In Classroom of the Elite, Ichinose You Will Regret It

"Yes, Kanzaki Heavy Industries is my family's business, but why are you asking about that, Uesugi?"

Kanzaki Ryuji was somewhat puzzled as to why Uesugi Gen had suddenly brought this up.

"Kanzaki, let me ask you a question: under what circumstances would your family's company accept someone with 100% certainty?"

Uesugi Gen took another gulp of coffee and continued his inquiry.

Kanzaki Ryuji rubbed his chin, falling into deep thought. After a long while, he replied, "Unless that person is exceptionally outstanding in every aspect, perfectly meets my family's requirements, and can create sufficient value for our company..."

As Kanzaki Ryuji spoke, he suddenly froze, whipping his head around to face Uesugi Gen.

"Hey, Uesugi, are you implying..."

"I didn't say that; that's your own conclusion."

While speaking, Uesugi Gen had already finished the entire can of coffee and closed his textbook again.

Nearby, Shibata Hayate and Himeno Yuki were somewhat bewildered. Were they speaking some kind of encrypted language behind their backs?

Shibata scratched his head in confusion.

"What are you guys talking about? Why can't I understand a single word?"

Kanzaki Ryuji finally snapped back to reality and explained, "Shibata, do you remember that line in the school's promotional material? The one about a 99.9% placement rate in desired jobs?"

"How could I forget?"

Shibata said, noting that he had come to this middle school precisely because of that claim.

"Assuming what the school says is true, then there's a problem: why should I... well, why should the school make companies in society believe that graduates from this school are guaranteed to be top-tier talent?"

"Even with a recommendation from this school, if the students themselves aren't excellent, those companies wouldn't pay any attention to it. After all, businesses prioritize profit and capital above all else."

"Shibata, looking at the current atmosphere of the school, if you spend three years here, are you confident that you'll definitely become such an outstanding talent after three years?"

"Uh..." Shibata Hayate was momentarily at a loss for words.

"In other words, the school is definitely going to make a big move soon, and this move will affect the school's currently relaxed atmosphere, right?"

Himeno Yuki finally understood what Kanzaki meant.

"That's exactly it," Kanzaki Ryuji turned his head to confirm with Uesugi Gen, "That's what you meant, right, Uesugi?"

"I never said that; you're the one guessing."

Uesugi Gen replied from behind his book.

"The school's big move..."

"So that's how it is."

A sunny voice came from behind Uesugi Gen, making his hair stand on end. He straightened up instantly and whipped his head around to look.

Ichinose was waving at Uesugi Gen with a vibrant, energetic smile.

"When did you get here?"

Uesugi Gen couldn't keep his composure. Where did you come from, the last of the Assassins? There wasn't a single sound of footsteps.

"I was here when Kanzaki-kun was explaining. You were all so engrossed in your conversation that you didn't notice me at all."

Ichinose placed her hands behind her back, leaned over, and smiled at Uesugi Gen, who was sitting in his seat.

"Because Uesugi-kun has been dozing off during class, I came to see if he needed any help."

"No need, I'm doing just fine."

Uesugi Gen said bluntly.

"Points. School discipline might be linked to points, using points to motivate students to study."

Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been silent for a long time, excitedly voiced his deduction.

"It must be, it absolutely has to be. Otherwise, how else could they justify a 99% advancement rate?"

After hearing Kanzaki Ryuji's deduction, Ichinose rested her chin on one hand.

"That is indeed a possibility. Hoshinomiya-sensei did say at the time that the criteria for distributing points were a prohibited topic. If points are linked to discipline, then it all makes sense. I need to tell the students about this quickly."

At this moment, Uesugi Gen uncharacteristically took the initiative to speak to Ichinose.

"Ichinose, at the end of the day, these are just inferences without any substantive evidence. Just tell the students to pay attention to their discipline."

Uesugi Gen couldn't guarantee that a student from Class B wouldn't have a sudden whim to blurt this out while chatting with students from other classes.

If they actually believed it, it would be helping the enemy.

But on the other hand, Uesugi Gen didn't want his class's score to fall too far behind Class A, as it would be a huge hassle to catch up later.

Therefore, leveraging Ichinose's halo within the class to keep Class B students disciplined was a pretty good choice.

"I understand. I'll make sure the students pay attention to their discipline."

Ichinose nodded heavily, then smiled at Uesugi Gen again.

"However, Uesugi-kun, dozing off in class is also a form of not following discipline, you know."

"..."

Uesugi Gen looked at Ichinose, who was wearing a sweet smile, and felt a sudden surge of embarrassment and annoyance.

"...How annoying!"

Chapter 10: Student Council President — Horikita Manabu

Slurp, slurp!

"This ramen is truly excellent. The texture is unique, the noodles are firm, and the piping hot broth is rich and fragrant. Shibata, you really know your stuff; I never expected you to know about a ramen shop in such an out-of-the-way place."

Uesugi Gen took a sip of the soup and didn't hold back his praise for the shop.

"Right? Right? A senior from the club I just joined recommended it to me. It really is fantastic."

"Shibata, you joined a club already? Usually, club recruitment doesn't start this quickly."

Kanzaki asked with some curiosity.

"Well, I really love soccer. As soon as I arrived at school, I couldn't wait to find out where the soccer club was. I just couldn't hold back, and the seniors there were really nice, so they let me join early."

