Classroom of the Elite: Once the Intel Updates, They Always Want to Win Me Over! Chapter 38

"Of all the new students, you're the only one eating the free meal." As she spoke, she sat down across from him without the slightest hesitation.

The premium meal on her tray stood in stark contrast to the meager free meal in front of Shimizu Akira.

Shimizu Akira swallowed his food unhurriedly and looked up at the girl across from him. "Good afternoon, Kamuro. Have you forgiven me yet?"

He suddenly remembered the over-the-top joke he'd made last time. It seemed the girl still held a grudge.

"Get down on your knees and apologize. Let me step on your head as penance." Kamuro Masumi gave a cold snort, her slender fingers tapping lightly against the edge of her tray.

But then her gaze swept over the free meal in front of Shimizu Akira, and her tone softened a little. "...Still, since you really listened to me and are dutifully eating the free meal to save points..."

She prodded the food on her tray with her fork. "...I'll let you off this time."

Shimizu Akira was momentarily at a loss for words, his expression stiffening slightly.

He did remember Kamuro Masumi warning him in a chat message to be careful with his points. He just hadn't expected her to remember it so clearly.

—Though she'd completely misunderstood his reason.

He was only saving points for the time being so he could rent the surveillance footage.

"...I ordered an extra portion, so you can have it." Kamuro Masumi suddenly turned away and pushed a small bowl of golden, crispy popcorn chicken in front of him.

Shimizu Akira glanced at the lonely bowl of ramen on her tray—it was clearly a side dish she'd split off from her set meal at the last minute.

A knowing look flickered in his eyes, but he only smiled warmly. "Then thank you, Kamuro."

Sometimes, accepting someone's kindness without making a fuss was the best way to show respect to the person offering it.

The corners of Kamuro Masumi's mouth lifted involuntarily, but she immediately schooled her expression. "...You couldn't even pretend to refuse? You really have some nerve!"

She suddenly pointed her chopsticks at Shimizu Akira, her tone brimming with the characteristic arrogance of Class A. "Speaking of which, now that you know the truth, you should understand—even if your Class D tells everyone, nothing will change. After all..." She deliberately drew out her words. "You're just defective goods left over after everyone else was picked. Would you really obediently do as you're told?"

"At the beginning of next month, your class will have, what, two or three hundred points at most? Barely enough to have a decent meal once in a while." But my situation's different. Class A gets three or four times as many points as you do~" She spoke with an air of triumph, but her eyes kept darting toward the popcorn chicken in front of Shimizu Akira, as if checking that he was eating it.

A faint smile played on Shimizu Akira's lips as he chewed the crispy popcorn chicken unhurriedly. He chose to keep quiet about the several million points he was about to receive.

He saw it clearly—Kamuro Masumi wasn't genuinely mocking him. She was just awkwardly trying to maintain her pride as an elite from Class A while helping him without making it obvious.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, nodding along and indulging the girl's little vanity.

"How did you do on the entrance exams?" Kamuro Masumi asked suddenly.

"I failed every subject except physical education," Shimizu Akira answered candidly.

Kamuro Masumi's expression stiffened. She looked him up and down, her gaze finally coming to rest on the solid lines of his arms. "...No wonder you ended up in Class D. So you're just an idiot who knows how to build muscle."

"And for the record," she added, sitting up straight and pointing her chopsticks at him, "my entrance exam scores were much better than yours! So cut out that 'looking down on me' attitude!"

Shimizu Akira suddenly understood—she was still holding a grudge over what he'd said to her that day, even though he'd meant it.

"I was wrong to say that." He set down his chopsticks, his expression unusually serious. "I promise I won't think something so disrespectful again."

He had to admit that despite Kamuro Masumi's haughty demeanor, both her straightforward personality and her principles were far more genuine than those of most people in Class D.

Especially her awkward way of showing concern, which made her seem all the more genuine to Shimizu Akira.

