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

"Once he drops out, are you willing to lead Class D upward?"

"Heh..."

Nangong Cheng laughed.

As expected, one should never try to guess what a woman was thinking. Nor should one underestimate her obsession.

"Chabashira-sensei, you really are... completely self-centered."

Volume One: 51, Ichinose Honami: What to Do When Your Mom Job Gets Discovered by Your Best Friend?

Nangong Cheng left.

He had not admitted it, but he had not denied it either.

"Click—"

Sae Chabashira lit a cigarette and began blowing smoke, trying to conceal her feelings.

But Chie Hoshinomiya, Sae Chabashira's sole supporter, could tell at a glance that the woman seemed rather satisfied with the outcome of the conversation. That put her in a bad mood.

(Looks like little Honami will have to work harder.)

(No... Class D has quite a few pretty girls. One little Honami might not be enough. I'll have to see whether there are any other suitable candidates in the class.)

With that thought, she left the office.

After lunch ended.

Nangong Cheng was surprised to see Horikita Suzune walk in from outside the classroom together with Kikyo Kushida and Karuizawa Kei.

As far as the atmosphere went, it was surprisingly decent.

That was mainly because Kikyo Kushida was extremely good at acting. Even when facing someone like Haruki Yamauchi, a god-tier fake human, she could force a smile onto her face.

And now that Horikita Suzune had begun to show results after his training, such an outcome was within his expectations.

"At noon, I talked with Kushida, Karuizawa, and the others about the tutoring. They said they wanted to arrange a get-together tonight and let me get to know the other girls first."

Horikita Suzune explained this as soon as she sat down.

Nangong Cheng raised an eyebrow.

"I told you. Just handle it however you want. I'm only responsible for checking the final results."

"...What I mean is, they hope you can come too. They want to thank you for what you did today, so they asked me to invite you."

They were inviting him?

Nangong Cheng turned and glanced at Kikyo Kushida and Karuizawa Kei. They were chatting with their little group, perhaps already discussing this matter.

"It's a gathering for girls. It wouldn't be very appropriate for a guy like me to go."

"They don't mind, so what's there for you to mind?"

"Fine, then. What time?"

"Around seven. I already made plans with Shiina yesterday, and there's also the time needed for dinner... I'll message you when the time comes."

Nangong Cheng nodded.

He really had nothing to object to. He could also take this opportunity to see whether he could issue a few tasks.

But if all the girls came...

That would be a little troublesome for Sakura Airi.

"Tell them Airi isn't going. That'll count as me going in Airi's place... Oh, and Hasebe doesn't need to go either if she's staying with Airi."

"...Fine."

Nearby, Haruka Hasebe was whispering with Sakura Airi. Hearing Nangong Cheng make such an overbearing arrangement, she could not help teasing the extremely shy girl.

"Nangong really dotes on Airi, doesn't he?"

"N-No he doesn't..."

"You still say he doesn't? Your face is completely red!"

"Uu..."

Nangong Cheng noticed what was happening, but he did not tactlessly interrupt their conversation.

With Haruka Hasebe helping him look after Sakura Airi, he could spare some attention to deal with the others.

Time quickly passed until after school.

Horikita Suzune was the first to leave the classroom.

Kikyo Kushida and Karuizawa Kei also brought their little groups over to greet him one after another. They said they were looking forward to the evening gathering, then left to make preparations.

[Task Issued: Invite Haruka Hasebe to stay overnight in your room tonight.]

[Task Reward: 100 Points]

[Penalty for Task Failure: Stay overnight in Nangong Cheng's room]

"Airi, I'm leaving first."

"If anything happens, be sure to call me, all right?"

"Mm..."

After leaving a task behind, Nangong Cheng left.

He did not go anywhere else. He did not even intend to use his current book-club friendship with Horikita Suzune to find Shiina Hiyori and improve her impression of him.

He simply returned to the dormitory.

Then, around five o'clock, Ichinose Honami came over to make dinner.

However, from Nangong Cheng's perspective, he could sense that something was off about the girl today.

"Mom Honami, don't keep things bottled up. Given our relationship, is there anything you find difficult to say?"

"Ahaha..."

Ichinose Honami gave an awkward laugh.

