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

As Nangong Cheng spoke, he set up a task.

"Personally, I think you have a lovely voice, Airi. Maybe you could try becoming a professional singer."

[Daily Task issued]

[Target: Sakura Airi]

[Task: Every aspect of a perfect life must be perfect. Nangong Cheng believes you have the potential to become a Virtual Idol Diva. Starting today, spend at least one hour each day on career-related training.]

[Task reward: 100 Points/day]

[Penalty for failure: If you don't work hard, you'll only end up as Nangong Cheng's sex slave.]

Eek!!!

Sakura Airi jolted.

"I-I understand!"

"I-I'll give it a try!"

That had scared the poor girl half to death.

Nangong Cheng watched Sakura Airi leave the classroom, then called out to Horikita Suzune as she prepared to leave too.

"Horikita, can I ask you something?"

"?"

Horikita Suzune stopped.

Nangong Cheng got straight to the point. Of the seven people, there was still one girl he had never issued a task to: a bookish girl. He needed Horikita Suzune to be his wingwoman, perhaps even take the lead.

"You seem to enjoy reading. Have you read any mysteries?"

"...Yes, but only famous ones like Sherlock Holmes."

Horikita Suzune answered honestly.

She frowned slightly. Knowing Nangong Cheng never did anything without a reason, she wondered what he was planning this time.

"Good. Come somewhere with me."

"Where?"

"The Library."

A New Book Friend for Shiina Hiyori

Like an office worker clocking in, Shiina Hiyori passed through the entrance right on time and headed straight for her favorite little corner of solitude.

Afternoon sunlight, books, and a beautiful girl—the three elements made a lovely picture.

Perhaps a cup of black tea would have made it even better.

But something was different today.

Someone had taken her seat?!

How could that be...

There was hardly ever anyone there...

But those two looked familiar.

"Hello. We meet again."

Nangong Cheng stood to greet her.

"You're... Ayanokoji? No... You're Nangong Cheng?"

Shiina Hiyori had a good memory.

She remembered where she had seen the boy and girl before. They were the two who had come to her class to sell information on the second day of school.

She didn't know the girl's name, but the boy had left quite an impression.

After all, he had given a false name.

There were only around a hundred students in their year, so matching names to faces wasn't difficult. Besides, Class D students had mentioned it on the forum.

"So you found out."

Nangong Cheng showed no embarrassment at being caught using a false name. Instead, he went along with what Shiina Hiyori had said.

"Then let's introduce ourselves properly. I'm Nangong Cheng from first-year Class D."

"And this is my classmate Horikita Suzune. You met her last time too."

Horikita Suzune stood and nodded in greeting.

She glanced at Shiina Hiyori, still wondering why Nangong Cheng had brought her along to meet this girl from Class C.

"Nangong Cheng, Horikita Suzune..."

Shiina Hiyori murmured their names, then smiled and introduced herself in turn. "Shiina Hiyori, first-year Class C."

"Did you two come here specifically to see me today?"

Advanced Nurturing's campus was enormous, and so was its Library.

Yet few people visited it.

Each year had four classes of forty students. Across three years, that made only 480 students—and that was before accounting for dropouts.

Given the school's unusual nature, most students didn't go out of their way to spend time in the Library except around midterms and finals.

Shiina Hiyori, however, had practically lived in the Library since the first day of school. She came to read every day as reliably as someone reporting to work, and almost always stayed until the staff closed up.

And since Nangong Cheng and Horikita Suzune had previously come to Class C to sell information, she didn't believe this meeting was entirely coincidental.

"You're perceptive, Shiina..."

Nangong Cheng sighed.

That was why he had never tried to approach Shiina Hiyori. As both a book lover and a mystery fan, she was, in some ways, harder to fool than Sakayanagi Arisu.

The latter at least had her frail health as a weakness he could exploit. Aside from Shiina Hiyori's endearing lack of athletic ability, typical of a bookish girl, Nangong Cheng couldn't find any weakness he could exploit with an incentive.

