Classroom of the Elite, After the Information Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me!

"Fine!" Horikita Suzune sneered, "Then once the surveillance footage is available, we'll let the whole class see exactly who is dragging us down!" Having said that, she sat back down in her seat.

In truth, Horikita was not deliberately targeting these two. She had always believed that as long as one truly repented, that was enough.

Just as Ike Kanji had said, the rule regarding point deductions was something the school had deliberately hidden; she didn't expect them to take full responsibility, but at the very least, their attitude should be proper.

Ike Kanji's performance was acceptable; he was able to apologize frankly in front of the entire class.

Regardless of his ability, this sincerity was worth acknowledging.

As for Yamauchi Haruki?

His grades were a complete disaster, and his attitude was even worse.

He really wouldn't shed a tear until he saw the coffin!

When the surveillance footage was placed in front of him, she wanted to see what kind of excuses he would have left!

Horikita recalled the last time this guy had openly commented that she was "flat-chested" in front of Shimizu Akira; she had almost let him taste her fist back then.

In short, Horikita Suzune's impression of Yamauchi Haruki had hit rock bottom.

In her view, if this piece of trash had no strengths and no desire to improve in the future, he should get out of Class D as soon as possible!

She was not a peacemaker like Kushida Kikyou, nor was she a pushover like Hirata Yosuke.

She had never considered herself a saint.

That sense of mission about "having to lead every student in Class D to Class A"? Ridiculous! She only needed to lead Shimizu Akira and earn her brother's recognition!

Having been the type who wouldn't even deign to give up her seat on the bus, how could she possibly care about the feelings of everyone in the class?

But to her surprise, this sharp speech did not invite resentment; instead, it won the approval of many classmates.

(So this is what it feels like... to be watched with admiring eyes.)

Horikita had to admit that her mood at this moment was actually quite pleasant.

This was the first time she had experienced the feeling of being admired by others—it was unexpectedly nice.

"Not bad, you've finally figured it out." Shimizu Akira glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

"What do you mean?"

"In terms of approachability, you certainly can't compare to Kushida, and in terms of leadership charisma, you're far behind Hirata. But precisely because you don't care about pleasing anyone, you're able to point out the core of the problem." Shimizu Akira paused, "Maintain this blunt style, and people will naturally follow you. When the time comes, the position of class representative is still something you can fight for."

For once, Horikita did not retort; she fell into deep thought.

Since even Shimizu Akira said so, could it be that she was actually capable of vying for the position of class representative?

A moment later, she suddenly raised her eyes to look directly at Shimizu Akira.

"When the class representative is re-elected next month, will you vote for me?"

Shimizu Akira chuckled upon hearing this, meeting her gaze: "Of course. To be honest, I hate the 'go-along-to-get-along' leadership style the most. Those guys who just slack off and cause point deductions should be dismissed immediately."

(Someone decisive, who rewards and punishes clearly... that doesn't seem to conflict with my own persona.)

Horikita narrowed her eyes slightly, feeling as though she had found her place in the class.

During the lunch break, Shimizu Akira finished his meal in a hurry and rushed back to the dormitory.

The representatives of the four classes sent messages of inquiry almost simultaneously, the content being much the same—all of them doubting whether his so-called surveillance authority was truly valid.

Ryuen Kakeru demanded that he provide past surveillance footage as proof, while Sakayanagi Arisu questioned whether he had actually obtained formal authorization from the school.

Shimizu Akira had been prepared.

He first retrieved recent surveillance clips from the four classes, then organized screenshots of the public-facing contract he had signed with the principal two days prior.

After sending these pieces of evidence to those people one by one, they suddenly fell into silence.

However, to his surprise, his phone suddenly rang.

The screen displayed the name "Ichinose Honami"—his main account, of course.

As for his secondary account, Yueqing, he had long since set it to automatically block all incoming calls, and had even turned off the notification sounds.

After all, if the other party were to call on a whim, wouldn't his dual identity be exposed on the spot? It was better to be cautious.

"Shimizu-kun..." Ichinose's slightly hesitant voice came from the other end of the line, "Um... could you spare a moment of your time?"

Unlike the last time, when she was flustered, Shimizu Akira responded naturally this time: "No problem, go ahead."

"...I might not be able to give you the extra private points next month." Her voice dropped, "I've... run into some small trouble on my end."

"It's fine." Shimizu Akira paused, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right! I was supposed to return those eighty thousand points to you anyway; that was your money to begin with."

He had always had a good impression of Ichinose Honami. He remembered that when they first met, she had reached out to help him without hesitation.

Although as an individual, he would not show mercy to Class D, he had to return this personal debt down to the last point.

