English
Indonesia
Chinese (Simp)
Japanese
Korean
Spanish
Portuguese
French
German
ArabicClassroom of the Elite: Surviving with the Intel System — Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Class A Has Already Started Strategizing, While Class B and C Lag Behind
“Maya! Chiaki!” Karuizawa Kei suddenly raised her voice over the post-class chatter, her bright tone cutting through the ambient noise of the classroom. “Sorry, I might not be able to go shopping with everyone later!”
“Eh? Karuizawa? What happened?” The two girls paused by her desk, turning to look at her in genuine surprise.
Kei unconsciously let her gaze drift toward the back of the room, lingering for a fraction of a second on Shimizu Akira’s profile before snapping her attention back. She straightened her posture, puffing out her chest slightly as she made her announcement. “I’ve decided to join the Boxing Club starting after school today!”
“The Boxing Club?!” Sato Maya’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Can girls even join a hardcore sports club like that?”
“Of course we can!” Kei planted her hands firmly on her hips, lifting her chin with a proud, defiant little smile. “But I’m not going to be fighting. I’m going to be the manager!”
“A manager! That’s actually great!” Maya’s initial shock melted into sparkling excitement. “The Boxing Club is one of the most popular clubs in the school, you know. Speaking of which…” She suddenly leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper as she winked mischievously. “Isn’t Shimizu-kun one of the star members there?”
Kei cleared her throat, a faint flush creeping up her neck. “Um… yeah. So starting today, I’ll be going to club activities with him…”
“Eh—?” Shinohara suddenly leaned into her personal space, playfully jabbing Kei in the ribs with her elbow. “You two aren’t… dating behind our backs, are you?”
“N-no way!” Kei waved her hands frantically in front of her face, her voice pitching up a desperate octave. “We just happen to be heading to the exact same place! That’s all!”
Despite her energetic denial, a quiet, heavy realization settled in her chest.
In a way, she thought silently, I’m just another girl whose confession got rejected.
Across the room, Akira’s phone suddenly vibrated against the surface of his desk, a short, sharp buzz that demanded attention.
He glanced down, expecting another cryptic directive from Chabashira Sae. Instead, the sender ID belonged to someone entirely different: Kamuro Masumi of Class A.
[Save your points from now on.]
Akira stared at the glowing screen. That usually aloof, sharp-tongued Class A honor student had actually taken the initiative to send him a warning?
His thumbs moved rapidly across the digital keyboard.
[Has Sakayanagi Arisu already revealed the S-System information to you all?]
The reply came almost instantaneously, as if she had been staring at her screen waiting for it.
[You’re quick to react. Not quite the level of ignorance one would expect from a Class D defect.]
A second message immediately populated below it.
[Otherwise, why do you think Sakayanagi Arisu could secure her position as one of Class A’s core figures?]
A faint glimmer of genuine surprise flashed in Akira’s dark eyes. He tapped the screen thoughtfully.
[One of? Class A has other core figures?]
Kamuro’s response carried a heavy undercurrent of factional politics.
[Katsuragi Kohei. Steady in his approach, careful in his actions. He also commands considerable prestige and loyalty within the class.]
Akira set the phone down for a moment, falling into a quiet contemplation. The picture was becoming clearer. Class A, at this very moment, had already been thoroughly integrated as a cohesive unit. Sakayanagi Arisu, much like himself, had already grasped the crucial, underlying mechanics deliberately hidden by the School Administration.
His gaze drifted to the secondary piece of data he had acquired earlier, pulling it up in his mind.
[Information Two: Class point standings after the first month of school: Class A 940 points | Class B 650 points | Class C 490 points | Class D 0 points]
If they hadn’t known the inside story beforehand, there was absolutely no way Class A would have maintained such an astonishing 940 Class Points through the first month of enrollment.
To the untrained eye, it was just a string of cold, hard numbers. But to Akira, it was a map of the entire first-year hierarchy.
Apart from Class A, the other cohorts had clearly failed to discover the hidden rules of the Advanced Nurturing High School. If they had, the scores for Class B and Class C wouldn’t be stagnating at 650 and 490 points respectively.
Class B’s performance, in particular, was a fascinating anomaly.
