Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

(22:03) [Are you alright with the students I assigned?]

(22:03) [I'm open to suggestions.] (Horikita)

(22:03) [Not at all, Horikita-san.]

(22:03) [I think they're perfect.] (Hirata)

(22:03) [I'm okay with the students assigned to me.] (Mii-chan)

(22:03) [Same here!] (Kushida)

(22:03) [I think I'll be able to teach the ones assigned to me.] (Yukimura)

(22:03) [Yes.]

(22:03) [I have no complaints as well.] (Matsushita)

Horikita just submitted the student assignments in the tutor group chat. She sure works fast.

"Ah..." I mumbled.

I was about to type my own reply but the sweat from my forehead dropped on the surface of my phone. I was currently doing one-handed push-ups while reading the messages in our group chat.

I sighed as I used the bed beside me to wipe the screen dry.

(22:04) [No problems here, too.] (Ayanokouji)

We had seven tutors, namely; Horikita, Kushida, Matsushita, Hirata, Yukimura, Mii-chan, and me. Four students were assigned to Horikita, Matsushita, and me. The rest were to teach five.

The four students assigned to me were: Sudou, Sakura, Miyake, and Hasebe.

I instructed Horikita to assign Sudou and Sakura to me, but I left the other two in her hands. Miyake and Hasebe, huh?

They're both pretty quiet. They don't tend to hang out with others that much. I've seen them together once, so at least they know each other.

On a side note, it was also my instruction to have Kushida teach Ike and Yamauchi.

(22:07) [Any particular reason why you assigned Miyake and Hasebe to me?]

I asked Horikita via text. It's also possible that she didn't have any reason at all, which would be fine too.

(22:07) [Their grades aren't a problem though improvements are welcome. But the main reason why I assigned them to you was their personalities, or at least my impression of their personalities.]

(22:07) [Those two usually keep to themselves. I would've assigned them to Hirata-kun or Kushida-san, but some other students would be more effective in their slots.]

Or so she explains. 

In short, they're students who don't need any immediate help. She assigned them to me so I could give Sudou and Sakura some extra attention. How considerate of her.

(22:08) [I see.]

(22:08) [Thanks for explaining, Horikita.]

Well, I hope we can all get along tomorrow.

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It was already past nine o'clock. I decided to head down for a drink. After putting on some clothes, I reached the first floor and headed for the vending machine right outside the lobby.

"Oh?" A beautiful girl wearing a light pink sleeveless top with a sky blue ruffle frill skirt uttered as she leaned on the wall beside the vending machine.

"If it isn't Ayanokouji-kun~!" Ichinose Honami raised her hand to greet me.

"Good evening, Ichinose," I greeted back.

This is the second time that we're talking to each other directly. I'm glad she remembers my name.

"It's quite late. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I could say the same to you," I replied.

I found it weird from the start. She wasn't drinking anything. And even if she had just recently finished her drink, she wouldn't be leaning on the wall with such a melancholic expression.

"Ahaha! I was just catching some air. The nightly breeze is quite relaxing, you know?" she answered with a grin.

"I see. I came here to grab a drink, and like you, I also planned to catch some air," I replied as I approached the vending machine beside her.

"Oh, is that so? Care to hang out with me for a bit then?" she suggested with a soft tone.

"Sure," I replied. "Want one? My treat?"

"Oh, sure. One matcha tea please," Ichinose replied, raising a finger.

After getting my canned coffee, I got Ichinose her matcha tea. I sat on the edge of a small concrete garden bed in front of Ichinose. She eyed my drink for a brief second before turning to ask.

"Do you know what I was thinking about, Ayanokouji-kun?" Ichinose asked with the same soft tone while opening her can.

Her usual happy self wasn't so apparent right now.

"If I were to guess, you must be thinking about the revelations on the S-System earlier," I asked before sipping my coffee.

"Ahaha... I guess it's a pretty obvious answer at this point. The class was in momentary chaos when everything happened. We never knew... that the S-System worked that way. And more importantly, we'd be branded as failures if we don't graduate in Class A..." she narrated.

"Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous," I commented.

"Right?! But Class D—" Ichinose looked down apologetically. "I'm sorry, I meant Class B... You guys are amazing. You jumped up two classes and overtook us."

They were the closest class to reach Class A but got overtaken after one month. Despite its negative effect on her own class, Ichinose didn't treat me with spite or hostility. She genuinely complimented our class instead.

"I guess we were lucky," I said.

