Classroom of the Elite: I Can Assign Master's Tasks

But he only wanted to give these beautiful girls, each of whom had suffered so much, a warm home. How did that make him a scumbag?

Did loving lots of people mean it wasn't true love?

Surely true love wasn't so narrow-minded.

[Could you keep this secret for me, Nangong? I don't want anyone else to know what I look like now...]

After a long while, Sakura Airi replied.

Nangong Cheng said of course he could. He had never intended to tell anyone in the first place.

Sharing happiness was all well and good, but it depended on the situation. Something this uniquely lovely ought to be kept to himself and admired to his heart's content.

[I can, because you asked me to, Sakura.]

[That's not fair...]

Behind the screen, the innocent girl had already turned bright red.

She hurried to change the subject.

[Are you free right now, Nangong?]

[I mentioned I wanted to buy a digital camera... If you're free, could you come with me?]

The read receipt appeared almost instantly.

That meant Nangong Cheng had never left their chat. That tiny detail alone was enough to make Sakura Airi's heart soar.

But his reply sent her crashing back to earth, bitterly disappointed.

[Sorry... Now's not a good time. Something urgent just came up.]

[Would tomorrow work?]

Still, she wasn't going to make a fuss over it.

If Nangong said tomorrow, then tomorrow it was. One day made no difference to her.

"H-hello! C-could you ring this up...?"

So much for asking a saleswoman to take the photo for her.

She had taken it herself.

Sakura Airi had a feeling Nangong Cheng could tell, but that little unspoken understanding between them filled her with giddy delight.

Nangong Cheng, however, was feeling rather irritated.

The almost-romantic mood that had built between him and Sakura Airi had been interrupted.

It might not have led straight to the finish line, but at least they could have made some encouraging progress.

Instead...

Man, he was seriously fired up now. That Anti-Gravity Technology ought to go on the agenda.

He couldn't keep burning through his daily tasks so quickly. He really needed to save one for emergencies.

"Oh my~ It seems we've interrupted you~"

A little white-haired girl appeared before him.

As for Sakayanagi Arisu... Well, how to put it?

She looked like an elegant, adorable little princess, yet the moment she opened her mouth—and considering what she would do later—she gave off the unmistakable air of a cheeky little brat.

That was quite the contrast.

"Classmate Sakayanagi, did you know that asking a question when you already know the answer is an irritating habit?"

Nangong Cheng shot the little brat a sidelong glance, then looked at Kamuro Masumi, who stood nearby like a stone-faced bodyguard.

Seriously, girl?

It had only been two days. Surely her addiction hadn't kicked in already?

That would be a bad look.

"So what brings you two ladies here?"

"If it's about the information I gave you, I'd think Class A students could understand it without any trouble."

Despite the barbs in Nangong Cheng's words, Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't angry.

Geniuses tended to be arrogant.

It would have been stranger if he had no temper at all.

"It does have something to do with that information, but I mainly came because I'm interested in you, Nangong."

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at Kamuro Masumi.

Kamuro promptly went to the counter to buy food.

Wait, why was she so practiced at this?

Watching Kamuro Masumi, Nangong Cheng couldn't even muster the energy to make a quip.

"Sorry, my talents are for hire, not my body."

He could more or less guess what Sakayanagi Arisu was thinking. She was certainly interested in him, but the system was probably her main concern.

That was how suspicious people operated. Some would only ever trust their own judgment.

Figuring the more he said, the more likely he was to slip up, Nangong Cheng dodged the issue.

"You're quite funny, Nangong."

Sakayanagi Arisu was far too clever not to see that Nangong Cheng was playing dumb on purpose.

But that only made her more certain he was hiding something. He was probably involved with the system somehow.

Before coming to see Nangong Cheng, she had already spoken with the system once.

Their fates were intertwined?

They were destined to be entangled for life?

Sakayanagi Arisu had always believed firmly in science. She usually treated mystical claims like that as a joke.

But now that it had happened to her, she couldn't simply ignore it—especially when the system didn't seem to be joking at all.

So she intended to see for herself what made Nangong Cheng so special.

"I heard you had lunch with students from Class B yesterday. I imagine they wanted to recruit you. Am I right?"

Nangong Cheng said nothing and kept eating.

Sakayanagi Arisu took his silence as confirmation.

"If you're looking for a partner, I don't think you'll find a better choice than Class A."

"After all, you plan to buy your way into Class A with Private Points, don't you?"

Nangong Cheng continued eating in silence.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't mind.

She had always trusted her own judgment.

The longer Nangong Cheng stayed quiet, the surer she was that she had guessed right. Besides, she had found her strongest piece of evidence—

"I asked Teacher Mashima about it. He said transferring classes with Private Points costs twenty million. That's hardly an easy sum to come by."

"But Class A can help."

Kamuro Masumi returned with two meals just then. She said nothing, set the trays down, and quietly began to eat.

As if it has anything to do with me!

Nangong Cheng suddenly put down his chopsticks.

"How condescending of you, Classmate Sakayanagi."

"I think you've misunderstood something."

He met Sakayanagi Arisu's amethyst eyes, his expression and tone just as they had been when they first met.

"As things stand... I'm not the one who needs Class A's help. Class A will need mine."

"After all, Class A started at the finish line every other class dreams of reaching."

"And a crown comes with its burdens."

Sakayanagi Arisu narrowed her eyes.

Admittedly, if Classes B, C, and D all came after Class A from the start, it would be troublesome—especially when Class D could resort to tactics that hurt itself as well.

"It seems you have plans of your own, Nangong."

"In that case, let's talk another time. I believe you'll be more willing to hear me out then."

"Maybe."

Nangong Cheng shrugged, got up, bought several more meals at the counter, and sat down at another table.

Since his body had been enhanced, his appetite had grown too. Conservation of energy at work.

At their original table, Sakayanagi Arisu watched him eat from a distance. For the moment, she couldn't tell whether he was putting on an act or whether the system truly had nothing to do with him.

Perhaps she should discuss it with her father.

First, she would have someone dig into Nangong Cheng's background. Where had he come from? Could he be another White Room student?

"Let's go, Kamuro."

Kamuro Masumi said nothing and simply obeyed.

Nangong Cheng saw it all. For now, though, he couldn't assign Miss Phantom Thief a task, so he would have to let Sakayanagi Arisu look after her a little longer.

As he pondered this, a message suddenly popped up.

"Oh? The money finally came through."

Smiling, Nangong Cheng sent Ryuuen the information he had prepared, then messaged Horikita Suzune—

[The money's in. Time to get to work.]

Dark History Erasure Card

(Please remember to read the author's note for this chapter.)

Night fell.

In an unnoticed corner of the internet, a post went up without fanfare and was pinned almost instantly.

News spread at a suffocating pace in the internet age. A chat log posted in one group could appear in another the very next second.

Public opinion erupted.

Meanwhile, Nangong Cheng, one of the people responsible, lounged in his dorm room and counted the Mission Points he had earned that day.

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

[Core Ability: Master's Task (Lv. 2)]

[Experience: 30/100]

[Current eligible task recipients: 7 (Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei, Sakura Airi, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu)]

[Remaining task assignments: 0 (5 tasks may be assigned per day; unfinished tasks do not count toward this limit)]

After leveling up, he had assigned one task to Ichinose Honami and two to Sakura Airi. The experience total was correct.

The base point rewards, in order, were 100, 50, and 500. Doubled and added to the 200 points left after exchanging for the Gene-Enhancement Potion, that brought his balance to 1,500.

Nangong Cheng glanced at the Exchange Shop.

There were plenty of things he recognized—and plenty he didn't.