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

"Drinking something might make you feel better."

"Thank you for your concern, but I am quite fine."

"How about... I give you this oden? It's sweet."

"I must decline. I don't actually care for sweets, and besides, I am in a very good mood right now."

"Then... shall I introduce you to some of the outstanding boys in our class?"

"No, thank you."

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Once again, I appreciate your kindness, but my mood is perfectly pleasant."

Facing Sakayanagi Arisu, who had erected a wall around her heart, Mikage Touji felt as if a ticking time bomb were sitting right beside him.

After calmly bidding Mikage Touji farewell.

Sakayanagi Arisu, all alone, leaned on her cane and slowly walked toward the setting sun, her shadow stretching out across the blood-red ground.

In a daze, Mikage Touji felt as if he saw a bottomless gate to hell silently cracking open behind her.

Chapter 21 Who on Earth Voted for This Guy

"Dong~ Dong~"

As the long, crisp chimes of the Big Ben rang out, the teachers packed up their lesson plans and left the classroom, granting the students a brief moment of respite.

Even the students of Class A found their own ways to relax during the break.

After spending these days together, the students had gradually grown closer and begun to form their own small cliques.

For instance...

"Katsuragi-kun, shall we go try that new Western restaurant after school? I heard their ribeye steak is quite good."

"No. I plan to work on my student council application after school. Totsuka, you shouldn't always run off to the Keyaki Mall the moment school ends; you need to spend time improving yourself."

"Yes, yes! As expected of Katsuragi-kun..."

This was Katsuragi Kōhei and his sidekick, Totsuka Yahiko.

Or...

"Yamamura Miki."

"Hm?"

"Let's play blindfolded hide-and-seek later. I'll close my eyes, and you stay perfectly still. Let's see if I can find you."

"Eh?!"

"It's a 'spirit away,' a legendary spirit away. I've always suspected you have the bloodline of a tanuki yokai."

"...That's not true at all. I'm just the only one in my family with such low presence."

"Then, we'll set the location in the small woods behind the school building."

"..."

This was the arbitrary Morishita Ran and her "WALL-E" friend, Yamamura Miki.

And another example...

"Hey, hey, Satonaka-kun, buy us a drink later, okay? We voted for you on the handsome guy ranking."

"That's right, let's go get drinks after school."

"While I'm touched that you're willing to support me, may I ask... what is this handsome guy ranking?"

"Eh? You don't know, Satonaka-kun? It's a very hot topic on the school forum right now. It was originally just spreading privately among students, but after someone posted it on the forum, it suddenly blew up. Look, here..."

"I see."

"Let me see... the results are almost out... Satonaka-kun, you got first place! Congratulations. I knew it had to be you, there was no doubt."

"Don't praise me like that, I'll get conceited."

This was the heartthrob of Class A, Satonaka Satoshi, and his companions.

"Next is..." Hoashi continued to scroll through her phone, snapping her fingers as she said with excitement, "I told you the second place would be Hirata-kun from Class D. He's so handsome, has such a gentle personality, and he's an athletic guy, too."

"And the third place is—"

Hoashi's fluidly scrolling finger suddenly froze. She slowly looked up, her gaze beginning to drift.

"Who's in third place? Hoashi-chan, you're making me curious—"

The girls accompanying her leaned in to look at the phone, only to freeze in place as well.

Then, they turned their necks mechanically to look toward a certain corner of the classroom.

"Kito-san..."

Mikage Touji rested his arms on Kito Hayato's desk, looking at the somewhat dull-witted Kito Hayato with a grave expression as he made his request.

"Can I borrow your signature weapon to wear for a bit?"

"..."

Kito Hayato glared at Mikage Touji with eyes like a demon's. As their gazes locked, Kito Hayato finally lowered his head, let out a heavy sigh, and took off his gloves.

"Take them, and remember to give them back."

"Thanks!"

Having received the black gloves, Mikage Touji pulled them on with a flourish. He tugged at the cuff of one glove, his eyes igniting with a blazing fire.

"Oh! This feeling... power is surging forth! This immense power, is this the strength of the Black Flame Dragon sealed by BlackPeat? Subarashii~"

"Slap!"

"Slap! Slap!"

The girls in the class slapped their foreheads in perfect unison, all voicing the same soul-searching question at once.

Just who in the world voted for this guy?

While it was true that he was quite handsome, his behavior was so abstract that the entire class had collectively ignored the fact that he was actually a good-looking guy.

"As expected of you, Mikage-san," Hashimoto Masayoshi chimed in, having just returned from the restroom. "By the way, did you vote in that girls' ranking list I sent you last time?" Clearly, Hashimoto Masayoshi had overheard the girls' conversation.

"I did vote, but..." Mikage Touji, who usually didn't care about others' opinions, suddenly appeared bashful.

