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

After learning from Elsie that Keima Katsuragi was serializing walkthroughs on his blog, Shiina Hiyori clicked on the link out of curiosity.

Previously, Shiina Hiyori had not even created an account on that social media platform.

Keima Katsuragi's incredibly detailed walkthroughs captivated Shiina Hiyori, especially the way he vividly recounted the stories within the games; the experience was no less engaging than reading a short story.

This made Shiina Hiyori interested in the medium of games for the very first time.

Beside them, Airi Sakura kept her head buried low, trying her best to minimize her presence, yet she couldn't help but tilt her head slightly to listen to their conversation.

Shiina-san seems to be very close with Keima-kun...

The stories she's talking about—does she mean the walkthroughs Keima-kun posts on his blog?

Keima-kun doesn't seem like the type to proactively tell others about writing those walkthroughs...

I only saw them because they were recommended on the site...

Could it be that Keima-kun told Shiina-san about this himself?

Airi Sakura's brain raced.

On the other side, Keima Katsuragi wore a very serious expression as he said to Shiina Hiyori:

"No, these aren't my stories. I'm merely depicting the plot of the games in a simple way; the brilliance of the actual games is not even one-tenth of what I write! You can only truly feel it if you experience it yourself! If you're a beginner, I recommend this one... but if you like puzzle-solving elements, then you should try..."

Once the topic turned to games, Keima Katsuragi seemed like a completely different person as he spoke to Shiina Hiyori.

Watching his earnest demeanor, the slight upward curve of Shiina Hiyori's lips seemed to widen just a fraction.

The boy in front of her was truly very similar to her.

When talking about topics they loved, they both became incredibly serious.

"If there is an opportunity, I would indeed like to try it myself."

Shiina Hiyori nodded.

After chatting for a while, the group prepared to leave the library.

Keima Katsuragi walked briskly back toward the dorms while playing his handheld console.

Airi Sakura, however, did not follow him back.

"In the end... I've just become a burden to Keima-kun again..."

Airi Sakura sighed, whispering to herself.

She had wanted to treat Keima Katsuragi to a meal to repay him, but it had failed due to the intervention of Suzune Horikita.

Later, she had proactively joined Keima Katsuragi's study group to help him meet the headcount, but because she had trouble concentrating, it ended up turning into a one-on-one tutoring session.

She was simply causing trouble for Keima Katsuragi, and now she owed him even more favors.

Just after seeing Shiina Hiyori chatting with Keima Katsuragi, a thought suddenly struck Airi Sakura.

Since Keima Katsuragi loved games so much, why not just give him a game as a gift!

This idea grew increasingly intense in Airi Sakura's heart.

But with it came her inner timidity.

She would have to go to the supermarket by herself again...

Last time, Keima Katsuragi had accompanied her, so it hadn't been that difficult.

But this time, she certainly couldn't ask Keima Katsuragi to go with her again.

After all, who asks the person they are buying a gift for to accompany them to buy it?

Thinking of this, Airi Sakura's heart became tangled in conflict once more.

"What should I do..."

"I felt like I had grown a little bit before..."

"If I just keep my head down, maybe I can..."

Just as Airi Sakura was trying to convince herself, the soft voice of Shiina Hiyori sounded from behind her.

"Um... Sakura-san, are you planning on going to the supermarket?"

This startled Airi Sakura, her body shrinking instinctively, but she quickly realized her rudeness and hurriedly lowered her head, saying:

"I, I... yes."

"I was just about to head to the supermarket myself. Would you like to go together?"

Shiina Hiyori asked politely.

"Um... okay..."

Airi Sakura nodded with a microscopic movement.

If she went with Shiina Hiyori... perhaps it would be alright.

Airi Sakura's intuition was quite sharp; although Kikyo Kushida always appeared enthusiastic and friendly, for some reason, Airi Sakura never felt entirely at ease when she was around her.

However, when she was with Shiina Hiyori, she didn't feel that way at all.

The two of them walked together, heading toward the supermarket.

Along the way, it was as if they had a tacit understanding, as neither of them said a single word.

Airi Sakura was extremely socially anxious; just speaking a few sentences to someone could leave her feeling completely burnt out.

While Shiina Hiyori's personality was slightly better than Airi Sakura's, she was usually quite solitary and rarely interacted with others. This time, because Airi Sakura was a friend of Keima Katsuragi and Elsie, she had taken the initiative to invite her along.

The two walked to the supermarket in silence, arriving first at the household goods section.

Shiina-san must be here to buy daily necessities, right?

Airi Sakura thought this to herself, but Shiina Hiyori did not stop, instead continuing to walk forward in silence.

