Chapter 183: An Expected Accident
Sakayanagi maintained a courteous smile.
Horikita Manabu returned it, and all three of them unconsciously looked toward the bustling shop.
Horikita Manabu said,"Hikigaya, if you went into business, you'd definitely be talented."
Hikigaya replied, "Just luck."
Horikita Manabu shook his head: "This school has many elites, but they're still students. Their perspectives aren't always comprehensive. You're different. I don't know what you went through in the past, but judging by this… you're a genius."
Sakayanagi laughed softly: "Speaking of Little Hiki's past, he was just a down-and-out kid, right?"
Hikigaya's heart skipped a beat.
'Did she really investigate me?'
But he wasn't even from this world, any so-called past would just be fabricated.
Still, something felt off. Normally, students here couldn't contact the outside world unless they dropped out. Even the student council only had limited privileges. Sakayanagi wasn't even on the council, just a class leader.
Which meant she definitely had secrets beyond what this school disclosed.
Horikita Manabu's gaze pulled Hikigaya back.
"This time, Nagumo's target is me," Horikita said seriously, "But he never expected his true opponent to be you. If it were just me, he probably wouldn't involve the school. But with you, and your prior bet, the sensei won't just sit back and watch him lose the student council presidency. You need to be fully prepared, Hikigaya."
Hikigaya nodded: "I've thought about that. But I'm fairly at ease about your sister, she can stand on her own now. As for me, I'm taking this chance to see just how far the school is willing to intervene."
Horikita sighed: "I wasn't talking about her. You know that. No matter what, be careful. Nagumo isn't someone to underestimate, and the people backing him are even worse."
Throughout the conversation, Sakayanagi kept smiling, as if everything were under her control. What preparations she had made… only she knew.
When they returned to the shop, nearly all the maids had already been rented out, yet the line outside showed no signs of shrinking.
This was all part of Hikigaya's time-difference strategy.
Renting a maid for one hour meant being guided to the second floor for desserts, chatting, or walking around. Two hours meant a private movie. Three hours meant an escape room to deepen bonds. To prevent customers from drifting to Nagumo's side, Hikigaya even allowed maids to spend an entire day with customers at the haunted house or rides.
Nagumo might think he was benefiting from this, but in reality, the waiting times alone drained customers' time and points.
Even those who rented a maid for a whole day would burn through all their points, leaving them unable to spend elsewhere.
That was business, turning a passive situation into an active one.
Ichinose hurried out of the shop, visibly flustered. Seeing Hikigaya calmed her a little, but her expression still showed trouble.
"Don't panic, Ichinose," Hikigaya said.
"Hikigaya… most customers are renting maids for three to five hours. We're seriously short on maids now."
"So soon? What about our backups?"
"They're all rented out already, way beyond my expectations. But if customers keep waiting like this, we're going to have problems."
Hikigaya looked at her. Ichinose quickly caught on.
"H-Hey! I'm the manager! If I leave, this shop can't function!"
"True…" Hikigaya sighed, then looked at Sakayanagi.
"What about Kamuro?" he asked.
Sakayanagi smiled gently: "I sent Masumi to handle something else. She's unavailable. But you, won't you feel bad, having so many girlfriends?"
Hikigaya sighed helplessly: "Sakura has important tasks. Horikita and Karuizawa absolutely refuse. If they gave customers death glares, we'd be finished. And I don't even want to imagine Manabu seeing his sister walking with another guy."
Sakayanagi teased, "You spoil them too much, Little Hiki."
Hikigaya: "At this point, we can only launch the secret plan."
Ichinose stared in disbelief.
"There's more?"
"I already spoke to the sensei before the exam. Chabashira-sensei, Hoshinomiya-sensei… they're single, but by school standards, they're definitely beauties."
Ichinose was speechless.
'He'd even managed to rope in the sensei.'
"And then?" she asked.
"Sensei aren't rented, they're temporary public resources. Once the next batch of maids returns, they go back to calming customers. Remember, no need to overdo it. A good attitude is enough. Being clumsy is fine."
"Okay…"
---
Meanwhile, at the school's upper management level…
Sima Zhongda asked,"Sakagami, how's the situation?"
"Not good. Nagumo has customers, but there's no way he can match Hikigaya. He doesn't even realize he's already fallen into Hikigaya's trap."
"Useless," Sima scoffed, "With the student council's power, losing to a first-year. And what's going on with your class? Why are they all mixed in with them?"
