Note: Upgrade your browser if you can't see the images.
Classroom Of The Elite Volume 1 - Chapter 21
You are reading Classroom Of The Elite Volume 1 Chapter 21 at mangacake.
Please use the Bookmark button to get notifications about the latest chapters of Classroom Of The Elite Volume 1 next time when you come visit our manga website
I WAS LAZING AROUND my room that night when I received a text message from Kushida.
Yamauchi-kun and Ike-kun said okay! (・w・)b
That was fast.
Ike had waved me off when I’d tried to invite him earlier. A girl’s presence had likely played a large part in changing his mind. Lust held unlimited power.
I just contacted Sudou right now, but I have a good feeling about it! (^w^)
Another text message. Wow. At this rate, we’d probably get everyone together tomorrow. Because of these speedy developments, I thought it’d be a good idea to relay information to Horikita. I wrote a message basically saying I had Kushida’s help, that Ike and Yamauchi had agreed to come, and that Kushida would also be participating. Then I sent the message to Horikita.
“All right. Time to take a bath, I think.”
The moment I rose from my bed, Horikita called.
“Hello?” I answered.
“I don’t quite understand the message you just sent me,” she said.
“What do you mean you don’t understand? I wrote it all out plain as day, didn’t I? I said those three guys would probably come tomorrow.”
“Not that part. The part about Kushida. I didn’t know about that.”
“I asked her a little while ago. Having someone like Kushida on our side increases the odds of getting everyone together. So I asked her, and now Sudou and Ike and Yamauchi are coming. Okay?”
“I don’t remember giving you permission to do that. Her grades aren’t even failing.”
“Okay, look. By asking Kushida, who’s spent more time networking, to help us, our chances of success have improved significantly.”
“I don’t like it. Shouldn’t you have sought my approval first?”
“I understand that you hate outgoing people like Kushida. But isn’t this just a means to an end? Or would you prefer trying to gather everyone yourself?”
“Well…”
Horikita seemed to finally understand that getting Kushida on board was a good thing. But, being prideful, she couldn’t simply agree to it.
“We don’t have much time until the test, either. Understand?”
Come to think of it, we really didn’t have much time to make Horikita’s plan work. However, Horikita was clearly stuck and unable to make a snap decision. She remained silent for a moment.
“I understand. I suppose anything worth doing requires sacrifice. However, Kushida may only help gather the students. She’s not allowed to join the study group.”
“But why? That was her condition for helping us. You’re being ridiculous,” I said.
“I will not allow her into our study group. I refuse to budge on this.”
“Is this about what happened at the café? Are you just getting back at Kushida for deceiving you?”
“This has nothing to do with that. She didn’t fail the test. Inviting extra people will only mean more time spent and greater confusion.”
Although her argument sounded logical, I doubted that was her real reason for excluding Kushida.
“Do you openly dislike Kushida?” I asked.
“Don’t you feel uncomfortable sitting next to someone you hate?”
“Huh?”
I didn’t really understand what Horikita meant. Kushida had tried harder than anyone to befriend Horikita. I couldn’t imagine why Horikita actually hated Kushida.
“Suppose the guys decide not to come if Kushida’s out?”
“Sorry, reviewing these test materials is taking longer than I expected. I’m ending the call here. Goodnight.”
“Hey, wait!”
She hung up on me, as expected of a misanthrope. However, if we wanted to reach Class A, compromise was necessary. I plugged my phone into my charger and lay down, thinking through everything that had happened since the entrance ceremony.
“Defective product, huh?”
That was what that second-year student had called us on our first day. In other words, we weren’t just defective; we were fundamentally failing to serve our purpose. Those were the words they’d used to ridicule us. Even Horikita, who appeared flawless, probably had some defects of her own. I could kind of understand why she’d been angry today.
“What should I do?”
Should I try to force Horikita? In the worst-case scenario, she’d leave. If Horikita didn’t tutor the study group, it’d waste everyone’s time. With a heavy heart, I called Kushida.
“Hello?”
I heard something like a strong wind blowing into the phone. It quickly died down, though.
“Were you drying your hair or something?” I asked.
“Oh, sorry. Did you hear that? I just finished up, so don’t worry.”
Kushida had just gotten out of the bath… This wasn’t the time to get lost in fantasies.
“Uh, this is really hard for me to tell you, but… Can we pretend that I never asked you to help get everybody together?”
She paused and then replied, “Um, why?” She sounded curious rather than angry.
“I’m sorry. I can’t explain right now. Things got kind of complicated.”
“Is that so? I suppose Horikita-san was opposed to me joining.”
I hadn’t implied that, but Kushida had managed to pick up on it. “It has nothing to do with Horikita. It’s my bad.”
“It’s okay. I’m not particularly angry. Horikita seems to really dislike me, so I expected she’d refuse.”
You could call it a woman’s intuition.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. It’s my bad, since I came to you for help and all.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize, Ayanokouji-kun. But, I… don’t think that Horikita-san will be able to bring Sudou-kun and the others together by herself.”
I couldn’t deny it.
“Hey, what did Horikita-san say, though? Was she against me gathering people, or did she not want me to join the study group?”
Kushida was so dead-on, it was like she’d been standing next to me when Horikita called.
“The latter. I’m really sorry to hurt your feelings.”
“Ahh, it’s okay. Really, don’t apologize, Ayanokouji-kun. Horikita-san has this kind of impenetrable aura around her, like she won’t let people get close to her. I expected this.”
She was way too perceptive.
“Everyone agreed to join because I said I’d participate, though… Couldn’t you have just lied and told me that I couldn’t join? I’m worried that if they know I’m not coming now, the guys will probably get mad at Horikita-san…”
Kushida scared me a bit. Nothing escaped her.
“Could you leave things to me this time?” she asked.
“Leave it to you?”
“I’ll bring everyone over tomorrow. Of course, I’ll be coming along, too.”
“That’s—” I started.
“It’ll be okay. Or can you solve all of these problems, Ayanokouji- kun? You know, gather everyone together without me?”
Unfortunately, such a thing was probably impossible.
“I understand. I’ll leave it to you, then. I don’t really know what’s going to happen, though.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t be responsible for anything, Ayanokouji-kun. Well then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Soon after, my call with Kushida ended. Somehow, I was even more exhausted than when I’d finished talking to Horikita. Even though Kushida said everything was fine, I had my doubts.
Horikita relentlessly opposed anyone she didn’t like, regardless of who they were. It was painfully obvious that this would end in disaster. Feeling anxious, I headed into the bathroom.
I decided to stop thinking about tomorrow. No matter how much I agonized over it, tomorrow would come, and it would eventually end. Things would work out, somehow.
…—————-…
…Please don’t report,…
…Wilysha_Purple♡…