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

Yes, the secret to me becoming Homelander is in here; since you've discovered it, I have no choice but to silence you. Mikage Touji muttered to himself in his heart.

"A normal person wouldn't let a girl see that kind of thing, even if it is a Senior."

"So, you mean you do have it?"

"I don't!" Mikage Touji answered decisively, without a moment's hesitation.

"Hahaha, don't worry. Even if you really did, Senior wouldn't deduct points from you."

So, exactly how many points have I already lost in your heart?

After teasing Mikage Touji, Kiryūin Fūka bent over to take off her small leather shoes.

What met Mikage Touji's eyes was her slightly upturned, beautifully curved hips, the white Kouiku school uniform pleated skirt swaying in the air, and below that, two long legs wrapped in black stockings. One leg kicked back, her index finger hooking into the shoe to slide her small foot out. With his heightened senses, he could even see the soft, pink heel of Kiryūin Fūka's foot as it just emerged from the shoe.

Senior, you're playing a bit dirty.

Mikage Touji sighed gloomily in his heart.

"Where are the indoor shoes?" Kiryūin Fūka turned her head.

Mikage Touji fell into a brief silence. "If I said I forgot about that, would you be surprised?"

"I wouldn't be surprised by anything you do." She already had a considerable understanding of Mikage Touji.

"Senior, if you don't mind, use mine. I don't really use them at home anyway." Mikage Touji reached out and took out his own pair.

"No need."

Kiryūin Fūka waved a hand dismissively and stepped into the room in her black stockings, looking over the placement of items as she walked.

"Where are you hiding your little things?"

"Senior, why are you acting like a female hooligan, obsessing over that?"

"As a Senior, isn't it normal to care about the physical and mental health of a junior who admires me?"

"How is any of this normal?"

Kiryūin Fūka didn't care about that at all. She walked to the computer desk, picked up a book Mikage Touji had borrowed from the library to flip through, and then looked at the kitchenware on the counter.

"You have quite a wide range of hobbies. It seems your school life is pretty fulfilling." Kiryūin Fūka continued forward, her gaze stopping on the birdcage hanging on the balcony.

"You actually keep a bird?"

"It just gets along with me quite well."

"Where's the bird?"

"It hasn't been tamed by me yet; it just comes to visit occasionally."

"That's novel. Why are you feeding it french fries?"

"It said it likes them."

"Hearing you say that makes me want to see that bird. Introduce me if you get the chance."

"Sure."

After inspecting Mikage Touji's room, Kiryūin Fūka gave a crisp assessment: "Not bad!"

"Senior, if you were born in ancient times, you would definitely be a super general capable of taking on a hundred men. Uesugi Kenshin, Takeda Shingen—none of them would be a match for you."

"Is that so? I think so too. If it were me, it wouldn't be strange to pull that off."

Kiryūin Fūka nodded confidently, sat down by the table with her knees together, and assumed a formal posture.

"However, my goal is different from what you think, Junior. I want to shed the Kiryūin surname and then live a peaceful life like an ordinary person."

"Are you trying to become Kira Yoshikage too?" Mikage Touji, who was getting barley tea from the fridge, said in disbelief.

"What's that?"

"Ahem."

Mikage Touji cleared his throat, set down the barley tea, struck a twisted, bizarre pose, and began his chant.

Thirty seconds later, he looked at the uncharacteristically silent Kiryūin Fūka and asked with a hint of anticipation: "Senior, do you want to become that kind of person?"

"A guy who sounds like a total pervert from the moment you hear about him is definitely not my choice."

A faint flush appeared on the face of the usually self-willed Kiryūin Fūka, who never cared about the opinions of others, like a flash of lightning across a wilderness.

But soon, that flush vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"What I want to do in the future is to not rely on the Kiryūin name, get into university on my own, find a job at a small company after graduation, and then live an inconspicuous, unrestrained, and free life."

Mikage Touji's mouth twitched as he bent down to pour the barley tea. "But Senior, you're already very conspicuous right now."

Just dragging me to a cafe in full view of everyone was conspicuous enough.

"Is it?" Kiryūin Fūka was completely oblivious.

"Even I've heard the great name of the second-year Senior Kiryūin, who once skipped a special exam." Mikage Touji placed the barley tea in front of her.

"True, after all, it is me." Kiryūin Fūka quickly accepted this explanation.

"So, a peaceful life doesn't really suit you, Senior." Mikage Touji sat down, held the teacup with both hands, narrowed his eyes, and took a sip of tea. "Besides, you don't necessarily have to use that method to shed your surname."

"Then what good solution do you have?"

Mikage Touji smiled and gave a thumbs-up: "Find someone to marry!"

How did the two of them end up stacked on top of each other?

Advanced Nurturing first-year dormitory building.

A pigeon flapped its wings and descended from the sky, tucking its feathers as it landed on the balcony of a room on the fourth floor.

The Wild Pigeon pecked at its wings twice, tilted its head, and surveyed the two people inside the room with eyes full of wisdom.

"Coo~" (How did the two of them end up stacked on top of each other?)

Inside the boys' dormitory, Room 404.

So hard...

Yet so soft...

Mikage Touji's cheek was pressed against the cold floor, one arm pinned behind his back, while a soft but powerful hand pressed down on his neck.

Of course, those weren't the main points.

Mikage Touji wiggled his body.

The point was...

"Senior, I feel like you're a little bit heavy—"

Before he could finish, the hand on his neck increased its pressure, making the hard floor Mikage Touji was feeling grow even colder.

"You brat, you're still running your mouth and teasing your Senior at a time like this."

"Senior, don't you tease me just as much on a regular basis?"

Pinned to the floor with his cheek slightly squashed, Mikage Touji said in a muffled voice.

