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

"You two connected quite well..."

Chapter 39 It's Not Like That

Looking at the girl with the friendly smile on the opposite side, Mikage Touji fell into deep thought.

Why does this keep happening one after another?

Could this be the necessary procedure for obtaining a Legendary Pokémon?

I was only here to feed the pigeons at the start.

Then I bumped into Horikita Manabu, passed his test, and received the quest reward.

Next, I triggered his commission, accepted the task of taking Horikita-imouto to the infirmary, and after some difficult maneuvering, finally achieved the ideal ending.

In the end, I didn't even have a moment to mourn the departure of Horikita-imouto before the next person rushing to the battlefield was—Kushida Kikyou!

After dealing with her, won't there be a few more Class D humanoids mixed in later?

Like someone who doesn't act like a human and catches my Wild Pigeon, requiring me to go and rescue it or something.

Mikage Touji's gaze quietly glanced behind her.

"Hmm?" Noticing Mikage Touji's line of sight, Kushida Kikyou also looked back, showing a puzzled expression. "Is something wrong, Mikage-kun?"

"No, it's nothing."

Mikage Touji breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head to face Kushida Kikyou, and probed for the objective of this current task.

"Is there something you need, Kushida-san?"

"Eh? Does there have to be a reason for me to chat with you, Mikage-kun?" Kushida Kikyou began her big-eyed, cute offensive.

No, don't do this, Cha Cha!

I actually prefer the version of you that kicks the pole; please revert to that.

"Because I just finished dealing with a very troublesome girl, and I'm feeling a bit physically and mentally exhausted right now."

Mikage Touji sipped another cup of coffee. There were several snacks on the table; it must be said that to keep him here, Cha Cha was truly sparing no effort. She wasn't like Horikita-imouto, who still had a large amount of points left.

However, he could roughly guess why Cha Cha was looking for him. It was mostly likely about that Horikita-imouto—the one she hated but couldn't get, the one she grew to love out of hate, and who ended up completely ignoring her.

Facing the bait thrown by Mikage Touji, Kushida Kikyou bit down without a moment's hesitation.

"Is that girl Horikita-san?"

Aha, the map is revealed and the dagger is exposed, Cha Cha!

I'm shaking with rage! If it were the original you, you would have prioritized worrying about my mental state, asking in a cutesy voice how I was feeling? If my body was okay? If there was anything you could do for me?

Instead of caring about that cold Horikita-imouto. As expected, you have special feelings for her!

Last time in the small woods, too, the number of times you cursed Horikita-imouto far exceeded anyone else.

"Yeah," Mikage Touji rubbed the tip of his nose. "That girl is a bit fierce."

"I'm sorry. If Horikita-san did something impolite, I apologize on her behalf," Kushida Kikyou pressed her palms together. "I think Horikita-san's original intention definitely wasn't like that."

No! I am certain and positive that Horikita-imouto was trying to send me to the hospital just now.

"Her personality is probably just like that, I wasn't planning on blaming her."

"Are you very familiar with Horikita-san, Mikage-kun?" Kushida Kikyou put the drink straw into her mouth, probing further.

"Not familiar. I only met her today, and we just happened to add each other as friends. Though, I did get along quite well with her brother."

Crack—!

Mikage Touji felt as if he heard something snap.

Kushida Kikyou lowered her head, the straw bitten into a right angle by her. Her brown hair obscured her gloomy expression, and the spoon in her hand was bent into an arc.

Horikita-imouto! You bitch! I've been licking your boots for so long and haven't even seen you add me as a friend, yet a man who hasn't even known you for a day adds you with such ease? Then what was all my effort this past month for?

"Is something wrong, Kushida-san?" Mikage Touji asked, suppressing a laugh while keeping his expression normal.

"No, it's nothing," Kushida Kikyou took a deep breath, clenched her fists until her nails dug into her flesh, forced a smile back onto her face, and lifted her delicate chin. "Actually, I wanted to ask how you added Horikita-san as a friend, Mikage-kun. Remember, I want to be friends with every student in the school."

