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

Looking at the tense expression on Kamuro Masumi's face, Mikage Touji spoke slowly, testing the waters: "Then... could you stop doing that sort of thing?"

"Ha? Impossible!" Kamuro Masumi refused decisively.

To think the very first thing he asked of her was to forbid her only source of amusement; this guy was truly wicked.

"Why? Are you seeking thrills? Surely there are other ways to go about that?"

Kamuro Masumi glared at Mikage Touji, then turned her gaze toward the window in the stairwell. Crossing her arms, she tapped her fingers rhythmically against her elbows, her voice softening.

"That is my only pleasure. Without it, I wouldn't even know what to do with myself..."

Mikage Touji nodded. In other words, she couldn't find a goal in life, felt lost, lacked passion in her heart, and couldn't find any sense of excitement, right?

As someone whose mental age was two years her senior, Mikage Touji decided to impart his own long-held life goal to her, hoping she might find the thrill she was missing.

"Listen, buddy..."

"Don't call me that! Just say it!" Kamuro Masumi braced herself to receive his second order.

"You are going to get into the University of Tokyo!"

The air in the entire stairwell froze instantly.

"Huh?"

Kamuro Masumi turned her head in disbelief, then immediately turned to leave.

"There's nothing left to discuss with a guy as wicked as you."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that! Getting into Todai is very exciting," Mikage Touji hurriedly blocked Kamuro Masumi, who was making a move to leave.

"No way!"

"Then what do you want?"

"Give me something simpler!"

Mikage Touji's brain raced. So, a short-term goal, then?

It needed to be exciting, not illegal, and preferably have some benefits...

"How about scoring 80 points on the midterm exam?"

"No exams!!"

Mikage Touji felt a headache coming on. After thinking for a long time, he finally managed to come up with: "The situation in Class D has been a bit unclear lately. Why don't you go and make friends with them?"

"That's more like it," Kamuro Masumi muttered. "So, you want me to scout for information on Class D, right?"

"You could put it that way..."

"Fine, I accept!"

"And you aren't allowed to go around shoplifting until you finish this."

"..."

Kamuro Masumi remained silent for a long time, finally spitting out through gritted teeth: "Fine!"

Mikage Touji let out a long sigh of relief. Although the process had been a bit strange, the overall result was good.

As expected of you, Shiraishi-san, the Shiraishi Gate!

"Then it's settled. Once you finish that, I'll find you another goal."

Mikage Touji exhaled, preparing to end the conversation.

"Hey!" Kamuro Masumi took out her phone, stopping Mikage Touji as he turned to leave.

"Your contact info."

"Oh, right, right."

Mikage Touji pulled out his phone, and the two added each other as friends.

Stopping his fingers from tapping on the screen, Mikage Touji turned to look at Kamuro Masumi. "By the way, buddy, what was your name again?"

"..."

The stairwell fell into an eerie silence.

Three seconds later...

"Kamuro Masumi!!"

A voice filled with rage echoed through the entire dormitory building, startling the crows perched in the trees outside and sending them flapping away, leaving behind a few fluttering black feathers.

Chapter 43: A Guide to Handling Kamuro Masumi

The May breeze blew in from the seaside, washing the sky into a pale blue, with a few cotton-like clouds drifting lazily along the horizon.

During the lunch break, Mikage Touji sat at his desk, resting his chin in his hands, staring blankly at the drifting clouds outside the window.

Yesterday, with the help of Mother Shiraishi, he had met the girl from Class A with the best physical abilities—his buddy, Kamuro Masumi.

He had successfully brought her into his fold, making her another fierce general for his future conquest of Kouiku.

But there was one problem: he realized there seemed to be something called a generation gap between him and his buddy.

In other words, he could not command Kamuro Masumi; he could not make her point where he wanted like he could with Kito Hayato and Hashimoto Masayoshi.

5 minutes ago.

"Hey bro, where are you going?"

Japanese high school students have a high degree of autonomy and variety when it comes to lunch choices.

Students can choose to bring their own bento, eat at the school cafeteria, buy bread and rice balls, or go out to eat to settle their lunch.

Today, a restaurant in Keyaki Mall launched a fun challenge activity called "It Takes Two," and Mikage Touji was miserably abandoned by Morishita Ran and Yamamura Miki.

The reason was that he had been half an hour late for dinner last night while trying to recruit Kamuro Masumi.

Therefore, Mikage Touji, reduced to a lonely old man, could only randomly grab a lucky classmate to help him bring back a bento.

"Tsk..."

Kamuro Masumi, who was just about to walk out of the classroom, slowly turned around, revealing an impatient expression.

