In Classroom of the Elite, Ichinose You Will Regret It

"Yes, yes, I know I'm wrong, Hoshinomiya-sensei, but this place is just too perfect for sleeping."

Uesugi Gen raised his hands in surrender and pulled the blanket over his head; his muffled voice drifted out from beneath it.

He had to get some sleep quickly, otherwise, Ichinose would definitely come here to drag him back to class once the period ended.

Before that happened, he had to deal with Hoshinomiya-sensei.

If he didn't handle this eccentric homeroom teacher, Uesugi Gen wouldn't be getting a good night's sleep here.

"Hehe, I know, you know? The photo you sent me yesterday was fake, right? You weren't sick at all; you just didn't want to come to class."

Hoshinomiya-sensei rested her chin on one hand, striking a detective-like pose as she leaned in close, speaking to Uesugi Gen through the blanket.

"Sensei, I am a patient, and the photo I sent you was the genuine article."

Even though he, Uesugi Gen, napped in class, lied to his teachers, and skipped lessons, he was still a good student.

"But before that, there's a question I've been wanting to ask you, Sensei."

Uesugi Gen, feeling unable to handle Hoshinomiya-sensei's teasing any longer, decided to take the initiative.

"Gen-chan, go ahead and ask. As your teacher, I will definitely answer your questions."

Hoshinomiya put her hands on her hips, striking a pose that said, "Leave everything to me."

"Hey, Hoshinomiya-sensei, you were a student at this school too, right?"

"Oh my, how did you know? It's true that I graduated from this school."

Hoshinomiya's expression shifted, and she dropped her playful tone to ask.

"Because during the first class, you said, '100,000 points,' and added, 'I was very surprised when I first found out.' The real meaning behind that should be that when you were a student here, you were also very surprised the first time you heard the school was giving out 100,000 points."

Hoshinomiya-sensei's face changed. She had assumed this student had heard the rumor somewhere—after all, many people in the school knew she was an alumna.

She hadn't expected him to deduce it directly from the hint she had accidentally dropped on the first day. At the time, she thought no one in the class had noticed.

This student had noticed, yet he hadn't pointed it out immediately.

"Gen-chan, let me ask you a question. Since you were able to detect that I was a student here from that one sentence, you couldn't possibly have missed the other loopholes in my words, could you?"

Hoshinomiya looked at Uesugi Gen with a serious expression.

The implication was that since Uesugi Gen had realized the problems with the school's system back then, why hadn't he taken action?

"I did realize it, and I have already taken concrete action. Otherwise, how do you think I got this position as vice president?"

Uesugi Gen responded directly to Hoshinomiya-sensei's words.

Ichinose would certainly not let today's matter rest, and she would likely be coming to Hoshinomiya-sensei often in the future.

There was no help for it; to get a good night's sleep, he had to demonstrate his value, pull Hoshinomiya-sensei to his side, and get her to give him special treatment.

By then, he would have the school administration, the student council, and the teachers.

With the certifiers, the witnesses, the organizers, and the collaborators all being his people—heh, Ichinose, let's see how you fight me then.

"Hmm? Isn't it because your family invested in the school that you got that position?"

Hoshinomiya-sensei asked cautiously.

"Huh? Where did you hear that rumor, Hoshinomiya-sensei?"

Uesugi Gen's eyes snapped open; he sat bolt upright as if rising from the dead, turning his head to ask Hoshinomiya.

"Because the school suddenly received a large investment from the Uesugi Zaibatsu, and even our teachers' salaries went up a notch. That's why I didn't pull you aside for a talk when I saw you became the student council vice president."

Hoshinomiya-sensei tilted her head, recalling the details.

"I see."

Uesugi Gen covered his face with his hand.

It seemed his family hadn't given up yet; they wanted to drag him back to inherit the family business.

He wondered if his older brother's assessment was going smoothly and if he was being given a hard time by those old stubborn fools at the company...

Forget it, he wouldn't think about it.

Uesugi Gen decided to push the problem to the back of his mind. Compared to that, he had to convince Hoshinomiya-sensei before Ichinose arrived.

Immediately, Uesugi Gen stared into Hoshinomiya's eyes and said softly, "Then, since Hoshinomiya-sensei already knows I will take action, could you please help me? In exchange, I will lead Class B to the position of Class A."

"No problem, Gen-chan. I will do my best to help you; it is my duty as a homeroom teacher, after all."

Looking at her student's handsome face, Hoshinomiya-sensei smiled brightly and patted her ample chest in assurance.

I will definitely do my best to assist you, if only to... keep Class D from climbing up!

Done!

"Then, in order for Class B to better climb to Class A, I need to conserve my energy so I can lead Class B in battle more effectively. So, please, Sensei, be quiet and don't disturb my rest. Thank you!"

