Classroom of the Elite, I Only Want Your Rewards

It was practically a blanket attack, and one by one, dissatisfied gazes turned toward Horikita Suzune.

Facing their stares, Horikita Suzune acted as if she didn't see them and continued, "Although it's unclear what the exam is, I think we can start by changing your conduct and trying to maintain the appearance expected of a student."

Well, this was the first time she had seen students sleeping, playing on their phones, and talking during class; they didn't treat this place like a school at all.

"Next, I hope you can all save at least half of your Private Points. Stop the reckless spending; just covering your daily expenses is enough."

In Horikita Suzune's view, this was the most logical thing in the world, yet few people responded to her proposal.

Hirata Yosuke gave a bitter smile. "I think we should verify these things with Chabashira-sensei first."

"Yeah, who knows if you're lying?" a boy shouted.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka happened to recognize the person; his name was Ike Kanji.

"I have no reason to lie," Horikita Suzune said calmly. "However, you are free to verify these things if you wish."

"Ahaha, actually, Horikita-san has already asked Chabashira-sensei in advance, right?" Kushida Kikyo blinked, seemingly hinting at something.

Horikita Suzune didn't take the bait, instead saying, "In any case, if you want to promote to Class A, you must correct your bad habits starting tomorrow. Whether it's being late or slacking off—you're already high school students, don't you know how a normal student should behave?"

Screech—

"Yosuke, let's go. We still have to head to karaoke."

A girl dressed like a gyaru suddenly stood up and walked toward the classroom exit. The other girls looked at each other and followed in her footsteps.

The atmosphere in the classroom was terrible. Both Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo noticed this, though the latter remained all smiles.

"Sorry, Horikita-san, let's talk later." Hirata Yosuke could tell that the students in the class had no strong desire to promote to Class A; only a few were truly unwilling to give up.

Horikita Suzune watched them leave, completely baffled. Could it be that she was the only one in the entire class who felt dissatisfied with the status quo?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been watching from the sidelines, sighed slightly. The current Class D would never cooperate with Horikita Suzune's actions.

Just as Horikita Suzune believed that no matter how miserable next month was, there would still be points remaining, Class D didn't believe they would lose many points either.

They might even think they would increase.

Chapter 38: Ryuen Kakeru

Suzuki Toru didn't know what had happened in Class D. He hadn't written anything specific in the document, only briefly mentioning that Nagumo Miyabi of the second year had managed to rise to Class A within a single semester.

If nothing went wrong, Horikita Suzune should be very tempted right now.

However, it remained to be seen whether she had the talent to lead a class.

If she didn't, he might as well squeeze Horikita Suzune dry and have her expelled sooner rather than later.

As for getting the Student Council President expelled, that was a bit more difficult. The guy was, after all, the Student Council President and the core figure of Class A in the third year.

Unless he could bribe the school board and the director to tweak the rules.

As Suzuki Toru thought about this, he finally arrived at the entrance of Class C and happened to see a red-haired boy walking out of the classroom, followed by several others.

In an instant, the other party's gaze locked onto Suzuki Toru.

[Heh heh heh, you wouldn't want the promotion plan to fail, would you, Dragon Boy], [Call on Class C to overthrow Ryuen Kakeru's rule], [Let Ryuen Kakeru rule the first year through violence], [Want to see Ryuen Kakeru beat up Ayanokoji], [Actually, Ryuen Kakeru could also wear a maid outfit to attract customers], [Destroy Ryuen Kakeru's will]...

Just like a few days ago, several wishes popped up on him from time to time. Suzuki Toru was already somewhat used to it and wouldn't make a fuss.

But unlike last time, the large black man was now standing silently behind him; presumably, the "training" was complete.

"Are you Ryuen-kun from Class C?" Suzuki Toru took the initiative to greet him.

Ryuen Kakeru frowned. He had originally thought this guy was just a passerby; he hadn't expected him to be coming specifically for him.

"Heh, which class are you from?"

His sharp gaze stared at Suzuki Toru like a viper. Combined with his delinquent attire and the lackeys behind him, he exuded an aggressive aura.

If it were an ordinary student, they would likely be terrified and flustered by now.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Suzuki from Class A of the first year."

At the same time, Suzuki Toru noticed that the students of Class C were coming out of the classroom one after another, which surprised him slightly.

Judging by this situation, Ryuen Kakeru must have announced something in class just now; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people lingering in the classroom.

"So it's a guy from Class A. What do you want with me? Don't tell me you're planning to mock us?" Ryuen Kakeru wore a smile on the surface, but he was vigilant inside.

He didn't know this guy, and for the other party to show up at such a critical moment was too suspicious!

After more than a week of entanglement, the black student Albert finally couldn't take Ryuen Kakeru anymore and announced his surrender today, acknowledging Ryuen Kakeru as his boss.

With this, Ryuen Kakeru had basically subdued the students in the class, and he had just forcibly made the class follow his orders moments ago.

If one observed carefully, it was easy to see that the Class C students walking out of the classroom now were looking at Ryuen Kakeru with eyes full of fear.

The method was simple: just a little bit of violence.

In fact, when Ryuen Kakeru beat the other delinquents into submission, the whole class had witnessed it, and Albert was just the last one.

After dealing with those people, the submission of Class C was a matter of course.

Just as he was feeling high-spirited, a guy from Class A suddenly popped up. Ryuen Kakeru's mood turned sour instantly; he even suspected that someone in his class had leaked information.

Otherwise, why would Suzuki Toru single him out right from the start?

