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

Damn it, he must have used some despicable trick to bewilder me! My loyalty to Katsuragi Kōhei is absolute!

"Why are you here, Mikage Touji? Want some snacks?" Katsuragi Kōhei appeared quite enthusiastic about Mikage Touji's arrival, casually picking up some snacks from the table and handing them to him.

"Katsuragi, I have come to critique you."

Mikage Touji straightened his face, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to pace slowly around Katsuragi Kōhei, much like a middle-aged leader in a Zhongshan suit criticizing a young subordinate who had made a mistake.

"The students in the class are all having a wonderful time. How can you, as the class leader, sit here with such a serious face? It makes the students feel restricted and unable to sing their hearts out. You must take the lead, fully exert your subjective initiative, and improve the class's cohesion. Only then can we maintain stability in the increasingly fierce class struggles of the future."

"But..."

A bead of cold sweat slid down Katsuragi Kōhei's forehead. He tried to explain, "In fact, I have never tried singing at a KTV before. I don't have much confidence in my voice."

"How do you know you can't do it if you haven't tried? Ichinose told me she rarely went to KTVs before, and look at her now—isn't she perfectly at ease?"

Faced with the Ichinose offensive brought up by Mikage Touji, Katsuragi Kōhei revealed an unprecedented sense of panic, waving his hands vigorously, "Let's just forget it, I—"

"No need to explain. The path of life is right beneath your feet; how can you give up the starry sky above just because of your fear of the distance? Go, Katsuragi, we are with you!"

Mikage Touji spoke with great passion, then seized the microphone from the table and shouted emotionally to the entire room:

"Students! Let us welcome Katsuragi Kōhei as he sings a song for us!"

The noise in the room ceased instantly. All eyes turned toward Katsuragi Kōhei, and a moment later, thunderous applause erupted.

"Katsuragi! Katsuragi! Katsuragi!"

Totsuka Yahiko and Mikage Touji once again formed a united front by unspoken agreement, waving their arms and cheering wildly for him.

Driven by the two of them, the cheering quickly spread through the crowd.

"Katsuragi! Katsuargi! Katsuragi!"

Katsuragi Kōhei watched the Class A students closing in. He tried to close his gaping mouth, his throat bobbed, and his brain entered a state of system failure. His shiny bald head even began to flush a faint, translucent red.

"Do you hear that? These are the voices of your classmates. Go on, let us step into that unknown battlefield together and seek out new scenery."

Without further ado, Mikage Touji shoved the microphone into Katsuragi Kōhei's hand and pushed him toward the large screen in the center of the KTV, causing him to stumble twice into the center of the crowd's view.

As for Mikage Touji himself, he turned and left the noisy place behind, just as he had come—quietly, leaving not a single cloud behind...

Katsuragi Kōhei regained his senses, looked at the microphone in his hand, then looked left and right, only to find that the stage was completely empty except for himself, surrounded by the gathered Class A students.

We... where did the "we" go?

He turned his head frantically, scanning every corner of the crowd, wanting to find the culprit who pushed him up here, Mikage Touji, so he could drag him up to keep him company.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a distant glimpse of Mikage Touji's departing back. Just as he was about to shout, "Mi—"

"Katsuragi, I've already queued up a song for you. The Only Flower in the World is definitely perfect for you. Come on, show the whole class your singing voice!"

Totsuka Yahiko ran over excitedly and pushed down the hand Katsuragi Kōhei had extended into the air.

"..."

Katsuragi Kōhei stared blankly at the incredibly excited Totsuka Yahiko, then suddenly said with a straight face, "Yahiko, let's sing it together."

"Huh?"

A moment later, amidst the uproarious laughter of the entire class, two stumbling, bashful voices rang out in the center of the KTV.

After finishing one battlefield, Mikage Touji marched on, high-spirited and without a moment's delay, toward the next. A new storm had already appeared; how could he stop moving forward!

In the gaming area, the class heartthrob Satonaka Satoshi was being pulled by Nakajima, Hoashi, and a group of girls to play board games, accompanied by a few friends who often played with them.

Damn it! To be this popular with the girls!

Elbow! Go and burn him!

After only a 0.01-second hesitation of jealousy, Mikage Touji steeled his heart. He would restore justice to this world that sang of youth!