"I told you not to call me that! Who is your 'bro'?! What's the problem?"

"Are you going out to eat?" Mikage Touji made his request with a pleasant expression, "When you come back, if you have time, could you bring me a bento?"

Kamuro Masumi raised an eyebrow, "It's only about a 10-minute walk from here to the convenience store; why don't you just go yourself?"

"I'm in a 'lonely old man' state right now and don't want to move. Is the place you're going far from the convenience store?"

"No!" Kamuro Masumi crossed her arms and shot a sidelong glance at Mikage Touji, "It's only a two-minute walk, but I don't want to bring you anything."

"Why?"

"It's obviously because of that nickname of yours!" Kamuro Masumi glared fiercely at Mikage Touji, gritting her teeth as she spoke.

What the hell is "bro"?!

Is that a way to address a normal girl? She still remembers the strange looks the other students gave her in the elevator last night!

"Then what do you want me to call you?"

Kamuro Masumi's face flushed, and she spoke subconsciously, "Anyway, if you stop calling me that, I'll bring it back for you."

"This..." Mikage Touji looked conflicted, "I actually still want to call you 'bro'."

"Then forget it!"

Before Mikage Touji could respond, Kamuro Masumi dropped those four words like a cat with its fur standing on end and stormed off angrily.

Mikage Touji stared blankly at her purple half-ponytail swinging behind her head, feeling momentarily stunned.

Actually, we could have kept negotiating, right? Didn't you say you'd join my Freak Squad and help me conquer a vast empire?

What about the vows we made yesterday?

Didn't you swear yesterday that you wanted me to assign you tasks?

How is it even harder to get close to you than when I first met you yesterday? Could it be that our intimacy level isn't high enough?

Watching Kamuro Masumi's departing figure, Mikage Touji fell into deep thought.

"What's wrong?"

Shiraishi Asuka, who had just returned to the classroom, immediately noticed Mikage Touji's troubled state.

"It's like this..." After pondering for a while and finding he really couldn't figure it out, Mikage Touji decided to seek help.

One minute later.

"That won't work, you know."

After understanding the situation, Shiraishi Asuka shook her finger with a light laugh.

"That's not how you communicate with Kamuro-san."

"Then how do I communicate with her?"

Shiraishi Asuka smiled without answering, beckoning with her snow-white hand to signal Mikage Touji to lean in.

Does it require some specific language?

Mikage Touji muttered to himself, but still leaned his body slightly to the side.

Seeing this, Shiraishi Asuka also leaned over with a smile, bringing her mouth close to Mikage Touji's ear.

Separated by the aisle between their seats, the two began whispering in the corner of the classroom.

Shiraishi Asuka had a smile on her face as her pink lips parted slightly.

"Be a bit more forceful. Maybe she actually wants to help but can't bring herself to say it. Use a strong, commanding tone to give her an excuse to back down."

He slowly turned his head, eyes wide, and stammered out:

"Huh?"

Shiraishi Asuka nodded, her breath sweet as an orchid, "Give it a try."

"Is it really okay?"

"It'll be fine."

Mikage Touji took out his phone, half-doubting, and opened the chat window with Kamuro Masumi.

[Mikage Touji: Hey bro, where are you? Are you eating lunch right now?]

Given her solitary nature, she was likely handling lunch on her own, so her mealtime should be quick. Just in case, he decided to ask first.

[Kamuro Masumi: No, stop bothering me! Go buy your own bento, it's not like you're crippled.]

[Mikage Touji: Bring two bentos back for me!]

[Kamuro Masumi: Are you blind? I said I don't have time!]

[Mikage Touji: Hey bro, this is mandatory.]

After the clock on the wall ticked away more than half a circle...

[Kamuro Masumi: You nasty-tempered jerk, just go die already!]

[Mikage Touji: ? So, does that mean you agreed?]

10 minutes later.

Mikage Touji stared blankly at the two bentos on his desk, then looked at Kamuro Masumi, who was sitting in the seat in front of him with her arms crossed and legs propped up, glaring at him. He muttered to himself, "So, this is how you solved it."

"What, is there a problem with the bento I bought?" Kamuro Masumi, burning with rage, tapped her arm repeatedly, her face full of resentment.

"No, n-no problem."

Striking while the iron was hot, Mikage Touji decided to try one more time.

He cleared his throat and, full of anticipation, made another request: "Hey bro, could you help me bring back two drinks?"

"I'm exhausted right now, go get them yourself."

"Hey bro, that's an order!"

A fist slammed mercilessly into Mikage Touji's shoulder. Kamuro Masumi shot him a murderous look before storming off from the front of his desk once again.