Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Knock Knock—

Houtarou and Manabu left the Chairman's office half an hour later.

Though Narumori had blocked his proposal to buy Point exchange rights, Houtarou wasn't disappointed — the Chairman's reasonableness had met his expectations.

Moreover, the Chairman's direct refund of 300,000 Points made him seem quite approachable, almost generous.

This was quite different from his daughter.

Houtarou had arrived with just Manabu and his phone, but now he left carrying a backpack containing all 16 million in cash.

All students lived in dormitories on campus, with assigned student housing. The arrangement was convenient.

"Do you need to request a safety deposit box?" Manabu asked, pushing up his glasses, "A safety deposit box costs 50,000 points and can store valuables. Of course, regular students probably wouldn't need one."

Though he hadn't exchanged his own Points for cash, seeing 16 million in cash was striking. He realized keeping such a large sum casually in the dorm might not be safe.

The Student Council had dedicated safety deposit boxes.

"No need." Houtarou shook his head.

He wasn't a regular student — he went home every day, so he could keep the money at home, or if necessary, deposit it at an outside bank.

But Manabu bringing this up showed he was truly an honest, good person.

"Your sister has run into some trouble recently." Houtarou told him about how Sae had demanded Suzune lead Class D to surpass Class B.

"I see, Chabashira-sensei—" Manabu pushed up his glasses upon hearing this, "You did well. But my third year has reached a crucial period, so I don't have any more points to give you right now. If we can confirm graduation as Class A, and I still have points then—"

"..."

No. Manabu, I hadn't even thought about asking for your money.

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Meanwhile.

After completing Houtarou's Point exchange, Narumori was heading upstairs when he found a silver-haired girl sitting in his office, her cane beside her. She appeared to have been waiting for quite some time.

"Arisu, haven't you gone back?"

Arisu was his daughter, who had been in poor health since birth.

Her heart was especially affected — she had a congenital condition. The illness was complicated; surgery hadn't been possible when she was young. They could only wait until she grew older to attempt it.

Still, the surgery carried just a 50% success rate, making it a difficult decision.

While forgoing surgery was an option, it would place severe restrictions on her physical condition. Any physical activity was strictly forbidden.

This was his main requirement for allowing his daughter to attend this school — no participation in physical activities, along with regular health reports.

Today she had come for one of these health checks.

"I'm curious." Arisu said, "Father, what did Oreki come to see you about?"

"Oh that? I haven't disclosed our parent-child relationship to him." Narumori said.

"..."

That wasn't what she was asking about, was it?

Besides, Houtarou likely knew already. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent her that message asking about the Chairman's character.

"..." Arisu.

But her father answering this way meant he would handle it officially.

Right. She knew her father was accommodating, but he also had his principles — and now he was firmly refusing to answer.

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〖 Beep! 〗

Upon returning to the dorm with a backpack full of money, Houtarou heard the System notification sound.

〖 Congratulations on completing the Hidden Side Task — Teacher, Please, Be Professional! 〗

〖 Congratulations on receiving special reward! 〗

〖 Teleportation ability enhanced! 〗

〖 Teleportation: Can go to places you've been, know the specific coordinates or seen in photos three times a day. Set home as a Base Point, can use Teleportation to return home unlimited times per day. 〗

〖 Beep! 〗

"Now?" Houtarou wondered.

He crossed his arms.

Yesterday, using Suzune's phone to contact Sae, he had thoroughly defeated her ambition, leaving her frustrated.

Though this formidable teacher had previously led her class from Class D to Class B, she seemed to still maintain one final line of defense, so he was considering whether to strike again tomorrow.

But now, had Sae already defeated herself?

Houtarou felt conflicted. This Class D teacher was truly different.

He turned his attention to the system prompt box.

〖 Detected unused ability - Superhuman Physique. Would you like to use it now? 〗

〖 Superhuman Physique: Enhance all physical abilities, automatically optimizing the body to perfection. Takes three days and nights. 〗

This ability was his reward for reaching 20 million Points — exactly what he had wanted.

Though he had exchanged the 20 million for cash, the system reward remained unused.

"No, keep it for now." He said quickly.

Like regular schools, Advanced Nurturing High School operated on a five-day schedule with weekends off, though occasionally either Saturday or Sunday would have activities.

So to modify his body with the superhuman enhancement would require specifically setting aside time.

Being self-aware of his physical weakness, Houtarou was eager to use the enhancement if possible.

He recalled that day when Manabu, wanting his sister to withdraw, had launched two consecutive attacks upon finding Houtarou present. Though he had avoided them with Teleportation, the incident stuck with him.

The President's might-makes-right approach was troubling. Was it fitting for a Student Council President to preach about ability while relying on brute force?

Yet Houtarou had to admit that physical prowess was its own kind of talent — it would be unfair to dismiss it entirely.

Take Class C's Kakeru, for instance. When he arranged for Kikyō to deceive Class C students about opening stores, hadn't students mentioned he used force to unite everyone?

And it had worked — Class C had indeed come together.

So perhaps physical strength was just another form of ability.

The idea intrigued Houtarou.

The school's campus had everything students needed, including a well-equipped commercial district with gyms.

But his past experiences of women staring at him at the gym made him uncomfortable.

