Classroom of the Elite, I Also Want to Be a Good Person

After sharing the exquisite cake, as it was getting late, Aoyama and Ichinose walked back to the dormitory together.

A cool sea breeze brushed through the tree-lined path, and Ichinose began to laugh happily again.

"Honestly, I'm even happier than you are, truly." Thinking of something pleasant, Aoyama couldn't help but laugh as well.

Although the ten-pull after the double gold was only a double purple, the rewards given were still quite decent.

[Professor Agasa's Multifunctional Glasses: Tracking, wiretapping, telescope, night-vision thermal imaging—just ask yourself if it's awesome or not.]

[Professional Level Drawing Skill: I was clearly just working a part-time job as an assistant to a manga artist, so how did I learn to draw?]

"I'm the one who should be happier."

"I don't care what you think, I care what I think." As he said this, Aoyama took a small gift box out of his pocket. "I forgot to give you this gift just now; if you don't like it, just throw it away."

Because he was so happy about the double gold pull, he had momentarily forgotten that he had prepared a gift.

The gift was a delicate silver bracelet. It wasn't overly expensive, nor was it cheap; it was a recommendation from the shop assistant at the accessory store.

"Thank you, Aoyama-kun, but now that I've received a gift, I'm the one who's happier, right?" Opening the small box and discovering it wasn't the extravagant item she had feared, Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.

If it had been too expensive, she wouldn't have accepted it no matter what, because it wouldn't have been appropriate.

"Yes, yes, yes. Today, Ichinose, you're the birthday girl, so whatever you say is right."

Seeing that Ichinose didn't decline and accepted the gift, Aoyama replied with a light chuckle.

After returning to the dormitory building, the two of them, both feeling incredibly happy, said their reluctant goodbyes.

The preparation time left for students for the final exams was far greater than for the Midterm Exam.

Therefore, the first-year students achieved the same result as the Midterm Exam: no one dropped out.

And for the students, after the final exams came the highly anticipated summer vacation.

"Be happy. To reward your hard work this semester, the school has prepared a fourteen-day luxury trip."

The day before the break, during the Class A homeroom, Mashima-sensei calmly announced the good news.

"Luxury? How luxurious are we talking, Mashima-sensei?" Totsuka Yahiko sat at his desk and shouted loudly.

"If it were a private trip, it would probably cost several hundred thousand."

Without showing any change in expression, Mashima answered Totsuka calmly, and then he slowly began to detail the itinerary of the trip.

Tomorrow morning at five o'clock, they were to gather at the school gate and take a bus arranged by the school to Tokyo Bay.

There, a luxury cruise ship would be waiting for them.

After half a day of high-speed sailing, the cruise ship would head to a resort island in the south, where they would stay for seven days.

Then, they would board the ship again, and after a leisurely seven-day voyage, they would return to the school to end the trip.

What made everyone happy was that all the activities and gourmet food on the luxury cruise were completely free.

"This is way too awesome."

Totsuka, who had been complaining earlier, changed his tune entirely.

As for the other students in Class A, looks of anticipation appeared on their faces as well.

The words "cruise ship" and "expensive" were partners; among them, perhaps only one or two had ever been on a cruise before.

"Except for students who can be confirmed to be in poor health, everyone else must participate." As whispers continued to arise, Mashima looked toward Sakayanagi, who had a thoughtful expression on her face.

Generally, even students who had difficulty walking were required to participate.

Although one could abstain, they still had to go through the motions.

But given the hints from above, he also knew that Sakayanagi Arisu, the daughter of the Chairman, had the right not to attend.

"I'll be fine, Mashima-sensei."

With an elegant smile, Sakayanagi made it clear that she intended to participate.

After the incident where Hashimoto defected, the Sakayanagi Faction in Class A had become even weaker, having been completely overwhelmed by the Katsuragi Faction.

If she didn't demonstrate her capabilities, the situation would only become more dismal.