So Shiina-san isn't buying daily necessities?

Just as Airi Sakura was feeling puzzled, the two of them arrived at the electronics section and stopped in front of a storefront almost simultaneously.

A game store.

Volume One: Chapter 42: Suzune Horikita, Silently Shattered

???

Countless question marks surfaced in Airi Sakura's mind.

Why had Shiina Hiyori come to a game store?

Wait, wait a minute?

Could it be...

Because of Keima-kun?!

Was Shiina planning to give something to Keima-kun?

Airi Sakura's brain began to spin at high speed.

However, this time, it was Shiina Hiyori who spoke first:

"Sakura-san, is this your destination as well?"

Shiina Hiyori was equally full of curiosity about Airi Sakura.

She had also initially assumed that Airi Sakura was going to buy some daily necessities, only for her to stop right here in the gaming area.

"I, I, I..."

Airi Sakura's words got stuck in her throat, and after a long moment of being unable to speak, she could only nod.

"I see. I suppose Sakura-san and I share the same idea."

"The same idea?"

Airi Sakura's language system seemed to have been successfully repaired, and her speech suddenly became fluent.

"I talked a lot with Keima-kun and became very interested in the stories he told... I want to understand those stories better, so I decided to experience the games myself. Perhaps it's similar to reading."

Shiina Hiyori said with a smile.

After seeing Keima Katsuragi's stories, Shiina Hiyori had become slightly curious about games as a medium.

Similar to books, games were also a vessel for stories, only Shiina Hiyori had never been exposed to them before.

During their previous conversation, Keima Katsuragi had told her that games could provide a sense of immersion that surpassed books, which also made Shiina Hiyori curious about them.

Likewise...

She had also become curious about Keima Katsuragi.

She could feel that Keima Katsuragi was the same type of person as she was.

Moreover, through Elsie's description, it seemed that Keima Katsuragi was also very knowledgeable about mystery novels, which gave Shiina Hiyori the feeling of having found a kindred spirit.

Shiina Hiyori was curious about games, and at the same time, she hoped to get to know Keima Katsuragi better, which was why she had come here.

"Sakura-san, that is the reason for you as well, isn't it?"

"Mm... mm..."

Airi Sakura had absolutely no idea how to answer at this moment.

She was too embarrassed to say that she actually wanted to buy a game to give to Keima Katsuragi.

So, she could only bite the bullet and nod.

"Then let's head inside."

"Mm..."

Airi Sakura and Shiina Hiyori walked inside.

And just at that moment, a somewhat familiar voice drifted out from within.

"Honestly, what are these names even supposed to be? I can't find anything at all!"

Airi Sakura heard the voice, and her eyes widened slightly.

Because she knew exactly who the owner of that voice was.

Suzune Horikita.

At this very moment, Suzune Horikita's gaze was sweeping across rows of game cartridges with a hint of impatience.

She had come here precisely to fulfill her previous promise to buy a game for Keima Katsuragi.

The study group had failed to form today, leaving Suzune Horikita feeling incredibly irritated, yet she was not the type of person to go back on her word.

Suzune Horikita had previously considered asking Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to help her buy the game, but she didn't want anyone else to know about this—she had only told Ayanokoji Kiyotaka about the bet with Keima Katsuragi, not about the promise to gift a game, so in the end, she decided to come and buy it herself.

"Yo-zero-qi-ba-si-F-qi-wu-8-yue-yi-Keima, this guy..."

Suzune Horikita frowned, looking down at her terminal at the message Keima Katsuragi had sent earlier.

[Keima Katsuragi]: Don't forget about the game you're gifting me!

[Keima Katsuragi]: That's the payment for me agreeing to have lunch with you, so you can't back out of it.

[Keima Katsuragi]: Since you're gifting it to me, make sure you don't get a duplicate. I want the <Youth Love: Brutally Train My Tsundere Little Sister Collector's Edition>.

After arriving in this place, Keima Katsuragi had immediately searched for the names of various Gala Game titles and even compiled a list of games he intended to clear.

"This guy actually has the nerve to set conditions! And how is he able to type out a title like that with such peace of mind!"

Suzune Horikita said through gritted teeth.

She had originally intended to just buy the game and leave, but after searching for several rounds, she hadn't seen this particular game anywhere.

"Hello, is there something you need?"

Just then, a clerk from the side walked up to Suzune Horikita and asked.

"Are you looking for a game? We have some game cartridges that aren't on display! If you give us the name of the game, we can check our inventory for you."

"I want—"

The words reached Suzune Horikita's lips and then came to an abrupt halt.