"After the uninhabited island exam, Ryūen stopped listening to me. Sensei can't control students' thoughts. With four classes uniting, I'm not surprised, Hikigaya has shown this ability before. I just didn't expect someone so indifferent to unite four classes against Nagumo."
"We can't let this go on," Sima said coldly, "It's time to act."
Ye Zhi nodded: "If Nagumo loses the presidency, we'll have endless trouble. He's our puppet, I don't want to start over."
Michael frowned: "But think carefully. If Nagumo really loses, what then? Our political secrets are all tied together. No one escapes."
Sima sneered: "A mere student beating us old men? It's ridiculous. If Nagumo falls, then he was never capable. We'll just use a few methods to get him expelled."
Sakagami sighed: "Still… he 'is' our investment."
"And don't just watch Hikigaya and Nagumo," Michael added, "That Sakayanagi girl has been acting strange. You all know who her father is. If he finds a lead, none of us will get away."
Ye Zhi waved it off: "That old man's been muddled for years. He looks powerful, but he's already been hollowed out."
"Stay sharp today." Sima ordered, "Starting tomorrow, we will completely eliminate him, silently and without a trace."
---
[Chatroom]
[Kōenji, usually detached, stared seriously at the sensei, memorizing every face. Still calm, he joked: "So this is the school's dark side? No wonder it's grown so powerful in Tokyo with government funding."]
[Kiryuin Fūka: "This is getting interesting. I used to not care who won or lost, but now I want to see what happens if Hikigaya wins."]
[Horikita Manabu: "Even as student council president, you can't touch this darkness… I always knew they existed, but still…"]
[Nagumo Miyabi: "So I'm just a tool to you people. Disgusting. But as long as I don't lose, if I graduate from Class A, everything stays perfect."]
[For most students, this was already beyond what they could handle. For sixteen-year-old Hikigaya, it was no different.]
[Sakayanagi smiled faintly, "Oh? Finally showing your hand? Then both Father and Masumi will begin moving."]
[Kitō said quietly, "Now I finally understand why you expelled Hashimoto, Princess."]
[Indeed, Sakayanagi knew she wasn't facing an ordinary enemy. Any unstable factor was a threat. Compared to that, people like Katsuragi or Yahiko, seeking stability, were no threat at all.]
[Katsuragi murmured, "What a shame… I know now that I have no chance of beating him. Hikigaya really is a monster."]
[Mashima-sensei sighed, "Hikigaya… is this kid really going to expose ten years of the school's darkness in one move? What a terrifying student…"]
[Kushida: "Right now, what we should really be worried about is how they're going to deal with Hikigaya tomorrow."]
[Kei Karuizawa: "If they dare threaten his life, I'll fight them to the end."]
[Ryuen: "Girls, stay the hell out of this. If anyone dares touch my people, hmph… I come from the underworld, you know. I'd like to see just how dark this school really is."]
[Sudo: "He's my bro. Of course I'll protect him. Ryuen, just do your job and be a good manservant."]
[Hirata: "Hey, hey, you two, don't start fighting. Why are we turning on each other now…?"]
[The final battle is about to begin.]
---
"Horikita, how's today's revenue?"
Horikita, a mathematical genius who didn't even need a calculator, still chose to double- and triple-check the consolidated revenue from all the shops, calculating the figures again and again just to avoid even the slightest mistake.
In the end, her trembling hands and shaking pupils showed she still hadn't recovered from the shock.
She gently hugged Hikigaya, placing her hand over his heart, as if trying to convince herself that this wasn't a dream.
"Hey, if you keep touching me, I'm calling for help."
Horikita shot him a glare: "Go ahead. Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you. But I can be sure this isn't a dream, because you're still as annoying as ever."
Hikigaya didn't push her away. Instead, he lightly patted her shoulder in comfort: "Alright, alright. Just tell me the revenue."
Horikita smiled softly. It was an expression Hikigaya had never seen before, so much so that he froze for a few seconds.
"Guess."
"1 million?"
"Wrong…"
"800,000? Did it drop? Then… 2 million?"
Horikita sighed helplessly.
'Someone this smart, who came up with such a plan, how can he be this unconfident?'
"Total revenue for the entire day. Thirty-eight shops, plus the park and sports field activities. After deducting costs of a little over 370,000 points, the total comes to 35.76 million points."
"…Huh?"
"…Yeah?"
They stared at each other. Hikigaya was completely stunned, while Horikita looked at him with sparkling eyes, smiling.
"H-how much?"
"35.76 million."
"Wait, pinch me."
"No. Pervert."
"You were way worse just now!"
"Don't say it! Nothing happened just now!"
