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

Aside from them, another group from Class A had also come to the library for remedial lessons, while the rest were either at cafes or finding quiet spots of their own.

It is worth mentioning that over the past two days, the library seemed to have seen a fresh influx of faces from Class C and Class D. They likely realized that continuing as they were would only lead to a slow demise, and had finally organized themselves to try and improve their grades.

But that wasn't the point; the point was that he had actually spotted the combination of Horikita-imouto and Cha Cha among them. This, this shouldn't be happening.

Could it be that in the few days he was away, their relationship had suddenly progressed by leaps and bounds?

Or had Cha Cha finally discovered Horikita-imouto's weakness and gained the upper hand?

Mikage Touji continued to let his imagination run wild, and then his pupils constricted.

The pen between his lips dropped onto the table with a clatter, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

Morishita Ran was walking toward them with Yamamura Miki in tow, looking as bold and spirited as ever.

It seemed that during his few days of secluded training, the wicked Morishita Ran had finally been unable to resist; worried that his strength might surpass hers, she had come specifically to disrupt his study progress.

How to Dispose of an Enemy's Ashes

Inside the library, Mikage Touji sat at one side of the table, hands clasped and pressed against his lips, scrutinizing Morishita Ran across from him against the light.

"What are you here for?" Mikage Touji asked with his eyes half-closed.

"Because I wanted to come, so I came."

Morishita Ran was as self-righteous as ever.

"The library is a public space open to everyone; anyone can come in to acquire knowledge. Please understand that, Mikage Touji-kun."

Having said that, Morishita Ran glanced at the workbook Mikage Touji had placed on the table and asked as if casually, "Did your seclusion end today?"

"Just finished a little while ago."

Mikage Touji asked with some hesitation, "You... seem very disappointed?"

"How could that be..."

Morishita Ran turned her head away and whistled with a slanted mouth.

"I'm saying, you weren't thinking of coming here to disrupt my study progress or anything, were you?" Mikage Touji said faintly.

"To actually suspect Morishita-sama of such a lack of concern for her classmates! Mikage Touji, you heartless, unfeeling pervert!"

Morishita Ran slammed both hands on the table, beginning her counter-accusation.

"Because Morishita-san said she couldn't find anything interesting, she came to find Mikage-san," Yamamura Miki whispered from the side.

In other words... this girl is treating me like a source of entertainment, isn't she? Mikage Touji felt his blood pressure slowly rising.

"I am spending my own time in the library to keep you company; shouldn't you feel grateful to me?"

"Thanks a lot." Mikage Touji offered a hollow, mirthless smile.

"You're welcome."

"My remedial session for today is over, so it looks like you've made a wasted trip."

"The Morishita Family never does useless work." Morishita Ran didn't seem to care about this, looking toward the library shelves. "Since I'm already here, I'll definitely find an interesting book before I leave."

It wouldn't be something like Japanese Yokai Folklore Records again, would it?

Without waiting for Mikage Touji to respond, Morishita Ran dragged Yamamura Miki into the stacks. Given her personality, finding a book that interested her in the vast sea of literature seemed like an experience in itself.

On the other side, Kamuro Masumi had just finished her problems and leaned back in her chair, looking as if she had finally been granted a reprieve.

Shiraishi Asuka sat with her legs crossed, idly flipping through a book while watching the bickering between Mikage Touji and Morishita Ran with great interest.

"You two go ahead first in a bit."

Mikage Touji took out his phone to check the time. With Morishita Ran's personality, she wouldn't leave satisfied until she had exhausted all her energy.

"I understand."

Shiraishi Asuka nodded with a smile. Ever since being dealt a critical blow by Mikage Touji earlier, she had softened significantly, as if she had returned to the gentle and considerate Yamato Nadeshiko persona she had at the start of the school year.

"Got it."

Kamuro Masumi nodded with a look of disdain. Unlike Mikage Touji, she was very busy; she still had to go investigate intelligence on Class D later.

After saying goodbye to the two, Mikage Touji turned around and scanned his surroundings, but he couldn't find any sign of Morishita Ran or Yamamura Miki.