"So who did you vote for? That Ichinose Honami, or Kushida Kikyou? I heard Class D has a few decent girls, too," Hashimoto Masayoshi pressed.

"..."

Mikage Touji rubbed the back of his head, his tone drifting. "I just voted for someone at random... forget it, forget it. You can tell at a glance that these rankings have no accuracy. By the way, Hashimoto-san, didn't you join the tennis club? Tell me about the girls in your tennis club?"

Hearing you say that, I'm even more curious!

The girls in the class, who had been pricking up their ears to eavesdrop on the conversation, all thought in unison.

At this moment, the girls' desire for gossip was burning fiercely.

Judging by his tone, Ichinose Honami and Kushida Kikyou could be ruled out. It probably wasn't the girls from Class D either, and there didn't seem to be many beauties in Class C. In Class B, no one could compete with that Ichinose Honami, so that left Class A...

If there was anyone else in the class who was a possibility...

The girls' gazes surreptitiously drifted toward Morishita Ran, who was still tangled up with Yamamura Miki.

If Mikage Touji was an abstract chuunibyou, then in their eyes, Morishita Ran was a maverick weirdo.

The two were cut from the same cloth, like two peas in a pod.

Not to mention that Mikage Touji and Morishita Ran were together every single day, as if they were discussing some great secret.

If it were Morishita Ran... that wouldn't be strange.

Hoashi lit up her phone, opened the girls' ranking list, and searched for the name Morishita Ran.

Search failed... her name wasn't there. It wasn't her.

Then who on earth was it?

"The results for the girls' side should be out by now, too. Do you want to take a look?" Hashimoto Masayoshi's voice arrived right on cue.

"Ahahaha, no need for that, is there? Nothing worth seeing!"

It's definitely on the list!

In their gossiping state, the girls' deductive reasoning had reached its peak, and they instantly saw through the truth.

Filled with curiosity, anticipation, and a tiny bit of indignation, the girls clicked on the ranking list.

[Third Place: Kushida Kikyou - 26 votes]

[Second Place: Ichinose Honami - 38 votes]

First Place...

The girls' gazes followed the list down, and their expressions instantly stiffened.

An Ultraman whose name they didn't know was giving them a thumbs-up.

[First Place: Ultraman Camearra - 53 votes]

[Nominator: Kobe Killed the Helicopter!]

The girls in the class fell into a simultaneous silence, their gazes drifting gloomily toward a certain someone.

If they had lost to Ichinose or Kushida, that would have been one thing; after all, their popularity was indeed very high.

They would have even accepted losing to Morishita; although she was a maverick, she was cute and had a unique aura.

But to lose to a species that wasn't even human...

They couldn't accept it!

"Bude! I sense killing intent!"

Suddenly feeling a chill down his back, Mikage Touji turned around vigilantly. A series of resentful glares pierced toward him, and Mikage Touji's confidence wavered significantly.

"What? Why does it have to be me who voted for it?" he attempted to argue loudly.

"Could it only be you?!" the girls in the class said in unison.

"That's just the will of the people. Facts prove I was right. Although I stuffed the ballot box a bit at the start, the rest were their own votes, which shows this is what the public wants."

"That's exactly why we're angry, okay?"

In the end, Mikage Touji couldn't withstand the girls' relentless bombardment and had to flee back to his seat in a sorry state.

"These women are truly unreasonable," Mikage Touji muttered, pulling out his chair to sit down.

Turning his head, he found Morishita Ran staring at him with burning intensity.

"Don't tell me you care about this kind of thing too?" Mikage Touji felt a sense of despair.

"You actually didn't include Kamen Rider along with the others..."

"Are there even female Kamen Riders?" He hadn't watched many, only a few scattered series, and they were far less memorable to him than Ultraman.

"But there are definitely male Kamen Riders. Mikage Touji, you must be afraid of the power of Kamen Rider."

Upon hearing this, Mikage Touji gave a scornful laugh. "Morishita Ran, there are boys who like Ultraman, but you are the only girl in the entire school who likes Kamen Rider."

"..."

Mikage Touji had killed the conversation.

Chapter 22 Dusk! Crows! Spirited Away!

By evening, the sun had gradually tilted, its color turning increasingly fiery red.

The golden-red afterglow slanted through the dense layers of leaves in the small grove, casting long, mottled shadows across the clearing. The air carried a hint of damp, grassy fragrance; taking a deep breath was refreshing to the heart and spirit.

"So, why did you two drag me out here to play blindfolded hide-and-seek?" Mikage Touji said helplessly.

He had originally intended to find Katsuragi to ask for advice on buying a pot. He had heard that Katsuragi's family situation wasn't very good and that he usually cooked at home, so asking him for advice seemed like an economical and practical choice.

Mikage Touji crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, watching a large and a small blackbird chirping and hopping about on a tree branch in the distance.