COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya-Chapter 188: A Poor Excuse

"Time is running out."

Hikigaya glanced at the clock, pressuring Katsuragi and the others to make a decision. In reality, Class A had no choice. They had to accept Hikigaya's terms. Otherwise, they wouldn't just walk away empty-handed from this exam—they'd also be bound by the agreement they made with Ryuen. To minimize their losses and keep Class B from catching up, Katsuragi had no option but to grit his teeth and go all the way.

After discussing with the other students, Katsuragi returned with a grim expression and glared at Hikigaya. "We accept your conditions, but we have one request—this contract will be void after 24 months. That's our bottom line."

Hikigaya stared at him for a moment. He understood exactly why Katsuragi had set that time limit, but he didn't call him out on it. Instead, he simply nodded. "Fine."

Hearing Hikigaya's confirmation, Katsuragi let out a deep sigh of relief, finally feeling the tension ease.

Even though Hikigaya had just extorted a huge amount of private points from them, as long as they could hold onto their class points, it was worth it.

But while Katsuragi looked relieved, Totsuka, standing nearby, had eyes burning with fury. It was clear he felt humiliated, like he wanted nothing more than to tear Hikigaya apart.

"Not satisfied?"

Hikigaya showed no fear as he stepped closer to Totsuka. "Do you know why you ended up in this situation? It's because of your own stupidity and greed."

Hikigaya looked around at the A-Class students. "You're right to think I'm awful, but don't forget—who was the one that brought this 'time bomb' back?"

Totsuka's face turned deathly pale in an instant. To suppress Sakayanagi's faction and satisfy his own vanity, he had proudly spread the news in class that he was the one who discovered the supplies in the beachside hut. But now, that very 'achievement' had turned into a dagger stabbing straight into his heart.

With every step Hikigaya took forward, Totsuka unconsciously stepped back, until he finally stumbled and fell to the ground.

Hikigaya stood over him, looking down with an icy expression. "If you don't have what it takes, don't sit in that position. You're harming others and yourself without even realizing it. I have no idea how A-Class ended up with someone like you."

Katsuragi silently watched from the side. Although Hikigaya was scolding Totsuka, his words had a deeper meaning.

Before long, Mashima-sensei and Hoshinomiya-sensei entered. Mashima-sensei's face was completely unreadable, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. In contrast, Hoshinomiya-sensei had already gathered enough from the expressions of the A-Class students and was now smiling playfully.

"Mashima-sensei, it turns out this was all just a misunderstanding. I was careless and lost something, and fortunately, Katsuragi found it and brought it back to the A-Class camp. With all the exam stress, he accidentally forgot to report it to the school, which led to this mix-up."

Ignoring the strange looks around him, Hikigaya continued, "The A-Class students who didn't know any better assumed it was their own class's supplies and used it without permission. After clearing things up just now, we've resolved the misunderstanding. However, Katsuragi and the others feel guilty and insist on making up for it. I hope you can witness this as a school representative, Mashima-sensei."

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

Hikigaya's excuse was so full of holes that anyone could see right through it. The A-Class students exchanged puzzled glances—could such a ridiculous explanation really convince the school?

But some people quickly caught on. The first was Hoshinomiya-sensei, followed by Mashima-sensei.

Hoshinomiya-sensei finally understood why Hikigaya had specifically chosen Mashima-sensei to oversee this. Since this was a matter involving A-Class, the fairest approach would have been to ask her, the B-Class teacher, to act as an impartial third party. Yet Hikigaya had deliberately sought out Mashima-sensei instead.

Everything had led up to this moment. Because Mashima-sensei was A-Class's homeroom teacher, he understood the gravity of the situation. If A-Class was officially found guilty of theft, the consequences would be severe. From his perspective, the best solution was an out-of-court settlement.

And now that Hikigaya and A-Class had reached a 'settlement,' this was exactly the outcome Mashima-sensei wanted. As for what price Katsuragi and the others had to pay, that wasn't his concern. Taking a loss once in a while wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as everything remained under control.

From the very start, Hikigaya had never expected a fair judgment from Mashima-sensei. On the contrary—he had counted on Mashima-sensei's bias toward A-Class.

Only this way could the situation wrap up exactly as he intended.

Hoshinomiya-sensei looked at Hikigaya with a new sense of intrigue, while Mashima-sensei, though still maintaining a professional demeanor, now had a sharp yet somewhat approving look in his eyes.

By now, Katsuragi and students like Kamuro had also realized what had really happened.

Most of the A-Class students, including Katsuragi, felt a mix of emotions. At first, they had hoped Mashima-sensei would 'slightly' favor them. And in the end, he did.

Yet none of them felt happy about it.

Instead, they felt utterly humiliated.

In the end, under Mashima-sensei's supervision, Katsuragi and Hikigaya signed a contract valid for 24 months. A-Class had to pay Hikigaya one million private points every month, with an additional one-time compensation of 1.5 million private points.

And with that, the matter was settled.

Mashima-sensei gave Hikigaya a deep look before turning to leave. Meanwhile, Hoshinomiya-sensei lightly patted Hikigaya on the shoulder and teasingly whispered in his ear, "Sae's really lucky this year. Not only does she have Ayanokouji, but she also has a student like you."

With a wave of her hand, she left as well.

Hikigaya frowned as he watched her go. When she spoke just now, he had felt a chilling aura from her.

Before leaving the A-Class camp, he instinctively glanced at a certain short-haired girl in the distance. She happened to be looking at him too.

Haruno smiled slightly and waved.

She had remained a bystander from start to finish, taking no action at all.

Hikigaya had no idea what she was thinking, which was exactly what puzzled him. Then, he turned his gaze toward a purple-haired girl nearby. She was also watching him and gave a small nod.

As soon as Hikigaya left the A-Class camp, Sakayanagi's faction wasted no time pointing fingers.

Their target was clear—Katsuragi and Totsuka, the ones responsible for the loss.

And at the very center of the storm, the first to be blamed was none other than Totsuka.

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