Classroom of the Elite: I Can Issue Tasks to My Master

Sakura Airi nodded hazily, then pressed on with a hint of urgency—

"Um, is Nangong involved with you somehow? Why did he come talk to me as soon as this task appeared?"

[Your fated counterpart in this life is Nangong Cheng. You are destined to remain entangled with him throughout your life, so this system will issue tasks centered on him.]

[But Nangong Cheng has no connection to this system. Everything he does is of his own free will.]

"Fated counterpart... That sounds so romantic."

Sakura Airi already liked Nangong Cheng a great deal because of how he had treated her. Given what had happened and the system's explanation, she believed it without much doubt.

For a moment, she even started thinking up names for their future children.

Nangong Cheng saw it all.

Just as criminals often hurried back to the scene of the crime, he liked hiding in plain sight and watching how the girls reacted after receiving their systems.

It's time to launch the Idol Songstress Project.

Step one: show herself.

[Task issued: Before midnight tonight, send Nangong Cheng a selfie as Shizuku and ask, "Which version of me do you like better, Nangong?"]

[Task reward: 100–500 points, depending on Nangong Cheng's opinion of the selfie.]

Confirm. Issue.

Nangong Cheng glanced at Sakura Airi's face, flushed as though she had a fever, then settled in to wait for class.

Lunch break.

Nangong Cheng arrived at the cafeteria on time.

Sure enough, several Class B students accompanied Ichinose Honami, and she wore her flawless, sweet smile.

She really is an angel.

I kind of want to call her Mom...

"Nangong, I get the feeling you're thinking something strange."

"You're right. I was thinking you're so cute, Ichinose, that I want to tease you."

"Huh?!"

This innocent Tokyo girl had never heard such an outrageously cheesy pickup line before. It left her completely at a loss.

Fortunately, her friends came to the rescue.

"Ahem! Nangong, you can't tease our dear Honami on purpose, okay?"

Mako Amakura linked arms with Ichinose Honami and gave her a gentle shake, speaking up for her friend.

Nangong Cheng smiled politely, if a little awkwardly.

Girls' friendships really are something. They've known each other for only a day, and they're already this close.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"So, is there anything you want to ask? I thought the document explained things pretty clearly."

It certainly had.

In fact, it had been clear to an unbelievable degree.

They had all enrolled on the same day and should have been looking forward to high school life. Instead, the document told them the school was essentially pitting them against one another.

"Thanks to you, Nangong, Ms. Hoshinomiya has already told us a lot about the school."

A trace of worry lay behind Ichinose Honami's smile. She was already troubled by the scheming that awaited her over the next three years.

It was neither something she was good at nor something she liked.

"If we have no choice but to play this competition game, I don't want you and me to become enemies."

"So before we came here, we talked it over—"

Ichinose Honami paused deliberately, her eyes fixed on Nangong Cheng's face.

"We'd like Class B and Class D to work together... More precisely, we'd like to work with you and that girl."

Nangong Cheng clasped his hands in front of him and lowered his head in apparent thought.

He was curious.

What sort of face would Chie Hoshinomiya make if she learned that the student she had the highest hopes for had made such a "treasonous" decision?

"I understand what you mean, Ichinose. I'll pass it on to Horikita too. But—"

A partnership did not matter much to him. Rather than a fragile relationship that could shift with their interests, Nangong Cheng trusted the influence of his systems.

So he chose to issue a task.

"You all understand that a partnership requires both sides to be evenly matched, or at least to have something each other needs..."

"I can provide information and even help you directly, but what can your side offer mine, Ichinose?"

[Task issued: Ask Nangong Cheng whether he has a girlfriend.]

[Task reward: 100 points.]

[Penalty for failure: Kiss Nangong Cheng in front of everyone, say this is a gesture of sincerity toward the partnership, and say that there will be more to come.]

"Personal points. If we've guessed right, you and Horikita plan to use personal points to rise to Class A, don't you, Nangong?"

Before Ichinose Honami could answer, Mako Amakura spoke up instead.

Ryuji Kanzaki nodded beside her.

"That's right. That is our plan."

Nangong Cheng admitted it readily.

It seemed he could agree to the partnership now, but he did not want his agreement to come so cheaply.

"But if personal points are what I'm after, I imagine Class A would be happy to work with me against Class B. Why shouldn't I profit from both sides?"

"..."

The two Class B students fell silent at once.

In the end, all Ryuji Kanzaki could come up with was, "The Class A students might not be as friendly as we are."

