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

"We talked a little more after you left... My brother did most of the talking, but I suppose... you could say we worked things out."

Nangong Cheng frowned.

"Either you worked things out or you didn't. What's 'I suppose' supposed to mean?"

"And after everything I said, don't tell me you two went right back to acting stubborn and awkward with each other."

"We did not!"

Horikita Suzune let out a breath, then pressed her lips together. She looked reluctant, but resigned.

"Anyway, my brother told me to learn from you. But when I tried to contact you, I found out you'd deleted me."

"And what do you want?"

Nangong Cheng leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

He had understood Horikita Manabu's intentions from the start. The question had always been what Horikita Suzune herself wanted.

"I still want my brother's approval, but..."

Horikita Suzune lowered her head. One hand hung limply at her side, while the other gripped it tightly.

At first, her voice made her sound lost.

"I understand now that my brother doesn't want me to become another version of him. So, just as you said, I should become Horikita Suzune."

"I should earn recognition as Horikita Suzune, not as Horikita Manabu's sister or shadow."

But her voice soon regained the confidence and resolve Nangong Cheng remembered from when they first met.

Nangong Cheng nodded.

Wouldn't things have been easier if she'd realized that sooner?

"I'm glad you see it that way."

"But let's get one thing straight: I'm not teaching you for free. Have your Student Council president brother pay the tuition, then come find me."

Horikita Suzune sighed.

She took out her phone.

"Then add me back first. I'll send you my brother's contact information, and you can tell him yourself."

"Fine... But didn't you show your brother the video I sent you?"

After adding her back, Nangong Cheng sent Horikita Manabu a friend request and asked her the question.

She nodded.

"He watched it, but he didn't say anything."

"Then let me test you. Why do you think I sent you that video? And why did I delete you afterward?"

"..."

Horikita Suzune looked hesitant, but this time she didn't leave her words unsaid.

"First, tell me: did you go see Miyabi Nagumo after you left yesterday?"

"Correct. Go on."

Horikita Suzune's expression grew complicated.

"Don't tell me you're planning to repeat what you did the day before yesterday—sell the information, then have me make it public that same day?"

"Correct~"

Nangong Cheng put his phone away.

He had secured the spots. Two of them, in fact.

One was naturally for fulfilling his deal with Ichinose Honami. He could message her later and tell her to report to the Student Council.

He would decide what to do with the other when the time came.

While he was at it, he mentioned that an employee at the Electronics Specialty Store was suspected of serious sexual harassment. The man might pose a threat to the school's female students, so Nangong Cheng hoped Horikita Manabu could deal with him before classes ended today.

Barring any surprises, he was taking Sakura Airi to buy a Digital Camera today, then beginning his wonderful life as a "happy" photographer.

He couldn't let some obnoxious guy get in the way.

Fortunately, his future brother-in-law knew how to handle this sort of thing. He immediately said he would contact the school to investigate and gather evidence. If the allegations were confirmed, the procedures could be completed before school let out.

Perhaps Horikita Manabu's only flaw really was that he struggled to express his feelings.

Nangong Cheng looked at Horikita Suzune.

"You've already learned to apply a lesson to a new situation. Looks like teaching you won't be too hard."

"But how much you learn from me after this will depend on how quickly you catch on."

In truth, he had already planned out her lessons.

But there was only so much they could do in the first month. For now, he had no good material to use as a teaching example.

"Here's your first assignment: observe every person in the class carefully before this month ends."

"Write me a report on the last day of the month."

Horikita Suzune nodded.

Having a goal made things much easier for her. At least she knew exactly what she needed to do.

The two soon reached the classroom.

Nangong Cheng's eyes met Karuizawa Kei's.

He suddenly remembered that he had been so focused on checking his Points that he still hadn't looked at the photos she had sent.

No wonder she looks anxious.

"Good morning, Karuizawa."

"Ah... Good morning, Nangong."

Karuizawa Kei seemed distracted.

The photos she had sent last night still weren't marked as read. Even though the task was complete, she couldn't shake her unease.

She had wondered whether she'd made a bad impression on Nangong Cheng and he was ignoring her.

