Chapter 306 Suzune, How Do You Plan to Repay Me?
Fourth day of the forest school exam.
The large group Hiyori Shiina belonged to was still riddled with conflict, so much so that it had drawn the focused attention of the patrolling teachers. Consequently, Hiyori was unable to sneak out for their nightly trysts.
Taking her place was Kushida Kikyo, who emerged almost every night like clockwork to meet with Hachiman.
"Time is tight," she whispered.
"Hey, Hachiman... let me get some satisfaction first!"
Kushida's face was flushed, and her brows were knit with an expression of intense excitement.
"Could you please stop using such ambiguous and suggestive phrasing?"
Hachiman couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead.
"You're known as the 'Little Angel Kikyo,' after all. You should speak more like a lady.
Forget it, just start venting... Since I promised you, I'll accept your emotional discharge anytime."
Kushida stuck out her tongue. "Why do I feel like your words are even cruder?"
"Stop talking nonsense and get to it!"
Hachiman waved his hand, signaling for her performance to begin.
This forest school exam was proving to be no less troublesome than the uninhabited island exam. First and foremost, rooming with other classes was a major headache—especially for the girls.
As the saying goes, "six girls, nine group chats."
Sixteen girls living together created permutations of drama that defied imagination.
The kicker was the ban on phones; they didn't even have a digital outlet to complain in private.
With so many scheduled classes every day and so little free time, the treatment was practically comparable to a prison.
As the resident "Little Angel," Kushida was destined to be the one listening to the other girls' grievances. To maintain her persona, she had to remain patient and wear a smiling face while comforting them, which led to a massive accumulation of stress.
"Seriously, this exam is disgusting!"
Like a dam bursting, Kushida began her rapid-fire venting.
"The rules and restrictions are more numerous than the texts we have to memorize in literature class!"
"Mm-hmm."
"I have to get up early to make breakfast for the whole group. Those upperclassmen b*tches... acting like senpais when they're all kitchen idiots!"
"Hard work, indeed."
"Boys and girls have separate classes, so I can't even turn around to look at you, Hachiman."
'Wait, that last one isn't really something to complain about, is it?
Classes are for focusing; why look at me?'
However, to comfort her, Hachiman followed her lead: "Yeah, it's a real shame I can't see your face when I'm spacing out."
Truth be told, during the meditation class, Katsuragi Kohei was the one sitting directly in front of him. Every time Hachiman opened his eyes, he was greeted by a shiny, reflective bald head. The boredom level increased by 100%.
"Heehee~ So Hachiman peeks at me during class too~~"
Kushida's mood visibly brightened.
She continued her tirade: "Those idiot women in the dorm have had enough! Complaining about off-brand shampoo or lack of conditioner... are their brains made of sh*t? What use is complaining to me? I'm not their mother!!"
"Exactly, how stupid. You'd make a great mother, though."
To amuse her, Hachiman proactively lowered his head toward her.
"Ehehe~~"
Kushida smiled and patted his head, her tone turning playful.
"Hachiman is my good little baby~~~"
In this manner, through both Hachiman's words and physical presence, Kushida's mental and physical well-being was restored.
"By the way, I heard from some stupid girl in the third year—the one with tiny breasts who uses three layers of padding—that Ikari is seeing a guy named Ishikura from their class..."
Filtering out the useless information about the "tiny breasts and three layers of padding," Kushida finally delivered the crucial intelligence.
Ishikura Ren, the class representative and leader of 3rd Year Class B.
Hachiman had learned basic information about this man during his exchanges with Horikita Manabu. He was a man of excellent ability and good character across the board. Hachiman calculated that this guy might be the perfect point of entry.
"It's getting late, Kikyo. You should head back."
"Hachiman, aren't you coming with me?"
"Don't be ridiculous. What if we're caught by the patrol?"
"Tch~ If we're caught, we're caught. We'll just say we're on a normal date."
"Coming out of the restroom at 11:00 PM together? Nothing about that looks normal."
.
.
.
After finally sending Kushida away, Hachiman stood in place for a moment. He suddenly called out toward a particular bush.
"Come on out. Aren't you afraid of being bitten all over by mosquitoes squatting there?"
"..."
A figure stood up from beneath the shrubs, brushed the dust off her clothes, and stared at him with sharp eyes under the moonlight.
"Suzune, when did you learn to eavesdrop on others? And how can you be so thick-skinned after being caught?"
Hachiman chose to strike first.
"Talking about being thick-skinned, who could possibly compare to you?"
Horikita Suzune crossed her arms over her chest, her face set in a serious, judgmental scowl.
"Ahem~"
Hachiman's expression was strained. He quickly shifted the topic: "So, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Does anyone come here for a purpose other than using the restroom?"
Suzune countered with her own question: "Given how practiced you look, how many girls have you had trysts with here?"
"Setting the facts aside for a moment... everything I do, I do for you, Suzune!"
Hachiman declared with an air of righteousness.
"What do you mean 'setting facts aside'... and for me?"
Suzune frowned.
Left with no choice, Hachiman explained the predicament Horikita Manabu was facing in detail.
"How can this be! That Nagumo is too despicable!"
Suzune grit her teeth, her face full of indignation. Her gaze toward Hachiman suddenly softened.
"In other words, Hachiman, you've been helping my brother all this time..."
"I'm not helping him for free; I have a deal with President Horikita.
Besides, I just don't like Nagumo's way of doing things," Hachiman explained.
"Regardless, you are helping my brother, aren't you?
Is there... anything I can do?"
Suzune wanted to get involved.
"Suzune, can you build good relationships with the people in your dorm?"
"No."
"Suzune, can you curry favor with the large group and extract intelligence from the upperclassmen?"
"No."
"Got it."
Suzune was momentarily speechless, a look of dejection crossing her face.
"Hachiman... am I really that useless?"
'Actually, yes.'
In this forest school exam that emphasized teamwork, a lone wolf like Horikita Suzune, who preferred fighting alone, had almost no room to operate.
However, to give her some psychological comfort, Hachiman added: "If you can't do something yourself, you just have to ask someone else to do it for you.
Of course, you'll have to repay me."
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