Classroom of the Elite, A Hypocritical Gray Life

"Tachibana, there is no need to say anything if it isn't necessary."

"Yes..." Tachibana's words were forcibly cut off by Horikita President. Though her expression was one of secret sorrow, her eyes could not hide the astonishment in her heart.

"You think far too highly of me. I only just entered this school recently and have only just begun to understand its rules. I am already overwhelmed by the mundane matters of daily life, and I have no time. Furthermore, I have never participated in such record-keeping before, so I am not qualified for the work."

"This child refused as well! Why are people these days..."

"Is that so? That is truly a pity. Ichinose from Class C shares similar thoughts; do you have no further ideas on this matter?" Compared to Tachibana's disbelief, Horikita President seemed indifferent.

"No matter how I think about it, this sort of thing doesn't suit me. Ichinose would be much better suited for that position."

"Do you not mind?"

"What do you mean? Why would I mind something like this? Isn't it a cause for celebration for the whole class that Ichinose is joining the Student Council?"

"Is that your opinion? How interesting."

"I don't see what there is to find amusing..."

Having received his answer, Horikita President turned and left with Tachibana without looking back.

Watching their retreating figures, the fiery color of the sunset scorched my pupils, revealing their inherent charred blackness. I recalled my greedy fantasies of hell before the conversation began.

How ridiculous, my previous thoughts.

The so-called peaceful and non-tedious school life. Even now, I am laughing from the bottom of my heart at the very existence of that phrase.

Tired of a life of collecting, analyzing, designing, and evaluating?

Hahaha--

When, after all, have I ever stopped such behavior? At this point, isn't such behavior still continuing?

From the very beginning, the greed of hell could never exist within me, because I know that I will never stop thinking.

As for pursuing desires, ever since that day, I have been left with nothing but objectives.

So, I know that I have no flaws; all that remains is the fear the world holds for me.

Chapter 42: A Disaster One Step Too Late

"I just ran into the Student Council President downstairs. Has the deliberation already ended?"

Although I wanted to let go of my shoulder bag with a sense of relief, the fragile nature of its contents wouldn't allow it. I had to swallow my complaints and carefully set down the heavy burden.

"Mm, did you finish so quickly, Raku? I was thinking of going over to help."

"Although there were many, fortunately, they were all on the same floor. The disassembly process was simpler than the installation, so it didn't take much time... So, what was the result of the deliberation?"

"Although there were some twists and turns, it could be considered a perfect conclusion. Class C voluntarily dropped the complaint."

"Dropped the complaint? But didn't you say the plan failed? Since it failed, shouldn't there have been a result from the debate regardless?"

"I know this might be hard to believe, but that is the current situation."

"...Since Ichinose says so, then that must be the case. However, you all don't look like you've won a battle. Did you end up paying some kind of price after all?"

I carefully observed everyone's expressions.

Everyone, including that cold Mr. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, wore a heavy look on their faces.

"No, the compensation after the deliberation was withdrawn was also fully handled by Class C. We didn't suffer any losses... That's not quite right, we did seem to have some losses..."

Vague and elusive—what kind of riddle-maker is this?

Just as I was struggling with Ichinose's inexplicable statement, Ayanokoji suddenly asked me a question.

"Did Ichinose call Raku over to help?"

"Yeah. I was almost at the dormitory, only about fifty meters away, when Ichinose suddenly called me and said something about the plan having problems."

"Haha, sorry, I was indeed a bit anxious at that time."

"I didn't mind." I shook my head. "But what's excessive is that I was called over just to recover the equipment. If I had known it was such troublesome manual labor, I wouldn't have come."

I looked at Kanzaki with some resentment, but he turned his head away, pretending not to care. In the end, it was Ichinose who stepped forward to apologize.

"I've already packed the monitors and circuit boards into this bag."

After the small interlude, I handed over the items that Class D had borrowed our points to purchase. At Horikita's signal, Ayanokoji reached out to take it, but he froze the moment he grabbed the strap. He then let go and placed the bag back into my hands. I was startled and stumbled, while Ayanokoji muttered something casually and ran off quickly.

"Wait, what happened?" Faced with Ayanokoji's lightning-fast departure, Ichinose asked, but received no response, so she also chased after him with all her might.

"...I remember Ichinose saying that her athletic ability wasn't very good."

"Yeah, is there a problem?"

"Doesn't that speed look very fast no matter how you look at it?"

"You wouldn't happen to be envious of that level of speed, would you?"

"No, no, I'm not. I'm just evaluating the facts." I put on a serious look to hide my surprise, then immediately changed the subject. "That Horikita-san, may I ask if you have arranged other things for Ayanokoji to do?"

"...He just forgot to take his medicine."

Even as a brush-off, that excuse was far too fake.

"I understand. Then, can I leave these things with you?" I tentatively held out my hand to the strong-willed girl, and she took it without a moment's hesitation.

"We will slowly pay back the points we owe Class B. If you are worried, I can sign a written agreement with you."