Kamuro Masumi's fingers flew across her phone screen. Suddenly, a notification chimed in Shimizu Akira's pocket.

"You... You're way too meek." She frowned, deliberately masking her discomfort with an annoyed tone. "You just agree with everything I say... Never mind. Since you're so obedient, I'll lend you 10,000 points, I suppose."

Kamuro Masumi suddenly stood up again, her tray clinking in her hands. "Don't eat such a pathetic meal next time. Sitting with you... It's embarrassing."

Before Shimizu Akira could respond, she hurried over to an empty seat farther away.

Halfway there, she suddenly stopped and tossed out a remark without looking back. "...Make sure you claim the points. Don't make me come to Class D and find you myself!"

"Kamuro Masumi... She really is a good person."

Watching Kamuro Masumi walk away, Shimizu Akira couldn't help sighing.

Even though she'd been so bluntly dismissive, a strange warmth welled up inside him.

Looking down at the popcorn chicken left on his tray, he suddenly realized—this was probably just Kamuro Masumi's way of showing concern.

Kushida Kikyou Is the Textbook Example of a Perfect Girlfriend

[Ping~ Today's intel has been updated]

[Intel 1: Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C currently has 3,016,500 points]

[Intel 2: Because Kanzaki Ryuji had an overly negative attitude during his interview, he was assigned to Class 1-B]

[Intel 3: Hashimoto Masayoshi of Class A is a two-timer]

Shimizu Akira had just reached his seat when today's intel alert sounded in his mind. He read through it, word by word.

First, the first item—

(Hm? Ryuen Kakeru has that many points?)

Shimizu Akira immediately reflected on his earlier arrogance. It turned out he wasn't the one with the most points. By the looks of it, Ryuen Kakeru of Class 1-C was far richer than he was, with his points already topping a million.

(Was it class funds?)

He doubted Ryuen had earned the points fairly through trades the way he had. Thinking of Ryuen's position as Class C's leader, he instinctively guessed that the figure might be the total points of the entire class.

(Hm? So Class C is pretty united?)

That was somewhat unexpected.

Next, the second item.

He'd heard of Kanzaki Ryuji before. After all, Kanzaki was a famous heartthrob in Class 1-B.

(Why's there another student who was assigned to a different class because of his interview attitude?)

Kouenji Rokusuke in his class had been the same way.

(Don't the interviewers have a little too much authority?)

Now that he thought about it, every student had taken a series of tests administered by interviewers and received different evaluations. Then they'd been assigned to different classes based on those evaluations.

One student being assigned to a different class because of his attitude during the interview would have been one thing, but now there was a second. Clearly, the School Administration was at fault.

Next, the third item.

He didn't know much about Hashimoto Masayoshi.

(Does "two-timer" mean he's a fence-sitter? In other words, he'll be someone else's subordinate, betray his own faction, and team up with another?)

He just didn't know who Hashimoto was currently affiliated with.

Perhaps he wouldn't just betray some faction—he might even sell out his entire class.

Shimizu Akira quietly made a mental note to watch him.

Third period in the morning was math, Shimizu Akira's strongest subject.

He was just as good at math as he was bad at language arts.

The teacher was covering vectors, a topic Shimizu Akira already knew by heart.

After all, he'd spent several years working as a game designer in his previous life, writing countless spreadsheets for programmers, and later taught himself game development. Vectors were used in games all the time.

Determining the field of view, performing collision detection, and implementing character movement logic—all of these made use of vectors.

Most of the time, the tools built into the game engine were enough to handle it, but sometimes you still had to write the code yourself.

Lunchtime.

Shimizu Akira had just decided to go eat when his phone vibrated.

He swiped his screen with his left hand and saw a message from Kushida Kikyou.

Kushida Kikyou: Shimizu, don't forget our agreement~

Kushida Kikyou: I'll count everyone I've persuaded to vote as part of your total!

He immediately understood that she was hinting at the election.

