I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

Or rather, if she wanted to get closer, the four of them would chuckle and speed up, leaving her alone again.

Should one sympathize with her? Himeko couldn't quite muster any sympathy. Playing the game of ostracizing others is inherently foolish, and one must be responsible for the consequences of their own actions, right? It's just that she happened to draw the worst possible outcome and became the final target of ostracism.

Those who wanted to befriend her began to hesitate, because humans tend to conform and follow the crowd. If others ostracized her and she were to associate with her, she would be seen as an outcast, and outcasts would be ostracized again. Nobody wanted to be squeezed out of that so-called circle, so people would stick together for warmth—so is this the mentality of the weak? Hikigaya called this the mentality of the weak, but Himekoji did not agree.

Himekoji felt that this was merely the mindset of a mediocre person, not a weak one, because the vast majority of people were just mediocre. Being aloof and solitary was nothing remarkable. Although Himekoji disliked Haruno, she had to admit that Haruno herself was quite capable. Apart from her younger sister, Yukino Yukinoshita, were there really any people she truly recognized and cared for? Was she a loner? But undeniably, Haruno was definitely a strong person, a strong person who had mastered the art of disguise to the point of being like Hachiman's automatically activated "Demons Begone" aura.

The strong can always rally the mediocre and save the weak, so those who gather around the strong are not all weak, but mostly mediocre. The strong also have a mutual understanding and appreciation with each other, and the stronger will recruit the second strongest to their ranks. This is Himekoji's strategy.

If you are strong, I will be even stronger. I will defeat you and conquer you, and then you will come to rely on me. If killing a thousand enemies results in losing eight hundred and others will take advantage of the situation, then we will cooperate. For example, against Gidou Mariya, if we encounter an even stronger opponent, we will fight you together with my subordinates and partners.

Mediocre people will be inspired and gather automatically, but they still need strong people to lead them, otherwise they will become headless flies in a panic, while the weak are still waiting to be saved somewhere, crying and begging helplessly. Therefore, Himekoji is very busy.

"You care a lot?"

Himekoji, who was standing next to Yukinoshita, asked.

"No, not at all..."

Yukinoshita looked away, but quickly focused her gaze back on them.

"That kind of lie can't fool me."

“There’s nothing I can do if I’ve been seen through,” Yukinoshita said, no longer bothering to hide it, and instead pointed directly at the isolated Tsurumi Rumi, saying, “Um, if you were in a similar situation in elementary school, what would you do?”

"I have many ways to handle this."

"Fine, let me put it another way: if you were her..."

"Yukinoshita, that assumption is impossible. But if it were true... I would organize delinquent teenagers to develop my own new yakuza force, carve out my own territory, and then slowly absorb the surrounding delinquent teenagers to form a group or organization. Gradually, I would enter society, get involved in the gray industry, gain government recognition, and become the boss of Shinjuku Ichiban-gai—that's about it."

Author's Note:

PS2: I need a knife.

Chapter 111 Seeking Blades, [Hayama Hayato] Begins Testing the Waters

"Well... I'm not surprised that you said that, after all, you are the evil, black-hearted, and cold-blooded Himekoji."

“Hey, where did you hear about my nickname on campus? You even added a prefix to it.”

"Everyone in the class is talking about it. After all, I have ears too, unlike some people."

"..."

Himekoji sighed to herself, rubbing her forehead.

"But what would you do if she were in this situation and you were given the task to handle, strong Himekoji?"

“It depends on how much she’s willing to pay, how much value she has to make me handle this. A crude but complicated approach would be to give her three years of elite education after graduating from elementary school, completely repackage and transform her, and then throw her into a decent high school. The more elite the place, the fewer people will do stupid things.” Ji Xiaolu paused and then continued, “With her looks, temperament, and abilities, she will quickly attract attention. As long as she doesn’t continue to do stupid things, her life will be as smooth as possible. Being good-looking is always useful—but I have no reason to invest so much energy and resources in her.”

“I’m telling you…” This time it was Yukino's turn to sigh and rub her forehead. She continued, “Does it really have to be this big of a fuss?”

"The simplest solution is to transfer schools. Like I said, as long as she doesn't do anything stupid and acts cheerful, that's fine. But this requires negotiating with her parents, or getting some people to start talking to her. People will follow the crowd, and the class might lose about a third of its students, so the situation will improve. Well, what I'm talking about are solutions, not half-baked delaying tactics."

"So what's your half-baked procrastination method?"

"Disrupt existing interpersonal relationships, completely break up the group of four, start monitoring and recording them now for about one or two months, collect all the bad things they've done, pranks they've played, rumors they've spread, bad things they've said, their experiences of badmouthing their friends behind their backs, and their love triangle, and then expose them all to the class at once. The overall pressure on the class will force everyone to start isolating the four of them, and the four of them will also turn against each other and blame each other. The final result will be that there will be four more isolated individuals in the class. If the group of four is broken up into individual entities, the strongest and closest alliance of exclusion will completely collapse. As for whether she herself will be reinstated by the class, we don't know."

