Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

But Kushida Kikyo understood.

This classmate Hoshino, though he seemed impressive, apparently... didn't understand a woman's heart.

"Girls all need to be coaxed. With someone as smart and strong-willed as Classmate Sakayanagi, you have to show a little weakness in the areas she excels at, so she feels her dignity is respected, and then she'll be happy."

"If you keep knocking her down like that, even if she doesn't get angry, she won't be in a good mood. Do you get it, Classmate Hoshino?"

"But wouldn't that be no different from being a simp?"

Kushida Kikyo: ...Huh?

The three people who had been listening the whole time: "..."

How did he come to that conclusion?

"How, how did you think that through to reach that conclusion?"

For the first time, Kushida Kikyo felt her brain couldn't keep up.

"Isn't it? Winning someone's favor through insincere flattery—that's what a simp does, right?"

"And the more genuine and frequent that insincere flattery is, the more the person being flattered will believe it. The day that false excellence is torn apart, that's when an endless hell begins for them."

"It destroys a person on a spiritual level. It's terrifying."

Though the effect was good, it was hard to achieve results in a short time, so the cost-performance was low, which was why Hoshino En rarely used this tactic before.

Kushida Kikyo: "..."

No, I'm telling you how to interact with the opposite sex, how did you jump to grand principles of human nature and morality?!

Ahh, the pressure's building up—I want to kick a railing!

"Boyfriend-kun, the moment I take my eyes off you, you're already hitting on someone else?"

Leaving Kushida Kikyo's breakdown aside for now, the slightly withdrawn Sakayanagi Arisu finally lifted her head, her expression displeased as she stared at Hoshino En.

"Or is it that those vulgar lumps of fat are that attractive to Boyfriend-kun? Arisu's legs are beautiful too—can't that satisfy Boyfriend-kun?"

She deliberately said the last part loudly, and the others, who had lost interest earlier because they couldn't hear clearly, looked over again.

And because he had been leaning in close to ask Kushida Kikyo for advice, Hoshino En was indeed very near her. With Kushida Kikyo's chest far surpassing Sakayanagi Arisu's, the uninformed onlookers almost immediately believed Sakayanagi Arisu's accusation.

"Tch, scumbag! Cheating right in front of your girlfriend—shameless."

"Exactly, he looks so steady on the outside, but inside he's just a lecherous pervert."

"Unbelievable. Being in the same space as someone like that gives me goosebumps."

"Let's go, let's go. With such a disgusting guy here, I've lost all mood to chat."

No one knew who started it, but in any case, the girls who had wanted to watch the drama all left the café, casting looks of disgust at Hoshino En as they went.

Soon, aside from the six people at Hoshino En's three tables, along with Shiranami Chihiro, who had been watching the whole time, and the three from Karuizawa's group, there were no other classmates left in the café.

But with the customers gone, the café waitress wasn't too upset—they'd all already paid.

If anything, she'd met her quota for the day, and now she didn't have to split her attention among multiple customers. Her work had suddenly gotten a lot easier.

So, she brought Hoshino En a new dessert as a thank-you for lightening her workload.

"I didn't order this, did I?"

Looking at the small cake pushed in front of him, Hoshino En glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu across the table with confusion.

Sakayanagi Arisu was also puzzled—she didn't remember ordering this either.

"No, no, this is my personal gift to you. Go on, keep chatting, keep chatting."

After setting down the dessert, the waitress didn't leave but stood nearby holding her tray, her eyes sparkling as she watched them—clearly in the mood for some drama.

One guy, multiple girls—she hadn't seen such an exciting [Asura Field] in a long time.

Hoshino En: "..."

So tired.

Though he wasn't great at guessing girls' feelings, he could still analyze their thought patterns.

With this afternoon's commotion, by tomorrow his [scumbag] reputation would probably spread among all the first-year girls.

Then within three months, the whole school's female population would likely know about it.

And once the girls knew, the guys would basically find out too. He'd be hated by everyone in the school all at once.

Ah~ the future's bleak. Maybe he should just drop out—this place is too troublesome.

"Kushida-san, I've dragged you into this today. Let's exchange contact info, and I'll make it up to you later."

"It's, it's fine."

Beep—

After sending Kushida Kikyo off to the side, Hoshino En looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, his tone weary. "Sakayanagi, is this fun for you?"

Though he had no plans for a high school romance and didn't care much about his reputation, being saddled with an unfounded accusation still made him a bit angry.

"Can't be helped. Even though I don't really like using the advantages that [gender differences] bring, right now this is the only card I have left to turn the tables."

Seeing his grim expression, Sakayanagi Arisu was delighted.

"Like this, we're tied two to two."

At that moment, the café server brought over the items she had ordered earlier, and she pushed what looked like the most expensive dessert in front of Hoshino En.

"Alright, alright, I did go a bit too far with that. Think of this as compensation—don't be upset."

"Could you at least try to suppress that smirk while you're talking? It'd be more convincing."

"And besides, like I said, if you're really sorry, then just cover the bill for me. Don't play cute here."

"Ehh~? Going on a date and making the girl pay—aren't you ashamed?"

"I was going to pay originally. You're the one who had to act out!"

"But you'll still pay in the end, won't you, Hoshino-kun?"

"...Well, I did promise."

