In Classroom of the Elite, but in the Underworld 46

Seeing that Ibuki's patience was reaching its breaking point, Eito, who had been tormenting her for two hours, decided to let her off the hook.

"Hey, Ibuki, let's have a real talk."

"Talk about what? I have no interest in that." Ibuki sat down beside him, fanning herself with her hand.

"No, no, this is a serious conversation," Eito said. "Have you considered actually becoming my subordinate?"

"...What are you saying... Haven't I already—"

"No need to keep up the act, I saw through it a long time ago." Eito grabbed her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. "I'm much smarter than you think."

"..."

"You must have heard of it, right? This school has a class transfer system. If you spend 20 million points, you can choose the class you want to be in."

"20 million? So what? There's no way you could scrape together that much money."

"True. Even if I told you I had that kind of capability right now, you wouldn't believe me. However, you yourself have that kind of potential."

"Me?" Ibuki pointed at herself. "You're insane."

"Not at all. If you could control the wealth of an entire class, with everyone contributing 30,000 points a month, it would only take 17 months to gather 20 million."

"Is that so? But do you really think I'm the type of person who would betray my class?"

"Whether you betray them or not is irrelevant, but have you thought about others?" Eito said. "Do you really think someone like Ryuen cares about the class? He doesn't even trust his own people, so why would he sacrifice himself for the class?"

"..." Ibuki fell silent.

"Maybe he's secretly hoarding points, waiting to climb to the top in one go. And you people in Class C are the ridiculous ones for foolishly believing in him. When the day comes that you regret it, go find a place where no one is around to cry. As for me, I'll find a spot to watch you cry."

"What are you trying to do?" Ibuki asked. This time, her expression was somber; she likely felt that Eito's words held some truth.

She couldn't fully trust someone like Ryuen, and she knew full well that Ryuen didn't trust her either.

"I'm not trying to do anything," Eito laughed. "I just want to offer you another path. If you ever discover Ryuen's true goal, I can personally help you design a plan to completely replace him, or perhaps steal the points he's worked so hard to accumulate."

"What is your goal in doing this? I don't believe you're that kind-hearted." Ibuki stared intensely into his eyes.

"My goal is very simple." Eito slid his hand from her shoulder down to her thigh, all the way to the top.

"--I get it." Ibuki pushed his hand away, her face flushing slightly.

She actually believed it.

As expected, pretending to be a lecher is a simple method, and also the one least likely to be suspected.

"Agreed? Then let's keep today's events a secret. Don't report what I just said to Ryuen. If you want to tell him, feel free, but that would be a very stupid move. Framing me versus your own future—I think anyone with a brain knows how to choose, unless you truly hate me to the bone."

Ibuki nodded.

And just like that, Ibuki became his spy.

He couldn't trust Ibuki, nor could he ever tell her his true intentions.

The reason he turned Ibuki against her class was simply because he thought it would be fun.

If Ibuki didn't listen to him and told Ryuen everything, he would be even happier.

If things continued this way, Ryuen would have no chance of a comeback. He couldn't even handle Ayanokoji alone, let alone with him in the mix. If he didn't find some entertainment, he felt he would die of boredom.

Class B was uninteresting; he didn't think Ichinose had anything special about her. The only person who piqued his interest was Sakayanagi Arisu.

He wanted to see what kind of brilliant moves this woman, who also enjoyed playing dirty, would make.

He returned, and this time he felt more eyes on him.

It was only natural; he was the center of attention.

Therefore, he had to be cautious. Talking too much to any girl would lead to suspicions of an improper relationship.

This situation would likely fade after some time.

Unable to find any beautiful girls to talk to, he had no choice but to look for the Three Idiots to pass the time.

Fortunately, the Three Idiots had already returned.

Among them, Ike was the most agitated, looking as if he wanted to kill him.

"Damn it... Takeda, it's you again! How could you get confessed to by a girl in public!"

Just as Ike was about to rush over, Sudo grabbed his shirt.

"Ike, what are you doing? The person is over there, you're pulling the wrong guy."

