Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

Afraid that this White Room-born genius with zero common sense might come up with some outrageous idea, Hoshino En quickly urged him on.

Hoshino En: "Kiyotaka? Comrade? You asleep?"

"Dead or alive, make a sound! Don't leave me waiting here like an idiot."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "Actually, there's one more thing. Horikita seems to keep refusing social interaction—she's driven away a lot of classmates who tried to approach her."

Hoshino En: "I've seen that in class too. She looks like a terminal case of social autism."

"Speaking of which, are you really going to keep at it with her like this? A boss with that high a difficulty doesn't seem like something a 'social novice' like you can handle."

Not even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka—even Kushida Kikyo, a top-tier "social expert," might not get anywhere with Horikita.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "...We're deskmates, after all. If our relationship is bad, it'll be troublesome for me."

That's a lie, and Hoshino En knew it, because Ayanokoji had used that exact reason right in front of him to get close to Horikita Suzune.

Hoshino En: "You can't just hang everything on her. If you want to learn how to make friends, start with other people in the class. Anyone else is easier to talk to than Horikita."

"Oh, and forget Sudo. As for Ike and Yamauchi, if you can avoid them, do it. If you have to interact, keep it minimal. Don't learn everything from them."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "Why? They seem like good people."

True, especially Ike—thanks to him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had blended into the class's male group so easily today.

And since they were doing so well among the guys, they must be masters of the art of "making friends." As a newcomer, learning from them made sense.

Hoshino En: "Those two brought up sensitive topics about women's bodies in public. It might not be public indecency, but socially and morally, they're already dead."

"They're socially dead and don't even know it, which shows a flaw in character. If you hang out with them, people will lump you in with them and look down on you too."

"To put it bluntly, they probably see a 'socially struggling' guy like you as someone lower than them, and they just happen to need a clown to be their foil in front of the girls. That's why they're so eager to 'make friends' with you."

"If real trouble comes, they'd likely throw you under the bus as a scapegoat."

"I don't want to visit you in a detention center later, Kiyotaka."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

The boy's silence said more than any words could.

Hoshino En: "If you really want to learn how to 'make friends' and be a normal person, find classmates who are also normal. Don't go for the ones too outstanding like Hirata or Kushida, and don't go for the ones as ridiculous as those two."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka still didn't reply, apparently deep in thought.

Hoshino En: "Kiyotaka, you hungry? Want to grab a late-night snack at my place?"

It had been a long day, and Hoshino En was a bit hungry himself, but eating alone wasn't right—he couldn't forget his "good son" living next door.

And honestly, ever since Sakayanagi told him about Ayanokoji, he'd felt more and more like treating him as a son.

Hoshino En: "..."

Was this the urge for "nurturing"? He was old enough to be a "father" now.

Ayanokoji was top-tier in every other aspect—Hoshino En didn't need to worry about him surviving on his own. But in common sense, he was as clean as a blank slate, no different from a newborn.

Tch. This setup was perfect.

The message turned to "Read," and within twenty seconds, Hoshino En's door was knocked on.

He opened it to find Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in his pajamas, ready and waiting. His expressionless face gave no hint that he was here to freeload a meal.

"Have a seat for a bit."

After serving Ayanokoji some warm water, Hoshino En busied himself in the kitchen.

He'd scammed free ingredients from the convenience store, but since they only offered vegetarian stuff for free, he pulled out his own personal stash of meat, plus the highest-grade instant noodles he'd bought from the store—

Ta-da! Hoshino Family Special, Super Luxurious Instant Noodles, complete!!

When he set the two bowls on the table, he caught Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes bulging.

He seemed shocked by the food.

"What's wrong? Never had this before?"

"...No, I've seen instant noodles. But this... I've never seen anything like this."

It's just instant noodles, so why does it look more like ramen than street-side ramen?

The veggies were fine, mostly free stuff from the convenience store, but the meat... it covered the entire bowl.

This wasn't noodles—this was braised meat, right?

"Alright, alright, stop staring. Eat it while it's hot."

In an atmosphere of Hoshino En's smugness and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's astonishment, the two shared a late-night meal, and with Ayanokoji's help, they washed the dishes.

Then, Hoshino En crashed into bed, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to his room to sleep, and their "night outing" came to an end.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 32 | Chapter 030.5 Karuizawa Arc: Karuizawa Kei Makes a Change

But I never expected to meet him here.

After my experiences in elementary and middle school, I decided to change my way of surviving at Advanced Nurturing: I would band together with my "allies" and become the top of the class.

This way, I wouldn't be the target of jealousy from all the other girls, nor would I become a thorn in their side for some trivial reason. I could have more time to improve myself and achieve [perfection].

So I dressed myself up to look like the group that had bullied me back then, deliberately putting on a tough, unapproachable front.

Through this method, I quickly seized the initiative in establishing a hierarchy within the class when it was first formed.

Then, I also found my [companions]: a genuinely simple-minded true gyaru, a friendly ordinary girl, and an elegant girl with refined manners who clearly came from a well-off family.

Even though the four of us were completely different types of people, each of us had our own reasons for dressing up as [bad students] and [tough girls], quickly banding together to become a powerful clique among the girls in Class D.

Then, to quickly gather information on our classmates, we pushed for the self-introduction session organized by Hirata Yousuke.

It was at that moment I saw him.

Just like in our third year of middle school, he sat alone in the corner, his purple-black bangs hanging slightly down, covering his starry eyes and adding a gloomy air to his whole presence.

Ah~ If he'd just brush his hair back and show those eyes, he'd be much cuter. Why does Hoshino-kun waste his looks like this?

But he was still as sharp as in middle school—no, even sharper. I only spaced out staring at him for a moment, and his gaze started sweeping over in my direction.

