COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

Hikigaya couldn't believe his luck. Not only did he get to see his sister Komachi during this outing, but he also found himself on the tennis court with Totsuka. It was a double dose of joy.

Two angels in one day!

Maybe, just maybe, being part of the student council wasn't such a bad thing after all.

In fact, he was starting to think joining the student council was one of the best decisions he had ever made. All the effort he had put in finally felt worth it.

If he were to die right now, he would have no regrets.

The next day, the tennis tournament concluded smoothly.

As for the outcome…

Hikigaya had spent most of the day lost in yesterday's beautiful memories, so much so that by the time he snapped back to reality, the tournament was already over.

Judging by the expressions of the ANHS students, it didn't look like things had gone well. There was no need to ask; the defeat was written all over their faces.

Not that he intended to ask anyway.

Winning or losing, these were trivial matters in the grand scheme of things.

Hikigaya had far more important things on his mind.

After spending an entire night thinking—or rather, ever since he learned that Komachi was planning to apply to ANHS—he had already made up his mind. There was no way he would stop Komachi.

He didn't want to, either.

As much as Hikigaya despised ANHS, it didn't mean Komachi would feel the same way.

In truth, if anyone was out of sync here, it was probably Hikigaya himself. After all, he had yet to meet a single student at ANHS who truly disliked the school. Even the students of Class D, with all their grievances, were mostly upset about the school hiding the S-System, which had led them to squander their points.

But that was it.

After taking the bus back to school, Hikigaya headed straight to the student council office. He needed to report on the tennis club's outing and do a quick check-in.

By the way, the delivery for Katsuragi's sister had arrived during lunch—just a simple brown paper bag, likely containing chocolates or something similar.

Once he was done here, he planned to deliver it to Katsuragi. He also needed to contact Ichinose.

Everyone was parting ways with their sisters, it seemed.

Sighing, Hikigaya pushed open the door to the office and found Horikita Manabu seated inside, going over some documents.

It was funny. Here was someone who could be attending the same school as his sister, yet he chose to play the role of the stoic, emotionally detached senior.

Some people just didn't know how lucky they were.

"Hikigaya, why are you glaring at me the moment you walk in? Did something happen?" Horikita Manabu asked, looking up in mild confusion.

"Nothing," Hikigaya replied nonchalantly. "I'm just here to report."

The outing had been uneventful—no disruptions and the students had behaved themselves. The only notable event was their loss in the tournament, but that hardly mattered.

In under five minutes, Hikigaya had completed his report.

"I've received your report. Thank you for your efforts," Horikita Manabu said with his usual formality.

Efforts? It was hardly that. If anything, Hikigaya wouldn't mind doing this more often.

But then there was the matter of the 5,000,000-point price tag... That stung a bit.

And then there was Komachi, who seemed to think that as long as her grades were good, she'd be able to get into ANHS. She was studying harder than ever, even taking extra classes during summer break—something Hikigaya never imagined she'd do.

Given the situation, Hikigaya didn't want to keep bothering Komachi just to satisfy his desires. It was time to show some restraint.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder… Well, something like that.

"By the way, is everything going smoothly on your end?" Horikita Manabu asked.

"Don't worry, there haven't been any issues."

"Good to hear."

Horikita Manabu was referring to Hikigaya's free time during the outing. Although it was just a hunch, Hikigaya had a feeling that the student council president had pulled some strings behind the scenes. Otherwise, the staff monitoring him wouldn't have been so accommodating—they had barely asked him anything.

"President, do you have some time right now?"

After a brief hesitation, Hikigaya decided to bring it up now.

"It's about Nagumo-senpai. This might take a while."

"...Ah, sure," Horikita Manabu replied, clearly surprised that Hikigaya had brought up Nagumo on his own. His expression immediately turned serious.

"Before we start, can I ask something?" Hikigaya glanced around the room. "There aren't any bugs or hidden microphones in the student council office, are there?"

"That's impossible," Horikita Manabu responded without hesitation.

"Hikigaya, you should know by now that our student council is unique. Besides the headmaster and the student council president, no one else can enter this office freely."

"Really? What about... Yukinoshita-sensei?" Hikigaya asked, feigning ignorance.

"Uh…" Predictably, Horikita Manabu was momentarily speechless before replying, "I can only say that she's an exception. Other teachers wouldn't be able to do the same."

Indeed, Miss Haruno is a well-connected individual.

As Hikigaya pondered this, he couldn't help but suppress a chuckle.