"Uh... actually, that wasn't the reason I called..." Ichinose's voice was hesitant, but she still let out an awkward laugh, "But I really find it hard to refuse your offer; I am indeed short on points here! I'm really troubling you again."

"Don't overthink it." Shimizu Akira interrupted her immediately, "Those eighty thousand points were your money to begin with; I'm just returning them to their rightful owner. You need to understand, this isn't charity, and it's certainly not a loan!"

"...Mm-hmm!" After the girl responded a few times, she quickly hung up the phone.

"...Ichinose Honami is just too easy to handle!" Shimizu Akira held his phone, the thought crossing his mind for no particular reason.

It was the other party's points to begin with, yet after being transferred back and forth twice, it felt as if he were the one lending them to her.

082 That mysterious person is not from Class C!

Ichinose Honami gently set down her phone.

She took a deep breath and looked up to meet the inquisitive gaze of Kanzaki Ryuji.

He was rising from his seat, the furrow in his brow revealing his inner doubts.

"Kanzaki-kun, I've confirmed it." Ichinose nodded at him, "The other party told us to go directly to the Student Council to sign the formal contract, after which we can obtain the surveillance rights for Class B of the first year."

She turned her phone screen toward Kanzaki, "I've forwarded our class's surveillance clips and the partial contract signed between the other party and the school to you; you should verify them as well."

Kanzaki took the phone, his fingers sliding rapidly across the screen.

A few minutes later, his tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly.

"There really doesn't seem to be any issue. The surveillance is genuine; I can't see a single trace of forgery." He said calmly, "The contract terms are standard, and the school's seal is authentic. Especially the requirement to sign formally through the Student Council—that should rule out the possibility of a scam."

He turned to face the other students in the classroom, raising his voice slightly: "Everyone, can you confirm that the 70,000 points have all been transferred to Ichinose-san?"

"They've already been transferred!" A girl with a ponytail raised her hand, "Thanks to Ichinose-san borrowing 200,000 points from a senior, she helped us each save 5,000 points."

"Yeah," the boy at the next desk chimed in, "We just paid 10,000 last time, and now another 70,000. If it weren't for this loan, it would have been really tough to handle."

The students whispered and discussed among themselves.

Someone suddenly raised their voice: "But this money is well spent! We absolutely cannot let our class's surveillance fall into the hands of other classes!"

"Sigh... I feel like we've fallen behind the other classes right from the start of the school year. I wonder who this mysterious person really is." Ichinose stared at the 3 million balance displayed on her phone screen and couldn't help but sigh.

This figure was indeed staggering for the beginning of the school year, but at this moment, it only made her feel a sense of powerlessness.

What annoyed her even more was the mysterious person's exorbitant demand—the other party seemed completely indifferent to the fact that this was the first month of the new semester.

It was truly bullying!

"Wait!" She suddenly straightened her back, a flash of inspiration crossing her eyes, "That mysterious person who rented out the surveillance... they first asked me for the contact information of Ryuen Kakeru from Class C of the first year. Later, they also tried to sell me those hidden school rules..."

Kanzaki Ryuji turned his head upon hearing this.

"Who is Ryuen Kakeru?"

As a classmate, he knew better than anyone what Ichinose was capable of—this seemingly amiable girl possessed social skills that ordinary people could only dream of.

The intelligence network she wove was sometimes even more formidable than the entire class.

"Regarding information about him..." Ichinose tapped her chin with her fingertip, "Although the girls in Class C didn't say it explicitly, I noticed when I was chatting with them..." Her voice dropped involuntarily, "They would tremble unconsciously, and some of them had bruises on their wrists."

Kanzaki was thoughtful: "In other words, Ryuen is likely a thug who rules Class C through violence?"

"And," a sharp glint appeared in Kanzaki's eyes, "since you are the Class B representative, the fact that the other party specifically asked you about Ryuen suggests..."

"He is very likely not..." Ichinose took over, as if thinking of something, her eyes glancing involuntarily toward the security camera.

(Not someone from Class C!)

She still wasn't quite used to the feeling of being watched.

Even though the other party probably wouldn't be staring at the camera all the time.

"By the way, I suddenly remembered something too." Kanzaki Ryuji glanced at the surveillance camera on the wall, "Class C should have also been notified by the other party about the surveillance rental. I specifically observed at noon that the school sent people to install new equipment for Class C." A hint of a sarcastic smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "Those people probably think that destroying the surveillance will solve the problem."

