Classroom of the Elite, Oh No, I've Become a Stand-in

In the dim room, a few rays of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, hitting the lump in the middle of the bed. A hand struggled to reach out from under the covers, fumbled around the bedside table, and pulled a phone into the warmth of the blankets.

The next moment.

Mikage Touji shot up from the bed, his quilt flying into mid-air.

Oh no! I'm going to be late!

With five minutes of lightning-fast preparation, Mikage Touji grabbed his school bag, slammed the door shut with a bang, and sprinted toward the school building.

Question: What is the most delightful thing to encounter when you are about to be late?

Answer: Another classmate who is also about to be late!

On the school path, Mikage Touji, who was running for his life, slammed on the brakes. He let out a silent sigh of relief as he saw Morishita Ran, her two braids swaying, walking normally along the road.

He adjusted his breathing and walked past Morishita Ran on her left as if nothing were the matter.

Morishita Ran glanced at him sideways but ignored him.

After putting some distance between them, Mikage Touji smiled triumphantly and silently picked up his pace.

Not long after, the tap-tap-tap sound of small leather shoes hitting the ground came from behind him.

Mikage Touji cursed under his breath. He continued walking forward with a calm expression, increasing his stride frequency in an attempt to widen the gap.

But this action not only failed to increase the distance, the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.

My intentions have been discovered!

Mikage Touji realized this, knowing that if things continued this way, she would overtake him soon.

I can't just sit here and wait for defeat!

Mikage Touji took a deep breath, adjusted his bag, and put force into his thighs, breaking into a full run on the school path in an attempt to pull away in one go and leave the honor of being the last one to arrive at the classroom to Morishita Ran.

However, before he could even rejoice, he felt that same sprinting figure behind him.

Since things had come to this, Mikage Touji stopped hiding. Facing the wind, he shouted to the person behind him, "Give it up! Morishita, you're definitely going to be the last one to reach the classroom."

"That line should be returned to you word for word. Morishita Ran, who possesses the bloodline of a grandfather who was a long-distance runner, is absolutely impossible to lose to you. Please face reality and accept your miserable fate of being the last to arrive at the classroom."

"Wait, isn't your grandfather the Pirate King? How did he become a long-distance runner?"

"Don't you worry about that..."

On the school path leading from the Advanced Nurturing dorms to the teaching building, a crowd of students rushing to get to class stared in bewilderment at the boy and girl sprinting down the path.

Outside the quiet Class A classroom, a burst of chaotic, rapid footsteps suddenly echoed.

Under the watchful eyes of the entire class, Morishita Ran crossed the finish line first. Ignoring the fine beads of sweat on her forehead, she raised her hand and shouted, "First place gold medalist, student Morishita Ran!"

Following closely behind, Mikage Touji swayed and collapsed to the floor, panting heavily, his face full of unwillingness: "To actually... lose to a mere Morishita..."

"Mikage Touji, you're pathetic," Morishita Ran said, holding down her skirt as she crouched down. Looking at the gasping Mikage Touji, she covered her mouth and mocked him, "I didn't expect you to be such a weakling when it comes to stamina..."

If it weren't for the fact that my body was so thoroughly ravaged by the senior student yesterday, leaving me sore all over and unable to take proper steps when I woke up, there is no way you could have outrun me!

Of course, Mikage Touji would never say such a stubborn excuse out loud; if he did, Morishita Ran would only mock him even more relentlessly.

"While there's still time, go buy me a bottle of water."

Morishita Ran lifted her chin slightly, exercising the privilege of a winner. She pointed a finger toward the door, ordering Mikage Touji, the loser, as if it were only natural.

"Can't you show me a little pity?" Mikage Touji struggled to his feet and walked toward the vending machine.

"Sorry, my mother told me that if there's an advantage to be taken, I should take it," Morishita Ran said righteously. "Hurry back, I want it ice-cold!"

"Don't drink ice-cold beverages after exercising. Are you a child or something?"

When Mikage Touji slammed a bottle of Pocari Sweat onto Morishita Ran's desk, the bell for class rang right on cue.

The first period was taught by an obscure, ordinary literature teacher holding a textbook.

As a transmigrator, Mikage Touji's literature grades were not ideal.

For Mikage Touji, jumping straight into high school courses without a proper foundation was like listening to a heavenly book—the kind that made him feel drowsy the more he listened.

For example, things like "the 12 usages of auxiliary verbs"...

You are making things difficult for me, Fat Tiger!

As for the other subjects, they were fine. Even if the curriculum in the textbooks was different, the essence was the same, and he could keep up with the progress with some effort.

The time for three periods passed in a flash, and the next period was Mashima Tomoya's English class.

As the bell rang, Mashima Tomoya entered the classroom with his usual stern face. Strangely, he wasn't carrying any lesson plans.

As if seeing the confusion of the students in the class, Mashima Tomoya spoke up to explain.

"At the request of student Katsuragi, this class has been temporarily changed to a homeroom meeting." After saying this, he looked in the direction where Katsuragi Kōhei was sitting.

Katsuragi Kōhei nodded at him and walked to the podium with steady, measured steps.

The students of Class A suddenly understood, realizing that the information purchased last night had all arrived, and Katsuragi Kōhei was going to announce the intelligence during class.

After confirming that all students were present, Katsuragi Kōhei looked toward the door.

A green-haired boy was already standing guard outside the hallway, seemingly ensuring that no students from other classes would pass through. If memory served, his name was Totsuka Yahiko, and he had been following Katsuragi around quite frequently these past few days.

However, for Mikage Touji, who already knew the answer, this was a class period he could afford to slack off in.

He pulled a book from his bag titled The Long Goodbye, written by the American author Chandler Lemons, which Mikage Touji had borrowed from the school library to pass the time.

