Classroom of the Elite: After Her Intel Refreshes, They Always Want to Win Me Over! Chapter 13

"Stay tuned, Shimizu! Hahahahaha!"

Before his words had even faded, Kouenji's tall, slender figure had disappeared into the classroom, leaving behind only stunned silence.

Kouenji Rokusuke had always been a show-off. His deliberately loud voice and hearty, oddly infectious laughter had inevitably caught the attention of everyone nearby.

"What's that guy talking about?"

"What 'favor'? That makes no sense."

"But that guy's surprisingly popular with the upperclassmen from other classes! Maybe he'll introduce us to some girlfriends!"

Shimizu Akira hadn't expected someone as narcissistic as Kouenji Rokusuke to be so well liked by upperclassmen from other classes.

Still, whether he was giving up his seat or reporting someone, he'd only acted on a whim. He hadn't expected the other guy to interpret it as some kind of special consideration.

To put it in his words, it was a beautiful misunderstanding.

Having a guy fixated on "repaying" me... No matter how I look at it, I can't say I'm happy about that.

The gym was bustling, with roughly a hundred students gathered in small groups throughout the venue.

Judging by their uniforms, most were first-year students who hadn't yet joined a club.

At the entrance, Shimizu Akira spotted a long table covered with promotional materials.

He walked over and picked up one of the neatly arranged booklets.

Inside, he found introductions to various clubs:

[Judo Club] — National tournament quarterfinalists for three consecutive years

[Baseball Club] — Last year's Koshien qualifiers semifinalists

[Kyudo Club] — Includes a current member of the national youth team

Every page featured photos of club activities. The upperclassmen, decked out in professional gear, all wore gleaming medals on their chests.

These clubs are already at the level of a national team's reserve squad, aren't they?

His original plan had been to join a club and earn Private Points by performing well. After seeing these players' profiles, that plan was completely dashed.

The judo groundwork demonstration, the baseball batting stance, the perfect kyudo form—every photo showed a professional level of skill.

There's no way a complete amateur like me could keep up with training at this level...

The upperclassmen took turns introducing their clubs from the stage. Pretty much every club included some line about welcoming beginners.

Shimizu Akira suspected, though, that the upperclassmen were after funding. Generally speaking, the more members a club had, the more funding it received.

Freshmen with no relevant experience would only get treated like errand runners if they joined a club.

"Hey, you over there!" a booming voice called from the stage. "Want to come up and try some boxing?"

Only then did Shimizu Akira snap out of it. He saw a muscular upperclassman onstage beckoning him over.

Wait, Japanese high schools had Boxing Clubs? Weren't they worried about students getting hurt and being unable to attend class?

The freshmen below all turned to look at him, making him the center of attention.

"Me...?" Shimizu Akira pointed at himself. After the upperclassman confirmed it, he nodded. "All right, but I've never tried boxing before."

"Hahaha! Everyone has to start somewhere!" The upperclassman's hearty laughter echoed through the gym.

At the other man's enthusiastic invitation, Shimizu Akira walked up onto the stage.

The upperclassman tossed him a pair of red boxing gloves. The leather still showed signs of wear.

"Why not just throw a punch?" The upperclassman raised his arms in a solid defensive stance, crossing them over his chest, but made no move to put on any protective gear.

As Shimizu Akira awkwardly tied the gloves, he asked, "Is this really okay? If you're not wearing any protective gear..."

"Relax, relax!" The upperclassman waved a hand dismissively. "Think of it as a special service for freshmen! Come on, don't hold back!"

Shimizu Akira took a deep breath, and his gaze suddenly sharpened.

He lowered his shoulder slightly, stepped forward with his left foot, and shot his right fist out like an arrow loosed from a bow—

"Thud!"

Shimizu Akira's straight punch slammed into the upperclassman's crossed arms. The broad-shouldered senior staggered backward several steps from the blow.

"Urgh...!" The upperclassman grunted. A dark red imprint appeared on his tanned arm before their eyes.

His eyes widened in disbelief, and beads of sweat surfaced on his forehead. "That kind of power... You've got to be kidding me... Are the freshmen monsters this year?"

Before he'd finished speaking, his right arm—the one he'd used to block the punch—began to tremble uncontrollably.

As if from muscle memory, it made the instinctive movement of a professional boxer in pain: he quickly pulled his arm back to his waist.

That subtle, technical movement caused several knowledgeable onlookers to erupt in shock, though most of the students below were still just making a racket.

Laughter rose and fell from the crowd. A few students whistled and heckled. "How much did you get paid for that performance, senpai?"

"You're really going all out to recruit members!"

"But hasn't he never even boxed before?"

The upperclassman scratched his head and gave an awkward but hearty laugh. "Hahaha, you saw through me?"

But when he turned to Shimizu Akira, his expression was utterly serious. "Still, junior, there's no faking the weight behind that punch."

The upperclassman flexed his arm, which was still a little numb. "You work out a lot, don't you?"

Shimizu Akira was about to answer, but the upperclassman had already slung an arm around his shoulders. "How about joining the Boxing Club? You can use our imported, state-of-the-art fitness equipment whenever you like."

"Oh, right! I forgot to ask. Freshman, what class are you in? What's your name? You haven't joined another club yet, have you?"

"I'm Shimizu Akira from Class 1-D. I haven't joined a club yet."

"Ah... A freshman from Class D... I'll give you... 5,000 points a month... No, I'll make it 10,000 Private Points as a stipend!"

"You get a stipend, too? But isn't it too late to start learning boxing now?"

