Chapter 6

Really!

It was all true!

Karuizawa Kei was instantly swept up in speechless joy and excitement. Luckily, Sato Maya and the others were delighted that Nangong Cheng was treating them, so her reaction did not seem strange.

Once she calmed down, she noticed a free item called [System User Manual] displayed in the most prominent spot.

Since it was free, she might as well buy it and take a look. She needed to find out what this system was, anyway.

Come on, little lamb. Hop right into the bowl.

Nangong Cheng had noticed everything unusual about Karuizawa Kei's behavior.

Setting Horikita Suzune and Kikyo Kushida aside, Karuizawa Kei was the third little lamb he was using to learn how the system worked.

She was also the easiest of the three to sway.

"Ladies, would you rather eat in the cafeteria or find a place on the shopping street?"

Nangong Cheng took the initiative to start a conversation.

While reading the manual, Karuizawa Kei spoke for her little group.

"Let's go to the cafeteria. I heard how good Advanced Nurturing's cafeteria was before I enrolled, and I'd planned to check it out on the first day."

Sato Maya and the others had no objections. As students, they would be eating most of their meals on campus in the cafeteria. It made sense to see what it was like.

Nangong Cheng nodded.

The group headed for the cafeteria, carrying their bags and packages.

Advanced Nurturing's cafeteria lived up to the school's national reputation. Its size, atmosphere, and variety of food were all impressive.

Nangong Cheng readily paid for Karuizawa Kei and the others. He had no intention of skimping on his own meal, either, and ordered a deluxe set.

Just as the group sat down to eat, a pretty girl appeared.

"Hello~ Mind if I sit here?"

Kikyo Kushida was a beautiful girl with an almost pathological need for approval. When her secret had been exposed in the past, the resulting turmoil had forced an entire class, teachers and students alike, to stop attending school.

In short, she was dangerous.

To Class D, she was a bomb that could go off at any moment.

On a personal level, she was also a calculating girl who could almost never be trusted.

In a way, the heroines of Classroom of the Elite had quite a bit in common with the extraordinary girls from MyGO and Ave Mujica next door.

They were all problem children.

So, judging purely by looks, Nangong Cheng did like Kikyo Kushida.

The contrast between her two sides had its appeal, too—but only from the other side of a screen. If he met someone like her in real life, he would keep his distance.

Now that he had the system, though, Nangong Cheng was no longer afraid of whatever trouble Kikyo Kushida might stir up.

"Kushida? What a coincidence. You came to the cafeteria too? We've got room, so have a seat."

Karuizawa Kei was hardly going to tell her she could not sit down, but inwardly, she clicked her tongue.

Unlike the trendy-girl persona she had put on, Kikyo Kushida's gentle, adorable little-angel image was more compelling and more popular.

There was a reason people said like poles repelled each other.

But if she knew that Kikyo Kushida's sweet face was an act too...

That would be interesting.

"Thanks! I'm not interrupting you, am I?" Kikyo Kushida said, though she had already sat down.

A coincidence? Hardly.

There were not that many coincidences in the world. More often, someone had arranged for things to happen.

Kikyo Kushida had sought them out on purpose.

[Host: Kikyo Kushida]

[Age: High School Girl]

[Measurements: B: 82 (D) W: 55 H: 83]

[Personal status: Single, no dating history, intense desire for approval, moderately repressed mental state]

[Fated Partners: Nangong Cheng]

[Skills: None]

[Items: None]

[Points: 0]

After learning about the so-called Perfect Life System, Kikyo Kushida had made her decision.

She would accept this [Gift of Fate].

Was it a plot? Perhaps.

But she was only an ordinary girl. If she could not resist it, she could only accept it.

At least she stood to gain something real.

That alone was enough to make the risk worthwhile.

As for why she had sought out Nangong Cheng, the reason was simple.

According to the system, a perfect life covered every area, including [love]—or [marriage].

Nangong Cheng was the person the system had chosen for her. It called them [Fated Partners], meaning he was the only person in the world who could share her fortunes and hardships.

Whether she wanted to complete more tasks or get to know her destined partner, she needed to find out what kind of person Nangong Cheng was.

"Not at all. We're just eating and chatting. You're not interrupting anything."

