At the vending machine near the dormitory, by the railings overlooking the artificial lake, Hachiman finished compiling Horikita Suzune's file.
Advanced Nurturing High School boasts free tuition, living expenses, a 100% employment rate, and a perfect university admission rate.
Those promises look dazzling on paper. But once inside, the truth quickly becomes apparent: only the tuition is genuinely free. Living expenses must be earned by students through their performance. As for the employment and admission rates... well, they had nothing to do with Class D.
Hachiman had already accepted it. Among the four first-year classes, Class C and D were separated from A and B by a cold wall: a literal science laboratory, and a figurative barrier of expectations.
Shared glory was a fantasy. If someone rose, others had to fall. In this system, Class D was fated to wallow in the mud.
But what of it?
[You should work hard.]
[There is no guarantee that you will meet a rich woman who will support you in the future. But you can make yourself rich during these three years.]
Chabashira-sensei's words still rang in his ears.
Going to school for free while having the chance to stack up wealth wasn't a bad deal.
Even if no princess carried him off to a life of luxury, he could still buy his own comfort.
Tonight, he indulged. For dinner, Hachiman ordered a deluxe meal worth 1,500 points from the cafeteria.
Too much.
Even after pacing back and forth in his room, the heavy feeling in his stomach refused to subside. His dorm room was too small to walk it off properly.
He decided to head outside.
He remembered a vending machine near the lake—the one he passed during yesterday's secret meeting with Chabashira-sensei. He hadn't checked what drinks it stocked, but surely there would be coffee.
Coffee wasn't ideal on a full stomach. It irritated the lining and boosted stomach acid. But maybe it could jolt his sluggish system awake.
However, as with most of Hachiman's plans, reality didn't cooperate.
Because someone was already there.
No, not just someone. Voices carried to him on the night breeze.
"You actually followed me all the way here, Suzune."
A man's voice. Cold, magnetic, familiar.
"I just want to catch up, Onii-sama."
A girl's voice. Clear. Nervous.
Hachiman's instincts prickled. He recognized that voice immediately.
Horikita Suzune.
Peering through the trees, he saw them.
Horikita Suzune stood stiffly before a tall figure—the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu. Her delicate face was tight with nerves, and her fists were clenched by her sides. The scent of lilies seemed to drift from her, though at this distance it must have been imagination.
Horikita Suzune lifted her chin stubbornly, meeting her brother's icy gaze.
"I'm not the loser you once knew, Onii-sama! I'll catch up to you!"
That proud, cold girl—reduced to a pleading younger sister. The sight was jarring.
But Horikita Manabu remained unmoved.
"Catch up to me?" he repeated, almost sneering. He pushed up his glasses with a slow, disdainful motion. "Have you still not realized your own weakness?"
"You chose this school believing it would make you stronger. That was your first mistake."
His voice was cutting.
"This school values strength above all else. And do you even know the class you were assigned to?"
Horikita Manabu's scorn lanced through the night.
Class D.
The worst.
The shame.
Suzune hesitated. "The students in my class... are undisciplined and lazy. But I..."
"Heh."
Horikita Manabu's laugh was sharp and humorless.
"Withdraw, Suzune," he said coldly.
"Why?" Suzune's voice trembled.
"I came to this school following in your footsteps!"
"You still don't understand anything," Horikita Manabu said. "Class D is a gathering place for failures. Being placed there disgraces me, the Student Council President."
"But..." Suzune's voice cracked.
"You weren't even supposed to know this yet," Manabu continued, voice like ice. "Just leaking this information costs a million yen. I just paid that price."
Hachiman sucked in a silent breath.
One million yen.
That was more than 667 deluxe meals like the one he'd just crammed into his gut.
Still, Hachiman, as a fellow older brother, understood.
Horikita Manabu wasn't angry because of pride alone. His sister was naïve. Clueless about the cruelty of reality. If he didn't crush her illusions now, she'd suffer far worse later.
"If that's the case..." Suzune clutched at her pride. "I'll rise to Class A. I swear it!"
There was none of the icy arrogance she showed in class. Only the desperate trembling of a younger sister yearning for acknowledgment.
Horikita Manabu's reply was merciless.
"Impossible."
"I'll do it!" Suzune shouted.
"What a disobedient sister," Manabu said, his expression unchanged.
He turned slowly, his eyes cold as a glacier.
Hachiman watched carefully, taking in Horikita Manabu's features—sharply cut, composed, and unyielding.
Where Suzune's aloofness was a fragile shield, Manabu's coldness was an iron wall.
Though they were siblings, their temperaments were worlds apart.
Hachiman imagined his own sister.
Komachi would probably lecture him about being a useless NEET rather than look up to him as an idol.
And he clearly remembered her words:
Onii-chan, seriously! If you don't get a job soon, are you expecting Komachi to support you?
He grimaced internally.
Right. He should stop dreaming.
But tonight, he had more immediate concerns.
His stomach still felt like it was about to explode. Coffee was necessary.
He turned and approached the vending machine.
Behind him, the conversation between the siblings escalated.
"What a foolish sister," Horikita Manabu said.
His hand rose.
Suzune, sensing the threat, leaned back slightly, her eyes wide but unyielding.
Hachiman, meanwhile, fumbled with his coins.
Let the siblings sort out their drama.
He had more urgent matters—like not dying of overeating.