Kanzaki paused, then added: "Actually, renting the surveillance isn't necessarily a bad thing. We have a few students in our class who are often late or skip class, and they have quite a few violations. Last time you spared their feelings and didn't pursue it, but now that we've rented the surveillance, we can at least recover about 100 class points. Trading 3 million personal points for 100 class points is a fairly cost-effective deal in the long run."

"Then I'll be going! I'll go pay the points first; it'll be a relief to get the surveillance sooner." Ichinose suddenly stood up.

Kanzaki nodded: "That's fine, you have wide connections. When you go to the Student Council, pay attention to who else is there. However..." He pondered for a moment, "Today is Friday, the Student Council is always busy, and there might be a lot of people. In any case, play it by ear."

Ichinose nodded slightly and turned to walk straight toward the Student Council.

Just as Kanzaki Ryuji had said, a long, winding line had already formed in front of the Student Council.

Just as she was about to join the queue, a blunt question came from behind her:

"You're Ichinose from Class B of the first year, right!"

The sudden voice made Ichinose turn around abruptly, only to see a long-haired boy leaning against the wall with a playful smile on his lips.

The identity of the other party—it was none other than Ryuen Kakeru from the same grade.

As someone who memorized all the students in the grade, Ichinose Honami naturally recognized this "notorious" figure.

At the start of the school year, he, like her, had stood at the very front of the line.

"Ryuen-kun... hello." Despite the discomfort welling up inside her, she maintained a proper smile and nodded politely.

"I heard you were specifically asking for my contact information?" Ryuen toyed with his knuckles, which emitted a faint cracking sound, "I wonder what an honor student wants with someone like me?"

Ichinose couldn't help but frown. She hadn't expected this small, private inquiry to reach his ears.

It seemed this boy, who appeared to only understand violence, was far more perceptive than she had imagined.

After a brief silence, she spoke calmly: "I just wanted to remind you that this school is not a place where everything can be solved with violence."

"Heh," Ryuen sneered, a flash of mockery in his eyes, "A greenhouse flower from Class B, what do you know? If you were thrown into our class—you'd be nothing more than a vase or a mascot at best! You'd be lucky if you weren't bullied."

In this class where the weak are prey to the strong, he firmly believed that his iron-fisted rule was the most effective way to govern Class C—no one could do it better than he could.

"But, come to think of it... did you really ask for my contact information just to do something this boring... You don't strike me as that kind of person..." Ryuen Kakeru stared at him, and after a long while, he suddenly sneered, "...I get it now. You're the one who leaked my contact info to 'that person,' aren't you!"

083 Ryuen Kakeru: Shiina Hiyori, go investigate the information on this mysterious person.

Although Ryuen Kakeru was forced to plan on renting the surveillance footage, a question remained bottled up in his mind: how exactly did the person who sold him the footage get his contact information?

Because he demanded tribute from everyone in the class, he had indeed exchanged contact details with every single classmate during the first week.

But from start to finish, he had never added anyone from any other class.

Thinking about it this way, the answer was obvious—his contact information had been leaked by someone in his own class.

He proceeded to question his classmates one by one, and under the threat of force, a girl finally couldn't handle the pressure and told the truth: a few days ago, Ichinose Honami from Class B of the first year had suddenly approached her and asked for Ryuen Kakeru's contact information.

"Traitor!" Ryuen's expression turned gloomy in an instant; he hated this kind of two-faced behavior more than anything.

His raised palm was about to come down, but it was stopped in time by Ibuki Mio.

"Stop it! Ryuen! She only gave out the contact info; it wasn't intentional!"

"You again!" Cold light flickered in Ryuen's eyes. "I hate traitors the most!"

At this moment, Shiina Hiyori stepped forward slowly and spoke calmly: "Ryuen, since the other party went out of their way to inquire about your contact information, it actually proves that it wasn't a student from our own class. This is actually good news for our class, isn't it?"

"..." Ryuen was taken aback, forced to admit that Shiina's words made sense. Although he had long since ruled out the "cowards" in his class as suspects, such meticulous logical analysis still made him hold her in higher regard.

Come to think of it, the person with the best grades in their class was this very Shiina Hiyori standing before him.

She was also one of the only two people in Class C who actually used their brains.

"Ryuen!" Ibuki Mio scratched her hair in frustration. "Shiina has already explained it clearly to me! Even though I hate you, Class C really needs you right now!" She gritted her teeth. "I will transfer eighty thousand private points to you, but you must let her go!"

"Hmph~ finally learned to be obedient, have you?!" Ryuen sneered and pulled back his hand, his phone chiming with a transfer notification at just the right moment.

He stared at the screen, pondering for a moment, before suddenly revealing a playful smile: "Fine, I can let her go."

"You..." Ibuki Mio had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief.