Classroom of the Elite: Crimson Usurper (Volume 4)

Chapter 2: An Infinite Variety of Wishes

"SO, did you get any more details?" Ayanokouji asked Horikita. We were in Blue Ocean Cafe currently as it was a cafe that has less people, thankfully.

"Just what you already told me. There are twelve groups, and four outcomes. Also, the school said they would send the names of the VIPs via email at 8:00 a.m. today. Any minor differences in the explanations they gave us could be attributed to differences in the way teachers communicate."

"Who's in your group? How many people do you have?"

"The list is honestly surprising. It's biased to the point where I can't imagine it's a coincidence. It's as if they purposely wanted these specific students here. Here, take a look at this."

Horikita handed over a slip of paper, looking a little depressed. She'd written this down on her own notepad and had memorized all the names. Ayanokouji took the list, and we looked it over. Her group name was Dragon.

CLASS A: Katsuragi Kouhei, Nishikawa Ryouko, Matoba Shinji, Yano Koharu

CLASS B: Andou Saya, Kanzaki Ryuuji, Tsube Hitomi

CLASS C: Oda Takumi, Suzuki Hidetoshi, Sonoda Masashi, Ryuuen Kakeru

CLASS D: Kushida Kikyou, Hirata Yousuke, Horikita Suzune

Hm. This is indeed an interesting group. Well, I guess? I mean, it's more interesting than mines so it's something. Well, anyways.

First, the Class D students, Hirata and Kushida: They were both excellent students, and representatives of our class. Excluding the fact that Horikita was far too much of a loner currently, she definitely had outstanding talents that let her stand shoulder to shoulder with the other two.

"I see. This really seems like an inevitable grouping," Ayanokouji muttered. "but something feels unnatural."

"You mean Ichinose-san being in your group, don't you? I suppose only the Class B students know if she's really excellent or not. A leader's qualities and level of excellence aren't necessarily directly proportional," said Horikita.

"Wait, are you talking about yourself?" Ayanokouji asked.

Horikita glared at Ayanokouji, in response, Ayanokouji averted his eyes.

"From what we can deduce, I wonder if there's a certain method they're using to sort us into the twelve groups? Ayanokouji-kun, your grades are very similar to Karuizawa-san's. Are they grouping us based on our scores? Oh, but Yukimura-kun has high academic ability, and so does Kouenji-kun. They're at the top of the class," said Horikita.

She was taking our midterm grades and final exams into consideration, thinking it was that.

"But there's probably a gap between me and the Professor, same as you and Hirata. There are too many details that don't fit the score theory."

"At any rate, this is probably going to be difficult. Trying to lead the group and to outmaneuver everyone, I mean."

I feel extremely left out, but I can't blame her. In any rate, I continued to listen to their conversation.

"Well, it's just about time," said Horikita.

"I'm sorry, may I say something?" I immediately talked.

She glared at me before sternly say, "What."

"I-, forget it." I see no point in telling her.

Once the clock struck 8:00, all three of our phones beeped simultaneously. We immediately checked our phones. After we'd finished reading the contents of the message at almost the exact same time, Horikita turned her phone to show me the message. Ayanokouji did the same. They compared what was on each other's phones, confirming the finer details.