Classroom of the Elite, but It's a Diary Style 44

No, huh? Wait a second?

Asakusa Toru widened his eyes:

"You can talk???"

"I can." Amasawa Ichika nodded gently.

"...Hold on, let me think." Asakusa Toru couldn't help but raise his hand to cover his forehead. Although he wouldn't feel any pain in his head here, he still felt a faint phantom pain.

The fact that the combat opponent wasn't just Amasawa Ichika didn't really surprise Asakusa Toru. Although it took him a month, if one only used the standard of forced immersion via headband, as long as one had a certain level of physical fitness, speed-running Amasawa would only take '1 hour', roughly half a month's time.

The more he sparred with Amasawa, the more he realized that if it were only to deal with her, a year was indeed far too generous.

It couldn't be that the time after finishing the fight was just for him to blow off some steam, right?

That would be too decadent.

Therefore, the appearance of Simak Dian was within expectations, though the fact that he wasn't a beautiful girl did make him feel a bit less motivated.

But the problem was that Amasawa Ichika, who he thought was just a replica for combat drills, had spoken.

She actually spoke?!

"The real Amasawa?" Asakusa Toru couldn't help but ask aloud.

This gym didn't actually kidnap someone else to be his sparring partner, did it?

"Hm?" Amasawa Ichika tilted her head: "The genuine article?"

Asakusa Toru couldn't help but gasp:

"Hiss..."

It seemed, things just got more exciting?

The only problem was, would he get sued for harassment?

"...Why would I sue you?" Facing Asakusa Toru's question, Amasawa Ichika just blinked curiously: "The winner does as they please, the loser obeys absolutely; isn't that how it should be in a dream?"

Asakusa Toru: "..."

Very well, he understood completely now.

Amasawa herself was herself, but not entirely herself.

This 365-fold accelerated time was merely a hazy dream to the real Amasawa, a memory that would be quickly forgotten upon returning to reality.

No, perhaps it wasn't a dream, or at least not just a dream; there was also a slight distortion of cognition.

Even if she thought she was in a dream, it would be hard for her to have that kind of biased 'instructional combat' as before, let alone answer every one of his questions so obediently here.

Combining the two, what he got was the Amasawa Ichika standing before him now.

It's just... how on earth did the gym manage to balance the time between the two?

His time entering the gym wasn't fixed every day. If he had to drag Amasawa in to dream every time he entered, wouldn't Amasawa be suffering from unexplained narcolepsy in reality?

Amasawa Ichika didn't give him the answer he wanted, but instead gave a high-quality response:

"I don't know."

A great answer, it reduced my post-clarity period.

If you don't know, then screw it!

Refreshing his post-clarity state once more, Asakusa Toru pried quite a bit of information about the White Room out of Amasawa Ichika, which could be considered a formal understanding of this 'S' rank reward.

Aside from the information he already knew, there was more explanation regarding the two newly appeared doors.

The door that had already been opened didn't need much explanation; it was just a standard advanced boss. Although it was a product of the White Room, Amasawa's strength was limited after all. It was passable for someone like him who lacked combat experience, but it was quite lackluster beyond that.

However, unlike Amasawa, Simak Dian seemed to be just a regular replica; he wouldn't take the initiative to speak, nor would he do anything unnecessary.

He only knew how to fight.

The focus was on the last door, which was locked.

Inside, it seemed, was the 'ultimate masterpiece'.

That's right, not the Black Room ultimate masterpiece like Yamauchi Haruki, but a genuine, White Room-produced ultimate masterpiece.

The pseudo-human, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

No wonder it gave me a whole year to graduate!

Without some talent, even with the Membership Card buff, it would be hard to speed-run this in a year, right?

Did he really think 'pseudo-human' just referred to that guy's personality?

Pseudo-human, pseudo-human; only something that isn't human can be called a pseudo-human.

Beyond his emotions being erased by the White Room, the reason Asakusa Toru called Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a pseudo-human rather than an ultimate masterpiece was because of his 'talent' that was purely stacked by settings.

He was a pure urban soldier template. If Advanced Nurturing High School still remembered it was a school and didn't allow firearms inside, Asakusa Toru even suspected that guy might be able to dodge bullets.

One had to know, this pseudo-human was able to completely crush a group of adults with just a baton when he was only nine years old.

He didn't dare to provoke trouble recklessly.

Fortunately, the remaining time on his Membership Card was still quite abundant. As long as he didn't live too decadently, Asakusa Toru felt that if he steeled his resolve a little earlier and equipped the Tenacity Headband, he still had a very good chance of crushing that Pseudo-human.

Since the gym had set him as the final boss, it would certainly provide him with a chance to defeat his opponent.

It wouldn't just let him earn a graduation certificate, would it?

...Of course, opportunity is one thing, and effort is another.

He had already worked very hard today.

Let's leave it at that.

It was definitely not because the next enemy was a middle-aged man that he couldn't muster any enthusiasm at all.

Sakayanagi Arisu wants to curse.

The former Class A of the first year.

The atmosphere in the classroom was exceptionally heavy.

The reason was simple: it was because of the results announced by the homeroom teacher yesterday.

They, the elites evaluated by the school, had suffered a crushing defeat in the first month's exam and slid down to the position of Class B.

The teacher had removed the 'Class A' sign right in front of them and replaced it with 'Class B'.

This was incredibly humiliating.