"It's not too late, it's not too late! The essence of all martial arts is a contest of physical ability. Your foundation is incredibly solid. Even without knowing any techniques, you can throw a heavy punch that'll bring your opponent to their knees."

"Trust me!" The upperclassman suddenly leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Freshmen don't understand how things work at this school." He paused meaningfully. "This is a school that believes in the supremacy of force..."

Shimizu Akira was taken aback.

He clearly remembered the student council president declaring "meritocracy" in a ringing voice at the opening ceremony.

023 Shimizu Akira: I'm going to start boxing

Just as the upperclassman was about to speak—

"It's my turn."

The man who had been standing silently onstage for some time suddenly spoke.

When the upperclassman saw who it was, his expression froze.

"President Horikita."

He immediately bowed, his voice filled with reverence.

"Freshman, come down with me. The student council president's speech is next."

At his words, Shimizu Akira followed the Boxing Club captain down from the stage.

He turned around sharply, only then realizing that the person before him was Horikita Manabu, the student council president who had given a speech at yesterday's entrance ceremony.

He was also the older brother of Shimizu Akira's deskmate, Horikita Suzune.

"Senpai, you seem pretty afraid of that student council president."

"Junior Shimizu, you don't know the half of it! At this school, the Student Council's power is unlimited. If you offend President Horikita..."

"Phew—" The upperclassman let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his temple, still shaken. "Thank goodness the president let it slide. Otherwise, I would've nearly crossed the line just now."

"Anyway, I've got high hopes for you, junior." The Boxing Club upperclassman patted Shimizu Akira on the shoulder, his eyes shining with admiration. "This Private Points stipend is a one-of-a-kind offer. No one else gets it." He lowered his voice and added mysteriously, "If I didn't think your situation was special, and you weren't so naturally talented..."

The upperclassman headed back to the Boxing Club's recruitment booth. Just before turning away, he glanced back and called, "If you're interested, you're welcome to sign up for the Boxing Club anytime. Next month's fine, too."

Before his words had even faded, he was already sitting confidently at the recruitment table nearby, looking as though he was certain Shimizu Akira would come.

Shimizu Akira simply nodded at him.

That upperclassman was an interesting character. Just because he was in Class D, he'd generously offered him 10,000 points a month.

Judging by how confident he looked, had he figured Shimizu Akira would inevitably run into a points shortage next month?

The student council president began introducing the Student Council and announced its recruitment plans.

"For now, we're recruiting provisional members." His voice was calm and unhurried. "A much stricter selection process for official members will follow."

The president's gaze swept across the room from behind his glasses. He made a point of emphasizing, "We don't welcome anyone with naïve fantasies, and we won't tolerate anyone with a blemish on their record."

At his words, the implication was unmistakable to Shimizu Akira: only the elite from Class A and Class B were likely to be allowed through the Student Council's doors.

As he was leaving, a familiar figure entered his field of vision—Horikita Suzune stood completely still, staring at her older brother.

But the student council president merely glanced at her before quickly looking away.

It was as if a sadly insurmountable wall stood between the siblings.

In the blink of an eye, Friday arrived.

The intel that had refreshed over the past few days had been nothing but worthless scraps of information. For example:

[Akito Miyake joined the Kyudo Club]

[Kanji Ike desperately wanted to find romance during his high school years]

It was all irrelevant personal information that offered no help with his current situation.

Intel was, in the end, just intel.

Shimizu Akira understood that perfectly well. He'd never expected the intel refreshed each day to be immediately useful.

After all, this was only the beginning. He still had three whole years of high school ahead of him.

Intel was merely a tool to help him get ahead.

It was worth mentioning that on Wednesday, he'd officially joined the Boxing Club.

Every day after school, Shimizu Akira trained with the Boxing Club for two hours without fail.

The captain had kept his word. On the day Shimizu joined, he transferred the promised 10,000 points.

The first week of training was somewhat unexpected. There were no boxing matches in the Boxing Ring like he'd hoped; he didn't even get to hit a punching bag, or wrap his hands.

Instead, it was all tedious basic training:

Jump rope and jumping jacks, the most basic conditioning exercises.

Footwork drills: moving forward and backward.

According to the coach, Shimizu Akira was making rapid progress. If he kept training at this pace, they could arrange a sparring match next month.

The dismissal bell rang. Shimizu Akira was putting his textbooks into his bag when he suddenly heard light footsteps behind him.

"Shimizu!" Kushida Kikyou leaned over, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Have you bought your boxing gloves yet?"

"Not yet." Shimizu Akira zipped up his bag and turned to answer. "I'm planning to wait until next month."

"Then can I come watch when you compete in the ring next month?" Kushida Kikyou clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "I've never seen a boy box in person!"

"Of course." Shimizu Akira nodded. "Though I heard you have to buy a ticket with points."

According to the Boxing Club captain, boxing might be unpopular at other high schools, but it was a popular club at this school. It had a professional-grade Boxing Ring and occasionally held exhibition matches. The seats in the audience were often packed.

The School Administration turned a blind eye to the Boxing Club's events.

The captain had once told him it was because a former Boxing Club captain had spent a large number of points to secure special permission from the School Administration.

(Of course, all spectators had to pay points.)

Shimizu Akira didn't know much about the specific points distribution system.

He only knew that boxers who fought in the ring received a basic appearance fee, and winners could earn additional Private Points as a bonus.

Shimizu Akira had decided to join because of those two benefits: he could get in shape and earn points at the same time. It was the best of both worlds.