Is This Really Classroom of the Elite?

"My name is You En Tiandai. I'm a transmigrator. My age? Let's just say I'll be eighteen forever.

"I live in a small villa in the Shimokitazawa Station neighborhood. I'm unmarried.

"I work from home. I eat one meal a day, and at most, I go out to buy breakfast at eight in the morning before heading straight back.

"I never spend money on gacha games, and I only take the occasional sip of cola.

"The world is cruel, so I've given up. I go to bed at eleven in the morning and wake up at five, making sure to get a full eighteen hours of sleep.

"Before bed, I drink a bottle of ice-cold cola, then do half an hour of piston exercises before turning in. I usually sleep soundly until dawn, like a baby, and never let fatigue or stress carry over to the next day.

"The Plague Doctor says I'm perfectly normal."

Leaning against the bus window on his way to Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, You En ran through a possible self-introduction in his head.

A girl's voice cut through every other sound in the bus, even the rumble of the engine.

"Don't you think you should give up your seat?"

A chestnut-haired girl with a rather impressive figure said this to a blond boy.

You En looked up, his eyes lighting up as he perked right up. He'd been a little uncertain when he saw the school's name,

but the moment he heard Kushida Kikyo's voice, he knew with absolute certainty that this was the world of Classroom of the Elite.

Next...

He'd just sit back and watch the show.

You En leaned against his seat. He knew this was an assessment arranged by the school, and the students might be scored based on how they reacted.

But so what? Was he supposed to act like a model student and give up his seat?

There was no need.

He'd come to this school out of curiosity, just to find out whether the world he'd transmigrated into was really Classroom of the Elite. He might drop out after a few months.

In the years since he'd transmigrated, he'd built on his experience writing web novels and made his way into the light-novel industry. He was already a master of the genre, and he had no need to worry about making a living anymore.

Faced with Kushida Kikyo's question,

Rokusuke Koenji, better known as Handsome Brother, grinned and lifted his chin, completely unmoved, as if he couldn't be bothered to respond.

At that moment, a woman in an office suit standing beside him spoke up.

"Can't you see that sitting there is making this old lady uncomfortable?"

Everyone else in the bus focused their attention on the group. An invisible pressure bore down on Rokusuke Koenji.

"What a ridiculous question. Why should I have to give up my seat for this old woman?"

Rokusuke Koenji spoke casually, though he put a little extra emphasis on the word "have."

"What do you think?"

Just as You En was watching the spectacle with interest, the long-haired girl sitting by the window to his right suddenly spoke to him.

"Me?"

You En answered honestly.

"I'm checking out the high school girls with nice figures."

The moment he said it,

the girl's cool gaze sharpened.

"Are all boys like that?"

"I'm like that. If you want to draw a conclusion, you should meet more people. You can't generalize from one case."

You En watched Horikita Suzune's expression grow colder and worried she might freeze him into catching a cold. He cleared his throat.

"Fine. You just asked what I thought, right? I'll tell you. Do you want to hear it?"

Horikita Suzune didn't answer. She just glared at him.

"This is nothing but a farce, a performance."

Horikita gave a quiet hum.

You En continued, "Handsome Brother is sitting in a priority seat. There's an old woman who seems to have trouble getting around. He didn't offer his seat. That means he's already considered the matter, and not giving it up is his choice."

"Wait... You mean that guy when you say Handsome Brother?"

"Doesn't it suit him?"

"You're terrible at coming up with nicknames, just like you're terrible at judging girls."

Horikita Suzune sneered. "So what? Are you saying Handsome Brother did nothing wrong?"

"What's right or wrong about it? If you don't want to do something, don't do it. What's the problem? He might be morally in the wrong and deserve the criticism, but that's beside the point."

You En shook his head.

"The real issue is how she handled it. That nice girl seems more interested in showing off than helping someone.

"She could've spoken to him quietly and asked if he was willing to give up his seat.

"If he wasn't, she could've asked another student who looked more approachable."

At that,

Horikita Suzune immediately understood.

"I get it. You mean that if she really wanted to find a seat for the old woman, the blond boy wasn't a good choice. Her approach was wrong too. Instead of trying to talk to him, she wanted to pressure him through the atmosphere..."

You En didn't answer. He'd always been prone to motion sickness, and transmigrating hadn't changed that. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

"I'm tired. Think it over yourself."

"Hm?"

