Classroom of the Elite: After the Info Refresh, They Always Want to Win Me Over! Chapter 23

Shimizu Akira admitted it without a second thought. "...Yes."

Since she had already gone that far, there was no need for him to lie.

"Shimizu, you were probably the first student in Class D to discover those hidden rules. So..." She straightened her expression. "I'm considering appointing you class leader. What do you think?"

"With all due respect, I refuse." Shimizu Akira answered briskly, without the slightest hesitation.

Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because..." His voice was calm. "I don't want to be a human shield."

In the first month of school, Class D's Class Points had ended up at a miserable zero. The gap between them and the other classes was practically insurmountable.

Shimizu Akira privately calculated that if he took on the hot potato of class leader, his classmates—who were about as useful as a chocolate teapot—would probably drag him down with them.

"So... that's why you chose to keep the information from the rest of the class?" Chabashira Sae studied him thoughtfully.

Then she suddenly changed the subject. "What if... I forced you to lead Class D on the condition that you'd be expelled?"

"..." Shimizu Akira swept a sharp glance over his homeroom teacher. "I doubt that would comply with this school's rules, would it? After all, the principal's goal is to nurture students with 'talent.'"

As he spoke, he subtly nudged Horikita Suzune half a step forward. "Besides, this is Horikita Manabu's younger sister. Would you like me to contact the Student Council President right now and report this... rather foolish threat?"

He'd heard plenty of rumors about the Student Council lately. The Student Council President even had more authority than the teachers.

Horikita Suzune froze for a moment at his words, then shot Shimizu Akira a frigid glare. He'd actually taken the liberty of using her as a human shield.

But she still lifted her chin and spoke in a cool voice. "...Chabashira-sensei, given your experience, I doubt you'd make such a foolish decision."

"Is the Student Council President your brother?" Chabashira Sae's gaze shifted between them, then she suddenly understood. "I see... The surname Horikita is rather uncommon."

"...I wasn't actually planning to threaten you." Her tone softened a little.

In truth, the thought had crossed her mind. But then she remembered that, in this day and age, transferring high schools hardly counted as a catastrophe.

Besides...

She quietly observed Shimizu Akira's reaction.

This was only a carefully designed test, like a chemistry teacher using a reagent to check how well a student could think on their feet.

As it turned out, his reaction was about what she'd expected.

Chabashira Sae lightly tapped the desk with her fingertips. "What if I told you... I wanted to buy the class information from you for one million points, on the condition that you share it with your classmates? What would you say?"

Shimizu Akira was taken aback.

The proposal itself was shocking enough. What surprised him more was who'd made it.

This homeroom teacher, who'd always seemed content to do nothing, was now taking the initiative to join the information war between classes? It was a complete departure from her usual hands-off attitude.

"Have you suddenly taken an interest in the class competition, sensei?" Shimizu Akira narrowed his eyes slightly. "You're actually willing to spend one million points?"

"Don't look at me like that," Chabashira Sae replied coolly. "I'm not planning to be a sucker, any more than you are."

As she spoke, she pulled a document from her bag and lightly tapped the page with her slender finger. "This is strategic information for the whole class, so I'll hold a class meeting tomorrow. Each person will pay 25,000 points. Of course, I'll pay your 25,000 myself. The conditions are simple..." Chabashira Sae paused. "You just need to 'casually' let Kushida Kikyou or Hirata Yosuke hear the news. You can tell them directly, too. I'll allow only one of the three of you to reveal this information."

"How does that sound?" Chabashira Sae leaned forward slightly, tapping the desk with her fingertips. "You'll get the reward you deserve, and the rest of the class will pay what they owe. You won't even need to show your face."

The corner of her mouth curled into the faintest smile. "From any angle, this is a fair deal, isn't it? Just agree now, and I'll transfer the million points in my account to you at once."

Shimizu Akira's gaze lingered on his phone. The string of digits glowed coldly on the screen: one million points, just like that, within easy reach.

