Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Houtarou began the listening test.

Sae, like the teachers of the other three classes, knew that students had already seen through the core of this exam and had prepared their answers. The test papers had been leaked early, allowing students to memorize them in advance.

But as the proctor, she walked from the podium to the back and stood by the window.

Next to her were the seats of two Class A students. Houtarou was on the left, and Arisu on the right. Beyond them was Kōhei.

Of course, these were Class A's representatives. As a homeroom teacher of another class, she knew this.

However, Houtarou's behavior was different from the other students. When she came down from the podium just now, most students had already filled in the listening section.

Since the listening hadn't started yet, filling in answers in advance meant they were directly writing memorized answers.

But Houtarou hadn't. During the listening test, he casually wrote his answers. This probably meant it was too easy for him, and he didn't need special preparation. Perhaps he hadn't spent time memorizing the questions at all.

Sae: "..."

Since she was now in Class A, and these were Class A students, she admitted defeat.

She was wearing high heels today, and walking around would make noise and disturb the students, so she stood still after coming down from the podium.

However…

"..." Houtarou was doing the exam while daydreaming a bit.

This wasn't very efficient. Why was Sae standing at his right side?

Moreover, his left hand was supporting his chin, and her standing position was quite unique.

From his angle, he could see her black stockings. Though these might also be pantyhose, like what Suzune wore.

And Sae was taller than Suzune, meaning her legs were even more slender. From the thighs down to the ankles, they were partially covered by high heels, but the visible parts were beautiful.

If he were a pervert, he might want to be stepped on.

Houtarou: "…?"

Paying so much attention to someone's feet — wasn't that like being a pervert?

Indeed. He should probably watch fewer of Makoto Shinkai's animations in the future to avoid being influenced and becoming weird.

So, Houtarou collected his focus and put it on the test paper.

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August 27th and 28th were exam days.

Eight subjects in total. Since students had already obtained the exam papers and answers, despite the school giving 90 minutes for each subject, most finished in just 10 minutes.

Now, it was the last subject, Physics. Students had all submitted their papers 30 minutes after the exam started.

"The exam is over. Results will be announced on the 31st." Sae announced from the podium as the proctor.

It was a strange feeling — she was Class C's teacher but now in Class A's classroom.

However…

"The results of this exam will be sent to your phones at 8 AM on the 31st. Also, there will be no more classes from today until September 30th. Class Points will be updated on September 1st.

During summer vacation, the school will continue to deposit your monthly living expenses as usual. There will be no additional special exams during the vacation.

Please be at the gymnasium by 7:50 AM on October 1st for the opening ceremony. That's all I need to inform you."

This was her official announcement, signaling that the final exams were over, and...

Summer vacation had arrived.

Tap, Tap, Tap—

As Sae left in her flat shoes, the Class A students breathed a sigh of relief.

"Does this mean we've safely and perfectly made it through this semester?" Kōhei said.

As Class A students, they were under a lot of pressure to demonstrate Class A's excellence.

But with vacation starting, they didn't need to be so careful and could rest to their heart's content. Whether it was slacking off during the break, sleeping in, or being a homebody, everything was allowed.

"It would be nice if we could work part-time jobs at school." A Class A student said.

Yeah. That was very high school student-like.

With vacation starting but still confined to school, they wanted something to do. They also knew that in the VIP Exam, after Kōhei returned, the points earned at this school would be exchanged for money at graduation according to a certain ratio.

So the points accumulated at school now could be converted to cash in the future. That was a good thing. If they could work part-time to earn money, wouldn't that be even better?

Unfortunately, when Houtarou first enrolled, he applied to the school to purchase the right to work part-time. The school refused and offered compensation instead.

Still... as high school students, they naturally wanted to work part-time and earn money.

"By the way, Oreki, do you have any plans?" Arisu asked.

When Sae left with the test papers, it officially marked the beginning of vacation.

Arisu took out her astrology book from her drawer. This wasn't the one from the school library; it was one she had purchased herself from a bookstore.

She didn't like borrowing; she preferred owning things.

"Summer vacation, huh…" Houtarou pondered for a moment, "It would be nice if we could leave the school."

Although he was normally a day student, now that vacation had started, it was safer to stay at school.

"Leave the school?" Kōhei looked over, "Speaking of which, Sakayanagi. During the VIP Exam, you were able to contact Houtarou. Did you have to pay a price for that?"

He remembered that Arisu had deduced the pattern of the VIP Exam.

"Yes." She replied, "As long as you spend points, you can buy anything at this school. At that time, I needed to spend 10,000 points just to go to the school gate once. I also inquired about the cost of leaving the school — it's 1 million per day.

Does Katsuragi have some urgent business outside the school?"