There was something endlessly amusing about watching President Horikita struggle to maintain his usual cold composure. It reminded Hikigaya of the moments when Horikita's sister would break down, her defenses crumbling under pressure. Ah, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"So, President," Hikigaya began, his tone casual yet probing, "have you ever considered installing a listening device in your office?"

Horikita Manabu's expression remained unreadable, but there was a flicker of confusion in his eyes. "...Do you even understand what you're saying?"

This was no idle joke about eavesdropping on oneself. Hikigaya knew that a mind as sharp as Horikita's would grasp the true intent behind his words, though it was equally clear that the president's strict nature prevented him from entertaining such thoughts.

"You've asked me to stop Nagumo, right?" Hikigaya continued, his voice carrying a hint of challenge. "You spoke so eloquently about not wanting to see so many students expelled, but from where I'm standing, it doesn't seem like you've done much to prevent it."

"Are you suggesting we spy on Nagumo?"

Horikita brushed aside the unnecessary words, zeroing in on the crux of Hikigaya's suggestion.

Hikigaya shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Not exactly. I was merely thinking it might be prudent to test the effectiveness of a bugging device—accidentally leaving it in place until after you step down as president."

"...Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

As expected, Horikita's response was tinged with reluctance, his demeanor hesitant. Yet Hikigaya was undeterred, pressing forward with renewed vigor.

"President, don't forget it was you who warned me that Nagumo intends to upend the school's traditions and rules, to break everything apart."

"Yes..." Horikita sighed, a rare sign of weariness crossing his features. "I've always upheld the traditions this school was built on, believing them to be right. That's why I can't accept Nagumo's way of thinking."

"In that case, have you truly done anything to stop him? Like finding a way to remove him from the student council?"

Hikigaya's initial inquiry was sharp, almost accusatory, but his tone softened as he continued.

"I understand Nagumo is incredibly capable, making it nearly impossible to remove him. But wasn't it you who brought him into the student council back when he was a first-year?"

"Yes, I can't deny that," Horikita admitted without hesitation, acknowledging his mistake.

"I've always believed I served the student council faithfully, but I failed in one crucial area—choosing a successor. At the time, Nagumo was the only one who seemed promising. However, he's grown in a direction completely opposed to my principles, and now, almost all of the second-year students are under his control."

Hikigaya couldn't resist probing further. "So you knew all along? Then why did you recommend Kiriyama to me?"

"I simply thought he might be of help in the future," Horikita replied, his tone deliberately neutral.

"Is that so? But I can't help wondering..." Hikigaya furrowed his brows. "President, could it be that Kiriyama is the only second-year you're familiar with?"

"Uh..." This time, Horikita didn't answer. Instead, he rested his chin on his hands, adopting a cryptic expression.

Unbelievable.

Hikigaya almost laughed.

It was as if Horikita was channeling some kind of stoic, enigmatic commander. After all this time, it turned out that he had no choice but to send Kiriyama, who was nothing more than a fence-sitter.

"President, have you forgotten why you initially refused to recruit Katsuragi and Ichinose?"

"I didn't refuse them; I merely postponed their admission," Horikita clarified. "Both of them are excellent students with bright futures, but their excellence is pure, and I worried they might be swayed under Nagumo's influence."

"Oh!" Hikigaya responded with mock enthusiasm, followed by a cold, knowing smile. "So, you're not worried about Kiriyama being influenced? I suppose he's not purely excellent, then?"

"...Let's get back to the matter of the listening device," Horikita finally conceded, his tone suggesting he had no desire to continue this line of conversation.

In reality, it was clear: this so-called strongest student council president in the school's history had a significant blind spot when it came to judging people.

Setting aside the upcoming president with his misguided ambitions, there was also the matter of Katsuragi and Ichinose.

On the surface, Nagumo's reforms seemed to offer every capable student a chance to reach Class A. But the side effect was that those who were slightly less capable might be expelled.

Neither Katsuragi nor Ichinose were the types to abandon their classmates to rise on their own. Compared to Kiriyama, who was single-mindedly focused on reaching Class A, those two might actually have the integrity to remain true to themselves.

"President, don't worry too much. As long as you're not caught, it's as if nothing ever happened, right?"

Seeing the slight shift in Horikita's attitude, Hikigaya quickly seized the opportunity.

"Also, don't forget that you once broke the rules by viciously assaulting Ayanokoji from our class in a place without cameras. Compared to that, planting a tiny bug seems pretty harmless, don't you think?"

"...Can you stop bringing that up?"

Horikita rubbed his temples, clearly feeling a headache coming on.

Every time something came up, Hikigaya would use that incident as leverage, all while pretending to be righteous.

Anyone listening would think he and Ayanokoji were close friends.