A Story Starting from Classroom of the Elite

"Everything one is born with outweighs correct choices and extreme effort."

"Humans are creatures with limits." His voice was low and firm. "The geniuses you care about are merely a form of talent."

Sakayanagi Arisu's pupils dilated slightly.

She had never heard such a blunt and cold assertion.

Tanaka Yukishin stood up, his shadow casting over Sakayanagi Arisu's face.

"Those who stand at the pinnacle of the world are the strong; in the eyes of the strong, there is no seat for the weak."

"There is only the strong defeating the weak; there is no such thing as a genius crushing a mediocre person."

His tone was like stating an obvious fact.

Sunlight slanted in from the edge of the parasol, shining onto the table between them and forming a bright dividing line.

"It is time to broaden your perspective, Classmate Sakayanagi."

As his words fell, the three of them fell into silence.

Sakayanagi's fingers unconsciously rubbed the smooth surface of the paper, her heartbeat faster than usual.

For many years, she had lived in a world of "genius supremacy" that she had constructed herself.

The boy she met in the White Room eight years ago—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—was the standard by which she measured everything.

And now, the appearance of Tanaka Yukishin was like a heavy hammer, shattering the cognitive framework she had held for so long.

"The strong... is it?"

She murmured softly, her gaze falling on the sharp handwriting on the paper.

The laughter of students drifted from nearby, while Kamuro Masumi watched in silence.

And under the parasol, a silent revolution was quietly taking place in the heart of Sakayanagi Arisu.

She looked up, a perfect smile reappearing on her face: "An interesting theory. It seems I need to re-examine a few things."

Tanaka Yukishin merely nodded faintly and turned toward the Gate of Opening.

When he pushed the door open, sunlight poured in, casting a long shadow on the floor.

Sakayanagi watched that departing back, feeling for the first time that the world she had built had developed cracks.

She picked up the white paper from the table; the handwriting seemed to burn her fingertips.

The world had already changed, and she seemed to have only just realized it.

"Let's go."

Kamuro Masumi's voice broke the silence.

She stepped forward and placed her fingers gently on Sakayanagi Arisu's elbow, but at the moment of contact, she felt an imperceptible tremor and stiffness in the other girl's body.

Is she nervous?

Or excited?

"Are you planning to record a video?"

Kamuro Masumi spoke suddenly, her voice half a pitch higher than usual.

Sakayanagi Arisu pulled back her thoughts and found Kamuro Masumi watching her with those amethyst-like eyes.

Sunlight passed through the gaps in the parasol, casting fragmented light spots on her face, dividing that exquisite countenance into pieces of alternating light and shadow.

"I will."

Sakayanagi Arisu heard herself answer with slight hesitation.

"But only when Tanaka-kun leaves the school."

She paused, an indescribable emotion swelling in her chest, forcing her to add: "I'll record it with my student ID terminal and show it to him once."

The corners of Sakayanagi Arisu's mouth suddenly lifted in a subtle arc.

She raised her hand to tuck a strand of silver hair behind her ear, a movement that should have been elegant but appeared deliberate due to the trembling of her fingers.

"Consider it tuition for Teacher Tanaka."

She said softly.

Kamuro Masumi noticed that when Sakayanagi said the word "teacher," her tongue lightly brushed against her teeth, as if she were tasting some unknown ingredient.

She suddenly realized that this was the first time she had seen Sakayanagi Arisu talk about someone with such a complex tone—as if she were both longing for and in awe of him.

"You don't have to worry about him making you do anything extra."

Sakayanagi Arisu continued, the tip of her cane tracing a semicircle on the ground.

"In this person's eyes, our struggles are perhaps just children playing house."

A gust of wind blew, fluttering the hem of Sakayanagi Arisu's skirt.

Kamuro Masumi saw her slender ankles appearing and disappearing above her black stockings, like fragile porcelain.

For some reason, this image reminded Kamuro Masumi of the antique dolls she had seen locked in glass cabinets when she visited a museum as a child.

"He will watch us play happily, but he won't participate."

Arisu Sakayanagi's voice suddenly dropped.

"Even if he still has a childlike heart, he won't take it seriously."

"Come to think of it."

Sakayanagi suddenly leaned in a step closer, the scent of her perfume mingling with the aroma of the surrounding greenery.

"Masumi Kamuro, what exactly is the leverage he has on you?"

Masumi Kamuro's back stiffened instantly.

She felt Sakayanagi's breath brush against her earlobe, warm yet carrying a hint of minty coolness.

