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

How could I possibly say that name out loud!

Wait a second, is that guy Keima Katsuragi trying to embarrass me on purpose?

He really underestimated me; I'm not that stupid.

Suzune Horikita sneered, then displayed the terminal in her hand to the person in front of her:

"I want this one, I'm helping someone else..."

"We actually have that in stock, please wait a moment."

The clerk immediately went to the cabinet nearby to rummage through it.

"Good grief."

Suzune Horikita closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head. Right now, she just wanted to buy the game and leave this place as quickly as possible.

But the moment she opened her eyes, she locked gazes with Airi Sakura.

"Sakura?"

"Ho, Ho, Ho, Horikita-san?"

Seeing Suzune Horikita's gaze fixed on her, Airi Sakura hurriedly turned her head to look elsewhere.

Why is Horikita-san here?

Oh right, it's because she previously agreed to Keima Katsuragi's request to deliver a game...

Airi Sakura felt a bit of envy toward Suzune Horikita's decisive and straightforward style of doing things.

Suzune Horikita was also frowning as she looked at Airi Sakura.

Why would she appear here?

And who is that person next to her?

Suzune Horikita's gaze focused on Shiina Hiyori.

"My name is Shiina Hiyori, from Class C. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shiina Hiyori greeted Suzune Horikita very politely.

"Suzune Horikita. Likewise."

Suzune Horikita responded with a touch of coldness.

The girl in front of her was from Class C.

In other words, she was a future rival.

"I presume Horikita-san is also a friend of Keima Katsuragi?"

Shiina Hiyori asked with a smile.

The reason she made such a deduction was simple—Suzune Horikita had appeared here, and her gaze had just been wandering through the Gala Game section.

"A friend? He and I are definitely not friends! I just happened to be passing by and accidentally ended up in this place!"

Suzune Horikita immediately prepared to turn and leave.

But just at that moment, the game store clerk hurried over to Suzune Horikita, holding a game box in his arms.

"Hello, customer! I found the <Youth Love: Brutally Tease My Tsundere Little Sister Collector's Edition> you wanted! This is a niche masterpiece; most people wouldn't even know this title!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Volume 1: Chapter 43: Now I don't owe you anything! Keima Katsuragi!

An awkward silence swirled around the three of them.

Suzune Horikita felt as if her teeth were chattering.

In that instant, she wanted to vanish from this world.

"I, this... this isn't mine!"

Suzune Horikita's cheeks were already bright red, as if they were about to explode.

Why would a game like this have a name like that?

Why would a guy like Keima Katsuragi be obsessed with this kind of thing!

Suzune Horikita felt her body temperature rising.

She didn't even have the time to wonder why Airi Sakura and Shiina Hiyori were there.

"I know, I know~"

The clerk nodded with a "you know how it is" expression on his face.

"But you're very lucky, this is the last copy of <Youth Love: Brutally Tease My Tsundere Little Sister Collector's Edition> in the store! Since this game is relatively niche, we don't have much stock."

Suzune Horikita had originally intended to flatly deny that she wanted to buy this game.

However, the face of Keima Katsuragi couldn't help but surface in her mind.

Acting all high and mighty every day, yet in the end, you can't even buy a single game? And you still want to promote to Class A with that attitude!

Suzune Horikita could foresee that if she failed to buy the game, she would undoubtedly be mercilessly mocked by that guy, Keima Katsuragi.

The way that guy's brain worked was simply not like a normal person's!

"Customer? Are you going to buy it or not?"

The clerk was still waiting for Suzune Horikita's answer.

"Excuse me, is this game particularly special?"

Just as Suzune Horikita was struggling with her decision, Hiyori Shiina, who was standing nearby, asked with some curiosity.

The clerk patiently gave Hiyori Shiina a brief introduction to the game.

This only made Suzune Horikita feel even more puzzled.

What is this person doing here?

Could it be that, like Keima Katsuragi, she is also a gamer?

This thought existed in Suzune Horikita's mind for less than a second before she dismissed it.

In this world, there simply couldn't be a second person like Keima Katsuragi.

Even if Suzune Horikita didn't want to admit it, in the week since school started, she had formed a very deep impression of Keima Katsuragi.

