COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

Perhaps because they shared a common interest, Hikigaya and the store clerk quickly became friends and exchanged contact details.

Even though the store clerk wasn't a student, the rule was that anyone within the school, including staff and teachers, had to use the designated school-issued phones. This policy came in handy more often than expected.

One of the functions of the school's phones was that once you added someone as a friend, you could track their location. Although you could disable this feature in the settings, most people didn't bother to turn it off by default. This was particularly true for men, who either didn't notice or didn't care.

After all, the school was a relatively small place. People were either in class, in the dorms, or at the Keyaki Mall. There wasn't much need to hide their whereabouts.

As it turned out, the store clerk hadn't deactivated the tracking feature, which meant that as soon as he entered the dorm building, Hikigaya would know.

The downside? The clerk, believing they shared a common bond, continued to send Hikigaya messages, primarily discussing idols or other insignificant subjects. Seriously, at least be professional while you're on the job!

Hikigaya grumbled inwardly as he hid in a corner of the schoolyard, replying to the messages. Fortunately, it was PE class, allowing the students to move freely. If it had been a regular class, he wouldn't have been able to pull out his phone so easily.

Still, Hikigaya figured he only needed to put up with this for a few more days. It was likely that the guy would send another letter to Sakura soon, and once that happened, Hikigaya would be at peace.

Alternatively, he might not even need to wait a few days. The clerk could mess up at any moment.

With this thought in mind, Hikigaya glanced at his friend list. Unfortunately, the clerk was still at the store.

Hikigaya sighed. "Is being a cop this boring when you're staking out suspects?"

As a kid, he used to imagine becoming a police officer and heroically arresting criminals. But as he grew up, he came to realize that peace was far more desirable.

Therefore, Hikigaya decided to intervene before the store clerk escalated into a full-fledged stalker.

Ding!

Just then, his phone pinged with another message.

Sigh... here we go again.

Hikigaya sighed, prepared to respond half-heartedly, but there was something different about this message.

[Oh my gosh!!!]

[I have some shocking news!]

[Shizuku just added me as a friend and asked me to meet up!]

...What?

Instinctively, Hikigaya glanced toward the field, where Sakura, under Horikita's watchful eye, was gasping for breath as she ran laps. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.

Sakura was usually terrible at sports and rarely participated willingly in these kinds of activities. Sakura had been taking practice seriously since the announcement of the sports festival, possibly due to her fear of Horikita or her desire to avoid disappointing her.

In other words, that store clerk's delusions had worsened.

Hikigaya shook his head and sent a quick reply: "Watch out for scams."

However, the clerk seemed to misunderstand.

[Haha, I get why you'd be jealous!]

[Too bad! Shizuku was my destiny from the beginning!]

Sure, whatever.

There wasn't much point in arguing with this kind of person. The best strategy was to just nod and agree.

There were more messages, but they appeared to be slightly different this time.

[But seriously, thanks for your concern!]

[Don't worry, I'm positive I won't fall for a scam!]

[Anyway, I'm off to meet my dear Shizuku. Talk later!]

...Wait, what?

Hikigaya's instincts told him this wasn't just idle talk. He paused for a moment to think, and then it hit him.

If they were outside the school, this would seem like a scam—no matter how obsessed a fan was, they wouldn't fall for something this obvious. But inside the school, in a closed environment like ANHS, if someone suggested meeting up at a specific location, the clerk might genuinely believe it could only be Sakura herself.

But there was a problem.

Sakura was currently running laps on the field. Unless she possessed some sort of cloning ability, that scenario was absurd.

Therefore, the clerk's delusion had gotten worse, correct?

But something still felt off.

Frowning, Hikigaya opened his friend list again and checked the clerk's location.

It showed that he had already left the store and was now near the school's loading dock.

"That's odd... He shouldn't be making deliveries, right?

To be fair, Hikigaya didn't know the exact nature of the clerk's job. He might have received a request for temporary assistance.

If the clerk wasn't lying, then who had lured him out?

...Sakayanagi?

The name popped into Hikigaya's head.

Yesterday, when he had added the clerk as a friend, Sakayanagi had been present, observing the entire process. She knew all the details about the situation.

Knowing that Sakura was "Shizuku" would make it easy for someone like Sakayanagi to trick the clerk into meeting up.

Impossible…

Maybe… I should go check.

With that thought in mind, Hikigaya immediately started running.

Though it was just a hunch without any real evidence, he couldn't shake the unease gnawing at him. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to skip PE—he wasn't exactly participating anyway, and it wouldn't matter even if this turned out to be a fruitless pursuit.

After all, peace of mind was worth the effort.

---

Since hearing about a stalker at her father's school, Sakayanagi had been in a foul mood.

It wasn't the first time she had encountered unsavory people. Typically, she would patiently wait for the ideal moment to confront them.

But this time was different.

She couldn't wait another second—she wanted to deal with it right here, straight now.

Unfortunately, Hikigaya disagreed. For some inexplicable reason, he harbored unnecessary sympathy toward scum like that.

Sigh. "Still as naïve as ever."

Despite his innocence, Sakayanagi held a certain admiration for Hikigaya's abilities—he had even managed to surprise her more than once. The two special exams during the summer proved his skill. Not only had he completely dismantled Katsuragi from their class, but he had also allowed two other classes to accumulate a massive number of points, causing her in Class A to drop straight to Class C.

It was truly remarkable.

Just thinking about it brightened Sakayanagi's previously agitated mood.

On the surface, it didn't seem like Hikigaya had much to do with it, especially during the "preferred" student exam, where he had barely participated. Yet Sakayanagi trusted her instincts more than the reports from her classmates. She was convinced that Hikigaya was manipulating the situation behind the scenes, and Ichinose and Ryuuen, who were considered the biggest winners, were only acting as distractions.

"He's such a rebellious troublemaker," she mused with a smile.

She had expected Hikigaya to mount a forceful counterattack at some point, though the outcome had been unexpected. Originally, she thought Hikigaya would lead Class D to defeat Class A in the two exams or perhaps even crush all three other classes.

Had that happened, Class D might have risen through the ranks, but their weak foundation would've made it impossible to threaten Class A's position in the short term. That would have given Sakayanagi time to rebuild her class and restore morale.

However, Class D remained the zero-point class, while Class A had dropped to Class C.

Though Sakayanagi didn't care about which class she belonged to, she couldn't stand the thought of being beneath anyone else—especially not beneath Ichinose or Ryuuen, two students she had never considered worth her attention.

"Hikigaya-kun… You certainly have a knack for putting me in difficult situations."

Sakayanagi let out a soft sigh. She had intended to unite her class and face off against Ayanokoji in a proper competition, but given the current circumstances, it seemed that wouldn't be possible anytime soon.

Internal issues plagued both Class C and Class D, and solving them would require significant effort.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of time. No need to rush.

The only issue was that masterpiece, who seemed to be hiding his true abilities. Whether or not he would take the game seriously remained a question.

"Hm? Who are you?"

A voice pulled Sakayanagi from her thoughts. It was the guest she had invited today.

Time to wrap this up.

Sakayanagi smiled faintly and bowed her head. "Good afternoon, sir. I've been expecting you."

"Huh? Expecting me?"

"Before we go any further, I owe you an apology," Sakayanagi said as she pulled out her phone. "The person you've been communicating with wasn't Sakura, but me, pretending to be her."

"Wait, what?! You tricked me?!"

"Please don't get upset. You see, I'm excellent friends with Sakura and that idol, Shizuku. She did recognize you as her devoted fan.

Sakayanagi's lies flowed effortlessly, leaving the man dumbfounded.

"Then why didn't she..."

"She's shy," Sakayanagi said with a sweet smile. "Though she wanted to thank you in person for all your support, she felt too embarrassed, so she asked me to relay her gratitude."

"Oh! Is that so?"