Instantly, Uesugi Gen's demeanor shifted abruptly as he finished his sentence, lay down, pulled up the covers, and closed his eyes—all in one fluid motion.

Before long, the sound of soft, steady breathing drifted over.

Hoshinomiya stared at her former student with black lines appearing on her forehead.

She couldn't help but feel like she had been entrusted with a lost cause; perhaps she should just hand him over to Ichinose.

Ring-a-ding-ding!

As soon as class ended, Ichinose arrived at the infirmary carrying breakfast.

"Uesugi-kun—"

Shh!

Hoshinomiya placed a finger to her lips, while her other hand pointed toward the soundly sleeping Uesugi Gen.

The handsome, delicate-featured boy was fast asleep in a state of perfect serenity.

Watching the sleeping boy, Ichinose swallowed the words she had intended to say, and the faint trace of worry on her face melted into a gentle smile.

Ichinose didn't speak; she silently handed the breakfast to Hoshinomiya and slowly backed out of the infirmary.

Forget it, I'll let you off the hook just this once.

The girl smiled and walked back to the classroom with a light, rhythmic step.

I've been quite busy with work lately, so there should only be one update for the next two days. As a beginner, my typing speed is like a turtle's; I expect to return to two updates a day once I get used to it or when things settle down in a couple of days.

Thank you, dear readers, please have some tea! (Bows respectfully)

Chapter 17: The Easiest Woman to Handle at Advanced Nurturing High School

Bang!

"It's so annoying! Just because she's cute, she thinks she can get away with anything!"

Bang! Bang!

"So annoying! So annoying!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Why doesn't someone like Horikita just drop dead! That bitch!"

Whoa!

What an explosive scene.

Better record this first.

Not far from Uesugi Gen, a girl with short chestnut hair was kicking the fence beside her violently, cursing someone's name with every strike.

It was none other than the social butterfly Uesugi Gen had encountered earlier with Himeno Yuki—Kushida Kikyo from Class D.

As expected.

Uesugi Gen had found it strange from the very beginning; setting other factors aside, how could someone who could rival Ichinose in making friends end up in Class D, unless they had some major flaw that completely subverted the school's evaluation system?

Now it seemed that her motive for making friends wasn't born of genuine desire. Even if she was unwilling to befriend someone in her heart, she still suppressed that impulse and forced a smile every day to chat with others.

This led to a disconnect between her mind and body, a violation of her own will, which ultimately created immense psychological pressure within her.

This resulted in the scene Uesugi Gen was witnessing right now.

At this moment, Uesugi Gen was practically moved to tears.

See? Look how normal she is.

Befriending people you despise while wearing a fake smile is perfectly normal; there are countless people like that in society.

It's just like when your boss is an ugly jerk, but you have to lie through your teeth and tell him he's handsome.

In contrast, Ichinose had been at school for so long, and he still hadn't found a single crack in her armor—it was simply absurd.

However, Since he had seen this, there was no reason not to take advantage of it.

In the shadows, Uesugi Gen rubbed his chin and began to think quietly.

Kushida Kikyo's personality was clearly different from The Thief Lady, who was impervious to both soft and hard tactics. She cared deeply about how other students perceived her, to the point where she would endure humiliation just to be friends with her classmates.

From this perspective, Kushida Kikyo was clearly easier to manipulate than The Thief Lady.

But, Uesugi Gen didn't intend to use the same trick twice.

The more he used those kinds of underhanded tactics, the larger the loopholes would become. As soon as one person discovered his true identity and exposed it, the others would naturally realize who was threatening them.

So this time, Uesugi Gen planned to take the stage himself.

As for how to persuade her.

Uesugi Gen thought to himself, Her making friends doesn't affect me gathering information, so wouldn't it be fine if I just helped her make friends better?

Thinking of this, Uesugi Gen became increasingly confident.

Amidst the sound of Kushida Kikyo kicking the pole and cursing, Uesugi Gen cleared his throat.

"Ahem!"

The other party noticed the movement and immediately turned her head back.

The two locked eyes.

As she stopped her movements, Uesugi Gen stepped forward full of confidence, preparing to speak.

"Kushida-do... hm?"

Without a shred of hesitation, the moment Kushida Kikyo saw Uesugi Gen, she charged straight at him.

???

How is this different from what I imagined?

Holy crap, why does she look so fierce, and why is she running toward me with her fists clenched!

Something is wrong. Although those three Nice Seniors from last time looked scary, in essence, they didn't dare to actually lay a hand on anyone.

But this time, Uesugi Gen didn't dare to gamble.

As everyone knows, once a person loses their cool, there is no reason left to speak of, let alone the fact that she is a woman.

Seeing the look in Kushida Kikyo's eyes, which was practically murderous, Uesugi Gen was absolutely certain—she had lost her cool.