"It might be very tiring."

"I believe my classmates will lend a helping hand when I am inconvenienced." Sakayanagi's voice revealed confidence. "Besides, there will be a special exam during this trip, won't there?"

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

The Class A classroom went silent for a moment before instantly becoming boisterous.

"Mashima-sensei, is what Sakayanagi said true?"

Totsuka, the most impulsive and impatient person in the class, was the first to shout out the question.

Then, Katsuragi, as the leader, also stood up steadily to ask if Mashima-sensei could provide an answer.

"That is a question I cannot answer." With a gratified smile, Mashima replied to Katsuragi.

With this, the students of Class A were certain that what Sakayanagi Arisu said was true.

"How did Classmate Sakayanagi know that? That's amazing."

As one of the more lively students in the class, Shiraishi Asuka clasped her hands together in admiration.

Her close friend, Nishikawa Ryoko, chimed in at the perfect moment to show her support.

For a moment, the Class A classroom was filled with voices praising Sakayanagi.

"Just like the one hundred thousand private points at the start of the semester, I believe we should be more thorough in investigating any inexplicable benefits provided by the school."

"Aoyama, if you have any valuable information, we can purchase it with private points."

As Sakayanagi responded to her classmates' praise, Katsuragi also made his presence known.

"Well, of course I do." With business knocking at his door, Aoyama, who had been lying low for half the period, decisively gave Katsuragi the answer he wanted. "There are forty people in the class, so I'll charge ten thousand per person."

"Since it's you buying it, Katsuragi, I'll give you a twenty percent discount. Three hundred and twenty thousand will do."

He certainly couldn't give away the overly specific rules, but information regarding the special exam being held on a man-made uninhabited island and the rule about competing to see which class uses the fewest resources was well worth the price he was asking.

"Three hundred and twenty thousand? Why don't you just go rob someone?" a male student named Matoba Shinji couldn't help but shout out.

They only received a little over one hundred thousand a month, and now Aoyama was demanding three hundred thousand for a piece of information; he was jealous.

"You don't have the authority to decide whether to buy it or not, and I wouldn't necessarily sell it to anyone else anyway."

Aoyama cast a meaningful glance toward the unsmiling Sakayanagi.

Faced with Aoyama's provocation, Sakayanagi could only pretend not to see it, as she had no means to retaliate against this unreasonable man.

If she were to attack him using the excuse of his selfishness and disregard for his classmates, she would only receive a "Yeah, so what?" from the jerk.

"I have decided to use class funds to purchase the information. Does anyone object?"

With a look, he silenced Matoba Shinji, who wanted to continue complaining, and Katsuragi firmly "sought" the opinions of his classmates.

The result, naturally, was that no one objected.

"To avoid being dragged down by certain people, I will send the information to Katsuragi privately." After receiving the transfer, Aoyama continued with his pointed remarks.

Ever since Sakayanagi tried to poach Kamuro and Yamamura from him, he hadn't missed a single opportunity to make her uncomfortable.

He, Aoyama Shiki, was just that petty.

Chapter 65: As a Substitute, May I Do It Instead?

"Good job, such a good girl."

In the gym at night, Aoyama didn't do as he usually did—dumping Sakura with Ichinose and the others while he went off to train alone until they left.

When the four of them finished running on the treadmills and sat down to rest, he sat next to Shiranami and placed his large hand on her adorable head.

With a petite figure, somewhat youthful features, and the girl-next-door temperament cultivated by a good upbringing, Shiranami Chihiro, while not particularly outstanding, was quite cute.

"I told you not to treat me like a child." Feeling uncomfortable under the playful gazes of Ichinose and the others, Shiranami blushed and used both hands to push Aoyama's hand away.

"Don't train too long today; tomorrow isn't going to be as simple as a vacation."

Considering that Ichinose was his lucky charm, Aoyama decided to support Class B; as for Class C, his originally intended ally, he would leave them be for now.

