Classroom of the Elite, but It's a Diary Style Chapter 15

If he had spent more time with his child, would he not have disappeared? If he hadn't been so careless, would he not have gone missing? If he had searched just a little more carefully, would he have been able to come back?

The emotions buried deep in his heart, pressed down within his soul, needed an outlet.

Asakusa Toru voluntarily became that outlet at that moment.

...No, calling it an outlet doesn't seem quite right.

Although he started off by cursing Natsuki-san's missing son for being a simp, as he went on, the content of the Simp Diary seemed to become increasingly logical.

It was almost as if he were telling a story, as if he were recounting a vivid travelogue of another world to Natsuki-san.

The more she listened, the more it felt as if, perhaps, there really was someone who had been whisked away to another world.

...Of course, she knew such a thing was impossible.

But if, if Natsuki-san's son really couldn't be found, really couldn't be brought back.

Even if it were just a story like that, if it could help him accept the reality...

"'Taking off your shoes when entering a house is common courtesy, but barging into someone's heart without taking them off is the Natsuki family style.'"

It was this very sentence that felt like a bucket of ice-cold water poured over Natsuki-san's head.

The noisy shouting stopped abruptly, and even Asakusa Toru fell silent, leaving only Ichinose Honami's own bowed, apologetic "I'm sorry" echoing through the hallway.

Just then, the brown-haired woman returned.

It was Mrs. Natsuki.

"--Axian, I heard someone is causing trouble at our house. I've already called the police, they'll be here soon!" She appeared with these words.

At this point, Ichinose Honami let out a silvery laugh:

"I really didn't expect Mrs. Natsuki to choose to call the police. At the time, I was incredibly nervous the moment I heard the police were coming."

"I almost wanted to grab Asakusa-kun's hand and run away."

"Fortunately, even though the police arrived later, Natsuki-san didn't choose to press charges. Although my mother and sister were worried for quite a while because I didn't come home that day, it didn't matter since everything turned out fine in the end."

No matter how you look at it, shouting at someone's front door with a megaphone is indeed going too far; even if she had been taken away by the police, she wouldn't have had any room to complain.

"At the police station, Natsuki-san asked Asakusa-kun why he did that, right?" She said: "What Asakusa-kun said back then was the same as today."

'It was purely for my own self-satisfaction.'

Because I wanted to do it, I did it.

As for how you interpret it, that's your own business.

Asakusa Toru: "..."

...You remember that very clearly.

"I am very grateful to Asakusa-kun, and at the same time, I admire Asakusa-kun for being able to do exactly what he wants so freely."

"If only I could be like Asakusa-kun." Ichinose Honami lifted a strand of her hair and wound it around her fingertip: "I can't help but have thoughts like that."

The pity is that she and Asakusa Toru are fundamentally different.

The things Asakusa Toru can do are things she will likely never be able to do in this lifetime.

Therefore, admiration will only ever remain admiration.

Ichinose Honami can only ever be Ichinose Honami.

"To me, Asakusa-kun is actually unexpectedly important, you know?"

That is why she felt so lost when she thought he might have given up on enrolling.

That is why her heart skipped a beat when she saw him standing with the Class C homeroom teacher.

But fortunately, he didn't give up on enrolling, nor did he forget about her.

"This is just me talking to myself." She said: "But if possible, I want you to see a version of me that is different from the past."

Ichinose Honami didn't know if this counted as growth, nor did she know if she had truly grown at all.

But if possible, she wanted Asakusa Toru to see her changes.

The one who was lost was the past version of herself.

The brand-new high school life she has embarked upon needs a witness.

"..." Although Ichinose Honami said a lot, to be honest, Asakusa Toru's mood was quite subtle.

It wasn't the first time he'd had someone show up at his door; after all, having done so many things on a whim, it was impossible not to be doxxed.

Sometimes it's a beautiful girl, sometimes a boy, sometimes a middle-aged man, sometimes a delinquent.

However, it was indeed rare to find someone like Ichinose Honami who had learned the essence of his style and started talking to herself.

Ah, as expected, this is such a hassle.

Maybe I should just transfer classes.

...Just kidding.

It would be a waste to transfer classes when those twenty million points could be used as a resurrection item.

Besides, although Ichinose actually has the potential to turn into a yandere, she is at least quite normal for now.

But, witnessing something like that...

"Since things have come to this, let's eat first," he said gloomily.

In any case, Ichinose had stated from the beginning that she was just talking to herself.

Since that was the case, it wouldn't matter if he acted as if he hadn't heard anything, right?

"..."

...My hands are itching. How is it that only half the day has passed, and I'm already starting to want to write in my Diary to claim rewards?

Chapter 26: That's Right, the Pseudo-human Must Be Among Them

The lunch break ended, the afternoon classes didn't take long, and soon, five o'clock, the time to head home, arrived.

"Starting at five o'clock this afternoon, a Club Orientation will be held in the First Gymnasium. Students interested in clubs, please gather at the First Gymnasium. Repeating. Today—"

The broadcast that had played once during lunch break was replaying, a cute female voice repeating the promotional message.

