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

"Little Sae, what are you doing~"

A voice as gentle as a feather drifted from behind Sae Chabashira. A woman whose appearance belied her age wore a friendly smile as she lightly rested her hand on Sae Chabashira's shoulder.

With amber hair and eyes, and an incredibly cute baby face, her beauty was in no way inferior to that of Sae Chabashira.

Chie Hoshinomiya.

The homeroom teacher for Class 1-B, and also a former classmate of Sae Chabashira.

"Nothing."

As she spoke, Sae Chabashira calmly set down the test papers and pushed them aside.

Chie Hoshinomiya tilted her head slightly, glanced at the papers, and quickly looked back at Sae Chabashira:

"Oh? I heard that little Sae gave her students a pop quiz today~"

"It's just a symbolic gesture for the start of the school year."

Sae Chabashira replied with an expressionless face.

"Really? But you've always been so indifferent toward your previous students. Could it be that you're actually quite concerned about one of them? I did hear that there's a student in your Class D with an exceptionally high evaluation score~"

In that very instant, the smile on Chie Hoshinomiya's face vanished without a trace, and her gaze turned icy cold.

It was as if she were trying to peel Sae Chabashira apart layer by layer to dig out her heart.

"--Or perhaps, little Sae, you've developed the delusion that you can lead Class D to Class A?"

"That has nothing to do with you. And as I said, this was just a routine test."

Sae Chabashira responded coldly, then gathered her things and left the office.

Watching Sae Chabashira's retreating figure, that meaningful smile reappeared on Chie Hoshinomiya's face.

"What was that student's name again?"

"To have such a high evaluation score and be stuck in Class D... it's just too pitiful."

"I think it was... Keima Katsuragi, right~"

On the other side, Keima Katsuragi had already dragged Elsie to the school library.

The facility was massive, rivaling a city-level library, housing all sorts of books.

Even rare books not found in the library could be ordered from the school administration by spending points.

It could be said that this place was a paradise for those who loved to read.

"Go find some books on general knowledge first, do you hear me!"

Keima Katsuragi pulled Elsie into the book section filled with general knowledge guides.

"If you don't finish reading this row of books today, you aren't going back to eat."

"Ah! There are so many books! How am I supposed to finish these! God of Conquest, you aren't just trying to find an excuse to get rid of me, are you?"

"How could that be! You're the one who asked me to help you find a way, right? First, you need to understand some basic common sense, and this will also help improve your reading skills."

Keima Katsuragi said every word clearly, "If you get expelled and the world ends because of it..."

"I understand, God of Conquest! I will do my best!"

Elsie nodded vigorously and immediately ran off to start reading earnestly.

Keima Katsuragi, meanwhile, prepared to find an empty spot to play his games in peace.

But as he walked past a bookshelf, he saw a young girl standing on her tiptoes, trying her best to reach a book on the top shelf, but because of her petite stature, she couldn't touch it at all.

She had long, silver-white hair, a quiet and sweet face, and purple eyes that shone like crystals. Beneath her school skirt, gray knee-high socks accentuated her slender legs.

However, Keima Katsuragi's attention didn't linger on her for even a second. He quickly lowered his head to look at the handheld console in his hands and prepared to walk straight past.

But just then, Elsie, carrying a stack of books, hurried up from behind and caught up to Keima Katsuragi:

"God of Conquest, are these the books!"

As she ran over, Elsie's gaze happened to fall on the silver-haired girl nearby, and she suddenly realized something.

This person—

She seems to be one of the mission targets!

At this moment, the girl was still struggling to reach the book on the top shelf.

"Hey! Fellow student, let me help you!"

Elsie rushed forward to assist, but since she was about the same height and still holding several books in her arms, she couldn't reach the top shelf either. She could only turn her head and look at Keima Katsuragi with a pleading gaze, "God... Big Brother!"

Keima Katsuragi sighed in his heart. He had intended to ignore her and walk on, but since Elsie had appeared at this moment and forced him into a triggered event, he had no choice.

He stepped forward to help the girl take down the book—

Help this girl named Shiina Hiyori.

Volume 1: Chapter 14: You, you aren't an ordinary literary girl, are you?

After Keima Katsuragi helped her retrieve the book, Shiina Hiyori lowered her head, looking at the book in her hands with a blissful smile. She quickly cradled it to her chest and shifted her gaze toward Keima Katsuragi.

"Thank you very much."

Shiina Hiyori's voice was incredibly soft, as light as a feather.

"You're welcome."

Beside them, Elsie smiled and nodded at Shiina Hiyori.

"You didn't help with anything at all, though."

Keima Katsuragi remarked dryly, having already picked up his handheld console to start playing a game.

"May I ask if you are also first-year students?"

Shiina Hiyori inquired.

"Yeah."

"I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class C. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"My name is Elsie! I'm Katsuragi Elsie from Class D! This is my older brother, Keima Katsuragi. It's a pleasure to meet you too!"

Elsie introduced herself to Shiina Hiyori with great enthusiasm.