Still, he didn't seem to notice me. Did he really have no impression of me at all from before?

That was a little discouraging.

After the first day's homeroom ended, he immediately slipped out through the back door. I wanted to follow him, but thinking about the serious consequences if he caught me, I gave up.

Besides, even though I'd temporarily taken the lead among the girls in the class, there were still a few others I couldn't underestimate.

One was Shinohara Satsuki. She clashed with the boys to defend the girls' rights, earning recognition from many of them.

Though I felt it was more because the other boys in Class D went too far—they were openly discussing girls' chests on the very first day of school. I'd never seen such classless people—which gave her the chance to cash in on that goodwill.

Another was Kushida Kikyo. With her extraordinary charm, she easily befriended most of the girls in the class.

Not only that, but she used her exaggerated chest to captivate most of the boys in the class.

Any normal girl would be unable to stand those rude stares, but she kept a straight face even when they were staring at her. That made me question her true nature.

She seemed almost obsessively determined to be friends with everyone.

I didn't want to dig into the secrets behind her mask. My instincts told me it would bring me a lot of trouble.

Anyway, because of them, I took my [companions] to a café that had good reviews on the campus forum, planning to discuss our strategy.

And then, then... I saw him again.

"Da~me~ I've been running around for you all afternoon, I'm starving, I want something sweet."

"Fine, whatever you say. You really did work hard today."

Not just him—I also saw a girl at his side, holding his hand, whose cuteness was on par with his.

Every move she made exuded the grace of a refined lady, like some nobleman's daughter.

Someone like that was worthy of him, right? My heart was filled with joy, because he, who had never had friends, finally found someone he could rely on.

Of course, there was also a hint of envy mixed in, because... I was the one who came first, damn it! I should at least get first dibs!!!

But then I saw the two people originally sitting at the table next to them suddenly pack up their fine desserts and coffee and leave, vacating the seats. And then—Kushida Kikyo and her [companion] Wang Meiyu sat down there.

Their gazes kept drifting toward Hoshino-kun at the next table. They were clearly there with a purpose.

I have to admit, I panicked.

Hoshino-kun had finally found a good match. I couldn't let some scheming green tea bitch ruin things for them.

So, ignoring my [companions]' strange looks, I walked straight over and sat down next to Wang Meiyu.

From this angle, I could see Hoshino-kun, and also catch every expression and movement of Kushida Kikyo, who was sitting across from Wang Meiyu.

I couldn't let her do anything that might interfere with Hoshino-kun!

Then another girl sat down, taking the last seat at this four-person table.

She was Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B.

Even though she greeted me warmly and seemed like a nice, guileless girl, Hoshino-kun already had a good thing going. I couldn't let some other fox shake their bond.

So, Ichinose-san, maybe you're a good person, but the complicated look you shot at Hoshino-kun is already enough to make me hostile toward you.

Not to mention that, like Kushida Kikyo, she had a body far more developed than most girls her age. Even if she didn't do anything seductive, her very existence could shake the feelings between Hoshino-kun and that girl.

So I had to keep a close watch!

That's what I thought, but I never expected the girl who came with Hoshino-kun to throw the conversation to those two.

Because of that opening, I naturally got to hear the conversation between her and Hoshino-kun.

That was when I realized she and Hoshino-kun weren't in that kind of relationship. The earlier suggestive talk was just her teasing him.

In other words, Hoshino-kun hadn't found his soulmate yet... I still had a chance to get first dibs!!!

Just thinking about that, I didn't even care about Kushida Kikyo and Ichinose Honami's [hungry stares] at Hoshino-kun anymore.

When it was over, I spoke with Hoshino-kun for the first time and got his contact info.

I couldn't help him with anything right now, but there was one thing only someone my age possessed: my beauty, and my body.

Since I'd decided to offer him the most [perfect] version of myself, what was wrong with giving him my [perfect] body?

So I decided to find an opportunity—preferably at the start of the semester when everyone was still getting used to campus life—to give my body to Hoshino-kun.

He also admitted he had no experience in this area, so what's wrong with using my body for him to learn the relevant knowledge?

But to give him a better experience, I decided to cram-study the relevant knowledge myself.

I never expected, however, that I'd find my chance the very next day.

I was just about to head back to my dorm to change clothes, preparing for my upcoming "date" with my [companions], but I never imagined I'd run into Hoshino-kun at my room's doorstep.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—I couldn't hold back at all, and I directly invited him into my room.

Then, I confessed my feelings to him—after all, I'd never been in love before, and I couldn't possibly have this kind of relationship with any other guy, so I wanted to experience this rare feeling with Hoshino-kun.

As a result, he rejected me.

He brought up my middle school experience, claiming I just wanted someone to shelter me from further bullying, and that I was using "dating" as an excuse to threaten him into protecting me with that incident.

Shelter? Bullying? Si threatening? If I were still the me before he [saved] me, maybe I really would have thought that way... but so-called "ifs" mean nothing in the face of reality.

I don't need anyone's protection, because I've already been saved. Now I understand how not to be hurt, and I know how to push someone to the opposite side of the group.

The reason I confessed to him was truly just because I like him. I want to give him everything.

Looking at his cold eyes, I suddenly understood.

He seems... to be extremely distrustful of others, and also extremely distrustful of feelings.

The environment he lived in before must have been terrible—maybe even worse than my elementary school days.

But seeing the all-capable him suddenly show such clumsy vulnerability, I couldn't help but laugh.

This kind of Hoshino-kun, instead, became more real, more captivating.

As expected, my laughter angered him. He pinned me down on the bed, his arms pressing against my neck, applying force with pressure.

This method wouldn't leave marks on my neck, yet it could genuinely threaten me with mortal danger.

Even though he was burning with rage, his actions remained rational, without a single flaw.