Fun fact: in Japan, women often choose to take their husband's surname after marriage.

Therefore, faced with the future expectations the Senior had voiced, Mikage Touji hadn't hesitated for a single second to offer this shortcut to the top.

Find someone to marry, and it's a one-and-done solution.

Following that, Mikage Touji's field of vision shifted abruptly upward from Kiryūin Fūka's furious, pretty face—first her flowing long hair, then her slender waist, followed by a dull thud as he opened his eyes to see long black-stockinged legs, his gaze finally settling on the five pinkish toes peeking out from her black stockings.

Hmm... they even smell a little nice...

Then he was sanctioned by the Senior, his entire body pressed against the floor, unable to move.

The pressure on his neck relaxed slightly, allowing Mikage Touji to speak normally.

"My intuition tells me that you seem to be thinking about something else, brat."

"Senior, intuition isn't always accurate. Would you really rather trust your intuition than trust me?"

Mikage Touji tried to play it tough and attempted to struggle, only to find it was completely futile; Kiryūin Fūka had skillfully controlled his body in a way that kept him firmly pinned without causing him actual pain.

Logically speaking, even with advanced techniques, Mikage Touji should have been able to break free using his own strength, yet he remained completely immobilized.

So, Senior, just how good is your physical fitness?

"If it were any other time, I would believe you, but not now. My intuition is very reliable; it usually has a hit rate of over fifty percent. Didn't my intuition find you in the first place? This is the first time I've met a little boy who dares to tease me like this."

No normal person would think about teasing you, Senior, you're so fierce—

"Hmm? It seems you're thinking about something bad again?" Mikage Touji was pressed back into the floor yet again.

Mikage Touji was starting to lose his composure. "No, Senior, is this intuition or mind reading? Is your family some kind of Italian mafia? Hyper-intuition?"

It was ridiculous; his own superpower could only vaguely sense other people's emotions, but the Senior was on another level—her intuition was basically mind reading.

"Mafia? It seems there is some involvement in that area, though it's not the main business. Now is not the time to talk about that. So, you really were thinking about something bad, weren't you?"

"..." Mikage Touji was speechless.

In the end, after struggling like a salted fish to no avail, Mikage Touji had no choice but to surrender under Kiryūin Fūka's pressure.

"Senior, I was wrong, please forgive me."

In the small, modest room, a boy and a girl sat beside a square table.

The boy sat obediently in front of the girl, writing out a test paper, while the girl flipped through the boy's exercise book with an air of indifference.

"Do you have to be so fierce? I think a one-step solution is perfectly fine." Mikage Touji lowered his head, holding a pen in one hand and rubbing his aching lower back with the other, muttering softly.

The Senior was proficient in combat techniques; Mikage Touji had experienced that firsthand with his own body.

"Hmm?" A cold glint flashed in Kiryūin Fūka's eyes. "What did you say?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." Mikage Touji quickly sat up straight.

Kiryūin Fūka turned back to continue browsing the exercise book, and the atmosphere in the room solidified for a moment.

Sure enough, whoever ends up marrying the Senior in the future will definitely be kept firmly under her thumb.

Mikage Touji quietly looked up, stealing a glance at Kiryūin Fūka's profile. Her silver hair was mostly held back by a slightly slanted headband, falling to both sides and covering half of her flawless cheek. Through the strands of hair, one could feel her undisguised, sharp edge.

She has a strong personality, is narcissistic and vain, possesses excellent abilities, and most importantly, she can really fight.

Who could possibly tame someone like her?

"Not bad. Is this really the progress you've made in just a few days?" Kiryūin Fūka snapped the workbook shut, interrupting Mikage Touji's train of thought.

Mikage Touji's level had gone from roughly seventh-grade Japanese Literature to the current average of Class A in just a few days, and that was only using the little bit of tutoring time available after school.

"Ahaha." Mikage Touji gave a dry laugh. "This is the result of help from my classmates and teachers. I've also been going to the library to study after school these past few days."

Shiraishi Asuka had helped him brush up on the basics of Japanese Literature, and then there were the Potion Notes from Mashima Tomoya... alright, he couldn't keep making this up.

What normal person could catch up on a subject in less than five days that others had spent years struggling to learn? Don't underestimate human effort, damn it!

It could only be said that the cheat System-chan left behind was truly useful!

"I never would have guessed, you're actually a genius." Kiryūin Fūka pinched her chin, looking Mikage Touji up and down. "Before I came, I was already prepared to drag you to tutoring if your Japanese Literature foundation was truly abysmal, and then I would have taught you myself."

Mikage Touji was confused. "Aren't I already being tutored right now?"

"There's a tutoring center at Keyaki Mall specifically for students. As long as you pay enough points, they can teach you from scratch, even if you're at an elementary school level."

"..."

System-chan, although I'm always cursing you for not acting like a human and often thinking about how if you ever appeared in front of me again, I'd definitely rip your USB port out until you leaked oil, but right now I want to sincerely say thank you, and then rip your port out until you leak oil.

If he were really dragged off to take elementary school courses by Kiryūin Fūka, and word got out, his reputation would be ruined forever. What would happen to his title as the Class A Weirdo?

"Maintain your current study efficiency, and you'll have a place for yourself in any field in the future. What are your plans? Let me use them as a reference."

Kiryūin Fūka straightened her posture, looking genuinely interested.

Mikage Touji continued writing on his test paper. "As for that... I don't really know. Change the world? Or live a plain and simple life like Senior? Both seem quite difficult."

Kiryūin Fūka nodded and asked seriously, "And then? How do you intend to change the world?"

"Eh? Doesn't Senior think I'm having a chuunibyou episode?"

Mikage Touji found it strange. Given the personality he had displayed so far, most people who knew him would likely think he was just acting up again and using chuunibyou to change the subject.