With his intent clear, Mikage Touji launched a Don Quixote-style charge against the class's biggest social butterfly.

They had just finished a round of Werewolf, and Mikage Touji made a grand entrance: "Add me in, I'm not very good at this!"

"Oh, Mikage wants to play too? Sure!"

The social group welcomed Mikage Touji and even brought him drinks and snacks.

Mikage Touji gulped down half a bottle of orange juice, signaling that he would absolutely never surrender.

The game started quickly, and the group sat scattered around the table.

On the first day, Mikage Touji didn't hesitate for a second. He decisively jumped out as the Seer and began to Point at a Deer and Call it a Horse.

"I'm reporting it: Satonaka is a Werewolf. I saw it with my own eyes!"

Huh? Me?

Satonaka Satoshi quietly checked his card, confirming that he was indeed the Seer and not a Werewolf. He had checked Mikage Touji the previous night, but that guy was the Hunter, right?

Hampered by the fact that Mikage Touji enjoyed the trust (or rather, the overwhelming intimidation) of his classmates, Satonaka Satoshi found himself unable to defend his innocence. His reasoning was deemed too absurd—he actually claimed Mikage Touji was the Hunter—and in the end, he was forced to die an unjust death.

A villager died during the night. On the second day, Mikage Touji continued to set the pace, using his "I reckon" power, supplemented by shifty eyes and incoherent, contradictory statements, to successfully eliminate a Werewolf.

On the second night, the Witch went berserk and took out a Werewolf directly.

You're actually stealing my kill?

Could this be tolerated? Mikage Touji decisively used Pointing at a Deer and Calling it a Horse once again.

The witch gripped the two iron bars, screaming desperately about her innocence, but she was no match for the righteous aura of Mikage Touji and was dragged away.

This time, everyone realized something was slightly off, and the way they looked at Mikage Touji became strange.

On the third night, the werewolf pressed on, taking away another villager.

During the day, everyone stared at Mikage Touji with gloomy eyes.

Stare~

"Why are you looking at me? I'm a confirmed good guy! Trust me, I will lead you all to victory," Mikage Touji said without changing his expression.

Alas, the truth is always held by the minority. Facing the surging public opinion, Mikage Touji stood firm, refusing to yield even in death, and was gloriously eliminated.

The young warrior fell at the final moment of dawn, and Mikage Touji unleashed a Heaven and Earth Longevity, taking the last werewolf down with him.

"Phew—"

Having successfully won the victory for his faction, Mikage Touji wiped away a bead of sweat that didn't exist on his forehead. "What a hearty and exhilarating duel."

"You're the only one who thinks so, right?!"

The rest of the students, who remained confused until the very end, retorted in unison.

Having finished his final campaign, the elderly Mikage Touji set foot on the road back to his hometown.

In his youth, he had vowed to roam the world with his sword, taking the best blade in the village, bidding farewell to the village chief, and stepping into the martial world.

Now that he had achieved fame and power, it was time to wash his hands of the business and retire from the world.

Following the scent of rice from his memories, crossing the ridges and walking past the haystacks, Mikage Touji returned to that small village once more, where the old acquaintances remained.

"I've returned from my wandering."

Morishita Ran looked at Mikage Touji, whose hands were empty.

"Where are the things?"

Mikage Touji fell into a long silence.

"I forgot..."

Chapter 51: Random Fists Beat the Master

Approaching five in the afternoon, inside the KTV private room, the blinding laser lights had been extinguished. Only a few dim wall lamps on the ceiling remained, stingily spilling light over the empty booth area, with very few students left on the scene.

An hour ago, following Katsuragi Kōhei's announcement of dismissal, a group of Class A students had gone their separate ways, leaving only a few idle people with nothing to do lingering here.

Yes, the idle people referred to Mikage Touji and his group.

Morishita Ran, who had been sitting in her seat just a moment ago, had already excitedly dragged Yamamura Miki over to the big screen. Her fingers were sliding rapidly across the song selection screen, and she was humming an off-key melody, looking like she was about to play a song that interested her.

Kamuro Masumi looked at the microphone on the table, her expression somewhat uncertain; perhaps she still wanted to see if her tone-deaf constitution could be saved?

With nothing to do, Mikage Touji sank into the soft sofa, bowing his head to fiddle with his phone.

