Classroom of the Elite, but It's a Diary Style

He had had enough.

Since yesterday afternoon, this guy had been ambushing him without a moment's rest.

Whether he was eating, shopping, or even using the restroom, Ryuen Kakeru would appear without mercy and launch an attack.

After being harassed for a whole day, Ishizaki Daichi felt like a Ryuen was about to jump out of his dreams while he slept at night.

The most terrifying part was that when he woke up and finally relaxed, he opened his dormitory door to head to class, only to find that the damn Ryuen had been guarding his door the whole time, jumping out to ambush him the second he opened it!

His mind was completely frazzled.

He even started to entertain the thought of just giving up.

However, the bottom line of being a delinquent and the small shred of pride in his heart kept him from surrendering.

Submitting to such low-handed tactics felt too shameful.

Still, if a powerhouse like Yamada Albert had submitted, he wouldn't mind compromising a little.

Ishizaki Daichi truly couldn't imagine what his mental state would become if Ryuen Kakeru really kept harassing and ambushing him without sleep for a few more days.

At the very least, in this regard, he felt a tiny bit of admiration for Ryuen Kakeru.

"Good, then remember what you said." Standing up from Ishizaki Daichi's body, Ryuen Kakeru said coldly.

Yamada Albert was, like Ishizaki Daichi, one of the few men who had clearly resisted his rule and had not succumbed to his violence on the first day.

Although he had also chosen to hand over 50,000 points, his reason was the same as Ishizaki Daichi's—it was only because the transaction was backed by the homeroom teacher, and he had chosen to pay for the sake of the class.

To make him submit, Ryuen's violence alone was not enough.

One had to know that Yamada Albert possessed an unimaginable physique; just standing there, he was almost a symbol of violence, and it was said he was of mixed heritage with African descent.

Ryuen Kakeru's strength was not small, but he was no match for Yamada Albert.

But what Ryuen Kakeru was most proud of was never his own strength.

It was his ability to face any enemy without fear, a tenacity that Asakusa Toru described as being like a "stubborn snake."

While Ryuen Kakeru of Class C was completing the final integration of his class, Asakusa Toru was finally liberated from his own.

Ichinose Honami had obediently taken on the responsibilities at the forefront, without revealing that it was he who had provided the intelligence.

...Well, although some observant people in the class might have already noticed, they should know where to draw the line.

In fact, it wasn't that Asakusa Toru couldn't take over as the leader of Class B by seizing this opportunity.

But... it was just so much trouble.

Even if he racked his brains playing class politics, it would only increase his monthly allowance by a little bit.

He didn't need to rely on graduating from Class A to obtain special privileges.

From this perspective, Asakusa Toru's stance was actually very similar to Beautiful Brother's.

Koenji Rokusuke, known as Beautiful Brother, was in Class 1-D, sporting yellow hair and a sturdy, toned physique.

Most importantly, he was the heir to the Koenji Zaibatsu, an only son.

A zaibatsu is a zaibatsu; a company that isn't wealthy enough cannot be called a zaibatsu.

Although he couldn't compare to the absurd numbers of the Shinomiya Group or the Suzuki Zaibatsu, he was still the largest supporter of a certain faction in Japanese politics.

As the heir to a zaibatsu, he naturally had no need to care about graduating from Class A, nor did he need to care whether the school's evaluation of him was fair or not.

As long as he wasn't expelled in a disgraceful manner, even choosing not to participate in any special exams would have no impact on him.

...Well, although that was the case, Asakusa Toru wouldn't go so far as to act like Koenji.

He was just too lazy to move.

At the very least, he didn't have any spare time to waste on class competition until he had fully digested the help that the White Room Membership Card could provide.

Ensuring his own combat power was the top priority.

In any case, as the price for letting Ichinose stand at the forefront for him.

Today's lunch was on him.

"I didn't expect that we would end up in the same school, Asakusa-kun." Sitting across from Asakusa Toru, Ichinose Honami rested her chin on her hands and said with a hint of emotion: "And in the same class, too."

"This country is quite small, after all." Asakusa Toru shrugged: "So, what are you planning to say?"

"My response to what happened before remains unchanged. If you insist on doing something, then just be a good leader for this class."