She hadn't slept well all night.

"I went to bed early last night, so I'm feeling great. You don't look so good, though. Trouble sleeping?"

"Ahaha... I envy you, Nangong. I've had trouble sleeping pretty often since middle school."

Karuizawa Kei breathed a sigh of relief.

So Nangong just went to bed early. No wonder he hadn't seen her photos. She had sent them close to midnight, after all.

"Long-term insomnia can take a real toll on your physical and mental health. You should be careful."

"Try to get some sunlight and exercise. Find something you enjoy doing, don't put too much pressure on yourself, and do your best to keep your mood in a comfortable place..."

Nangong Cheng chatted with her a little longer along those lines.

Of course, that was the socially acceptable advice.

If he were giving advice online, he would probably tell a guy to go launch a rocket now and then, or tell a girl to do a little mining.

"You know a lot about this, Nangong?"

A little cutie—not—suddenly appeared.

Kikyo Kushida slipped into the conversation at the first opportunity.

"I've felt some pressure from studying ever since I started middle school, actually. I've never known how to deal with it."

"If you could..."

She was only halfway through when Horikita Suzune struck.

"If studying stresses you out, spend more time working through practice problems instead of wasting it on pointless socializing."

She might have been timid around her brother and Nangong Cheng, but she never held back with anyone else.

Especially not Kikyo Kushida.

She didn't know why, but every time she saw Kushida, a strange hostility rose in her for no reason, as though the two of them were born to clash.

I'll have to pay particular attention to her.

"Don't forget there's a regular written exam every month. Fail, and you could be expelled."

"Try not to be the one who drags the class down."

With that, she returned to her seat.

In her mind, Kikyo Kushida cursed Horikita Suzune up and down. On her face, she kept smiling.

"Ahaha... So, Nangong, do you know any good ways to relieve stress?"

Nangong Cheng hadn't expected Horikita Suzune to go after Kikyo Kushida out of nowhere. Seeing them together like this, they looked more and more like a pair of star-crossed lovers...

Not that he minded.

He could hardly wait for that unforgettable fingerprint scene. The more pressure Horikita Suzune put on Kikyo Kushida, the better for him.

Maybe it'll happen tonight...

"I do, but it might not suit you."

As for Kushida's request for stress-relief advice, a curious idea had come to him.

[Task issued: Relieve stress once using the method Nangong Cheng suggests, then submit a reflection of no fewer than 1,000 words on the experience]

[Task reward: 500 Points]

[Penalty for failure: Recite the entire text of "I Want So Badly to Be Mr. Nangong Cheng's Dog" from memory, record it, and post the recording on the campus forum]

Finally, please keep reading!

Volume One: Horikita Suzune Wants to Relieve Stress Too

What is that supposed to mean?

Kikyo Kushida nearly lost control of her expression.

She had been about to ask what method he meant, but the sudden appearance of this task sent her into a panic.

The task description was merely cryptic. But between the inexplicably high Points reward and the blatantly malicious penalty, something about it felt very wrong.

Does it think being from Japan makes me an easy target?

"Just tell me, Nangong. I won't know whether it suits me until I try it, right?"

Nangong Cheng nodded.

But Kushida, take another look around you.

Karuizawa Kei was supposed to be a gal. If she let Kushida keep butting in without saying a word, she might as well give up the act.

"Kushida, Nangong was talking to me. Isn't it a little rude to barge in and keep talking?"

"Sorry, sorry, Karuizawa~ I really didn't mean to..."

Kikyo Kushida laughed awkwardly.

She really had forgotten Karuizawa Kei was there... It was all that innately wicked Horikita Suzune's fault for throwing her off!

"You two go ahead~ Don't mind me~"

Karuizawa Kei stamped her foot in irritation, then gave Nangong Cheng a faintly reproachful look.

"Nangong..."

"Sorry, Karuizawa. I didn't mean to ignore you either."

Nangong Cheng refused to take the blame for that.

If he hadn't prompted her, Kushida might have kept talking forever. Karuizawa should be thanking him, if anything.