Classroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Ibuki Mio’s Revenge

Kaedehara Tetsu resumed his leisurely pace, allowing the conversation to shift naturally along with his steps.

“Ichinose.”

He glanced sideways at the girl walking beside him. “You pour so much of yourself into Class B. You sacrifice your own personal interests and your free time just to keep everyone united and. What exactly is the core belief driving you to do all this?”

The question caused Ichinose Honami to slow her steps. She lowered her head, her expression turning serious as she genuinely pondered his words.

The cool night breeze caught the edges of her hair, and the pale glow of the streetlamp illuminated her soft profile.

“A belief, you say…”

After a long moment of silence, she finally looked up, her eyes clear and bright.

“Actually, I haven’t really thought about it in such complicated terms.” She offered a gentle, self-deprecating smile. “I just… simply love everyone.”

She looked out toward the dark campus grounds, though her gaze seemed to be focused on something much warmer. “I love how everyone works so hard together studying for exams. I love the way we all cheer when our Class Points come in, and how everyone immediately rallies to support each other the second someone hits a wall.”

“Everyone in Class B has their flaws,” she continued softly. “Some are lazy, some have eccentric personalities, and some are just terrible at socializing. But… they all have their own brilliant, shining points too. To me, the forty students of Class B are one big family. And you don’t just abandon your family because of a few shortcomings, do you?”

Her pace picked up slightly, a renewed energy in her step. “My dream is to take these forty people—not a single one left behind—and ascend to Class A together. What I want to see more than anything is the day we graduate, looking around and seeing every single person in our class smiling from the bottom of their hearts, proud of the three years we fought for.”

As she finished speaking, a bright, heartfelt smile bloomed across her face, radiating an absolute, unshakable sincerity.

Kaedehara Tetsu listened in silence.

‘In a school where every student is a wolf calculating their next meal, her sheer existence is a glaring anomaly.’

“Is that so,” Tetsu murmured, his tone smooth and unreadable. “That is quite a heavy burden to carry. Yet, it’s a remarkably beautiful belief.”

The smile on Ichinose’s face deepened, though a faint blush dusted her cheeks.

“Hearing you say that makes me feel a little embarrassed, Kaedehara-kun.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I look forward to seeing the day you finally reach Class A in your own way.”

She nodded vigorously, as if sealing a promise. “Let’s part ways here for tonight. I still need to stop by the convenience store to pick up a few things.”

Tetsu stopped walking. “Thank you for the hospitality today.”

“I should be the one thanking you! Well then, Kaedehara-kun… let’s leave it at that for today. Good night!”

Ichinose waved at him with her usual boundless energy before turning down the path.

“Good night.”

Tetsu stood perfectly still under the glow of the streetlamp, watching her lively figure shrink into the distance until she finally disappeared around the corner leading to the dormitories.

Only when her presence completely vanished from the area did he slowly turn around.

He didn’t head toward the store as he had implied. Instead, he remained rooted to the spot. The surrounding atmosphere shifted, the lingering warmth of their conversation instantly evaporating into the cold, tranquil night. The only sound left was the dry rustling of wind tearing through the canopy above.

“Alright.”

Tetsu’s voice echoed with chilling clarity down the empty, shadowed path.

“I have to admit, I’m impressed you managed to tail me this entire time without collapsing from exhaustion.”

The moment the words left his lips, a figure detached itself from the absolute darkest patch of trees behind him.

Slender legs stepped out from the brush beneath the hem of a pleated skirt. Black boots met the pavement without making a single sound. The girl’s face, usually twisted in a state of perpetual impatience, was now taut with extreme hostility and wariness.

Ibuki Mio.

“Why are you following me?” Tetsu asked, his tone entirely conversational.

“Cut the crap.”

Ibuki’s voice was sharper and colder than the autumn wind. “Find a place. We’re going to fight and settle the score from last time.”

Flames of pure, unadulterated aggression burned in her eyes, locking onto him like a predator. Over the past month, the humiliation he had inflicted upon her hadn’t faded in the slightest. If anything, the passage of time had allowed it to fester and rot, twisting into an intense, suffocating rage.

“A fight?”

Tetsu raised a single eyebrow, his expression dripping with mild amusement. “Did you forget? Last time, there were surveillance cameras. I have absolutely zero interest in being invited to the Student Council room for tea over a petty physical altercation.”

A cold, mocking sneer curled the corner of Ibuki’s mouth. “Didn’t you say the surveillance footage in these blind spots is only stored by the school for a month at most? That data has long since been wiped clean.”

She had practically gone out of her way to subtly inquire about the school’s security protocols just to verify it.

Yet, faced with her confident, triumphant declaration, Tetsu didn’t show a single trace of panic.

He simply stared at her. It was a look reserved for observing a particularly slow animal. Then, a low chuckle escaped his throat.

“You actually… believed that.”

His voice carried a heavy sigh of dark amusement. “Standard surveillance is indeed only kept for a month. However, Ibuki, certain cameras have their retention periods set to three months, or even half a year. Weren’t you the least bit terrified that the camera we stood under last time just happened to be one of those special models?”

The triumphant sneer on Ibuki’s face shattered instantly.

“What… did you just say?”

“I said,” Tetsu drawled, his smile widening as he savored the rapid deterioration of her confidence into absolute shock, “the homework you did was built on a foundation of completely fabricated intelligence from the very beginning.”

Ibuki bit down on her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood. Her nails dug violently into her own palms.

“You dare mess with me!”

She squeezed the words out through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with fury.

An entire month.

Like an absolute fool, she had been crossing off the days on her calendar, waiting in agonizing anticipation for the exact moment the footage would expire. And in the end, it was nothing more than a clumsy, effortless lie?

And she had swallowed it whole?

A tidal wave of shame and white-hot anger erupted in her chest, sweeping through her veins like liquid fire.

It was ridiculous.

Watching her eyes practically spit fire, the amused smile on Tetsu’s face slowly dissolved into a mask of total apathy.

“However, whether I messed with you or not is entirely irrelevant now,” he stated coldly. “Because whether that surveillance footage was kept or deleted makes absolutely no difference to me.”

Ibuki froze, the sheer whiplash of his tone catching her off guard.

“I told you last time that I would let you go for a month. Even if that camera perfectly captured you attacking me, I couldn’t possibly be bothered to drag myself to the Student Council, retrieve the data, and file a formal report.”

He looked down at her, his eyes devoid of any emotion. “It simply isn’t worth my time to handle those tedious bureaucratic procedures over someone as trivial as you.”

It was a strike far more devastating than any physical blow.

It was a humiliation far deeper than anything she had imagined.

All her agonizing forbearance, all her desperate waiting, all her burning desire for revenge—in his eyes, it was nothing more than an insignificant, pathetic one-woman show. He hadn’t even cared enough to remember her threat.

Ibuki’s chest heaved violently. She gasped for air, her heart hammering against her ribs as her vision swam with blinding rage.

After a long, suffocating silence.

“Hurry up…”

Her voice was hoarse, entirely stripped of its previous bravado, yet anchored by a terrifying, suicidal firmness. “Hurry up and find a place. We’re fighting.”

At this point, words were entirely useless.

Only a brutal, unrestrained fight, using the most primitive violence of fists and feet, could possibly wash away the shame that had thoroughly seeped into her bones.