After the Intel Update, the Girls of Classroom of the Elite Keep Trying to Win Me Over! Chapter 7

Like accidentally spotting a unique accessory in a boutique window.

You hadn't decided whether to buy it yet, but watched helplessly as someone else snapped it up. The feeling was a faint pang of regret mixed with a touch of resentment.

In a way, men and women had surprisingly similar standards when it came to choosing a partner. Just as most women instinctively admired strong, capable, wealthy men, men also tended to prefer partners who were sweet, cute, and emotionally supportive.

The thought made her press her lips together without realizing it.

If she hadn't believed in Shimizu Akira's abilities, why would she have proposed that bet in the first place?

After all, there weren't many people who met her standards.

But then Sakayanagi Arisu's attention was drawn to Kamuro Masumi, a short distance away.

The purple-haired girl was sneaking a hand toward the convenience store's beer shelf.

"Should I call her out now?" Shimizu Akira asked under his breath.

"Not yet..." Sakayanagi Arisu said, gently shaking her head. Her silver-white hair swayed slightly with the motion.

"She's already reaching for it, you know?"

"Classmate Sakayanagi," Sakayanagi Arisu said, turning to him, "please don't interfere with my judgment."

Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow, then leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the silent contest with interest.

A few minutes later, Sakayanagi Arisu spoke. Her voice was clear and confident. "Kamuro Masumi will steal that can of beer sometime between 10:29:30 and 10:30:30."

She didn't sound as if she were guessing. It was more like she was announcing an established fact.

As soon as she finished speaking, Kamuro Masumi's fingers seemed to stop as if by magic, right on the can of beer.

Shimizu Akira saw her fingers tremble slightly, as though she were wrestling with an intense inner struggle.

"Twenty-eight seconds... twenty-nine seconds..." Sakayanagi Arisu counted softly, her voice calm with the confidence of someone who knew she had already won.

The moment she counted "thirty seconds," Kamuro Masumi snatched up the beer and stuffed it into her school uniform jacket with lightning speed.

Sakayanagi Arisu turned around elegantly. "Well? My deduction was completely right, wasn't it?" she asked, unable to hide her delight.

Shimizu Akira couldn't help checking the information that had surfaced in his mind again:

[Information One: (Today, 10:30 a.m.) After the entrance ceremony... Kamuro Masumi will "help herself" to a can of beer from the convenience store on campus.]

Every detail had been spot on.

He looked at the petite silver-haired girl before him, feeling a complicated sense of admiration.

Sakayanagi Arisu had not only predicted the theft perfectly, but had pinpointed the time down to the second.

"Impressive!" Shimizu Akira said, clapping sincerely. "Classmate Sakayanagi, I have to admit, you're the smartest girl I've ever met."

His gaze swept over the girl's delicate features, her striking silver hair, and the expression of haughty confidence she always seemed to wear.

Though she treated ordinary people as if she were above them, she was unexpectedly sincere with those she respected.

That contradiction only made her seem... more charming.

Sakayanagi Arisu lightly rested her slender fingers against her chin. "To receive such high praise from you, Classmate Shimizu, is truly an honor."

Shimizu Akira spread his hands calmly. "But... I decided at 9:55 to give this can of beer to Kamuro. He paused, looking steadily at her. "So strictly speaking, this doesn't count as theft. It seems your judgment was wrong this time, Classmate Sakayanagi."

"What?!" Sakayanagi Arisu's pupils contracted sharply, but she soon regained her composed smile. "How interesting... May I see the proof?"

Without a hint of haste, Shimizu Akira showed her his phone screen.

It was a short LINE conversation:

[Today, 9:55]

Shimizu Akira: Chabashira-sensei, could you buy all the loose cans of beer at the convenience store for me?

Chabashira Sae: You want a teacher to buy alcohol for a minor? You'd better have a good explanation.

Shimizu Akira: I don't intend to drink it. I found out that a certain female student plans to steal some, so I was hoping you could buy it first and then temporarily put it back on the shelf.

Chabashira Sae: And what's the point of that?

Shimizu Akira: A bet with someone, about whether "a crime can be established."

Chabashira Sae: ...So the beer was legally purchased for you by me, an adult. Whether that girl's actions count as theft is entirely up to your judgment?

Sakayanagi Arisu fell into an unusually long silence.

"I see... You started putting your plan into action at 9:55?" She suddenly chuckled, though her laugh carried complicated feelings.

Chapter 12: Kamuro Masumi: He Didn't Report Me and Gave Me Beer. Could He Be...

Before agreeing to the bet, Shimizu Akira had spent a long time talking to someone on his phone.

Now she realized that he must have been discussing the plan with his homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae.

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly understood what made the setup so flawless: the homeroom teacher, an adult, had legally bought the beer, and ownership had been transferred indirectly through Shimizu Akira.

That formed a clever legal loop—the question of whether the act counted as theft depended entirely on how ownership was subjectively defined.

"Truly... an infallible way to win." Her voice trembled slightly with frustration, yet carried an unmistakable note of admiration.

The most impressive thing wasn't the plan itself, but that Shimizu Akira had laid his trap before accepting the bet. The instant she challenged him, he had already prepared a sure way to win.

His plan was so flawless that she couldn't help feeling inferior. First, given her proud nature, it would never have occurred to her to ask the homeroom teacher for help. Second, she had been so fixated on competing with Shimizu Akira that she had overlooked the most basic examination of the rules.

"I concede." Sakayanagi Arisu lifted her head, managing a smile. "Let's exchange contact information. I'll transfer the 100,000 points to you right now."

"Sure." Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

He had thought she would keep pressing him for details, but on second thought, Sakayanagi Arisu was clever enough to have already figured out the whole plan.

