Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! Chapter 5

In her eyes, these people were nothing more than dull pawns on a chessboard, not even worthy of her serious attention. And that boy who had just walked away...

(He really is quite high and mighty...)

What bothered her most was the look of near-pity he wore as he left, as if he were watching a tantrum-throwing child.

This feeling of being looked down upon was something she had never experienced before.

If it were anyone else, she could simply make a note of it and settle the score later.

But it had to be this person—the opponent she had begrudgingly acknowledged—who acted as if she were completely beneath his notice.

(The urge to defeat him fair and square in a battle of wits...)

(...only makes this frustration grow even stronger.)

"What, you don't believe my judgment? Or do you think Kamuro Masumi won't commit theft after the entrance ceremony?"

Sakayanagi Arisu quickened her pace to catch up, and seeing the boy ahead slow his stride, she breathed a sigh of relief—if he had truly started running, her physical condition would have made it difficult to keep up.

Her voice carried the composure of someone who had already won, "Why don't we make a bet on when Kamuro Masumi will make her move? This is a real test of observation and deduction skills..."

However, Shimizu Akira simply took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly turning resolute.

Before she could finish, the boy clenched his fists, bolted forward, and within a dozen seconds, he had vanished from sight.

"He, he actually... ran away? He wouldn't even tell me his name in the end?!"

Sakayanagi Arisu stood frozen in place, her cane tapping a crisp sound against the floor.

A rare look of bewilderment appeared on her delicate face, followed by a flush of annoyance.

When Shimizu Akira pushed open the gymnasium doors and walked quickly toward the Class D formation for first-years, he could clearly feel the probing gazes of his classmates.

The 39 students in his class had already lined up, and they were now eyeing him with various expressions—some curious, some mocking, and some even carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

(So I really have become the center of attention...)

Shimizu Akira muttered to himself. Arriving late in full view of everyone was bound to attract this much focus.

However, having been tempered by society, Shimizu Akira had long since grown accustomed to ignoring the gazes of others.

His homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, swept a cold glance over him, the attendance roster in her hand tapping rhythmically against her palm. "Late on the very first day? Shimizu-kun? Hurry up and join the line."

"Haha—"

A ripple of snickers broke out across the class formation.

Chabashira Sae's gaze swept over Shimizu Akira once more: "Wait! Go stand at the very front of the first row." She paused, then added with a meaningful tone, "At the very front of the Class D line."

Shimizu Akira walked to the designated spot with a calm expression.

He observed the homeroom teacher coolly—she hadn't just known his name, she had specifically emphasized the "Class D" line.

(Has she seen through me?)

Shimizu Akira pondered to himself. Earlier, when he had deliberately lied to Chabashira Sae, even testing her by saying, "Such arrogant students should be assigned to Class D," the look of matter-of-fact agreement on her face had said it all—Class D was indeed the lowest existence in this school.

(So, is this a retaliatory arrangement?)

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the gymnasium doors were pushed open again.

Sakayanagi Arisu entered slowly, leaning on her cane. After a brief conversation with the Class A homeroom teacher, she actually took the very first position at the front of her class's line.

Their eyes met briefly in the air.

Sakayanagi Arisu's mouth opened slightly, a flash of genuine surprise crossing her face—she clearly hadn't expected him to be a student in Class D.

However, Shimizu Akira himself felt no surprise—after all, his entrance exam scores had been truly abysmal.

In his memory, he couldn't even solve the most basic equations; with such academic ability, being assigned to Class D was inevitable.

Following this, the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, began his speech.

The content of the speech was mostly clichés, but one piece of information stood out:

This school upheld the educational philosophy of "mastery of both literary and martial arts."

In this era, aside from specialized sports academies, it was unlikely that any ordinary high school would openly flaunt such an archaic educational philosophy.

As the long-winded entrance ceremony concluded, the classes remained in their neat formations.

Several homeroom teachers stepped forward, preparing to give brief class instructions.

Chabashira Sae paced slowly in front of the Class D formation, scanning the group of freshmen.

"Classes officially begin tomorrow." She paused. "You are free to do as you please for the rest of the day—I suggest you use the time to familiarize yourselves with the campus."

With that, Chabashira turned and left.

A portion of the freshmen had already followed the crowd out of the gymnasium.

Shimizu Akira keenly sensed a sharp gaze. He turned slightly, just in time to lock eyes with Horikita Suzune's cold, pool-like gaze.

"Late on the first day of school; it seems you don't care much about your status as a student."

"I was held up by someone troublesome while gathering some necessary information," Shimizu Akira replied with a calm expression.

"...People with a poor sense of time rarely achieve anything great."

"You're right. Speaking of which, I'm actually quite interested in the Student Council. How about we go take a look together right now?"

His tone was as casual as if he were merely discussing the weather.

It's happening again.

Horikita Suzune muttered to herself.

Every time she spoke with sharp, pointed words, he would deflect them with ease, even managing to steer the conversation toward a direction that interested her.

She had to admit that his emotional intelligence was significantly higher than her own.

And this time, he had brought up the Student Council directly.

"You..." Her voice faltered slightly, and her brows furrowed involuntarily. "Do you know that the Student Council President is my brother? Is that why you deliberately brought up the Student Council? Do you think I'd be interested?"

Shimizu Akira tilted his head slightly. "After all, you share the same surname, and... the look you gave him during the entrance ceremony was quite complex, wasn't it?"

Horikita Suzune's breath hitched.

