Classroom of the Mediocre Supremacist

When father?

His words flowed into the ears of everyone present, followed by a tremor in their hearts.

You mean to say, you treated the girl living next door, your classmate, as your own son with no blood relation? And you spent nearly four million on him in one month, personally teaching him how to make friends and integrate into the group?

You—

Ahem, may I ask if you're currently in need of a son or daughter?

Everyone present, including Ryuen Kakeru, Katsuragi Kohei, Hirata Yosuke, and even Karuizawa Kei, had that thought flash through their minds in that instant.

But that feeling lasted only a moment; they quickly snapped out of that [unattainable dream].

And because of this astonishing remark, no one brought up any further topics afterward. The four tables finished their rare and expensive grilled meat and then left.

As they departed, Class A and Class C each clustered together; Ichinose Honami was picked up by Shiranami Chihiro, who had been waiting for her; Class D's [Good Friends Group] took Hirata away, preparing to execute their matchmaking plan that was supposed to happen during dinner; the [Empress Group] decisively dumped Karuizawa Kei onto Hoshino En, leaving her no room to choose.

As a result, Hoshino En ended up in a situation where he, along with Kamuro Masumi, was stuck with a Sakayanagi Arisu still in a state of [total bewilderment], a slightly tired Karuizawa Kei who had worked hard grilling meat, and a soft, fluffy Shiina Hiyori, all heading back to the dormitory building.

Kamuro Masumi: Feed me peanuts!

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 47: Chapter 044 [Angel] Descends at Midnight's Troubles

"By the way, Karuizawa."

After sending Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori to their floor, just before parting, Hoshino En suddenly called out to the blonde gyaru.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll spend two hours every afternoon in the library. I'll help you with your studies."

"Since I have swimming club practice, ask Shiina for the specific time and place."

Then, turning to Shiina Hiyori, he continued.

"Shiina, starting tomorrow, I'll leave it to you. If I haven't arrived when Karuizawa Kei comes, please look after her."

"Okay." ×

The two answered in unison, raising no objections.

Watching them walk to their respective doors and seeing them safely enter, Hoshino En finally turned to Sakayanagi Arisu, who had been unresponsive until now.

"Miss, do you need me to escort you to your room?"

He extended his right hand as usual.

"...Ah, yes."

Sakayanagi Arisu extended her left hand, her eyes finally seeming to regain some light.

"Kamuro and I live next to each other, and it's just upstairs. How about we take the stairs?"

She suggested, turning to look at Kamuro Masumi.

"Oh, by the way, Kamuro, if you're in a hurry, you can take the elevator back. Thank you for today."

Is she letting me go?

Kamuro Masumi felt tempted.

"Then I'll head off first?"

"Of course. But before you go, please take out that chess set."

"Got it!"

Without a second word, Kamuro Masumi pulled out the custom expensive chess set from her backpack, shoved it into Hoshino En's other hand, then dashed into the stairwell and vanished in a flash.

"Oh my~ If I'd known she was going to take the stairs too, I wouldn't have said that."

Watching Kamuro Masumi's retreating figure, Sakayanagi Arisu finally revealed her usual playful smile.

She seemed to have returned to normal.

"Isn't this all your doing, driving Kamuro like this?"

Hoshino En supported her as they climbed the stairs step by step, muttering helplessly.

Earlier in the library, when he said Sakayanagi gave Kamuro two conflicting tasks hoping she'd develop underlings to delegate, that was just comforting words. If Kamuro actually followed his advice and delegated flawlessly, all that awaited her was even harsher exploitation from Sakayanagi—since you have the ability, if I don't work you until you can't move, wouldn't I be losing out?

"Hehe, after all, her problem is quite serious. If I don't push her hard, she might cause some big trouble."

"Self-gratifying pleasure crime?"

"Yes, and she's a pleasure criminal with poor ability."

"Then you must have a tough time every day."

"If you know that, then comfort me properly. I'm pitiful too."

"Yes~ yes~"

Supporting Sakayanagi Arisu to her door, Hoshino En watched her open it.

"Do you need me to tuck you in?"

After all, she had sent Kamuro away early today, and being alone in her room probably wasn't very convenient for her.

"I'm not incapable of taking care of myself. Seeing me here is enough."

Sakayanagi Arisu watched Hoshino En with amusement, suddenly realizing he might be a bit overprotective.

"You're not treating me like a daughter too, are you?"

"Your physical condition really isn't that great."

Hoshino En didn't deny it.

But since she said it was fine, he wouldn't linger.

"By the way, this chess set—do you want me to set it up somewhere for you?"

Before leaving, he held up the chess set in his other hand and asked her.

As a matter of common knowledge, he knew some wealthy families liked to display expensive items in prominent places to show off to every visitor.

Sakayanagi Arisu was a genuine heiress, and she loved chess so much that she might have a similar habit.

"No need. That chess set is yours now—consider it a gift from our first 'date.'"

"...You're calling what happened this afternoon a date?"

"What else? Even though you were awful, Hoshino-kun, I got something good out of it too—we both gained something. So this afternoon's 'encounter' was a memorable 'meeting,' not a 'nuisance.'"

"Heh~ I like that perspective."