Himekoji kept talking while looking at Tsurumi Rumi's back, but when he turned around, he found Yukinoshita looking at him as if she had seen a ghost.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for?"

Himeko waved in front of her.

"Huh...?" Yukinoshita said as if waking from a dream, "Ah? Hmm... As expected of the evil, black-hearted, and cold-blooded student council president Himekoji."

"...Is this considered a compliment?"

"I wasn't praising you, I was just saying that what you did was in line with your own style. You're making a big deal out of elementary school kids like it's a spy war, ugh... I'm getting goosebumps. You've made me realize just how high the level of your recklessness really is."

Yukinoshita rubbed her arms together with her hands crossed, revealing a look of disgust.

"In short, the core idea is to change the environment. There are many variations and choices in the specific methods, ranging from the extreme of completely changing the environment and oneself to the other extreme of only slightly changing the environment but not changing oneself at all. That's about it... For me, as long as I have enough resources, I can achieve my own goals and protect the important people. As for the irrelevant people, I don't care what they do."

Himekoji glanced sideways at Yukinoshita and declared, then started walking. Yukinoshita hesitated for several seconds before following him again.

The five girls encountered a non-venomous Japanese serpent. Hayama, seeing Himekoji talking to Yukinoshita, took matters into his own hands and dealt with it. The group then sped up and headed towards the finish line, distributing bento boxes and drinks to the children who reached the finish line. They had a couple of hours of free time in the afternoon before preparing dinner. First, Hiratsuka Shizuka demonstrated how to light a fire, declaring, "While I was struggling to light the fire, those damn couples were taking the opportunity to be intimate. It's so damn annoying."

—Speaking of which, Hiratsuka Shizuka's first boyfriend was introduced to her by her family after she started working, and they broke up in less than a week.

"Boys, start the fire; girls, prepare the ingredients!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka issued the order as if she were seeking revenge for a past experience.

When it comes to camping, curry is definitely the go-to choice—well, that's what Hachiman would say. Himekoji would say barbecue, guitar, ukulele, campfire, and dance. But making curry is obviously more convenient and quick, and it can satisfy the food needs of many people in a short time. So when there are many people and resources are not so abundant, curry is the better choice.

Hiratsuka Shizuka took all the girls away, leaving behind Himekoji, Hikigaya, Hayama, Tobe Sho, and Totsuka. Hiratsuka Shizuka instructed them to light a charcoal fire, a task that would be inappropriate for elementary school students, so it had to be done by the high school boys. Due to differences in their usual status and habits, Tobe Sho volunteered to chop wood, while Totsuka offered to help Tobe Sho by carrying the chopped wood over. Therefore, the task of starting the fire and blowing air was assigned to Hikigaya, Himekoji, and Hayama.

The three worked silently, without much conversation. It was too hot, and working under the blazing sun felt rather lifeless.

Hakiraya slowed down a bit, and Hayama and Himekoji had to wait for him for a little while each time. Just then, Totsuka said he was going to get some cold drinks, and Hakiraya said, "Me too!" and ran off with Totsuka, leaving Himekoji and Hayama to continue working.

After placing a piece of wood on top, Himekoji and Hayama happened to look at each other.

"By the way... Haruto-kun, which one do you favor among Hikigaya-san, Yukinoshita-san, and Yuigahama-san? After all, they are all members of the same Service Club."

"Hayato, you're making it sound like I'm interested in men... How could I possibly be interested in (at this moment, Himekoji suddenly pictured the adorable face of Mariya)... cough! But if we're talking about who's good to be with, I probably wouldn't be good to be with either of them."

"Huh...? I thought—"

"You think I'm optimistic about it..."

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

Totsuka walked over with a cup of cold drinks, interrupting Himekoji's speech. Himekoji and Hayama took the drinks from the plate he was carrying, thanked him, and then Totsuka ran off with a smile, took a cold drink from the plate that Hikigaya was carrying, and gave it to Tobe, who was resting with his axe.

Sometimes these interruptions come at just the right time.

Author's Note:

PS: This is the third update today, please give me some criticism.

Chapter 112 In terms of strength, [Tsurumi Rumi] is really too weak.

Interrupted, Ji Xiaolu didn't continue. The two worked together to fan the flames, making the charcoal fire burn brighter and brighter. It was so hot that they were still lighting a fire. If it weren't for the cold drinks, they would have been unable to stand it. Ji Xiaolu took off her gloves, walked a few steps away, and stood in the shade to take a big, comfortable gulp. Ye Shan also came over. It seemed that he wanted to ask something, but just then, the girls' group finished their work and ran over.

"Amazing! As expected of Hayato-kun and Haruto-kun~"

"Hehehehe~, cough cough."

Ebina almost lost control, but after Himeko gave her a look, she immediately stopped her strange fantasies. When he stood next to Hayama, Hayama was a head shorter than him. In fact, Hayama's height was considered standard for high school boys, while Himeko's was already among the top.