He gently rubbed his chin, weighing the pros and cons of the deal over and over in his mind.

Information he'd bought for 10,000 points had just increased a hundredfold. However he looked at it, this was a guaranteed profit.

He'd been worried that the people in Class D might refuse to hand over their points, but Chabashira Sae had paid the whole amount herself.

In other words, she planned to play the "villain" herself and collect 25,000 points in "information fees" from each student in the class.

(Wait, teachers can openly collect class fees? What if another student reports her?)

"...Deal." He finally nodded. "It is a fair and reasonable transaction."

Chabashira gave a soft laugh and neatly put the document away in her drawer. "A wise choice. I look forward to hearing good news from you."

Once the two had finished their deal, Chabashira Sae suddenly turned around, as though she'd only just noticed Horikita Suzune.

"I almost forgot..." She lightly tapped the desk and turned to Horikita Suzune, who'd been standing quietly to one side. "Go ahead. What do you want to ask?"

"PS: Tomorrow's update will come out at 2 a.m. Monday, but I'll post ten chapters at once to climb the rankings."

041 Who Should I Tell About the Information?

"Then I'll get straight to the point. Why was I placed in Class D? My entrance exam scores should have been excellent! Shouldn't I have been placed in Class A?"

"Why do you think so highly of yourself? Where does your confidence come from? Based on social skills alone, you're the worst in Class D! There was nothing wrong with your class placement—you're only good enough for Class D. You're a defective product!"

Horikita stepped back half a pace and said coolly, "As for whether I'm suited for this class... I'll ask the School Administration myself."

"Be my guest." Chabashira Sae sneered and casually opened the roster on her desk. "But before that..." Her fingertip tapped hard on a name. "Why not ask your remarkable older brother, Horikita Manabu?"

Chabashira's voice suddenly softened, but her words sliced through the air like a dull knife. "In his first year, he won the support of the vast majority of his classmates and became the first first-year student in history to be elected Student Council President." She suddenly slammed the roster down in front of Horikita. "You can't even measure up to the person he was back then."

The page that had fallen open showed a group photo of the Student Council members, with Horikita Manabu standing in the center.

Shimizu Akira noticed Horikita Suzune's breathing catch for an instant. She stared at the photo as if she wanted to burn a hole through the badge.

Chabashira Sae suddenly relaxed her tense shoulders, her voice tinged with faint disinterest. "Still... it's not as if you have no chance of moving up to Class A. As for the details..."

She suddenly pointed at Shimizu Akira, who'd already reached the door. "Go ask him. The other 39 of you have all paid for the information, after all."

She waved her hand as if shooing away a fly.

Shimizu Akira already had one foot out of the office. With the million points safely in his account, he left without hesitation.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him, and Horikita Suzune soon drew level with him.

"You..."

"Let's talk while we walk."

The S System's operating logic wasn't complicated. When he'd first heard about the rules, the setting of Baka and Test had immediately come to mind.

The class-ranking system was similar, and both schools allowed lower-ranked classes to challenge the ones above them.

But the key difference was that this school clearly assessed students on more than just their academic performance.

(What exactly did they base the class assignments on?)

The question still lingered in his mind.

But from Chabashira Sae's reprimand of Horikita Suzune just now, he could at least confirm one thing: social skills carried considerable weight in the school's assessment system.

The phrase "the worst person in the class at socializing" was harsh.

But it had unexpectedly revealed how the school operated.

Here, a one-track genius who only knew how to work alone could actually be judged "defective" by the system.

Come to think of it, maybe Class D wasn't the weakest class overall!

"..."

After hearing Shimizu Akira's information, Horikita Suzune looked troubled and silently turned to leave.

She didn't even ask any questions—such as whether Class D could still move up to Class A based on its future performance.

Still, Shimizu Akira understood how she felt. Learning that her older brother had already led Class A to the top of the Student Council at the same age she was now was a shock that would take time to process.

