Classroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 56

Chapter 56: The Man Who Absolutely Needs a Beating

Surveillance…

Following Kaedehara Tetsu’s upward gaze, her eyes locked onto the sleek, black dome of the security camera mounted high in the shadowy corner of the alleyway.

A volatile cocktail of anger still churned violently within her chest, yet it was instantly stifled, freezing her muscles and preventing her from advancing even a single inch.

She understood the absolute rules of the Advanced Nurturing High School. Acts of unprovoked violence—especially those perfectly captured on the school’s ubiquitous surveillance network—would lead to an immediate, non-negotiable expulsion.

Despite her current standing, she still harbored the desperate ambition to claw her way up from Class C to Class A. She absolutely could not afford to have her academic life terminated in such a pathetic, impulsive manner.

Humiliation.

An unmatched, suffocating sense of humiliation coiled around her heart like a python, constricting her lungs and making it nearly impossible to draw a breath.

Trembling with suppressed rage, she slowly lowered her fist from where it had been suspended in mid-air. Her manicured nails dug so deeply into her own palm that they threatened to draw blood, the sharp, stinging pain serving as her only anchor to reality.

Only when she completely abandoned her offensive stance did he finally begin to loosen his iron grip on her ankle.

But he didn’t pull his hand away immediately. Instead, his fingers trailed down, sliding with agonizing, deliberate slowness along the smooth curve of her calf. The touch was light, almost phantom-like, yet it burned with a dominating intimacy that made her skin crawl. Only when his fingertips reached the very base of her ankle did he release her completely.

Without missing a beat, Tetsu casually withdrew a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket. He carefully wiped down the fingers that had just grazed her skin, his expression one of mild distaste, as if he had been contaminated by some filthy, invisible stain.

That single, silent action was infinitely more devastating than any barrage of mocking words could ever be.

“Next time you feel the urge to throw a punch, at least have the presence of mind to observe your surroundings first.”

Kaedehara Tetsu casually tossed the crumpled handkerchief into a nearby trash receptacle. It landed with a soft thud. He spoke with the effortless superiority of an experienced veteran lecturing a hopelessly clueless novice.

“Rashly initiating an attack without even grasping the basic layout of the battlefield is nothing but sheer recklessness. And someone who relies solely on recklessness, regardless of their individual martial prowess, is nothing more than a walking target… Classmate Ibuki.”

It wasn’t particularly strange that Kaedehara Tetsu knew her name. Students in the same year could easily memorize the faces and names of their peers if they paid even the slightest bit of attention. She, Ibuki Mio, was merely an average, unremarkable existence within the hierarchy of Class C.

She didn’t care about that.

What she did care about was that nonchalant, infinitely punchable expression resting on his handsome face—the look of a man who genuinely believed the entire world was dancing in the palm of his hand. He was actively humiliating her, ruthlessly trampling her pride underfoot.

Having delivered his piece, Tetsu ignored her completely. He turned his back, shoved his hands deep into his pockets, and began a leisurely stroll out of the alleyway.

“Stop right there.”

A low shout, raspy and thick with suppressed fury, echoed from behind him.

Tetsu paused. He turned halfway, his dark eyes sliding to the corner to regard her with mild amusement.

Ibuki Mio closed the distance, planting herself firmly in his path.

“You’re lucky there’s a camera here,” she spat, her voice vibrating with raw anger. “Let’s go somewhere else. The rooftop, or an empty equipment room. You pick the spot.”

Her fierce pride absolutely refused to let this confrontation end in such a pathetic, one-sided defeat. She had to salvage her dignity.

She silently admitted that she had severely underestimated him earlier. This man was far more dangerous than his refined appearance suggested. The effortless, almost bored manner in which he had neutralized her sudden strike was certainly not a feat an ordinary high school student could pull off.

And it was precisely for that reason that her blood boiled with the desire to fight him. She wanted to unleash her absolute best combat skills and beat this arrogant bastard into the concrete. She would return every single ounce of the humiliation he had just inflicted upon her, with heavy interest!

However, Kaedehara Tetsu’s reaction completely shattered her expectations once again.

