Classroom of the Elite: Damn It, I Became a Stand-In Author: AAA, Land of Light Prop Wholesale
[Harem]
"Is this you?"
"No."
"Right, you were still pretty thin back then..."
"Um..." Mikage Touji picked up the photo and compared it to himself. "I'm saying that's not me..."
Ayanokouji Atsuomi waved his hand. "That's you!"
"Do you not understand plain English?" Mikage Touji slapped the photo back down on the table and pointed at it. "How could I possibly be the gloomy guy in that picture?"
"Enough with these pointless excuses, Kiyotaka. Do you think changing your name and getting plastic surgery will let you escape my control?"
Mikage Touji slowly typed out a single "?"
"Your enrollment documents are all fake. There isn't a single person who can prove you ever existed. And the time and place you appeared match exactly with when and where Ayanokouji Kiyotaka went missing. You're still going to say you're not Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Heh..." As it turned out, people really did laugh when they were speechless.
"If you want to bother someone, turn left and go find the police station. And also..." Mikage Touji spread his hands helplessly. "You're looking for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. What does that have to do with me, Mikage Touji?"
Volume One: Advanced Nurturing High School
Your Name
Why do I have to go to school even after getting transported to another world?!
Standing in front of a bus stop, Mikage Touji let out a long, anguished sigh.
He could accept having been transported to another world, but the System everyone else seemed to have had run off, leaving him with nothing but an admission letter.
And for some reason, Mikage Touji couldn't shake the feeling that it had panicked a little when it ran...
Looking at the bolded words "Advanced Nurturing High School" on the sign for the last stop, Mikage Touji lowered his head to face reality.
He had no choice. He didn't know anyone or anything around here, and the little money he had wouldn't last him long. If he didn't go, he'd have to beg for food.
Aside from its suspicious-sounding promise of "a 100% rate of advancement to higher education and employment," the school did offer free room and board, which was pretty appealing.
The bus pulled into the stop, and its doors slowly opened.
Mikage Touji boarded and scanned the bus, his gaze settling on the only empty seat.
Thank goodness.
He wouldn't have to stand all the way to Advanced Nurturing High School. Maybe he could even take a nap by the window.
He dragged his tired legs toward the seat.
Just then, a red figure slipped lightly past him, trailing a faint peach fragrance. She got there first and sat down in the seat he'd been longing for.
The warm smile that had just appeared on Mikage Touji's face instantly froze.
The girl turned to him and gave a slight bow, her tone even.
"According to the first-come, first-served principle, this seat is now mine. If you want a seat, please find another one."
Her unruffled tone and self-assured attitude left Mikage Touji completely dumbfounded.
He took a deep breath, holding back the anger rising inside him.
Don't get mad, don't get mad. You're a world-hopper, Mikage Touji. It's just a seat. Be the bigger person. Don't bring shame upon your fellow world-hoppers...
But he was so mad!
There wasn't anything particularly wrong with what she'd said, but that self-righteous attitude...
Two words: infuriating!
Fortunately, it didn't last long. A passenger got off at the back, freeing up another seat.
Mikage Touji slowly let out a breath, sat down, and looked out the window.
The weather was lovely. The sun had risen above the treetops, and its light spilled down, but his heart was shrouded in gloom.
Because the girl's reflection appeared in the window!
She had dark blue hair, with two braids hanging in front of her. Like him, she wore Advanced Nurturing's burgundy uniform, with a pink shirt underneath. Her expressionless face was turned toward the window, and he couldn't tell what she was thinking...
The longer Mikage Touji looked, the angrier he got. Finally, he shoved the window open with a whoosh and turned his head back toward the bus.
He'd had enough. Looking at her just made him madder!
As the bus continued on its way, the cabin gradually grew crowded.
Office workers, housewives, students in the same Kouiku uniform, and... an old woman carrying a basket of groceries. She looked well over sixty and swayed with the motion of the bus.
That unsteady gait...
Ma'am, at your age, you really shouldn't be going out to buy groceries.
Mikage Touji sighed softly and glanced around. Some people were on their phones, some were reading, and others were working on documents... Everyone was busy with their own things.
If something happened and he didn't help, it would be a real hassle.
After hesitating for a moment, he slowly got to his feet...
At almost the exact same moment, the girl stood up too. She left her seat, her dark blue hair swaying slightly as she moved, the pleats of her uniform skirt shifting with her...
In that instant, Mikage Touji made a decision purely on instinct!
He sprang up with lightning speed, strode forward, lifted a leg, and sat down firmly in the girl's seat, all in one smooth motion.
"Please—"
"Please come over here."
Mikage Touji raised a hand and called out before she could, his cheerful voice ringing through the bus.
The girl turned around, only to find that in the briefest moment, someone had taken her seat—and the seat behind it was now empty.
