Master's Tasks in Classroom of the Elite

"But you could try the Stress-Relief Method I mentioned. I'll send it to you and Kushida later. You can see whether it suits you."

Copy, paste, send.

[Task issued: Try Nangong Cheng's suggested Stress-Relief Method once and submit a reflection of at least 1,000 words]

[Task reward: 500 Points]

[Penalty for failure: Recite "I Really Want to Be Mr. Nangong Cheng's Dog" from memory, record it, and post the recording on the Campus Forum]

Karuizawa Kei opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Karuizawa? Why are you suddenly blushing? You don't have a fever, do you?"

Nangong Cheng was curious too. He wondered why Karuizawa Kei had suddenly blushed; he hadn't even told her what the Stress-Relief Method was yet.

Had she guessed?

If so, she must have spent plenty of time in the mines.

"Ah! N-no, I'm fine. I just remembered something embarrassing from my past."

Karuizawa Kei hurriedly waved her hands at Nangong Cheng as she explained, fanning her face to cool it down.

"Since you suggested it, Nangong, I'll definitely give it a try when I get back."

"Um... morning study is about to start. You should get back to your seat before you lose points."

Nangong Cheng nodded.

Two well-paying tasks sent out already. Not a bad start. Maybe today was the day to keep this up.

"What kind of Stress-Relief Method were you talking about?"

Horikita Suzune spoke to him as soon as he sat down.

Nangong Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"That's unexpected. You never look like someone who needs to relieve stress."

Horikita Suzune shook her head. "I'm starting to think you have a serious stereotype of me."

"After what you said back then, there's no way you don't know how much pressure I put on myself."

Nangong Cheng nodded thoughtfully.

She was right. He admitted that he'd viewed Horikita Suzune through a preconceived lens from the start; she was right about the stereotype.

Thinking about it, Horikita Suzune had practically forced herself to live like a disciplined robot in her effort to catch up with Horikita Manabu—or what she thought of as catching up.

It was hardly realistic to claim she felt no pressure.

Only someone who had chased a goal like that could understand the despair and helplessness of seeing the gap refuse to close no matter how hard they tried—or even grow wider.

That kind of pressure was off the charts.

"I get what you mean."

"But the Stress-Relief Method I mentioned really wouldn't suit you... More precisely, it wouldn't suit you right now."

Horikita Suzune frowned.

She didn't understand, but Nangong Cheng didn't seem willing to discuss it further.

In that case, she could ask Karuizawa Kei later. She had something she wanted to discuss with her anyway.

Morning study soon ended.

Another dull morning followed.

Nangong Cheng planned to exchange for All High School Subjects later. Failing that, he could issue Horikita Suzune a task every day and have her tutor him in his room.

"Sakura, time for lunch."

Maybe he should have Sakura Airi eat lunch with him as Shizuku. Those glasses and her deliberately dowdy look did nothing for his appetite.

Sakura Airi got up with Nangong Cheng and slipped out of the classroom, keenly aware of the looks following them.

The Rooftop.

Not yet, but someday it might really become a place where Cheng could have the time of his life in battle.

For now, it was merely their second cafeteria.

"What are we eating today?"

"Right, what should we eat..."

Sakura Airi was secretly indecisive too, so Nangong Cheng picked one of the boxed lunches they'd bought at random.

And Milk Tea, of course.

"Sakura, I think you should try changing things up. When it's just the two of us at lunch, you could show me your other look."

"...I-I'm afraid someone might come up here all of a sudden," Sakura Airi explained, lowering her head.

But she quickly added, "I-if you want to see it, Nangong... I can take more pictures when I get back to my room and send... send them to you."

"No time like the present. Let's do it today."

Nangong Cheng handed her a boxed lunch.

He'd stood Sakura Airi up yesterday, so he might as well make it up to her today.

"Something came up yesterday and kept you waiting an extra day. I'll go buy a camera with you after school today."

"Though you probably don't have enough points, do you? Electronics usually aren't cheap."

Sakura Airi quietly nodded and accepted the lunch.

"I... I could buy an entry-level one."

All she wanted now was more time with Nangong Cheng. Buying a camera had become a side benefit.

She could always upgrade once she had more points.

"But entry-level models probably aren't very good... Tell you what, I'll lend you some points so you can buy the best one."

"You won't need to pay me back in points. Just let me use the Digital Camera to take pictures of you in your other look from time to time."