At the same time, Katsuragi Kōhei began his performance.

"The main content of this homeroom session concerns..."

As Katsuragi spoke, the relaxed atmosphere in the classroom turned serious and heavy... Many students frowned involuntarily, and silence descended upon the Class A classroom.

In contrast to this...

Mikage Touji's fingertips slid steadily over the slightly rough edges of the pages, producing an extremely faint, rhythmic "rustling" sound.

Then, a small, fair hand pressed down on the page he was about to turn. "Wait a moment, I haven't finished reading yet."

Morishita Ran kept her eyes glued to the small print on the page while pressing down firmly on the edge of the paper.

"Morishita-san, don't you have your own things to do?" Mikage Touji asked with his eyes half-closed.

"I was planning to make a pen-gun out of spare pens, but halfway through, I noticed Mikage Touji reading a book. I felt that what you were doing was more interesting, so I decided to share in your joy," Morishita Ran said, staring at the page without looking back.

"..."

Forget it, there was no helping this woman.

"Let's read together. I'll only turn the page when you say so, alright?" Mikage Touji said, removing Morishita Ran's hand with a touch of annoyance.

He glanced back at the fully focused Morishita Ran. Despite her cold and aloof demeanor, her personality was actually quite childish, and her hands were soft, fair, and tiny.

After a while, Mikage Touji looked back at the page.

The story was simple: the detective Marlowe met the abandoned drunkard Terry at a bar, took him home, and the two became friends as a result.

But...

Mikage Touji flipped back to the cover to check. Wasn't this supposed to be a detective novel?

Where was the deduction? Why did the murderer die?

Unfortunately, before Mikage Touji could reach an answer, he felt a sharp pain as if someone were pulling at him.

No! It wasn't just a feeling; someone was actually tugging on his hair!

Morishita Ran!

"I'm calling you..." Morishita Ran lowered her voice.

Mikage Touji snapped back to reality and found the entire class staring at him.

"Ahem," Mikage Touji closed the novel, cleared his throat, and looked at the class with a straight face. "Is there a problem?"

"Katsuragi-kun has already finished explaining the rules and made some arrangements. Does Mikage-san have anything to add?" Hashimoto Masayoshi asked from the other side of the classroom.

"They feel that Mikage-kun, who was the first to discover that something was wrong with the school, might have some unique insights," Shiraishi Asuka whispered to him.

At the podium, Katsuragi Kōhei also looked toward Mikage Touji in a friendly manner, waiting for his input.

Mikage Touji put down his novel, acting as if he had listened to Katsuragi Kōhei's entire speech, and nodded solemnly. "I believe Katsuragi-san's arrangements are already quite specific; there is nothing special I need to add."

Having received Mikage Touji's answer, the students in the class withdrew their gazes and began to discuss freely.

"Then let's proceed according to Katsuragi-kun's plan."

"I'll keep an eye out for information from other classes."

"I've added that girl Ichinose from Class B on social media; I should be able to get quite a bit out of her."

"I wouldn't recommend that. That woman is quite capable; it would be bad if she noticed something. By the way, I have her added too."

"That Kushida Kikyou from Class D seems easy to fool. I'll go give that a try."

"Compared to Katsuragi-kun, the students in the class seem to trust Mikage-kun more," Shiraishi Asuka, sitting next to him, chimed in with a smile. "Does Mikage-kun not intend to lead this class?"

When Katsuragi Kōhei proposed his plan earlier, some students had remained completely unmoved; it was only after seeing Mikage Touji nod that they officially began to mobilize.

"Katsuragi is fine. At the very least, he's better than me. Leaving the class to him is the best choice," Mikage Touji shook his head.

"If Mikage-kun likes it that way, then so be it."

A soft voice reached him, and Shiraishi Asuka clasped her hands together, leaning forward slightly. "How did Mikage-kun discover the school's rules? I'm a bit curious. Could you take me along next time?"

"It was just a coincidence. The next time will probably be a long way off, and I don't even know if there will be a next time."

"Then... I will keep waiting for news from Mikage-kun."

"Sure—"

"Mikage Touji, hurry up, hurry up!"

Morishita Ran pulled Mikage Touji by the back of his collar toward her desk.

"I know, wait a second. Why are you in such a rush?"

"I bet that Terry must have faked his death! We haven't even seen a body!"

"Could it be suicide?"

"Impossible. A guy like him would never commit suicide."

Seeing this, a flicker of light flashed through the eyes of Shiraishi Asuka.

Ryuen Kakeru would never forget this painful day.

This is yakisoba, this is bread, and together they make yakisoba bread!

Of course, Mikage Touji had never eaten this before; he only noticed it was a bestseller while passing by the bakery.

Adhering to the herd mentality that it must be delicious if so many people were buying it, he decided on it for his lunch today.

And paired with it was UCC Japan Extra Strong Black Coffee!

Its peculiar packaging caught the eye of Morishita Ran amidst the dazzling array of goods at the convenience store, and she resolutely bought a whole pack.

As a result, just one sip caused Morishita Ran's originally cold face to scrunch up, and she dumped the rest onto Mikage Touji.

The orange-yellow bread wrapped around the glistening yakisoba, which was mixed with mayonnaise, pickled ginger, and shredded seaweed.

He put it into his mouth and chewed slowly.

The texture was strange; the soft bread was followed by the slightly chewy yakisoba, then the salty aroma of the mayonnaise.

He tilted his head back and gulped down a mouthful of coffee...

Alright, all that remained in his mouth was bitterness and the taste of coffee; Mikage Touji's lunch break ended just like that.

Half an hour later, Mikage Touji walked into the restroom with a gloomy face.

Morishita Ran! You really were sent by the heavens to sabotage me!

At the same time he entered the restroom, a sturdy-looking student followed him inside.