Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Houtarou left Kikyō's room.

The girls' dormitory hallway was a risky place — they could be discovered at any moment, something neither of them wanted.

Kikyō, however, had taken precautions. After confirming the elevator was heading up from the first floor and the hallway was empty, she let him leave.

Her dorm room only had slippers for girls, reflecting how common it was for female students to visit each other. Boys were a different matter entirely.

Though the school had no explicit rules against it, a boy visiting the girls' dorms would spark unwanted gossip. For Kikyō, who preferred to avoid romance, such complications were the last thing she needed.

They would need to find a new location for their weekly meetings. Perhaps they could use points to request an unmarked dorm room from the school.

Houtarou contemplated this as he headed toward the emergency stairs.

From Kikyō's room, 606, taking the elevator posed a risk — he might encounter girls on the fifth floor who would question why he was there and whom he'd visited.

That possibility alone made him opt for the stairs instead.

However.

Thud!

Houtarou halted at the stairway landing, as did the person ascending the stairs.

"..." Oreki.

"..." The other person.

Before him stood a tall girl with a perpetually stern expression, her long purple hair falling in lengthy bangs, secured with three hairclips. Despite her long legs, she notably avoided wearing either white or black stockings.

This was Masumi.

"Houtarou Oreki?" She paused, studying him with a peculiar gaze.

Houtarou could tell she was trying to figure out why a male student would be in the girls' dormitory.

Masumi recalled how, a few days ago, Arisu had asked her to monitor his interactions with Class B's representative.

"Ichinose is on the fifth floor." Oreki said, "This is the sixth floor."

"Oh." She nodded and prepared to continue up the stairs.

But something didn't add up. What did Honami have to do with this?

Ichinose was on the fifth floor, this was the sixth floor, and wasn't Arisu in room 605?

If Houtarou had come to see Arisu, why mention Ichinose specifically?

Besides, Arisu had told her long ago that she no longer needed to watch him.

"Wait!"

As Houtarou turned to descend the stairs, Masumi quickly called out to him.

"What is it?" He turned back.

She was an accomplished athlete whose sporting prowess had earned her place in Class A.

"Do you have time recently?" Masumi asked, "About this month's exam—"

Ah. Houtarou understood. She had her own agenda.

They walked down the stairs together.

"Why take the stairs when the elevator works?" Houtarou asked.

Despite her athletic ability and stamina, Masumi was breathing heavily. She must have run up from the first floor.

"Arisu Sakayanagi punished me." She said glumly, her expression darkening, "I lost to her at chess, so she made me climb the stairs three times."

Oh. Games and consequences.

"How does she verify you do it?" He pressed.

"Hm? Verify what?" Masumi looked confused.

Ah. Now he understood.

Arisu didn't even supervise Masumi's stair-climbing punishment — the girl was so conditioned she wouldn't think of skipping it.

In other words, this little puppy needed no oversight. Orders alone sufficed.

Clearly, Masumi had been trained remarkably well.

He found himself wanting to make use of her abilities. Previously, he had thought tutoring her would be too troublesome, especially with Arisu's poor health, so he had entrusted Masumi to that little princess.

Now that she had become so well-disciplined, he wanted to reclaim her. Unlike Arisu, he was someone who reflected on past decisions.

"If I'm not mistaken, Sakayanagi provides you with a monthly allowance of points." He stated, his tone indicating he already knew the answer.

"On the 5th of every month at exactly 5 PM, she gives me 200,000 points." Masumi replied stiffly.

I see. Arisu was truly someone who honored her commitments.

Earlier, when discussing how a senior acted as his benefactor, he had noted that someone like Arisu would provide support at precise times and dates — a method that made the recipient feel properly cared for.

And here was Masumi, being managed in exactly that way.

In that moment, Masumi noticed Houtarou studying her with an unsettling, inhuman gaze.

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Suspecting Masumi wanted to discuss something, Houtarou led her to the shopping district.

After school, he had visited the library before spending half an hour in Kikyō's room.

