Classroom of the Elite, A Hypocritical Gray Life

"Well then, let's head over together. It's free time now, and I really want to play in the water."

Ah, I failed.

Watching Ichinose's retreating back as she ran off, I narrowed my eyes.

Although I don't have to worry about her spilling the beans, women really are terrifying creatures.

Chapter 11: Angel and Satan

Forty.

For a classroom with dimensions of 10x6x3.5, forty students makes the space feel overly generous. Of course, this isn't the angle from which I'm particularly concerned; what piques my interest is the uniformity of the headcount across the four classes.

Odd and even numbers are a marvelous point of equilibrium.

In a state of balanced ability, ignoring differences in coordination, even numbers always seem more reasonable and cohesive than odd numbers from a psychological standpoint—sometimes even far exceeding them.

Therefore, given our strength and good background, it is best not to let a single person fall behind, because we don't know if they will possess a useful ability later on.

Well, at least we would need to find a substitute with similar capabilities...

"I'll leave the rest of the work to you, Raku."

Okabe slapped my heavy shoulder firmly, then walked off with Shiratori and Takashima, their arms draped over each other's shoulders.

I've been used as a tool.

Cleaning duty. The hygiene of the classroom doesn't need to be worried about every single day, so our hygiene committee member decided to assign four students to clean the entire classroom after school every Friday. Although I don't know if it can be called a "deep clean," let's just call it that for now.

I don't know by what logic the hygiene committee member makes the arrangements, but I suspect it has a high probability of being based on mood. I harbor a little dissatisfaction with this rule; perhaps if things were done differently, I wouldn't have been assigned with Okabe.

Additionally, there are two more points that make me dissatisfied. As high school students, what kind of matters could possibly concern one's life? Obviously, they are lying to me. Even so, I think at the very least, I should have been able to find someone to swap with.

I glanced at the two girls in the class. The final point is a secular convention created by some unknown male: girls only need to do light work like cleaning the blackboard and sweeping, while boys have to do the dirty work, including fetching water, mopping the floor, and taking out the trash. Thinking about it now, it seems there is no place for fairness in this society.

I picked up the bucket and headed toward the restroom. When I returned, I found the classroom completely empty.

It was already finished... just five minutes of back-and-forth, and they had already wrapped it up. That's why I say the girls' work is just too simple. Besides, don't you have any sense of sympathy? Wouldn't an average person offer to help when they see a student working all by themselves?!

I let out a foul sigh into the fresh air emitted by the plants.

I had no choice but to grab the mop without complaint and scrub the floor.

Gradually, the fiery red sunset painted golden rays in the distance. I finished all the work at this time.

...As if.

"So, the dirty work of taking out the trash is also counted as part of the boys' job description, huh."

I stared at the tightly sealed black trash bag left at the doorway, wearing an expression of a soul already dead.

With my exhausted spirit, I sat down at a desk near the door while observing the campus scenery at this hour. The sunlight outside the window gradually tilted, and the color became increasingly fiery red. The sunset shone on the desk in front of me, and the textbooks placed on the surface began to fade in color.

Peace.

The sound of birds returning to their nests, the lack of breathing sounds from anyone treading on the floor.

In short, it is very quiet here. Excluding the sense of alienation brought by the transparent glass, the greenery outside the window is simply a creation of nature, and the position I occupy is the center of this world.

It's a pity that this is ultimately a human domain; as long as the black plastic bag in front of me doesn't disappear from my sight, that feeling won't exist.

At the end of the day, I am still standing on the outside of the world, looking in.

I cut off my lingering thoughts, picked up the trash bag, and turned to leave.

The entire school had already become a ghost town; my movements were indeed far too slow.

Tsk, but then again, this is the daily life I wanted, isn't it?

I was still reflecting on the wonders of life when I suddenly spotted a figure by the iron fence near the river.

That is... Kushida, isn't it?

On the first day of school, Kushida, who has super social skills, saw me buying daily necessities with Ichinose and took the liberty of greeting me. Although we exchanged contact information and she is the second female presence saved in my phone, that account has just remained silent in my hands.

Kushida also seems to have forgotten my existence, as she never took the initiative to greet me. I didn't know what topic to use as capital for a conversation, so, well, that's just how it is.

In any case, it is definitely not because I lack the courage.

She stood there without saying a word. To avoid the fact that I had discovered her early, I chose to tread softly, pretending I hadn't seen her, and walked silently past her back. Then, I stopped behind a tree in the greenery behind her.

Should I say hello? But the aura she is exuding seems a bit subtle. Perhaps she is lost on the path of life; if that's the case, I should give her some spiritual comfort!

So, what should I say?

'Yo, Kushida.' Or 'What are you doing here?' Or 'Good evening.'? It should count as evening at this time, right?

"Ah—so annoying!"

A low, beast-like roar suddenly echoed in my ears, filled with anger and disgust. Under the sudden sonic attack, I subconsciously hid my body.

"Ah—it really pisses me off, that woman is so annoying!"

The current scene is just like the description I read a while ago about a Western witch chanting a spell, cursing someone to be lonely for life or something. If the river right now could turn into a murky green in the next moment, it would feel even more fitting.

"Why is that woman in this school? A person like that puts on airs just because she knows how to study; why is a bitch like that allowed to come to this school!"

"Ah—it's so annoying! Why doesn't that girl just die!"

"Thud, thud, thud--!"

Kushida continuously unleashed her inner dissatisfaction onto the outside world, the iron railing groaning under the heavy abuse while echoing through the hollow, cylindrical space.