He saw through me again.

This realization made her fingertips tighten involuntarily.

She had always prided herself on her intellect and never believed anyone could surpass her in insight.

Yet ever since she met Shimizu Akira, every encounter felt as though her thoughts were being easily read by him.

It gave her the illusion of facing her own brother.

Even her secret intention to sneak into the Student Council to see her brother had been...

So, that was why he had extended the invitation.

She pressed her lips together, an inexplicable restlessness rising in her chest.

If one were to date him, he would probably arrive ten minutes late on purpose, hiding in the shadows to enjoy the sight of his girlfriend pacing in anxiety before appearing with an apologetic smile, right?

Yet, this feeling of being suppressed... strangely reminded her of her brother.

The same sharpness, the same intelligence, the same inability to refute him.

Although their personalities were different, the feeling they gave her was uncannily similar.

She hated being seen through, yet she couldn't bring herself to speak coldly to him.

She just couldn't bring herself to dislike him.

"...Don't look back at me from now on." She finally turned her face away, her voice lower than usual, even betraying a hint of imperceptible wavering. "Let's go."

Her retreating figure looked less like a calm departure and more like a flight in panic.

009 Not being bullied? / Is he on good terms with Horikita Suzune?

Shimizu Akira slowly withdrew his gaze from Horikita Suzune's retreating back, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.

"Don't look back at me from now on?"

He was certain he hadn't misheard.

That didn't sound like her.

Given her personality, she should have shot him an icy glare and used her textbook-standard sharp tongue to tear him to shreds.

"You must be Shimizu-kun!" Before Shimizu Akira could react, a male student approached him with an air of familiarity.

Shimizu Akira turned to see three male classmates standing beside him.

They introduced themselves in turn: the sharp-eyed Ike Kanji, the average-looking Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudo Ken, a red-haired boy with the aura of a delinquent.

Since Shimizu Akira had missed the class self-introduction session, Ike Kanji enthusiastically took on the role of guide, introducing him to the rest of the class.

However, during the introductions, Yamauchi Haruki would occasionally interject with his "masculine" conclusions about several female students.

He claimed that Hasebe Haruka had a killer figure, and that Sakura Airi, despite being shy, had great curves.

As for Karuizawa Kei, her face was impeccable, but her bust size was a real pity—

Since Yamauchi Haruki didn't lower his voice at all while speaking, quite a few female students in the vicinity were already casting dissatisfied glares in his direction.

Yet, he seemed completely indifferent, continuing his commentary with great enthusiasm: "Yeah! Kushida Kikyou is definitely the best! Great personality, great body, and her face is exactly my type! That's it, I'm going to pursue her!"

"I really envy you, Shimizu-kun! Horikita-san only seems willing to talk to you today; it looks like you have a great chance! After all, she's very pretty." He winked and lowered his voice. "Although her figure is a bit thin, who knows, maybe she'll develop more later—"

Shimizu Akira glanced around; many girls already had expressions of clear disgust on their faces.

As a man, it wasn't that he didn't understand the guy's feelings...

But this was the gymnasium, and other classmates were present.

Things like that should stay in one's head; why on earth would he say them out loud?

If this continued, he might end up being labeled a "creep" by association.

He would lose his chance at a relationship on the very first day of school.

"Yamauchi." Shimizu Akira cut him off, "I suggest you watch your surroundings, provided you still want to find a girlfriend." Having said that, he nodded to Ike Kanji, "Thanks for the introduction, I'll be going now."

"Don't act so high and mighty!" Yamauchi, embarrassed and angry, reached out to grab Shimizu Akira by the collar, "Are you even a man—"

Before he could finish, Shimizu Akira had already lightning-fast clamped onto his wrist.

Yamauchi realized with horror that this person, who seemed like a herbivore, had pinned him down firmly with just one hand, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn't move an inch.

(This guy... even though his build is about the same as mine...) Cold sweat beaded on Yamauchi's forehead, (Why is his strength so great?!)

Shimizu Akira increased the pressure on his hand with an indifferent expression, and Yamauchi Haruki immediately winced in pain, his body twisting and struggling uncontrollably.

"Ah—it hurts, it hurts! Let go!"

This scream instantly attracted the attention of the surrounding students.

Not only did Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyou from Class D, along with other female students, cast surprised glances, but students from Class B and Class C also turned to look.

Shimizu Akira swept his peripheral vision around and, noticing more and more gazes focusing on them, finally released his grip.

He said coldly in a voice only the two of them could hear: "When it comes to strength, you don't seem much like a man yourself!" His icy tone suddenly dropped, "Next time, I'll make sure this hand of yours can't hold chopsticks for three months."

Rubbing his reddened wrist, Yamauchi Haruki couldn't help but shiver when he met those cold eyes.

Ike Kanji, standing to the side, finally reacted and hurriedly stepped between the two with a sheepish smile to smooth things over.

"You two, it's not good to fight on the first day of school! It would be terrible if you got a disciplinary record and it affected your graduation!"

After all, they had only just met, and there was no friendship to speak of between the three.

Ike Kanji's attempt at mediation was more out of social courtesy than a genuine desire to stand up for Yamauchi Haruki.

Sudo Ken wore a look of surprise as he re-evaluated Shimizu Akira.

He was more interested in the skills the other had just displayed—that swift turning motion and the strength to subdue Yamauchi Haruki with a single hand.

"You're right, Ike, Sudo, I'll be going now."