Classroom of the Elite: The Strength of Kageya Shinjitsu

The explosive normie Hirata Yosuke spoke with fluid ease.

He had probably lost count of how many times he had delivered an introduction like this.

With courage, seemingly decent physical fitness, strong articulation, and likely good grades to boot—not to mention a bright, handsome face—he could probably find a girlfriend in no time if he wanted to.

Maybe even a harem?

Kageya Shinjitsu thought to himself.

Especially now, one could see the girls beside Hirata with hearts practically forming in their eyes.

"If it's alright with everyone, I'd like us to start from the beginning and introduce ourselves one by one... is that okay?"

Hirata asked, showing great respect for everyone's opinions.

Driven by Hirata's lead, Kageya Shinjitsu's classmates began to introduce themselves one by one.

Since he was sitting near the front, he was among the members who had to introduce themselves early on.

When he stood up, many people were already looking at him with strange expressions.

This was likely due to the earlier incident involving Yamauchi Haruki and Kushida Kikyo.

"Uh~~"

"My name is Kageya Shinjitsu. I don't have anything I particularly like, nor anything I particularly dislike. I hope we can all get along well."

He swept his gaze across the room, delivering a plain and unremarkable introduction; without a doubt, it was a very perfunctory performance.

Likewise, the classmates gave a perfunctory round of applause.

It was as if this were a hymn for a warrior who had braved the self-introduction.

After all, among the students, there were many who were too nervous to speak; not everyone was a social butterfly.

"My name is Yamauchi Haruki. I made it to the national tournament for table tennis in elementary school, and in middle school, I was the ace pitcher for the baseball club, wearing jersey number four. But I got injured during the high school league, so I'm currently in rehab. Please take care of me."

Kageya Shinjitsu paid close attention to each classmate's introduction, trying to understand this group of people who might be hiding their true selves behind a facade of foolishness.

Even Yamauchi Haruki had reintroduced himself, and he hadn't changed a single word from before.

Although I can't remember the name of the student named Yamashita.

He still remembered exactly what the other person had said just a moment ago.

Kageya Shinjitsu was speechless.

The high school league is for high school sports meets, right... middle schoolers shouldn't be able to participate in that.

Is he just a guy who tells jokes on purpose?

It seems I actually found it funny.

Kageya Shinjitsu thought, realizing it a beat too late.

[New author, new book, 5th update. If you feel it's decent, please support it. Feel free to comment. "Seeking subscriptions," "Seeking flowers," "Seeking tips," "Seeking collections," "Seeking monthly tickets."]

Chapter 6: Mom said, the prettier a girl is, the more she will lie

Standing at his spot.

Yamauchi Haruki was getting carried away, his tongue running loose.

Anyone with eyes could see his frivolous nature; everything he said sounded like nonsense, lacking any sense of stability.

While speaking, he glanced toward Kageya Shinjitsu. Seeing Kageya Shinjitsu unable to meet his gaze, Yamauchi Haruki felt very satisfied and familiarly greeted Kushida Kikyo.

This made Kushida Kikyo smile slightly, causing Yamauchi Haruki's entire heart to tremble as the fire of his virginity burned fiercely.

If Kageya Shinjitsu could feel the other person's situation, he would probably make a snide remark.

Thinking a girl likes you just because she smiles is a life delusion that shouldn't be taken seriously.

That, too, is a lesson learned from life.

Hirata maintained order, ensuring every student had time to introduce themselves, one by one.

"Then, I'm next!"

"My name is Kushida Kikyo. Since none of my middle school friends came to this school with me, I'm all alone. Therefore, I hope to quickly memorize everyone's faces and names and become friends."

Most students' introductions were short sentences, ending with a simple greeting.

But Kushida Kikyo was truly a social butterfly, rivaling the earlier Hirata.

Are all students with the character 'da' in their surname this impressive?

"My first goal is to get on good terms with everyone here. After everyone's self-introductions are finished, please be sure to exchange contact information with me."

"Also, I want to have fun with everyone after school or on holidays and make lots of memories, so please don't hesitate to ask me out. It's a bit long, but that concludes my self-introduction."

"Eh~~ Kushida-san, you don't know Kageya-kun? You two looked very close from the moment you arrived."

"We met on the bus coming here. Kageya-kun is a good person; he even gave up his seat to an elderly person."

"He is the first friend I made at this school."

After Kushida Kikyo finished, she drew questions from the surrounding classmates.

Kushida Kikyo also gave Kageya Shinjitsu a nice "nice guy" card.

She directly designated Kageya Shinjitsu as her number one friend, even though he couldn't even remember her name.

"Kushida-san, I'm a nice guy too~~"

"I'm your friend as well."

This drew a shout from Yamauchi Haruki.

