In Classroom of the Elite, but in the Underworld

I will correct the errors of this world.

What a—beautiful, noble ideal.

However, she has overestimated her own strength.

To be more precise, she has failed to see the strength of others; she does not possess a pair of eyes capable of peering into the human heart.

Simply put, she is naive.

If her own abilities were lacking, her naivety would be magnified infinitely, and she would be able to see her own shortcomings.

Yet, in reality, her talents in every field are outstanding, and having been praised from all sides since childhood, her flaws are instead minimized, and she never pays them any mind.

A genius who has never experienced a harsh beating is just a genius; the higher they stand, the harder they fall.

And Suzune is currently in this phase; as long as she does not experience setbacks, she will never change.

Clearly, persuading a stubborn woman like this cannot be done with mere words.

He had known this would be the result.

But this was not his goal either.

"Horikita, have you ever been in love?"

"No, I'm not interested," Suzune said with a cold face.

"What do you think love is?"

"..." Suzune's ears turned slightly red, as if she had thought of something strange.

This must be his influence.

"Sigh," he sighed, "so-called love is not just love. There are two types of creatures in this world: males and females. Their genetic structures are basically the same, but there are differences."

He was not talking about knowledge regarding XY chromosomes, but rather the differences in cognition.

"Regarding the same thing, the perspectives between men and women are vastly different. Horikita, do you understand boys?"

"I—"

"Wait a moment," Eito stopped her, "you aren't going to say there's no need to understand them, are you?"

"..." Suzune closed her mouth, defaulting to silence.

"Then, Ms. Horikita, if you don't understand me, how can you defeat me? If you don't understand boys, how can you know what your brother is thinking? Just like the running earlier, if this were a competition, you would have already lost. How can you win without understanding your opponent? Do you really think you're invincible?"

These words sent Suzune into deep thought.

He had explained it very clearly; if she still didn't understand, she might as well go see a neurologist.

"Then... what should I do?"

"It's simple: date me. Only love is the fastest way to understand the opposite sex."

"I mean—" Suzune frowned, "you aren't trying to take advantage of me, are you? I know I'm cute, but I still get angry when you try to trick me with these roundabout ways."

As expected, it doesn't work as well once you've lied too much. It seems Suzune is close to seeing through his tactics.

It's hard to make a move on someone you know well.

Since that was the case, there was no need for him to keep up the act.

"Horikita, you're right. I do have the intention of taking advantage of you, but what I said just now is also true. Love is indeed a shortcut. If you don't want to improve yourself, I won't force you. Just pretend I never said anything."

Suzune hesitated.

"...Fine."

"Eh, you actually agreed?" Eito said in surprise.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not interested in love anyway, so no matter what we do, I won't fall for you. And—well, never mind."

She felt a bit surprised that she didn't feel any resistance when she heard she would be dating Eito. Perhaps after spending so much time together, she had slowly grown accustomed to his presence, so even when he called it a relationship, it didn't feel real.

Moreover, she was curious about Eito's strength. If she could use the opportunity of dating to investigate this person thoroughly, she would be one step closer to her goal.

"It's a deal then, no backing out."

"I never go back on my word," Suzune said, "but if I find out you're lying to me, I will never treat you as a friend again."

"Mm."

Suzune's words were very serious, making him feel that the statement was indeed true; she really would cut ties.

Chapter 45: Scouting Enemy Intelligence

"So, what exactly is love?"

Suzune asked this question, which stumped Eito.

As a transmigrator, he was very unfamiliar with the term, especially in this profit-driven society. Only naive middle or high school students could clearly define what love is.

"Horikita, what do you think of me?"

"Ordinary."

"Truly ordinary? No merits at all?" This hit him hard.

"The advantage is—" Suzune looked him over carefully, nodding to herself, "you're not bad-looking?"

"..."

Although he was a little happy, he still felt a sense of frustration.

Moreover, he felt as if Suzune was toying with him.

Forget it, let's start with something simple.