'Women really are unreasonable creatures.'
Even seeing the number with his own eyes, Hikigaya still couldn't believe it. Nearly 36 million points. Even with four classes cooperating, this was just a single day's revenue.
Split evenly, that was about 9 million personal points per class. If they kept this up for three days, even Classes C and D could completely pay off their debts…
That was absurd.
It meant nearly 3,000 people had spent money here today.
After calming himself down, Hikigaya decided to inform Kanzaki, Ryuen, and Sakayanagi, since as cooperative leaders, they had the right to know.
But there was something else he was more curious about.
"What about Nagumo's side?"
Horikita puffed out her cheeks, clearly thinking, 'I knew you'd ask'. She flipped through the ledger and handed it to him.
"15.22 million…"
Still a lot, but not even close. Less than half.
And they were also cooperating across four classes, maybe even more. To beat Horikita's side, Class 3-B had probably joined too.
'I'd really love to see Nagumo's face right now, but…'
"Horikita, how did you get Nagumo's data?"
"What, do you think I'm a spy?"
"No, if anyone were a spy, it wouldn't be you. I'm just curious. Financial flow data shouldn't be that easy to get…"
Horikita looked exasperated, but still explained patiently.
"It's not just you who improves, you know. I've been working hard too, handling relationships, building connections. I'm not who I used to be anymore. And honestly… all of this started because of you."
'Looks like Horikita has been making a lot of effort in places I didn't even notice.'
If there was anyone in Class B who loved their class the most, it was undoubtedly Horikita Suzune, and only her.
"I'm heading back. Let's do our best again tomorrow."
In the dim café lighting, Horikita's face looked reluctant to part.
"Get some rest, Hikigaya."
"You too."
"And, what happened earlier, don't tell anyone!"
"Got it. I won't."
---
The three-day cultural festival continued.
At the familiar time, 9:30 a.m., accompanied by Sato's energetic voice, the maid rental café officially opened.
It was much like yesterday, if not even more crowded. The previous day's customers had spread glowing reviews, and now the line was so long that even Hikigaya, watching from the fourth floor, felt intimidated.
Maid slots were limited. First come, first served.
Those who arrived late could either share a public maid session, or patiently line up. There was no helping it.
This scene continued until noon.
Less than three hours after opening, a group of people in uniform arrived and sealed off the second, third, and fourth floors of the Maid Tower.
Kanzaki: "Excuse me, has something happened?"
Sudo's voice came through the radio: "It's the same on our side. We don't know the details yet."
Sakayanagi: "Hikigaya… they're coming. This is troublesome."
Hikigaya: "Looks like it. Don't panic, I'll handle it."
Rushing to the second floor, Hikigaya found a seat nearby. In the distance, Kanzaki brought over the team leader in charge of the operation.
"Hello. I'm the overall person in charge of this building, Hikigaya Hachiman."
Hikigaya extended his hand. The other party did the same politely.
"I'm the overall supervisor for this operation, Leyang. We've received multiple complaints from customers, so we are carrying out a lawful shutdown."
"Reason?"
"Second floor: food safety issues. Multiple customers reported physical discomfort after dining."
"Third floor: negative psychological impact on minors, based on customer feedback."
"Fourth floor: private theaters involving excessive privacy concerns, with possible distribution of obscene content. The school cannot support continued operation."
Hikigaya remained calm.
"Then how long will the shutdown last?"
"Until corrections are completed."
Hikigaya picked up the radio.
"Sudo, change the fourth-floor private theaters into public theaters. Lower the price, provide free drinks and snacks, and include a free maid photo session after the screening. Over."
Sudo: "Got it. Over."
Hikigaya turned back to Leyang.
"Will that suffice?"
Leyang's expression turned cold: "Fourth floor, lift the lockdown. Over."
"Second and third floors remain sealed."
"Until food safety is verified and customer mental well-being can be guaranteed, operations cannot resume."
'This guy… he's planning to grind us down completely.'
'The goal is to stall and drag down our revenue.'
'Too bad, if things were that simple, it'd be laughable.'
'Nagumo… even now, you still don't understand where the real problem lies.'
Hikigaya turned away without another word and spoke into the radio.
"Kei, start expanding public opinion. Use the same methods they used, bring down Nagumo's haunted house and ride attractions the same way."
"Also, emphasize that all food ingredients are supplied by the school. Drag every food business on campus into this, including Nagumo's."
Karuizawa: "Got it. Over."
Hikigaya never thought he'd one day resort to this kind of mutual destruction tactic.
(End of this chapter)