In Classroom of the Elite, My Future Daughter Gives Me a Helping Hand

Looking at it now, it seemed only natural that this class had been slandered through underhanded means.

After all, this class gave off an annoyingly warm atmosphere.

In other words, they seemed like do-gooders. And good people couldn't adapt to this school.

"This school seems pretty lively."

A silver-haired girl spoke from the First-Year Class A area.

It was Sakayanagi Arisu.

Today, Classmate Sakayanagi was dressed in the same school uniform as everyone else, but she wore a black beret. It was only a hat, yet somehow it seemed to boost her cuteness by thirty percent.

Unlike the other classes, which had separate lines for the boys and girls, the students of First-Year Class A stood mixed together in two lines.

Katsuragi Kohei led one line, with his lackey Totsuka Yahiko standing second.

Sakayanagi Arisu led the other, with her little dog, Classmate Kamuro, standing second.

Those were the Katsuragi Faction and the Sakayanagi Faction, with their followers standing dutifully behind them.

Even without the Student Council President paying much attention, anyone could see that their class was divided.

"Today, they're supposed to announce the new members of the Student Council," Katsuragi said. "But they've summoned every student here just to announce the new members. Even the homeroom teachers from every class have come."

"It seems the Student Council has more authority than we imagined," Katsuragi said. "Yesterday, Shirogane Miyuki from First-Year Class B was given the General Affairs position. It seems President Horikita had decided on it from the start."

"That must be his reward for leading Class C up to Class B," Katsuragi said.

Katsuragi had said this because he'd noticed that Shirogane wasn't with Class B. When he looked toward the platform at the front, though, he saw that Shirogane was already there.

Shirogane seemed to be talking to Secretary Tachibana Akane, who had hosted the opening ceremony last month.

Clearly, Shirogane had joined the Student Council and already started working.

It was no wonder he'd been given General Affairs. He had to do everything—and he could do everything.

"Speaking of which," a blond boy standing two places behind Classmate Kamuro suddenly chimed in, while Sakayanagi didn't respond. "Katsuragi-kun, you went to the Student Council yesterday to apply for membership too, didn't you? But you're still here, so does that mean you weren't selected? You're from Class A, after all!"

"Or was it because you weren't capable enough to earn the Student Council President's recognition?"

The boy was tall and lanky. He excelled at both physical ability and academics, and was exceptionally skilled at gathering information and tailing people.

Thanks to his talent for following people, Sakayanagi had entrusted him with important tasks, and he had quietly risen to the upper ranks of the Sakayanagi Faction.

His name was Hashimoto Masayoshi, but there was nothing just about Hashimoto.

Yesterday, while tailing Shirogane, he'd noticed Katsuragi heading to the Student Council as well. But Katsuragi had said nothing about it afterward, which clearly meant his application had failed. Now Hashimoto had let the news of Katsuragi's unsuccessful application slip out in the open.

And now he was mocking Katsuragi, trying to provoke him.

Unfortunately for him, Katsuragi was always levelheaded and wouldn't be swayed by such a transparent provocation.

But his lackey wasn't so patient. Totsuka Yahiko immediately said, "It's true that Katsuragi-kun was rejected when he applied to join the Student Council, but that doesn't mean he isn't capable. Our Class A is divided into two factions, so even if Sakayanagi applied, the Student Council President would reject her too."

So he was saying that Sakayanagi would be rejected as well, not just Katsuragi?

It sounded like he was trying to defend Katsuragi.

But...

He'd just revealed that their class was divided.

And...

He hadn't only embarrassed Katsuragi. He'd dragged Classmate Sakayanagi into it too.

"..." Shiina.

Since they'd moved up to Class B, the students standing beside Hiyori now were from Class A.

But to Hiyori, their neighbor Totsuka seemed like he wasn't very bright.

"Idiot," Ryuen said without hesitation.

"What did you say?"

Until then, it had only been infighting within the class. But when Ryuen suddenly mocked him, the already-irritated Totsuka immediately turned to look at him.

"Enough, Yahiko. Calm down." Katsuragi finally spoke, his eyes fixed intently on Hashimoto. "Our Class A is strong, but I don't recommend showing outsiders our internal strife in a situation like this."

"What matters is securing an overwhelming advantage."

In other words, Katsuragi still wanted to gain the upper hand. His best chance was to widen the gap.

"What just happened will only make the other classes laugh at us. Or do you want to become a sinner in the eyes of the class, Hashimoto?" Katsuragi's words were already quite harsh.

"I didn't say anything. I was just stating the facts." Hashimoto spread his hands and made a helpless ╮(╯▽╰)╭ face, as if he hadn't done anything at all.

"Why get angry? Hashimoto did overstep, and as the leader of the Sakayanagi Faction, I need to respond." Sakayanagi Arisu finally spoke. "As the price for Hashimoto's overstepping, I'll hand over control of this month's and next month's Special Exams."

"So, Katsuragi-kun, make sure you show everyone your 'steadiness' and 'ability,'" Sakayanagi said. "Can everyone follow Katsuragi-kun's instructions?"

"Understood!" X22

The students behind Sakayanagi answered in unison.

Their display of morale drew the attention of the students around them.

