Classroom of the Elite: The Eroge

After finishing the first three exams, the students were allowed to take a thirty-minute break, causing a lot of them to let out deep breaths that they have been holding in out of nervousness. While it was true that they were motivated to get high grades in their academic performance, it didn't stop them from feeling doubtful of their abilities and if they were really capable of doing such a thing.

"Nothing's gonna stop me from going on that dream vacation. I swear I'll pass my exams, no matter what!" Kanji said to no one in particular, as he attempted to motivate himself with the prize of being able to go on a luxury vacation with girls who are going to be wearing bathing suits instead of their usual uniforms.

"Because you can't wait to see girls in their swimsuits," Satsuki spoke from behind him, causing the boy to jump in surprise as he turned around to see his blue-haired archenemy who also happened to be his neighbor.

"Shut up already!" he snapped at her, which only made the girl laugh at his misfortune. "I can do what I want during that vacation and you can't stop me, Ugly!"

"Well, I can guarantee you that none of the girls are gonna be ogling someone like you."

"Why are you even here? Go back to your friends already!"

"Because it feels nice to crush your dreams," she winked and stuck out her tongue at him in a mocking manner. "Oh, and before you even think about the vacation, you should think about passing this exam first."

Ike could only growl as Shinohara walked away smugly, feeling angry at that ugly witch who seemed to love raining on his parade any chance she could get, and at himself for thinking that she looked cute when she flashed him that mocking expression.

Urgh, why did his weakness have to be girls too...?

"I feel like I can get a perfect score in all of my exams at this point! Just watch!" Yamauchi bragged to the rest of the boys, who all shared the same sentiment.

"What about you, Sudo? Did you have trouble? You remember the bet we made, right?" Ike turned his attention to his red-haired classmate this time, in a desperate attempt to get Shinohara out of his mind. "If I get the higher score, you have to walk around this room like a dog and bark like one!"

"Heh," Ken smirked. He looked confident and showed no sign of nervousness throughout the three exams that they've taken so far, only looking lost a few times when he got stuck on a few questions. "Instead of being arrogant, I'd be worried if I were you. Better yet, read those magazines of yours while you still can since you're gonna have to burn them soon."

"Hah? I'm not worried at all. I'm going to pass so I can go on that vacation and see the girls in swimsuits! And I'm going to beat you in these exams!" Kanji shouted. Oh, he was going to beat Sudo, he'll make sure of it!

The red-haired teen shrugged. "Whatever you say..."

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka decided to check on the two girls whom he had tutored for the past weeks. Kei was sitting in front of Airi's desk and the two seemed like they were engaged in an interesting conversation, since the redhead was willingly talking to the other without looking nervous or shy.

Speaking of which, it was quite an interesting development between these two. Even though they were very different from one another, Karuizawa still befriended Sakura regardless and it was because of this that their study sessions weren't as much of a hassle as he had thought. Whenever Sakura would get stuck on a topic, he would help her and if Karuizawa understood it as well, she would lend a hand too.

Being different from each other completely, yet becoming friends in spite of it... sounds like something that Horikita and Kushida could learn from these two.

"Woah, you're already awake from your little nap?" asked Kei as she saw him approaching them.

Kiyotaka nodded. "How are you two holding up?"

Kei shrugged, leaning back against her chair. She didn't look bothered by the exams at all, despite feeling a little nervous earlier when it started. "I'm doing fine. I thought the exams would be harder, but the questions were pretty easy to handle."

He turned his attention towards Airi next. "What about you, Sakura?"

"I... h-had some trouble remembering a few lessons at first... but I made sure to answer all of the questions," she spoke, reverting back to her shy demeanor. "Although... I-I-I don't know if it'll be enough for me to pass the exams..."

"The more you think like that, the more it will bother you on the remaining exams."

Airi nodded furiously. "I know... b-but... I can't shake off the feeling that I made a lot of mistakes..."

How could she not feel worried? Up until now, she had always received low grades in school and the mere fact that she even got to high school was a miracle. Airi doubted that a few weeks of studying can suddenly change years of getting the same outcome in her exams.

Kei turned to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "He's right, Sakura-san. The more you worry, the more it will take control of you. Come on, we worked hard for several weeks just to prepare for this day. Let's not waste all those hours we spent reading at the library and listening to this guy rambling!"

Kiyotaka raised an eyebrow at the little insult that was directed towards him. "Did she really have to say that about me?" he sighed.

The red-haired girl thought about her friend's words for a few moments, taking every word that she said deeply and telling it to herself over and over. It's not like Karuizawa was wrong. Things might not change that quickly, but it was still her decision to study with her friend and Kiyotaka. She chose to study at the library, in hopes of doing better in her grades and so that she doesn't become the deadweight in their class.

It didn't take long before a look of realization took over her face.

"Y-Yes... you're right, Karuizawa-san...!"