"Yamauchi-san is just the best~~"

These words made the girls burst into laughter, though there was a hint of perfunctory teasing in the tone.

When she called out, her voice was completely devoid of ripples; she was treating Yamauchi Haruki entirely as a joke.

"Uh, actually, I know I'm pretty great. Hehe!"

But even with words like that, Yamauchi Haruki could take them completely seriously.

This made the surrounding students understand him even better.

Speechless, is he actually that stupid?

Kageya Shinjitsu rested his head on one hand, openly listening to their conversation. He didn't care at all about the "friend" greeting from that Kushida-san; his mother had told him that the prettier a girl is, the more she will lie.

And this Yamauchi-san, he seemed truly stupid, not just pretending.

He wasn't a pretty girl, so he couldn't deceive anyone.

Hirata continued to look for the next student.

"Then, the next one..."

The self-introductions of the students one by one made Class 1-D feel much more lively.

At the very least, everyone knew each other's names to some extent, making it easier to greet one another later on. Knowing names and preferences made communication much more convenient, and quite a few people were already whispering, planning to form their own little cliques.

And just as Hirata helped another student sit down and looked toward the next one, a small incident occurred.

That student glared at Hirata with a bit of "ingratitude" and even kicked his desk, startling the student sitting in front of him. He seemed extremely displeased with the current atmosphere in the classroom.

He was a student with bright red dyed hair, a volatile temper he made no effort to hide, and a complete disregard for his own manners—he fit the profile of a delinquent perfectly.

There were others in the class who were mavericks like him, but none were as irritable as he was.

This even surprised Kageya Shinjitsu a little.

Are there really people this blind?

In this kind of atmosphere, most people would just bottle it up even if they were dissatisfied with the situation.

This was a lesson learned from his middle school days.

I've learned something new.

Does he think he doesn't have to worry about being bullied just because he's physically strong?

Or is he putting on this act on purpose?

In middle school, none of the delinquents Kageya Shinjitsu had seen had this much courage. Even delinquents usually cared about reading the room to some extent; among the middle school delinquents he had encountered, he would call this one the strongest.

"Do you think we're little kids? There's no need for any self-introductions. Those who want to do it can just go ahead."

The red-haired boy glared at Hirata, looking ready to throw hands at any moment.

A delinquent, my favorite.

Fight, fight, beat up the normie.

The red-haired boy had successfully captured Kageya Shinjitsu's attention. He had thought there wouldn't be anyone like this in this school, which had made him worry he would be a complete misfit...

This is, truly great.

His gaze was fixed intently on the red-haired boy, as if he were a more wonderful existence than Kushida Kikyo.

This look was even more intense than the one he had given Yamauchi Haruki earlier.

It also made Kushida Kikyo, who had been keeping an eye on him, look at this scene in disbelief.

It was as if she had discovered something peculiar.

Could it be that he likes male students?

She shuddered slightly, her smile stiffening.

At that moment, she really wanted to go wash her hands.

"I can't force you, but I don't think getting along with the class is a bad thing. If I've caused you any unpleasant feelings, I apologize."

Just when Kageya Shinjitsu thought a conflict was about to break out, Hirata, the explosive normie, apologized honestly with a very friendly attitude.

This scene made quite a few girls who had taken a liking to Hirata glare at the red-haired boy.

Given the situation, one could easily imagine how popular this boy would be in the class from here on out.

Is this also within your calculations? Hirata, you explosive normie.

People who play at strategy really do have dirty hearts.

"As expected, the delinquent is about to have a bad time."

Kageya Shinjitsu looked toward Hirata Yosuke.

He wondered if the other party might pull a stunt like this on him someday, too.

To have the entire class isolate him?

How exciting.

[New author, new book, 6th update. If you feel it's decent, please show your support. Feel free to leave a comment. "Seeking subscriptions," "seeking flowers," "seeking tips," "seeking collections," "seeking monthly tickets."]

Chapter 7: A Wonderful Campus, Horikita Suzune (7th update)

The red-haired boy instantly became the target of the class's hostility.

And that red-haired boy confronted them with plenty of spirit.

If it weren't for the sheer number of people, one might really wonder if the red-haired boy would have charged right in to fight them.

"Shut up, I didn't come here to play some friendship game."

"If you want to make friends and play house, go do it yourselves."

In the end, the red-haired boy couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer; he stood up and shouted with a hot temper.

He left the classroom immediately, not giving Hirata any chance to say more.

Just like during the self-introductions earlier, where there is one, there will be a second.

Several students followed him, leaving the classroom one after another.

They were the classmates who had been swayed by the atmosphere and hadn't left right away.

In truth, they had long since grown tired of this vibe and had wanted to leave for a while.