Chapter 28: Chabashira Sae's Threat

  Because both of their faces were bruised, the news that Student Council secretary Hachiman Hikigaya and Css C leader Ryuen Kakeru had gotten into a fight spread widely among first-year students by Sunday.

  On Monday, when Hikigaya came to css, some cssmates who were on retively good terms with him—Sakura, Hasebe, and a few others—gathered around to check on him.

  If it had been the old Yamauchi Haruki, he would have surely turned around and started bragging, even shamelessly ciming that if it had been him, he could’ve beaten Ryuen unscathed.

  But today, he just quietly y on his desk pretending to sleep.

  "I'm fine, really. Just a few minor injuries."

  After sending the concerned cssmates back to their seats, Chabashira-sensei entered the cssroom and began css. Unlike usual, when she would leave the cssroom immediately after css, today she told Hikigaya to come to the teacher's office afterward.

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  "Sensei, is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

  After sending a text to Ichinose asking if she wanted to have lunch together, Hikigaya went to the teachers’ office. All four first-year homeroom teachers were there, the most eye-catching being Hoshinomiya-sensei in her pink short-sleeved shirt.

  Dress a little more professionally, will you?

  "Yo, isn't this the first-year secretary Hikigaya-kun?" Seeing him, Hoshinomiya walked over like a little girl who just found a new toy. "Does your face hurt? Want your adorable teacher to blow on it for you?"

  "Hoo—hoo—"

  "Stop it!"

  A seductress, daring to act cute in front of everyone!

  Hikigaya stepped back two paces to get away from Hoshinomiya, who had really leaned in to blow on his wound. Though she looked adorable pouting, the stares from the male teachers made him uncomfortable.

  "Cut it out already," Chabashira smacked Hoshinomiya on the head with the textbook in her hand—a hit that sounded quite solid.

  Ignoring Hoshinomiya, who was now squatting and holding her head, Chabashira walked out the door. "Come with me to the counseling room, Hikigaya."

  The counseling room was right next to the teachers’ office. After following her in, Hikigaya noticed there was also a tea room inside, though its door was shut.

  Could someone be in there?

  "Don’t get in the way." Chabashira raised her textbook and chased Hoshinomiya out, then locked the door and sat down on the couch with a cold expression.

  "Hikigaya, sit."

  Seeing him still standing, she pointed at the sofa across from her.

  "I’d like to get back quickly. Could you keep this short, Chabashira-sensei?"

  "Sit."

  ‘This could be trouble—it probably wasn’t about the fight.’ Hikigaya thought to himself and obediently sat down.

  "If you don’t intend to step up and lead Css D to promotion, then be quiet and stop getting in the way of others." Chabashira crossed her legs, her bck stockings beneath the short suit skirt were alluring.

  Getting in the way? If anyone he had been targeting directly, it was only Ayanokouji. Why would Chabashira connect the idea of css advancement to Ayanokouji?

  Digging into his memories, Hikigaya remembered that Chabashira had always had an obsession with reaching Css A. Ayanokouji also started meddling in Css D affairs only after the midterms.

  He decided to py dumb. "Sensei, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

  "Whether you understand or not doesn’t matter. Just do what I say and keep quiet."

  Chabashira pulled out an A4 sheet—printed from his personal terminal, it showed his personal point transaction history.

  The two million points that Hirata transferred to him—collected from Css D—had been underlined in red.

  According to school rules, teachers must never interfere in student competition, let alone threaten students—an act considered extremely inappropriate.

  Something must have happened that Hikigaya didn’t know about for Chabashira, usually a passive observer, to act this way. Even though he hadn’t taken the lead in guiding Css D, he also hadn’t done anything to harm them.

  Up until today, perhaps Chabashira had still hoped he would "wake up" and take the lead.

  Hikigaya felt this situation might be more troublesome than expected and cautiously asked, "So, if I step up to lead Css D?"

  "That’s no longer necessary."

  …You’ve got to be kidding. Isn’t that just telling him to step aside for Ayanokouji?! Why should he?!

  Just as Hikigaya was about to argue, Chabashira leaned in and whispered in his ear:

  "Sorry, but someone very important specifically requested Ayanokouji take the lead for Css D. I can’t resist it, nor do I want to."

  "...I agree. Excuse me, then."

  As a teacher, Chabashira was naturally protected by this school. But if what she said was true and she couldn’t resist, then he had no qualifications to resist either.

  Before his rebirth, he had been scouted and cultivated by a certain high-ranking dy, so he knew just how terrifying those “big shots” could be. All he could do now was y low—and someday overturn their pns.

  After Hikigaya left, the door to the tea room opened. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka stepped out with an expressionless face and looked down at Chabashira.

  "The deal is done. But you might regret trying to use me."

  "Just do your best to climb higher, if you don’t want to get expelled."

  After Ayanokouji left, Chabashira leaned back against the sofa, sighing deeply as if exhausted. She understood she had already stepped into the abyss.

  Ayanokouji’s father had only instructed her to push Ayanokouji into action. Threatening Hikigaya had been a test from Ayanokouji—to see just how far he was willing to go for Css A, and to remove an obstacle.

  Lying and threatening two students in one day—she no longer deserved to be a teacher. But this was also the time she had the best chance to achieve her long-cherished goal.

  As long as she could get Css D to Css A, she was willing to do anything.

  ......

  After leaving the counseling room, Hikigaya continued contempting how to break the current situation. Ayanokouji’s background remained a mystery. Based on how Sakayanagi approached him st time, he thought he might get answers from her.

  His first priority now was to find out who was behind Ayanokouji—and what they hoped to gain by sending him to this elite school.

  When someone gains something, someone else will lose something.

  If possible, Hikigaya wanted to become an ally to those who didn’t want to lose.

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  After school, having finished student council duties, Hikigaya went alone to the Keyaki Mall’s western restaurant. After giving the waiter a private room number, he was soon led to Sakayanagi Arisu—whom he once called a "gremlin."

  As per his request, she was alone in the room.

  "Honestly, I never imagined someone as averse to trouble as you would come to me voluntarily."

  Sitting quietly in her seat, Sakayanagi smiled. Her elegant silver hair and frail body exuded a fragile, dreamlike atmosphere.

  "If I could avoid it, I wouldn’t have come. But there’s something I need to understand."

  Hikigaya sat down across from her, took a sip of juice ten times more expensive than the supermarket variety—and ten times worse-tasting. Since he was paying, he figured he might as well drink it.

  After swallowing and cursing capitalism internally, Hikigaya looked at Sakayanagi.

  "I want to ask you, daughter of the chairman—what should a student do if another student threatens them using their family background?"