Classroom of the Elite: After the Intelligence Refresh, They All Want to Win Me Over! Chapter 18

But then, on second thought, that seemed unlikely—Chabashira-sensei had never been the type to worry about her class.

She was more like an indifferent bystander, watching her students struggle within the rules.

On the first day of school, she'd acted like she wanted nothing to do with the class, not even bothering with the most basic guidance.

If he hadn't taken the initiative to catch up with her and ask, she probably wouldn't have felt like saying another word.

And yet, during Sakayanagi Arisu's wager, she'd unexpectedly given him a small hand. Afterward, she'd even gone out of her way to remind him to save his Private Points.

What a contradictory person...

Shimizu Akira lightly tapped the screen and sent a brief reply: "Got it."

Though he was puzzled by the conversation, he couldn't exactly refuse a summons from his homeroom teacher.

He remembered what had happened over dinner last Friday—his classmate Horikita Suzune should have gone to see Chabashira Sae.

I wonder how it went?

The thought flashed through Shimizu Akira's mind, and he gazed pensively at Horikita's seat.

The black-haired girl, who always sat ramrod straight, was currently surrounded by an oppressive atmosphere so thick it seemed almost tangible.

Before, she'd given off a don't-come-near-me vibe. Now, it had evolved into a terrifying "approach and die" aura.

Shimizu Akira casually asked, "What did Chabashira-sensei say to you?"

"Hah." Horikita Suzune gave a cold laugh. "When I went to see her, she actually said, 'I'm off the clock.'"

She repeated the words one at a time, each syllable sounding as if she were forcing it through gritted teeth. "She told me to come back before five this evening."

"Some homeroom teacher," she said, her voice suddenly dropping an octave, taking on a dangerously calm tone. "Her working hours are even more punctual than a civil servant's."

"Chabashira-sensei told me to see her after school. Let's go together," Shimizu Akira replied calmly.

Horikita Suzune paused, then studied her classmate thoughtfully.

This might be a way to get more useful information.

She had to admit that going with Shimizu Akira, given his insight and ability to handle things, would make the process more efficient.

He'd been summoned too, so it wasn't a matter of one of them helping the other. It was entirely in keeping with her principle of "not relying on others."

Horikita pressed her lips together. After a brief silence, she ultimately didn't refuse.

"Let me know once the time's confirmed," she added coolly after a pause.

"I'll get in touch ahead of time." Shimizu Akira nodded in understanding, and a subtle rapport formed between them.

Exchanging contact information really has made things a lot more efficient...

Horikita never thought of it as a compromise. She'd simply chosen the best solution.

031 Class A Has Already Started Making Its Moves, While Classes B and C Seem to Be Falling Short

"Maya! Chiaki!" Karuizawa Kei suddenly raised her voice. "Sorry, but I might not be able to go shopping with you guys after this!"

"Huh? Karuizawa, did something happen?" The two girls turned to look at her in surprise.

Karuizawa Kei glanced unconsciously in Shimizu Akira's direction, then straightened up and announced, "Starting today, after school, I'm joining the Boxing Club!"

"The Boxing Club?!" Sato Maya's eyes widened. "Can girls join a sports club like that?"

"Of course they can!" Karuizawa Kei put her hands on her hips and added proudly, "But I'm joining as a manager!"

"A manager? That sounds great!" Sato Maya's eyes lit up. "The Boxing Club is one of the most popular clubs at school. Come to think of it..." She suddenly lowered her voice and gave Karuizawa a mischievous wink. "Isn't Shimizu one of their members?"

Karuizawa Kei cleared her throat. "Well... starting today, I'll be going to club activities with him..."

"Ehh?" Shinohara leaned in, grinning as she gently nudged Karuizawa with her elbow. "You two wouldn't happen to be... dating, would you?"

"N-no, we're not!" Karuizawa Kei hurriedly waved her hands. "We just happen to be going to the same place!"

She thought to herself.

In a way, she was someone who'd confessed and been rejected, too.

Shimizu Akira's phone suddenly vibrated.

He looked down at the message. It wasn't from Chabashira Sae, but from Kamuro Masumi of Class A:

[Don't waste your points from now on.]

That cold, high-achieving student from Class A had actually gone out of her way to warn him?

He quickly replied: [Has Sakayanagi Arisu already told you about the S System?]

She replied almost instantly: [You catch on pretty fast. Not exactly what you'd expect from someone in Class D.]

Another message came right after: [Why do you think Sakayanagi Arisu became one of Class A's key figures?]

A flicker of surprise crossed Shimizu Akira's eyes as he tapped the screen: [One of them? Does Class A have other key figures?]

Kamuro Masumi's reply carried a hint of significance: [Katsuragi Kohei. Steady in his approach, meticulous in everything he does. He also has quite a lot of influence in class.]

Shimizu Akira fell briefly into thought. Class A had clearly already been brought together as a unified whole.

Like him, Sakayanagi Arisu had already learned the key information the School Administration had deliberately kept hidden.

His gaze returned to the second piece of information:

Without knowing the truth in advance, it would have been almost impossible for Class A to earn an astonishing 940 Class Points in the first month.

It might look like nothing more than a cold, impersonal statistic, but there was a great deal of crucial information hidden behind it.

For one thing, aside from Class A, the other classes clearly hadn't discovered these hidden rules yet.

Otherwise, Class B and Class C wouldn't have been stuck at 650 and 490 points.

Class B's performance was especially intriguing.

When he'd paid ten thousand points for information, the upperclassman had told him plainly that, in past competitions, Class B had often had the greatest potential to "overthrow the class above them."

Yet their current score was clearly far below expectations.