I might as well find a book to kill some time myself...

Following the dazzling array of book titles on the shelves, Mikage Touji lightened his footsteps and wandered leisurely through the collection area.

The Red and the Black...

The Human Comedy...

Farewell, My Lovely...

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame...

Mikage Touji stopped in his tracks and reached out to take down the most incongruous book among them—Farewell, My Lovely. Hmm, Mikage Touji nodded with satisfaction; it looked much better this way.

Mikage Touji lowered his head to examine the cover of the book. The author was Chandler Lemons... the same author as The Long Goodbye he had been reading in the classroom the other day.

After a moment of hesitation, Mikage Touji decided to give it a try. Although the plot of the previous book had been spoiled by that girl Morishita Ran, he had to admit that the book had quite a lot of charm.

Thinking this, Mikage Touji tucked the book under his arm and walked away.

In a corner that Mikage Touji didn't notice, a girl with long, silver-white hair stared at the spine of the book he was carrying, her cute cheeks puffed out slightly.

Leaving the world literature section, Mikage Touji turned into the living and management area, where the crowd was thinner.

Morishita Ran was under a tall bookshelf in the innermost corner, standing on her tiptoes and reaching out to try and touch a book on the top shelf.

In all fairness, Morishita Ran wasn't short; she was slightly above average among the girls. Furthermore, there was a step stool nearby; she could have just moved it over and stepped on it to reach the book. Yet, this stubborn girl insisted on seeing if she could reach it herself.

Mikage Touji walked over silently, leaned lightly against the nearby wall, and watched the stubborn girl's actions with great interest.

After trying several times and realizing she couldn't reach it, Morishita Ran stopped, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she snapped her gaze toward Mikage Touji, who was watching the show while holding back laughter.

"You really are a cold-blooded, heartless, cunning, and sly Mikage Touji. Seeing your cute desk-mate in trouble, you don't choose to help, but instead stand by and watch."

"Haha, you were the one who laughed at my nine-point score in Japanese Literature back then."

Mikage Touji couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He placed the book he was carrying onto a nearby table and, while still laughing, walked over to Morishita Ran and raised his arm.

"Let your kind front-desk-mate help you get your target."

"Is it this one? Whoa, it's a translation from Chinese to Japanese. Let me see—"

Mikage Touji's smile gradually faded. His fingers stopped at the spine of the book, and he looked down at Morishita Ran with a blank expression.

"I suddenly really don't want to give you this book."

The title of the book was—How to Dispose of an Enemy's Ashes!

"Hand it over quickly!"

"No way. I'll check the contents first, then consider whether or not to give it to you."

"You really are a naturally evil Emperor Alien, always snatching other people's treasures."

"First come, first served. That's what you taught me. I'm borrowing this book first."

"You stingy Mikage Touji, you've held a grudge over a single seat until now? And didn't I give it back to you?"

"You call that giving it back? You have the nerve to call me stingy? Don't think I don't know that you were staring at me through the glass after I snatched the seat back that day. Are you going to tell me you weren't holding a grudge?"

"I was just curious what kind of shameless person could snatch a seat in public. Anyway, give it to me!"

"No!"

In the corner of the library, the evening sunlight shone through the glass window onto the two of them, casting their shadows on the floor. The taller shadow held the book high above his head, preventing the smaller shadow from reaching it, while the smaller shadow tried hard to stand on her tiptoes, grabbing the taller shadow's clothes and reaching for the book.

"Come on, if you can touch it, I'll give it to you. You couldn't reach it before, but maybe you can succeed now." Mikage Touji lowered the height of the book slightly, then, like fishing, pulled it higher bit by bit.

"Mikage Touji," Morishita Ran's eyes were fixed on the book, and her voice, which usually lacked emotional fluctuation, had a rare trace of anger, "You're done for. You actually dared to provoke Lady Morishita. Once I get my hands on it, I'll smash it onto your head in one blow and turn you back into a stone statue."

"Then I definitely can't give it to you. I have to study the contents of this book before you do, and then use your own methods against you!"

