In Classroom of the Elite, Ichinose You Will Regret This

Horikita Suzune stepped forward to confront Uesugi Gen.

"Is that so?"

Uesugi Gen stroked his chin, pondering, "Daga, kotowaru."

Uesugi Gen spread his hands, signaling, "It seems our class doesn't need anything for the time being, so I'm sorry, Hirata-kun, and you too, Horikita-san."

"No... you can't do this, anything is fine... we'll agree to anything... we'll do whatever it takes!!"

Hirata Yosuke grew desperate, shouting on the verge of a breakdown.

"No, please head back, Hirata-kun. Expelling those three is actually beneficial for your class, isn't it?"

Uesugi Gen refused with a cruel smile.

"Um, I think it would be better to reconsider. It seems your class representative has returned."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been staying in the corner and hadn't spoken a word until now, suddenly interjected.

I see.

Uesugi Gen understood. The target from the very beginning wasn't me, but rather Ichinose. No wonder they sent Hirata to negotiate instead of Horikita; they were just stalling for time.

"Wait a moment, Uesugi-kun..."

Ichinose ran back, panting, her hands resting on her knees.

"Sorry, Gen-chan. We were chatting just fine, but the moment she heard your name, she turned around and ran back without looking back."

Following closely behind were Hoshinomiya-sensei and the members of the Uesugi-gumi, with Hoshinomiya apologizing profusely.

To this, Uesugi Gen remained unruffled.

"So, Ichinose, are you going to oppose me this time like you did last time?"

Uesugi Gen asked Ichinose with a smile.

Since you were able to guess my intentions last time, there's no way you can't guess what I'm planning to do this time...

"No, I choose to support you."

Chapter 36: Choose One of Two

As soon as these words were spoken, Not only Class D, but even the students of Class B were taken aback.

"That Ichinose... actually made a decision like this..."

Yes, the moment she heard that people from Class D were in her classroom, Ichinose had already roughly guessed Uesugi Gen's purpose.

The reason she was in such a hurry to run back was mainly because she was worried that Uesugi Gen might suddenly have a whim and come up with a tactic to make Class D choose only two out of the three to save.

After all, her vice-representative is quite skilled at giving people multiple-choice questions.

Immediately, Ichinose faced the group from Class D, pressed her palms together, and said apologetically, "Um, I'm sorry. Whenever something like this happens in our class, he is the one who makes the decisions."

Facing this scene, a sense of powerlessness welled up in Horikita Suzune's heart.

Even with different philosophies, they can reach a consensus so quickly... they are united to such an extent.

With this, the initiative returned to Uesugi Gen's hands.

Uesugi Gen jumped down from the podium and said to the people of Class D with a mocking tone, "Do you think that just because you called Ichinose back, she would agree to your terms? I'd say you're being far too optimistic."

"Who in Kōiku doesn't know that this woman is a pushover? Do you think I would just leave such an obvious weakness unattended?"

"She handles class affairs, and I handle everything outside the class. As long as I don't agree, there is absolutely no way she will lend you any points."

Ichinose tilted her head in confusion.

Uesugi-kun... has he ever told me something like that?

To this, Uesugi Gen shamelessly thought, Anyway, for the sake of my reputation, you won't jump out to oppose me right now, so I might as well take this opportunity to cement this fact in front of the whole class.

Once the wood is carved into a boat, it will be too late for you to object even if you want to.

However, Ichinose didn't care about such things at this moment; instead, she remained fixated on a certain word Uesugi Gen had just used.

"Hehe!"

Ichinose scratched her head, embarrassed.

"I'm not complimenting you, please. I'm saying, can you reflect on yourself properly and stop being so indiscriminately kind?"

"If you really want to help people that much, then come and help me. The Student Council President has been urging me to approve school documents lately. Since you're so free, you can approve them for me."

Listening to Uesugi Gen's words, Horikita Suzune looked at Uesugi Gen with a feeling of pure jealousy.

This man... he actually stole away the gaze my brother had for me.

"So that's how it is. No matter what methods you use, as long as I don't agree, it is absolutely impossible for you to borrow points from Class B. Please head back, everyone from Class D."

"And you, goodbye, Redhead. I hope you behave yourself at a normal school on the outside and stop causing trouble for others."

"Shibata, Kanzaki, show them out!"

Uesugi Gen delivered the final ultimatum.

"Wait!"

Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth, deciding to play her final trump card, and reluctantly spat out, "You in Class B surely want to promote to Class A, right? After all, you are only one step away. We can lend your class a hand during the next special exam. Having the help of an extra class certainly wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Absolutely not."

