Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Exhausted, Houtarou returned home and drifted into dreamland.

After encountering another angel besides Kikyō and being healed by Honami, he found himself dreaming of many angels.

In these dreams, angel-like girls kept making him repeat the hand-printing scene, with Kikyō among them.

In the dream, she held his hand. Unlike reality, she wasn't wearing her school uniform — or anything at all.

"Press it, won't you press your handprint? Press it — Handprint! After all, isn't Oreki-kun a perverted boy?"

"..."

Was he really that kind of person?

But wasn't it normal to be interested in the opposite sex at his age?

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Days passed — the second, third, fourth, and finally the fifth.

June 5th.

"I feel like Oreki-kun seems very drowsy—"

As usual, Houtarou arrived at class, sat in his seat, and took out the textbook for the next class.

The silver-white-haired girl beside him struck up her usual conversation.

Had she noticed his condition?

Three days had passed since Kikyō was kicking the railing and cursing Suzune at the artificial lake.

During these days, she acted as if nothing had happened, calling him out during lunch breaks and having him invite Suzune along. Everything seemed normal.

The only change was Suzune's increased popularity in Class D. She had shown her excellence, saved a classmate, and added Class Points.

More people tried to approach her, both boys and girls. Yet she remained the same solitary figure as always.

"Could you not disturb me while I'm reading? I study textbooks eleven hours a day. I don't want to waste study time chatting."

That's what she said.

Meanwhile, her reading material grew more diverse — she had borrowed nearly ten years' worth of XX Version 4, XX Version 5, and XX Version 6 textbooks from the library.

{T/N: XX is because it can be from any subject of the High School.}

Then she threw herself into intense studying.

This change came after Houtarou told her about the last written exam. Though the class had received their test papers, he hadn't looked at his.

In other words, despite rarely studying, he could easily achieve perfect scores.

Meanwhile, Suzune's scores were carefully controlled by him to maintain exactly 51 points in all subjects — just enough to pass safely.

After reviewing the test papers herself, she realized she would have only scored around 70 points on her own.

This made sense, given how textbooks and their core content had changed over multiple versions. Scoring 70 points was reasonable, especially since some material hadn't been covered in class.

Yet somehow, Houtarou could still achieve perfect scores under these

circumstances.

This motivated Suzune to start studying all the past textbooks, increasing her study time significantly.

Her dedication to studying was endearing in its own way.

Class D continued to be impressed by her efforts, and they were considering asking for her help with future tests.

Kikyō merely smiled at this development.

Houtarou noticed the little demon occasionally glancing at his uniform. He also realized Kikyō had been wearing the same uniform recently, rather than the one from that night.

She likely wore it during school hours, changed into casual clothes at home, washed the uniform, and wore it again the next day.

Evidently, she had kept the uniform with the alleged handprint, worried he might tell others about the incident.

How petty of her.

Though she earned Points for participating in his plan, she was quite careful with money — deleting his transfer while moving extra Points from her student ID to a Points Card.

This revealed a certain lack of foresight.

If classmates discovered she could afford new uniforms while lending them Points, they might realize she had additional income sources.

Clearly, Kikyō was struggling in her own way.

Houtarou shifted his attention to Arisu sitting nearby.

The changing weather had prompted a small addition to her school attire — a beret.

Her silver hair, like Suzune's, was beautifully styled with delicate braids, enhancing her natural charm.

The new hat only added to her appeal.

Class A certainly knew how to make an impression.

Houtarou had grown accustomed to her subtle charms, noting how she seemed to put more effort into her appearance since becoming his desk neighbor.

She certainly knew how to present her endearing side.

"Feeling sleepy?"

"Indeed." He nodded, "I get drowsy easily—"

"Sleepy? I understand that — it's like being drowsy in spring, lethargic in summer, tired in autumn, and hibernating in winter. Dreaming through all four seasons." Masayoshi, who sat two seats in front of Arisu, turned around.

But as soon as he spoke, he noticed the little princess looking at him.

He quickly turned back around.

"Actually, I haven't been sleeping well at night." Houtarou said, "I keep having dreams that startle me awake."

"You mean nightmares?" Arisu asked, "I read that lavender and sandalwood can help with sleep. The softness of your blanket and the comfort of your pillow are also important."

She offered her advice.

"I'll try that." He said, "Though I think I know the cause of my insomnia. By the way — what do you think about fingerprints?"

He consulted the person with the highest IQ in Class A.

"Do you think fingerprints can be left on clothes?"

"Clothes?" Arisu said, "In detective novels, there are descriptions and evidence related to fingerprints. But leaving them on clothes is very difficult. Fingerprints only remain on smooth surfaces. Our school uniforms don't have that basic property."

Right.

So that talk about handprints and fingerprints on clothes won't work, Kikyō.

I'll need to have a final discussion with her before she realizes this point herself and starts pestering me again.

I certainly don't want to end up like Suzune, with an incredibly cute devil girl waiting at my door at 6 AM every morning.

And having a girl waiting isn't necessarily good — she might be deliberately trying to ruin my mood every day. This needs to be addressed.

He thought to himself.

Having dreamed about Kikyō for four consecutive nights, along with subconscious fantasies about what her heart looks like, was wearing him down and seriously affecting his sleep.

This definitely needs to be dealt with.

Unnecessary things aren't worth doing, but necessary things should be done simply.

Since this is happening because of adolescence and young love, it should be handled during this period.

After thinking it through, Houtarou decided to disappoint Kikyō.

After all, while he had no memory of knowing Kei, her transfers and obedient behavior showed she was a good girl.

Besides, in his occasional dreams, he always imagined marrying Suzune after she became a lawyer.

He couldn't approach Karuizawa in this state and make such requests.

After consideration, it would be better to resolve the root of the problem.

Kikyō had always treated him as a perverted boy, using his awkwardness with girls as her advantage.

It was time to address this weakness.

After school, he went to the library to get books about fingerprints, planning to meet with Kikyō and explain everything.

He would tell her that fingerprints on clothes were completely unreliable.

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