Too close—this distance had already breached the social boundaries usually maintained between classmates.

"We are on the same path now," Sakayanagi continued, her fingertips tapping lightly on Kamuro's shoulder as if playing an invisible piano key.

"Share it and let's be happy together."

Masumi Kamuro's throat bobbed.

How could Arisu Sakayanagi say such things at a moment like this?

Had the shock Tanaka Yukishin just dealt her forced her to seek a distraction so quickly just to maintain her composure?

"Wait until you finish recording the video."

Masumi Kamuro spoke, her voice raspier than she had imagined.

"Only then will we be on the same path."

This sentence was like a small blade, precisely piercing the fragile balance between the two.

Arisu Sakayanagi's smile froze; she stepped back half a pace, her fingers tightening around her cane until her knuckles turned an unhealthy, pale white.

The sound of students laughing in the distance made the silence under the parasol feel even heavier.

Masumi Kamuro watched Arisu Sakayanagi straighten her back and put that flawless mask back on.

But the sunlight would not lie—in the shadows cast by those trembling eyelashes, there hid a fear and anticipation that even she herself had not realized.

"Then it's a deal."

Arisu Sakayanagi finally said, her voice returning to its usual composure as if the lapse from a moment ago had never happened.

As she turned, her skirt traced an elegant arc.

Masumi Kamuro stood where she was, watching Arisu Sakayanagi's retreating figure.

The sunlight stretched that slender silhouette long, so long it almost touched the steps of the school building.

Where the shadow met the physical form, Masumi Kamuro had a fleeting vision of two Arisu Sakayanagis: one, the proud genius girl; the other, a confused girl whose perception had just been overturned.

However...

"Wait for me, you have to take care of your body."

Chapter 39 Saturday Long Live!! (The salvation of a miserable office worker, I can sleep well tonight)

For Japanese students.

Of every week during the school term, their favorite day is Saturday.

Monday through Friday are for school.

No qualifications to participate.

Saturday and Sunday are days for lazy revelry, where they can sleep until they wake up naturally.

By comparison, the only reason Saturday beats its younger sister is that Sunday's younger sister is Monday.

Playfulness is human nature.

Compared to Sunday, where one cannot fully enjoy themselves because they have to worry about school on Monday.

Saturday is clearly superior.

One can revel completely for two consecutive nights, Friday and Saturday.

This is the reason it is the most beloved.

After eating and resting, Karuizawa Kei's pain had mostly subsided.

Watching Tanaka Yukishin return, she picked out several outfits from the closet; these were the ones she had brought over yesterday.

Karuizawa Kei shook out a beige knit sweater and pulled it on, her legs glowing with a pink flush from her recent shower beneath her white skirt.

As she leaned over to pick up a hair clip, the air conditioning breeze happened to lift the hem of her top.

One could vaguely see the edge of a black lace bra from the small of her back.

"Yukishin, do you think it looks good?"

After changing, Karuizawa Kei spun around toward Tanaka Yukishin.

"It looks good."

Watching Tanaka Yukishin, whose expression remained as stagnant as a mannequin in a clothing store while he spoke with a perfunctory tone.

Karuizawa Kei shot him a sidelong glance with a smile, then took off her clothes to try on a new set.

The girl's graceful body was displayed right before Tanaka Yukishin.

His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

His gaze followed the movement of Karuizawa Kei's fair hands.

Karuizawa Kei put on a light blue dress paired with over-the-knee socks and sat on the table.

As she swung her legs, the absolute territory created by the over-the-knee socks swayed incessantly in front of Tanaka Yukishin.

When she spun around, the tips of her hair brushed against the silver pendant on her chest, causing the silver chain to catch in the hollow of her collarbone and cast tiny glints of light as she turned.

"How about now?"

"It looks good."

Karuizawa Kei pouted, feeling a bit unhappy.

This was just too perfunctory.

She suddenly realized that asking this man for his opinion was a mistake.

Could he really only answer that things looked good, unless they were truly hideous?

Taking off her clothes once more, she glanced at the wardrobe mirror while changing.

She happened to see the reflection of Tanaka Yukishin's moving Adam's apple, and his gaze tracking the path of her fingertips as she unzipped the side of her dress.

He was perfunctory when evaluating her outfit, but completely focused when it came to lewd thoughts.

A mischievous smirk curled the corners of Karuizawa Kei's lips.

She quietly swapped the clothes in her hands for a crop top.

After changing and watching the shift in Tanaka Yukishin's expression, Karuizawa Kei walked over and lightly pecked his cheek with her pink lips.