Uesugi Gen rejected Horikita Suzune's condition with unexpected, clean-cut efficiency.

"Whether it's you, Class A, or Class C—or even if you all come at us together—our class will absolutely not lose. No, come to think of it, you all teaming up is exactly what I'd prefer."

Uesugi Gen's words were filled with overwhelming confidence.

Ichinose looked at the radiant Uesugi Gen, while a sigh escaped her heart.

If only that were truly what he was thinking. If it really came to that, given his lazy nature and aversion to trouble, he would likely use some method to incite a conflict between the three classes and then sit on the sidelines to reap the rewards.

Negotiations are all about asking for the sky and settling for the earth. Since they came to negotiate, he had to probe their actual strength, even though he didn't really want anything from them.

At this moment, Horikita Suzune glanced at her phone and, unexpectedly, had a realization.

"State your conditions. You must have some requirement for our class."

"Oh? You can tell?"

Uesugi Gen asked with curiosity, while casting a glance at the wallflower in the crowd.

Is it you again, the mastermind behind Class D?

"Because you sent Ichinose away ahead of time just now. If you had no objective regarding us, then according to your own words, the move of sending Ichinose away would have been completely redundant."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Uesugi Gen clapped his hands in appreciation.

"Not bad. I should say, as expected of Horikita Manabu's sister; you've inherited at least a fraction of his judgment."

"That goes without saying. And I will not lose to you, Uesugi Gen."

Horikita Suzune looked at Uesugi Gen with a gaze of pure defiance.

"Just now, I asked Hirata Yosuke why he wanted to save them. The same question applies to you, Horikita. You should hate them deeply, so why save him?"

Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and said frankly, "Yes, I hate them very much. I am saving them because I cannot determine whether they will be useful in future class struggles. In a school where even the exam content is unknown, losing a single person could cause the class to fall behind in the competition."

"So that's how it is..."

Uesugi Gen stroked his chin.

"You must also be desperate to promote to Class A. Someone as unsociable as you is actually willing to save classmates for such a goal."

"Yes, I will absolutely promote to Class A, and I will absolutely defeat you."

A raging fire ignited in Horikita Suzune's eyes.

"I see..."

Uesugi Gen slowly revealed a harmless, innocent smile.

The members of Class B felt a jolt in their hearts upon seeing Uesugi Gen's smile.

Ichinose clutched her smooth forehead in a headache.

He's doing it again!

"Okay, Horikita Suzune. Now I am officially putting forward my condition, and it must be answered by you. Whether or not you agree will decide the life or death of the three people from your class."

"Bring it on," Horikita Suzune said confidently.

"I want you to agree to one condition during the next special exam. However, this condition isn't being proposed now; I will only bring it up when the special exam arrives. The scope of the condition could be anything from asking you to buy me a bottle of water to having your Class D withdraw from that special exam entirely."

As soon as Uesugi Gen's words left his mouth, the raging fire in Horikita Suzune's eyes was instantly extinguished.

"How about it? You choose. Do you choose to protect the three people from your Class D, hoping they can help the class gain points in the future, or do you choose to fail the next special exam directly, which would set your progress toward catching up to Class A back by a huge margin?"

"Make your choice."

A choice between two, huh.

Horikita Suzune lowered her head, her expression shifting uncertainly.

Looking at the Class D students around her, who were watching her with hopeful anticipation, the image of her brother involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

Brother...

At this moment, she suddenly remembered what her brother had said to her when he came to find her after that incident.

"Suzune, Uesugi is different from you. He is a truly solitary person, but for the sake of his friends, he can shed that solitude. You should learn well from him."

Horikita Suzune opened her eyes abruptly.

"I choose to accept your terms and save the students of Class D."

"It's a deal, Miss Horikita."

After transferring the points to Horikita Suzune, Uesugi Gen seemed to remember something and said casually, "Oh, right, let me give you a piece of information. Not a single student has been expelled from the third-year Class A, where your brother is, so far. Therefore, he should be pleased with your choice this time."

"You..."

Horikita Suzune stared at Uesugi Gen, stunned.

"Well then, happy to be working with you. Feel free to come visit Class B again sometime."

Chapter 37: Uesugi Gen Gets Serious

In the first-year teachers' office, Uesugi Gen was sitting in Hoshinomiya's chair, carefully examining Ichinose's enrollment file.

The school had conducted detailed background checks on students about to enter Kōiku, so logically, Ichinose's situation should have been documented.

"Factors of instability such as prolonged absences..."

Uesugi Gen stared at the word "such" in the school's evaluation for a long time, scratching his hair in distress.

"I can't believe I didn't notice such an obvious hint before... I was truly careless."