Sudo smacked him on the forehead:

"I didn't make a mistake. You, keep it down."

"Hey, Haruki, you—"

"I don't care. I've already seen through the vanity of the world." Yamauchi sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

I'd be a fool to believe that.

Ike wore an expression of utter contempt.

One moment he was discussing beautiful girls with him, and the next, he had turned into a monk—did he take him for a fool?

Ike looked at Eito again.

Seeing him staring back and letting out a subtle chuckle, his heart couldn't help but turn cold.

Could it be—

Ike suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

An inexplicable, highly unnatural feeling welled up in his heart.

The things that had happened recently were too surreal: for instance, his two friends whose attitudes had suddenly shifted; for instance, Kushida, who was ignoring him; for instance, Eito, who had suddenly become popular. Everything seemed to be revolving around that one person.

And he, he was just like a supporting character.

This suddenly reminded him of a movie he had seen before.

The Truman Show.

But he wasn't the protagonist; he felt as if everything was deceiving him. This play didn't exist for his sake, but rather to make a fool of him.

He was the clown.

And that person—

He appeared before his eyes and reached out a hand:

"Do you want to join us? Everything will become clear."

"I... I'll join."

Ike reached out his hand.

He had a premonition that he was about to learn the answer.

However.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Eito grabbed his hand and slammed him directly onto the ground.

"Stop sleepwalking and get up."

He patted Ike's cheeks, and seeing no reaction, he grabbed his face and pulled his skin to both sides.

"Sss—it hurts, it hurts."

Ike finally woke up completely. After seeing his face clearly, he clawed at him and shouted:

"Takeda, I challenge you to a duel!"

"Oh? And what shall we compete in?" Eito said indifferently.

"Fishing. Let's see who catches more."

"I see."

Ike had deliberately chosen something he was good at and Eito was not.

"I accept," Eito said.

Even if he couldn't fish, he could control the bodies of the fish, so he wasn't afraid at all.

And so, the result.

"I lost, damn it!"

Ike stomped his feet in anger. "To think you're even good at fishing! Tell me, is there anything you can't do?"

"Things I can't do?" Eito pondered. "I can't draw, I can't play the piano, and I can't do calligraphy."

Ike was speechless.

"Normal people can't do those things either."

"So, I'm not good at everything," Eito shook his head. "It just seems that way in your eyes."

"...I'm going to kill you today!"

"Sigh."

Ike began his meaningless suicidal behavior again.

However, Eito could tell that this guy was actually quite happy.

Is he a masochist?

Or does he simply enjoy being abused by him?

How... how disgusting.

Setting that aside, the Island Exam would be over in two days.

Although he had no intention of helping Class D, he had still neutralized the threat posed by Ibuki, even if Ibuki had originally just been a pawn used by Ayanokoji.

And now, he had long since told Ayanokoji the location of the base and the general positions of the other classes. With his ability, it should be quite simple for him to ensure this exam passed smoothly.

Class D should receive quite a few points this time.

As for Ryuen, he would likely be disappointed.

Chapter 59: The Story of Me, Who Has Experience, Dating Her, Who Has Zero Experience

The sixth day.

With only one day left until the exam ended, the joyful atmosphere among the classmates reached its peak.

Their class still had over 150 points remaining, which was all thanks to Eito, who had contributed the map early on to solve their food issues, allowing most other problems to be resolved with ease as well.

Yet Eito was currently facing a different kind of problem.

It concerned Sato.

She had called him out quite early, using the excuse of a walk to leave the class with him.

However, she was silent now, the lively atmosphere that usually surrounded her having vanished.

She walked ahead alone, kicking at pebbles, lost in her own thoughts.

This was the consequence of piercing through the veil.

Between two close friends of the opposite sex, if one of them confesses, the relationship inevitably becomes incredibly awkward.

There are only two possible outcomes: either they become closer, or they drift apart.

Under normal circumstances, Eito would have taken the initiative to break the awkwardness and restore a harmonious, friendly atmosphere.

But this time, he deliberately remained silent, wanting to see how Sato would handle it.

Before long, Sato spoke up:

"The weather is so nice today."