Chapter 34: Katsuragi Keima, Host a Study Group with Me!
Katsuragi Keima had been ready to ignore Horikita Suzune and leave immediately. Most of his mind was on games, and the small remainder was dedicated to his missions. He didn't care in the slightest about the future development of Class D; it had nothing to do with him, as long as it didn't interfere with the terms of his deal with Chabashira Sae. As for a desire for Class A, it was practically zero.
However, less than half a second after Horikita finished speaking, a smile bloomed on Keima's face, and his eyes practically shot out beams of light.
"Deal."
Keima had already spent a significant amount of points buying games and a handheld console, and after paying a certain transaction fee to Chabashira Sae, his remaining points were not in an optimistic state. While daily necessities and food had free options, game cartridges certainly did not.
According to his previous agreement with Elsie, her points were available for him to use freely, but that was mostly just talk; Keima wouldn't actually do that unless it was an emergency. Still, he already felt a sense of crisis. Even though he had bought many games earlier, if things continued like this, he would face the dire predicament of having no points to buy games before the 1st of next month.
That absolutely could not happen! And now, Horikita Suzune had proactively offered to help him buy games. Such a stroke of good luck!
Looking at Keima's overjoyed expression, Horikita immediately regretted her offer. But a word once spoken cannot be taken back, so she could only brace herself and nod.
-
-
-
The Cafeteria.
Four people were gathered around a table: Horikita Suzune, Katsuragi Keima, Sakura Airi, and Elsie.
However, their seating arrangement was a bit peculiar... Horikita sat alone on one side, while Keima and the other two were squeezed together on the opposite side.
The three of them had very sumptuous meals spread out before them. In comparison, the food in front of Horikita appeared a bit modest. After all, treating three people to a feast at once cost a considerable amount of points. In this school, while regular student sets weren't expensive, one could also spend points to purchase higher-end dishes. To win over Keima, Horikita felt she had no choice but to do this.
According to her original plan, she intended to treat Keima to a meal first to make him owe her a favor, and then naturally ask him for help. But now, she had been forced to spend three times the points to treat the others as well. And... on top of that, she still had to buy a game for Keima later!
Just thinking about it made Horikita feel a bit short of breath.
"Speak. What exactly do you want?" Keima asked.
Beside him, Elsie had already started eating on her own, while Sakura Airi lowered her head bashfully, her gaze focused solely on her food. This was the first time she had ever eaten in the cafeteria, let alone with classmates.
Horikita leaned forward, her eyes projecting a serious gaze that landed on Keima's face.
"Then I'll be blunt. Before the lunch break, I heard Hirata and the others formulating a policy."
"You're talking about preparing for the midterm exams, right?"
Even though Keima spent almost every break playing games, he had seen Hirata Yousuke come over to talk to Horikita several times and had overheard the contents of their conversation. At the time, Hirata's gaze would occasionally flicker toward Keima as if he wanted to pull him into the discussion, but after seeing Keima completely absorbed in his game, he temporarily abandoned the idea.
"Exactly." Horikita nodded. "Hirata-kun plans to hold a study group to tutor the students with poorer grades in the class."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Hirata believes we need to tutor the students who performed worst on the last quiz, but I believe that if we're going to hold a study group, we can't stop there."
"What?"
"Passing the exam is just to avoid expulsion. What we must do is go a step further. Since I was assigned to Class D, I am determined to rise to Class A!" Horikita knit her brows, appearing to have made up her mind.
"Oh." Keima just nodded slightly, showing no major reaction.
Seeing this response, Horikita seemed somewhat displeased but didn't voice it, simply continuing her explanation:
"So, I want to improve the grades of everyone in the class. You took first place on the last quiz, and I acknowledge your academic ability. Therefore, I hope you can assist me in tutoring more people."
"Sounds like something that will waste a lot of my gaming time."
"Katsuragi-kun, do you really possess this kind of ability yet feel content to languish in Class D?"
Horikita was an arrogant person, but she had the capital to think highly of herself. There were very few people she considered capable, and Katsuragi Keima happened to be one of them. However, she found it hard to accept that someone with his talent would be so self-indulgent, acting as if nothing had anything to do with him.
"It doesn't matter which class I'm in. To me, the real world is just like this; as long as I can play games, it's fine," Keima replied simply.
"Then why did you enter this school?"
"Because Nii-sama is going to become the object of admiration for all women—"
Elsie, her mouth stuffed with food, started to speak, but Keima immediately covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from saying anything else weird.
"High school is something I have to attend anyway. I just thought this school was special, and I could play games to my heart's content," Keima answered immediately.
Horikita observed the male before her; she couldn't understand this guy at all. Was playing games really that important?
"Since you've already accepted my—"
"However, I can help you."
Keima tilted his head, giving Elsie a glare to warn her against saying anything else nonsensical, then turned back to Horikita.
This answer took Horikita by surprise. This guy had just acted like Class D had nothing to do with him, yet he changed his attitude instantly?
"What made you change your mind?"
"Change my mind?" Keima rubbed his head. "I didn't."
"Huh?"
"I planned to find a way to improve the class's grades from the start."
"Huh??"
"Because I've already signed a contract with Chabashira Sae to ensure no one in the class gets expelled and to improve our ranking."
"HUH?????"
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting