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

"However!" Ryuen changed his tone, his sharp gaze locking onto Shiina Hiyori, "Shiina, since your brain is so sharp, why not help me figure out the identity of this mysterious person? Find out who they really are! As long as you agree to my terms, I'll let bygones be bygones."

Shiina Hiyori barely hesitated: "I agree. After all, this can be considered a contribution to the class."

She tilted her head slightly to think for a moment, then added: "Reasoning requires information to support it; I need more data. Tell me every clue you have, and also..." She paused, "The few people you find most suspicious. Oh, right! Ichinose from Class B is a breakthrough point for now; I will investigate her later."

A glint of sharpness flashed in Ryuen's eyes, his lips curling into a dangerous arc: "Good... first, go check on that woman named Sakayanagi Arisu." He lowered his voice, each word sounding as if it were squeezed through his teeth, "Her father is the current Chairman. With that kind of status... it's the most convenient way to pull off some little tricks."

Ryuen Kakeru just stared at Ichinose before him.

(Come to think of it, there is another possibility—that the mysterious person is her.)

(But it doesn't really look like it.)

(Besides, coming to the Student Council at this time... could it be that she is also...)

However, since he had already handed the task of investigating the mysterious person to Shiina Hiyori, he couldn't be bothered to waste any more effort pondering these things.

Personally, he still leaned toward the answer being Sakayanagi Arisu.

After all, she has a Chairman for a father.

When Sakayanagi Arisu regained her focus, Katsuragi Kohei was already standing before her.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, please hand over the class funds to me. According to the allocation, I am holding 1.5 million points, and you should have the same amount."

At the class meeting a week ago, all students of Class A unanimously decided that each person would contribute three-quarters of their points as a reserve for class funds.

This capital was split equally between Katsuragi and Sakayanagi to be held in case of emergency.

At this moment, facing the need to rent surveillance access, the two of them had discussed it with their classmates for two full days before reaching a consensus that they must produce 3 million to rent the surveillance.

Katsuragi Kohei volunteered to go to the Student Council to hand over these points.

"I understand..." After a moment of silence, Sakayanagi Arisu transferred all the points from her account.

Katsuragi stared at the number displayed on the terminal, his brows suddenly knitting together: "Wait... why is there only 1.45 million? Where did the other 50,000 go?"

His voice rose sharply, drawing the attention of several nearby students, "Classmate Sakayanagi, don't tell me... you misappropriated the class funds?"

"Do you think the hidden intelligence I obtained earlier was free?" Sakayanagi Arisu paused, lifting her chin slightly, her tone carrying an unquestionable coldness, "That cost me a full 50,000 points, which I bought from a senior student. Doesn't that count as an expenditure for the class? Is there a problem with me using this portion of the class funds?"

Katsuragi Kohei was stunned. He realized then that his questioning just now had indeed been a bit rash—at the start of the term, Sakayanagi had indeed shared important intelligence regarding loopholes in school rules, and that clearly couldn't have come from thin air.

"...I see." His tone softened, even carrying a hint of apology, "My apologies, I didn't consider it thoroughly."

He had originally thought that with Sakayanagi's self-centered personality, it was highly likely she had misappropriated the class funds for personal use.

But now it seemed she was indeed acting for the sake of the class.

After a brief silence, Katsuragi coughed lightly, trying to ease the awkwardness: "Then let's have the students privately contribute another 1,250 points each! I'll cover your share, Sakayanagi."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode away, his back looking slightly hurried, as if he were eager to escape the scene where he had made a misjudgment.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood quietly in place, watching Katsuragi Kohei's back disappear at the end of the corridor.

A calm, faint smile still hung on her lips, though it stiffened for a moment.

(That was a close call...)

Miss Sakayanagi was sweating profusely at this very moment.

Buying intelligence with class funds? That was just a fabricated excuse.

In reality, she was simply out of points, as her points had been lost to Shimizu Akira on the very first day of school.

During this time, she had indeed subconsciously treated the class funds as her personal account.

Purchasing limited-edition black tea, adding a new chess set, and even replacing the handle on her cane with the latest model... I have to say, it felt quite comfortable to hold.

Every expense had been deducted from the class funds as a matter of course.

(So, who exactly is that mysterious person? Could it be Shimizu Akira?)

"There's still too little information..."

Katsuragi should be handling the procedures right now; perhaps he could bring back some clues.

After all, purchasing services through the Student Council would inevitably leave a trail.

A more direct option suddenly flashed through her mind: as long as she sent a message to her father, who served as the Chairman, the truth might be easily obtained.

Since they were purchasing access from the school, her father would surely know something.

"Forget it." She suddenly chuckled aloud.

This game of chess had only just begun, and she enjoyed the pleasure of uncovering the mystery herself.

084 Horikita Suzune: What her brother didn't use, he gets for cheap

After school, Shimizu Akira and Horikita Suzune walked side by side toward the second floor of the cafeteria.

He was prepared to keep his promise and treat her to a meal.

The first floor was an affordable public cafeteria, offering daily set meals like rice bowls and ramen.

The second floor, however, was a completely different world, gathering all sorts of exquisite cuisine—Western restaurants, yakiniku joints, and high-end sushi shops were all available, though naturally, the consumption points required were correspondingly higher.

Shimizu Akira only then realized that he hadn't stepped foot on the second floor even once since enrolling.

For these past few days, he had been settling his three meals at the spacious first-floor cafeteria.

"Is there anything you particularly want to eat?" Shimizu Akira asked, tilting his head.

Horikita Suzune pondered for a moment before responding briefly, "Anything is fine, you decide."

He naturally understood the underlying implication of the word "anything," but upon second thought, given Horikita Suzune's personality, she likely wasn't the type to hide hidden meanings in her words like an ordinary girl.

"Then let's go with yakiniku." Shimizu Akira made his decision quickly.

He had been intensifying his physical training lately and needed to replenish high-quality protein, and Horikita had indeed consumed very little meat over the past few days.

Yakiniku was undoubtedly an ideal choice.

"Fine." Horikita Suzune nodded in agreement.

To her, "anything" meant exactly what it said—she was willing to eat whatever.

The two took seats at a table for two by the window.

The modern ordering method was quite convenient—one only needed to scan the QR code on the table with a phone, and the electronic menu would pop up on the screen.

Shimizu Akira scrolled through the screen, unable to help but feel surprised by the meticulous classification of Japanese yakiniku.

The menu didn't just distinguish between common cuts like pork belly, loin, and shoulder; it featured professional divisions such as top leg tendon, sirloin center, and tri-tip.

Of course, the rarer the cut, the more expensive the points required.

He casually selected a few recommended meats and added a glass of mango juice for himself.

Only when checking out did he realize that his portion alone had consumed nearly four thousand points.

He glanced at Horikita Suzune's order and found that she had only selected two portions of the most basic pork belly.

"You've already ordered quite a lot..." Horikita Suzune keenly noticed his gaze and added softly, "We can order more if it's not enough; it wouldn't be good to waste it."

"You're right." Shimizu Akira nodded in understanding.

Yakiniku was best enjoyed fresh off the grill, so there was indeed no need to order too much at the start.

A server arrived at the right moment to start the grill for them, and the metal plate gradually heated up, emitting a faint sound.

Plate after plate of meat was brought over one after another.

Shimizu Akira looked around and noticed that the restaurant's foot traffic wasn't very high.

The scattered tables were occupied by pairs of upperclassmen, who, judging by their uniforms, appeared to be second or third-year students.

The interactions between them were particularly eye-catching—the boys considerately used tongs to flip the meat, placing perfectly grilled pieces onto the girls' plates.

Accompanied by the sizzling sound of the meat.

Intimate laughter echoed softly throughout the restaurant.

