COTE : There is Something Wrong With Hikigaya

Chabashira-sensei called this unique final exam format Paper Shuffle. However, so far, she had only explained the rules—she hadn't mentioned the punishment for failing. 

"As for what happens if you fail Paper Shuffle… Unfortunately, both partners will be expelled together. In other words, this is an all-or-nothing exam." 

The students looked at each other, their expressions a mix of "I expected this" and "I didn't see that coming". 

"As for how partners will be assigned, that will be revealed after next week's test. There's also another task you all need to complete. This time, the test questions will be written by you." 

Although the students would be making the test questions, these wouldn't be used for their own class. Instead, the questions would be swapped with another class. For example, if Class D wrote a set of questions, another class (A, B, or C) would be the one taking that test. Similarly, Class D's final exam questions would be created by one of the other classes. 

The exam would be a one-on-one battle between classes. Once the opponent class was chosen, it wouldn't change. If Class D was paired against Class A, they would exchange questions, take the exams, and compare scores. The class with the lower total score would lose 50 class points, while the class with the higher total score would gain 50 class points. 

This meant that Paper Shuffle wasn't just a test of individual students—it was also a test of teamwork. Since there were eight subjects, meaning 400 questions total, preparing for this in just one month would be extremely difficult. 

After finishing her explanation, Chabashira-sensei left. 

Hirata stood up and greeted Horikita, Kushida, and the others, seemingly ready to discuss the upcoming exam. He also approached Hikigaya, but Hikigaya declined, saying he had student council matters to deal with. 

In truth… the student council did have quite a few things to handle.

"Hikigaya-kun, you're here early today!" 

As soon as Hikigaya stepped into the student council office, he heard a cheerful voice from a certain pink-haired girl. Ichinose had been in the student council for over half a month now, and Hikigaya was slowly getting used to not seeing the petite, bun-haired senior who used to be busy in the office. 

"I really appreciate your help, Hikigaya-kun. Thanks to you, I've been able to get used to the student council work." 

As she spoke, Ichinose took out a small, beautifully wrapped gift box from under the desk. 

"If you don't mind, this is just a little something from me." 

Ichinose looked at Hikigaya expectantly. He originally wanted to refuse, but with her bright smile in front of him, it was hard to say no. The atmosphere made it clear—there was no room for rejection. So, he had no choice but to accept it. 

Since Ichinose was a newcomer to the student council, it was only natural for a "senior" to guide her through the work. And of course, Nagumo, the notorious playboy, had eagerly taken on that role. His intentions were obvious to anyone with eyes. 

But to everyone's surprise, Ichinose had turned him down, saying, "I don't want people to think I got into the student council because of President Nagumo. That would damage his reputation." This left Nagumo speechless, and the task of guiding the "newbie" ended up falling to Hikigaya—the well-known "jack-of-all-trades." 

"Hikigaya-kun, why don't you open it?" 

Just as Hikigaya was about to put the gift away, Ichinose quickly spoke up. Under her expectant gaze, he opened the box and found handmade cookies inside. 

Hikigaya looked up at Ichinose, who was clearly waiting for him to try one. He took a bite, and before he could say anything, Ichinose eagerly asked, "How does it taste? I made these so many times in my dorm! I always felt like the online recipe was too sweet. What do you think this time?" 

"Hm… it seems a little bland?" 

"Bland?" 

Ichinose immediately grabbed one and took a bite herself. The next second, she frowned. "It's still too sweet!" 

"Uh… maybe it's just my taste. Everyone has different preferences. The more you try to cater to others, the harder it is to make something that truly feels like your own. So just make it the way you like it. You don't have to adjust it for me." 

Hikigaya's words carried a deeper meaning. 

But the girl in front of him didn't seem to notice at all. Instead, she looked troubled. Seeing her expression, the dead-fish-eyed boy sighed. 

Just then, they heard noise outside. Ichinose quickly put everything away as if feeling guilty and hurried back to her seat. 

The person who entered was Kiriyama, the student council vice president—the one Horikita Manabu had hoped could stand against Nagumo. 

Just as Hikigaya had initially assessed, ever since Nagumo became president, Kiriyama had been completely silent, as if he had thrown away all of Horikita Manabu's expectations. 

During Horikita's time in office, Kiriyama had been so suppressed by Nagumo that he barely had any presence. Now that Nagumo was president, it seemed nothing had changed. 

"Hikigaya!!" 

That was what Hikigaya thought—until Kiriyama stormed in with a furious expression. 

"What the hell is going on with the club affairs?! Kyoukushin just came to me, saying you're completely uncooperative! What exactly are you trying to do?! This is the student council, not a place for you to mess around! Stop playing games and follow orders like a first-year should!" 

Kiriyama was clearly angry and resentful, and the moment he entered, he threw accusations at Hikigaya. 

His sudden outburst stunned Ichinose, who quickly stood up to ease the tension. "Uh, Kiriyama-senpai, maybe there's some misunderstanding? Let's not get upset. Why don't we calmly talk it through first? Maybe—" 

"First-years should shut up!" 

Before she could finish, Kiriyama snapped, cutting her off with a loud reprimand. 

Ichinose froze, her expression stiff. It was clear she was shaken—not just by Kiriyama's forceful attitude, but also by the fact that he was a "senpai" scolding a "kouhai." 

In both Japanese and Korean cultures, the hierarchy between seniors and juniors is deeply ingrained. Respect for seniority is taken very seriously. It's common for seniors to lash out when they're displeased, sometimes even resorting to physical punishment, leading to frequent cases of bullying. 

So when Kiriyama asserted his authority like this, Ichinose was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere. 

However… while some people would back down in this situation, others wouldn't be intimidated at all. 

"Hah… Kiriyama-senpai, that's quite the attitude. Anyone who didn't know better might think you were the student council president."

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