Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

Shiina Hiyori had been convinced, and ever since she started spending her days reading with Hoshino En, eating together had become a fixed part of their routine—she didn't want that habit to change.

However, watching their close interaction from across the table, Sakayanagi Arisu felt uncomfortable.

Ah~ how irritating. Does Hoshino-kun prefer long hair?

"I think you should keep your current hairstyle."

Kamuro Masumi whispered in her ear.

Even though Sakayanagi Arisu usually carried herself like a demon, seeing her apparently jealous like this, Kamuro Masumi found it hard to look at.

Especially since this was the person she herself had called over, and now she was getting jealous over him—she looked like an idiot.

Thinking that this was the kind of fool who had her under their thumb, Kamuro Masumi only felt more irritated.

If you're going to start a fight, at least make sure you win!!

"If you grew your hair out, you'd overlap with Shiina Hiyori's traits. In a love competition, the worst thing is to clash with your rival."

Though clashing in personality was more taboo than appearance, with Sakayanagi's ultimate sadist personality, it was probably hard for anyone in the world to clash with her.

But Shiina Hiyori across from them also had a rare personality—pure white, genuine airhead. For a psychological deviant like Hoshino En, she was the easiest target.

Wasn't Sakayanagi basically inviting a wolf into her own home?

"Alright, you two, stop flirting. You can carry on once we get there."

Finally, having had enough of her sour jealousy, Sakayanagi Arisu interrupted Hoshino En and Shiina Hiyori's deep gaze, adding another variable to the battlefield.

"And Hoshino-kun, how about calling that blonde gal you've got on a leash? You must have things to discuss with me about today's exam, right? There won't be time to wrestle with a little puppy then!"

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Sakayanagi, you deserve to lose!!

So when Karuizawa Kei arrived at the yakiniku restaurant in the shopping mall, what she saw was Sakayanagi Arisu and Shiina Hiyori glued to Hoshino En's sides, and a pitiful Kamuro Masumi sitting across from them, tasked with grilling the meat.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 41: What Kind of Party Is This?

Because Sakayanagi Arisu insisted on Hoshino En supporting her, their group of four arrived late, and all the private rooms were taken.

So they could only sit at a relatively secluded booth in the main hall.

But though the spot was out of the way, two other booths could still see them.

Coincidentally, one of them was Kushida Kikyo's "good friend" gathering: her, Inogashira Kokoro, Wang Meiyu, and the only boy, Hirata Yosuke.

Clearly, this was a setup to help someone conquer Hirata Yosuke.

And because Karuizawa Kei had "something come up," the rest of her Empress Group—Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, Mori Nene, and the co-opted Shinohara Satsuki—were all there joining in the fun.

The booths here were large sofa-style seats, so as long as no one was too bulky, even eight to ten people could squeeze into one without issue.

They were right next to Hoshino En's booth, giving them a perfect view of his group.

As for the other booth that could see them, it was diagonally across—Class C's gathering.

Class C's representative Ryuen Kakeru, the distinctive black Yamada Albert, Ishizaki Daichi who'd been tamed by Ryuen on the first day, and the rare female brawler Ibuki Mio.

The core of Class C's violent faction.

Besides them, there was one more table. Though they couldn't see it, it was right next to them, beside Class C, close enough to easily overhear their conversation.

The others didn't recognize him, but Hoshino En had a clear impression of that bald head.

Obviously, this was Class A's Katsuragi faction gathering.

Damn, were all these people gathered here for some kind of party?

And just as they walked in, Kushida Kikyo, having spotted him, steered Class D's conversation toward him. Her good friend group and Hirata Yosuke stopped talking out of curiosity.

The four from the Empress Group, seeing him without Karuizawa Kei who'd had "something come up," fell silent and glared at him with sharp breaths.

Ryuen Kakeru glanced at Shiina Hiyori, then his gaze, about to move on, caught Sakayanagi Arisu and stuck like a magnet.

The only group still chatting, Katsuragi's faction, also went quiet upon seeing Sakayanagi Arisu.

Shift! This young lady was too famous.

"Did you pick this place on purpose?"

Guiding the girl with a triumphant smile to the inner seat, Hoshino En sat down directly beside her. Shiina Hiyori immediately squeezed in next to him, while Kamuro Masumi, knowing her place, sat across from them and took charge of the grilling.

You two can argue later if you want, just don't drag me into it.

Kamuro Masumi expertly laid the marinated meats on the grill, cooking for the three waiting mouths—or maybe four.

"No, it's really a coincidence."

Since the three surrounding tables had all gone quiet, and they were in the corner of the restaurant, Sakayanagi Arisu's voice carried without losing any force.

"Then let me guess—Ichinose's class is having their team-building here too, right?"

"Oh my~ Hoshino-kun's guess is spot on! As a reward, you get the first piece."

"Kamuro-san, if you please."

She didn't even turn her head as she gave orders to Puppy across from her, but her gaze was fixed on Hoshino En beside her.

"It's grilling, it's grilling, don't rush me!"

Kamuro Masumi, caught in the thick of it, could only complain in her heart.

And what the hell was "Puppy"??

Lu finished grilling the first piece of meat quickly, and Kamuro Masumi placed the entire slice onto Hoshino En's plate.

Spearing the grilled meat Kamuro Masumi had set in his dish into his mouth, Hoshino En opened a bottle of sparkling water and took a small sip.

The icy bubbles stimulated his esophagus, jumpstarting his somewhat sluggish brain.

"Sakayanagi, do you really have to do this? It might not mean much to you, but it hurts me a lot."

He asked his second question.

"Who told you to ignore me for a full 28 days, 4 hours, and 26 minutes? This is your punishment... ah, I want some of that too."

She extended a clean cup toward Hoshino En, signaling him to pour.

He looked at her spotless cup, then at the sparkling water he'd already drunk from, and a vein bulged on his forehead.

"I've already drunk from this. If you want some..."

"Please~"

She kept her hand outstretched without moving.

Filling the girl's glass with sparkling water, Hoshino En finally received her reply.

"Gulp gulp... If you didn't come to me on your own, wasn't it because you didn't want to be targeted by Katsuragi and the others? But now you're already on their radar, plus you've got a Dragon Boy's attention and your own Class D's temporary class rep's notice. Now you can come play with me without any worries, right?"

"This is clearly pushing me into the abyss, isn't it? The trouble ahead is huge... ah, Shiina, eat this."

While "taking care" of Sakayanagi, Hoshino En didn't forget to "feed" Shiina either.

"Ohh, mm... delicious!"

Unlike Sakayanagi, this girl didn't overthink things—she just smiled happily when she ate something good.

Shiina Hiyori: Actually, it's tastier because Hoshino-kun feeds it to me himself!

Kamuro Masumi: So what about my effort, my sweat?

"Ah! Hoshino-kun is biased! The 'lawful wife' is right here, and Arisu wants some too!"

"Didn't I already pour you sparkling water? Geez..."

Despite his grumbling, Hoshino En still fed a piece to this mischievous little girl.

He'd already given up trying to correct her teasing.

"Sakayanagi, if I got down on my knees and begged for mercy right now, do you think they'd let me off like a fart?"

"..."

Meanwhile—

Because Dragon Boy just listened without a word, the Katsuragi Group on the other side seemed all the more lively.

Unlike Hoshino En, who couldn't care less (and given the situation, caring wouldn't help anyway), the Katsuragi Group kept their voices extremely low to avoid being overheard—so low that almost no one outside their booth could hear, naturally not interfering with Sakayanagi Arisu and Hoshino En's conversation.

"What is Sakayanagi doing? Why is she circling around some trash from Class D?"

"Yahiko, watch your words. Don't lose Class A's standards."

Katsuragi Kohei admonished his subordinate's slip.

"Also, in situations like this, listen more and talk less. Walls have ears."

Just like them, and the Class C group next door.

"But we're not discussing anything important anyway. The only one making a fool of himself is that brainless guy from Class D..."

Totsuka Yahiko was about to say more when he heard Sakayanagi's mocking laughter from the next booth.

"You made it so obvious, they're bound to figure it out. Surely no brainless person would think you just blurted out all that info without a plan?"

"Especially our Class A—they're the elite among freshmen. How could they not know you deliberately spoke loudly to leak information, weakening Class A's grip on the whole grade?"

Totsuka Yahiko: "..."

"And in fact, you've already done it, haven't you? On the first day of school, April 1st, you told Class B's Ichinose Honami and Class D's Kushida Kikyo the truth about the school. Our Class A wasted the 2 million PPT advantage we bought because of that!"

Katsuragi Group: ...!!!!

This was the first time Class A's "elites" had heard of this.

"But why didn't Class C get Hoshino-kun's intel support? Is it because Shiina-san didn't serve him as well as the other two?"

"Sakayanagi-san, I, Hoshino-kun and I aren't that kind of rel&ationship..."

"Simply because there were no Class C students in that shop when I shared the info. A-Sho was busy consolidating the class back then; probably no one dared to go out and play."

"A-Sho? You mean Dragon Boy?"

"A-Sho? Dragon Boy? Not Ryuen-kun?"

"It's him."

Ryuen Kakeru: "..."

I'm standing right here, and you dare to give me a nickname to my face?

These two... have absolutely no manners!!!

(Below does not count toward the main text)

Yakiniku restaurant seating (abstract, please forgive):

Window--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall--Wall

Window--Hirata, Wang Meiyu, Shinohara, Matsushita//////Aisle//////Shiina, Hoshino, Sakayanagi--Wall

Window--Table~~~~Table//////Aisle//////Table~~~~Table--Wall

Window--Inokashira, Kushida, Sato, Mori//////Aisle//////Karuizawa, Kamuro--Wall

Window--Ibuki, Yamada//////Aisle//////Katsuragi, Extra A, Extra B--Wall

Window--Table~~~~Table//////Aisle//////Table~~~~Table--Wall

Window--Ishizaki, Ryuen//////Aisle//////Totsuka, Extra C, Extra D--Wall

First Year Class Turn: Nine "↓⊙-Ling Si<▲々Lu∶First Semester:

Chapter 42 Section 040 Everyone's Here, Then—Let's Begin

"They definitely already know how impressive Hoshino is, so even if you deliberately put on a show of [failure, kneeling and crying] right now, I don't think they'd buy it."

"True... but didn't you raise the bar? You've cut off my escape route, and there are still nearly three years until graduation!"

"How am I supposed to get through these three years peacefully?"