Although Ryuen Kakeru was unwilling to hide anything, ruling a class through violence was an unsightly method; if Class A were to exploit that, it would be extremely disadvantageous for both him and Class C.

"I want to discuss something useful with you, but before that, I need to confirm one thing." Suzuki Toru ignored his probing, "Are you the recognized leader of Class C?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Ryuen Kakeru's expression didn't change, but someone behind him couldn't help but interject.

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about, kid?"

Perhaps viewing the previous remark as a provocation, a male student glared at Suzuki Toru with a hostile look.

To a delinquent student, it certainly sounded like a provocation.

"Heh, Ishizaki, shut up. I didn't give you permission to speak." Ryuen Kakeru sneered, "I don't know how you set your sights on me, but Class C is mine now. If you have something to say, spit it out."

Hearing this, a short-haired girl behind him turned her head away with a look of disdain.

The students of Class C naturally noticed the scene unfolding before them; almost everyone could hear the exchange, with some feeling resentful and others fearful.

"How much do you know about the school's rules?" Suzuki Toru asked.

Ryuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow, revealing a mocking smile: "At least I know you lot in Class A are the enemy, the so-called 'excellent talents'."

Suzuki Toru nodded: "More than I expected. So, shall we cooperate?"

"Cooperate on what?" Ryuen Kakeru suddenly became interested.

"Class C wants to climb up, and Class B is your first obstacle. Class A wants to maintain its status, and Class B is also the first target that needs to be eliminated."

"Interesting. You guys in Class A want to make a move on Class B right after school starts? You've got guts." Ryuen Kakeru remarked, his smile widening, "However, I have a question. Are you with Sakayanagi, or are you with Katsuragi?"

Suzuki Toru wasn't surprised at all; the infighting in Class A was too obvious to be hidden from anyone.

It wasn't just Class A; the violent behavior in Class C was also rumored among the first-years, especially regarding Ryuen Kakeru, though the specifics remained unclear.

"For now, I am on my own, so you don't need to worry about getting dragged into the power struggle of Class A. It won't do Class C any harm." Suzuki Toru answered patiently.

"..." Ryuen Kakeru almost laughed out loud. He was dying to see the two tigers of Class A fight until they dropped; he would have loved to fan the flames from the sidelines.

To be told he didn't need to worry about being dragged into Class A's infighting—was this some kind of bad joke?

"Enough with the nonsense, Suzuki. What do you want to do?" Ryuen Kakeru asked bluntly.

"The school placed you in Class C and gave you the same amount of points, which suggests this month is merely an observation period for the school." Suzuki Toru said, "As long as you perform well, even a single month is enough to turn the tables on your class ranking."

Regarding the S System, Ryuen Kakeru had also vaguely guessed something, though he owed that mostly to his Class C homeroom teacher, who had provided enough hints.

Before Ryuen Kakeru could speak, Suzuki Toru continued: "The school hasn't given us any information. The absence of a prompt is, in itself, a prompt. How students behave when they are kept in the dark—I think that is the very reason the school divided the classes this way in the first place."

"As for Class A's performance, honestly, there's nothing to say. But as for you, Class C, and Class D, what kind of impression will you leave on the school?"

Ryuen Kakeru's initial dismissive attitude slowly shifted into a grave expression. After Suzuki Toru laid it out like this, he finally realized what was happening.

"Actually, the best way for Class C to surpass Class B this month is simple. Since Class A is the class the school deems the most excellent, then by imitating and learning from Class A while simultaneously creating negative impacts for Class B, you should be able to rise to the top smoothly."

At this point, Suzuki Toru paused and calmly concluded: "To put it bluntly, we just need to pretend to be the kind of talent the school expects us to be."

Chapter 39: Actually, You Can Put It in Your Mouth Too

The essence of these words lay in how Advanced Nurturing High School defined its so-called meritocracy.

One only needed to look at the students placed in Class A to understand it perfectly.

Their grades were generally excellent, their abilities were outstanding, and they had students with top-tier resumes like Katsuragi.

When these people were gathered in one class, what was the first thing they would display?

The answer was obedience to the rules.

If Suzuki Toru had to offer a critique, it would be that they were orderly, with a hint of internal competition.

The overall level was high, with no obvious flaws, and the leaders were equally capable—at least Sakayanagi Arisu had talent, even if her personality was wretched.

By comparison, what did the other classes have?

Not to mention Class B, Suzuki Toru had been observing Class C and Class D over the past few days, especially Class D.

Even Class C knew some of the truth, yet Class D was completely oblivious, shopping recklessly; that alone was enough to explain the situation.

Occasionally, he would see a few Class D students on the road discussing karaoke and parties, seemingly not taking the strangeness of this school to heart at all.

When he had a brief conversation with Horikita Suzune last time, if he hadn't intentionally provoked her, even she—in Class D—wouldn't have believed she could lead the entire class to Class A.

Even then, Horikita Suzune was still planning to ruthlessly abandon some of her classmates.

As for Class C, this was the first time Suzuki Toru had seen someone rule a class through violence.

Although this method wasn't much, simply being good at fighting certainly didn't make one the kind of talent the school recognized, which was why Ryuen Kakeru ended up in Class C instead of Class A.

"I've heard from upperclassmen that it's rare for a lower-ranked class to overtake Class A; Class A usually wins all the way to graduation." Suzuki Toru looked at Ryuen Kakeru, "This month is most likely an observation period for the school. If Class C leaves a better impression on the school than Class B, it would be perfectly normal for the rankings to shift."

Ryuen Kakeru was silent for a moment, then let out a cold laugh: "If we surpass Class B in a month, the ones who won't be able to sleep at night will be you guys in Class A!"