and knew it was best not to let too many people in on it. With a reassuring smile, he added, "Don't worry, everyone's been pretty tight-lipped. I only told Kushida after the fact, and she won't let it slip."

Relieved, Hikigaya nodded. If Hirata's friends were involved, there was a good chance they'd keep their mouths shut—certainly more reliable than the Three Idiots.

"I'll make sure everyone stays quiet," Kushida chimed in, taking on the responsibility with a confident smile.

"Especially since we can't let Class A get wind of this. They might take action."

As she spoke, Hirata pulled out the guidebook and pointed to a specific rule.

"Even though it says, 'The captain cannot be replaced without just cause,' they might find a way to make the captain withdraw from the competition."

Hikigaya glanced at Hirata, surprised that he had noticed such a detail. Still, he wasn't convinced it would be that simple.

"I've already consulted with Chabashira-sensei about this," Horikita, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"The only way the school would allow a captain to be replaced is if they deem the student physically unfit to continue. Even if the captain voluntarily withdraws and returns to the ship, they'll remain the captain."

Just as Hikigaya had suspected, if captains could be easily replaced, then simply making the captain withdraw on the final day before noon would guarantee a win for the cost of just thirty points. But that would render two key aspects of the test—the importance of identifying other class captains and protecting their own—completely meaningless.

There was no way the school would leave such an obvious loophole.

"So that's how it is. As expected of Horikita, you're always a step ahead," Hirata praised sincerely.

"It's nothing…" Horikita replied though she seemed unusually dispirited. Her usual sharpness was absent, and she kept rubbing her arms as if she were cold.

Was she sick?

"In any case, let's keep this information to ourselves. The captain of Class A is one of Katsuragi's lackeys, a guy named Totsuka Yahiko," Hikigaya continued.

All Hikigaya wanted was to stay out of the spotlight. The rest wasn't worth worrying about too much.

While the rules stated that captains couldn't be easily swapped, there were still loopholes. The simplest was to sabotage the captain's health or, more brutally, beat them until they were unconscious. The rules only forbade harming other classes, not their classmates.

But that was just a theoretical possibility.

After all, they were just high school students. No one in their right mind would harm someone they spent every day with.

At least, Hikigaya believed that Katsuragi, Ichinose, and Hirata wouldn't stoop to such measures. They weren't the kind of people who'd do anything to win.

So, it was best not to say too much. He didn't want people to think he was some kind of bad guy.

"Let's just inform our class captain on the last day."

According to the rules, only the class captain had the right to guess the captains of other classes. If everyone could guess, it would be chaos.

"Oh, by the way, Hikigaya-kun, our class captain is…"

"No, don't tell me," Hikigaya cut off Kushida immediately.

"The fewer people who know, the better. Besides, I'm not interested in this at all, so don't bother telling me."

His goal was just to hinder Class A. As long as he could do that without getting too involved, he'd be fine.

"By the way, why are you suddenly so proactive? And why did you bring Koenji along?" Horikita asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"What? Don't you trust Koenji?" Hikigaya deflected, steering the conversation away.

Though most people in the class disliked Koenji for his arrogant, self-centered attitude, it was precisely because of this that no one would suspect him of lying in this situation.

Perhaps what Horikita wanted to know was how Hikigaya had managed to persuade Koenji to help. But Hikigaya had no intention of telling her that.

Let her figure it out on her own, he thought.

"More importantly, Horikita, are you feeling okay?" Hikigaya couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, I've noticed Horikita-san has been acting strange too," Kushida added, feigning concern.

"If you're not feeling well, you should say something. It's understandable if you have to withdraw—your health is the most important thing."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I know my own body best, so don't meddle," Horikita snapped, her tone harsh and unyielding.

But Hikigaya sensed that Kushida's mention of 'withdrawing' had struck a nerve with Horikita. She was determined to earn points for the class and couldn't bear the thought of losing thirty points because of her.

Ah, the difference in their levels is clear, Hikigaya thought.

"Horikita-san, you really shouldn't push yourself," Hirata said, trying to persuade her.

"I'm fine… I'll go see if there's anything I can help with outside," Horikita mumbled, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. She quickly found an excuse to leave the tent, something Hikigaya could relate to.

"Seriously, Horikita-san is so stubborn," Kushida sighed dramatically, though she took the opportunity to glare at Hikigaya when Hirata wasn't looking.

Huh? What's her problem? Hikigaya wondered.

Just as Hikigaya was feeling perplexed, Hirata spoke up again.

"Hikigaya-kun, you're familiar with Ibuki-san from Class C, right?"

"…Huh?" Hikigaya was baffled.

"Why bring her up now? I've only spoken to her a few times, so I wouldn't say we're close."

Though I did get a love letter from her once, he thought privately.

"Ayanokoji-kun and Yamauchi-kun found Ibuki-san injured while they were out gathering firewood. It seems she was expelled from her class. I'm worried about her. Could you come with me to check on her?" Hirata explained.

"Expelled, huh…"

Hikigaya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The fact that Ayanokoji was involved also caught his attention.

"Alright, I'll come with you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Hirata said, looking genuinely pleased. Hikigaya couldn't shake the feeling that Hirata might have misunderstood something.

Then, Hirata called Ayanokoji and Yamauchi over, and the four of them headed to where Ibuki was.

She was sitting quietly away from the D-class camp, occasionally glancing over but doing nothing suspicious. When they got closer, Hikigaya noticed that Ibuki's face was badly bruised and swollen.

"Excuse me, Ibuki-san, may I have a moment of your time? I'd like to ask you what happened," Hirata called out gently, his voice so soft and comforting that it could make anyone feel at ease.

If it were an ordinary girl, hurt and then approached with such tenderness by a handsome guy, it wouldn't be surprising if she fell for him on the spot. But Ibuki was anything but ordinary.

"I'm just in the way, aren't I? I'll leave now," she said sharply, standing up without hesitation, intending to walk away quickly.

"Wait." Hirata stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what happened. I want to help you."

Ibuki let out a short, derisive laugh. "Help? Don't forget, I'm from Class C."

"That doesn't matter," Hirata replied, his tone earnest.

"You're hurt, and you can't go back to your class in this condition. There's no way I could just ignore you. I'm sure the rest of my class feels the same way."

Even though Class C and Class D were rivals, and they were in the middle of an exam, Hirata couldn't overlook the injury on Ibuki's face. His nature simply wouldn't allow him to.

"So please, tell me what happened. We're all from the same school, after all."

"…You're disgusting," Ibuki spat, her voice filled with disdain.

Despite her harsh words, Hirata wasn't offended. Instead, he smiled, his expression remaining as calm and kind as ever.

"It's okay. You're not the only one who thinks that," he said with a light-hearted chuckle, glancing back at Hikigaya, who was left thoroughly bewildered by the sudden attention.

Yup, this guy is seriously disgusting!

Hikigaya thought to himself, trying to wrap his head around the whole situation.