Horikita Suzune blinked. Was that just an excuse to avoid talking to her?

Seeing that he really did look uncomfortable, she turned her attention back to the group.

"Everyone, could you listen for a moment? Is there anyone willing to give up their seat for this old woman? Anyone at all, please."

Before talking with You En,

Horikita Suzune might have thought, like everyone else on the bus, that the girl had spoken out of courage, conviction, and kindness.

As he'd said,

those things might have been part of it.

But the most fundamental problem was that everything that had happened so far—including what she was doing now by asking everyone on the bus for help—was simply the situation this chestnut-haired girl had encountered.

From the start, she'd known that pressuring the blond boy through the atmosphere or morality probably wouldn't work.

Of course, it would be better if it did. If it didn't, she'd still accomplished her goal.

Under that pressure,

a working woman eventually stood up and offered her seat.

The students on board would surely remember the chestnut-haired girl as helpful and courageous. Her actions would probably become the subject of endless gossip around campus.

"..."

Horikita Suzune felt a headache coming on.

School hadn't even started yet, and she'd already run into such a scheming student on the way there. What was this school all about?

"Why would they admit students like that?"

"Have you still not figured it out?"

You En opened one eye. He'd rested with his eyes closed for a while, and his motion sickness had eased a little.

"Figured what out?"

"Why are you only thinking about Handsome Brother and the nice girl?"

"Then who else—"

Horikita Suzune frowned. For a moment, she felt as if she'd grasped something, but she couldn't quite make sense of it.

You En smiled. "Think it through on your own. There's fun in thinking, and you'll get a better answer yourself than you would from someone else."

Horikita Suzune's brow relaxed. She nodded, and her gaze softened.

"I agree with that."

In the seat behind them, directly behind You En,

sat a calm, expressionless boy with vacant eyes: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. He'd heard their conversation.

He understood what You En meant in an instant.

The chestnut-haired girl thought she had the situation under control. In reality, she hadn't noticed that the woman in the office suit was school staff, probably there to test the blond boy.

In fact, the old lady and the working woman who eventually gave up her seat were also people arranged by the school.

Ayanokoji had done some research before coming. The bus had already left the residential area at its first stop, and there were no unrelated people within five hundred li of the school.

Interesting.

Watching You En in front of him, Ayanokoji wondered how he'd figured all that out. Ayanokoji had only guessed this much because he'd had some information in advance. What was You En's explanation?

Should he get to know him better?

Ayanokoji considered how to strike up a conversation.

"The vehicle is approaching its destination. Final stop: Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. All staff and enrolled students, please disembark."

You En was the first to stand. He quickly made his way to the bus door and waited.

Horikita Suzune glanced at You En, lowered her head, then looked up at him again before standing and following him.

Ayanokoji watched the two of them without hurrying. He'd learned a fair amount about tracking, so he wasn't worried about losing them.

Besides, as long as they were at the same school, there'd be other chances to meet.

After everyone else had gotten off,

only four people remained on the bus.

The driver acted as if he couldn't see the three of them and started the bus again.

The woman in the office suit plopped down in the priority seat, crossed her legs, and lit a slim cigarette.

"How many do you think will make it out alive?"

The working woman chuckled, sat down beside her, and gave her thigh a hard squeeze.

"How many Class D classes have survived to the end?"

The woman in the office suit deftly batted her hand away. "Surely it won't be a complete wipeout. At the very least, the first-years should make it through, right?"

The working woman wasn't offended. She simply replied,

"Do you really think everyone will be as lucky as your class was, with a kind, overwhelmingly powerful person leading thirty percent of the year group to graduation?

"Let me tell you: in all the years this school has been around, not a single Class D has ever survived to the end.

"And it's not unusual for all four classes in a year—including Class A—to be wiped out.

"Graduating from this school, or even dropping out safely, isn't that easy."

The woman in the office suit fell silent. She was a graduate of the previous year, and she hadn't made it through by relying on herself. She'd "coasted" to graduation thanks to a classmate who couldn't be described as anything less than a genius.

She understood some of the difficulty, of course. But she'd never truly faced just how hard it was. She'd been protected most of the time and had simply followed instructions.

"..."

The old lady, who hadn't spoken once, gazed through the bus window. Her sky-blue eyes settled on the back of the boy Horikita Suzune had caught up with.

"Perhaps a 'miracle' is about to happen."