"Ah, chopping wood is tiring work."

The Minister of Revenue wiped his sweat, took off his gloves. The charcoal was readily available, but he would have to chop the firewood himself.

"Sit-sit, thank you for your hard work." Yui Hama walked over somewhat awkwardly with a towel in her hand and handed it to Hikigaya, saying, "You have charcoal ash on your face."

A little further away, Yukinoshita quietly observed Himekoji and Hayama. They noticed him too. Hayama looked at Himekoji, and at that moment, Yukinoshita looked away and casually walked towards the boys' group.

"Thanks for your hard work."

She calmly approached Himekoji and Hayama and said this.

"It doesn't matter."

Himekoji shrugged, while Hayama chuckled and remained silent. At that moment, Komachi and Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over from the other end, chatting and laughing as they carried two large baskets. The baskets were filled to the brim with vegetables, including onions, carrots, and potatoes. Himekoji remembered that there should also be pork belly in the baskets. Personally, he preferred to put beef or chicken in them, as pork belly had a high fat content.

"I was really surprised that Hachiman went to get some cold drinks with Totsuka-kun just now."

Standing next to Himekoji, Yukinoshita gently pinched her chin and looked at Hikigaya, saying.

"People sometimes do things that surprise others."

"Ah...this sentence couldn't be more fitting for you."

After hearing this, Yukinoshita immediately shook her head with a pained expression, as if she had recalled some unbearable past. She put one hand to her forehead.

"I'll go over and help Hikigaya's sister, Komachi!"

Hayama smiled and waved to them before running towards Komachi, taking the obviously heavy basket from her. Yukinoshita watched Hayama leave, her expression slightly stiff. She turned to look at Himekoji, noticing that Himekoji was also looking at her, and then she asked directly, "Is there anything you want to ask?"

"No."

“Yeah...you’re like an older sister to me. You can easily find out whoever you want to investigate, but honestly, that feeling isn’t good,” Yukinoshita said as if talking to herself. “Hayama-kun and I were classmates in the same elementary school. He tried to help me with something, but it backfired. The situation is somewhat similar to that isolated girl we met today. That’s about it.”

"How are you feeling, any more relaxed?"

"You...?" Yukinoshita glanced at Himekoji with surprise, then turned her head away and said, "Anyway, so much time has passed... It doesn't matter what happens now. The cause and effect have already been sown, and things have come to this..."

"Hey you two, come help me!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka immediately interrupted Yukinoshita, her forehead veins bulging as if they were about to pop out.

The cooking area was a large running water station where many preparations were carried out. When Hiratsuka Shizuka called them, Yukinoshita and Himekoji naturally separated and went over there. They washed their hands thoroughly, then took the appropriate amount of vegetables and pork belly from Hayama and went to their individual cooking stations. They added water to the large bucket-like cooking utensils and started boiling the water while their hands were constantly chopping and tidying up. After Hayama finished distributing the vegetables, he also joined in with everyone else. The elementary school students played carefree in the distance, while Yuihama kept talking to Yukinoshita, but Yukinoshita's response was surprisingly calm, as if she was just going through the motions.

Put the chopped vegetables and meat into the large pot that had already boiled, add the curry cubes that had been prepared beforehand, stir a few times, and then just wait for everything in the pot to cook. The high school students were fine, but the elementary school students' mini cooking was not going well in many ways. Some of them who failed had simply given up and started a vegetable battle in the big kitchen, making a group of high school students scramble to stop them.

However, the matter of cooking curry basically came to nothing. Ms. Hiratsuka said she would keep an eye on the pot and let the high school students go and check out the elementary school students' territory and help them out if they wanted. Himekoji and Hayama walked in front. Hayama could instinctively sense that Himekoji didn't like elementary school students, so he usually took the initiative to help if anything happened. Himekoji would only help when he was called on. Not long after, Himekoji left somewhat irritably, put on her hat, and stood under the shade of a tree on the hillside, silently taking deep breaths.

Yukinoshita and Hikigaya also arrived here. The three of them saw Hayama playing a game of sharing secrets with the elementary school students. He asked, "Who wants to put some secret ingredients in the curry?" Yuihama excitedly raised her hand and said, "Here!! I want to put in a peach!"

Wow, Hayama's face is frozen! Should I call you an idiot or just innocent and cute?

"What an idiot..."

Biqigu Fufu said.

"Reconsider."

"Reconsideration +1".

Yukinoshita echoed Himekoji's words.

Rumi Tsurumi walked over at some point. When Himekoji glanced at her, looking a little intimidated, she lowered her head and drew circles on the ground with her toes, saying, "Really, they're all a bunch of idiots."

"If you really look down on others, you should first have the ability to do so yourself."

Himekoji adjusted her glasses and spoke to her as if to offer a subtle reminder.

"The vast majority of people in the world are idiots."

"You're one of the vast majority, aren't you?"