"Mm, I will." Ichinose Honami nodded gently.

"However, before that, there are some things I want to say to Asakusa-kun."

"Just take it as me talking to myself; you don't need to feel any burden." The girl said something very similar to what Asakusa Toru had said.

"Actually, I'm very grateful to Asakusa-kun." Before Asakusa Toru could respond, she continued on her own: "Although I was scolded very badly at the time, and Mrs. Natsuki even called the police, and in the end, not only did I miss a day of school, but even my mother gave me a harsh lecture."

"But I am still very grateful to Asakusa-kun."

Just as she said, this was merely talking to herself.

"At that time, I was actually very lost."

"My mother had fallen ill, and my younger sister was very unhappy, but there was nothing I could do."

"I was thinking to myself, 'If only I had money,'" Ichinose Honami said. "Coincidentally, Asakura-kun was right there beside me, saying the exact same thing I had in my heart."

"Ah, I wonder if my inner thoughts were heard? I had this strange feeling."

Ichinose gently stirred the iced coffee the waiter had brought, saying softly:

"If it weren't for that, no matter how lost I was at the time, there's no way I would have just followed Asakura-kun like that, you know?"

She wasn't the kind of girl who could be lured away by just a few words.

"Asakura-kun saw through my thoughts, spoke the words in my heart, and then, right in front of me, he pulled out money," she said. "I really had no way to refuse that ten thousand yen at that moment."

"Actually, I felt a little regretful when I first followed him. If Asakura-kun wanted me to do something terrible, I probably wouldn't have been able to resist."

Although Ichinose Honami didn't think her physical fitness was bad, the difference between men and women still existed, not to mention she was all alone.

"But I never expected that what Asakura-kun wanted me to do was to tear down other people's missing person posters," Ichinose Honami couldn't help but smile. "At first, I thought it was really cruel. Someone's child had already gone missing, and you're doing something like this—is that really okay?"

"It's so immoral. I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't let go of the money in my hand, and my eyes were filled with the image of my mother and sister in the hospital."

"...For the first time, it felt like I had done something bad."

At the beginning, she was hesitant, never daring to reach out, afraid of what would happen if she were discovered and pointed at.

But perhaps because he couldn't stand watching her anymore and was annoyed by her efficiency, Asakura Toru rolled his eyes at her, neatly and decisively reached out to tear down the missing person poster in front of her, and shoved it into her hands.

"Tear down the ones with this person on them," he said.

"There must be some reason for it, there has to be some cause. While feeling nervous, I kept convincing myself of that, and then I obediently listened and went to tear them down."

"I tore down a lot, and Asakura-kun tore down even more. It was as if he knew exactly where they were all posted, following the trail to tear them down," Ichinose Honami took a gentle sip of her iced coffee to moisten her throat. "So I thought, could it be that the person on the missing person poster had already been found and was no longer needed, which is why they had to be torn down?"

If that were the case, perhaps the tiny bit of guilt in her heart could be assuaged.

"Asakura-kun didn't answer my question, but instead continued to carry the stack of posters that seemed to have all been torn down, and pressed the doorbell."

Ding-dong, ding-dong, the doorbell rang over and over again.

She could clearly see the same surname on the door frame as the one on the missing person posters.

Natsuki.

Immediately after, a man wearing glasses, looking completely drained of spirit and dejected, opened the door.

It was likely Natsuki-san.

One could clearly feel that he had a face very similar to the photo posted on the missing person flyers.

"Coming..." Natsuki-san first glanced listlessly at Asakura Toru in front of the door, but soon, he noticed the stack of missing person posters in Asakura Toru's hand.

And so, hope welled up in his eyes.

"Have... have you found him?" he couldn't help but ask.

And Asakura Toru, after shoving the entire stack of torn-down posters heavily into his hands, said with a smile:

"Found him. He's in another world, being a simp."

"...?"

"Hm? Did I not make myself clear?" Seeing Natsuki-san stunned, Asakura Toru tilted his head and continued on his own: "Your son reincarnated into another world to be a simp."