Having said that, she took Mikage Touji's hands in hers, held them against her chest, and said pitifully, "But, Horikita-san has never accepted my friend request, so I wanted to ask how you managed to become friends with her?"

Give it up, Cha Cha! You can't even handle my Yamamura; as long as she activates her Spirit Concealment skill, you won't be able to add her as a friend in this lifetime.

"The method to add Horikita-san as a friend?"

"Mm-hmm." A look of anticipation appeared on Kushida Kikyou's face.

Mikage Touji pinched his chin, pondered for a moment, then tilted his head and said, "I don't actually know either. After all, she was the one who added me..."

In an instant, the whole world went silent, leaving only the slow, relaxing music of the cafe echoing in her ears.

Horikita-imouto took the initiative to add him as a friend?

What on earth is this guy saying?

Kushida Kikyou lost her smile, her eyes seemingly covered in a layer of gray, staring blankly at the indifferent Mikage Touji.

"Moshi moshi~" Mikage Touji pulled his hands away and waved them in front of Kushida Kikyou's vacant eyes. "Kushida-san~ Daijoubu desu ka?"

A moment later, Kushida Kikyou recovered, let out a dry laugh, and said, "Mikage-kun, you really know how to joke. Horikita-san has always been a loner in class, you know."

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

I don't believe it; this has to be a lie!

That is Horikita the bitch, the Horikita Suzune who didn't make a single friend in all three years of middle school—she took the initiative to add him as a friend?

This man must have hallucinated from doing "that" too much!

Kushida Kikyou shook her little head vigorously and pinched the flesh of her thigh hidden under the table.

Watching Kushida Kikyou, who was lost in her own world and unable to pull herself out, Mikage Touji figured she might need time to calm down, so he ordered her another cold drink.

A minute later, Kushida Kikyou had sobered up slightly. The cold juice slid down her throat, helping her regain some of her reason.

Biting on her straw, she scrutinized Mikage Touji, who was fiddling with his phone across from her, without revealing her thoughts.

Aside from being a bit handsome, there was nothing special about him.

Word was that he was a weirdo from Class A who stayed outside the Class A social circle. Could this be the legendary "birds of a feather flock together"?

Kushida Kikyou decided to get to the bottom of this, or at least make him reveal how he managed to get close to that bitch Horikita.

"Um... how did Mikage-kun get to know Horikita-san?"

"That? I was sitting in a chair drinking cola, she kept staring at me, I ignored her, and then she came over to talk to me," Mikage Touji stated the circumstances of their meeting concisely.

"..."

Kushida Kikyou's brain entered a state of system failure once again.

I must be dreaming. Such a proactive way of making friends—even I haven't used it. Would Horikita Suzune, with that "don't come within five meters of me" ice-cold personality, actually take the initiative to talk to him?

No! There is one other possibility—this guy has been lying from start to finish. Maybe he just happened to bump into Horikita Suzune, then Horikita Suzune happened to say a few words to him, and I just happened to see it.

Calm down, Kushida Kikyou. Haven't you seen enough of this kind of thing in Class D?

People getting lost in their own fantasies, like they've smoked too much of that magical Western leaf, blurting out their delusions without using their brains.

It's just that the person has changed from those fat pigs in class to this somewhat handsome man. Maybe that's how he got his "weirdo" nickname. Doesn't his friend nickname tell you everything? Who in this day and age uses such a strange nickname?

Kushida Kikyou convinced herself once again. Given her persona, she should have just laughed it off, ignored it, and continued chatting with a smile.

But since it involved Horikita Suzune, she couldn't care about this stinky man's favorability right now. She had to get to the truth first, and then find an opportunity to ask him out later, reel him in like a fish, and ruthlessly boost her favorability rating.

After clearing her thoughts, a smile blossomed on Kushida Kikyou's face once again.

