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

Horikita Suzune's figure wasn't quite top-tier, but she still ranked near the top overall. Her temper and sharp tongue were the problem at this stage. Both needed a thorough reckoning.

"Let me see which class I'm in."

"Oh? Class D? That works."

If nothing else, Class D had the most beautiful girls. It was also the class of the original story's male lead and the focus of much of its early plot. That gave him plenty of room to work.

Nothing more to say. Full speed ahead.

Nangong Cheng had lost some time at the school gate, so nearly everyone had arrived by the time he reached the first-year Class D classroom.

Kikyo Kushida's reaction seemed a little strange, though... Oh. Had she seen or heard about Horikita Suzune throwing herself into his arms?

Tsk, tsk.

Give up early. Horikita Suzune was a woman you would never have.

"What a terrible coincidence."

Nangong Cheng's seat was to Horikita Suzune's right. The seat to her left, by the window in the back row, had already been claimed by Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.

With the seats arranged like this... he would have to find a way to drive the guy off.

There was no room for anyone else to sleep beside his bed.

After all, now that he was in Classroom of the Elite, what was the point if he couldn't show off and chase girls to his heart's content?

Before he had a system, he would have had to call the guy Big Bro Ayanokoji. Now Ayanokoji would have to call him Big Bro Cheng. He would give up that seat whether he wanted to or not.

There was no rush, though.

There were no spare seats right now. Even if he took Ayanokoji's protagonist seat, Ayanokoji would still end up at the desk to Horikita Suzune's right. It would make no real difference.

"I'd say this is fate. Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Nangong Cheng. Nice to meet you."

"..."

Nangong Cheng didn't get angry at being ignored. He simply sat down and waited for homeroom to begin.

Before that, though, came a classic ritual.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Hirata Yosuke. I'm pretty good at sports, and I'll probably join the soccer club if I can. I'm happy we'll be classmates."

A boy who looked like the very definition of cheerful and outgoing stood up. After his enthusiastic introduction, he suggested that everyone introduce themselves too, helping the first little groups form.

Kikyo Kushida was the first to follow his lead.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Kikyo Kushida. It's so nice to meet you all. I hope we can become good friends and make lots of happy, carefree memories together~"

Kushida, could you stop putting on that cutesy voice?

You were too old to still be doing that.

Resting his chin on his hand, Nangong Cheng watched the childish little performance. At the same time, he checked on Class D's other two fresh, tender prospects.

Hm? Why were there only two?

Wang Meiyu and Hasebe Haruka looked like promising prospects to him, too. This system had better not be discriminating by popularity.

[Character: Karuizawa Kei]

[Age: High School Girl]

[Height: 154 cm]

[Measurements: B: 76 (C) W: 54 H: 77]

[Current relationship: Classmates]

[Special attribute: McDonald's]

McDonald's. What an attribute.

She was practically born for it—no, she had become... the perfect specimen.

No wonder she was the prime prospect he had his eye on.

Admiration aside, Nangong Cheng had zero tolerance for bullying. When the time was right, he intended to let Karuizawa Kei get revenge with her own hands.

She would get it out of her system and come back stronger.

Okay, next.

[Character: Sakura Airi]

[Age: Mom-tier]

[Height: 153 cm]

[Measurements: B: 96 (F) W: 60 H: 90]

[Current relationship: Classmates]

[Special attribute: Adult-anime heroine]

An adult-anime heroine? Good grief.

Each one was more of a handful than the last.

But judging by how the original story went, if Kiyotaka Ayanokoji hadn't intervened...

Ahem!

Then again, how had a national school like Advanced Nurturing let a creepy, obsessive stalker onto campus in the first place? What on earth was the admissions office doing?

Enough of that.

It was his turn to introduce himself.

"Nangong Cheng. An ordinary high school student. My dream is world peace. I hope everyone can live happy, carefree lives. That's all."

There was no need to draw too much attention to himself.

Some of the things he would do later weren't going to leave these Class D students with a good impression of him anyway.

Horikita Suzune, who came after him, merely gave her name. She radiated an unmistakable don't bother me aura, tanking everyone's opinion of her right from the start.

Bang!

Sudo Ken, who looked like a delinquent, kicked a desk. The classroom atmosphere froze for a moment.

Fortunately, Sae Chabashira came in just then.

"Quiet. Homeroom starts now."

An office-lady outfit and black stockings were a classic combination. Add the fact that she was a teacher, and it was hard not to put her on his must-have list.

Too bad she was a failure as a teacher. She couldn't compare to the adorable Shizuka next door.

As those thoughts wandered through his head, Nangong Cheng took the student handbook and all-in-one student ID passed back to him from the front.

"I'm Sae Chabashira. I teach first-year Japanese history, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years."

"I'll explain some things you need to know. Listen carefully and don't interrupt me."

Nangong Cheng yawned.

There was nothing worth listening to.

It was all the usual stuff: they would spend three years living on campus, but its facilities offered plenty of entertainment; points would be deposited on the first of every month as their living allowance; and points could buy anything at school.

Now, though, was a good time to issue a task.

Nangong Cheng glanced at Horikita Suzune without drawing attention to himself. The girl, serious about everything she did, was taking notes and didn't seem to notice.

Whatever. Let's do it!

[Target: Horikita Suzune]

[Task issued: Ask Sae Chabashira, "Will 100,000 points still be deposited into our student IDs on the first of next month?"]

[Task reward: 50 Points]

Surely nobody could fail a task that practically handed them free points. Right? Right?

Horikita Suzune did receive the task notification, but for a moment, she wasn't sure what to do.

It wasn't that the task was hard. This one really was simple, and it didn't go against her wishes. She just didn't want to give Nangong Cheng what he wanted.

She didn't hesitate for long.

Because—

[Penalty for task failure: Make a heartfelt confession of love to Nangong Cheng in front of the entire class and Sae Chabashira.]

You've got to be kidding me!

Right now, she wanted to stab Nangong Cheng to death with a compass. If he made her do something that humiliating on top of everything else, she would never be able to show her face at school again.

Bang! She shot to her feet.

Horikita Suzune stood with unprecedented resolve. Under the gaze of the entire class and Sae Chabashira, she said:

"Ma'am, will 100,000 points still be deposited into our student IDs on the first of next month?"

Volume One: There's Something Wrong with the Way You Think

Sae Chabashira was not in a good mood.

Before homeroom began, she had stood in the corridor outside the classroom, observing this year's Class D students. The results had been predictably dismal, and she had already braced herself for another wasted three years.

Then, to her surprise, this happened.

"Do I need to repeat myself? The school deposits points into your Student Terminals on the first of every month."

Horikita Suzune frowned.

She couldn't even feel relieved about escaping that public humiliation. Sae Chabashira's obviously evasive answer had alerted her to something strange.

They would receive points, yes, but how many?

This month it was 100,000. What about next month?

"That shouldn't be a difficult question to answer. I just want to know how many points we'll receive next month," Horikita Suzune pressed.

At that, the corner of Sae Chabashira's mouth lifted by a fraction, and her mood improved a little.

But rules were rules. She couldn't answer.

"You'll find out next month."

Some of Class D's students realized there was something off about this, too. One immediately stood and took up the question.

"Ma'am, you really can't tell us now?"

Sae Chabashira remained silent, letting unease and confusion spread through the class as she quietly watched how the students reacted.

Unfortunately, no one spotted the deeper problem in the end—not even Horikita Suzune, who had first questioned the point deposits.

"Is that the best they can do?"

She sighed.

"That concludes homeroom. The entrance ceremony is later, so make sure you attend. Don't be late."

With that, Sae Chabashira left.

Nangong Cheng immediately got up to leave the classroom too. Unexpectedly, Horikita Suzune spoke to him first.

"You know something else, don't you?"

She had asked the right person. He knew a great deal.

But there was a reason he hadn't put the rest into a third task for Horikita Suzune to complete: it wasn't worth the cost.

That information would only be timely and valuable for a month. By next month, everyone would know it. He had spent a task on this question just to give Horikita Suzune a taste of the benefits.

After all, he couldn't keep taking without giving. A little give-and-take was how he would keep Horikita Suzune a promising prospect.

Even so, Nangong Cheng walked out of the classroom without slowing for so much as half a second.

Horikita Suzune's eyes flickered. In the end, she gritted her teeth and followed, trying to draw the information out of him with her own reasoning.

"Chabashira-sensei's attitude was too suspicious. I think this school is hiding something from us, so if you know what it is, I hope you'll tell me."

Nangong Cheng said nothing. He just kept walking.