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

"Don't you have any respect for your seniors?"

"Is that a first-year? Does anyone know who he is?"

"I think it's Asakusa Toru from Class B."

"Wasn't the one laughing just now also from Class B?"

"So cool, I think I'm starting to fall for him."

"Hmph, just a clown, right Haruki?"

"Exactly, exactly! Just grandstanding!"

The noisy chatter quickly drowned out the entire gymnasium, and amidst the cacophony of voices, a girl with blue-purple hair cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted loudly:

"Are--you--out--of--your--mind?"

Although she seemed to be screaming at the top of her lungs, unfortunately, with hundreds of people talking at once, her voice couldn't reach Asakusa Toru on stage, let alone get a response from him.

Horikita Manabu: "..."

The carefully prepared atmosphere had been casually disrupted by Asakusa Toru, and judging by the current situation, it was safe to conclude that this recruitment drive was a failure.

He didn't really care whether his dignity was dragged through the mud; although this might slightly lower his evaluation by the school, the results he had accumulated up to this point wouldn't be wiped out just like that.

What he found interesting, instead, was the message Asakusa Toru kept replaying through the voice recorder.

A nonsensical process of elimination, a nonsensical summary, yet what it expressed was exactly the sentiment he had intended to convey afterward.

Although the wording wouldn't have been as blunt as Asakusa Toru's, the general meaning was more or less the same.

Interesting.

Gently pushing up his glasses, Horikita Manabu took out his personal terminal.

"The price." In front of over a hundred students, he said coldly to Asakusa Toru.

Tachibana Akane, who was acting as the moderator, was stunned by his actions:

"Pr, President?!"

Eh? No, wait, why pull out a terminal? Is he trying to buy the voice recorder? Horikita Manabu, the student council president, is personally buying a first-year's voice recorder?

Tachibana Akane's head was in a whirl, but as the student council secretary, she couldn't change Horikita Manabu's decision.

"That'll be 3,000 private points, dear customer." A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, and Asakusa Toru smiled as he took out his own personal terminal.

Although he gave them away for free to beautiful girls, since there was a sucker willing to pay, it would be a waste not to take the money.

Smile service, smile service.

With a ding, the private points were transferred, and Asakusa Toru handed over the voice recorder—which was still repeating the audio he had just recorded—to Horikita Manabu without hesitation.

"Is this one okay? Or do you want a brand new one?"

"This is enough." Horikita Manabu took the recorder he handed over and promptly stopped the repeating playback.

Then, he turned on the recording function once more.

"Student council recruitment. Candidates do not require special conditions, but if anyone is considering becoming a candidate for the student council, please avoid joining other clubs. Those who wish to join both the student council and other clubs will, in principle, not be accepted."

Chapter 29: That'll be 3,000 private points

"Our school's student council is highly anticipated precisely because we are entrusted with the right and mission to change regulations by the school. We only welcome those who can understand this."

Speaking into the voice recorder, Horikita Manabu calmly stated these two points, then pressed the button to end the recording.

Actually, he had intended to say more, but since Asakusa Toru had already blasted the previous recording on loop, there was no need to be so long-winded.

After recording his words, Horikita Manabu turned around and looked at the noisy first-years below the stage.

After what Asakusa Toru had just done, they didn't have much respect left for the student council.

At the end of the day, for most students, the student council was indeed an organization with no real power.

--If this weren't Advanced Nurturing, that is.

However, Horikita Manabu wasn't very concerned about that anymore.

He was more interested in the first-year student behind him who had brazenly walked up to him to peddle a voice recorder.

Setting aside his ability, at the very least, he met the mark when it came to sheer nerve.

He casually turned on the playback function of the voice recorder, set it to the same loop mode Asakusa Toru had used earlier, and then gently placed the recorder next to the microphone.

And so, amplified even further, his calm and clear voice began to play on a loop.

"Student council recruitment..."

"Student council recruitment..."

"Student council recruitment..."

After finishing all this, Horikita Manabu turned around and said to Tachibana Akane:

"Turn it off in three minutes."

"Ye, yes! President!" Tachibana Akane nodded vigorously.

"And you, are you interested in coming to the student council office with me?" After giving instructions to Tachibana Akane, Horikita Manabu turned his head to look at Asakusa Toru, who was observing the new students below the stage.

Withdrawing his gaze from Horikita Suzune, whom he had spotted in the crowd, Asakusa Toru responded to Horikita Manabu's invitation with a flat tone:

"I don't take apprentices."

Horikita Manabu: "...?"

"Heh." The corners of Asakusa Toru's mouth curled up slightly.

Horikita Manabu's expression was quite spectacular; this unexpected answer made his face look far more interesting than it had when he was playing that recording about recycling refrigerators and televisions earlier.

However, if he kept playing around, he might push it too far; it was best to stop before he exhausted the well.