Nangong Cheng merely smiled.

Once the Class A students learned the truth about Advanced Nurturing High School, they might indeed develop a sense of superiority. But the truly clever ones would not think that way.

Someone like Sakayanagi Arisu.

That sickly little imp, portrayed as almost preternaturally cunning, had probably already seen through the nature of the system. Perhaps she was still debating whether to enter the game herself.

She knew full well what awaited her if she stayed where she was, even if moving forward might lead to heaven or hell.

What will she choose?

That's genuinely hard to guess.

"Nangong..."

At last, Ichinose Honami broke her silence.

The blush on her face spoke volumes.

With Nangong Cheng wearing a smile that seemed to hold some hidden meaning, and her Class B classmates watching expectantly, she spoke.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Nangong?"

Ichinose Honami Wants to Know ### Ichinose Honami's question startled Mako Amakura and Ryuji Kanzaki.

"Honami? What are you saying?"

Anyone who had followed the conversation could guess what Ichinose Honami's question meant.

Mako Amakura, apparently the more emotional of the two, looked anxious and confused.

"You don't have to go that far! If it comes down to it, we can manage on our own. There's no reason Class A has to be better than us!"

Ryuji Kanzaki nodded gravely beside her. He seemed opposed to Ichinose Honami's decision too.

"We're all starting on equal footing. If we can keep the class-point gap from widening in the first month, we can work harder afterward and overtake Class A."

Nangong Cheng said nothing. He just smiled.

He could hardly blame those two Class B students for their naive optimism. They did not know the specifics of the exams.

After all, Chie Hoshinomiya and Sae Chabashira had fallen at the final hurdle back in their day...

The Expulsion Vote Exam really was vicious. Even this year's Class B, with someone as charming as Ichinose Honami, would suffer terribly because of it.

In fact, Class B might be the only class this year that the exam could truly hurt.

The leaders of Classes A, C, and D were all ruthless. None of them would hesitate to turn on their own classmates.

One man in particular deserved to be called out.

"Mako, Kanzaki..."

Ichinose Honami understood her friends' feelings perfectly, but she had thoughts of her own.

Apart from wanting to avoid the excessive punishment for failing the task, she had another reason for following the system's wishes: she wanted to confirm something.

[Cash exchange (family version): Points can be exchanged for cash for blood relatives at a rate of 1 point to 1,000 yen.]

[Note: Cash obtained this way will be given through entirely legal means.]

She had chosen this school partly to start over somewhere completely unfamiliar, and partly because its exemption from all tuition and fees would ease the financial pressure on her family.

Besides, if she was going to choose a man to marry and have children with someday anyway, why not go with the flow now and make a better choice?

Judging by their first meeting, Ichinose Honami thought quite highly of Nangong Cheng.

But she did not know what he thought of her. Would it be a bad idea to show too much enthusiasm too soon?

With no romantic experience at all, she found herself unusually torn between hope and anxiety.

"That's not what I meant. I was just curious about your relationship with Horikita, Nangong."

"As for working together, I don't think we need to rush. Why don't we talk again in a month? What do you think, Nangong?"

That month would give her time to observe the school and Nangong Cheng. It was also the deadline she had set for making her own decision.

Nangong Cheng smiled and nodded, going along with Ichinose Honami as she moved past the subject.

"I don't have a girlfriend, and Horikita and I are just ordinary classmates. We started working together because she happened to be investigating the school's secrets too. We hit it off and decided to cooperate for the time being."

"But your question did surprise me a little, Ichinose. You seem like the sort of well-behaved girl who was raised with strict rules."

"To be honest, I'm curious what you'd look for in a boyfriend."

Ichinose Honami gave him an equally polite, slightly awkward smile. Her answer was just as careful.

"I don't know. If I met someone who felt right, I certainly wouldn't do nothing and let the chance pass me by."

"As for what I'd look for... I think I'd have to go by how I felt. It's hard to put it into specific terms."

They did not spend the whole time chatting.

Lunch break was short. Once they had eaten and rested a little, afternoon classes would begin.

After finishing his meal, Nangong Cheng politely took his leave.

Ichinose Honami smiled at the questioning looks Mako Amakura and Ryuji Kanzaki gave her.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

"Class B is already in the most awkward position, caught between Classes A and C. We can't let Class D become our enemy too."

Watching Nangong Cheng walk away, Ichinose Honami seemed to be trying to convince both Mako Amakura and Ryuji Kanzaki—and herself.

"To do that, we have to win Nangong Cheng over."