"He hugged a beautiful girl's thigh, crying and saying 'I want to be a simp,' wandering around in his tracksuit, dying a full four times before he even knew the beautiful girl's real name. He got slashed to death, then revived, got slashed to death, then revived. Every time he revived, he persisted in being a simp, proud of being a simp, taking pride in his identity as a simp—"

He rattled off a long string of words like a machine gun. Finally reacting, Natsuki-san wore an ugly expression, raised his hand to push him away, and slammed the door shut.

"Bang—"

Lunatic!

He must have been missing his son too much to listen to such nonsense from a person like this.

The stack of missing person posters in his hand was thick, and most of them weren't even torn off cleanly; he might need to spend more time reprinting them to put them back up.

Inside the door, Natsuki-san let out a heavy sigh.

But outside the door, Asakura Toru, right in front of Ichinose Honami, pulled out a megaphone.

"Your son went to be a simp—" The amplified voice had incredible penetrating power, passing through the door and into the house.

"Hiding in his room playing games all day, running to the convenience store in the middle of the night for instant noodles, wearing a tracksuit, getting snatched to another world, talking to himself and assuming it's an isekai reincarnation with a buff, trying to punch and kick thugs only to get scared by a knife and kneel down begging for mercy, only to be saved by a passing beautiful girl and falling in love at first sight, swearing loyalty and deciding to be a simp! Following behind the beautiful girl like a puppy until he encounters a crisis and gets slashed to death on the spot, then reloading his save and reviving, only to decide to keep being a simp!"

"The more he dies, the more determined he gets; the more he revives, the more of a simp he becomes! A super simp, an invincible warrior, a save-scumming master!"

Amplified by the megaphone, Asakura Toru's already incessant voice became even more clamorous. Even if he covered his ears inside the house, Natsuki-san could probably hear it clearly.

And so, Natsuki-san couldn't take it anymore. He reopened the door, the cooling blood in his body turning hot, and in a fit of rage, the words spilled out.

"Are you a lunatic?!"

"Is it fun to pick at other people's scars here? If you want to play a prank, you can go anywhere else, right?!"

Under his refined glasses, his twisted expression was terrifying.

"What Asakusa-kun did was truly excessive; even I could clearly feel Natsuki-san's anger at the time." Ichinose Honami's eyes revealed a hint of reproach: "If Asakusa-kun had apologized back then, even though he was very angry, Natsuki-san probably would have accepted it."

"But Asakusa-kun had absolutely no intention of apologizing."

"So, I have no choice but to apologize myself."

She had to apologize; otherwise, her conscience would weigh on her, and the banknotes tucked in her pocket would feel like they were burning a hole through her.

Chapter 25: Things Being As They Are, Let's Eat First

Words once spoken cannot be retracted, and deeds once done are difficult to amend.

Since Asakusa Toru had no intention of apologizing or making amends, wasn't it up to her, the one who had taken the money, to help apologize instead?

Wasn't the time bought with ten thousand yen meant to be used for exactly this kind of thing?

She stood in front of Asakusa Toru, apologizing in a humble tone, hoping to soothe Natsuki-san's emotions.

Asakusa Toru peeked out from behind her, continuing to narrate the 'simp diary' of Natsuki-san's son.

And Natsuki-san, standing before them, chose to seize this opportunity to pour out his heart to the strangers in front of him, denouncing Asakusa Toru's outrageous behavior and venting the anxiety and unease he had been harboring for some time.

Perhaps because Natsuki-san had reopened the Gate of Opening, Asakusa Toru finally put down his megaphone, relying solely on his own lung capacity to try and drown out Natsuki-san's voice, which made her apologies sound exceptionally small in the mix.

Asakusa Toru went from talking about the Royal Capital to the Mansion, from the Mansion to the Royal Selection, from the Royal Selection to the White Whale, and from the White Whale... to the Sanctuary.

As the voices rose and fell, Ichinose Honami suddenly felt that she might be starting to understand the intention behind Asakusa Toru's actions.

It was evident from the moment the door was opened that Natsuki-san's mental state was very poor.

Disheveled hair, crooked glasses, bloodshot eyes, a listless expression, and an aura of lifelessness.

His son had gone missing.

From the words he poured out, one could also hear the deep regret within his heart.