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

Judgment: A+

Physical Ability: E

Teamwork: D-

Before the school year began, Sae Chabashira had carefully observed the files of every student, and the name Keima Katsuragi had left a particularly deep impression on her.

His evaluations in various areas were incredibly unique; in a sense, in fields related solely to academics, Keima Katsuragi possessed the qualifications to go straight to Class A.

But why did he appear in Class D?

Was there a major flaw in his personality, or was there some other reason?

Sae Chabashira wanted to investigate the background of Keima Katsuragi, but she found nothing, and the same was true for his younger sister, Elsie Katsuragi.

Could it be... that Keima Katsuragi and his sister, much like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, possessed unfathomable backgrounds?

If that were truly the case, perhaps she had gained another trump card in her hand.

Thinking this to herself, the corners of Sae Chabashira's mouth couldn't help but curl upward slightly.

"Let me see just what makes you so special."

Volume 1: Chapter 9: I Have Never Seen Someone So Speechless

The next day, early morning.

After giving the students one day to adapt to their new environment, today marked the start of their official classes.

"Good morning, Airi Sakura."

Sitting back in his seat, Keima Katsuragi greeted Airi Sakura, who was sitting next to him.

"Mo-morning..."

Airi Sakura responded in a voice so quiet that only she could likely hear it, and in her hands, she clutched a small red camera—the very one she had spent a long time choosing and purchasing just last night.

Keima Katsuragi turned his head to look the other way and discovered that Suzune Horikita was watching him out of the corner of her eye, though she quickly shifted her attention elsewhere, seemingly wanting to deliberately ignore Keima Katsuragi.

"Good morning."

Keima Katsuragi offered a perfunctory greeting.

"Are you talking to me?"

Suzune Horikita did not turn her head; she remained slightly angled, looking at Keima Katsuragi beside her with a haughty sidelong glance.

"I thought you didn't know what so-called politeness was."

Suzune Horikita was still holding a grudge over what happened yesterday with Keima Katsuragi.

"What was your name again?"

Keima Katsuragi acted as if he hadn't heard her words and asked on his own accord.

Although Keima Katsuragi had long known Suzune Horikita's name through the card Elsie had given him, in reality, she had never introduced herself, and the self-introduction session yesterday had been interrupted before it reached her.

"I don't have an obligation to tell you my name, do I?"

"Oh, stingy. You won't even say your name."

"?"

The muscles in Suzune Horikita's face twitched uncontrollably for a split second.

This was the first time she had ever been called that.

A feeling of intense annoyance instantly surged into her heart.

And just as Suzune Horikita was thinking about how to retort, Keima Katsuragi had already pulled out his handheld console and started playing on his own:

"Suzune Horikita, that's your name, right? There's no need to ask you; after all, one can check the class seating chart and the schedule. Knowing your name isn't exactly a difficult task."

"..."

Countless words gathered on the tip of Suzune Horikita's tongue, but she couldn't get them out for a long time.

Does this guy have something wrong with his brain?

"Although your brain seems decent, you are ultimately just a gamer nerd with glasses."

After brewing for nearly a minute, Suzune Horikita finally squeezed out this sentence.

"And you said yesterday that you wanted to save points, yet in the end, you still bought a bunch of things that just rot your ambition."

"These aren't things that rot my ambition; on the contrary, they are very important existences to me."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Suzune Horikita sneered and finally turned her face completely toward him, even with a hint of disdain on her expression, though that face was undoubtedly beautiful.

"And playing games directly in the classroom, aren't you worried about being criticized by the teacher?"

However, Keima Katsuragi never once raised his head to look at her from start to finish, his gaze remaining focused on his handheld console as he said:

"The teacher shouldn't say anything. After all, the things explicitly prohibited in the school rules are going out and fighting. So, in a sense, as long as a student doesn't violate the school rules, they can do whatever they want."

"But..."

"However, even if that's the case, there might be hidden, unannounced regulations. Haven't you noticed? The number of surveillance cameras in this school is extremely high, far exceeding the normal requirements of an ordinary school. Not only that, but the school's convenience store is stocked with almost everything, and you can even use your student terminal to order items on the campus network that you wouldn't normally be able to buy—and because of that, I discovered identical cameras yesterday, whose precision also far exceeds daily needs. Perhaps the school even knows what we are saying right now."

Keima Katsuragi remained focused on the handheld console screen in his hands, his fingers moving frantically while he spoke at an unhurried pace.

"I speculate that every student has some kind of rating, and the school uses those high-definition cameras to observe the students' words and actions in order to adjust those ratings. This is the 'value' the teacher mentioned yesterday; I'm afraid the points we receive each month are also related to it."

Hearing Keima Katsuragi's words, Suzune Horikita finally reacted and hurriedly observed every corner of the classroom. There were surveillance cameras in all four corners, leaving almost no blind spots.

Is every move of every student currently under the school's surveillance?

Suzune Horikita hadn't noticed the existence of those cameras before, yet Keima Katsuragi had.

Just how sharp is this guy's observation?

