Classroom of the Elite, Keima Katsuragi's Love Brain Battle

But...

If she didn't say it now, she would miss her chance.

"Keima-kun, would you like to eat lunch together later..."

Just as Airi Sakura mustered up her courage, a figure flashed through her peripheral vision.

Suzune Horikita walked up in front of Keima Katsuragi.

"Katsuragi, do you have any plans for lunch?"

"What are you doing? You..."

"So it seems you don't. That's great."

Suzune Horikita didn't give Keima Katsuragi any chance to refuse, stating directly, "Wait for me, and come with me."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm treating you to lunch."

Suzune Horikita said to Keima Katsuragi with absolute seriousness.

Ever since she learned about the S-System from Chabashira-sensei and that the ranking between classes could change, Suzune Horikita had made a decision.

She absolutely would not accept being stuck in Class D.

She had to promote to Class A.

Suzune Horikita was unaware that transferring classes required 20 million points, so she had only one thought in her mind: to do everything in her power to increase the class points.

And currently, there was only one direct way to do that.

That was to improve the class's academic performance.

Although school had only just begun, Suzune Horikita was already thinking about the midterm exams.

The small test on the first day of school had given Suzune Horikita a certain understanding of the students' academic abilities in the class.

Some people... were truly abysmal.

For example, Haruki Yamauchi, Ken Sudo, and those few others.

Suzune Horikita had observed their behavior.

Their test scores were poor, and they were the ones who had been the least compliant with class rules from the start.

Even today, they had merely refrained from playing on their phones or sleeping during class, but it was obvious they weren't listening seriously at all.

If things continued like this, these people would definitely fail the midterm exams!

Suzune Horikita could not accept being dragged down by them.

Therefore, she decided to discuss it with Keima Katsuragi today.

Even though Suzune Horikita found certain behaviors of Keima Katsuragi very disagreeable, she had to admit that his academic ability was outstanding.

Most importantly...

Suzune Horikita had no friends, and the only person she could actually talk to was Keima Katsuragi.

"Ah?!"

At this very moment, upon hearing Suzune Horikita's words, Airi Sakura let out an involuntary gasp.

W-what?

Why was Horikita-san suddenly asking Keima-kun to lunch?

T-this, what should she do?

Although she had invited him first... she didn't know if Keima-kun had heard her...

Was there such a thing as first-come, first-served for this kind of thing?

Airi Sakura's brain nearly crashed; she had never encountered a situation like this, and she wilted slightly.

"What's wrong? Sa, Sakura-san?"

Hearing the sound Airi Sakura made, Suzune Horikita frowned and looked at her with some confusion.

In her eyes, Airi Sakura was like a transparent existence within the class.

She had almost forgotten the girl's name just a moment ago.

"N-nothing..."

Airi Sakura hurriedly lowered her head in embarrassment.

Right now, she just wanted to escape from this classroom as quickly as possible.

She would just wait for them to leave first...

"Katsuragi, let's go."

Suzune Horikita didn't think much of it, immediately shifting her attention back to Keima Katsuragi's face, her fox-like eyes projecting an incredibly serious gaze.

"I refuse."

"What?"

"You suddenly came over to invite me to lunch, so there definitely isn't anything good going on."

As Keima Katsuragi spoke, he turned his head to look at Airi Sakura, who was about to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.

"Besides, I just agreed to have lunch with Sakura-san."

"Hm?"

Airi Sakura's head snapped up instantly.

Did Keima-kun just hear what I said earlier?

For some reason, Airi Sakura felt a sense of happiness in her heart upon hearing Keima Katsuragi speak that way.

However, her cheeks turned bright red again out of embarrassment.

"The two of you agreed to have lunch together?"

Suzune Horikita was stunned for a moment.

What kind of combination were these two?

One was far too conspicuous in Class D.

The other... had almost zero presence.

Suzune Horikita looked at Airi Sakura again, asking as if to confirm:

"Is that true?"

Airi Sakura didn't dare to meet Suzune Horikita's gaze; in her eyes, Suzune Horikita's look was far too sharp.

Just being looked at made her feel afraid.

That feeling of being watched made Airi Sakura feel somewhat uncomfortable.

But even while keeping her head down and staring at her own toes, Airi Sakura still made a sound:

"Mm..."

The voice wasn't loud, but Suzune Horikita heard it.

She found it somewhat incomprehensible.

However, she still shook her head:

"Fine, it doesn't matter even if Sakura-san is there. If Sakura-san can help, that would be even better. Sakura-san, I'll invite you to lunch as well."

"Ah?"

This time, it was Airi Sakura's turn to be stunned.

Horikita-san is inviting me to lunch?

Wh-why?

Is it because of Keima-kun?

This was the first time Airi Sakura had ever been invited to eat with someone, and she had no idea how to answer.

"You, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Keima Katsuragi said to Suzune Horikita with a look of disdain.

She was already wasting his time for playing games.

"I have something very important to discuss, something that concerns the future of our Class D."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You play games in class, which has deducted quite a few class points, and looking at you, you'll continue to play games in the future, so this matter is inseparable from you..."

"I have already reached an agreement with Sae Chabashira-sensei; my playing games won't deduct class points from now on."

"Ah?"

Suzune Horikita had originally intended to use class points to morally pressure Keima Katsuragi, only to find that he had already taken action.

She bit her lip, a hint of unwillingness in her eyes.

To get Keima Katsuragi to help, she still had one trump card left.

It was just that... she absolutely wouldn't do that unless it was the final resort.

But now, she had no other choice.

"I will buy you games."

Volume 1: Chapter 34: Keima Katsuragi, let's hold a study session together!

Keima Katsuragi had just been prepared to ignore Suzune Horikita and leave directly.

Most of his focus was on his games, and the remaining small portion was on his missions.

As for the future development of Class D, Keima Katsuragi didn't care in the slightest; it had nothing to do with him, as long as it didn't affect the terms of his deal with Sae Chabashira.

As for the desire for Class A, it was practically zero.

Yet, less than half a second after Suzune Horikita finished speaking, a smile bloomed on Keima Katsuragi's face, and his eyes even seemed to radiate light.

"Deal."

Keima Katsuragi had already spent quite a few points buying games and handheld consoles earlier, and after paying Sae Chabashira a certain transaction fee, the points he had left were not looking very optimistic.

Although daily necessities and food were provided for free, these game cartridges certainly weren't.

According to his previous agreement with Elsie, he could use her points however he liked, but that was mostly just talk; unless it was an emergency, Keima Katsuragi wouldn't actually do that.

However, Keima Katsuragi was already feeling a sense of crisis.

Even though he had bought many games previously, if things continued like this, he would face the predicament of having no points left to buy games before the 1st of the month.

That absolutely could not be allowed to happen!

And now, Suzune Horikita had offered to help him buy games of her own volition.

How could there be such a good deal!

Watching Keima Katsuragi's jubilant appearance, Suzune Horikita immediately regretted it.

But a word once spoken cannot be taken back, so Suzune Horikita could only bite the bullet and nod.

Cafeteria.

Four people were gathered around a table.

Suzune Horikita, Keima Katsuragi, Airi Sakura, and Elsie.

It was just that their seating arrangement was a bit strange...

Suzune Horikita sat on one side by herself, while Keima Katsuragi and the other two were squeezed onto the opposite side.

The three of them had very sumptuous meals prepared in front of them, while by comparison, the food in front of Suzune Horikita seemed a bit plain.