When he had initially spent ten thousand Private Points to purchase information from that upperclassman, the senior had been explicit: In past generational wars, Class B was historically the faction with the highest potential for gekokujo—the act of the lower overthrowing the superior.
Yet, the current scoreboard displayed a massive discrepancy from that historical expectation.
Strange… With Ichinose Honami’s overwhelming social skills, she shouldn’t have come up completely empty-handed.
Akira thoughtfully stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the pink-haired girl’s behavior. He clearly remembered the very first days of school. Ichinose had been hyper-active, bridging gaps across all grades. By the second day, she had already amassed hundreds of contact details, weaving a massive web of connections.
Are you really just making friends? Ichinose-san.
A sudden realization clicked into place, sharpening his gaze.
The logic of betrayal in this cutthroat academy was simple economics. The only people willing to sell out their own class secrets for a handful of Private Points were the self-destructive, desperate failures of Class D.
For the other classes, committing class treason for a mere twenty or thirty thousand Private Points was mathematical suicide.
The risk-to-reward ratio is garbage, Akira calculated coldly.
Twenty or thirty thousand Private Points might seem like a fortune to a starving student, but converted to the macro scale of Class Points, it equated to a pathetic two or three hundred points. If the School Administration caught wind of irregular, illicit point transfers, they would ruthlessly deduct hundreds of Class Points as a penalty. That meant the entire class would bleed hundreds of thousands of yen in fixed monthly income.
Only a cornered animal would take a deal that short-sighted.
As for Class C…
Speaking of which, I haven’t had a single meaningful interaction with anyone from Class C yet.
The internal organizational structure of that class remained a total black box. Whether Class C possessed a charismatic, unifying dictator like Sakayanagi, or a universally beloved figurehead like Ichinose, remained a dangerous question mark.
After letting the silence stretch, Akira picked up his phone and tapped out a new message to the Class A girl.
[By the way, Sakayanagi Arisu didn’t cause you any trouble because of that can of beer, did she?]
Kamuro’s reply radiated sheer annoyance through the digital text.
[? Do you honestly think I’m that stupid? The evidence was already cleaned up by you. Besides—]
The typing bubble hovered for two seconds before the rest of the thought arrived.
[I’m an A-class student. How could I let myself be caught with a fatal handle over something as pathetic as a can of beer.]
Akira’s fingers moved smoothly, his lips curving into a dry, imperceptible smirk.
[Hard to say. I remember the first time we met, you almost spilled all your cards on the table—that’s not exactly the vaunted Class A style. Honestly, I feel like if I hadn’t shown up, you would have completely devolved into Sakayanagi Arisu’s personal puppet. I can already picture it: holding an umbrella over her head on a rainy day while she walks ahead.]
The moment the message marked as read, his phone vibrated so violently it nearly rattled off the desk.
[Shimizu Akira! Do you want to die?!]
Kamuro’s fury practically scorched the screen.
[I just realized it! That first time we met, you were indirectly calling me an idiot the entire time, weren’t you?! And who the hell would hold an umbrella for Sakayanagi Arisu! She’s a genius in Class A, sure, but am I not?!]
[Forget it! It’s a complete waste of oxygen talking to someone like you.]
Akira looked at the screen, his thumb hovering over the glass for a long moment before he earnestly typed out a response.
[Sorry, I went a bit too far this time. But… it really is a good thing you weren’t exploited by her.]
After the message showed as read, the conversation box continuously displayed the pulsing The other party is typing… indicator.
It took a full half-minute of digital hesitation before her final reply came through.
[Apologize with a dogeza, and let me step on your head as atonement.]
Akira thoughtfully locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket. He slowly turned his head, his gaze landing on Horikita Suzune, who was sitting rigidly in the seat beside him, completely absorbed in her textbook.
He carefully modulated his voice, asking with an air of feigned, academic seriousness. “Horikita-san. Hypothetically, if a girl sends a deeply dismissive text in reply… what does it usually mean?”
Horikita didn’t even bother to look up from the page. Her dark hair fell perfectly over her shoulder as she let out a sharp, freezing scoff.
“Hmph.”
Akira blinked slowly, staring at the side of her head.
Right. So, the real question is… what does a girl’s ‘Hmph’ mean?