"Ahaha, Mikage-kun, you shouldn't joke about things like that. Horikita-san has always hated people talking about her behind her back."

Mikage Touji clutched his chest, putting on a wounded expression. "Kushida-san... do you think I'm lying?"

"Of course not, I trust you, Mikage-kun, it's just..." Yes! You are lying, you must be lying!

"But I'm really not lying."

"You can't just rely on words for things like this."

At this moment, Kushida Kikyou's disguise had all but fallen away; her sweet smile could no longer mask the "tea" radiating from her.

"Fine, since that's the case, I'll give her a call." A casual remark that emptied her reason once again.

Huh? What did he just say?

Kushida Kikyou, now frozen like a plaster statue, stared stiffly as Mikage Touji calmly took out his phone, placed it on the table, and turned on the speaker.

After a few beeps, a click signaled the call was connected, and a cold voice, accompanied by the sound of something frying in a pan, came through the phone.

"Are you that bored? How long has it been since we parted, and you're calling already?"

"I am indeed quite free; after all, we in Class A don't have as much drama as you in Class D. By the way, are you making dinner?"

"Is there a problem? If you're willing to let me send you to the hospital, I'll make a portion for you too."

"How about a sincere apology?"

"There's no such thing."

"Your face changes too fast. You've only been gone for a while and you're already taking back what you said. But let's forget about dinner," Mikage Touji smiled confidently, "my cooking skills are superior to yours."

"After witnessing that mouth of yours, I don't hold any expectations for anything you say."

"What a cold person."

"I've always been this way. If you don't want to listen, you can hang up."

Five minutes later, after arguing with Horikita Suzune about the best way to fry crucian carp, Mikage Touji hung up the phone and looked toward Kushida Kikyou, who had completely crashed.

"See? I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

"..."

Kushida Kikyou remained silent, placing both hands over her ears.

It's not like this! Making friends isn't supposed to be like this!

You're supposed to show a friendly smile and introduce yourself, then tell her you're there to help if she has any trouble, then greet her warmly every morning to deepen her impression of you, then chat with her every single day through wind and rain to enter her heart, and finally, wait for a night when she's feeling vulnerable to pour her heart out to you, and only then, after you comfort her kindly, can you become good friends.

How could you get so familiar with her right off the bat? That's not how you make friends at all. I cannot accept this outcome!

"..."

Mikage Touji snuck a glance at Kushida Kikyou, whose expression had completely crumbled and who seemed to be losing her grip on reality, then silently shifted one seat to the left.

Oh my god! I think I might have gone a bit too far...

She looks like she's about to snap. If her true nature explodes out right here, wouldn't that mean the video I recorded was all for nothing?

Let's stop here. I can't provoke her any further.

Placing his phone under the table, Mikage Touji sent a message to Kito Hayato, asking him to call his phone in three minutes.

Three minutes later, Kito Hayato's call arrived right on schedule.

"Kushida-san, I have some things to take care of, so I'll be heading out now."

Without waiting for Kushida Kikyou to reply, Mikage Touji walked out of his seat on his own accord.

Bye-bye, Cha Cha. Although I feel a bit sorry for toying with you like this, I'm doing it for your own good. If Horikita-imouto mocks you again one day, won't you just explode? That's why you need the Qi Cultivation Technique—

"Slap—!"

A fair, delicate palm grabbed Mikage Touji's wrist.

"Mikage-kun, let's chat a little longer." A sugary, affected voice reached his ears, causing goosebumps to instantly break out all over Mikage Touji's body.

"Haha, Kushida-san, is there something else?"

Cold sweat poured down Mikage Touji's back. He turned his head stiffly, and from those dark, hollow eyes of Kushida Kikyou, he read one clear message.

If you don't explain yourself clearly, you aren't leaving today!

Chapter 40: Same Type of Stand

Looking at Kushida Kikyou sitting across from him, her hands cupping her cheeks and a beaming smile on her face, Mikage Touji fell into deep thought once again.

This scene... why does it look so familiar?