"Horikita, give me your hand."

"?"

"Holding hands is the most basic thing. You aren't afraid of even that, are you?"

"...Fine."

Although Suzune hesitated for a moment, she still reached out her hand.

Her hand was fair and translucent, her fingers slender and delicate like those of a young sprout, resembling a fine piece of art.

Eito took hold of it, feeling the smooth, cold texture like that of chilly jade.

"..."

At that moment, a strange desire suddenly sprouted within him: he wanted to hold this hand until he died.

"What's wrong with you?"

Suzune looked at him strangely, sensing that something was slightly off. Just as she was about to pull her hand away, he gripped it even tighter.

"It's nothing, let's go."

He said, pretending to be calm.

After walking a short distance while holding Suzune's hand, he turned back and asked:

"How does it feel now?"

"..." Suzune was silent for a while before saying, "It feels very awkward."

"Do you hate it?"

"I wouldn't call it hate, it's just... it just feels like this doesn't suit me at all."

Suzune frowned tightly, looking at the ground with a dazed expression.

"I see."

Even he could feel the sense of isolation emanating from Suzune.

Everyone has their own comfort zone; once someone else intrudes, they want to escape.

And for Suzune, the act of skin-to-skin contact was compressing her personal space, making her very uncomfortable.

Eito felt that if he let go now, Suzune would immediately run away, and the next time they tried to make contact, it would become even more difficult.

After thinking for a moment, he stopped, faced Suzune, opened her hand, and gently pressed it against his chest.

"What are you doing?" Suzune said, on guard.

"Do you feel it? My heartbeat."

"Mm—"

"This is the proof that I am alive. Every beat of my heart is a continuation of my life. Now, my life is in your hands; you can take it away whenever you want." He winked at Suzune.

"Who would want your worthless life."

Suzune glared at him, then, just as he had said, she felt the thumping against his chest.

Humans really are miraculous creatures; just by the blood flowing through another person's body, one can feel that person's existence.

The rhythm of that heartbeat was steady and ordinary, like a plain song, with stable movements forming a complete symphony.

There were no waves, nor any passion.

Everything in the world was just like this: ordinary and calm.

Feeling the traces of that life beating, Suzune couldn't help but look at the person in front of her.

Only now did she deeply realize his existence.

Although he often made her angry, he filled her boring and monotonous daily life with much more than that.

Sometimes she would even dream of him, though in a bad way.

This made her feel that a crack had appeared in her unshakable heart.

There were some things she didn't need, but if they were there, they weren't entirely unacceptable.

"What's wrong, Horikita?"

"It's nothing."

Suzune pulled her hand back.

"That..."

"Suit yourself." Suzune said, standing perfectly still, her meaning self-evident.

"Alright."

Eito stepped forward and took her hand.

It felt much better this time; Suzune's movements lacked the stiffness from before.

"Then let's go take a look at the other classes."

"Mm."

It felt just like an elementary schooler on a field trip, though he didn't swing Suzune's hand vigorously, as he wasn't actually an elementary schooler.

However, he still couldn't help but make small movements; after walking for a while, he rubbed his fingertips against the smooth back of Suzune's hand.

Yet, this behavior was met with nothing more than a glare from Suzune, and she didn't say a word.

This made him wonder if this Suzune had been swapped out for someone else.

Without dwelling on it, he and Suzune arrived at the territory of Class B.

Upon reaching the location, Suzune quickly pulled her hand away, which made him feel a bit of regret.

Class B was worthy of being Class B; neat tents, clean-swept ground, and, most importantly, everyone had a clear division of labor, each busy with their own tasks.

This made Eito wonder if he would have lived a very happy life had he been in this class.

No worries, no quarrels, and the key was having a charismatic and very pleasing-to-the-eye class representative.

It really was a great place for retirement.

Unfortunately, these things were destined not to suit him.

A life that was too peaceful would become boring after a while; a place like Class D, where there was a good show to watch every day, was much more exciting.