"I could just praise how well-behaved your class is... but after Hoshinomiya-sensei explained to us how the sorting worked, it just didn't seem logical. Was there someone in your class who convinced everyone to refrain from violating the rules?" asked Ichinose.

"Hmm... If I were to think of the people who can do it, I'd say it's Hirata and Kushida," I answered.

"Oh, Kushida-san is certainly someone who's capable of doing that. And I also know about Hirata-kun. He's from the Soccer Club, right? A lot of the girls in my class are talking about him. If he's also a capable leader, then I guess it makes sense that he's so popular."

I nodded in agreement whilst drinking my coffee.

"How about, you Ayanokouji-kun? What are the things you're good at?" she asked.

"Hmm... I don't think I'm good at one thing in particular. If I were to think of something off the top of my head... I guess I'm good at running." It should be a pretty solid answer since it's also what I said in my self-introduction.

"Ohh~. Quite athletic, aren't you? We have someone who's good at running, too! His name is Shibata Sou-kun. He's in the Soccer Club with Hirata-kun," narrated Ichinose.

"I see. Given that he was assigned to Class B from the start, he must be innately better than me," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Hmm~? Aren't you just being humble?" Ichinose bantered before asking a question that spelled my doom. "Oh! Now that I remember— When we had swimming class, a few weeks ago, the teacher said that someone from your class finished the 50-meter freestyle in under 22 seconds!"

"Oh... That." Since our topic was about sports, I guess this wasn't out of the question.

"Yeah! It's too bad that the teacher couldn't give us the exact time or the name of the student because of the school rules." Ichinose said before turning to me with a smile. "Do you know who it was, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Well, if I wanted to achieve the best out of this conversation, running away would do me no good.

"It would be good for my class if I didn't tell you. You'd know who to look out for if ever there's a competition in sports," I replied.

Ichinose's expression changes into that of shock and surprise.

"Oh... That's certainly reasonable. We're all against each other now, after all. I'm sorry for asking," she smiled.

However, I can also tell she's genuinely sad. Even if she had the hidden agenda of finding out the abilities of our class, it was evident that she just wanted to have some fun conversations with me. The competitive nature of the S-System hinders that.

"That's what I'd normally say, but you've told me about Shibata already. It wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't answer your question," I said.

Ichinose became flustered with my words. She must've thought that I felt some sort of guilt, which wasn't the case at all.

"No, no! You don't have to tell me if you think it's not beneficial to your class. Moreover, I babbled about Shibata-kun out of my own volition. You earned that information, Ayanokouji-kun." Ichinose hurriedly justified what I said in the beginning.

She's a really good person.

"It's fine, Ichinose. None of my classmates would really mind if I'm the one who tells you, anyway," I said.

"Eh? So you mean to say..." Ichinose caught on pretty fast.

"Yeah, I was the holder of that swimming record," I said, before drinking the rest of my coffee.

Well, so much for trying to avoid attention.

"Eh?! Seriously?! That's insane, Ayanokouji-kun!" Ichinose was visibly shocked, her gestures and expression; almost exaggerated. She'd spill some of her drink if it wasn't nearly as empty.

"I think I was just feeling it that time," I said.

Saying something like "it was a fluke" would just be humble-bragging at this point. My record was just too fast for that.

"W-What was your exact time? Is it alright if you tell me that?" Ichinose said with a nervous expression as if she was bracing herself.

"If I remember correctly, I think it was 21.91 seconds," I replied.

"You say you were just feeling it, but you nearly broke the world record... Ayanokouji-kun, are you that good at something else? Or are you just a swimming monster?" Ichinose asked with a big smile.

"Hey hey, you already got what you wanted. Don't go sniffing for more information," I joked.

"Ahaha! You might possibly be the most athletic student in our year! It's a shame that we'll be rivals," said Ichinose.

"Yeah," I replied, putting my empty can in the trash bin. "Let's head back, Ichinose. It's getting really late."

It was almost ten. It would be bad if we get spotted together at this point in time.

"Oh, you're right," Ichinose replied as she lightly patted the back of her skirt after getting rid of her own can.

We talked some more before the elevator stopped on the 4th floor.

"Thanks for hanging out with me, Ayanokouji-kun. See you tomorrow." She gently waved her hand goodbye.

"Same here," I replied.

Finally, I entered my room and thought about what happened.

Lying to Ichinose was the worst option I could take at that moment. After all, she has other means to find out the truth. So, I just turned the situation around by giving her the information in exchange for trust. As much as possible, I would like to become allies with Class C.

They would make a good shield against the new Class D, who have no choice but to go on the offensive. That way, we can focus on taking over Class A.