Having been subjected to Cha Cha's targeted bombardment over the past two days, Mikage Touji discovered that the things she sent seemed a bit off.

What do you mean "that bitch Horikita," and she even told me to drag those dead pigs in the class to attend tutoring? Just go die already!

What do you mean "that pretentious loli Arisu Sakayanagi," she actually ordered me to run errands for her? Can't she run just because her legs are crippled?

What do you mean "that damn goody-two-shoes Hirata Yousuke," he acts as a peacemaker in class every day, making it impossible for me to isolate them?

Cha Cha, what do you take me for?

Seeing that I occasionally chatted with you over the past two days without any intention of exposing you, you've become increasingly presumptuous, haven't you?

The most unbearable part was that there was even a small amount of information about Class D in here, forcing Mikage Touji to patiently finish reading Kushida Kikyou's toxic rants.

Could it be that this is also part of your plan?

However, letting her be this arrogant won't do; I have to dampen her spirit.

[Jiji Fu Jiji: ?]

3 seconds later...

[Everyone Is Good Friends: Did you fall and hit your head when you went downstairs?]

[Everyone Is Good Friends: A question mark? A question mark? What does that mean? Or has your brain already devolved into an ape, and you can't even type anymore?]

[Everyone Is Good Friends: Looking at your typing speed, you must have been doing "that" too much in a dark room to end up like this. Enough talk, you student council member, come up here and meet your death!]

Hmm... arriving on the battlefield at lightning speed as always.

[Jiji Fu Jiji: I'm saying, it's one thing to curse at each other, but why are you dumping your trash on me?]

[Everyone Is Good Friends: Ha? Aren't you trash yourself? Isn't it natural for trash to stay with trash?]

[Jiji Fu Jiji: Aren't you afraid I'll delete you? If I do, you might never find me again in this lifetime.]

The other side seemed to go silent for a moment, then a message appeared on the phone screen.

[Everyone Is Good Friends: Oh my~ I was just joking with you... You wouldn't be willing to delete me, right? Pitiful.jpg]

This speed of changing faces like a Sichuan opera performer...

This rapid-fire switching of speaking attitudes...

As expected of Kushida Kikyou, who claims she wants to be friends with the entire grade; she has truly mastered the art of saying what people want to hear.

However, this personality that can switch forms like an Ultraman actually felt a bit amusing to Mikage Touji, so he decided to tease her a little more to see if he could force her Inner Kushida form to come out again.

[Jiji Fu Jiji: Don't say things like that, show some sincerity.]

"Huhu~"

A soft laugh, accompanied by a faint, pleasant scent of shampoo, drifted past his ear, the breath tickling his earlobe.

Turning his head, he saw that Shiraishi Asuka, who had gone to the restroom, had silently returned and was now standing right beside Mikage Touji.

Shiraishi Asuka elegantly raised a hand to hold down her skirt and sat down shoulder-to-shoulder with Mikage Touji, causing the soft sofa to sink slightly; their arms were pressed almost tightly together, transmitting a warm sensation.

Leaning her head toward the phone screen, her golden hair cascaded down, brushing against the back of Mikage Touji's hand as she asked curiously, "Is this... that Kushida student from Class D?"

"Does Shiraishi-san also feel like there's something off about her?"

Mikage Touji didn't mind that Shiraishi Asuka was looking at the chat, but he was a bit surprised that she had deduced it was likely Kushida Kikyou just from the content above.

"Because the intelligence report mentioned that the students in Class D are defective goods with certain flaws. She previously tried to add me and Ryoko as friends, and her behavior felt a bit deliberate."

Shiraishi Asuka pointed at the content on the screen and added with a smile, "Besides, one can tell from the content above that she is quite a popular student in her class."

"As expected of Shiraishi-san." Mikage Touji praised her sincerely.

"Are you interested in her, Mikage-kun?"

"I wouldn't call it interest; let's just say this girl is a bit amusing."

Mikage Touji shrugged and moved the phone closer to Shiraishi Asuka's eyes so she wouldn't have to bend over so hard to see.

The next second, with a buzz, the phone vibrated.

A photo was sent to Mikage Touji's phone, causing him to freeze instantly just as he was about to share Cha Cha's outrageous actions with Shiraishi Asuka.