—She was actually going to count everyone she'd convinced as his accomplishment?

—It seemed those 80,000 points were purely hush money to her.

But now that she'd shown her true colors last night, why was she still acting like a sweet, obedient girl around him?

Shimizu Akira: Is that really okay?

Kushida Kikyou: ...It's fine! I was the one who suggested it, after all. You don't actually have to do anything, Shimizu~

Shimizu Akira had never expected to coast his way to victory in this election.

What surprised him most was Kushida Kikyou's attitude—she was actually telling him he didn't have to do a thing. Being taken care of from start to finish gave him the strange feeling that he was living off a woman.

(Could she be the type who'd swallow any grievance just to maintain her perfect image?)

Shimizu Akira's thoughts drifted. A vivid scene formed in his mind: if Kushida Kikyou ever fell in love, she'd probably keep that sweet, gentle mask on and play the role of a flawless girlfriend.

Even when her boyfriend upset her, she'd just bite her lip and swallow her hurt, then run off to the rooftop and stomp furiously at the wall to vent.

The next morning, she'd be able to greet the sunrise with a sweet smile, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Who cared whether she was genuinely sweet or only pretending? At least she'd be devoted to you, wouldn't she?

Of course, that was assuming she had dirt on you.

(Wait... When you put it that way...)

A perfect girlfriend! She was the textbook example of a perfect girlfriend!

Shimizu Akira couldn't help comparing her in his mind. Even Ichinose Honami, who was widely considered gentle, would probably stick to her principles and insist that whoever had made a mistake admit it and apologize.

But Kushida Kikyou was different—just to keep others' affection, she'd rather hide away and vent than ever snap at someone close to her.

"Could it be... Kushida Kikyou... is the ideal girlfriend after all..."

The sudden conclusion surprised even Shimizu Akira.

Even knowing she was two-faced, that very trait made her exceptional.

The fact that she'd never get angry at her boyfriend alone put her ahead of 99% of women in the world.

And the split personality was even better—like having two girlfriends at once, one sweet and adorable, the other candid and unrestrained.

That contrast wouldn't grow tiresome. Instead, it would add a special kind of excitement to the relationship.

Looking at the girl before him, whose acting was so convincing, Shimizu Akira couldn't help sighing inwardly. Kushida Kikyou really was flawless—if you ignored her innate talent for acting.

Shimizu Akira: Kushida, you're just too kind.

Kushida Kikyou: ...Eh? I just want to be friends with everyone. It's not simply a matter of being kind!

Kushida Kikyou: Um... Actually, despite how I seem, I do have a little selfishness in me! Like that deal we made last night...

Kushida Kikyou: If possible, and if I really had to go on a date with a boy, honestly, I think I'd prefer Shimizu...

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow as she rapidly sent a string of messages. Sure enough, the conversation turned to the point the very next moment.

Kushida Kikyou: Um... Actually, since I recently collected the class funds, I borrowed points from several people to gather the 80,000 points this time!

The girl's unspoken meaning couldn't have been clearer: Since I'm broke now, shouldn't you give me those 80,000 points back?

Shimizu Akira could almost see a pop-up window appearing in the chat: Urgently need points! Really, really want those 80,000 points back!

He thought it over, then decided to be direct. "Well, those 80,000 points are extremely useful to me. In short, there's no way I can give them back to you."

Kushida Kikyou was silent for a long, long time.

Kushida Kikyou: Not even 30,000 points?

Shimizu Akira: Mm, I can't give you any.

Kushida Kikyou: I understand.

He could almost hear the sound of the beads on Kushida Kikyou's abacus scattering everywhere.

Still, Shimizu Akira couldn't help chuckling.

See? He'd been right. Even after all that, she still wasn't planning to lose her temper and tear up their relationship.

Shimizu Akira no longer had time to pay attention to Kushida Kikyou's reaction, because Horikita Manabu had finally sent the text he'd been waiting for.