Shibata said with great pride.

[The club orientation will be held in Gymnasium 1 starting at 5:00 PM today. Students interested in clubs, please gather at Gymnasium 1. Repeating, today...]

The broadcast near the street sounded, featuring the voice of a very cute girl.

Shibata turned his head toward the speaker outside the door and said happily, "It's starting right away. Uesugi, Kanzaki, are you two planning on joining any clubs?"

Kanzaki: "I haven't decided yet. Let's go take a look first. If I come across something interesting, I'll try joining. What about you, Uesugi?"

Uesugi: "Me? I've actually already joined a club. You'll find out which one it is when the time comes, though I'm not exactly thrilled about it."

"I see. Then I guess only Shibata will be accompanying me to Gymnasium 1, since you aren't the type to enjoy crowds, Uesugi."

After spending the last two days together, Kanzaki Ryuji had gradually learned that Uesugi Gen was a lazy person, so he didn't invite him to the gymnasium.

Uesugi Gen picked up his bowl, finished the soup in one go, and then said, "No, I'm planning on going with you guys. I'm a bit interested in the current student council president."

"The student council president? I heard from a senior that he's an incredibly outstanding person. He's known as the most excellent student since Kodo Ikusei High School was founded... Could it be that the club you joined is—"

"That's right, the Kodo Ikusei High School Student Council."

"Are there really this many people? I'm starting to regret this."

Uesugi Gen took a rough look at the students present. It covered most of the first-year class, probably over 100 people.

Should one say that this school has a strong club culture, or that the school factored club involvement into its selection criteria when picking students?

"Since we're already here, there's no point in regretting it now. Let's just listen and then leave."

Kanzaki Ryuji felt a bit helpless about the noisy scene as well.

"The school's clubs seem to be of a very high standard. Many of them appear to be regulars at national tournaments, and there are even many national-level clubs or athletes."

Shibata said while reading the brochure he picked up upon entering the gymnasium.

It seemed the answer was already clear. Even if the school had deep pockets and excellent training, it would be useless if the athletes themselves lacked the physical aptitude. It was likely that these promising talents were already being scouted during the initial selection process. Perhaps Shibata was brought in the same way.

"But no matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed. The school is too extravagant in this regard. They even have luxury equipment like hyperbaric oxygen chambers," Shibata Hayate said, sighing as he looked at the brochure.

"Here it comes, it's starting."

While they were talking, the podium had been filled with various club members, and the representatives of each club stood in a row at the front of the stage.

"Everyone in the first year, sorry to keep you waiting. Next, the club representatives will begin the recruitment orientation. I am Tachibana, the secretary of the student council, and I will be the moderator for this orientation. Pleased to meet you!"

"That senior is also in the student council? I really couldn't tell."

Shibata looked at the cute senior with her hair in a bun speaking on the stage, his tone filled with disbelief.

"Shibata, you can't judge a book by its cover. Since this senior was able to join the student council, she must be a very outstanding person."

Kanzaki reminded him kindly from the side, his eyes glancing at Uesugi Gen without leaving a trace.

Compared to the person on stage, wasn't the guy right in front of him even more unreliable?

The club orientation in Gymnasium 1 was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Generally, they were just introducing what the club did, what honors they had achieved, and their prospects for the future.

Finally, just as Uesugi Gen was about to lose his patience, his target finally appeared.

Only one person remained on the stage. He was over 170 centimeters tall, had neat, clean black hair, and stood perfectly straight. Even though he wore glasses, they couldn't hide his sharp gaze.

He walked slowly to the microphone and looked out at the first-year students below with a calm demeanor.

Facing the gazes of the 100-plus noisy people below, he simply stood there, watching quietly, without saying a word.

The originally noisy crowd below became even noisier in the face of this scene.

"Do your best!"

"Aren't there any big-character posters!"

"Hahahaha!"

Voices like these kept ringing out from various places in the audience.

It was as if these sounds didn't reach him; the person standing on the stage just remained there, motionless, simply watching them.

Gradually, the atmosphere in the gymnasium began to turn eerie.

The once-boisterous gymnasium felt as if a giant hand had gripped its throat, the noise growing softer, sparse, until it vanished entirely.

A tense and silent atmosphere permeated the gymnasium.

Everyone was waiting for the person on the stage to speak, and no one dared to utter another word.

After a full half-minute of silence.

This student council president finally began his speech.

"I am Horikita Manabu, serving as the student council president."

"With the graduation of the upperclassmen, the student council will once again be recruiting candidates from the first-year students. There are no special requirements for candidates. If anyone is considering becoming a candidate for the student council, please refrain from joining other clubs. In principle, those who participate in both the student council and other clubs will not be accepted."

"..."

With a short, concise, and crisp statement, he finished his fluent speech and walked straight off the stage, exiting the gymnasium.

Even though his tone was mild, the atmosphere in the venue made the hair on the first-year students' arms stand on end.

Quite an impressive ability to control the crowd, but...

"What a serious and earnest person. I get the feeling that this senior and I might not get along very well."

Uesugi Gen scratched his head.

Just from his words and actions a moment ago, Uesugi Gen had already conjured an image of his persistent and rigid working style in his mind.