If Hashimoto had openly mocked Katsuragi and deliberately tried to provoke him, then Sakayanagi Arisu remained perfectly composed and handed Katsuragi a cleverly laid trap.

It was obvious that Class A's division was causing problems. They were even fighting each other without regard for where they were. So Sakayanagi had chosen to give up control for the time being and had her faction follow Katsuragi's lead.

It wasn't a compromise.

If Katsuragi failed to lead them or couldn't give the class an advantage, every student would lose faith in him.

After all...

He'd been given the chance to lead.

But he'd failed to improve the class's standing. Wouldn't that mean he wasn't capable enough?

All show and no substance.

That would make it much easier for Sakayanagi to take charge of the class again later.

That was Sakayanagi's clever trap.

But...

"..."

That girl really did love stirring up trouble, Kamuro thought from behind Sakayanagi.

Other classes, like Class 3-A, were united under President Horikita, with no other factions. But Sakayanagi's class was different. In fact, the Katsuragi Faction had only come into being because she'd fostered it herself. Sakayanagi could have taken control of the class from the start, but she hadn't. Instead, she'd watched Katsuragi's faction grow until the class was now divided.

So Sakayanagi was really just playing around.

Though they'd all dutifully shown up, each of the three first-year classes had its own agenda.

At last, the view shifted to Class D.

Homeroom teacher Chabashira Sae stood far behind the students.

The Student Council had told the students to gather here, but since they hadn't started putting everyone in order yet, the students were still free to do as they pleased.

But freedom was one thing. Being unable to stand properly in line was another.

For example, this.

"Don't come so close. You smell like sweat."

"No, I don't. How could I possibly smell like sweat?"

"That's the smell of the clothes, not me. I brushed against Ike just now. It's Ike's smell."

"What? Yamauchi, you didn't wash your clothes yesterday. You wore the same outfit two days in a row."

"Ike, what are you talking about? I just sweat a little more than most people. It's not like I didn't wash them—when you haven't washed your socks in two days either!"

Or this.

"Koenji, you're so tall. You shouldn't be standing so far forward."

"And this is a gathering. Do you really have to look in the mirror and fix your hair right now?"

The students of Class D were constantly bickering.

Hirata, meanwhile, had turned into a mother hen, soothing the students around him.

The students in the class easily grew dissatisfied with one another over this or that, and some already had issues with each other. So even gathering them together took a while.

Chabashira had fallen silent at the sight.

As their homeroom teacher, she hadn't been told much about today's assembly either, but she'd noticed what was happening on the platform.

One student had been up there for a while.

If he could stand alongside members of the Student Council at a time like this, he'd probably been accepted into it.

That student was Shirogane Miyuki of the new First-Year Class B.

Though the new First-Year Class B revolved around Ryuen's violent rule, Shirogane Miyuki had also made quite a name for himself.

So that was it. The Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, had brought Shirogane into the Student Council.

Thinking this, Chabashira looked toward the girls' line.

Horikita Suzune stood third in the girls' line. Her left hand gripped the hem of her uniform, and she looked toward the platform with her lips pressed together.

She was the Student Council President's younger sister.

And right now, she seemed somewhat intimidated by her exceptionally capable older brother.

So Horikita really couldn't be helped.

If she had any fighting spirit, she should have wanted to be the one standing up there.

But Horikita didn't seem to have that thought at all.

It was as if she'd already given up.

Chabashira looked at Koenji again. He was still utterly unconcerned with anyone else. Then her gaze fell on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was mixed in among the ordinary students, but Ayanokoji-kun wore an expressionless face and didn't seem particularly interested. He was just quietly passing the time.

"..."

Chabashira felt disheartened.

"I'm Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President." Horikita Manabu finally stepped onto the platform. "First of all, I didn't gather everyone here today for anything else."

"It's to announce the new members of the Student Council."

"Not only the second-years and third-years, but now even the first-years have finally come to understand what this school is really like."

"Then you should know what makes this school unique. The Student Council has considerable authority, and those who join it have the ability I recognize," Horikita Manabu said.

Though Horikita Manabu wore the same school uniform as everyone else, he gave off an intense, chilling sense of pressure.

Every first-year below fell silent.

They began paying close attention to the stage.

Some first-years from other classes had already noticed that Shirogane, a classmate they usually saw around, was standing up there.

So Classmate Shirogane had earned the President's recognition?

It's just a General Affairs position on the Student Council. It shouldn't be anything special, Totsuka thought. He'd accompanied Katsuragi to the Student Council yesterday.

Katsuragi hadn't been allowed to join because of the division in their class.

As a loyal member of the Katsuragi Faction, Yahiko felt a little jealous that Shirogane had joined the Student Council before Katsuragi-kun.

"So it really is Classmate Shirogane," Sakayanagi said, looking up.

She'd known that he was a born hard worker. Studying diligently at this school was meaningless; one had to be flexible. And sure enough, he'd adapted to that quite brilliantly.

He really was a promising candidate she'd chosen to face Ayanokoji-kun.

Still, there was something rather endearing about the way he was striving so hard to climb the ladder.

"..." Kamuro.

Standing behind Sakayanagi, Classmate Kamuro said nothing, as if she had no opinion at all. But only Kamuro knew that Sakayanagi had told her Shirogane already knew about her kleptomania.