After they exchanged contact information, the 100,000 points arrived immediately.

"Making 80,000 points on the first day of school feels pretty good." Shimizu Akira's lips curved into a pleased smile.

After deducting the 10,000-point errand fee and the cost of the beer he'd paid Chabashira Sae, it was still a considerable profit.

More importantly, he'd managed to make the proud silver-haired girl taste defeat.

But... would she hold a grudge against him for this?

As he wondered, he met Sakayanagi Arisu's complicated gaze.

Her eyes were filled with confusion, frustration, and something he couldn't quite identify.

"I simply can't understand," she said, her voice unusually unsteady. "With your intelligence, how did you end up in Class D?"

"I didn't do very well in the interview," Shimizu Akira replied casually, naturally avoiding the absurd truth that he had transmigrated.

"...How badly could you have done to end up in Class D?! Wait, maybe the interviewer didn't like you and gave you a low score! Either way, I'll investigate this properly." Sakayanagi Arisu's voice turned cold. But when she looked up at Shimizu Akira again, her usual elegant smile had returned. "Classmate Shimizu, I won't lose next time."

"I look forward to it," Shimizu Akira said, shrugging casually. "Just make sure you bring an interesting game and enough points." As for this sort of "sponsorship" that came to him on its own, he was happy to accept.

Still, the girl's comment about investigating the matter properly had caught his attention.

Why had she suddenly spoken as if she were School Administration?

Did Class A have some kind of special privilege?

Could this seemingly delicate young lady actually be the chairman's beloved daughter—or even his biological granddaughter?

If that was true, had he just offended someone from the school's upper management on the first day of classes?

Elsewhere, Kamuro Masumi pretended to act calm as she mingled with the students.

The canned beer in her bag felt strangely heavy, as if it could break through the thin fabric at any moment and be exposed to everyone.

(Was someone watching her just now?)

She glanced sideways, scanning behind her from the corner of her eye.

A few indistinct figures moved among the shelves. No one stopped, and no one looked her way.

(Was it... just her imagination?)

She let out a quiet breath, then unconsciously quickened her pace as she stepped through the convenience store's automatic doors.

A refreshing summer breeze filled her lungs, easing the tension in her chest a little.

Feeling the can of beer's icy chill inside her bag, Kamuro Masumi couldn't help smiling. A strange rush of pleasure surged through her chest.

(She'd pulled it off again!)

She silently cheered to herself, a faint sweetness on the tip of her tongue.

This wasn't the first time. It had started one sweltering afternoon in middle school, when she first slipped an eraser from a stationery shop into her uniform pocket. The thrill of her heart nearly leaping out of her throat had been seared into her memory ever since.

She had just taken a step when an unfamiliar male voice suddenly called from behind her—

"Classmate Kamuro, wait."

Her back stiffened, and for an instant, her blood seemed to freeze.

(Had she... been caught?)

She turned around slowly and saw an unfamiliar male student.

"Do you have something in your bag?"

His gaze drifted casually to her shoulder bag.

Kamuro Masumi's throat tightened, but she kept her expression cold. "...What are you talking about? I don't understand."

The boy took a step closer. "You're pretty good at it. I'm guessing this isn't your first time. But why beer? Do you like drinking?"

(...This guy! He even knew what she'd stolen?!)

Her pupils contracted sharply, and her heart clenched.

—This was the first time in her life someone had caught her red-handed.

"Take it... If you're going to report me, then do it now!" She abruptly pulled the can of beer from her bag and thrust it toward him, almost petulantly.

He froze, then gave her a helpless smile. "...Wait, why are you handing me the evidence? You're surrendering awfully easily."

"Enough!" She turned her face away, the tips of her ears reddening with embarrassment and anger. "You saw the whole thing, didn't you?!"

"Are you really a student in Class A?" The boy suddenly gave her a strange look. "That reaction under pressure... It's practically like you're in my class."

Kamuro Masumi's temple throbbed.

(How did he know which class she was in? And even her name?!)

What irritated her even more was his expression—that look of surprise mixed with a hint of distaste.

Was he looking down on her reaction under pressure?!

"What do you want?! If you aren't going to report me, then I'll contact the school myself!" Her voice rose slightly, and she squeezed the beer can until it dented.

"I never intended to report you. I came to give you a cut of the profits." He chuckled and unzipped his shoulder bag with a rattle—

Clunk! Clunk!

More than a dozen cans of beer rolled out onto the ground.

"Thanks to you, I made a little money—a total of 100,000 points." He shrugged. "I don't drink, so here. You can have them all. You seem to like beer."

"...Huh?!" Kamuro Masumi's eyes widened as she stared at the pile of beer, her mind going blank.

(He wasn't reporting her... and was even giving her beer? A cut of the profits? What had she done? He'd made 100,000 points—what kind of idiot would lose to this guy?!)

The boy turned to leave, but then stopped and raised a hand in a casual wave.

"Let me give you a quick lesson while I'm at it."

"First, I'd already bought the beer you took, so it technically wasn't theft."

"Second, you can buy anything with points at this school. You could just pay the School Administration to buy off this theft."

"Third, you could use points to bribe a witness or buy the convenience store's security footage. Anyway, there are plenty of ways to settle a problem... Don't let anyone get something they can use against you."

Kamuro Masumi stood rooted to the spot. The beer can in her hand made a faint metallic crunch as she squeezed it too tightly.

(Why was he going out of his way to tell her about these loopholes?)

(He wasn't reporting her, and he gave her beer... He'd even helped her avoid the consequences of the theft... He was actually kind of nice!)

As she watched him walk farther away, an absurd thought suddenly flashed through her mind—