Having gained new knowledge today, he wasn't in the mood to cook, so he planned to get food at the well-stocked shopping district.

He also wanted to celebrate making progress on eliminating one of his weaknesses. Though no one was perfect, he was committed to self-improvement.

"What did you want to discuss?" Houtarou asked after ordering his meal. Masumi, having already eaten, simply sat across from him.

She ordered neither food nor drinks, aware that doing so might make this seem like a date.

She couldn't deal with that possibility.

"About this exam." She said, noticing his prompt, "From what I've gathered, it's worth over 600 points. Last year's Class 2-B under Miyabi Nagumo used this opportunity to gain points and advance."

Her expression grew serious.

The current first-year class evaluation points stood at:

「Class A: 1330 Points」

「Class B: 670 Points」

「Class C: 490 Points」

「Class D: 80 Points」

Class A held a commanding lead.

However, with an exam worth over 600 points looming, anything could happen. Either Class B or Class C could potentially move up.

Masumi's concern became clear when she said:

"I've confirmed multiple times that Sakayanagi can't participate in this exam. Her people will follow Katsuragi's orders." She explained, "If Class B gains significant Class Points in this exam—"

The implication was clear: Class A's position could become precarious.

She was asking for his help, revealing her lack of faith in Kōhei's ability to maintain Class A's advantage. She believed they would lose substantial points in this exam.

Perhaps they were underestimating the bald guy too much.

Houtarou had his own assessment of Kōhei — he wouldn't have used him as a measuring standard for class representatives otherwise. Even if Kōhei proved incompetent, he wouldn't allow the class to lose 600 points in one go.

As a Class A student, Houtarou knew they could recover regardless of how many points they lost.

This was simply how the school's rules worked, something both he and Arisu understood perfectly.

The true objective wasn't mere class competition — it was becoming Student Council President.

If they fell behind, they could secure the Student Council presidency and use those privileges to increase points for special exams. Or, if their class maintained an advantage, they could reduce the points available in special exams until graduation.

Therefore, even fluctuations of one or two thousand points weren't critical. Recovery was always possible.

Yet for regular students, dropping to a lower class felt devastating.

This explained why even Masumi felt compelled to take preventive measures, leading her to seek his help.

Houtarou fell silent, suddenly realizing that Class A's position was like poison.

Their initial Class A status had granted them confidence and validation, but this made them targets for those seeking to bring them down.

A mid-year fall would crush morale instantly. To prevent this, they needed to maintain their leading position constantly.

This endless vigilance was exhausting — precisely why he wanted Arisu to take the fall.

"Don't worry about this." Houtarou said, "I'll participate in the exam. Class B and C won't advance this time."

"Oh." Masumi nodded, appearing somewhat relieved.

Just as he prepared to use the exam participation as leverage to regain control over her, he noticed a tall woman in a white shirt and suit passing by the shop window.

She walked hurriedly, nearly stumbling twice in her high heels.

The woman was beautiful, with sleek black hair in a ponytail. She wore black stockings and high heels, and like Masumi, favored hair clips — though where Masumi wore three, this woman wore six.

The figure was someone familiar.

It was Class D's homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira.

Houtarou had previously assigned her System Tasks, but just before he could achieve his goal, she had withdrawn and completed the Task on her own.

She was the type to admit defeat before truly fighting back.

Though Chabashira-sensei had become withdrawn after Suzune's plan to elevate Class D to Class B failed, why did she appear so agitated now?

Houtarou looked across the table.

Masumi sat opposite him.

"Kamuro-san." He said, "You've finished dinner, correct?"

"Yes—"

"Then here's your after-dinner activity." He continued, "Follow Sae Chabashira and monitor her movements. Her behavior concerns me. Report everything to me in real-time."

?!?!

Was Houtarou actually giving her orders?

Her eyes widened. Why was he mimicking Arisu's commanding tone?

How irritating.

Annoyed but compliant, Masumi stood up with her characteristic stern expression.

Pretending to check her phone, she discreetly followed Sae's hurried departure.

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