The man's anger melted away, replaced with delight.

"Heh, it's no big deal. Shizuku is very special to me. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her in a magazine! How fortunate am I to receive an invitation from a girl as adorable as you? I'd say I'm pretty lucky!"

"Hehe, you're too kind."

Sakayanagi chuckled softly.

"I completely understand your feelings. It must've been a surprise to meet Shizuku at this school, even more so to learn her real name."

"Yeah! Sakura Airi, what a wonderful name!" The man was practically swooning. "I think it was fate that brought us together... Oh, and I've sent her so many letters! Each one expressing my deepest feelings!"

"Yes, she mentioned that."

"Really?! She read all of them?!"

Hearing this, the man grew even more ecstatic.

"Did she say anything about them?"

"Oh, she did."

"Did it move her? Was she touched?"

"She said you're disgusting."

"That's amazing! She said, I—wait, what?"

His face froze in confusion.

Before he could respond, he noticed that Sakayanagi, who had been smiling all this time, now wore an icy expression.

"What's going on inside that head of yours?"

"Huh?"

"Sending unsolicited letters to a student." Sakayanagi's voice was cold. "Do you realize how disgraceful that is? A man who can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy is truly pitiful."

"N-no! It's not like that! Shizuku and I—we're connected!"

"Save your delusions for your dreams."

Sakayanagi's face twisted in disgust.

Given the gravity of your actions, we could even classify this as a crime.

"C-crime?! No, I just..."

"You can explain that to the police," Sakayanagi said, lifting her phone. "I've recorded our entire conversation. I'll be submitting it to the school shortly. Let them decide your fate."

"You, you…"

The man lowered his head, his breathing growing heavy. Suddenly, he lunged toward her with alarming force.

"Why are you interfering with me and Shizuku?!"

He grabbed Sakayanagi's arm, shoving her aside as her phone fell to the ground.

"Damn it, it's all your fault... I love Shizuku! There's no way she would treat me like this!"

Lying on the ground, Sakayanagi watched him with cold eyes, an amused smile on her face.

Despite the pain in her hip from the fall, the nearby stack of boxes had absorbed most of the impact, preventing her from suffering serious injuries.

"Oh right! I'll delete it! I need to erase that recording!"

Frantically, the man picked up Sakayanagi's phone and began fiddling with it—though it was a futile effort. The so-called recording had been nothing but a bluff from the start.

She had merely manipulated him into saying those things. Even if she handed it to the school, it wouldn't serve as solid evidence.

He wouldn't have been so easily frightened if he had maintained his composure.

But the undeniable fact remained: he had shoved Sakayanagi to the ground.

The nearby security cameras had clearly captured that event.

If it had been a scuffle between two healthy high school boys, one could easily dismiss it as a simple argument. But now that it involved a fragile, disabled girl, the situation was inescapable.

Soon enough, security would arrive and escort him away.

This had been Sakayanagi's plan all along.

The thought of what would happen next filled her with genuine delight.

You won't escape the shame you've brought upon my father.

As she imagined the unfolding drama, Sakayanagi reached for her cane, which had rolled away and slowly stood up, leaning against the stack of boxes.

However, she hadn't noticed that the top box had begun to wobble precariously.

"I'm warning you; stay out of things between me and Shizuku!"

The man, having deleted the nonexistent recording, threw the phone to the ground in frustration.

As Sakayanagi bent to pick it up, preparing to speak, a frantic shout suddenly broke through the air.

"Sakayanagi! Move!"

"Huh? Hikigaya-kun?"

Hikigaya was charging toward her at full speed, arms flailing wildly.

So stubborn.

How did he even know? But it didn't matter—he was too late.

Sakayanagi shook her head slightly. Hikigaya had already captured the decisive evidence, regardless of his intentions. That man was as decent as... wait, what?

To her shock, Hikigaya didn't slow down.

The distance between them was too close.

Before she could react, Hikigaya tackled her to the ground.

The only sound that followed was a loud, dull thud.