"A guy with a nine-point score in Japanese Literature should give up early. That's my advice to you."

"Huh? My Japanese Literature score this time is—"

The angry, embarrassed voice suddenly stopped.

"Finally surrendering—"

The slightly smug voice also fell silent.

Under the sunset, the tips of their noses were inches apart. Mikage Touji could clearly see his own face reflected in Morishita Ran's glistening eyes, the diamond-shaped hairpin on her head, and her slightly parted, moist lips. A peach-like fragrance drifted back and forth with the rhythm of their breathing, lingering around them. The ponytail fluttering in front of Morishita Ran's chest brushed against the back of his hand; it was a little itchy, and also a little strange.

"..."

Neither of them spoke, and they silently pulled apart.

After a long while, Mikage Touji silently handed over the book.

"Here..."

"Mm..." Morishita Ran took the book.

The two fell into a silent stalemate once again, and an indescribable atmosphere spread around them.

Finally, Mikage Touji broke the silence first.

"So... what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Whatever you want."

"The school cafeteria?"

"No!"

"That conveyor belt sushi place from last time?"

"No!"

"Then... the ramen shop?"

"Okay!"

Mikage Touji's eyelid twitched wildly. As expected, "whatever" was just a lie. Even someone as self-centered as Morishita Ran couldn't escape the common flaw of women.

Author's Note

I had a dream last night.

When I opened my phone at work, the uploaded chapter had somehow turned into a conversation between a seahorse and an octopus.

The octopus looked over here: "Look, it's all water!"

The seahorse looked over there: "Look, that's all water too!"

Then it just looped like that for a dozen pages, with a bunch of readers posting question marks, and comments like "what a mess," "what a load of crap," and "I'm out" cycling endlessly in the margins.

It scared me awake instantly.

Ahem, back to the main topic.

Actually, I didn't really care about the performance of this book at the beginning, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen Morishita Ran as the main heroine. I just simply thought this character was interesting, and since there was a line in the original work saying, "Whoever can date Morishita Ran must be a freak on the same level," the protagonist was born.

Then I realized that if the protagonist caused trouble in Class A, he would 100% be harassed by Sakayanagi Arisu. Or rather, it wouldn't meet reader expectations if the protagonist were in Class A and Sakayanagi Arisu ignored him. But if he defeated Sakayanagi Arisu, the plot would inevitably lean toward a romance with her, which didn't align with my original intention.

Furthermore, in Classroom of the Elite fanfiction, handling Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is always a headache. Either you have to use Spirit Concealment to hide him, or dragging him out to compete against him is bound to be a massive hassle. His stats are set too high, and he is too heartless to be a character in a normal novel. Yet, if you ban him, the second-year plot from the original work cannot unfold.

Thus, the title of this book came to be.

From the start, I thought, don't give the readers too high of an expectation. Write 2,000 words a day, add more if I'm in a good state, grind for two or three years, and produce a completed work.

Yes, I really want to finish this book.

Do you believe me? I had already thought about what to write in my post-completion reflections back when I was only about a dozen chapters in.

The final chapter of the story also suddenly came to me one day while I was out hiking because I was stuck on a plot point.

It's also on a bus, where Mikage Touji, facing Morishita Ran who had snatched his seat once again, smiles and says: "Stealing my seat means you'll have to pay me back with your whole life."

In the sunset, the bus slowly drives toward the outside world along the bridge connecting Advanced Nurturing High School. Amidst the sound of crashing waves, looking back, one sees the Advanced Nurturing High School dyed in madder red.

Crossing the bridge and turning the corner, the various buildings of Advanced Nurturing High School flicker in and out of sight between the skyscrapers, until after turning who knows how many corners, the Advanced Nurturing High School where he lived for three years no longer appears in Mikage Touji's line of sight.

And with that, the book is finished.

I had it all planned out: if the book reached a few hundred average subscriptions, or even better, a thousand, I would chat with the few readers in the comments every day, finish it at one or two million words, and in the future, when looking back on my past, I would discover that I had spent some fraction of my life writing a mediocre book that I personally found quite interesting.