Classroom of the Elite, It's Not About Meritocracy, It's About Me Ruling the World!

Before the words could leave her mouth, a girl trotted over and crouched between the two, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the Rubik's Cube spinning incessantly in Kijima Tsukur's hands.

She had shoulder-length purple hair and listless, pale violet eyes; beneath her white pleated skirt, she wore black pantyhose, her crouched posture outlining a perfect silhouette.

Kamuro Masumi glanced in the direction the girl had come from, where a nameplate on the desk read Morishita Ai.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm watching Kijima Tsukur play with a Rubik's Cube."

Morishita Ai explained listlessly, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere that had been on the verge of exploding just moments ago.

Did that even need an explanation?

Kamuro Masumi's eyelid twitched with irritation; was she being treated like a fool?

She clenched her fists, growing impatient:

"I'm asking if you know this guy."

"I don't. Today is the first time we've met."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to watch him play with the Rubik's Cube. Kamuro Masumi, I believe I already answered that question."

"Haa..."

Kamuro Masumi clenched her fists, her chest heaving with anger, a vein throbbing on her forehead.

Forget it, just forget it.

She reminded herself that it was only the first day of school, and it would be better not to cause any trouble; she hadn't expected to run into two such weirdos on day one.

How unlucky!

Taking a deep breath, Kamuro Masumi turned to the side, casting a glance at Morishita Ai and her neighbor Kijima Tsukur, curious to see what kind of game these two were playing.

Seeing that Kamuro Masumi had stopped arguing, the people around them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

If a violent incident were to break out between students on the very first day, it would be a disaster for their school life.

The crowd returned to their various conversations, though they still occasionally glanced at the two weirdos in the center of the classroom.

It wasn't just Kijima Tsukur; Morishita Ai had also been labeled a weirdo.

This weirdo simply rested her hands on her knees, crouching there and staring unblinkingly at the constantly rotating Rubik's Cube.

The posture was truly awkward, making others feel quite uncomfortable.

Three minutes later, Morishita Ai couldn't hold the position any longer. She looked at the spinning cube and spoke in a flat, monotone voice:

"Kijima Tsukur, can you lend me this Rubik's Cube to play with?"

"..."

Kijima Tsukur ignored her.

However, the hand turning the cube stopped; he flipped his right hand palm-down, holding the cube with his fingers.

Only when Morishita Ai held out her hands to receive it

did Kijima Tsukur slowly place the cube into her palms.

The two said nothing more. Morishita Ai stood there, turning the cube by herself, occasionally knitting her delicate brows; no matter how she turned it, she couldn't solve it.

"Heh..."

Kamuro Masumi, who seemed to be a loner herself, didn't interact with anyone either, but she let out a scoff while twirling her pen.

She knew better.

There were techniques to solving a Rubik's Cube.

As long as one was experienced and mastered certain methods, restoring the cube wasn't difficult.

The fact that Kijima Tsukur could turn it so smoothly clearly meant he was a standard cube player; it wouldn't be easy for a novice like Morishita Ai to solve it.

However, it was nothing special, just a trivial hobby at best.

Only a girl as ignorant as Morishita Ai would be attracted by such a boring trick from Kijima Tsukur.

To think.

Her neighbor was actually such a self-centered young master.

What a drag.

Kamuro Masumi let out a heavy sigh.

She had originally held some expectations for high school life, but now, she had absolutely no interest left at all.

Just then, the bell for class rang.

Morishita Ai placed the scrambled Rubik's cube on Kijima Tsukur's desk and returned to her seat on her own, leaving behind only a listless murmur.

"I didn't expect it to be quite this hard."

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Chapter 3: The weirder they are, the stronger they are!

Clack, clack, clack.

Accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

A burly middle-aged male teacher dressed in a suit walked into the classroom and stood before the podium.

The entire classroom fell silent, and everyone sat up straight.

Having just started school, everyone hoped to leave a good impression on the teacher and was naturally prepared to listen attentively.

It was evident.

This was a group of model honor students.

Regardless of their actual grades, they were at least excellent at keeping up appearances.

Only Kijima Tsukur seemed completely out of place!

He sat with his legs crossed, hands resting on his knees, his sharp gaze locked with the teacher's on the podium.

Kamuro Masumi, sitting beside him, couldn't help but glance over, silently complaining in her heart.

