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

At least not in the fitting room!

[Penalty for task failure: Read "I am Nangong Cheng's dog" aloud one hundred times]

Not that either!

Sakura Airi was on the verge of tears.

With no other choice, she held herself rigid, cracked the fitting-room door open, and furtively peeked out.

"N-Nangong..."

"Hmm? Sakura, what are you...?"

Nangong Cheng was putting on an act, of course.

He had even used the power of money to send the saleswoman away ahead of time. Now he could do as he pleased.

"Um... N-Nangong, didn't you say you wanted to see... another side of me?"

"S-so I thought... m-maybe you could come in... I-I'll change so you can see... a-and you can take the pictures right there..."

Head lowered, Sakura Airi stammered through a painfully flimsy excuse. But that no longer mattered.

She understood what Nangong Cheng was after.

"Would... that be all right?"

Nangong Cheng played reluctant for a moment, like a seasoned actor determined to see the performance through.

Blushing, Sakura Airi nodded and stepped aside to let him in.

"I-it's fine... A-after all, that lady thinks we're... b-boyfriend and girlfriend."

"J-just make it quick..."

That won't be easy.

A man can't be quick.

Nangong Cheng apologized silently, then stepped into the fitting room without hesitation.

His gaze locked onto the stack of uplifting outfits as if it had auto-aim. He was starting to find it hard to keep up the act.

"Go on, Sakura. Pick one."

Sakura Airi spent ages looking through them with her head down before finally choosing a relatively modest Cheerleader Uniform.

But with her figure...

"N-Nangong..."

Nangong Cheng took the outfit and turned around of his own accord.

Rustling soon came from behind him. He knew he would see something wonderful if he turned around now.

But good things came to those who waited.

Cheng intended to enjoy more than a single meal.

"Um... you can turn around now..."

The girl held one arm across her chest and the other below, but her exceptional figure made it look like she could barely cover both.

Nangong Cheng even noticed a certain detail.

Wait, she took care of that herself?

Nangong Cheng froze for a moment, then dropped the act. He pulled out his camera and began snapping away.

As everyone knew, cramped, enclosed spaces like closets and fitting rooms were perfect settings for this sort of intimate, suggestive scene.

Some things needed no words.

"What a good girl..."

Looking at Sakura Airi, who was plainly overwhelmed with embarrassment yet still persevered through a fashion show just for him, Nangong Cheng could not help but marvel.

Photography was wonderful. He really ought to learn it.

"Sakura, we're done."

"The clothes all seem to fit. I'll go pay for them."

With that, Nangong Cheng pushed the door open and left.

He needed to give her some time alone to calm down.

[Task completed]

[Task reward: Host receives 3,000 Points]

Only after the fitting-room door shut and the system announced the task's completion did Sakura Airi finally come back to her senses.

In the mirror, she had long since taken on Shizuku's appearance.

Her eyes seemed brimming with spring water, while her cheeks glowed like sunset clouds on a spring evening. Together, they made a breathtaking picture.

She could hear her heart pounding hard and fast inside her chest, much like the complicated feelings she still could not settle.

"He... bullied me again."

"But... I didn't hate it."

I've been writing so much my head's spinning. Here's the third update.

Volume One: What Are We Now?

Sakura Airi said nothing on the way back.

Nangong Cheng did not force a conversation either.

She was too shy to know what to say. Nangong Cheng, on the other hand...

To be honest... he was feeling a little worked up.

In Classroom of the Elite, no one could claim to surpass Sakura Airi in that department. Only Ichinose Honami and her close friend Haruka Hasebe could compete with her.

Who would not be dazed after seeing that?

If his better judgment had not kept his urges in check, who knew what might have happened in the fitting room...

They had nearly reached the Student Dormitory when Nangong Cheng finally broke the silence.

"Sakura, do you still want dinner?"

"My treat!"

Sakura Airi wanted to show some backbone and refuse, but in the end, she gave a muffled "Mm."

She might not have hated it.

But she was bound to have some feelings about it.

After all, he had seen her body and touched nearly all of it... Any girl who was not completely oblivious would have feelings about that.

Then again...

The task had awarded so many Points.

If future tasks paid this much, she could soon redeem the Personality Awakening Potion she had been dreaming of.

And because the task involved Nangong Cheng—her only friend and her supposed partner in Fated Partners—Sakura Airi could not bring herself to be truly hard on him.

In the end, she could only forgive him.

Not that she had been angry in the first place.

"Then there's no need for you to go to the cafeteria. Tell me what you want, and I'll bring it over."

"..."

Sakura Airi named something she often ate, then glanced up at him before quickly ducking her head again. A moment later, she asked—

"Um... Nangong, what do you think... we are now?"

Master and...

Ahem!

Good friends, of course.

"Before I answer that... may I call you Airi?"

"..."

Taking her silence as assent once more, Nangong Cheng pressed on. "Then call me by my name too, Airi. I think that's what makes a close relationship feel natural."

Sakura Airi moved her lips, but could not bring herself to say his name.

She was always like this. Whenever she faced something difficult, she retreated.

"I won't tell anyone what happened today. It'll be our little secret."

"As for what we are..."

Nangong Cheng paused deliberately. When Sakura Airi trembled, he gently flicked her forehead with his middle finger.

"That depends on what you want, Airi."

He had answered without really answering.

A smooth talker's lines certainly came in handy.

The truth was, Nangong Cheng had not expected Sakura Airi to spring that question on him. Answering felt wrong, but so did refusing to answer.

So he passed the question back to her.

The pen was hers. She could write whatever answer she wanted.

"Ugh..."

Sure enough, Sakura Airi buried her head again.

I gave you a chance, and you still couldn't take it?

"I'll go get dinner. You can head upstairs, Airi, or wait here until I get back."

Nangong Cheng went to the cafeteria and brought Sakura Airi a deluxe meal. With his current physical abilities, the round trip took only a few minutes.

After watching her enter the Student Dormitory, Nangong Cheng opened his panel to check what had changed at Lv. 3.

[Host: Nangong Cheng]

[Core Ability: Master's Task (Lv. 3)]

[Additional Abilities: Beginner Acting, Gene Enhancement (Stage Two)]

[Experience: 0/200]

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

[Remaining task issues: 3/7 (Resets daily at midnight; uncompleted tasks do not count toward the limit)]

[Available task types: One-Time Task, Daily Task]

[Items held: People-Finding Cane]

This level-up brought the usual two additional task issues, but it also unlocked a new privilege—or rather, a new task type.

[Daily Task].

As the name suggested, it was a goal-based task that could be completed once each day.

The tasks he had issued so far were now classified by the system as [One-Time Task]s. The key difference between the two types was how long they lasted.

[Daily Task]s also had a few other features.

1. [Daily Task]s still consumed the general task issues that reset at midnight each day.

2. After the day it was issued, a [Daily Task] occupied one task issue every day and could be canceled at any time.