Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Indeed. A monthly income of 100 million Points would be overwhelming for students who depend on Class Points to survive.

During the VIP Exam, classmates were thrilled to receive 250,000 Points, yet this person effortlessly obtained such amounts — and continued receiving support.

At least this meant he wouldn't need to address the situation with Maya's misunderstandings.

"I can't find any information about this wealthy senior supporter." Houtarou said, "I can't even determine their gender. On the 1st, they sent just 1 Point with a note saying they wouldn't support me anymore, so I assumed the relationship was over."

Yet now they'd sent 100 million as a birthday gift?

[How intriguing.] Kei responded, [By the way, where are you?]

"Aoyama Bookstore." Houtarou replied.

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Soon after.

"Welcome—" A cute girl with golden pigtails entered the bookstore.

Her clear eyes swept the room before she walked directly to Houtarou.

"What book are you looking for?" She asked, noticing him browsing the bookshelf.

"I don't really enjoy reading extra-curricular books." Houtarou said, "Though I browse occasionally. I mainly stick to light novels."

Oh. That explains why we see him at the library but never checking out books.

"Which light novel are you looking for?" Kei asked, "Some girls enjoy reading them too, so I should expand my knowledge in that area."

She seemed dedicated to maintaining her gyaru persona.

"Well..." Houtarou asked, "Are you happy about coming to this school?"

"Hmm... wearing a mask is exhausting, but coming here feels fortunate — not just because the past isn't held against me, but also because I got to meet you again." She said.

Her words came out hesitant and shy.

But Houtarou recognized this behavior from Maya. Now Kei was displaying the same signs.

In other words... a confession?

Uh. He'd only wanted to ask about Maya's thoughts, not receive another confession.

So only Kikyō should be making confessions — others would just cause problems.

"I probably won't date anyone while studying." Houtarou said, "Just like the light novel 'OreGairu' I'm looking for. The main character Hachiman doesn't want to fall in love either."

Oh. That must be a lie. In the end, Hachiman ends up with the rich, beautiful female lead.

"So you're here to find the final volume, right?" Kei asked.

"Pretty much." Houtarou nodded, "I read it two years ago and just remembered it should be finished by now."

Ah, that explains it. He hasn't read the ending yet, so he doesn't know Hachiman's final choice.

How frustrating. Someone who claims they won't fall in love ends up with a rich girl — completely deceiving everyone. So much for that youth romantic comedy being wrong.

Isn't this situation eerily similar?

Kei worried that if Houtarou's rich senior supporter turned out to be female, there was a good chance he'd end up dating them. The thought made her uneasy.

"By the way, do you have enough Points?" Houtarou asked, oblivious to her concerns, "My account got 100 million today — I can send you another 200,000."

He had no qualms about using other people's money since it wasn't his own.

"Let's not do that." Kei declined, "Besides, I'm a beneficiary of the VIP Exam, so the reward was 1 million Points."

After Houtarou took half, she still had 500,000 left. He'd given her another 200,000 share earlier too — though she'd lent it to friends, they'd all paid her back after the exam.

She'd only participated once in Suzune's plan for failing students. During the Sports Festival, she hadn't paid to join the group of 30 athletically challenged students.

So she really wasn't short on Points.

"Are you sure?" Houtarou asked.

From the Precognitive Dream, he knew Kei would end up unsuccessful.

He couldn't simply ignore her. If she needed financial help, he could provide that much.

After all, while working for money would be exhausting and he'd rather slack off, collecting Points at this school was easy. He was grateful it had become his personal ATM.

"Mm-hmm." Kei nodded.

Houtarou glanced again at the shelf containing volumes 1-13 of "OreGairu", but the latest final volume wasn't there.

"Too bad, looks like this bookstore doesn't have it." Houtarou sighed after checking several shelves.

Kei's attention shifted from the books as she lowered her voice, "Hey, have you noticed? A girl has looked over here five times already."

Without turning around, she spoke with certainty about "that girl's" position.

Someone had just entered, searching for Houtarou — likely following his trail.

