Classroom of the Elite: Houtarou Oreki — Why?

"Why?"

Classmate Sakayanagi put down her vocabulary notebook.

Oreki said, "You may have to take the path of twenty million points. If you gather twenty million points, you can choose to transfer classes."

"Or do you think you can climb up through the normal route with the students in your class?"

"No one has gathered twenty million points so far, so if you manage it, you'll still be able to demonstrate your ability."

"And if you can do that, even your brother will acknowledge you," Oreki said.

"My brother's acknowledgment..."

Horikita Suzune gave Oreki a serious look.

"I feel like you've seen right through me," she said.

"Because I understand what it feels like to have an exceptionally outstanding older brother or sister," Oreki said. "As the younger one in the family, you admire them deeply."

"And their talent really is frightening."

"But even simply being acknowledged by them makes you happy."

Was that so?

The reason Horikita Suzune had come to this school was also because her brother had enrolled through the school's recommendation.

She had always regarded her outstanding brother as her goal. Thinking about it now, she merely wanted his acknowledgment—to prove that she wasn't useless.

Sure enough, nearly being forced to drop out last night had given Horikita Suzune motivation.

To prove that she wasn't useless.

Meanwhile.

"Kamuro, are you free today and tomorrow?"

At her usual desk, Sakayanagi Arisu rose while gripping her cane.

Today was Friday. According to school rules, once classes ended in the afternoon, the weekend began immediately.

By bringing this up, was Sakayanagi Arisu planning to take up Masumi Kamuro's weekend?

And something like that...

"What do you mean?" Masumi Kamuro looked at her.

"I won't be tutoring you this week."

"Because I have a task for you." Sakayanagi Arisu stood up, holding her cane.

"I need you to help me follow Oreki. What he does next may be quite interesting."

"He's aiming for twenty million points, so he should act immediately."

"No student at this school has ever gathered that many points, so I'm interested," Sakayanagi Arisu said.

"Oh..."

So she was being assigned to tail him.

It was troublesome work.

And Oreki had strong counter-surveillance skills. He had quickly noticed Sakura following him.

That made it difficult.

However, Masumi Kamuro did not object.

On one hand, Sakayanagi had seized upon her weakness. If it were exposed, she might be expelled.

The consequences were too severe.

She regretted it deeply. Why hadn't she restrained herself back then?

Still.

As long as she wasn't exposed, there would be no problem.

At the same time, this school's special system made her realize that as long as Sakayanagi Arisu or Oreki managed the class, she could still possibly graduate as a Class A student.

Then her future prospects would be worth looking forward to.

So the hardship she endured now was all for future sweetness.

Kamuro gave herself a pep talk.

Second-Year Students' Secret to Getting Rich!

Four in the afternoon.

The afternoon classes ended.

The afternoon subjects had been chemistry and English.

Oreki had already fully absorbed everything he needed to learn today.

It was his personal motto.

Don't do what isn't necessary, and simplify everything that must be done.

Studying was merely a tool.

He only needed to finish it when it was needed.

Therefore.

He basically never looked at his textbooks after school.

At the same time, this was quite convenient.

Since he didn't need to do homework, he didn't need to bring textbooks home, and naturally didn't have to carry a pile of books to school either.

At that moment.

A soft cry rose from the classroom after school.

The boys in the class went over to the hallway and saw a top-tier beauty walking this way.

She was exceptionally beautiful, with straight black hair and lovely fox-like eyes.

As well as thigh-high socks.

She was extremely eye-catching.

And such a beautiful girl had come to their class?

There was the adorably cute Sakayanagi Arisu in their class, but that was cuteness.

What had appeared now was beauty.

"Oreki, someone's looking for you." Hashimoto, who was skilled at socializing, entered the classroom from the hallway. He also displayed his talent for gathering intelligence. "It's Horikita Suzune from Class D."

In an instant.

Oreki, who had been sitting at his desk and about to take out his phone to contact Horikita Suzune, found everyone looking at him.

Hmm.

Oreki glanced toward the middle of the classroom.

That seat was empty.

There was neither a cane nor a little Tyrannosaurus.

Oreki felt that the only fortunate thing was that Classmate Sakayanagi had left the classroom directly after school.

Click—

However, he also noticed that Masumi Kamuro had not left the classroom after school. She was still sitting at her desk.

Almost immediately after Hashimoto pointed out that the exceptionally beautiful girl had come looking for Oreki, she swiftly took out her phone and snapped a photo in Horikita Suzune's direction.

And her phone made no shutter sound and gave off no flash.

In this country, secret photography was a serious matter, so ordinary phones were required to come with flashes and shutter sounds.

Clearly.

Since anything could be bought with points at this school, restrictions on phones could also be removed.

That made secret photography even more convenient.

With that in mind.

Oreki felt that.

Perhaps he wasn't so fortunate after all.

Besides.

Horikita Suzune had probably come straight over after class without even contacting him, which meant... she was in quite a hurry.

Oreki wondered if going to provoke her at noon had been a little too much.

He had originally planned to gather information himself, but Classmate Horikita had come ahead of him.

So, Oreki chose to leave the classroom with Horikita Suzune.

He did not need to carry any books, so he was relaxed.

"You don't even carry a schoolbag?" Horikita Suzune said as she walked beside Oreki.

She herself had a shoulder bag containing five or six books.

But Oreki's hands were empty, making him look completely at ease.

Perhaps because there was a breeze, Classmate Horikita brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen past her left ear, making her seem a little more ladylike.

At the same time, a faint fragrance drifted over.

It definitely wasn't perfume.

The girl seated in front of Oreki was also a classmate, and she wore perfume, but its scent was different from Horikita Suzune's.

In other words.

Horikita Suzune truly was a top-tier beauty.

He was walking together with one of the school's top beauties.

This really was... something that left an energy saver with complicated feelings.

Still, Oreki remained true to his original intentions.

He had come to school to study, not to get close to beautiful girls just because they were nearby.

So what he needed now was to make money. Make money.

"I usually absorb everything I learn during class, so I don't carry books around," Oreki said.

"Oh." Horikita Suzune seemed to care a great deal about academic performance.

Noticing that she was somewhat distracted, Oreki continued.

"You haven't forgotten our purpose today, have you?"

"To obtain points," Horikita Suzune said. "But the ways to obtain them seem restricted."

"On the first of every month, the school deposits points into each student's private account based on each class's evaluation score multiplied by one hundred."

"Then, while I was in class, I heard some students talking and learned that the Shopping District staff are also paid in points."

"At the same time, the school does not allow students to work part-time."

"So if we want to obtain a large number of extra points, aside from arrangements such as special exams organized by the school, there seems to be no other channel."

"Then gathering twenty million points truly is extremely difficult."

It seemed Horikita Suzune had done some research.