Strange... With Ichinose Honami's social skills, she shouldn't have come away with nothing.

Shimizu Akira thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

He clearly remembered that the pink-haired girl had been active among students in every year group right from the start of school. By the second day, she'd already collected over a hundred contacts.

Was she just making friends, Ichinose?

He suddenly realized something, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Wait... Could she have failed to get in touch with those desperate Class D students willing to take a gamble?

The thought suddenly made everything click.

After all, at this school, the only people who would sell class secrets for a few Private Points were probably the handful of Class D students who'd given up on themselves.

As for the other classes, none of them would betray their class for a mere twenty or thirty thousand Private Points.

The numbers just don't make sense...

Shimizu Akira quickly calculated the costs and benefits in his head.

Twenty or thirty thousand Private Points might seem tempting, but converted into Class Points, they were worth only two or three hundred.

And if the School Administration caught someone breaking the rules, they could easily deduct a hundred or two hundred Class Points. That would mean the entire class lost hundreds of thousands or more in regular monthly income.

That kind of short-sighted, self-destructive move was probably something only someone with no way out would consider.

As for Class C—

Come to think of it, I still haven't met anyone from Class C...

The class's organizational structure remained a mystery to him.

Whether Class C had a figure capable of leading the entire class, like Sakayanagi in Class A or Ichinose in Class B, was still an open question.

After thinking for a long while, Shimizu Akira tapped the screen again: [By the way, Sakayanagi Arisu hasn't given you any trouble over that can of beer, has she?]

Kamuro Masumi's reply was clearly irritated: [? Do you think I'm an idiot? You already got rid of the evidence. Besides—] There was a two-second pause before another message appeared. [I'm still in Class A. How could I let her get leverage over me over one can of beer?]

Shimizu Akira's fingers danced lightly across the screen: [Hard to say. When we first met, you nearly showed all your cards. That didn't seem very Class A to me. If I hadn't stepped in, it feels like you'd have become Sakayanagi Arisu's puppet. Maybe you'd even hold an umbrella for her when it rained.]

As soon as he sent the message, his phone began vibrating violently.

[Shimizu Akira! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!] Kamuro Masumi's reply practically radiated fury. [I just realized—you were calling me stupid in a roundabout way when we first met, weren't you?! Who would hold an umbrella for Sakayanagi Arisu?! She's Class A's genius, but what, am I not?!]

[Forget it! Talking to someone like you is a waste of time.]

Shimizu Akira stared at the screen, his fingers pausing for a moment before he typed out a sincere reply: [Sorry, I went too far this time. But... I'm glad Sakayanagi Arisu hasn't been using you.]

After the message showed as read, "The other person is typing..." remained displayed above the chat.

A full half minute passed before a reply finally arrived:

[Apologize by prostrating yourself and let me step on your head.]

[Heh~]

Shimizu Akira set his phone down thoughtfully and turned to Horikita Suzune beside him.

After carefully choosing his words, he asked with feigned seriousness, "Horikita, if a girl replies with 'Heh,' what does it usually mean?"

Horikita Suzune didn't look up from her textbook. She gave a meaningful cold laugh. "Hmph~"

Shimizu Akira blinked.

Which raised the question... What did a girl's "Hmph" mean?

032 Men Don't Just Compare Sizes—They Compare Muscles, Too!

The current president of the Boxing Club was Sato-senpai of Class 3-A.

—He'd taken second place in last year's National High School Boxing Championship.

The competition was extremely prestigious. Second place was equivalent to runner-up in the national high school boxing tournament, a truly top-tier achievement.

With a record like that, Sato-senpai had been scouted by the national team early on. After graduation, he'd not only be guaranteed admission to a top sports university, but might even go straight into professional boxing.

And as someone graduating from Class A, his academic performance was just as impressive. Even without an athletic recommendation, he could easily get into a prestigious university on his grades alone.

He was truly outstanding both academically and athletically, with a bright future ahead of him.

However, since he'd moved up to his third year, Sato-senpai's role had naturally changed. He'd not only taken over as club president, but also become the club's coach.

These days, he devoted all his energy to training the second-year members and guiding the first-year newcomers.

Sato-bucho's personality was as straightforward as his punches. Men settled their differences with their fists in the Boxing Ring.

At noon.

When Shimizu Akira brought Karuizawa Kei to the Boxing Club, Sato-bucho didn't even wait for them to explain why they'd come before laughing and giving his approval.

"A manager? No problem!"

Then he slammed a fist into Shimizu's shoulder, making him stagger back half a step—

Among the many new students, Sato-bucho had high hopes for Shimizu Akira. The younger student was like an unpolished piece of jade.

Usually, anyone with an outstanding physique had at least tried one or two kinds of martial arts.

But those people often picked up habits that were hard to correct. For example, karate practitioners instinctively tried to use spinning kicks, which were strictly forbidden under boxing rules.

Shimizu Akira, however, was different.

This junior had spent a full eight years practicing nothing but the basics, like a max-level newbie in a game who refused to change classes.

That was why, when he finally began learning boxing systematically, his progress was so astonishingly fast. His pure fundamentals had become the most precious blank canvas.

Before they left, Sato-senpai made a point of patting Shimizu Akira on the shoulder.

"You don't need to come to training so often anymore."

When Shimizu looked slightly taken aback, Sato-senpai added with a laugh, "Just come now and then. Honestly, your rate of progress... it's incredible."

His gaze swept over the other new students practicing by the edge of the ring. "It might hurt the other members' motivation a little. If you've got nothing else to do, you could stop by the Student Council and have a look around."

Shimizu Akira nodded slightly and said nothing more.