Although she didn't seem as outgoing or cheerful as Kushida Kikyo, the girl named Shiina Hiyori before them was much quieter, yet being around her gave off a very comfortable feeling.

"Elsie, do you like reading?"

Shiina Hiyori noticed that Elsie seemed to be holding quite a few books, but because of the angle, she couldn't see the titles on the covers, so she asked out of curiosity.

"Today is my first time coming to the library. I don't usually read much, but at my older brother's strong insistence, I came here to get exposed to various books. He said I need to increase my reading volume."

"I see!"

Shiina Hiyori tilted her head slightly, looking at Keima Katsuragi, who was already focused intently on his game.

It seems Keima Katsuragi is actually someone who enjoys reading, which is why he encouraged his younger sister to come to the library.

"It's rare to meet classmates who like to read. I can't find anyone in Class C to talk about novels with... Elsie, is there any book you like?"

"I haven't really read much before, so I don't have any particular favorites yet."

"In that case, I highly recommend this, Whose Corpse, the first work in the Lord Peter series."

She bent her knees slightly, crouching down as her skirt swayed, and quickly pulled out a book.

Although it was only the second day of school, Shiina Hiyori seemed to know the layout of this section of the library like the back of her hand.

"Whose Corpse?!"

Hearing Shiina Hiyori's words, Elsie froze for a moment.

What, what?

Whose corpse?

Is this a book about claiming corpses?

Do people in the human world have to claim corpses too?

Elsie didn't have a deep understanding of modern human society, and upon hearing the title, her mind began to race with intense brainstorming, making her feel even more curious.

"I'm sorry, did I trouble you?"

Seeing Elsie's stunned expression, Shiina Hiyori quickly apologized, looking embarrassed.

"No, not at all! I'm just a bit curious about the contents! I'm actually quite interested!"

Elsie took the book from Shiina Hiyori's hands, and a happy smile appeared on the latter's face.

Once the conversation turned to books, Shiina Hiyori seemed to change slightly from before, appearing much more passionate.

"Older brother, why don't you come over and chat a little!"

Elsie turned her head to look at Keima Katsuragi, pouting slightly.

Even though the Shiina Hiyori in front of them was one of the mission targets, Keima Katsuragi showed absolutely no motivation.

At this very moment, Keima Katsuragi's gaze hadn't shifted from his handheld screen by even a fraction.

I'm already a bit tired of the library setting. The 'literary girl' who always spawns in the library is a staple that appears in every game, because most schools have libraries. If you use that as a base, the spawn locations are limited, and the story is easy to write.

The literary girl is currently a battleground within a battleground, indispensable in school romance games.

Unless it's someone truly exceptional, I can't muster even a shred of motivation.

Keima Katsuragi thought to himself.

Although completing the mission was a hard requirement, there shouldn't be any problem with leaving this girl named Shiina Hiyori for last.

"It's alright."

Just then, a smile appeared on Shiina Hiyori's face as she tilted her head slightly and glanced at Keima Katsuragi.

"Everyone has something they love, and being able to focus on what you love is a truly wonderful thing."

Shiina Hiyori lowered her head, seemingly clutching the book in her hands even tighter.

"It's just like with books; only within them can I find a sense of reality. It's something that nothing else can replace, and it's even more attractive to me than the real world. Sometimes, I get so absorbed in reading that I ignore everything happening around me. That's why, even today, I don't really have any friends in class... Perhaps your brother has similar thoughts to mine, which is why I understand him."

"You're absolutely right. For me, games are the side that is far more beautiful."

The voice of Keima Katsuragi sounded from the side. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to shift his gaze away from his screen to look at the girl in front of him.

He could sense that Shiina Hiyori's words were very sincere; this wasn't just polite small talk, but her true feelings.

Keima Katsuragi's gaze swept over the books nearby. In his heart, books were the worst possible choice.

They were inefficient for gathering information, linear, and lacked the interactive options and multiple branching endings of traditional narrative media.

However, Shiina Hiyori had managed to change his perspective slightly. There seemed to be subtle differences between her and most of the 'literary girl' characters he had encountered in games.

"Um... if it's alright with you, why don't we exchange contact information? Later on, if Elsie has any questions about books, she can ask me."

"Mm."

"Yay, sounds great!"

After staying in the library for quite a while, Keima Katsuragi and Elsie finally left.

"God of Conquest, why did you look so unmotivated at the beginning?"

"Because I've already seen too many literary girls. If they aren't exceptional enough, I have zero motivation."

"But why did you take the initiative to speak up later on?"

"Because I felt that Shiina Hiyori seemed a bit different from the characters in my games. In games, literary girl types are basically always the librarian archetype; they are usually quiet and somewhat reclusive at the start, and to a certain extent, they live in their own worlds. She is different. Even if she isn't the type who excels at socializing, she is still a bit more cheerful."

"So, can she be conquered?"

"Even if she is different, Shiina is still a literary girl, and they all share one ironclad rule—"