Of course, Houtarou knew.

The observer was a striking girl with silver hair, purple eyes, and a fair complexion. Black butterfly hair clips adorned her long hair, and she wore distinctive gray stockings.

She was quite beautiful.

Her gray stockings caught his attention — unlike the usual white, black, or flesh-colored ones, the rare gray shade made her appear particularly charming.

From Masayoshi's student records, Houtarou recognized her as Class D's beauty, Hiyori Hiyori.

During the initial store plan — or rather, scam store — 36 students from Kakeru's class had participated. Only four were excluded: Mio, Albert (who Kakeru had won over), Kakeru himself, and Hiyori. According to Shiho Manabe, Hiyori had even warned others not to join.

Houtarou had marked her as intelligent then, though they'd never spoken or really crossed paths at school.

Kei still awaited his response.

"I noticed too." Houtarou said, glancing at his phone's screen.

Oh. He'd been aware all along.

Kei seemed to have other matters to attend to.

"See you later." She said simply, walking out of the bookstore.

Houtarou stayed behind, aware that Hiyori continued watching him from the corner of her eye.

Recently, when he and Honami had eavesdropped on Kakeru's class during their brainwashing session, Kakeru had branded him an enemy. With Hiyori present, Kakeru had painted him as the "Great Demon Lord Houtarou" to his classmates — perhaps explaining her current curiosity.

But was her attention more than mere curiosity? Could this be a misunderstanding?

Houtarou disliked both troublesome situations and being stalked by strangers.

With a sigh, he looked at the bookshelf, raised both hands, and called over a store clerk.

"Do you have the final volume of 'OreGairu'?"

"Let me check." The clerk said, consulting the computer at the service counter. "It's sold out, but we can take a pre-order."

"How long would it take at the earliest?"

"Three days."

"I see... guess I'll have to borrow it from the library then." Houtarou said with disappointment, mostly to himself.

He turned and headed toward the library.

When he glanced back at the store entrance, no one was there.

He continued walking forward, while Hiyori held back, not daring to follow.

This was her first attempt at following someone. She felt nervous about being discovered.

Still, she had managed to track his movements.

Following Houtarou wasn't actually her assignment — Kakeru had simply portrayed him as the Great Demon Lord, making her doubt their class's chances of reaching Class A if they had to defeat him.

She was merely gathering intelligence.

Through the girls' network, she knew about his recent confession from a Class C girl and his connection with Class C's beauty, Kei Karuizawa.

She'd also noticed his frequent meetings with Class C's Suzune Horikita.

Why did he always meet with Class C girls when Class A had their own beauties?

Though Hiyori had to admit that Class C was extraordinary in its abundance of beautiful girls.

Having confirmed his route, she prepared to intercept him at the library.

What she didn't know was that after leaving the bookstore, he had taken a shortcut back to the dorms. She waited until closing time, but he never appeared.

When they next met, Hiyori updated his nickname from the 'Great Demon Lord Houtarou' and the 'Money-Taking Houtarou' to 'Houtarou the Ghost'.

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After leaving the library, Houtarou returned to the dorms.

He took the elevator, passed the boys' dorm, and arrived at the girls' dorm area. There, he crouched down, moved aside a succulent plant by the door, and found a key card.

Beep!

The door opened with a gentle swipe.

Arisu had been quite bold in lending him her key card.

She'd explained that she hadn't expected him so late, as she had to make her usual visit to her father. Still, she'd left the key card by the door.

Due to her poor health, she attended this school primarily so her father could monitor her condition. He needed regular health updates, but his busy schedule meant Arisu often visited his office alone.

As Houtarou opened the door, light from outside streamed into the dark room. An orange cat padded over to his feet, stretched lazily with its front paws gripping the floor and head raised.

This was his cat, Haruki.

Despite being in Arisu's care, the cat hadn't forgotten its original owner. When Houtarou bent down to pat its head, it immediately flopped over in submission.

"Oh my, what a coincidence, you're already here."

A cute girl's voice came from behind — Arisu had returned.

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