Classroom of the Elite: After Their Intel Updates, They All Want to Win Me Over!

To her, these people were like lifeless pawns on a chessboard, not even worthy of her serious consideration. And that boy who had walked away...

He really is arrogant...

What bothered her most was the almost pitying look he'd given her as he left, as if he were looking at a child throwing a tantrum.

She had never before been treated with such condescension.

If he'd been an ordinary person, she could have held a grudge and settled the score at her leisure later.

But of all people, it had to be him—the one opponent she'd grudgingly acknowledged. And he'd acted as if she didn't matter at all.

The thought of defeating him fair and square in an intellectual contest...

Had only made her resentment grow stronger.

"What, don't you trust my judgment? Do you really think Masumi Kamuro won't steal something after the opening ceremony?"

Sakayanagi Arisu quickened her pace to catch up. Watching the boy ahead gradually slow down, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If he'd actually started running, she would have struggled to keep up in her condition.

Her voice brimmed with the confidence of someone who knew she was going to win. "Why don't we wager on when Kamuro will make her move? It'll be a real test of our powers of observation and deduction..."

But Shimizu Akira simply took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly growing resolute.

Before she could finish, the boy clenched his fists and shot off in a sprint. A few seconds later, he was completely out of sight.

"H-He actually... ran away? He wouldn't even tell me his name?!"

Sakayanagi Arisu froze in place, her cane tapping sharply against the ground.

A rare look of astonishment crossed her delicate face, then turned into an angry blush.

When Shimizu Akira pushed open the gymnasium doors and hurried toward the Class 1-D formation, he could clearly feel his classmates' curious gazes on him.

The 39 students in his class had already lined up. Now they were sizing him up with all sorts of looks—curiosity, mockery, and even a hint of schadenfreude.

I really have become the center of attention...

Shimizu Akira muttered to himself. Arriving late in full view of everyone was bound to draw attention.

But after years of experience in the real world, Shimizu Akira had long since grown used to ignoring what other people thought of him.

Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, gave him a cool glance. She casually tapped the attendance sheet against her palm. "Late on your very first day, Shimizu? Get in line."

"Ha ha—"

A wave of snickering rippled through the class.

Chabashira Sae's gaze swept over Shimizu Akira again. "Wait! Go stand at the front of the first row." She paused, then added pointedly, "At the very front of Class D's formation."

Shimizu Akira walked calmly to the assigned spot.

Without drawing attention to it, he sized up the homeroom teacher. She'd not only called him by name, but had also gone out of her way to emphasize that this was the Class D formation.

Has she figured me out?

Shimizu Akira wondered to himself. He'd deliberately lied to Chabashira Sae earlier, even testing her by saying, "A student this arrogant belongs in Class D." The matter-of-fact look on her face had told him everything: Class D really was the bottom of the school.

So is this a retaliatory placement?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the gymnasium doors opened again.

Sakayanagi Arisu came in at an unhurried pace, leaning on her cane. After a brief conversation with Class A's homeroom teacher, she also took the very first spot at the front of the formation.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Sakayanagi Arisu's mouth fell slightly open, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing her face. She clearly hadn't expected him to be a first-year student in Class D.

Shimizu Akira himself, however, wasn't surprised. His written exam scores had been downright appalling, after all.

In his memory, even the most basic equations were beyond him. With academic ability like that, he could only have been placed in Class D.

Next, the student council president, Horikita Manabu, took the stage and began his speech.

Most of it was the usual boilerplate, but one point stood out:

The school followed an educational philosophy of "both academic and physical excellence."

In this day and age, aside from specialized sports schools, there were probably no ordinary high schools that would proudly promote such an old-fashioned educational philosophy.

When the lengthy entrance ceremony ended, the classes remained in their neat formations.

Several homeroom teachers came forward to give their classes brief speeches.

Chabashira Sae slowly paced in front of Class D and looked over the new students.

"Classes officially begin tomorrow." She paused. "You're free to do as you like for the rest of today. I suggest you take the time to get familiar with the campus."

With that, Chabashira turned and left.

Some of the new students had already followed the crowd out of the gymnasium.

Shimizu Akira sensed a sharp gaze on him. He turned slightly and found himself face-to-face with Horikita Suzune, whose eyes were as cool and clear as a deep pool.

"Late on the very first day of school. It seems you don't care much about being a student here."

"I was gathering some necessary information, but I got held up by a troublesome person," Shimizu Akira replied, his expression unruffled.

"...People with poor time management rarely amount to much."

"You're right. By the way, I'm pretty interested in the Student Council. How about we go take a look together?"

His tone was so casual that he might as well have been talking about the weather.

Not again.

Horikita Suzune muttered to herself.

Every time she spoke sharply to him, he brushed it off as if it were nothing, then even steered the conversation toward something she was interested in.

She had to admit, his people skills were far better than hers.

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

"You..." Her voice faltered, and her brow furrowed without her meaning to. "Do you know the student council president is my brother? Is that why you brought up the Student Council? Because you thought I'd be interested?"

Shimizu Akira tilted his head slightly. "Your surnames are the same, and... the look you gave him during the opening ceremony was pretty complicated, wasn't it?"

Horikita Suzune's breath caught.