Strange, why is this guy so interested in this game?

Why would Airi Sakura appear here?

It must be something that guy Keima did!

Suzune Horikita immediately made this judgment in her heart, but she could also sense that Hiyori Shiina seemed genuinely interested in the game.

The sound of Keima Katsuragi's mocking laughter rang out in her mind again.

You're even going to let your rival have the game? And you still want to promote to Class A with that attitude!

Horikita gritted her teeth, looked up, and said to the clerk.

"I'll take it. Please wrap it up for me."

"You got it!"

The clerk quickly packed the game cartridge for Suzune Horikita, who then pulled out her terminal to pay as quickly as possible—

Then, she fled the gaming area at a sprinter's pace.

Airi Sakura looked cautiously at Suzune Horikita's retreating back and pursed her lips.

Meanwhile, Hiyori Shiina's gaze shifted toward the row of handheld consoles.

After escaping from the supermarket, Suzune Horikita let out a long sigh of relief.

She had never been to a place like that before, let alone bought a game.

Suzune Horikita almost never played games; in her view, games only hindered one's studies.

Only by becoming as excellent as her brother could Suzune Horikita acknowledge her own worth.

This was also the reason she longed to promote to Class A.

Manabu Horikita was the leader of Class A in the third year.

To catch up with her brother's footsteps, Suzune Horikita had always imitated him, gradually distancing herself from those around her.

This was also a flaw in her personality, which was why she had been assigned to Class D.

Suzune Horikita did not return to the dormitory, but waited in the vicinity to avoid attracting too much attention.

It was just evening after she finished shopping, and students who had been participating in club activities or finishing dinner were returning to the dormitory building one after another.

When the night grew darker and there were almost no students left outside, Suzune Horikita finally took out her terminal and sent a message to Keima Katsuragi.

A few minutes later, a light shone on the dim road in the distance—

It was the light emitted by the game console in Keima Katsuragi's hands.

Keima Katsuragi walked up to Suzune Horikita while still playing his game.

"Here, take it. We're even now."

Suzune Horikita handed the packaged game cartridge directly to Keima Katsuragi.

"Did you really have to give it to me at this time, in this place? It would have been more convenient to just come to my room or meet before class."

Keima Katsuragi put down his handheld console, took the cartridge, and asked.

"I don't want people to know I bought something like this!"

Suzune Horikita said immediately.

If others saw her holding a game cartridge—especially one with such an outrageous name—she feared her heart truly wouldn't be able to take it.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. It was my own stupidity for agreeing to such an inexplicable condition. That reminds me, did you say anything to Shiina and Sakura?"

"Shiina and Sakura? I just tutored Sakura in her studies tonight, and I ran into Shiina afterward. I introduced her to some things about games. Why? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"Introducing games to students from other classes?"

Suzune Horikita couldn't help but knit her brows.

"Yeah, Shiina really loves reading, so I suggested she try a different medium—games. The sense of immersion they provide is something books, videos, or music simply can't achieve. Or rather, a game itself is a collection of all those information mediums."

"Someone likes to read, so you introduce them to something like that?"

Suzune Horikita couldn't help but recall the outrageous name of that game from earlier today.

"After all, Shiina herself wanted to experience stories she had never encountered before. The books you usually read, she's basically already gone through. For instance, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls—and Agatha's And Then There Were None. Shiina has probably read those many times over."

"What?"

Suzune Horikita was somewhat taken aback.

She was actually someone who loved reading very much herself, though she usually only read during her spare time after school.

How did Keima Katsuragi know that?

"How did you know that?"

"I could see the records on the library's checkout sheet. Besides, when you were packing your bag earlier, I caught a glimpse of the extracurricular book you were carrying. Even though it was just a corner, it looked like the newly edited version of Crime and Punishment."

Suzune Horikita stared at Keima Katsuragi, momentarily stunned.

This guy, he even knows the edition of the books?

Volume 1: Chapter 2284: You Guys Fight, I'll Just Watch and Eat Melon on the Side

Keima Katsuragi seemed to have guessed the shock in Suzune Horikita's heart, so he began to explain:

"I saw the same version in the library, so I knew."