Hoshino En wasn't one to be overly sentimental. He gladly accepted Sakayanagi Arisu's custom chess set.

"Then I won't bother you anymore. See you~"

He closed the door for her.

"See you tomorrow..."

Her farewell slipped through the crack of the door into Hoshino En's ears.

This kid can be pretty cute sometimes!

After leaving Sakayanagi Arisu, Hoshino En took the elevator back to his floor, the fourth.

He walked to his door and was about to use his key card when a figure suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision—Kushida Kikyo.

She emerged from the stairwell turn, and when she saw him standing at the door, she put on a surprised expression before walking toward him with a smile.

"Oh my~ Hoshino-kun, what a coincidence, running into each other again."

Not a coincidence at all!

Looking at Kushida Kikyo, who was putting on an act without looking ugly, Hoshino En grumbled inwardly.

This is the boys' floor. What are you, a girl, doing pretending this is a 'chance encounter'?

"Come in and talk. Also, your excuse was terrible—pick a better one next time."

Hoshino En opened the door and invited Kushida Kikyo inside.

But the moment he closed the door behind him, Kushida Kikyo's expression changed.

"Ugh, Wang Meiyu, that idiot! She had such a perfect opportunity right in front of her and didn't take it. I don't know what's going on in her head!!"

Her verbal assault finally reached her most outwardly friendly best friend.

Hoshino En poured her a glass of water, pushed her into the bathroom, and turned on the showerhead.

"What's it this time?"

He leaned against the bathroom doorframe, watching the 'little angel' as she furiously kicked the pipe wall.

"It's all because of Wang Meiyu!"

Kushida Kikyo was tired of yelling. She downed the water Hoshino En had poured, licked her lips, and seemed ready to start another round.

"I know it's because of her. You were helping her chase Hirata, right? What, did she refuse?"

"Yeah!"

With Hoshino En 'joining in,' Kushida Kikyo seemed to find a like-minded 'ally' and perked up, venting even more vigorously.

"She said she wanted to pursue Hirata, and we finally set up tonight's gathering to get them together. Everything was ready, all that was left was for her to take the final step—"

At this point, Kushida Kikyo started screaming wildly again, as if her mania had flared up, kicking Hoshino En's bathroom hard a few times, some kicks nearly hitting him.

"And then that little bitch chickened out at the last second, using some garbage excuse like 'I think it's not a good time for this, let's just forget it.' I'm so damn done."

"We did all that for her, and she bails on us, leaving us hanging. Seriously..."

"Alright, alright, calm down."

Seeing that she was no longer satisfied with just kicking and was about to start using her hands, Hoshino En quickly stopped her.

"This little thing shouldn't be enough to make you blow a fuse. You've cursed out way more abstract stuff in front of me before... What's wrong today? That stressed?"

Hearing him call it out directly, Kushida Kikyo dropped her anger and looked at him with a deeply resentful gaze.

"It's because you ratted me out. Now those gyarus trailing after Karuizawa are watching me like hawks, throwing nasty little comments at me every now and then. I can't say much because of my image, so I just have to take it silently."

In other words, this girl was being pressured by the four "gal" members of the [Empress Group], and then her best friend Wang Meiyu delivered a gorgeous "backstab," completely crushing her already overwhelmed spirit.

How pitiful.

"But there's something you've got wrong: it wasn't me who ratted you out, it was Sakayanagi Arisu. If you've got a grievance, take it up with her. I even helped round out your motive and goal—you can't repay kindness with enmity!"

Kushida Kikyo couldn't refute Hoshino En's defense; she truly couldn't bring herself to badmouth someone who had helped her.

"I just came to vent to you as usual today. I didn't mean to scold you."

"Also, about that [private tea party] you have with Ayanokoji-kun—I want to join too!"

She raised her hand like a well-behaved student seeking the teacher's permission.

"I think you're just craving the snacks."

It was just a matter of an extra pair of chopsticks anyway, so Hoshino En didn't refuse.

"But you're on dish duty afterward. Kiyotaka's been washing them for a whole month now—today he deserves a break."

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 48, Section 044.5: Ayanokoji's Chapter: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's [Nightlife]

On the night of April 2nd, my [neighbor], my [friend] Hoshino En sent me a message. He said he wanted information about Horikita Suzune.

Given our [friend] social relationship, I didn't hide the intel I'd gathered from Horikita. I told him everything in detail, and that was where our conversation ended that day... or so it should have been.

I don't know how the topic ended up shifting to my social circle, but since he willingly offered to share his experiences with me, I didn't mind [using] him as a convenient tool.

However, things were far from as simple as I thought. Every night after that, he would call me to his room under the pretext of [sharing his experience as an ordinary person], making me eat foods I had only ever learned about as knowledge before.

His unusual behavior put me on alert, and I also picked up another piece of information from his words—he seemed to know my background, including the [White Room] and my identity as the [Masterpiece].

Could he be an assassin sent from the [White Room]?

I couldn't help but think that at the time, and I felt an immense hostility toward him in my heart.

But reality seemed different from my assumptions. He genuinely appeared to be teaching me how to interact with people, how to build good relationships with classmates. He had even noticed my hostility and wariness, yet showed no negative emotions whatsoever—instead, he responded to my reaction with praise.