Speaking of which, Yukinoshita Yukino also had an older sister she'd always wanted to catch up to.

They really were alike!

(But still...)

His thoughts turned to the task Chabashira Sae had given him.

Shimizu Akira took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he paused between two names: Kushida Kikyou and Hirata Yosuke.

He'd already taken the million points, so he had to follow through. That was the meaning of equivalent exchange.

"Our homeroom teacher really knows how to read people..." Shimizu Akira muttered.

Chabashira saw things clearly. In practice, Class D was being held together by those two.

Kushida won people over with her amazing friendliness, while Hirata held the class together with his natural leadership ability.

Once the information reached either of them, it would spread throughout Class D in less than half a day.

Shimizu Akira locked his phone and lightly rubbed his chin with his knuckle.

Judging by how often they talked, Kushida Kikyou was unquestionably the better choice.

That girl, who always wore a sweet smile, often approached him to discuss Horikita Suzune.

She came by at least two or three times a day to check in with him.

But deep down, she really was a two-faced girl. Her way of relieving stress was to kick down doors and curse people out.

(By comparison...)

Hirata Yosuke was so upright he practically shone.

As a fellow guy, Shimizu Akira genuinely admired that kind of straightforward personality.

But he still remembered the look on Hirata's face when he'd seen those two messages—the way he'd stiffened in an instant. Thinking about it now still made Shimizu Akira frown.

A model student like Hirata, who excelled both academically and in conduct, shouldn't have been in Class D at all—unless there was something dark buried in his file, some fatal flaw that even his perfect façade couldn't conceal.

After all, Chabashira Sae had said that everyone in Class D was defective.

But the most important thing right now was to create an anonymous account.

He had to be cautious. If his envious classmates in Class D found out who he really was, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

Shimizu Akira wasn't afraid of a direct confrontation, but it was better to avoid trouble when he could.

What's more, with this account, he'd be able to trade with other classes without anyone knowing.

After thinking it over, he realized there was no avoiding creating this alternate account.

But Shimizu Akira soon spotted a problem: every student account was strictly linked to its owner's identity.

In other words, if he wanted to be completely anonymous, he'd need to get another legitimate identity.

He contacted his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, directly. "Sensei, does the school have anonymous transaction accounts?"

Chabashira Sae's reply was simple and direct. "No. The School Administration monitors all point transfers."

"I only need to hide it from the other students. It doesn't matter if the School Administration knows," Shimizu Akira insisted.

Chabashira Sae was silent for a moment, then sent him a message. "You can use your real ID to open a second subsidiary account. It costs 10,000 points."

"Deal." Shimizu Akira transferred the points without hesitation.

Almost instantly, the details of a brand-new account appeared on his device.

It was still linked to his identity, but the new account's balance was zero—like a blank canvas, waiting for him to put his plans into action.

So, who should he tell about the information?

042 I Want to Tell Kushida from Class D Some Important Information

At night, the emergency lights in the school hallway cast a pale glow through the darkness.

Kushida Kikyou stood in front of the iron door leading to the rooftop, her uniform skirt swaying with every violent movement.

"Horikita... Horikita... Horikita!"

With every repetition of the name, she kicked harder.

The metal door rang with a dull thud, especially jarring in the silent hallway.

"Die... Die... Just die!"

Her voice squeezed through clenched teeth, its sweet tone warped into something vicious.

"Today was the same again... The same again!" Kushida Kikyou tilted her head back and growled at the mottled ceiling. "What gives that pretentious woman the right to look at me like that? Who does she think she is, ignoring me? Is winning a swimming competition really such a big deal?"

"Yamauchi Haruki... Kanji Ike... They were looking at me with those lecherous eyes again today!" She savored the two names as if they were something disgusting. "If I weren't keeping up my image, I wouldn't bother with you! You two brainless trash should just go home already!"

She panted rapidly.