Classroom of the Elite, Starting with a Zero, I'm Just Going to Lay Flat Since I Know the Plot

Because Arisu Sakayanagi, that girl from her own class, lived in the room right next to hers, she ran into her every single day; naturally, being classmates meant they saw each other daily regardless.

And whenever Sakayanagi encountered her, she would say, "Hello."

She seemed incredibly polite.

But Kamuro always felt that the girl didn't actually respect her.

Meanwhile, the students in the class had begun to divide themselves into the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction, though she herself had yet to choose which camp to join.

But, as expected, she was in a bad mood.

She felt that high school life held absolutely nothing to look forward to.

Thinking this, Kamuro Masumi suddenly turned her body to the side, facing away from the boy behind her who was looking at water bottles. The moment she crouched down, she quickly snatched a can of beer from the lower shelf and tucked it inside the lining of her clothes.

Hmm.

I'll just steal a can of beer today.

Students were not allowed to buy alcohol; such items were provided only for faculty or staff members.

Sure enough, holding something like this made her feel better.

There was a sense of immorality to it.

As she thought this.

She heard a noise from behind; it seemed the boy had given up on looking at the water bottles and was walking directly toward her.

"..." Kamuro.

Kamuro frowned slightly, but she didn't say anything.

The boy didn't seem to speak either; he simply walked up to her, passed her, and then seemed to glance back, as if sizing something up.

Just as Kamuro felt puzzled, she saw him walk to the shelf on the side, move a bottle of dish soap, and then... pull out a phone that had been hidden extremely well.

The phone screen was lit up, clearly recording.

?

No way.

Why was there a phone here, and... why was it recording?

"Can we go somewhere else to talk?" The boy took the phone and said this to her.

"..." Kamuro didn't move.

"Class A, first year, Kamuro Masumi." The boy spoke.

"..." Kamuro still didn't respond.

But she felt like something was about to happen; this guy seemed to have done his homework and knew her information.

"You've got the wrong person." Kamuro Masumi thought for a moment before speaking. Then, she reached her left hand into her school uniform, took out the beer she had just hidden, and placed it back on the shelf.

She hadn't left the store yet, so she couldn't be charged with theft.

Therefore, she was still safe.

However.

"Do you think if this video were made public and posted on the school forum, anyone would believe your nonsense?"

The boy said this, despite having a decent face and showing absolutely no expression. "I've already thought of a title: 'A habitual thief appears right after enrollment, a god-tier move!'"

"..." Kamuro.

If he had only seen her stealing, but she hadn't left the store yet, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

But if he posted it on the school forum, it would be a different story.

Her expressions, even the proud look she had just now while stealing, would be exposed.

Then she wouldn't be feeling smug; she would be a total clown.

You could say that just a moment ago, she thought high school life was quite boring, and she didn't like the competition between classes or the factionalism within her own.

But now.

Damn this shitty school and this shitty life, did it really have to be this intense? If she were expelled because of this, she didn't even want to think about the consequences.

You could say.

Was this guy trying to ruin the rest of her life?

ps; Morning, brothers.

Chapter 018: A 500,000 debt IOU, acquired!

"One coffee and one cup of warm water, please."

Nakano-kun and Kamuro had come to a cafe together, a place he was quite familiar with, as this was where he had come with Horikita yesterday.

The staff here were very professional; even though they only ordered two drinks, they had let him and Horikita sit there for two hours.

It was just that.

"Your coffee."

"And the warm water."

The waiter served the drinks, but without confirming who the warm water and coffee were for, they simply placed them in the middle of the table, then cast a somewhat strange look at Nakano Yuu.

Hmm.

He was probably being pegged as a scumbag; he had sat here with a pretty girl for two hours yesterday, only to switch partners so quickly today.

"I feel like the waiter's expression is weird," Kamuro said.

"You don't need to worry about that," Nakano Yuu said. "This is your warm water. And what we need to talk about now is your situation."

"..." Kamuro.

"Little thief, you wouldn't want to be expelled in disgrace just like that, would you?" Nakano said.

"..." Kamuro.

Kamuro immediately realized that things were unlikely to end well today.

She began to think of a way to break the deadlock, because according to this guy's words and actions, there were serious issues at play.