For now, his priority was getting this backpack of money home. School had certainly delivered on its promises — letting him earn money, grow wealthy, and fill his backpack with cash. He loved it.

〖 Do you want to use Teleportation to go home? 〗

Yes!

After entering his dorm room, Houtarou put down his phone and returned home.

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The next day at noon.

Thanks to his superpowers, Houtarou easily commuted between home and school. During lunch break, he had options other students didn't — he could simply teleport home to eat.

Yet he usually chose to have lunch at school. Making lunch or preparing a bento would take too much time.

Besides, whenever he brought homemade food, girls would crowd around him, and inevitably some of his food would disappear.

Being uncomfortable with such attention, he preferred eating in the cafeteria like everyone else. He headed straight there during lunch break.

Beep!

『 Your order of Tonkotsu Ramen, Caesar Salad, Pumpkin Pie, and New Orleans Spicy Wings is ready. 』

『 Charging your student ID 1,600 Points. 』

Beep!

Houtarou grabbed his phone and picked up his tray. Just as he turned to leave, he froze.

A tall girl with purple hair and two hair clips stood before him — his classmate Masumi.

Once his tool... now she served as Arisu's crutch…

Her presence here could only mean one thing — was the little T-Rex seeking him out?

"..."

While Houtarou never claimed specific seats in the cafeteria, Arisu was different. She always sat in the same spot.

Despite the school's large student body, her Class A faction consistently reserved her seats. It was a convenient arrangement.

Though classmates like Masayoshi had offered to reserve seats for him too, Houtarou preferred not to impose on others.

Besides, Arisu's four-person booth had plenty of space. Rather than trouble others with reservations, he often shared her table.

Masumi's deliberate positioning behind him today surely meant Arisu wanted to speak with him.

It was May 16th now — eight days remained until the regular written exam on the 24th.

Since all students had access to past exam papers, the test would be straightforward.

This revealed the school's measured approach: while they tested students rigorously, they also showed leniency when appropriate, maintaining a careful balance.

Since everyone had access to the exam papers, this would be an easy test — just a matter of how many Points to earn.

The 100-Point reward wouldn't interest Houtarou or Arisu, so he doubted she sought him out for that reason.

Perhaps she was concerned about him seeing her at the Chairman's office yesterday? Worried about revealing her identity as the Chairman's daughter?

But Houtarou knew better — Arisu wouldn't care about such things.

She was an aggressive little T-Rex who would counter-attack tenfold if anyone tried to threaten her.

Besides, as a Class A student who had earned 20 million Points, he was considered wealthy himself.

He didn't need to try too hard — Arisu was clearly the most capable person to manage Class A for these three years.

Yet this little T-Rex hadn't made any moves.

While Houtarou maintained a subtle approach toward her, he saw no reason for conflict.

Could she be uncertain because he hadn't clarified his position?

After Masumi took her seat in the inner booth, he set down his tray across from Arisu.

"Actually, I consider Sakayanagi-san a genuine Class A student. Despite any physical limitations, you're truly qualified for Class A." He said.

"Is that so?" Arisu seemed surprised by his unprompted statement.

She offered a polite, cute expression.

Blinking gently, she said, "But wouldn't it be more interesting if I were in another class? Then I could compete against Oreki-kun. For instance... during regular exams, I could do something truly devious. I could leak the exam questions and throw all the students into panic."

"But first, I'd prepare a different set of questions to submit to the Student Council for the school. Then leak those questions to the students. Even with one set leaked, students would know about both sets, and the school would use the alternate set to prevent mass dropouts. It would be as if nothing had leaked at all."

"The only difference would be that I could use this chaos to secure voting rights for the next Student Council President. It's quite unfortunate that we're on the same side, both Class A students."

She finished with a smile, "So I can't execute this strategy."

In other words, since they were students in the same class, there was no need for such extreme measures.

"Student Council President... I've seen Horikita-senpai work, it's very demanding." Houtarou said, "I'm not interested in that position. But if Sakayanagi-san wants to run for election, I might be able to help gather votes."

"..."

Meanwhile, Masumi sat quietly in her usual spot on the inner side, eating without expression.

She found their discussion about exam leaking disturbing. She wished she could focus on her meal without hearing such talk — why would they even consider something so troubling?

If there really was a leak... well, even though she had been tutored and wouldn't fail, taking a different exam would still make her anxious.

Though she typically maintained her stoic demeanor around these two, Masumi felt she might need to steel herself more.

Now she understood why Arisu hadn't joined the Student Council before — she had been aiming for the presidency all along.

It made sense. With her commanding presence and fierce ambition, Arisu wouldn't settle for being a mere council accountant. She wanted the top position.

And Houtarou was equally unnerving. He'd offered to help gather votes for her presidency without hesitation.

What did he want in return? What was his true aim in supporting her bid for power?

Confronted with such unsettling revelations, Masumi chose to concentrate solely on her meal.

But Arisu swiftly changed the subject to Houtarou's student ID Points.

"Your meal set seems quite modest today. Are you on a diet?" She glanced at his tray.

She had shared many meals with Oreki, and he typically chose premium dishes, never skimping on quality. He would always order dessert too.

But today, there was no dessert in sight.

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