He didn’t accept the challenge. He didn’t even show the slightest flicker of being provoked. Instead, his gaze swept up and down her tense frame—a look one might reserve for a particularly slow-witted child—before he let out a soft, drawn-out sigh dripping with undisguised impatience.

“And why exactly should I fight you?” he countered, his tone as flat and disinterested as if he were asking about the weather.

“You…” Ibuki choked, momentarily rendered speechless by his sheer audacity.

“Listen closely,” Tetsu said, finally locking his dark, fathomless eyes directly onto hers. “First, engaging in a brawl with you offers me absolutely zero benefit. If I win, I’ve merely beaten up a girl; hardly a glorious legend to spread around the campus. If I somehow lose, my reputation plummets even further. It is a zero-sum game with absolutely no potential yield, and I have zero interest in participating.”

He took a slow step forward, forcing her to hold her ground.

“Second, to entertain this meaningless duel of yours, I would have to go out of my way to locate a blind spot devoid of the S-System’s surveillance network. Don’t you think that’s a monumental waste of time? My time is incredibly precious, and I refuse to squander it soothing the fragile ego of a little girl who simply can’t handle losing.”

The condescending phrase ‘little girl’ made a vein throb violently at her temple.

“Third, and most crucial,” Tetsu raised a single finger, wagging it lazily in front of her face. “I have absolutely no interest in you. I don’t care about you as a person, I don’t care about your martial arts, and I certainly don’t care about your misplaced competitive drive. To me, you are nothing more than a random passerby I happened to bump into on a Tuesday. Do you understand?”

His words were like a serrated blade, twisting ruthlessly into Ibuki’s chest.

All her burning anger, her fighting spirit, her fierce pride—it all felt utterly worthless in the face of his absolute apathy. She had been obsessing over the outcome of their clash, while he had treated the entire encounter as nothing more than a fleeting, mildly annoying distraction from start to finish.

She opened her mouth, her throat working, but found she couldn’t utter a single syllable.

“Name…”

“Give me your name!”

Her voice cracked, heavy with bitter resentment. Even if she was being completely disregarded, she had to know the identity of the monster standing before her. This name would be permanently etched into her mind, a brand of humiliation she was absolutely determined to wash away in blood and bruises.

“Kaedehara Tetsu.”

He stated it simply, without a shred of hesitation.

“Oh, right. About that surveillance footage…”

He paused mid-step, seemingly remembering a trivial detail as an afterthought.

“To conserve server storage space, the school’s surveillance archives are typically only maintained for a single month. After thirty days, the data is automatically overwritten.”

He tilted his head, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips. “And even within that one-month window, accessing the raw footage requires handling layer upon layer of bureaucratic approval from both the Student Council and the faculty. The entire process is a massive headache. And as I mentioned, I am someone who despises unnecessary hassle. So, in all likelihood, I’m far too lazy to bother submitting an application to retrieve a video of a minor scuffle.”

He watched the dawning realization—and the shock—wash over Ibuki’s face.

“So, for the next month, you are perfectly safe. As for what you decide to do after that month expires… well, that’s entirely your own business.”

With that final, devastating psychological blow delivered, he offered her no further chance to respond. Tetsu turned and walked out of the alleyway, his footsteps fading into the distance without him ever glancing back.

He left Ibuki Mio standing there, completely alone in the creeping shadows, her mind reeling in a daze.

His parting words echoed relentlessly in her skull: ‘One month.”I’m lazy.”It’s up to you.’

It wasn’t a kind reminder. It wasn’t a gesture of mercy.

This so-called magnanimity felt like the absolute pinnacle of contempt, far worse than any direct threat. He was essentially telling her: I’ll give you a one-month head start. After that, if you still have the guts to come looking for me, I’ll gladly crush you.

“Kaedehara… Tetsu…” Ibuki whispered the name to the empty air.

She slowly lowered her head, her dark eyes landing on her ankle. The skin there was still slightly flushed red, bearing the phantom heat of his inescapable grip.

She would remember that name.

And one day in the future, she would absolutely beat that arrogant man into the ground. In her own way, on her own terms, she would repay every single drop of humiliation she suffered today tenfold!