A Future Daughter Sends Me Help in Classroom of the Elite

"This is truly foolish," Sakayanagi Arisu said, as if passing judgment on the Katsuragi Faction.

"..." Shirogane didn't respond.

He didn't know much about the students in Sakayanagi Class. From the information he'd gathered so far, Class A had split into two factions.

That meant Classmate Sakayanagi couldn't fully control Class A, so the class couldn't bring its full strength to bear.

That was good news for Class C.

Besides...

Sakayanagi seemed to look down on the Katsuragi Faction.

So, if he thought about how the Katsuragi Faction had come about, its members wanted to play it safe. That meant they believed Class A's class evaluation points were far ahead of the other classes.

They just wanted to hold on to their lead and coast until graduation.

And the person who'd brought about that situation... was probably Sakayanagi Arisu herself.

She stood out so much that she might have figured out the school's true nature earlier than the Class A students in previous years. That would have given them an advantage in the first-month Behavioral Standards Exam, which new students took every year, earning points that even previous Class A freshmen hadn't managed to get.

That would have let Class A pull ahead of the other, unsuspecting classes in the very first month.

So some of Class A's students wanted to hold on to that advantage. They joined the cautious Classmate Katsuragi's side, forming the Katsuragi Faction.

But Sakayanagi called them idiots.

Did that mean the Katsuragi Faction still hadn't realized that Class C's points had stabilized?

If so, the scene they hoped to see, with the other classes left far behind, might never come to pass.

Chapter 27: Classmate Sakayanagi, Could It Be That You...

The Katsuragi Faction was founded on the belief that Class A had pulled ahead of the other classes.

But that was only what its members assumed.

Perhaps once this month was over, they'd get a shock.

Still...

Shirogane watched Classmate Sakayanagi. She was talking about the Katsuragi Faction, but she didn't look troubled at all.

That meant she didn't consider the Katsuragi Faction an opponent.

Or perhaps the faction was forming because she was letting it happen... a way to weed out the idiots in her class.

"..."

Shirogane decided it was probably best not to overanalyze what the boss was thinking.

"By the way, Classmate Sakayanagi, you seem to have more points than an ordinary student," Shirogane said.

He'd wanted to bring it up back when they were in the Student Council. At the time, Sakayanagi Arisu had wanted to print the student rosters for all three years. It would have cost 300,000 points, and she hadn't agreed to it. But she'd still paid 100,000 points to print the first-year roster.

In other words, she couldn't afford 300,000, but she could still spend 100,000.

"My starting points are the same as every other student's," Sakayanagi Arisu replied. "That's a rather impolite question."

Impolite?

Shirogane thought he'd hit a nerve.

That meant fairness was something she cared about.

Could he take that to mean she might have points that were different from everyone else's—that she was in a position where she didn't have to be treated fairly?

Her health was poor, so the school had assigned her a familiar doctor. And since her health was poor and the school was closed off, it would make sense to give her more points so she could hire people to help her.

But Shirogane didn't think that explanation was right.

If the school had given her special treatment, then based on what he knew of Classmate Sakayanagi, she wouldn't have refused it. Nor would she have thought his question impolite.

So...

Perhaps there was some other reason. Something that let Sakayanagi Arisu receive special treatment and more points, even though she herself objected to it.

She wanted fairness. Or rather, fairness mattered to her.

"..." Shirogane.

Something occurred to Shirogane. The Narration System had told him that Class D had a genius boss named Koenji Rokusuke, the heir to a conglomerate, who had nevertheless come to this school.

Koenji had been placed in Class D, which was considered the worst class... Clearly, being the son of a conglomerate owner hadn't earned him any favors.

So the school probably didn't hand out special treatment based on a person's status.

Which meant...

Could there be a relative of Classmate Sakayanagi's working at the school, someone with a high-ranking position among the faculty? Perhaps she couldn't accept special treatment, not just for her own sake but for theirs, because if she did, they'd be suspected of favoritism.

And anyone capable of showing favoritism like that would probably hold a position of considerable influence.

"Classmate Shirogane, what are you thinking about?" Classmate Sakayanagi noticed that he seemed lost in thought.

"I was wondering if you had a family member working at the school in a high-ranking position," Shirogane said without thinking.

"..."

"..."

The silence lasted about 2.2 seconds. Classmate Sakayanagi's lips parted slightly, as if she were surprised.

But she quickly regained her composure.

"You really are an interesting person, Classmate Shirogane," Sakayanagi said, pretending to be at ease. "Let me answer your earlier question first."

"The points I have were voluntarily offered by students in my class," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "Twenty-two students support me. Each one contributes an amount according to their means."