Then she hesitated for a moment, as if organizing her words. "It's just... I heard that you hit someone in class today, Nangong?"

"That's right. So, Mom Honami, have you become disillusioned with me?"

Ichinose Honami hurriedly waved her hands. "No, I haven't. I know you only acted because of the girls in class. You didn't hit him on purpose."

Nangong Cheng was merely teasing Ichinose Honami.

He knew that this girl, with her pathologically gentle personality, would never blame him. Even if he really had hit someone on purpose, Ichinose Honami would probably say something biased like, "Nangong must have had his reasons for doing that."

"So what did Mom Honami want to say?"

"This was probably something Hoshinomiya-sensei told you, right? She was there at the time, after all."

Ichinose Honami was not very good at hiding her emotions. When facing Nangong Cheng, she was basically always passive.

Recalling what Hoshinomiya-sensei had told her, the girl lightly bit her lip and said, "I-It's just... what kind of relationship do you have with that girl named Sakura, Nangong?"

"Oh~ We're fairly good friends, I suppose."

Nangong Cheng revealed a meaningful smile, and his tone was equally suggestive. "So, Mom Honami, are you very concerned about this?"

"N-No!"

"I'm only asking because... because there's a girl in my class who seems interested in you, Nangong, so I just wanted to ask on her behalf!"

Ichinose Honami knew that her excuse was obviously self-deception and that Nangong Cheng would certainly see through it.

But that was all she could say.

"Oh? Then I'd like to meet her."

"You know me, Mom Honami. I have very little resistance to pretty, cute girls, especially the gentle and motherly type."

"..."

Ichinose Honami fell silent and turned to enter the kitchen.

Nangong Cheng whistled.

He thought that Chie Hoshinomiya was really too eager. He had merely sent a signal that he would lead Class D upward.

Was there any need to rush to deliver a girl to him?

How much did she hate Sae Chabashira?

"Advanced Nurturing really can produce two pairs of ill-fated couples at once. I have to say, it certainly has a sharp eye for observing and selecting people."

Nangong Cheng was referring to Kikyo Kushida and Horikita Suzune. They were also following a love-hate script.

With his efforts, Horikita Suzune was finally about to cooperate with Kikyo Kushida for the first time. Who knew what kind of outrageous stunt the little green tea would pull for him?

But he had already prepared an outrageous stunt for tonight. Once the task...

Heh heh heh.

"I'm leaving now. Take your time eating."

Ichinose Honami quickly prepared dinner, but she really did not stay to eat with him that evening. Instead, she fled in a panic.

Wasn't that basically a guilty conscience?

But Nangong Cheng truly could not figure out what Ichinose Honami was thinking. After all, before her brain had been taken over by romance, she had been extremely conflicted.

She was no less troublesome than Kikyo Kushida.

"It's come to this. I might as well eat first."

Elsewhere.

After leaving Nangong Cheng's room, Ichinose Honami ran into someone she did not want to meet.

"Honami-chan..."

Standing directly in front of her was her best friend—

Amikura Mako.

Volume One: 52, Ill-Fated Couples Singing Love Songs

Around 6:40 p.m., inside a KTV room.

Horikita Suzune had a strong sense of time and never allowed herself to be late, so she had arrived early for the gathering.

Naturally, Kikyo Kushida and Karuizawa Kei, along with their respective little groups, had also arrived ahead of time.

"Horikita, you're here."

Kikyo Kushida smiled sweetly.

Although Horikita Suzune appeared to be the main character of tonight's gathering, the real protagonist was Nangong Cheng, who had been invited.

After all, without Nangong Cheng giving the order, how could they have obediently cooperated with Horikita Suzune? Horikita Suzune herself simply had not realized that yet.

Besides, the person responsible for helping with the tutoring did not necessarily have to be you, Horikita Suzune, did it?

"Mm. Nangong should be on his way."

Horikita Suzune glanced at the girls in the room, who had dressed with somewhat excessive care, and subconsciously frowned.

"You all... Even if this is to thank him, there's no need to make such a big production of it, is there?"

Anyone who did not know better would think you were here for a date rather than a gathering.

Kikyo Kushida's smile became even brighter.

"Horikita, you might not understand... When girls dress up, there are only two possible purposes: either they're doing it for themselves, or they're doing it for a man."