The old woman with the groceries walked over, smiling as she thanked them both. "Thank you, thank you..."
Mikage Touji answered cheerfully, "Don't mention it. You can thank her."
He turned to the girl and gave her a thumbs-up. "Classmate, this seat is mine now. The one behind me is yours."
"..."
He was met neither by an angry outburst nor a flushed face, but by a pair of wide eyes that never blinked.
The girl didn't say a word. She just stared at him in silence.
Mikage Touji's thumb remained suspended in the air. As they stared each other down, he could clearly see his reflection in the girl's blue-violet eyes.
A strange atmosphere spread between them.
At first, Mikage Touji had enjoyed getting his revenge, but little by little, he began to feel that something was off.
"..."
That look in her eyes... It reminded him of the old-fashioned wall clock he'd taken apart as a child, the one that went "dong, dong" on the hour.
It was pure curiosity and scrutiny, as if she wanted to take him apart and see what was inside.
"Morishita Ran," the girl said softly.
Mikage Touji was a little confused. "What do you mean?"
"My name is Morishita Ran. Please tell me your name."
"What, are you trying to dox me?" Mikage Touji crossed his arms in a defensive pose. "You have to accept defeat when you lose."
"My name?"
"..."
Mikage Touji wanted to tell her he was actually called Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior, but he was afraid she might take him apart right there.
Morishita Ran got no answer, but she didn't seem discouraged. She kept staring at him.
Time passed as the bus continued along its route.
Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. "The seat behind me," he said, pointing at the one he'd originally been heading for. "The old woman will get off soon. You can sit there."
People buying groceries usually didn't go to a market too far away, especially when they were carrying that much.
Two stops later, the old woman got off.
The girl named Morishita Ran sat in Mikage Touji's original seat, resting her chin in her hand as she looked out the window.
Mikage Touji pretended nothing had happened and pulled out his phone to check his messages, but he felt uneasy all over, as if ants were crawling on him.
Soon, the bus reached its destination.
Mikage Touji quietly quickened his pace toward the school, but after only a couple of steps, Morishita Ran stopped him.
"Is this really necessary?" Mikage Touji asked helplessly. "All I did was take your seat."
"Please tell me your name," Morishita Ran repeated. Her tone showed no sign that she'd been affected at all. If anything, she sounded even more cheerful than she had on the bus.
Mikage Touji found it quite troublesome. As he looked for a way to escape, he tried to distract her. "Answer my question first. Depending on your answer, I'll consider whether to tell you."
"Go ahead. I've been waiting," Morishita Ran said with a nod.
"Why did you offer your seat to the old woman in the first place?" Based on what she'd just done, she definitely didn't seem like the kind of person who cared what others thought.
"Because I'd taken your seat earlier, and that made me a little happy. So I decided to generously give my spoils to her." A satisfied look flashed across Morishita Ran's face.
So she knew she'd taken my seat! And she still had the nerve to tell me to move?
Mikage Touji had never met a girl with such a bizarre way of thinking.
"Your name."
"I'm not telling you!" Mikage Touji turned and walked away—no, he turned and ran!
He could tell now that this girl was different. She was hard to figure out, and something about her made him feel uneasy. If he told her his name, his high school life would definitely become a hassle.
Twenty minutes later...
Mikage Touji hummed an unknown little tune as he entered his classroom.
Nameplates had been placed on the brand-new desks, telling the students where they were supposed to sit.
Aha, let's see where His Majesty's throne—
The tune grew lower and quieter, until it finally faded away...
Mikage Touji stared silently at Morishita Ran, who was standing with her hands on her hips and flashing him a victory sign.
Mikage Touji, Class 1-A, second-to-last row by the window.
Morishita Ran, Class 1-A, last row by the window.
This was a disaster!
Mikage Touji sat at his desk, staring blankly into space.
Something kept poking him in the back. It was probably a pen or something.
He ignored it. Morishita Ran would get bored eventually... Would she, though?
For a moment, Mikage Touji wasn't so sure.
At the podium, a man in a crisp suit and a composed expression explained the school's rules. The name "Mashima Tomoya" was written in large characters on the blackboard behind him.
And a man like that was actually the English teacher...
Weren't English teachers supposed to be pretty women who knew how to apply makeup, never wore the same outfit twice, and stayed on the cutting edge of fashion?
Watching the muscular man speak confidently at the podium, Mikage Touji felt profoundly disappointed.
"That's the gist of the rules you need to follow while attending Kouiku. You'll gradually learn about the rest as time goes on."
"If you have any other questions about this, you can look through the Enrollment Handbook I just handed out."
"Now, please take out the phones I just gave you and log in to your accounts. You should already have 100,000 personal points. If your points haven't come through, raise your hand and let me know right away."
Before you continue