Watching the two who had been bickering moments ago now chatting harmoniously, the Atmosphere Group beside them was stunned.

"I feel like all my sincerity has been fed to the dogs (mutter)..."

"Kushida-san, what did you say?"

"...Ah, nothing, nothing. By the way, Ichinose-san, what did you mean just now?"

"Oh, I was wondering—if Hoshino-kun wanted to know something, why didn't he just come into our class and ask, instead of peeking through the window?"

Ichinose Honami looked at her three tablemates and asked.

"You're all in the same grade as him—do you know why he did that?"

"Well, I haven't spoken to him yet, so I'm not sure," said Wang Meiyu.

If anything, after overhearing Hoshino En and Sakayanagi Arisu discussing How to Raise an Obedient Puppy, she didn't want anything to do with those two at all.

"As for me... same here," said Karuizawa Kei.

Facing a potential romantic rival, Karuizawa Kei chose to lie.

Sorry, Ichinose Honami, even though you're a good person... no, precisely because you're too good, I can't tell you anything about Hoshino-kun.

The two across from her quickly distanced themselves, so Ichinose Honami turned to Kushida Kikyo beside her.

Kushida Kikyo: "..."

"Actually, that was my first time talking to him too. But I get the feeling he's not great at conversing with girls—you all saw that just now. He probably knows that about himself, which is why he didn't just come over and ask directly."

"Ichinose-san, you should have some self-awareness too. A guy like him, who's bad with girls, would definitely get all flustered and tongue-tied when he sees a girl with a figure as explosive as yours."

Kushida Kikyo eyed Ichinose Honami's curves, even more exaggerated than her own, her eyes practically watering with envy.

Ichinose Honami: "..."

Ugh... it just grew without me noticing in middle school—it's not like I asked for this, and my shoulders ache every day...

But wait—so Hoshino-kun didn't come into Class 1-B this morning because he disliked me?

No, maybe he doesn't even remember me...

Seeing Ichinose Honami's expression shift between smiles and worry after hearing Kushida Kikyo's guess, Karuizawa Kei across from her became even more certain of her resolve.

And—I absolutely cannot let her get close to Hoshino-kun, or he'll be raised into a total wreck!

Si: First Semester of First Year

Chapter 12: Round Three, Verification

"Well, as compensation, I can tell you anything you want to know, you know?"

While eating the expensive dessert sponsored by Hoshino En, Sakayanagi Arisu made a shocking statement to him.

"Whether it's my measurements, the color I'm wearing today, or even something more private... if you ask, I'll tell you!"

"Of course, this 'bonus' is only for today, so make sure you seize the chance and ask everything you want to know, okay~"

Atmosphere Group: "..."

Karuizawa Kei: ...Wha?!

Wha-what is she suddenly saying out of nowhere?!!

"Sakayanagi-san, you can't say things like that to a boy!"

Ichinose Honami ignored whether she'd be interrupting them, walked straight between them, and cut into their conversation with righteous indignation.

"Ehh~? But what I say to Boyfriend-kun doesn't seem to be any of your business, does it? Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B."

"But you two aren't actually—"

"Ichinose-san, calm down. Don't let her bait you."

Hoshino En cut off Ichinose Honami's argument—he didn't want things to get even more complicated.

"You said you'd 'tell me anything,' but you never said 'everything you tell me will be true and accurate.'"

He looked at Sakayanagi Arisu and directly exposed her verbal trap.

She deliberately said that just to muddy the waters and confuse everyone.

As for the target... though there was an element of teasing him, it was more about the four members of the Atmosphere Group who had intentionally drawn close to them.

They had deliberately approached this side, which meant they had some motive. Sakayanagi Arisu had just been probing their intentions.

And unfortunately, aside from Wang Meiyu—the true innocent little rabbit who had followed Kushida Kikyo over—the other three had all been gauged thoroughly by her.

"You really don't fall for it, do you."

Though her trap had been broken again, Sakayanagi Arisu showed no trace of disappointment on her face. Her fingers slid across her phone screen, and a [wicked] smile crept onto her lips.

Hoshino En: "..."

Had she actually sent people to investigate the intel personally?

Hoshino En's gaze swept quickly past the window, and he noticed that the blond and the curly-haired guy who had been loitering there earlier were now completely gone.

They were probably following Qi's intel to go find those people who had come from the same country as him and ask around.

Oh well, even if they found something, it didn't matter. He had no friends from the same school back in middle school, so even if she did track down someone who knew him, she wouldn't be able to squeeze much information out of them.

As for Kushida Kikyo and Karuizawa Kei, he could only hope they'd be blessed by fortune and not get doxxed on the very first day.

But that didn't stop him from striking back at his opponent.

"And besides, even if you don't say it, I can still tell—like your measurements, from top to bottom roughly 68/54/80, give or take no more than 3 centimeters. An A-cup."

Sakayanagi Arisu's [wicked] smile froze.

"And the color you're wearing today. Given your skin tone and personality, cute white, light colors, or sexy black and purple would be your first choices. You're wearing white thigh-highs today, and underneath, you've probably gone with white for the weakest contrast. As for the style..."

"Stop it, don't say any more!!"

Sakayanagi Arisu's [wicked] smile shattered.

Her face flushed red, she hugged her shoulders with both arms, her body trembling unnaturally in her chair.

"I really lose to you. Are your eyes a ruler or something?"