Kei gave her a big grin and patted her on the back. "That's the spirit!"

Kiyotaka blinked a few times. Well, that was one way to lift Airi's spirits up. It's not what he had expected, but it looked like some words of encouragement from Kei was all that she needed to stop worrying about her possible results.

Not long after, their thirty-minute break had ended and the new exam papers were distributed. Again, Kiyotaka was quick to answer everything on the paper before going for another nap. He did this again for their last exam and before they knew it, the last bell had rung which signified the end of their exams.

As the students in the first row collected the papers, Sae flashed a smirk at everyone. She had been watching her students ever since they began and she noticed that they were all more serious than usual. "You all seem confident about your answers. I hope you can carry that confidence with you when the results come out. Dismissed."

After she walked out, the students of Class D wasted no time and began to celebrate the end of their midterm examination.

"Hell yeah! We're finally done!"

"Why don't we go shopping afterwards?"

"I'll pass. We're still running low on points, remember?"

"Oh, right. Well, this sucks! We should be celebrating now that we're done!"

"Then why don't we move the celebrations when we actually pass the exams? It'll just be a waste if we celebrate this early and it turns out that we failed."

"Don't say that! Now I'm getting worried!"

"Who cares? We can still celebrate a little bit!"

"Yeah, we can still eat somewhere that's not expensive."

From there, a lot of the students began inviting their respective tutors for some food as thanks. Hirata, Wang, and Yukimura accepted since they were feeling hungry themselves. Horikita and Kushida were asked out as well by the people whom they've helped, but both declined the offer. It's obvious why Horikita declined, but it was a bit strange for Kushida since she always hangs out with everyone...

In Kiyotaka's case, there's nothing more appealing to him right now than to go home to his dorm and be with Bed-chan, but seeing his classmates' interactions was making him think otherwise.

He turned his attention towards Kei and Airi, who were already packing up and getting ready to leave. It's clear that they won't be inviting him to eat with them somewhere and while he had no problem with that, it felt wrong that they were just going to leave without doing anything else.

In contrast to everyone else who wanted to treat their tutors as a sign of thanks, Kiyotaka felt that it should be him who invites them. It makes sense, because those two have been working really hard for the past weeks and they actually put up with him, despite his own thoughts about being a bad teacher to the both of them.

He had no idea if the system was making him think like this, but it honestly mattered little at this point. Plus, they could consider this an apology for making them uncomfortable earlier this morning, since he did give them quite a shock when they found out that he lived on the same floor as them.

Despite a feeling in his gut that he would somehow regret this decision later on, Kiyotaka grabbed his bag and approached the two girls.

"Sakura. Karuizawa. Do you two want to go out for some ice cream?"

Both girls were caught off guard when Kiyotaka approached them out of nowhere, and they were even more surprised when he asked them if they wanted to eat ice cream with him in a nonchalant manner.

"I-Ice cream?" asked Airi, wondering if she heard him right.

"I heard there was a new ice cream parlor that opened at the mall last weekend and I thought of checking it out eventually. I have nothing else to do so I thought of heading there, but I figured that I should invite you both as well."

Kei stared at him in surprise "U-Uh... thanks for the offer, Ayanokouji-kun, but no. I'd rather not spend any more points until we get our allowance..."

"You won't have to spend points. It'll be my treat," he shook his head. "Consider it as your reward for doing your best in the midterms."

The girl widened her eyes. She definitely wasn't expecting this to happen. "W-Well, if you're going to be the one who pays for the food, then I'd be an idiot not to go!" Kei quickly hid her surprise behind a wall of happiness, before she sent him a little frown. "You better not be joking, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'm not," he told her.

"I-I-I can spare some points too...!" cried the redhead, which immediately earned Kiyotaka's attention. "I-I don't really spend much points, and... i-i-it wouldn't be right if only Ayanokouji-kun pays for us..."

"You don't need to, Sakura. As I said, consider it a reward for your hard work." He shook his head and chuckled, which was a move that shocked both girls, as they had never heard him chuckle before, let alone change his expression. "Although with that answer, I guess you want ice cream too, Sakura?"

"I-I do... but... we don't even know if we passed... so w-w-wouldn't it be a waste to celebrate now?" she asked.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you did your best and that is all the reason I need." Both girls blushed as Kiyotaka flashed a little smile at them, almost to the point that they looked hypnotized by it. "Plus, I have a good feeling about your results."

[You have gained 5 Affection Points with Karuizawa Kei!]

[You have gained 5 Affection Points with Sakura Airi!]

"So, any other questions you want to ask? Or if you have something important to do, I won't force you to come with me."

The two couldn't get anything out of their mouths at the moment, so they could only shake their heads dumbly.

"Then let's go."

Before he could lead the way out of the classroom though, a cold yet familiar voice kept him where he was.