"Although they spent quite a few points to learn the school's true nature, they joined school clubs on their own initiative. Club members receive a small monthly points allowance."

In other words, Class A's students had not only given Sakayanagi some of the 100,000 points they'd received when they enrolled, but had also joined clubs to get an allowance.

They'd earned more money so they could keep contributing.

"..."

The students in your class sure are dedicated.

But if joining a club came with an allowance, did joining the Student Council earn one too?

After learning the truth about the school and arranging for Classmate Ryuen to bring his class together, Shirogane had spent the past few days shutting out the world and focusing on his studies.

He'd found plenty of textbooks and study materials in the school library, even including older editions.

That was a strange situation.

A typical library wouldn't keep adding so many new textbook editions. It might have a few old ones, but that was all.

Yet the library had every edition of the textbooks from ten years ago to the present.

The school had money, but Shirogane didn't think it would waste it on something like this. So could it be that these different textbook editions were useful?

Perhaps they'd come in handy for a future Special Exam.

Special Exams were held once a month. Rather than wait until one suddenly required these textbooks, it was better to prepare now.

So he was studying the textbooks he'd been given while also getting ready to study the other editions. And when it came to the practical value of the information, older textbooks were often more detailed. A lot of the content had been removed or changed in newer editions.

So there was no harm in studying the older ones, too.

Shirogane's basic plan was to study: the material he was learning now, the material that would come up next in his textbooks, and several older editions.

But looking at things now, although the school didn't offer part-time jobs, joining a club... no, joining the Student Council had become a necessity.

So, please let this one-month evaluation period end soon.

Classmate Shirogane wanted special treatment.

[Sakayanagi Arisu's emotions seemed to grow a little tense. Were you not going to investigate further?]

[At first, she'd thought you were just an ordinary hard worker. She was a genius, and she didn't have much interest in ordinary people.]

[But just now, you hit a nerve. It seemed you'd caught her interest.]

[She might have a student follow you for a few days.]

"..." Shirogane.

The Narration System was pretty good at analyzing things, and it knew some information about the future, too.

At the same time, it seemed exceptionally good at reading Classmate Sakayanagi's moods.

But the Narration System could be pretty malicious, too. It often suggested making Classmate Sakayanagi cry or taking her cane to bully her.

It was as if it had some kind of grudge against her.

Classmate Sakayanagi, was your way of dealing with people who hit a nerve simply to have someone follow them and find their weakness?

Or were you planning to do something else?

Classmate Sakayanagi was still right there, so Shirogane wanted to clear the air. After all, there was no reason for them to be at odds right now.

But...

Classmate Shirogane watched Classmate Sakayanagi.

Classmate Sakayanagi was very cute. Her skin was snowy white and translucent, with a slightly sickly pallor. She looked so delicate and pitiable that she made you want to cherish her.

Everyone knew that. There was no need to say it.

?

Classmate Sakayanagi seemed to watch Classmate Shirogane in confusion.

She felt as though he was looking at her, but also as though he wasn't.

And Shirogane did have something in mind.

He'd hit a nerve, and Classmate Sakayanagi would have a student follow him.

If he caught the person following him, could he get some information out of them? Could he get them to identify the student who'd taken the photos? After all, following someone wasn't something you could openly admit to.

So...

With his guard fully up, Classmate Shirogane intercepted the person following him that very evening.

But the person wasn't from Class A. She was a girl from Class D...

Chapter 38: Horikita-go, Sortie! Horikita-go Crashes!

Shirogane had run into Sakayanagi Arisu at noon. By evening, he was already on high alert.

Then, while borrowing and returning books at the library, he noticed that someone was following him.

At first, he'd only vaguely sensed someone trailing him as he left the dormitory.

But Classmate Shirogane hadn't struck back right away. The other person hadn't done anything yet, so he needed to catch them first.

That's right.

Classmate Shirogane planned to catch the person Classmate Sakayanagi had sent to follow him.

He could have approached Classmate Kushida from Class D and used her information network to verify the identities of the Class A students, but now he realized that there was no one better than someone from his own class.

He could get a Class A student to identify another Class A student.

Since they were in the same class, they'd know more about each other.

Some Class A students belonged to the Katsuragi Faction, while those who'd chosen the Sakayanagi Faction were relatively smart. Would someone Sakayanagi had sent out really give in so easily?

The odds that the person would surrender voluntarily were low. But there was a good chance they'd betray the Katsuragi Faction's students, and might even fill in some of the gaps in the information Shirogane hadn't managed to gather.

That was the drawback of division between classes.