In Classroom of the Elite, but in the Underworld 6

The next morning.

After a night of rest, he felt his energy had returned to its peak.

He finished washing up early and left his room.

However, he didn't expect to run into Suzune downstairs.

"...Morning, Horikita?"

The other party glared at him and said irritably:

"Don't act like we're close. Our relationship is worse than that of strangers."

A relationship worse than strangers—does that mean enemies?

"You've misunderstood, Horikita. I'm the type of person who would greet a dog if I ran into one on the street," Eito explained.

"Oh? Are you saying I'm not as good as a dog?"

"If that's how you want to think about it, there's nothing I can do."

"Hmph." Suzune shot him a look and walked away.

He also left the dormitory.

However--

"Why are you following me?" Suzune stopped and glared at him before they had even walked a few steps.

"Um, the school is in that direction. If I don't walk this way, which way should I go?"

"Then you go ahead."

"Fine."

He had no choice but to take the lead and walk in front.

Thus, the situation turned into Suzune following behind him.

They maintained this formation all the way to the classroom.

Just as they entered the classroom, Sato saw the two of them and asked in surprise:

"Takeda-san, when did you and Horikita get so close? Could it be that you're dating?"

"Impossible, unless Yamauchi found a girlfriend."

"Eh, hehe, what kind of assumption is that? But, wait, you already knew?"

"Knew what?"

Could it be that Yamauchi actually found a girlfriend?

Seeing his confused expression, Sato said happily:

"Did you know that Yamauchi confessed to Kushida yesterday?"

"And then?"

"He got rejected, haha."

"Ah, how pitiful, Yamauchi."

"And do you know--," Sato said excitedly, tugging at his sleeve, "when Yamauchi confessed yesterday, he actually got the wrong person! Haha, it was so funny~"

"Who was it?"

"That... it seems it was Wang Meiyu."

"Oh."

Hearing the name, it sounded Chinese, and in fact, she was Chinese, but she had come to Japan for school during middle school and had a fairly good relationship with Kikyo.

Wang Meiyu had a petite figure and deep blue twin tails; she was quite a cute girl.

Being Chinese himself, Eito felt a sense of kinship. If there was an opportunity, he definitely wanted to interact with her more; perhaps they could find many common topics.

It was just that the girl's personality was rather timid, so building a relationship would be quite difficult.

However, he could start with Kikyo.

After chatting with Sato for a while, class began.

Perhaps because it was the first period, the students in Class D were still listening to the lecture, but by the next two periods, students began to fidget.

Because they discovered that no matter what they did during class, the teacher wouldn't care, so they gradually became bolder.

This situation would only get worse.

There is a term called the herd effect; when one person slacks off, others will follow suit. After all, they want to slack off deep down, they just lack a leader.

This situation was already very serious by the third period, with some even playing on their phones directly under their desks.

However, there were still some students listening attentively, such as Hirata, Kikyo, and Suzune, who was sitting behind him to the right.

And Sato, who was to his right, was actually passing him a note.

He opened the note and saw the words written on it: Takeda-san, what is your favorite animal?

He was slightly taken aback, then wrote his reply and passed it back: Rabbit.

(Is it because they're cute? I quite like them too.)

(Mm.)

Spicy rabbit head, delicious.

Thinking of that, he suddenly felt a bit hungry.

Not long after, he saw his phone screen light up, and upon opening it, he discovered it was a message from Sato.

It was a few pictures of fluffy rabbits, and one photo of Sato wearing a rabbit hood, holding up two fingers in a peace sign.

Setting aside the taste, rabbits really are quite cute.

It was noon.

Eito was preparing to go to the cafeteria for lunch with Ayanokoji, but they were stopped by a girl just as they stepped out of the classroom.

"Ayanokoji-kun, Takeda-kun, could I bother you for a moment?"

Standing before them was the girl currently enjoying explosive popularity, known in class as the little angel, the cute girl who wanted to be friends with everyone: Kushida Kikyo.

Ayanokoji glanced at him, then said:

"Is something the matter?"

"Could I have lunch with you two?"

"Uh... why?" Ayanokoji thought that he and Kikyo didn't seem to have any connection; the girl should have no reason to seek him out. However, if she were looking for Eito, that would be understandable, as the two had become friends on the bus.

So, how should he choose at this moment? Should he tag along with the two of them and be an inconspicuous third wheel, or should he tactfully leave and seek his own freedom?

Ayanokoji decisively chose the latter.

"You two go ahead and chat, I have something else to do... so..."

But before he could take two steps, he was stopped by Kikyo: "Ayanokoji-kun, actually, I have something to discuss with you as well."

"Also... is that so? Alright."

Ayanokoji roughly understood the implication of that sentence.

Meanwhile, Eito, who was watching the spectacle from the side, suddenly leaned into his ear and whispered:

"Hehe, shy?"

"..."

Ayanokoji gave him an expressionless look, then shifted his gaze back to Kikyo's face.

At this moment, she was looking at him with a faint smile.

With her slightly rosy cheeks, that smile was as delicious as candy; just a brief encounter was enough to make a drop of sweet nectar seep into one's heart.

For a boy, seeing a girl like this, it would be a normal thing to feel shy, right?

Chapter 8 Please Marry Me

"Is this spot okay?"

"No problem."

Perhaps not wanting to attract attention, Kikyo chose a corner seat.

Eito sat across from Kikyo, and Ayanokoji sat down next to him.

Ayanokoji had gone to buy bread, while he had gotten a meal from the cafeteria.

As for Kikyo, she had a homemade bento.

"Kushida-san is truly amazing. As expected of the class's most popular student, the bento you made looks so good; it must be delicious."

"Would Takeda-kun like to try some?"

"May I?" He looked at the sumptuous dishes, hesitating to speak.

Although it was a question, in this atmosphere, Kikyo could only agree.

And so, he received a piece of chicken fried by Kikyo herself.

He put it in his mouth and took a bite, unable to hide his surprise.

Beneath the crispy skin, a burst of intense, fragrant juice exploded upon biting down, filling his entire mouth. The chicken flavor was rich, yet there wasn't a hint of gaminess.

How did she do it? This level was far higher than his own.

"Kushida, marry me."

"Eh eh?"

Kikyo, who had been waiting for his evaluation, was startled. She opened her mouth slightly, staring at him in a daze.

It took several seconds for her to react:

"That's too exaggerated! But thank you for the compliment."

Clearly, he had interpreted Eito's words as a compliment to the food.

Under normal circumstances, that would indeed be the case, but.

"Eh, did I just get rejected by Kushida?"

"Ah, no... wait... what exactly do you mean?"

Little Kikyo was a bit bewildered; she watched the boy who was shoveling rice into his mouth non-stop, unable to grasp what he was trying to do.

"Does that... gulp gulp... mean... gulp gulp... yes?"

"No, no... hold on... eh, eh, eh?"

Her small head couldn't handle such a massive amount of mental processing.

Kikyo took a deep breath, forcing her heart to calm down.

So first, let's go back to the source of the conversation.

She gave a piece of chicken to Eito as an act of charity, and then, she was proposed to by him.

Combining that with his subsequent denial, the proposal must have been real.

The problem lay with the proposal itself.

She finally had it all sorted out.

Kikyo opened her eyes and looked at Eito, whose tray was already empty, asking in confusion:

"Takeda-kun, why did you propose to m--"

"Thanks for the meal!"