According to the homeroom teacher Mashima Tomoya, there had never been a precedent of Class A falling in the first month before.

Just like Class D with their zero points, they could be considered to have made history.

An incredibly grave expression appeared on the face of almost everyone in the class. Although over eighty thousand personal points had already been deposited into their accounts yesterday, no one could bring themselves to be happy.

Whether it was humiliating or not was already secondary.

The most important thing was that the graduation privilege, which had been firmly in their grasp, had been lost by them so easily.

"..."

Say something.

Carrying an incredibly gloomy mood, such thoughts arose in the hearts of many students.

Someone needed to stand up and say something; likewise, there definitely needed to be someone to take responsibility for such a result.

In this class, there were only two people who could shoulder this responsibility.

Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei.

Both were excellent leaders with a charisma that made people unable to help but want to follow them. No matter which side they were on, everyone believed that under their leadership, the class could stand firmly at the very top.

Thus, within a short month, the entire class had been divided into two major factions.

The Sakayanagi Faction and the Katsuragi Faction.

In this heavy atmosphere, the first to seize the initiative and launch an attack was Hashimoto Masayoshi from the Sakayanagi Faction.

Combing his slightly long hair back, he looked more like a delinquent than a proper student—and indeed, he was one. During the time before class, Hashimoto Masayoshi stood up: "Yesterday, I assume everyone reflected on things after going back."

"No matter who it was, everyone should have done the best they could and perfectly fulfilled the duties expected of a student." He turned his head to look around at the others in the class: "Logically speaking, we shouldn't have had so many points deducted, and we certainly shouldn't have fallen to this Class B position."

"...What are you trying to say?" The man who unexpectedly lacked elite qualities but had been selected to enter their class jumped out almost immediately, questioning Hashimoto Masayoshi's words.

Totsuka Yahiko, the most loyal soldier of the Katsuragi Faction.

"The school's judgment cannot be wrong." The bald man, Katsuragi Kohei, stated in a low voice, pointing out the subtext of Hashimoto Masayoshi's words: "Are you trying to say that we are the ones who are wrong?"

To be precise, it was the people under his, Katsuragi's, command.

"Otherwise, are you saying our Little Princess is the one who's wrong?" Hashimoto Masayoshi raised his eyebrows and asked back without hesitation: "You were the one who said to prioritize stability, put conservatism first, and retreat again and again in the face of harassment from other classes, right?"

"Our Little Princess didn't do anything and left it all to you to command everyone."

"I didn't expect that the result we got in the end would be this." Hashimoto Masayoshi spread his hands: "It seems you didn't protect anything either."

Totsuka Yahiko clenched his fists: "--You!"

Katsuragi Kohei shook his head and pressed Totsuka Yahiko down.

"..." He took a deep breath and scanned the classroom.

The atmosphere in the class was terrible. If he continued to confront Hashimoto Masayoshi like this without making concessions, the atmosphere would only get worse.

They had already suffered one defeat; what they needed to do now was to boost morale.

Even if he had to take the responsibility, it didn't matter, as long as the class could pull itself together.

Therefore, Katsuragi Kohei stood up: "I do not deny the failure in this exam, but Hashimoto, I need to remind you that the gap between us has not been widened too much."

The difference between 890 and 840 was only 50 points.

It was just a distance that could be caught up in the blink of an eye.

"But the fact is that this gap, which hasn't been widened too much, is exactly what caused us to go from Class A to Class B, isn't it?" Hashimoto Masayoshi sneered, refusing to let go.

Katsuragi Kohei nodded gently: "You are right. Therefore, until the next exam, we will follow Sakayanagi's instructions."

"Katsuragi?!" Several students from the Katsuragi Faction, led by Totsuka Yahiko, let out exclamations of shock.

Even if he had to make concessions and take responsibility, wasn't this happening way too fast?!

"I have my own thoughts on this." Katsuragi Kohei shook his head.

In this class, in contrast to Sakayanagi who represented the radical faction, he, Katsuragi Kohei, was the conservative. He stuck to his duties and maintained the class's advantages; as long as no flaws appeared, they would not be defeated.

Even now, he firmly believed in this philosophy.

Do more, err more; do less, err less.

As long as their class did what they were supposed to do, they—who had been recognized by the school for their student caliber from the very beginning—would not lose to anyone.

But now that the first step had already been taken incorrectly, it was difficult for him to continue being conservative.

After all, the foundation of conservatism was that they were in first place and had no need to compete upward; only when facing enemies below them did they need to be as conservative as possible to ensure their advantage.

"Prove yourself during the next exam, Sakayanagi." Katsuragi Kohei said as much.

Sakayanagi Arisu, who had remained silent until now, finally revealed a faint smile:

"Ah, ah, you just sit back and watch."

Soon, the bell for class rang, and the teacher walked slowly into the classroom.

Although their class ranking had slipped, the caliber of the students would not deteriorate because of it, and the entire class returned to the rhythm of studying.

Before long, the bell for the end of class rang.

Hashimoto Masayoshi, who had been questioning Katsuragi Kohei not long ago, immediately turned his head and pivoted his chair toward Sakayanagi Arisu behind him.

"Little Princess, Little Princess." He wore a very ingratiating expression: "Tell me, my crusade against Katsuragi counts as a great contribution, right?"

"Although it's a bit unsightly to actively ask for credit, considering how hard I've worked, shouldn't there be some kind of reward?"