Shimizu Akira withdrew his gaze and turned his attention back to the grill in front of him.

The metal plate was already emitting a faint wisp of smoke, the temperature just right.

"I'll handle the grilling." He picked up the tongs and laid the pork belly slices onto the grill.

The moment the meat touched the high heat, it immediately emitted a pleasant "sizzling" sound, and the fat began to slowly seep out.

Horikita Suzune sat with her hands folded at the edge of the table, quietly watching his movements.

Her posture was as upright as ever, maintaining a sense of ritual even in such a relaxed setting.

"Did you eat yakiniku often in the past?" Shimizu Akira tried to strike up a conversation.

"Not often, I've only been once." She answered briefly, "My brother thinks this kind of food isn't healthy enough."

The edges of the meat slices began to curl, emitting an enticing, charred aroma.

Just then, a burst of laughter erupted from the table next to them.

A second-year girl was playfully pushing away the piece of meat her boyfriend was offering: "Ugh, you're annoying, this piece is already burnt!"

Shimizu Akira followed the sound involuntarily, then quickly looked away.

He observed Horikita Suzune across from him and noticed her body was stiff, her fingertips unconsciously gripping her chopsticks.

"Is this your first time eating out with someone of the opposite sex your own age? You seem quite nervous." Shimizu Akira asked softly.

"...The second time. The first was eating with you in the cafeteria, and I wasn't nervous then." Horikita Suzune paused for a moment before answering, her voice a few decibels lower than usual.

"Relax," Shimizu Akira couldn't help but laugh, "I'm not some dangerous carnivore, though we are eating yakiniku this time."

"...I know." Her gaze drifted elsewhere, but her tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly.

"Give it a try." Shimizu Akira placed the first piece of grilled meat onto her plate.

Horikita Suzune elegantly picked up the meat and dipped it in a little sauce.

"Barely acceptable." She gave a brief evaluation.

"It seems it's at least edible." Shimizu Akira let out a sigh of relief and picked up a piece for himself.

"Are you using me as a test subject?" Horikita Suzune suddenly looked up.

"What else?" Shimizu Akira asked back with a smile.

The moment the slice of meat entered his mouth, he realized it was indeed grilled a bit too much.

Shimizu Akira immediately reached out to lower the temperature of the grill, his movements appearing slightly flustered.

This detail caused the corners of Horikita Suzune's mouth to lift slightly, though she quickly returned to her usual cold expression.

"Remember for next time," she suddenly spoke up, "thirty seconds is enough for beef short ribs."

After looking up, Shimizu Akira noticed that Horikita Suzune had already picked up the tongs between them and was focused on flipping the newly placed slices of meat, her technique unexpectedly skillful.

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow: "...Didn't you say you'd only been once?"

"Once doesn't mean I don't know how." Her movements remained fluid, the meat flipping in a perfect arc on the grill.

"Don't tell me you practiced this just to grill meat for your brother?" Shimizu Akira blurted out.

The tongs in Horikita Suzune's hand suddenly paused, and she glared at him irritably: "Eat your meat and talk less."

This reaction let Shimizu Akira know he had guessed correctly.

He watched Horikita Suzune's slightly reddened earlobes with interest and wisely chose not to press the matter further.

Horikita Suzune shook her head, her memories drifting back to her middle school days.

That time, she had pestered her brother until he finally agreed to take her out for yakiniku, even staying up all night watching countless tutorials on how to grill meat.

In the end, her brother hadn't let her touch the tongs once, simply placing the grilled meat into her bowl piece by piece.

It's a waste that he didn't get to use them, so he might as well benefit from it.

She quietly looked up, watching Shimizu Akira tucking into the food without any restraint.

His way of eating could hardly be called elegant—sauce smeared on the corner of his mouth, his cheeks bulging as he chewed—yet it was inexplicably pleasant to watch.

"Wipe your mouth." Horikita Suzune finally couldn't stand it anymore and handed him a napkin.