There is something wrong with Hikigaya’s classroom of the Elite, as expected

Chapter 94: Please Lend Me Your Power.

“Hey, I say, Horikita, just speak your mind.”

Hachiman didn’t even have time to respond before Horikita grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the classroom.

“Let me get straight to the point. This time, I need you to lend me your power.”

Without looking back, Horikita continued to drag Hachiman while quickly climbing the stairs.

“Ugh… Such familiar words.”

Could it be that you’re also a fan of that particular type of hero show where someone borrows someone else’s power?

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought you said you wanted to borrow power, did I get it wrong?”

“What I mean is, I… I need your help to stop Sudo from being expelled!”

Although Hachiman didn’t understand what Horikita was talking about, Horikita still answered seriously.

“???”

A little while later, Horikita, dragging Hachiman, arrived at the hallway in front of the teacher’s office, panting heavily. Ahead of them were only Chabashira and Ayanokouji, who were leaning by the window, seemingly talking about something.

“The 300,000 personal points have been collected, so Chabashira-sensei, please honor the promise and sell us the three points Sudo needs for his English score!”

Horikita quickly walked up to Chabashira, out of breath, and said.

Hachiman: “???”

So after all this, I’m the one who’s going to get scammed?!

“Oh? I didn’t expect that the person Horikita said could help us out with the money would be Hachiman.”

For some reason, Chabashira’s words seemed to imply something else, but for now, only Hachiman could pick up on any further meaning, while Ayanokouji and Horikita didn’t seem to understand.

“Hachiman, here’s the situation…”

Horikita glanced at Hachiman apologetically before briefly explaining the situation. To sum it up, Ayanokouji and Horikita had approached Chabashira to offer to use personal points to buy the three missing English points for Sudo. Chabashira had set the price at 100,000 points per point, so 300,000 points in total.

“So, I’m just here to be the scapegoat?”

Hachiman’s face was filled with frustration.

“I know you’re surprised, Hachiman… Huh? You’re not surprised you can buy and sell exam scores?”

Horikita’s brain suddenly seemed to stall, and her prepared lines became jumbled.

“Ah? Wait, you can really buy and sell exam scores?!”

Hachiman’s eyes widened in shock, staring with his usual blank, lifeless gaze, and then everyone around him fell silent.

Horikita looked at Hachiman with an expression that said, “Could you at least make your acting a bit more convincing?”

“Well, since this school allows things like ‘exam paper trading,’ which would be illegal outside, I guess buying and selling scores is no big deal either.”

Hachiman smirked, looking at them with an expression that showed he wasn’t surprised at all.

Of course, everyone picked up on the sarcasm in his words. Even Chabashira, the teacher, seemed a little embarrassed, though her face remained cold and indifferent.

“So, Hachiman, please lend me 200,000 personal points to stop Sudo from being expelled!”

For the first time, Horikita showed a rare, sincere expression.

“Why should I lend… Wait, hold on, Horikita, why are you so sure I can come up with 200,000?”

It was only at this moment that Hachiman finally realized a glaring blind spot.

Under normal circumstances, Horikita would have gone to someone like Hirata or Kushida, people with extensive social networks, for help, not someone like him, a small fry!

“Horikita originally planned to ask Hirata or Kushida for help, but Chabashira-sensei said you were the only one in the class who could possibly come up with 200,000 points.”

Ayanokouji, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.

Hachiman stared at Chabashira in disbelief, and his mind screamed, “Silence is the Bridge to This Night’s Conundrum.”

“My personal points, combined with Ayanokouji’s, only add up to 100,000, so we have no choice but to ask for your help.”

Actually, Horikita felt quite embarrassed and awkward about asking for help. This was the first time she had ever asked someone outside her family for help. But she still managed to suppress her awkwardness and unease and held Hachiman’s gaze.

Maybe it was due to a shift in mindset, but for the first time, Horikita noticed that Hachiman’s dead fish eyes surprisingly… gave off an invisible pressure.

Hachiman, naturally, could sense the discomfort and reluctance from Horikita. For someone like her, who was used to solitude and pride, asking for help was an incredibly difficult thing to do. It even felt like a betrayal of her former self. Hachiman could relate, as he had felt the same guilt when he himself had to ask for help… but still…

“Give me a reason that can convince me.”

Hachiman didn’t immediately agree but instead stared seriously into Horikita’s eyes, hoping to find a reason that could persuade him.

He didn’t feel much for Sudo, a guy who had shown no improvement. Perhaps only a shred of pity remained for him, as even the right to survive in this school was in the hands of others. So compared to Sudo, he was more curious about what could have caused the icy Horikita to lower her high pride. He remembered how, that day in the courtyard, she had shown an entirely different attitude toward her classmates.

“Hachiman, when classmates face difficulties, shouldn’t we help each other out?”

Unexpectedly, Ayanokouji interrupted.

“So… why did you phrase it as a question instead of a statement?”

Excluding the accidental encounter in the alley last time, this was probably the first time Hachiman had a direct conversation with Ayanokouji. “Or do you think moral coercion will actually work?”

For some reason, Hachiman felt a strange sense of aversion toward Ayanokouji’s words. He didn’t actually care about the use of the 200,000 points. In fact, he had felt oddly indifferent to the violence Sudo had intended for him earlier. It wasn’t because Hachiman wasn’t vengeful or kind, but because he saw no need to waste his thoughts on such trivial matters.

True dislike and indifference aren’t about hatred or malice; true disdain is always about apathy.

Whether in the past or now, he had always been slandered, insulted, and excluded by others. But he had never actually bothered to defend himself or “prove himself” because, from the very beginning, Hachiman understood one crucial thing: never try to persuade someone, that’s the most foolish thing to do.

Because people only believe what they want to see, and in the end, they trap themselves in an endless cycle of self-validation.

Just like Sudo’s temper, which is so explosive, it’s actually because he wants to “prove himself” to others. But his abilities can’t support his actions, so he ends up turning his “need to prove himself” into a twisted idea of “conquering others.”

One lives in their own world, while the other can only live in the world of others.

Moreover, ever since the “rebirth”, Hachiman had this very strange feeling that he was becoming more and more indifferent to everything around him. The people and things that could stir his emotions seemed to be getting fewer and fewer.

The situation with Sudo, in Hachiman’s view, was like a wild dog barking by the side of the road. A normal person wouldn’t choose to bark back.

Of course… if that wild dog, Sudo, had actually tried to bite someone just now, Hachiman wouldn’t have minded personally sending him off. No one, not even Jesus, could have saved him. Hachiman said that!

“This time, I can take out 200,000 to help Sudo, but what about the next exam? Or what about another person? It’s like facing a gambler. The real problem isn’t whether I lend out these 200,000 personal points, but whether those 200,000 points can make this gambler wake up!”

“If they can’t, then it’s better to let Sudo be expelled and have him remember this crushing defeat. That’s the best outcome, rather than helping you achieve what you think is the ‘right’ result.”

Hachiman’s sharp words made Chabashira-sensei and Horikita fall into silence.

In fact, Hachiman thought that Sudo being expelled would be the best choice for him. Compared to the misery he would face after being expelled, from the moment Horikita had used this almost “charitable” approach to keep him in the school, Sudo had inevitably become a subordinate to some girl.

From then on, Sudo would lose his ‘freedom’ and his ‘right to resist.’ In other words, he no longer belonged to himself. However, it seemed that, except for Hachiman, no one else had realized this.

Instead, everyone believed that this action both “saved” Sudo and prevented the class from losing points, which they considered a win-win situation that led to what they believed was the “correct result.”

From a certain perspective, it was indeed a win-win, but the cost was… someone losing the right to say “no.” Sudo… how pathetic!

“So, Horikita’s judgment is that Sudo is someone valuable to the class, and after this, she believes Sudo will change.”

Ayanokouji remained expressionless, as if no one could ever tell what he was truly thinking.

“Valuable?”

Hachiman sneered, now somewhat understanding Ayanokouji’s way of thinking. “Then Ayanokouji, can you give me a guarantee here?”

“…”

“Anyway, I’m asking Horikita, not you, Ayanokouji.”

Seeing Ayanokouji remain silent, Hachiman chuckled. This guy had always tried to “guide” him with words, thinking he wouldn’t notice?

Hachiman turned to Horikita: “So, Horikita, what’s your answer?”

Horikita stayed silent for a moment before speaking. “From my perspective, Sudo did make some changes to prepare for this midterm exam. Although the final result was still unsatisfactory, after all, it was a consequence of his previous actions, so I’m not denying that.”

“However… in the process, I still saw Sudo’s determination to change his situation. Also, as Ayanokouji said, this school needs students who excel in areas other than academics.”

“Just like you said that day, in evaluating a person’s fairness, we need to look at multiple aspects. So, in my view, Sudo’s physical abilities place him among the top three in the class. In future exams, he could become an important asset for the class. I still clearly remember what you said to me that day, ‘Giving up’ is always the worst choice. At least, for now, I don’t think Sudo’s value has reached the point where we can ‘give up’ on him.”

“I can assure you, Hachiman, Sudo won’t become the gambler you talk about. I will make sure you’ll see his change. So please, this time, lend me your power!”

As Horikita spoke, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter. From her uncertain, doubtful tone at the beginning, to her final unwavering determination, Horikita had started to take a step toward change, much more than her initial stance of right and wrong, high and mighty, self-righteous.

“It seems… you’ve really started to understand the rules of this school’s game.”

Hachiman suddenly smiled, unsure whether it was out of helplessness over this “seemingly destined result” or just a sense of sentimentality. Even he couldn’t tell. But one thing he was sure of was that Sudo was really going to become a “dog.”

However, it was Horikita’s last sentence that threw Hachiman off track.

“So… Horikita, are you really not a fan of a certain bond king?”

“?”

Hachiman suddenly found his own “random” question laughable. As Horikita pondered what special “hint” this was, Horikita’s phone suddenly received a transfer notification.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”

Hachiman waved his hand, preparing to leave, but Ayanokouji suddenly called out to him. A trace of doubt flashed in his calm eyes.

“Hachiman, were you moved by Horikita’s words?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’ve never believed that Sudo would change.”

Horikita, who had just shown a hint of joy, suddenly stiffened.

“Then why…?”

Ayanokouji was even more confused.

“Because I believe in Horikita Suzune as a person.”

Of course, his choice was still some influence from Horikita Manabu in this, since this time Hachiman had also obtained important information from him.

“As for you, I don’t believe in you!”

“Why?”

“Why?! Maybe because you’re a guy and I’m a guy too. It’s just mutual repulsion among the same sex.”

“Is it really that simple?”

‘Simple? If you can become a woman, I take back what I just said.’

‘……’