He saw through me again.

Her fingers tightened without her realizing it.

She'd always prided herself on her intelligence and had never thought anyone could surpass her in insight.

But ever since she'd met Shimizu Akira, he seemed to see right through her thoughts every time they clashed.

It gave her the strange feeling that she was dealing with her own older brother.

Even her secret plan to visit her brother in the Student Council had been seen through by him...

That was probably why he'd made the invitation.

She pressed her lips together, a strange restlessness stirring in her chest.

If she dated him, he'd probably show up ten minutes late on purpose, hide somewhere and enjoy watching his girlfriend fidget anxiously, then appear with an apologetic smile.

And yet, this feeling of being held at a disadvantage... strangely reminded her of her brother.

The same perceptiveness, the same intelligence, the same ability to leave her without a response.

Their personalities were different, but the feeling they gave her was oddly similar.

She hated having her thoughts seen through, but she couldn't bring herself to be truly cold toward him.

For some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to dislike him.

"...Stop looking back at me so much." In the end, she merely turned her face away, her voice lower than usual and tinged with the faintest hint of uncertainty. "Let's go."

Rather than walking away calmly, she looked more like she was fleeing.

009 Not Getting Bullied? / Is He Close with Horikita Suzune?

Shimizu Akira slowly withdrew his gaze from Horikita Suzune's retreating figure, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"Stop looking back at me so much?"

He was sure he'd heard her correctly.

That didn't sound like her.

Given her personality, she should have shot him a cold glare and then verbally dismantled him with textbook precision.

"You're Shimizu, right?" Before Shimizu Akira could react, a boy walked up to him as if they were old friends.

Shimizu Akira turned and saw three boys from his class standing beside him.

They introduced themselves in turn: the quick-eyed Kanji Ike, the ordinary-looking Yamauchi Haruki, and Ken Sudō, whose red hair gave him the air of a delinquent.

Since Shimizu Akira had missed the class introductions, Kanji Ike helpfully took it upon himself to introduce their classmates.

During the introductions, however, Yamauchi Haruki kept making comments about the girls, offering his opinions as a guy.

Hasebe Haruka had what he called an amazing figure, while Sakura Airi was shy but had nice curves.

As for Karuizawa Kei, her face was great, but her chest was a disappointment—

Yamauchi Haruki wasn't even trying to keep his voice down, and quite a few girls had already turned disapproving looks his way.

He didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he continued enthusiastically sharing his opinions. "Yeah! Kushida Kikyou really is the best! Great personality, great figure, and her face is exactly my type! I've decided—I'm going to ask her out!"

"I'm jealous, Shimizu! Horikita only seemed willing to talk to you today. Looks like you've got a shot! She's really pretty, after all." He waggled his eyebrows and lowered his voice. "Sure, she's a bit flat, but maybe she'll fill out later—"

Shimizu Akira glanced around. Quite a few of the girls already looked disgusted.

As a guy, he could understand where Yamauchi was coming from...

But they were in the gymnasium, and some of their classmates were still there.

He could have kept those thoughts to himself. Why say them out loud?

If this went on, he might end up getting branded a creep by association.

He'd lose any chance of getting a girlfriend on the very first day.

"Yamauchi," Shimizu Akira interrupted him. "You should pay attention to where you are, especially if you still want a girlfriend." Then he nodded to Kanji Ike. "Thanks for introducing me. I'm heading out."

"What are you, some kind of goody-goody?" Embarrassed and angry, Yamauchi reached for Shimizu Akira's collar. "Aren't you a man—"

Before he could finish, Shimizu Akira seized his wrist with lightning speed.

Yamauchi stared in alarm as the seemingly mild-mannered boy clamped down on him with one hand. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't budge.

This guy... he's about the same size as me... Cold sweat beaded on Yamauchi's forehead. How is he so strong?!

Shimizu Akira's expression remained indifferent as he tightened his grip. Yamauchi Haruki immediately grimaced in pain and writhed helplessly.

"Ah—Ow, ow, ow! Let go!"

His cry of pain instantly drew the attention of the students nearby.

Not only did Class D students Karuizawa Kei, Kushida Kikyou, and the other girls turn to stare in surprise, but students from Classes B and C looked over as well.

Shimizu Akira noticed more and more eyes turning toward them from the corner of his eye, so he finally released Yamauchi.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, he said coldly, "You don't seem much like a man when it comes to strength." His voice suddenly dropped. "Try that again, and I'll make sure you can't hold chopsticks with that hand for three months."

Yamauchi rubbed his reddened wrist. When his eyes met Shimizu Akira's cold stare, he shuddered despite himself.

Only then did Kanji Ike react. He hurriedly stepped between them with an awkward smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Come on, you two. Fighting on the first day of school is a bad idea! It'd be awful if you got disciplined and it affected your graduation!"

They'd only just met, so the three of them weren't exactly friends.

Kanji Ike's intervention was mostly just politeness for the sake of appearances, not a genuine attempt to stand up for Yamauchi Haruki.

Ken Sudō looked surprised as he studied Shimizu Akira again.

What interested him more was the skill Shimizu had just shown: his lightning-fast turn and the strength with which he'd subdued Yamauchi Haruki with one hand.

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