That morning, every class had been informed of the sudden fourteen-day trip plan.

Since then, until the Student Council duties ended and they were dismissed, Shiina had acted just as she always did. He guessed that Class C must have obtained some information about the special exam; otherwise, with Shiina's intelligence, she would have already been probing him for news.

Only Class B was still in the dark about what awaited them.

"Thank you for the reminder, Aoyama-kun." After expressing her gratitude, Ichinose spoke again, "I was wondering why Aoyama-kun suddenly came over; it turns out you were here to do business."

"You guessed wrong there, Ichinose. For more information, just let me pat this child's head."

In order to have "black money" to plunder, Aoyama generally avoided large, formal private point transactions, except for that brief period at the start of the semester when he was short on cash.

He at least had that much long-term vision.

"I told you, I'm not a child! Honestly."

She protested loudly with a bit of flailing, though her good upbringing prevented Shiranami from putting up any further resistance.

If it had been Horikita Suzune, a fist would have already been planted in Aoyama's stomach.

"Eh, is that so?" Not expecting Aoyama to offer it for free, Ichinose was stunned for a moment before coming back to her senses. "Little Chihiro doesn't seem to want it. As a substitute... may I do it instead?"

A flash of shyness crossed her face as Ichinose stood up and sat down next to Aoyama.

Being patted on the head by a boy her own age...

While feeling expectant, Ichinose also felt a bit embarrassed. Having grown up in a single-parent household, she couldn't recall ever being patted on the head by a male.

Having seen how happy Sakura looked when she was patted, her anticipation outweighed her resistance.

"No, just pat mine!"

Ichinose might not have been resistant, but Shiranami, who admired her, was very much against it.

While shouting, Shiranami also gripped Aoyama's upper arm tightly, which made Amikura Mako cover her mouth and giggle secretly.

"Sacrificing yourself to protect your companion, what a good girl, such a good girl." Although Aoyama was somewhat looking forward to patting Ichinose, the angry and shy Shiranami wasn't bad either.

Without mercy, he ruffled Shiranami's hair, causing her to purse her lips.

It felt like bullying a child, which was quite amusing.

"Are you done yet, you meanie Aoyama?"

"Alright, alright, that feels better."

After ruffling her hair for a good while, Aoyama finally pulled his hand away with a grin, poking her puffed-up cheeks along the way.

With just a light poke, Shiranami's tightly pursed lips instantly parted.

"Ah—you meanie Aoyama!"

Her face turned bright red, and she stood up with a start, sitting down next to Ichinose and clutching her arm while glaring "viciously" at Aoyama.

This made even Ichinose chuckle, as she placed a hand on Shiranami's head to comfort her gently.

"The first special exam is to survive on an uninhabited island for seven days; naturally, the school will provide resources for purchase."

"The fewer resources you use, the more class points you will receive at the end."

Having received his payment in advance, Aoyama began to explain the points to watch out for regarding the Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

Since the exam was tomorrow, he gave his advice directly.

"The school offers a wide variety of camping equipment, so you should find a student with a good memory to memorize which items are cheap and effective."

"For small items like anti-diarrhea pills or cold medicine, you can hide them and bring them onto the island—for example, by styling your hair to create a small space to tuck them into."

"Daily necessities like toothpaste and toothbrushes are allowed, and the inspections aren't strict; they only take a casual look. If you want to be even more frugal, you can cut open the toothpaste tube, clean it out, and stuff it with essentials like sugar, salt, or seasonings, then disguise it to look normal again."

"There are fish in the rivers on the uninhabited island. Bringing a fishing rod is impossible, but things like bait are fine."

Because the school doesn't inform the students about the special exam until after they disembark from the ship.

The school staff won't conduct strict inspections on students who only bring daily necessities as instructed.

As long as you aren't caught bringing items onto the island, it counts as the students' own capability, and it won't be treated as cheating or result in point deductions.