"How exactly did you figure it out?"

"In games, you can't miss any details! These hidden details, like Easter eggs, are often what allow me to reach the hidden, perfect ending."

While speaking, Keima Katsuragi pushed up his glasses, glanced at Suzune Horikita beside him from the corner of his eye, and then shifted his attention back to the handheld screen.

"Someone like you certainly wouldn't know."

This left Suzune Horikita stunned for a moment.

Could it be that Keima Katsuragi plays games to train his own thinking skills? That these games aren't just for leisure—

No, absolutely impossible!

Why would I even think about such a meaningless question!

Suzune Horikita took a deep breath, then, as if thinking of something, frowned and looked at Keima Katsuragi:

"Since you know the school is watching us, playing games in this situation is bad, isn't it?"

"It's not official class time yet, so it doesn't matter. It might have some impact once class starts, but as long as it's for Xiao Hua-chan, everything is worth it."

"Xiao Hua-chan? Who is that?"

"Xiao Hua-chan is the female character in the sixth branch of the game I'm playing now. I've already seen the ending—"

"Enough, I don't want to hear it."

Suzune Horikita sighed helplessly.

This was the first time in her life she had felt helpless toward someone.

"And even if our 'rating' is deducted, there will definitely be ways to increase it later. We can just add it back then."

"You say that so easily. Besides, from start to finish, this is all just based on your speculation."

Suzune Horikita's gaze moved to the textbook on her desk.

Although she said that, through Keima Katsuragi's words just now, she actually already believed him seven or eight tenths.

And while the two were talking, on the other side of the classroom, the meaningful gaze of Kushida Kikyo remained focused on them.

Volume 1: Chapter 10: Playing games in class? You're not even pretending anymore?

A few minutes later, Sae Chabashira walked into the classroom. She was responsible for teaching the first class of the new semester.

"I am in charge of this morning's class."

The originally noisy classroom became quiet the moment she entered. Sae Chabashira walked straight to the podium and swept her gaze over all the students below.

Although they are all just defective products of Class D, it is the first day, after all. It seems they haven't completely exposed their true colors yet.

Sae Chabashira thought to herself.

In her eyes, these people assigned to Class D were almost all hopeless cases.

Even if they looked okay today, Sae Chabashira knew that as time passed, as long as she didn't intervene, these Class D students would gradually reveal their true natures.

Lateness, leaving early, skipping class.

Until the points they receive each month are also wiped out.

This is the dead end for Class D students.

They are just putting on an act for now... Wait a minute?

Sae Chabashira narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze locking onto someone in the class.

Keima Katsuragi.

At this very moment, Keima Katsuragi was playing his handheld console with full concentration, not even raising his head to look at Sae Chabashira.

This guy...

Is he not even pretending anymore?

"Hey..."

Suzune Horikita tilted her head slightly and reminded Keima Katsuragi in a faint voice, but the latter remained unmoved, continuing to play his game as if no one else existed.

Many other students in the class also noticed Keima Katsuragi's actions.

"Hey, hey, hey, isn't this guy being too arrogant..."

"Is he really playing games so blatantly in the first class?"

"At least pretend to pay attention!"

The other students in the class all assumed the teacher would get angry and immediately confiscate his game console.

However, Sae Chabashira only frowned slightly as she glanced at Keima Katsuragi, and without saying a word, she began her lecture.

Sae Chabashira's class was not particularly interesting; or rather, she was too lazy to put any extra effort into lesson planning, her former passion having long since been worn away.

Now, she only needed to explain the knowledge within the textbook, and as for whether the students understood—or were even willing to understand—that was their own business.

The long, continuous lecture combined with the rather difficult content left some students in the class feeling drowsy, their eyelids feeling as if they were filled with lead, their heads bobbing up and down like metronomes.

Sae Chabashira saw these students, but from beginning to end, she showed no reaction, as if she hadn't seen them at all.

This allowed some students to gradually reveal their lazy nature.

In the subsequent classes, some students slacked off, some whispered to each other or passed notes, some hid their phones in their desk drawers to play, and a boy named Haruki Yamauchi even laid his head on his desk and started sleeping.

Meanwhile, Keima Katsuragi was playing his game with extreme "seriousness," his gaze never once landing on the blackboard for even a single second.

Suzune Horikita was listening to the lecture very attentively, but from time to time, she would glance at Keima Katsuragi beside her, only to discover that this guy was truly playing from start to finish.

As expected, is he just a guy who wastes his life on toys?

Just thirty minutes before the end of class, Sae Chabashira put down her lesson plan and took out a stack of test papers from the side:

"Now, we will have a test based on the content we just covered in class."

"What?!"

Sae Chabashira's words exploded in the classroom like a bomb.

A pop quiz?

Pulling something like this during the very first lesson?

"Are you surprised? In this school, unannounced tests happen quite often, but don't worry, this test is not arranged by the school; it is merely a spontaneous decision made by me, your homeroom teacher."

Watching the panicked expressions on many of the students' faces, Sae Chabashira revealed a smile.