"Hold it right there."

Kiyotaka didn't even need to turn around to know who just spoke, because he was completely sure that it was his black-haired neighbor who was behind him. Therefore, he wasn't surprised to see Suzune but it was a bit weird to see Kikyo standing beside her. She should have left by now to hang out with her friends, right?

"Am I hearing this right?" Suzune gave him a cold glare, one that would have made him kneel and beg for forgiveness if he was an ordinary person. "You're inviting Karuizawa-san and Sakura-san to eat ice cream, but not us? I never knew that friends treat each other like this."

The young man could only stare blankly at her. That's what she's angry about? Just because he didn't invite her? He didn't want to say anything, but Kiyotaka was certain that it was a shallow reason to be mad at him. It's almost like she was only using it as an excuse to be angry, even. And if Suzune wanted to come along, she could have just said so!

"You're not being a good friend, Ayanokouji-kun!" Kikyo frowned at him before puffing her cheeks in a cute pout. However, that was only what her mask looked like to him. Underneath it, she was just about ready to grab him by the shirt and shake him over and over for not thinking of her when he invited Kei and Airi to eat ice cream with him. "Why didn't you ask me if I wanted to come along?"

Oh, so Kikyo was jealous. Even though she was saying something different, he could already tell that her words only masked what she really felt inside. Well, hopefully, he could resolve this before things get worse, otherwise there will be bloodshed...

"Why am I suddenly the bad guy in this situation?" he sighed to himself. "How was I supposed to know that you wanted to come? I thought you would be busy with your other friends, Kushida. And I was pretty sure that you were heading back to the dorms, Horikita."

"Irrelevant. You are supposed to ask me regardless of whatever answer I might give you," she stubbornly replied.

"Okay?" He was confused at where this sudden entitlement came from, but quickly dismissed the thought. After all, their 'relationship status' changed a week ago so they weren't just simple friends now. At the very least, she's not as unpredictable and unstable as Kikyo...

"I wasn't going to hang out with any of them because I'm feeling tired after all those exams. I wouldn't mind going out to buy ice cream, though!" the beige-haired girl chuckled nervously.

Yep. He could definitely sense the malice even from a mile away, and Kikyo was actually doing a horrible job of keeping it hidden. She was just lucky that Suzune had her attention directed to him, while Kei and Airi were too clueless to notice the time bomb that is Kushida Kikyo.

Kiyotaka sighed in defeat. He could already feel the migraines coming. "Okay, you two can tag along. But I'm not paying for either of you. I only have enough to buy something for myself, Sakura, and Karuizawa."

In truth, he still had a sizable amount of points in his account, but he didn't want to take any chances. There's a big chance that if he didn't say he wouldn't pay for them, then Kikyo and Suzune would surely demand him to give them the same treatment as Kei and Airi... and such an event would have spelled disaster for his expenses.

Suzune nodded. "That will not be a problem. I can pay for myself. Now let us be off."

And with that, the girl led the way and left the room, leaving her companions confused. Did she even know where she was going? Where was the shop located? How to get there?

All of a sudden, Kikyo moved from her place and quickly caught up to Suzune, standing right in front of her which blocked the other girl's path and kept her from going anywhere else.

"Uh, Horikita-san? Do you even know where the ice cream parlor is?" she asked.

Suzune only had a calm look on her face as she gave her response. "I simply passed by it while I was heading to class earlier this morning, as I needed to buy a few things from the department store. If I'm correct, the one that Ayanokouji-kun is talking about is on the second floor of the mall, right outside the massage parlor."

...that was a lie.

She saw an advertisement for the shop while talking to the members of her study group through their group chat a few days ago. And since she knew that Kiyotaka had a strange fondness for ice cream, she looked for it during the weekend and marked the place's location in her memory.

"Oh, it's that one! I can't believe it's finally up... I thought it wouldn't open for at least one more week!" Kikyo exclaimed as she realized what shop Kiyotaka was referring to. She passed by it once or twice while hanging out with her other classmates at the mall. "Is that the one you were talking about, Ayanokouji-kun?"

All he could do was nod in response, feeling surprised himself that Suzune actually knew the ice cream parlor that he had in mind, when it only opened recently. Was it really by chance that she walked past the place?

Ah, whatever. It doesn't matter. At least Horikita knew where to go, otherwise she would have looked stupid for leading the way.

"We better get going," he told the two other girls behind him, who have been quiet this whole time.

Both Kei and Airi nodded, before they followed him out of the classroom. It didn't take them long to catch up to Suzune and Kikyo and as the group of five students walked through the hallway, Kiyotaka let out a sigh of indignation. He was just fortunate that the hallway was completely empty, so there was no one around to see him falling victim to yet another one of the system's schemes to make his life an overcomplicated rollercoaster.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" he asked himself, wondering how exactly did it all go wrong for him....

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