Oh. Then it's fine.

Although Kōhei had his own faction, his family wasn't wealthy, and he lived with his younger sister.

As a Class A student who wanted to graduate with Class A status, he hoped to provide economic support for his sister's future and improve her life.

But spending 1 million points like that would be painful.

Moreover, since enrollment, his personal points weren't abundant. He had previously spent 1 million to buy a Student Council position from Houtarou. He had just managed to pay that off, with only 200,000+ points remaining.

"What about sending items out?" Kōhei inquired, "How much does that cost?"

His sister's birthday was September 15th, and he wanted to send her a gift.

"You'll have to consult the Student Council President about that." Arisu said, "I've heard that during vacations, students can apply to talk with their families and send out items."

"I understand." Kōhei nodded.

He planned to visit the Student Council later. Although he was a member, he hadn't paid attention to these matters.

Dismissing Kōhei, Arisu turned her attention back to Houtarou.

"Oreki, how do you plan to spend this summer vacation?"

"I'll probably just spend it normally." Houtarou said, "But when I mentioned leaving school earlier, you seemed quite interested."

"Well." Arisu said, "I do have a reason for wanting to leave. I'd like to see the ocean again."

The ocean, huh. With her physical condition, perhaps she was drawn to such magnificent scenery.

Though if the sunlight was too strong, she probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

"However…" Arisu continued, "The reason I like the ocean is partly because I used to only see it in videos or pictures. But before coming to this high school, I visited once.

I was wearing a hat my mother gave me. It was the first time I could walk on the beach. It gave me quite a peaceful feeling.

But I overestimated myself. While walking, my mother's hat flew away, and when I tried to retrieve it, I wandered quite a distance alone. Because of this, I nearly suffered from heat stroke. My consciousness became hazy.

Then, in a daze, I woke up to find myself carried to a shaded bench. Someone wiped my forehead with a wet handkerchief and left after waiting for me to wake up. That person concealed their good deed.

I've kept that handkerchief all this time. But I'd really like to meet that person again."

Saying this, Arisu turned to look at him. Then she took out a blue handkerchief preserved in a white sealed bag from her schoolbag.

"Oreki, do you recognize this handkerchief?" She asked.

Recognize it?

Houtarou: "..."

Alright. Don't say any more.

He had been wondering why his relationship with Arisu had seemed so good since enrollment.

Or rather, her fondness for him... seemed quite high.

The reason was they had met in the past. And he recognized that this handkerchief was indeed his.

But he had no memory of going to the beach. This likely meant it was similar to his situation with Kei — perhaps he had acquired a new superpower: time travel. He had made contact with them in a timeline he couldn't remember.

For some reason, only they retained memories of these encounters, while he had none.

In the Precognitive Dream, Arisu would choose to openly date him in the second year, then get pregnant and drop out. Such a development would require a high level of intimacy, wouldn't it?

So originally, building up affection would have been necessary. After all, not everyone had as many scandals as Kikyō that could be leveraged for quick control.

Eh. So who is the true love... Life is hard...

Houtarou sighed. As he was pondering this—

Ding!

Houtarou's phone chimed with a message.

"I think I now have plans for my summer vacation." He said.

"Hmm?" Arisu blinked.

On Houtarou's phone was a message from Airi.

| Airi Sakura |

| Oreki, can you be my model? |

| During summer vacation, I want to practice my skills. |

"..."

Airi had been revealed to be a stunningly beautiful girl during the island exam, with looks that rivaled Suzune's. Arisu even considered her Houtarou's "pet".

Masumi had also discovered that the girl used to be an idol. She was also a talented photographer who had taken photos of Houtarou on the ship.

In other words... she had developed a fondness for photography and now wanted to take more pictures of Houtarou during summer vacation?

"Isn't that great?" Arisu said, "Say yes to her. I think you're quite photogenic. Leaning against the railing with the ocean in the background makes for a very photogenic shot."

"...??"

That description was familiar to Houtarou. Wasn't this exactly the scene when Airi took his photo on the ship?

And generally, describing it so precisely meant she had seen or kept the photo.

"Then this photo..." Houtarou tentatively inquired.

"Kushida sent it to me." Masumi said from the seat behind.

Oh. Kikyō... She could definitely obtain photos from Airi.

At the same time, Masumi and Kikyō were friends. Even though Kikyō had called Masumi a "dog" before, they still associated with each other.

So this was how they bonded? By trading his photos?!

Kikyō! Not just the third-year senpais, now you're also distributing his photos to first-years?

Then, Houtarou suddenly went quiet.

Because… just how were they all using his photos in private?!

He was curious, but didn't dare to know.

⍟⍟⍟

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