How terrifying!

Setting aside what kind of "wrongdoing" the "woman" Kushida mentioned had actually committed, it was hard to imagine that the gentle girl who had spoken to me just a short while ago could have such a side to her.

My intuition told me that if she discovered me, the aftermath would be disastrous.

However, there were very few obstacles I could utilize right now, so I could only hope she wouldn't walk straight through the greenery on her way out. As long as she didn't do that, I would definitely not be discovered. I wouldn't make a rookie mistake like stepping on a branch and making a sound.

"Ah-- die, die, die, die!"

"Just-- go-- and-- die--!"

"Thud--"

The iron railing let out one final, heavy groan. Kushida slowly exhaled, picked up her crossbody bag, and tidied herself up.

"Mm, that feels much better." A heavenly voice, completely different from before, appeared abruptly by my ears. For a moment, I couldn't tell if the Kushida in front of me was an angel or a devil.

"Alright, time to head back." Kushida hummed a tune in her sweet voice, leaving behind nothing but her wine-red silhouette as she walked away without looking back.

I shifted my position, and after confirming her figure had vanished, I stayed there for a while longer. What kind of past could she have had to display the scene I just witnessed?

Or rather, ...

What exactly is she enduring for?

I suppose women really are terrifying creatures.

Chapter 12: On High School Romantic Fantasies

Have you ever experienced the heart-pounding thrill of escaping a teacher's random roll call in school? Have you ever experienced the pleasure of conquering the restroom without needing to show respect to the teachers? Have you ever experienced the pride of chatting with surrounding students without restraint?

As an ordinary student, I have not.

Yet, I could act toward such psychological sensations at any time.

It isn't that we students are particularly rampant, but rather that the teachers' behavior during class gave me a feasible psychological hint. Based on the current situation, I feel that the movies I've watched before are jokes, yet they are also satires.

Open-style teaching, self-disciplined classrooms.

It's not that the teachers don't care, but rather that there is no need to. Once I clarified this point, I didn't dare to perform any unseemly actions under the gaze of the security cameras.

Although teachers on the podium can oversee the entire situation, their gazes are mostly fixed on the central block for the majority of the time. Therefore, I am very grateful for this gloomy corner of mine, as well as the image brought about by being an energy-saver. From the start of school until now, I haven't been approached or tasked with passing notes.

Of course, I should also thank the people in front of me and next to me.

Ichinose and Kanzaki.

Such an arrangement made me feel for a moment that I had been blessed by God.

That thing I had longed for for so long. In fact, even if a damn god existed, I wouldn't receive any favor; my entire being would only be left with sin. Perhaps only the devil people often speak of would side with me.

But would the devil approve?

The things I have done cannot be called good deeds, and I am well aware that I am not a good person. If saving someone's life can be counted as a good deed, but the result for the other person is a bad deed, then what exactly am I?

"Thud, thud, thud-thud--"

The school bell rang out like Big Ben. I let go of the ballpoint pen in my hand, yawned, and stretched. I adhere to the best study plan promoted by the school: full concentration during class and a balance of work and rest after class. Therefore, rest is very important.

Mm, and sleep is the only way to maintain the stamina of one's spirit.

The classroom was filled with all sorts of noises—talk about new video games, spending eighty thousand on a game console, a cafe launching a new product, and so on. I played the role of a listener well, silently keeping up with real-time news. As for participating, I didn't want to consider the energy consumption of walking over to the group, so I decided against it.

"I heard there's already a couple in our class."

"Is that so? That's fast."

"Your voice is really cold. Don't you even want to manage your tone?"

"I am managing it properly. Can't you tell?"

"No, it's as lazy as you are, like a pig."

"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

"I'm just speaking the truth."

While bickering with Kanzaki, I subconsciously observed the situation around me.

"Who is that couple you're talking about?"

"I don't know, it just seems to have been mentioned in the boys' group chat."

"...Seems? So in the end, you don't even know yourself."

"Although I basically never use it, I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse yesterday... didn't you see it?"

"If you're going to look, look properly. What do you mean by 'catch a glimpse'..."

"You don't have the right to speak. If you don't even know about this, it means you didn't even catch a glimpse."

"Uh, cough cough, I usually use the class group chat..."

"That's a truly clumsy attempt at changing the subject."

"I just don't watch them often... Do you have any intention of dating in high school?"

"Me?" Kanzaki shook his head rationally. "I haven't considered it. Love doesn't feel real to us yet; romance during the high school period is essentially just an emotional crutch sought under pressure, not true love. At best, it's just a crush."

"You've really got it figured out."

"Just look at the state of the boys in our class. Don't you think they look like monkeys in heat at a zoo? Even though I'm part of that group, I have to admit it."

"..."

That's way too objective. What a sharp critique.

"What about you—oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's impossible for you anyway. If we're monkeys in heat, you've probably already been neutered."

"Hey, hey, please stop with the bizarre metaphors! At least give me a little credit in that department."

"No, there's no way that's happening. Given your way of thinking, you'd definitely say something like, 'Dating is too much trouble, forget it.'"

"Even so, I still have some fantasies about women in my heart."

"That's nothing to brag about. Any normal guy has those thoughts. At most, I can only congratulate you on still being within the realm of humanity rather than a salted fish."

"..."

"Admit it, this is your limit."

"No, this isn't my limit yet." I managed to say a word of rebuttal for once, though it didn't carry much conviction.

"Then what? Are you planning on getting a girlfriend?"

"..."

Could you at least give me a little face...