"There is no need for such trouble. As long as the points are returned before graduation, that is fine." Kanzaki waved his hand, making the decision on his own without consulting Ichinose. However, even if Ichinose were here, she would likely have said the same thing.

"Do you really trust Class D that much?"

"At the very least, we don't believe you would go back on your word. Besides, aren't we in a cooperative relationship?"

"A cooperative relationship..." Horikita gripped the term, pondering it for a moment before shaking her head indifferently. "Regardless, thank you for your help. Also, regarding that recording, I hope you won't go around talking about it."

"I will discuss this with Ichinose."

"I understand. The matter is resolved, and I have other things to attend to, so I will take my leave."

"Mm." Kanzaki nodded to bid her farewell. I wanted to make a gesture as well, but my presence was instinctively ignored by her.

I really am quite insignificant, aren't I?

"What was the real reason Class C dropped the complaint, and what did you mean by that recording earlier?" I extracted the points of doubt I had regarding the conversation and quickly questioned Kanzaki after Horikita left.

I met his gaze, which he was pretending to be profound.

What a disgusting look that was.

"I can answer your questions, but first, open your mobile account."

"Mobile account? You mean the 'Student Profile', right? What does my account have to do with this incident?" Hearing his request, I couldn't help but frown.

"What if I said I just wanted to compare our data?"

"Are you a devil?! You've already started looking for a sense of superiority over me."

"I'm joking... though I think it's impossible, I still wanted to confirm it."

"...You need my student account, is that it?"

I could tell Kanzaki wasn't joking this time, so I took out my phone, logged into my account, and handed it to him. After taking the phone, Kanzaki quickly performed a series of operations. After confirming something, he wore an 'as I thought' expression.

"Is it my imagination, or do I feel like you're deeply offending me in your heart right now?"

"It's your imagination. I just verified a conjecture I had."

"What conjecture?"

"You'll understand once I finish explaining the whole thing. But you barely use your points at all. With your account points locked at thirty thousand every month, is there nothing you want?"

"Being able to afford food and shelter is enough for me. As for entertainment, Okamoto has those things, so I have no need to buy them."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

"Wait, you haven't told me what happened yet. You aren't planning on keeping me in suspense like this, are you?"

"Is there something wrong with my head, keeping you in suspense? It's clearly too hot here to be a good place to talk. Let's go to the school cafeteria; we can talk while we walk."

With that, Kanzaki handed my phone back. I put it away with peace of mind and followed his pace.

1 (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"Did something happen, Ayanokoji-kun?"

Although she was two or three seconds behind, I hadn't expected Ichinose to be able to keep up with my pace.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry. It might already be too late."

"Do you need my help?"

"Maybe, if you can keep up."

"No problem. I'm confident in my speed and stamina."

I didn't offer any further explanation. In fact, I had already wasted too much time due to the unexpected turn of events with the deliberation plan. At the same time, I took out my phone and used the browser's location service to check Sakura's current position.

The coordinate point had indeed stopped moving.

After confirming the location, I rushed out of the Special Building without hesitation.

At the entrance after school today, Sakura seemed to have something important to tell me, and she said she was going to do something very important next.

However, I didn't see the expression of someone who had truly made up their mind deep within her.

The choice she is making right now might be a very terrible option.

I quickly rounded the final corner of the path, and after seeing the scene clearly, I slammed on the brakes.

"Ayanokoji-kun?" Ichinose, following closely behind me, asked in confusion after seeing me stop.

I adjusted my ragged breathing and calmly looked at the vehicles surrounding the area.

"It seems I'm already too late... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say there was no need."

"What are you talking about?"

Is this a coincidence, or is it also part of that person's design?

If it was designed by that person, I suspect there is a high probability that the target is among the students of Class D.

"Po-police cars?!"

I led Ichinose around the police cars, slowly making my way toward the depths of the electronics store's loading dock.

Sakura was sitting on the ground crying, with a security guard crouching nearby to comfort her. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was being held firmly against a concrete wall by two other guards.

"I didn't do anything inappropriate to her, I was really just teaching her photography techniques. Let, let me go!"

"What on earth is going on..."

Chapter 43 No Matter What, I'm Already Used to It

The doorbell emitted a sporadic, rattling sound.

This wasn't the first time I had heard this noise, yet I still hadn't managed to adapt to or grow familiar with its presence.

As if, I just didn't feel like dealing with that sound right now.

After taking a shower, the comfort of being enveloped by a soft sofa is something no one could resist, right?

I checked the time reflected on the wall clock.

It had begun.

The private gathering for Shiratori and the others had already started, but since I had politely declined Okabe's invitation to the gaming party, it definitely wasn't them at the door. As for Kanzaki, that guy would never show up uninvited...

As expected, it could only be Ichinose.

Is this what it feels like to have a landlord show up at your door to demand rent? It's unexpectedly irritating.

After a fierce internal struggle, I dragged my lazy body to the front door. With a casual twist of the handle, Ichinose's familiar figure appeared before my eyes.

"I've already eaten dinner, with Kanzaki."