Classroom of the Elite: After the Intelligence Update, They Always Want to Conquer Me! Chapter 2

"I'll remember that, Horikita. See you." Shimizu Akira smiled at her, then turned and started up the stairs.

Horikita stayed where she was. Only after he disappeared up the stairs did she freeze, as if she had suddenly realized something.

Wait... Had she really just given a stranger her name so casually?

Shimizu Akira walked beneath the falling cherry blossoms.

"Horikita really is so innocent..."

The surprise and fluster she'd shown after nothing more than a simple greeting were unmistakable signs of someone unaccustomed to everyday social interactions.

Her naïve, genuine reaction was worlds apart from Kushida Kikyou, who had been so calculating just moments ago.

Come to think of it, if a girl like Horikita fell in love, she would probably devote herself wholeheartedly to her partner.

But he put that thought aside for the time being.

For one thing, he still didn't know which class he'd be in. For another, he'd only just arrived. Until he understood what this school was really like, he'd better keep his head down and behave.

Just then, a crisp notification chime suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ping~ Today's intelligence has been updated]

[Intelligence 1: Today at exactly 10:30 (after the opening ceremony), Kamuro Masumi of Class 1-A will "walk off with" a can of beer from the convenience store on campus.]

[Intelligence 2: Horikita Suzune's measurements are 79/54/79.]

[Intelligence 3: If you need to take care of your physical needs, knock on Hoshinomiya Chie's door three times at exactly 2:00 a.m. tomorrow.]

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow. Today's intelligence was certainly unexpected.

Especially the third item... Did this school really have someone offering this kind of special service?

003 Classmates in Class 1-D

Shimizu Akira considered himself an honest man.

He had no problem getting involved with women, but he couldn't stomach associating with "public buses" like that—the mere thought of the risk of catching a disease made him uncomfortable.

It wasn't as if he were so sexually repressed.

And it wasn't as if he couldn't get a girlfriend.

As for this Hoshinomiya Chie, Shimizu couldn't make heads or tails of it.

What class was this beautiful girl in? Was she really that open?

It hadn't even occurred to him that she might be a member of the faculty.

After all, even the worst teachers in Japan wouldn't dare lay a hand on their students, would they? Surely that was a line they wouldn't cross.

It was a basic part of being a teacher.

As for the second item of intelligence—it seemed useless at first glance, but to certain old perverts, it was exclusive information worth a fortune.

His understanding of Horikita Suzune had deepened a little.

It seemed the system occasionally sent him information that looked useless but was subtly revealing.

All things considered, the only item that might actually come in handy right now was the first one.

It was worth explaining that he hadn't been completely unprepared for his transmigration.

The day before, a mysterious email had suddenly appeared in his inbox. The sender was listed as "System." The brief message informed him that he'd been selected as a new student at Advanced Nurturing High School and asked him to set his own identity and special ability for his new life.

At the time, Shimizu Akira had assumed it was a prank and filled in the form at random. For his background, he'd casually written something simple and slapdash: "an orphan from an orphanage." For his ability, he'd followed the template from One Punch Man, choosing the ridiculous training regimen of "doing 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats every day, plus running 10 kilometers, for eight years straight."

Looking back carefully, he realized there really were gaps in his memory. Apart from fragments of his years of training and the entrance exam, everything else was hazy.

Fortunately, he had all the necessary identification documents. At least in this world, he wasn't completely undocumented.

Shimizu Akira now felt terrifyingly strong.

But then again, how much of an advantage could such a fit physique really bring him at a high school?

At most, it would keep his gym grades perfect.

This wasn't Suzuran High School next door, where the law of the jungle held that "fists make right."

Looking at the polite students in front of the school building, Shimizu Akira shook his head at his ridiculous thoughts.

According to his enrollment notice, Shimizu Akira had been assigned to Class 1-D.

When he arrived at the classroom, nameplates bearing the students' names were neatly arranged on every desk.

Following the nameplates, Shimizu Akira soon found his seat at the back of the classroom, in the center of the last row.

The window seat was already occupied by that unremarkable brown-haired student.

To his left, Horikita Suzune set her shoulder bag on her desk and briskly arranged her stationery.

Shimizu Akira hung his shoulder bag on the hook at the side of his desk.

"One hundred and sixty new students, four classes..." he murmured, tapping his fingertips lightly on the desk. "Forty students per class. That's a decent number."

"The classroom is arranged in five columns and eight rows," Horikita Suzune replied without looking up. "We've been assigned to Class D, so there must be three other classes ahead of us: A, B, and C. Based on those two facts, there must be at least 160 students."

"Horikita, you're sharp," Shimizu Akira complimented her.

"You'd already figured that out, hadn't you?" Horikita Suzune glanced at him coolly. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have concluded that there were four classes of forty students each."

"You've got it wrong. That wasn't it." Shimizu Akira paused, then took the enrollment manual from his shoulder bag and handed it to her.

The manual stated clearly in black and white: each class had forty students, and there were four classes—A, B, C, and D.

Horikita Suzune's expression froze.

But she quickly recovered, and returned the manual as if nothing had happened.

"Looks like the School Administration gave us the exact numbers from the start." Her voice remained cool, but she spoke a little faster than usual. "In any case, my reasoning was correct."

Then Horikita Suzune pulled a copy of Crime and Punishment from her shoulder bag. She lowered her head slightly, giving off an icy air that said, "Do not disturb."

"Horikita," Shimizu Akira said, glancing at her again. "I remember you were already reading that book on the bus. Why are you turning back to the first page now?"

Horikita Suzune's fingers paused. "I have a habit of reading books at least three times," she replied coolly.

Her tone remained calm, but she turned the page with more force than before. The paper made a crisp rustling sound.