He reined in his expression slightly and said, "Enough playing, let's go."

"Whether you want to talk about life, ideals, the future, or your sister, I'm all ears."

The first three were irrelevant; the last one was the main point.

Controlling Horikita Manabu meant controlling Horikita Suzune; a hardcore sister-complex was just that easy to manipulate.

Asakusa Toru was certain she would follow them voluntarily.

"You..." Horikita Manabu seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Why would he suddenly mention his sister?

"Don't overthink it, you'll get a headache." Patting Horikita Manabu on the shoulder, Asakusa Toru said as much.

Horikita Manabu frowned slightly but didn't say anything more, simply turning to walk out of the gymnasium.

His work for the day was finished, so no one would say anything even if he left now.

It was better to leave the time to the other clubs.

Seeing that Horikita Manabu finally intended to leave, Asakusa Toru first glanced back at the direction of Horikita Suzune, whom he had confirmed earlier, before slowly following in Horikita Manabu's footsteps.

Although she was just a low-spec Yukino, surely she wouldn't be too afraid to even face her own brother, right?

"Whoosh, whoosh--"

The April wind blew, stirring up fallen leaves.

Although it was a vocational school, the landscaping was actually quite good.

Asakusa Toru walked leisurely, counting down silently in his heart.

Three.

Two.

One.

"--Wait!" Just as expected, a voice came from behind.

With a slight smirk, Asakusa Toru stopped alongside Horikita Manabu and turned around.

Without a doubt, the person following them was Horikita Suzune.

"..." Her lips parted slightly, wanting to say something, but her gaze kept drifting toward Asakusa Toru.

It was clear she was still somewhat wary of Asakusa Toru's presence.

Horikita Manabu clearly noticed this hesitation, and a flash of disappointment was evident in his eyes.

Horikita Suzune, who had been shifting her gaze between Asakusa Toru and Horikita Manabu, quickly caught that flicker of disappointment.

"Here, Horikita-san." Before Horikita Suzune could become flustered by that disappointment, Asakusa Toru took the initiative to break the silence. He pulled a digital voice recorder from his pocket, grabbed Horikita Suzune's hand, and pressed the recorder into her palm: "A greeting gift, keep it safe."

Horikita Suzune instinctively wanted to refuse: "I don't need..."

"Your brother just bought one earlier." The refusal that was about to spill out was blocked by Asakusa Toru's words.

Horikita Suzune's hand, which was about to push the recorder away, froze.

"That'll be 3,000 private points." With fluid motion, Asakusa Toru opened his personal terminal and held it out in front of her.

In a daze, as if she were being manipulated, Horikita Suzune found herself pulling out her phone and transferring 3,000 private points to Asakusa Toru's account.

"Ding."

With the change in private points, the ownership of the voice recorder was officially transferred to Horikita Suzune. Asakusa Toru very thoughtfully helped her tuck it away properly, then patted her on the shoulder: "Good luck, okay?"

"It's a bit inconvenient today, but I'll visit the student council office on my own next time." After encouraging Horikita Suzune, Asakusa Toru waved his hand at Horikita Manabu, who was silently watching the scene: "Anyway, for today, I wish you both a pleasant conversation."

Having said that, he disappeared around the corner.

"..." Horikita Manabu remained silent.

He wouldn't even bother complaining about the "greeting gift" that required payment.

It wasn't that he couldn't have stopped Asakusa Toru from using his name to fool his sister, nor was it that he couldn't have called him back to make him stay.

But...

Forget it, she was his sister, after all.

He would just have to remind her later.

If she could learn a lesson from this, a mere 3,000 private points would be a bargain of a price to pay.

"Speak, what is it you want to say?" Sighing, Horikita Manabu asked his younger sister in a soft voice.

First, she scanned her surroundings to the left and right, confirming that there were no extra passersby on this path leading to the student council office. Taking a deep breath, Horikita Suzune finally spoke: "I am no longer the useless person you once knew, Brother."

"I have already found the answer to the trial." The name of the person she had convinced herself was the culprit slipped out: "It's Yamauchi Haruki, right?"

Would this be enough to earn my brother's approval?

Chapter 30: Win!

"It's Yamauchi Haruki, right?"

Right? Right? Right?

Horikita Suzune's voice echoed in Horikita Manabu's ears, but Horikita Manabu had absolutely no idea what his younger sister was talking about.

"...Who?" He furrowed his brows and slowly spat out the question.

Almost the instant the answer left her lips, Horikita Suzune saw the expression on her brother's face.

Immediately following that, she understood one thing in her heart.

She had been deceived.

Deceived, deceived, deceived!

Her brother would never have written anything in that diary, nor would he have ever given her any kind of trial.

Even though she should have known this clearly from the very beginning, she had still fallen for the trap.