First, the fact that he knew her information in advance meant he had come prepared, and his plan was to post the recorded footage directly onto the school forum, which would instantly ruin her reputation.

Therefore.

He came prepared, and his ambitions were significant.

These words were essentially branded into her mind.

"What do you want me to do so you'll agree to delete that video?" Kamuro asked in a stiff tone.

"I can do it right now," Nakano Yuu replied. "As long as you sign this IOU, it's a done deal."

As he said this, Nakano produced a slip of paper.

Well. It should be called an IOU.

Today [blank], Student ID [blank], borrowed 500,000 private points from Nakano Yuu of Class 1-D.

Debtor [blank].

The blank spaces were presumably for her to fill in.

No way.

"Are you trying to lend me money?" Kamuro looked at Nakano Yuu with suspicious eyes.

"Of course not, I just need you to acknowledge this IOU," Nakano Yuu said. "In practical terms, it means you have to pay me 500,000 as hush money."

"..." Kamuro.

500,000 points to buy a video recording was truly expensive.

Since they received 100,000 points for living expenses in the first month of enrollment, and this month their class evaluation score had dropped to 836, she only had a little over 80,000 points left.

And given the nature of the students in her class, once you joined the Katsuragi Faction or the Sakayanagi Faction, your points were no longer your own.

Therefore.

Kamuro actually had the foresight to know that once she joined a faction, she would have to pay some fees to the leader.

That was why she hadn't easily joined either side.

And just today, people from Katsuragi's side had mentioned that Katsuragi had secured the position of secretary for the Student Council, and that this position had been bought for 1 million points.

Katsuragi certainly didn't have that kind of money, so where did it come from? Naturally, his supporters were responsible for it.

Therefore, joining the Katsuragi Faction was equivalent to losing money.

Though, one couldn't put it exactly like that; Katsuragi being able to join the Student Council was definitely a good thing for the class and the Katsuragi Faction.

At the very least, Sakayanagi's side didn't have the qualifications to intervene yet, did they?

And what Kamuro was facing now was a 500,000 point fee... If it were 500,000, she only had 120,000 points on hand right now.

However.

The struggle between the two factions in Class A would only become more intense, so she would likely have to choose a side eventually.

And then, her income would decrease.

If she had to pay Nakano Yuu back in installments, the mere thought of it made her feel like her school life had lost all meaning. And if she didn't pay, she would be ruined, and even her expulsion and return home would be affected.

"If you don't want to pay back the money, that's fine too," Nakano Yuu said. "You have other ways to repay me."

"What are they?" Kamuro asked curiously.

"You probably haven't noticed, but you're actually quite pretty. And pretty girls naturally have other ways to make money."

!!

Kamuro Masumi immediately took two steps back, keeping her distance from him.

Clearly, his current demand had exceeded her threshold of acceptance.

"Don't worry," Nakano Yuu said, "I'm not interested in you. You aren't my type."

Is that so.

Even though it was a reassuring answer, Kamuro felt somewhat displeased.

However, she didn't dare to vent her frustration.

She understood that she still hadn't retrieved the leverage held against her.

"So, when you mentioned Sakayanagi, were you referring to Sakayanagi Arisu?" she asked.

She was pondering the fact that she didn't know this person at all, and had never even met her before today, so she wondered why she was being specifically targeted.

Therefore, she was considering the reasons why she had ended up in this situation.

"Sakayanagi Arisu is my ex-girlfriend," Nakano Yuu said.

"..." Kamuro. "I see. You, this guy, you're actually being directed by Sakayanagi to get a hold on me, aren't you? To force me to join her faction."

Kamuro seemed to feel as though she had found the answer, and her mood appeared to grow even more unpleasant.

"I already thought she wasn't a good person, and it turns out I was right."

"How underhanded."

"Class infighting is truly a troublesome thing," she said.

"While your theory has a certain degree of plausibility, you might be overthinking things," Nakano Yuu replied. "However, you aren't wrong about it being related to Sakayanagi."

"I want you to get close to Sakayanagi Arisu and obtain information on her. If she intends to target me, you need to tip me off," Nakano Yuu said.

In other words, he wanted her to become a mole by Sakayanagi's side.