With Karuizawa Kei, the group's leader and spokesperson, giving her tacit approval, Kikyo Kushida joined their meal.

Keeping two conversations going was as effortless for her as drinking water. She chatted naturally with Karuizawa Kei and the others while striking up a conversation with Nangong Cheng.

"Um, Nangong, could we exchange contact details? I can add you to the Class Group Chat, too."

Kikyo Kushida had long since stopped expecting to find love, but she would not reject it if it came along.

For now, she wanted to know what Nangong Cheng was really like. That meant spending more time with him.

"Scan mine."

If refusing would be awkward, he might as well accept.

As the one who had set all this in motion, Nangong Cheng knew why Kikyo Kushida was being so warm and forward with him.

It was almost certainly because of the subsystem.

She had gained something, convinced herself of the rest, and now wanted more. Naturally, she would act this way toward someone whose interests were tied to hers.

"You helped me so much on the bus earlier, Nangong. If you ever need help, please come to me~"

"It was no trouble. Besides, we're classmates. We ought to help each other."

"Nope~!"

"It might have been nothing to you, Nangong, but it really helped me. I won't forget it!"

Kikyo Kushida kept up her deliberately cute act.

She did not think her charm could win over everyone, but few boys her age could withstand her sweet talk.

Yet Nangong Cheng seemed unaffected.

Is he pretending?

She could not tell. She would have to keep watching him.

"Kushida, you really are as kind as you are beautiful. I doubt I'll forget a good girl like you even after we graduate."

It was not that Nangong Cheng was immune to her charm. Of course he liked sweet girls. But Kikyo Kushida's sweetness was only a false front.

So he would take the sugar and send the shell right back.

In fact, he shared the view of some fellow enthusiasts: Kikyo Kushida's true self was more attractive to him.

For instance, she would be perfect for maid cosplay, showing off what she wore underneath with a look of utter disgust.

These days, it was all about the contrast.

"Huh? Nangong..."

"I'm done eating. You girls might feel more comfortable chatting without a guy here, so I'll head off."

When a rosy blush spread across Kikyo Kushida's face, Nangong Cheng could tell she was about to put on another performance.

But he was no veteran actor yet. He was not ready to trade lines with the masterful Kushida.

Time to retreat. Getting out of here is the safest move.

Meanwhile.

Before the opening ceremony had even ended, Horikita Suzune had wrestled fiercely with herself and finally decided to seek out her older brother, Horikita Manabu.

For one thing, she had come to this school to follow in his footsteps. She would have to meet him sooner or later.

For another, she now had the perfect reason to meet him, one that might even earn his approval. There was no way she could let that chance pass.

Once she made up her mind, she acted.

Horikita Suzune had always been decisive. After the opening ceremony, she quietly followed him.

But after she had gone some distance, Horikita Manabu suddenly stopped.

"Come out, Suzune."

"Brother..."

Horikita Suzune was almost unrecognizable in front of Horikita Manabu. Her cool, proud manner vanished, leaving her even softer than meek little Saki.

This time was different, though.

If the secret offered by the System Shop was true, she was sure she could make her brother see her in a new light!

"I'm sorry. I followed you because there's something important I wanted to ask you about..."

Horikita Manabu silently adjusted his glasses, concealing the complicated look in his eyes.

"I have class soon. You have ten minutes."

Horikita Suzune breathed a sigh of relief.

Since her brother had given her so little time, she went straight to the point.

"It's like this..."

She asked about the purchasing power of Private Points, whether there was an overall pool of points above them—perhaps something called Class Points—and whether the letters A, B, C, and D indicated a ranking of the four classes...

She already had the precise answers, so working backward to frame her questions was not hard. Horikita Suzune had thought through how to ask what she already knew.

Horikita Manabu was astonished.

Even he had not figured out that much on his first day at the school.

He should have been pleased. But remembering that the school had placed Horikita Suzune in Class D, he could only look at the younger sister he had not seen in two years with mixed feelings.

Had she grown, or had she not?

"Did you work all that out on your own?"

"Well... I worked out most of it after someone gave me an idea."

Horikita Suzune wanted to take the credit, but she was not the sort of person who would do that. She was also afraid her brother might later discover she had lied.

Besides, if not for Nangong Cheng, she probably would never have been bound to the system and would not have learned any of this.