Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 5: Chapter 13.4 - Their Plan

"No one else is here. You can drop the acting now, boy."

"Seems like it," I replied, stretching my arm. "I could probably still compete without any problems even with these injuries. It looks bad from a visual standpoint, but I actually didn't sustain much damage. It's not even that painful anymore."

"Hmph, how unsightly. As someone who's destined to be admired, I personally wouldn't let any of those ninnies blemish my beauty. However, I would give your boring face some credit. Your expression never changed, almost like you weren't even injured in the first place."

"Uh... thanks...?" 

Well, it's not ideal, but I wanted everything to be simple and straightforward. And besides, these injuries shouldn't develop into bruises if I get them treated later. 

I got up with the excuse of heading to the bathroom. In truth, I made my way to a specific classroom that had one of the best views of the athletic field. I didn't really care if cameras saw me loitering around. The repercussions shouldn't be too severe given my injury. I can just tell them I wanted a better view of the games from high up.

"Fufufu. You're finally here, Ayanokouji-kun."

Sakayanagi elegantly sat on top of a desk, looking relaxed. But I knew it must've been quite the journey for someone like her to get here.

"You could've asked them to be a bit more gentle."

"There was at least a 10% chance for them to choose the agreeable Hirata-kun, but in the end, you were the ideal target. So even if I didn't really give them any specific instructions to target you in particular, I knew that this would be the outcome. As their superior, please do forgive them."

"Don't worry. This is honestly just fine," I said before moving a desk beside a window. "Removing me was the best move you could've made for your team."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I know you saw it from a mile away already."

"And since you still did it, you must've been confident that I'd cooperate."

"Confident? Oh, please, Ayanokouji-kun. The moment Hashimoto-kun and Kitou-kun chose you as their target, I already knew that your cooperation was set in stone. After all, you were also hoping to get removed."

I recalled our first meeting. Sakayanagi probably knew that I didn't want to stand out anymore. So removing me was a win for the two of us. After all, I didn't have the luxury of holding back. But if my absence was valid, then I can avoid the spotlight while keeping my reputation in class intact. At the same time, Class B would have an easier time beating Class A.

"Sudou Ken-kun is a bit troublesome, but he won't be able to carry your class for that long."

"So you're planning to remove him, as well?"

"Why, of course. To destroy Class A, I have to be thorough."

I already have a pretty good guess on how she'd do that.

"I see," I replied, watching the Tug of War.

The boys seemed to be winning, but the girls were losing, which was pretty ironic since our Red Team was missing two boys while the White Team was missing one girl.

"Are you sure about not interfering?"

That question solidified my guess on how Sakayanagi will get rid of Ken. It also caused a chain of confirmations about how she planned everything.

"Yeah. You can do what you want. I don't really care."

"Fufufu, that's reassuring. Well, I'm sure your plate is already full enough," Sakayanagi narrowed her eyes as she stared at me.

"Shouldn't it be the opposite? I don't have to worry about being the leader, and I'm not obligated to plan things out during class battles. It's like having a vacation." (1)

Sakayanagi chuckled before giving me a meaningful smile. She probably already knew that I was lying, but I wasn't in the mood to talk about my personal plans.

"Aren't you going to watch the matches more carefully? Staring off into the distance... It seems like you have something else on your mind," she said.

"I've seen them practice, so I already know what to expect. The only question is whether their morale will completely collapse."

"You're probably right. Given the Class A students' lack of mental maturity and resolve, they were bound to become more cynical, unmotivated, and detached in the face of absolute defeat. At first, I was confident that I could easily shatter your classmates' spirits. I thought it wasn't a matter of "if", but a matter of "when", but they're surprisingly much harder to break," she sighed. 

"It's not strange for them to grow over time," I said.

"Oh please, Ayanokouji-kun. That's cruel even as a joke," she giggled. "Both of us know that there wasn't any "growth" involved. The reason for this development would be your current position in the class hierarchy. Most of your classmates would've already given up a long time ago if they were still in Class D."

I couldn't do much about how my classmates thought about everything. Forcing immature adolescent teenagers to work hard and study was the same as asking little children to eat their despised vegetables. That's why I gave them some candy, which in this case, was the opportunity to graduate in Class A. In other words, I just used their simple-mindedness to my advantage. That's how I was able to control them all this time. 

It'll take Sakayanagi a bit more to break Class A. After all, the opportunity I created gave them "hope". That's why their morale was a lot sturdier than what you might expect from a bunch of selfish and impulsive 16-year-olds.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

"Well, we have to. You should also get back soon. The two of us shouldn't really be seen together since we're from different teams, so I'll be going on ahead."

Security cameras don't really bother me, but it would be troublesome if my classmates saw me walking around with Sakayanagi.

"Fufufu. Seeing you try to preserve your current reputation in class very much amuses me," she giggled.

"I don't want them to hate me, after all."

That was another lie. To be honest, I couldn't care less about how my classmates felt about me. However, the reputation I've built up cost some time and effort. Having decent social clout makes things a lot easier in my position. It's also a good shield since enemies might see it as a weakness when it's really not. 

As long my image as the "reliable ex-leader" is useful, I don't mind sparing some effort to preserve it.

"Such a dependable classmate, you are. But when your class finally hits rock bottom, I wonder how hard they'll beg for you to save them?"

I ignored Sakayanagi and walked towards the door. She turned away from me and continued watching the competitions.

"Please send my regards to Kikuchi Eita-kun," she said.

I see. So the reason why Sakayanagi told me to come here was this... That's their plan, huh? It'll be one heck of a pain in the butt for Horikita and the others. 

"Sure thing," I replied.

Author's Notes:

1. Kiyotaka inhaling some copium.