This guy is really something else. To be this arrogant even when looking at a teacher—he must be used to acting this way at home. Uh, I guess not playing with the Rubik's cube counts as showing the teacher some respect? I really hope the teacher gives him a lesson, or at least scolds him a bit.

However, the teacher on the podium acted as if he hadn't seen anything. He turned around, picked up a piece of chalk, wrote his name and phone number on the blackboard, then turned back to look at everyone and said in a deep voice:

"New students, nice to meet you. I am your homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya. I will be teaching you English, and I am also the grade head for the first year."

"This school implements a non-streaming system, so I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. Use the mobile phones that will be distributed in a moment to save my contact information. We will discuss other matters after you have completed this step."

Mashima distributed a stack of mobile phones to the students in the front row, who then passed them back one by one. The middle column quickly reached Kijima Tsukur, who was fourth in line.

He picked up a phone and quickly inspected it. This was indeed a closed-off school.

Although the various pre-installed apps were the same as those in the outside world, they all bore the label "specialized." Even if one could connect to the internet, it was likely that certain restrictions were in place, such as being able to browse but not comment.

As he was checking the phone, the person behind him grew somewhat impatient.

A petite girl with short, shoulder-length white hair sat behind him, a faint smile always playing on her lips. A cane rested beside her desk, clearly indicating that her health was not very good.

The nameplate on her desk read Sakayanagi Arisu.

She watched Kijima Tsukur's back with a playful expression. She wasn't angry; on the contrary, she felt a sense of amusement.

One can tell what kind of person someone is from the details.

Perhaps she was the only one who noticed.

From the moment he entered the classroom, Kijima Tsukur had never looked anyone directly in the eye.

It was easy to see his arrogant personality, as well as his incomparable confidence in his own strength.

When that girl, Morishita Ai, borrowed the Rubik's cube, Kijima Tsukur didn't hand it to her directly; instead, he chose to keep his palm facing downward, as if he were bestowing a gift.

It was clear that this person wasn't stingy—in fact, he was quite generous.

But he possessed a "me against the world" mentality.

No one could take anything from his hand; there was only the option of him bestowing it upon them.

Thinking of this, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled even more delightedly.

It was just as her father had said: this was an interesting school.

She loved toying with these self-righteous "strong" people!

As murmurs gradually began to rise from the back, Sakayanagi Arisu raised her slender arm.

"Your name is Sakayanagi Arisu, right? Is there something you need?"

"Does the teacher know me?"

"You submitted your personal resumes before enrollment. Remembering the names and appearances of my students is a teacher's basic duty. I remember your situation. If you need anything, you can contact me at any time. Do you have a question, since you raised your hand?"

"Thank you, teacher. You are truly a respectable educator."

Sakayanagi Arisu bowed slightly and smiled. "The students in the back rows haven't received their phones yet."

The people behind were all looking on eagerly, and eventually, the entire class's attention focused on the four phones sitting on Kijima Tsukur's desk.

"Kijima-kun..."

Before Mashima could respond, as if merely to show the teacher a modicum of respect, the girl gazed intently at the back in front of her and said:

"Could you please help us by passing the phones back?"

"Get it yourself."

"Fair enough~"

The girl's reply was incredibly concise.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips; this response was entirely within her expectations as she picked up the cane beside her, rose from her seat, and walked over to Kijima Tsukur.

It was evident that she had difficulty moving about!

The cane supported her petite frame, and the sound of it tapping against the floor seemed to strike at the heart of everyone present.

Her candid response.

Undoubtedly turned Kijima Tsukur into a jerk who was arrogant, disregarded the group, and lacked any compassion.

As for her, she gave off the impression, That even with her physical disability and impaired mobility, she possessed a strong, independent, and self-reliant spirit.

For a moment.

The gazes the crowd directed at Kijima Tsukur were tinged with faint disgust.

He wouldn't even hand over a phone, forcing Sakayanagi to get it herself; no one had expected there to be such a heartless person in the class.

In fact, Some were already wanting to offer Sakayanagi help, only held back from acting because class was currently in session.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Kijima Tsukur, who was focused on his phone, picked up a phone from the desk, and slowly walked back to her seat to sit down.

She couldn't help but feel a bit bored inside.

This had actually been a test of sorts, but unfortunately, Kijima Tsukur showed no reaction; it seemed he hadn't noticed her intentions at all, and was simply being self-centered?