Club Orientation.

In short, it was the time for the various clubs in the school to recruit new members.

They used all sorts of methods to promote themselves, trying every possible way to coax freshmen into joining, and then establishing a hierarchy based on seniority.

Honestly, Asakusa Toru felt it was quite boring.

The only one worth mentioning was the Student Council.

In Advanced Nurturing, the Student Council actually held a bit of real power.

Whether it was the adjudication of conflict incidents between students or suggestions for subsequent special exams, the school authorities basically took the Student Council's opinions into account.

It is worth mentioning that the current president of the Student Council was the "Low-Spec Yukino" he had written about in his Diary last night, the older brother of Horikita Suzune from Class 3-A, Horikita Manabu.

"But, the Student Council..." Although he knew the two couldn't be mentioned in the same breath, whenever the Student Council was mentioned, Asakusa Toru would recall an answer he had seen online before.

'Question: What are the consequences of offending the Student Council in college?'

'Answer: It's like the mathematical world missing Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji. You might not know who Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji are; they are the defective products of Class 1-D, and in a few days, they will score less than half the class average on a quiz.'

The university student council and the Advanced Nurturing student council were indeed quite different, but it was still hard for Asakusa Toru to feel any respect for the Student Council.

"...Forget it, I'm not going." Shaking his head, Asakusa Toru turned decisively toward the direction of the dorms.

He wanted to go back and write in his Diary early.

The Diary didn't stipulate that one could only write in it at night. The first time he wrote at night was because he had spent quite a while figuring out the rules of the Diary and it had unknowingly become late, while the reason for the second time was purely intentional; he had deliberately waited until that time to start writing so that certain people wouldn't be able to sleep well after reading it.

He was referring to Horikita Suzune.

Although he couldn't be certain whether Horikita Suzune was a holder of a copy of the Diary, if she was, she definitely wouldn't be sleeping well.

Actually, following this logic, he should go to the Club Orientation.

Even if he didn't join any club, he could observe Horikita Suzune's reaction up close.

If she was a reader of the Diary and had seen what he wrote, then it was very likely she would actually go looking for some damn pseudo-human.

It wasn't impossible that she might inexplicably go up to her brother and report a name she thought was a pseudo-human.

...That's right, go to the scene!

Once he thought it through, Asakusa Toru's train of thought suddenly became clear.

Wasn't this the best time to confirm whether Horikita Suzune was a reader?

Suppressing the desire in his heart to write today's entry, Asakusa Toru turned around and walked toward the gymnasium.

Horikita Suzune had been observing the class all day, and the more she observed, the more she became convinced that her judgment was accurate.

That's right, the pseudo-human must be among them.

"Hey, Haruki, do you get the feeling that Horikita keeps looking over at us?" Although school was over, Ike Kanji wasn't in a hurry to leave, instead hanging out with his good buddies Yamauchi Haruki and Sudo Ken.

Calling them good buddies was actually just because no one else took the initiative to talk to them, so they had gathered together without realizing it.

It felt quite like an Unpopular Group.

But, even they, of all people, had been frequently receiving Horikita Suzune's attention today!

"Hey, could it be..."

"...No way, right?"

"Who knows?"

"No, no, I wouldn't go for a woman like that. Even though her face is nice, I feel like her personality is rotten, you know?"

"Just tell me, if she confessed to you, would you accept it or not?!"

"That would definitely be, reluctantly accepting it, hehehe..."

Yamauchi and Ike snickered, while the bored Sudo Ken stood up.

"I'm leaving," he said.

"Where are you going?" Ike asked, looking up.

"To the gymnasium. Isn't there a Club Orientation today? I'm planning to join the basketball club."

"Whoa, the basketball club, huh? Well, with a build like yours, Sudo, you're bound to be popular once you join." Ike Kanji let his imagination run wild before sighing, "Pretty girls will definitely come flocking to ask you out. Must be nice."

"Stop talking nonsense. Are you going or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going!"

The trio vanished from the classroom, and from beside Horikita Suzune, the voice of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka drifted over.

"So, is what they said true? Are you interested in someone, Horikita?" he asked in a very flat tone.

Horikita Suzune replied irritably, "You should know that's impossible, right?"

She could understand why those Pseudo-humans might make a wrong judgment based on her observational behavior, but why would a guy like Ayanokoji have the same thought?

"Eh, it's impossible?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed a bit surprised, though he didn't look all that surprised either.

"It's impossible." Horikita Suzune shook her head and stood up.

Seeing her rise, Ayanokoji asked again, "Are you planning on going to the gymnasium?"

"I have no interest in clubs," she said.

"You aren't joining a club?" he asked again.

Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and said:

"...I believe I already said that I have no interest in clubs."

"Even if you aren't interested, that doesn't mean you won't join one, right?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed to persist, wanting to get a definitive answer from her.

"Talking to you is a complete waste of time." Giving up on the idea of making this guy understand, Horikita Suzune walked straight out of the classroom.