Classroom of the Elite: Prepared

Chapter 36 - The final race

PЯΣPΛЯΣD

The sense of coziness within me abruptly evaporated as I was jolted back to reality.

"Did he just confess to Ichinose-san?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they're dating!"

Perceiving this, I extricated myself from Honami's embrace while the students clustered around us were awestruck with their mouths agape.

"Yes, Kiyotaka and I are dating," announced Honami with a tinge of pinkness on her cheeks.

Whereas one group—mainly the girls—was incapable of digesting this information, the other group—consisting predominantly of boys—glared at me with envious and vexed eyes.

However, that was the least of my concern right now. My attention fell on the security accompanying my father out of the school.

Did he witness what just transpired? Well, even if not, it wouldn't take long for him to discover I was with Ichinose.

"It seems like you have finally grasped the warmth of a human being, Ayanokoji-kun," remarked Sakayanagi with her usual smug smirk, tapping her cane on the floor and thereby gaining my attention.

Despite the conventional smirk gracing her face, an unmistakable gleam was discernible in her eyes, indicating authentic merriment for me. Maybe, I was misinterpreting this.

"Yes, I did," I openly answered while glancing at the puzzled Ichinose and feigning ignorance to all the other students around me. Most of them were engrossed in their own wild chattering, regardless.

Even though it was only faint, I did grasp the concept of the warmth of another human.

"You taught him about human warmth?" inquired Hashimoto, who was standing beside her, furrowing his eyebrow.

"Fufu, you might say so," she snickered, covering her mouth with her hand.

Amid the chaotic scene, a sudden strident whistle almost immediately captured the attention of every student in the crowd. Once the noise stopped, the chairman commenced his speech.

"Dear students, sorry for the inconvenience. The last event, the final relay, will transpire in about twenty minutes since we need to conclude with the disruption."

Thereafter, the wild babbling recommenced while a number of students started to leave the tartan track.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that Ayanokoji-kun beat four bodyguards by himself?!"

Whoever shouted that, I did not need that.

"How did you do that?" asked Amikura from the crowd.

I hesitated to respond. It was not inaccurate to say there was no appropriate answer to the query I could provide.

"I just... did?"

Like me previously, the others failed to find adequate words to retort, and instead, they remained silent and in shock.

"He... He's him!" exclaimed someone—I think it was Sotomura—from the crowd eventually.

I am "him"? As I tried to understand what exactly he meant, a hand was gently placed on my right shoulder, and when I turned around, I detected chairman Sakayanagi.

"Ayanokoji-kun, are you hurt?" he demanded, his voice resonating with concern regarding my state of health.

"I'm fine. What about the others?"