Did he really need to make Shiina Hiyori another source of Points?

A new idea took shape in Nangong Cheng's mind.

"But while we did come here to see you, we just wanted to make friends."

"Oh?"

Shiina Hiyori tilted her head.

"Even though we're in different classes?"

"Friendship can cross national borders. Would you really care about something as small as competition between school classes, Shiina?"

"Hmm..."

A hint of distress showed on Shiina Hiyori's face, as if she genuinely found it difficult.

"But you don't have the best reputation right now, Nangong Cheng. And Ryuen will definitely ask me about this later. Just thinking about it sounds like such a hassle..."

"And why me, of all people?"

Horikita Suzune wanted to ask the same thing.

Why had Nangong Cheng brought her to meet this girl from Class C and said he hoped they could become friends?

What was he really after?

"Horikita can be rather difficult to get along with right now. Aside from me, there's almost no one in our class who can have a normal conversation with her. Since she loves books too, I thought the two of you might get along."

Nangong Cheng's plan was simple.

Use Horikita Suzune as a cover.

The task he had used to test Kikyo Kushida on the first day of school had established one thing: he didn't necessarily have to issue tasks that benefited him.

Doing so had been reckless.

Most people would suspect whoever stood to benefit from a task. Horikita Suzune's reaction at the time, and the way she later questioned him about the school's secrets, confirmed as much.

So what if he took a different approach?

If he wasn't the one who stood to benefit, there would be no risk to him.

Seen that way, his earlier approach had been foolish. Fortunately, he had held back on issuing Shiina Hiyori a task, so things hadn't reached the worst-case scenario.

Still, there were advantages and disadvantages.

His previous approach had made him easier to expose, but it had also caught their attention.

Their relationships had changed. He no longer needed to rely on tasks to interact with them; the groundwork he had laid was enough.

From now on, he could issue more tasks that had nothing to do with him, slowly easing their suspicions until they no longer noticed the danger. That would serve him better in the long run.

"Besides, as fellow readers, wouldn't it be nice to have a friend to discuss books with?"

"Hmm, that's true."

Shiina Hiyori did want a friend to talk books with.

She might have seemed like a loner, but only because she hadn't found anyone she could connect with.

If she found a friend she could truly talk to about books, she would be happy.

"But what you're saying is a little unsettling, Nangong Cheng. This is only our second meeting, yet you sound as though you know me so well... You haven't been following me and investigating me, have you?"

"Ahaha... I did look into you a little, but following you? That's an unfair accusation. The cameras along the way can vouch for me."

Nangong Cheng laughed it off, then patted Horikita Suzune on the shoulder.

"Horikita, say something too."

"..."

Horikita Suzune didn't know what to say.

From what she could tell, Nangong Cheng wanted her to become friends with Shiina Hiyori, but his true purpose couldn't be as simple as he claimed.

Still, if she was going to speak less and act more, she ought to play along.

"Shiina, I hope we get along."

"I can be rather blunt, so if I make you uncomfortable, please tell me directly."

Shiina Hiyori touched her lips with one finger, then nodded with a faint smile of resignation and relief.

"I hope we get along too, Horikita."

From Today On, Updates Will Be in the Evening

With Nangong Cheng deliberately helping things along, Horikita Suzune and Shiina Hiyori's conversation went reasonably well.

At least they had plenty to discuss when it came to books. Once the two started exchanging ideas, Nangong Cheng felt much more at ease.

But he couldn't relax completely yet.

He still needed time to decide whether to make Shiina Hiyori a source of Points, but that didn't stop him from wanting to grow closer to her.

Horikita Suzune was the key.

[Daily Task issued]

[Target: Horikita Suzune]

[Task: Read with Shiina Hiyori in the Library every day for at least two hours.]

[Task reward: 100 Points/day]

[Penalty for failure: Write Nangong Cheng a love letter of at least 400 words every day.]

Nangong Cheng had long had a love-hate relationship with the penalty-for-failure system.

He loved it because it ensured people carried out their tasks.