I see... She's using the book to cover up her earlier blunder.

He discreetly studied the girl sitting beside him.

Horikita Suzune's long eyelashes trembled softly as she read.

Even when embarrassed, she still maintained the natural elegance she'd been born with.

...She's kind of cute.

What surprised him even more was that she'd spoken to him first.

Perhaps this seemingly cold honor student wasn't as averse to socializing as she appeared.

Still, he looked away at an appropriate moment.

If he kept staring, he might actually annoy his haughty deskmate.

There was no rush. They were seated next to each other, after all, and would have plenty of opportunities to interact.

Shimizu Akira's gaze naturally shifted to the seat on his right.

The red-haired girl in round glasses was sitting with her head lowered, looking ill at ease. Her fiery hair fell like a waterfall, almost completely hiding her small face.

Her slender fingers nervously twisted the hem of her skirt. Whenever she furtively glanced at the other students, her eyes betrayed her obvious anxiety.

Hm? Is she another beautiful girl...?

Shimizu Akira couldn't help taking another look. Her fair skin stood out against her red hair, and she occasionally bit her cherry-red lips.

Though she radiated an aura of "Please don't notice me," her striking looks made her hard to overlook.

Let's see if there are any other familiar faces.

From his central seat in the last row, Shimizu Akira had the perfect vantage point for watching the entire classroom.

His gaze first settled on Kushida Kikyou in the middle of the room. The energetic girl stood beside her seat, leaning forward slightly with both hands braced on a classmate's desk as she chatted with those around her. She'd already become the center of the group.

Looking to the right, he spotted Kouenji Rokusuke, whom he'd seen on the bus. He was brazenly propping both legs on his desk and playing with a nail file.

His powerfully built physique stood out in the classroom.

Shimizu Akira had a feeling that Kouenji's physical abilities were on par with his own.

004 I'm Here to Report Something

The classroom door opened softly, and a female teacher with her hair tied in a neat ponytail walked in with steady steps.

"My name is Chabashira Sae. I'm the homeroom teacher for Class D, and I teach Japanese history."

Chabashira-sensei stood at the lectern and swept the room with a sharp gaze.

"The opening ceremony will be held in an hour," she said succinctly, her voice as brisk as her tied-back hair. "Also, this school follows a fixed-class system. You'll be spending the next three years together."

Chabashira Sae casually opened the enrollment manual and tapped one of its key clauses with her fingertip. "You'll live on campus, and leaving without permission is forbidden. In addition..." Her gaze suddenly turned meaningful. "Starting today, you'll be using the new S Points system."

At her gesture, the students all took out the student cards they'd just received.

After downloading the dedicated app and scanning the code, they saw a balance of 100,000 points displayed on the screen.

"Points are deposited automatically on the first of every month. One point is equivalent to one yen," Chabashira-sensei said calmly. "There's nothing you can't buy with points at this school. Anything on the school grounds is available for purchase."

A wave of astonished exclamations swept through the classroom. The students whispered to one another, disbelief written all over their faces. After all, receiving a hundred thousand yen out of nowhere every month sounded like a fantasy to an ordinary high school student.

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow.

This school really was different. It was the first time he'd encountered a school that paid its students.

What truly caught his attention was Chabashira-sensei's pointed claim that they could "buy anything."

That sounds... suspiciously like something out of an eighteen-plus game.

Chabashira Sae rapped her knuckles sharply on the lectern. A dull "thunk" rang through the room.

The classroom fell silent at once, every gaze turning toward her.

"Make sure you understand this," she said, her voice rising an octave as her sharp gaze swept over the students excitedly discussing their points. "Everything at this school is decided by ability."

She deliberately paused, studying the students' varied expressions. Some looked confused; others seemed unconvinced.

"These points," Chabashira-sensei said, raising her own school-issued device. Numbers flashed on the screen. "Are the school's evaluation of you. Remember, it is strictly forbidden to obtain another person's points through fraud or coercion."

Her tone turned cold as she spoke the final words.

Chabashira turned and neatly wrote a string of numbers on the blackboard. The chalk made a crisp scraping sound.

Then she added a social media account, ending with a stylish flourish. "This is how to contact me. Remember to include your name."

She paused and lightly tapped the blackboard. "Send me a message about everyday matters, or come find me in the staff room. If it's an emergency, you can call me directly."

The classroom filled with a flurry of tapping as the students lowered their heads to work on their phones.

Shimizu Akira opened his screen and saved the number to his contacts.

His finger paused on the LINE icon. In Japan, it really was the more common way to get in touch.

He tapped the screen, and the notification chime sounded as his friend request went through.

Shimizu Akira looked up at the lectern without thinking. Chabashira-sensei stood beside it with her arms crossed, her wrists bare beneath the cuffs of her uniform. Her phone was clearly still resting quietly in one of her pockets.

His gaze gradually grew more intent as Chabashira-sensei's words echoed in his mind: ability came first, points reflected their evaluation, and anything on campus could be purchased...

Is the evaluation based on exam results? What about athletics? Club activities?

More importantly, the cruel logic behind this point system was beginning to emerge. If points were equivalent to evaluation, then their totals had to fluctuate—they could increase, but they could also be taken away. In the extreme, would reaching zero mean expulsion?

In a way, this campus system, which used points instead of cash, created a kind of equality. Students from poor families would no longer be embarrassed by a lack of money, while the rich young ladies born with silver spoons in their mouths couldn't rely on their family fortunes for special treatment.

It seemed this school was far more interesting than he'd imagined.

"Well, I hope you have a wonderful school life."

As soon as Chabashira Sae finished speaking, her high heels struck the floor with a crisp series of taps that gradually faded into the distance.