Suzuki Tsubame took out the Spotlight.
Hmm... how should he put it? It was almost no different from an ordinary lamp.
There were four buttons on the lamp, labeled joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. There was also a sliding switch, with a + above it and a - below it.
Practice was the best way to learn, so Suzuki Tsubame aimed the light at Horikita and decided to test its effects.
He quietly pressed the button labeled joy. A few seconds later, he noticed that the corners of Horikita's mouth seemed to lift slightly.
The movement was subtle, but they had definitely risen.
Hmm... he would turn up the power a little more. He slowly pushed the switch upward.
A long time passed, but Horikita's expression did not change further.
Just as Suzuki Tsubame thought the sliding switch was useless—
A flush of pink suddenly appeared on the girl's cheeks.
Well, well. So that was what she had been waiting for.
The reason the Spotlight's effect had been greatly diminished was actually because Horikita's control over her expression was too good.
He just wondered what Horikita had been thinking about to make her blush.
Suzuki Tsubame put the item back into the System Space.
Overall, it was still quite useful, especially when used alone with only one person around.
As time passed, the students gradually returned to the classroom.
The girls gathered around Karuizawa as if she were the center of the world, flattering her with all sorts of pleasant words.
It seemed she had spent quite a few of Suzuki Tsubame's points treating them.
Suzuki Tsubame did not mind.
Her future self would pay the bill for her present self.
Matsushita Chiaki was among the girls as well.
However, her interested gaze repeatedly drifted in Suzuki Tsubame's direction.
Suzuki Tsubame returned her gaze with a smile.
Matsushita knew about Karuizawa borrowing points.
At the time, only Kushida, Sakura, and Suzuki Tsubame had remained in the classroom.
Judging by how freely Karuizawa had spent points just now—
Kushida could be ruled out first. She was kindhearted, but not stupid. She might lend Karuizawa some points, but she would never lend enough for her to squander so recklessly.
Sakura could be ruled out as well. First, she might not even have that many points. Second, there were no signs that she had ever been bullied.
Although Sakura had always liked to keep her head lowered, Matsushita could still tell that much easily.
Why had Suzuki lent Karuizawa so many points? She did not understand.
Karuizawa and Hirata's relationship was practically common knowledge in the class.
In most people's eyes, the two of them were like Suzuki Tsubame and Horikita Suzune. They were practically one announcement away from making it official.
Under those circumstances, Suzuki had actually been willing to lend Karuizawa so many points.
Something was very, very wrong.
Until classes ended that afternoon and everyone was on their way to the library—
Matsushita still had not found an answer to her confusion.
"Matsushita, what are you thinking about?"
Sakura was being pulled aside by Hasebe for a private chat, while Ayanokoji was walking with The Three Idiots.
Horikita had once again been cornered by Kushida. It seemed Kushida had not given up yet.
The two of them were at the very back of the group, so they did not need to worry about being overheard.
"I was thinking... how far Suzuki and Horikita have gotten by now."
Matsushita smiled at Suzuki Tsubame, who had moved closer, her entire being exuding an intelligent, languid air.
Like Kushida Kikyo, she was a qualified actress.
Unlike Kushida, she was smarter and less aggressive.
If no one forced her hand, Matsushita Chiaki could keep acting for all three years.
"You were probably wondering why I lent Karuizawa so many points, weren't you?"
Suzuki Tsubame lowered his head and looked down at Matsushita's calm, ancient-well-like eyes.
"I..."
For the first time, a look of panic appeared in Matsushita's azure eyes.
But she quickly returned to normal and spoke with a stiff expression.
"No, I was just curious how Kei suddenly borrowed so many points. So Suzuki was the one who lent them to her?"
Did no one else find the sight of an intelligent, mature woman flustered and panicking amusing?
It was like an older girl next door suddenly discovering that the brat who used to follow her around had grown a huge thing down there—the sheer shock and panic of it.
It made people inexplicably want to bully her.
Looking at Matsushita, who was forcing herself to remain calm, Suzuki Tsubame suddenly wanted to tease her.
Suzuki Tsubame put on a fierce expression and sneered.
"Do you know why I lent her so many points?"
"Uh... wh-why?"
Matsushita was already so scared that she could barely speak coherently. Suzuki Tsubame was 183 centimeters tall, a full head taller than her.
From such close range, his downward gaze was intensely oppressive.
(The female height settings in Classroom of the Elite were strange. Horikita was supposedly 156 centimeters tall, and Ichinose was the same height. Yet in the illustrations, the 176-centimeter Ayanokoji was less than half a head taller than Horikita. So here, their heights were set at 169 centimeters.)
"You should have noticed, right? Karuizawa and Hirata's relationship is strange."
Watching her panic, Suzuki Tsubame continued to press her.
"Hm?... Do they seem strange?"
Although she was somewhat afraid, Matsushita still instinctively chose to hide her talents.
In her eyes, as long as she seemed ordinary enough, no one would pay attention to her.
Unfortunately, Suzuki Tsubame would not let her have her way. If she hid everything, she would eventually disappear into the crowd.
Sima Yi was the exception, of course.
"If you hadn't noticed anything wrong with them, then why didn't you study with them?"
"Don't brush me off by saying you were worried Hirata was overworking himself. There are so many people with him that one more would not have been a problem."
She had never expected her instinctive tendency to seek good fortune and avoid danger to backfire on her.
Matsushita pressed her thin lips together, bitterness filling her heart.
"Could it not simply be that you're more handsome, so I wanted to study with you?"
Matsushita made one final struggle. For some reason, she felt especially flustered inside.
Obviously, she did not seem to have done anything wrong, yet her heart was pounding so hard that she even felt a little short of breath.
"That is a pretty good reason."
Suzuki Tsubame grinned, and the tension in the air immediately eased.
"Do you want to know about the relationship between Karuizawa and Hirata now?"
Looking at Suzuki Tsubame's restored smile, Matsushita felt as though her breathing had become much steadier.
Was this the legendary Conqueror's Haki?
Compared to him, President Horikita onstage during the entrance ceremony had practically been a little girl!
Matsushita Chiaki seriously considered his question.
The answer was simple: did she want to know or not?
If she answered yes, she might get dragged into all kinds of trouble.
If she answered no, he might retaliate against her.
"Mm... I want to know."
Matsushita clenched her teeth, as if she had made some sort of resolution.
All kinds of trouble might be far less frightening than Suzuki Tsubame himself.
[Ding! Long-Term Task: Hidden Prodigy. Completion: 10%. Reward: Presence Regulator. This item can freely adjust the host's sense of presence. Note: This item only affects the host, and reducing one's presence does not mean becoming intangible. Do not use it as an invincibility frame.]
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