"As for the rate... we could go by days, sessions, or time spent shooting. Or we could charge per photo."

"What do you think, Sakura?"

Sakura Airi felt Nangong Cheng was far too good to her.

So good that she began to doubt everything. Was she dreaming? Was the so-called system something she'd imagined under too much stress?

A shy nobody who hid in the shadows dreaming of a sunny, cheerful, gentle, handsome boy?

But the boxed lunch in her hands reminded her of what Nangong Cheng had said yesterday at lunch. Blushing, she asked:

"Mm... I'll do whatever you say, Nangong."

"A-and... about yesterday... do you still want to do it?"

"Sorry for the trouble, Sakura."

She'd agreed to his rather sudden proposal and even offered to feed him. Nangong Cheng saw no reason to keep up the act.

He copied, pasted, and issued the task.

A thousand Points landed in his account for doing nothing.

To his disappointment, though, Sakura Airi was still missing the most important thing while she drank her Milk Tea.

Well, to be precise, there was too much fabric.

The Rooftop had cameras, though. This was far enough. Anything beyond that was private, paid content.

Photography Is Great—Time to Learn

Good things took time.

To avoid any complications, Nangong Cheng took Sakura Airi straight to the Electronics Specialty Store after school.

A different employee was working there now: a pretty, sweet-voiced young woman who looked fresh out of college.

Advanced Nurturing had acted quickly. Apparently, they didn't need a high school detective to show up and help solve the case.

He gave them credit for that.

"Hi. We'll have a look around ourselves."

With that, Nangong Cheng led Sakura Airi to the shelf of digital cameras.

They'd already talked it over before coming, so Sakura Airi didn't hesitate. She went straight for a model from a brand she'd had her eye on for ages.

Nangong Cheng gave it a moment's thought, then picked out a digital camera and a laptop, both good value for the money.

Don't ask. He had big plans for them.

"Hi. We're ready to pay."

Scan, pay, leave.

Next stop—

"N-Nangong... do we really have to buy anything?"

Sakura Airi stood at the entrance to the Clothing Store, looking hesitant and embarrassed.

"Yes. Absolutely. If we're buying a camera to take pictures, we'll need clothes that look good on camera."

Cheng never joked about things like this.

Why else had he spent the last few days guiding Sakura Airi toward those tasks?

As for the points it would cost?

He had plenty. Besides, points sitting in his account were just numbers. He might as well spend them on something he'd enjoy.

Stockings, cosplay outfits—anything that boosted attack speed, critical hits, or critical damage would come in handy sooner or later.

If he'd have to buy them eventually, he might as well buy them now and enjoy them sooner.

"I'll cover the points. You just pick what you like."

"Hi! Could you help my friend choose a few outfits that fit? Money's no object!"

Sakura Airi was a soft-spoken girl who rarely made decisions for herself. With Nangong Cheng insisting, she could only follow the saleswoman to look at clothes.

But the moment she saw what the saleswoman recommended, she practically turned into a steam engine. She was so flustered that her words came out in fits and starts.

"D-d-d-do you have anything with... more fabric?"

The saleswoman gave her a knowing look.

"Sweetie, trust my eye and my experience."

"With your figure, put these on and... whew. Your boyfriend won't know what hit him. He'll be so crazy about you he won't want to leave your bed."

Wait, why does a clothing store inside a school even sell things like this?!

Sakura Airi shrieked inwardly.

"Um... he's not my boyfriend..."

"Oh, he will be sooner or later. Trust me, I've been there. One look at that boy and I can tell he's interested in you. Make the first move and he's yours."

The saleswoman followed that with more risqué talk that left the innocent girl flushed and dazed. Before Sakura Airi knew it, she'd nodded along.

Only after the saleswoman led her to the fitting room did she come back to her senses. Close to tears, she stared at the pile of "clothes" in her hands. Hardly any of them had more fabric than her school uniform.

Her first instinct was to hide and message Nangong Cheng for help. Then something even worse appeared—

[Task issued: Invite Nangong Cheng into the fitting room and have him use the digital camera you just bought to photograph you trying on clothes]

[Task reward: 1,000–5,000 points depending on how revealing the photos are]

Invite Nangong into the fitting room?

And let him take pictures of me trying on clothes?!

Wouldn't he see everything?

I can't... I can't...