Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

〖 Do you want to use Teleportation? 〗

Yes!

The next morning, Oreki teleported from his home to his assigned dormitory room 303 at school.

He felt drowsy. Last night, he'd had a long dream — though the details were hazy — about his life ten years in the future.

In the dream, he had married Suzune, and they had two daughters named Rinrin and Nene — names clearly derived from splitting their mother's name.

{T/N: 鈴音 (Suzune) 鈴 (rei, rin or suzu) and 音 (ne)}

He had become a househusband while Suzune had become a successful lawyer.

The absurdity of it all made Houtarou realize he was dreaming while still in the dream.

Thankfully, this wasn't a Precognitive Dream — those only occurred when accessing the system. Without any system notification, this was just an ordinary dream.

Dreams, after all, are extensions of our daily thoughts and concerns. So did dreaming of Suzune mean he cared about her?

More likely, he felt guilty about her staying up until midnight checking account statements.

Houtarou pondered this.

One scene from the dream stood out.

Suzune, preparing for a week-long business trip as a lawyer, had given him a gift — some kind of men's cup, an adult toy. She'd heard about it from Kikyō, who suggested men struggled with loneliness. The cup was meant as a substitute.

Was this really like Suzune? Though strict and proper, she did consider others' needs. She was more direct than thoughtful — perhaps marriage to her would mean being well cared for.

The dream hadn't been unpleasant at all.

Lost in these thoughts, Houtarou left his empty dorm room.

His room was on the third floor, with the girls' dormitory occupying the fourth floor and above. They shared an elevator.

After a brief wait, the elevator arrived with a ding. Inside stood two students.

One was Suzune, with her straight black hair, delicate features, and clear fox-like eyes. The other was Kikyō, the golden-haired angel who visited the other girl's door each morning, with her short golden hair, cute face, and wine-red eyes.

Several days had passed since he'd asked her to convince students from Classes C and B to join the store project — a deal that had settled at 153,000 Points for her pocket. This was their first encounter since then.

However…

"Ah... when I was drinking tea this morning, the tea leaves stood straight up. I knew something good would happen. Finally, I get to see Oreki-kun again~" Kikyō said in a cute voice, her sweet smile lighting up her face.

{T/N: A Japanese superstition where tea leaves floating vertically in a cup is considered an omen of good luck or a sign that something fortunate will happen.}

She was angelic — the kind of presence that made hearts skip beats.

"Kushida-san, your emotions seem forced." Houtarou said, glancing at Suzune, who was absorbed in her vocabulary book.

He quickly looked away. This was the trouble with dreams — when you dream about someone you barely know, especially of the opposite sex, seeing them in person afterward can trigger unexpected hormones.

Not wanting to deal with romance, he shifted his attention back to Kikyō.

Her expression seemed slightly strained, despite her cheerful demeanor.

"Really?" Kikyō blinked innocently, "I'm actually quite content these days. But—"

She inched closer to Houtarou, her signature jasmine perfume creating a pleasant atmosphere.

"Could you help me, Oreki-kun?" She gently took his right hand, gazing up at him with pleading eyes, "You see, I really want to be friends with Horikita-san, but she keeps turning me away. Even this morning, she rejected me again."

'Still at it…'

Suzune's voice cut through the moment.

"If that's how you truly feel, I don't object. But I don't consider friendships essential. I have priorities to attend to and little time for socializing." She tucked away her vocabulary book as the elevator chimed at the first floor.

As she stepped out, she turned to Houtarou.

"You still haven't paid me."

"I know." He replied, waving his phone, "It might take a while — we're waiting on the school's response for the final point tally."

"Fine." Suzune nodded and left.

Meanwhile, their silent observer had been watching intently.

Kikyō's eyes lit up with interest.

"Um, Oreki-kun, what were you two discussing? Or rather..." She tried another plaintive approach, seemingly unfazed by Suzune's earlier coldness, "Have you two started another joint project?"

The mention of collaboration reminded him of the store project he'd proposed the previous week.

The three of them had worked together on the project, with Kikyō putting in the most effort yet receiving the least compensation. Despite her limited understanding of the school's rules — and knowing that information itself was valuable — she hadn't complained about her share of the Points.

Lately, she'd grown suspicious about their Class Points being fully deducted. The sympathetic looks from their teachers were easy for her to read, given her skill with social interactions.

In Class D, she'd realized that depending on classmates was futile — she needed to accumulate Points independently.

"Aren't we friends?" She asked softly.

She clearly viewed their friendship as one of the rewards from their previous store project.

The question carried deeper implications: Despite their friendship, why was he planning something new without her? Was Suzune more important to him?

The situation had all the makings of a love triangle.

But Houtarou saw through Kikyō's facade.

He doubted she had any genuine interest in him. Her apparent closeness seemed artificial — at least until she could get closer to Suzune. Her fixation with that girl was evident. Despite constant rejection, she persisted in her attempts to connect with her.

Houtarou realized Kikyō was likely using him as a bridge to reach Suzune.

After all, she'd just witnessed their interaction — proof that he and Suzune were on speaking terms and working together.

This was exactly what Kikyō wanted for herself.

"Indeed, I am collaborating with Horikita." Houtarou said.

As he said this, a message arrived in his phone. It was from Miyabi.

| Miyabi Nagumo — Studen Council Vice President |

| Houtarou Oreki, our bet is still valid, right? Let's settle it during lunch break today! |

This meant the school had already reached their decision, and Miyabi likely had early access to this information as a Student Council member.

⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟

Indeed, he had received the news.

However, the school had made their final decision at 10 PM the previous night.

⍟⍟⍟

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