If you have seen this story on Wattpad, it's because I am RainSennin there, lol.

Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own Classroom of the Elite but if I did, there will be MAJOR CHANGES.

After the entrance ceremony ended (which was mainly the chairman and the principal explaining a brief history of the school as well as the basic rules and regulations), Kiyotaka decided to head back to the dorms for an early rest, because he desperately needed one after everything that's happened today. Thankfully, he didn't get any notifications nor a 'heroine summary', which must be the system letting him rest for a while until it decides to make him suffer again…

However, he knew that he still needed to eat something for dinner later on, so Kiyotaka decided to take a detour at the convenience store to buy some instant ramen. Just something quick and easy to prepare for dinner, so that he can have an early sleep as well. He could always handle this tomorrow or some other day.

After picking out three packets of instant ramen, Kiyotaka headed to the counter, where he placed his basket of goods at the same time as someone else. He turned to look at the person who was beside him, who just happened to be his black-haired neighbor as well as his second 'heroine'.

"Horikita."

"Ayanokouji-kun."

He looked at the basket she carried with her, and noticed it was filled with a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, face wash, powder, and pretty much everything else that a teenage girl needed in her everyday life.

"Are you picking out essentials?" he asked, taking notice of the items that she picked out.

"That's right. I wanted to do this right away so I wouldn't have anything to worry about until a few weeks at least," she answered, before looking at the items he was going to purchase in return. "What about you? Are you doing the same?"

Kiyotaka sighed. "I'd love to do the same but unfortunately, I am in need of an early rest today. Perhaps I'll do this tomorrow instead."

"After what he did to comfort me after seeing Nii-sama earlier… I can understand why he feels tired now," Suzune thought to herself, feeling guilty for her friend's current condition. She berated herself for still feeling emotionally weak around her brother until now because if she wasn't, then there would have been no need for Kiyotaka to do what he did for her. "I should return the favor to make it up to him. Spending a few points to buy him something shouldn't hurt."

Making up her mind, Suzune turned to her seatmate and took a deep breath.

"Ayanokouji-kun, would you like to-"

"Hold that thought. Something's happening outside," he interrupted her before she could complete her sentence. Although Suzune felt annoyed that he just told her to shut up out of nowhere, she looked at the store's front door, where they could see one of their classmates arguing with three other people.

Sudo Ken, who was the red-haired boy with a short temper that refused to introduce himself earlier in class, found himself in an unfavorable situation at the moment.

He found himself face-to-face against three upperclassmen, who all bore smug looks on their faces as if they had found a new source of entertainment and Sudo didn't like that one bit.

"If you three don't stop messing around with me, then I'll personally make sure you learn not to mess with me!" he warned the three other students, who all laughed at his attempt to look and sound intimidating.

"Oooh, we're totally scared! Oh, hold me, guys!"

"You're gonna teach us a lesson? You and what army, dude?"

"Maybe you should just listen to us. This ain't your spot, it's ours. Now go home to your dorm before we do something that we'll regret."

The red-haired teen clenched his fists. Who the hell did these guys think they were? Just because they've been here for a year longer than him, they think they can claim ownership of a place that didn't even belong to them in the first place? It was just ridiculous.

"I can stand wherever I want, you punks! Come on, bring it!"

"You asked for it!" the one in the middle grinned as they cracked their knuckles.

"Senpai, would you mind explaining what is going on here?"

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to do anything else as a voice cut through the tension between them like it was a knife.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka walked out of the convenience store with a calm look on his face, before staring at both Sudo and the three other students.

Remembering Kiyotaka's face from earlier, Sudo quickly tried to tell him to get out of here since this didn't involve him. "Oi, stay out of this-"

"May I ask what's your problem with my classmate, senpai?" Kiyotaka interrupted him, as he turned towards the upperclassmen for an answer.

"Well, this punk was standing at our spot so we told him to piss off," one of them scoffed.

"Yeah, no one hangs out here other than us!"

"But the guy wasn't listening!

Unsurprisingly, Sudo quickly let his anger get the better of him after hearing their excuses.

"Bastards. Do you think I'll lie down and kneel to you just because you're a bunch of second-years?"

Kiyotaka stepped forward and threw his left arm out, stopping Sudo from advancing any further. Because of this, the red-haired teen shifted his anger towards him, but Kiyotaka remained calm and continued to stare at the three students who were being a bother.

"Is that so? I suppose I'll take this up with one of the teachers, then. This school doesn't take bullying very lightly, if I recall. You three are clearly bullying my classmate, and I can't let that happen any further."

"Hah! Good luck trying to convince them when you don't even have any proof!"

"Oh, I can convince them easily."

Much to Sudo's surprise and to the horror of the three bullies, Ayanokouji-kun pulled out his phone from his pocket and played a recording, which was the conversation that just transpired between the two parties, particularly how the three were trying to provoke his classmate into fighting them.

"Damn it…"

"We're so dead…"

"You better delete that right now, or we'll-"

"If you don't want me to release this recording, I suggest staying away from my classmate and the rest of us, senpai. If you even try to do this again, I will send this recording to the teachers. Since you are upperclassmen, you must know what happens to those students who get caught bullying other students, right?" Kiyotaka warned them, ignoring their empty threats because they had no way out now.

His threat was enough to strike fear into those three students, so much it made them run away without looking back.

With the three gone, Sudo turned his attention towards Kiyotaka. A mixture of embarrassment and anger was on his face, most likely from having to be saved by his classmate from something bad as well as the fact that Kiyotaka intervened in something that didn't even involve him.

"Oi, what the hell was that about?! I could have handled that on my own!"

Kiyotaka gave him an unamused look. "You were clearly giving in to what they wanted."

"What?!"

"If I didn't step in, you would have been in a fight with them and in the case that a teacher sees you, you would have been punished. Surely, you don't want to experience your first day in this school with a punishment, right?"

"I would have told them that those three jackasses started it!"

"Any teacher wouldn't believe your words that easily. They would need concrete proof of what really happened, and that's exactly what I did," he explained calmly. "Now I have leverage against them if they try something again."

Sudo tried to say something to defend himself, but couldn't find the right words to do so. Deep down, he knew that Kiyotaka was right. He was almost baited into giving those upperclassmen what they wanted, and he had no one to blame for it but himself.

"Y-You're right…" he sighed in defeat, directing his anger towards himself instead. "I'm a dumbass. I should have been smarter about the whole thing."

"I don't think you are. You just have to control your temper and learn not to give in to your anger easily. Earlier during class, you were just being asked to introduce yourself. You could have refused politely. There was no need to lose your cool in front of your classmates. They'll have a poor opinion of you if you keep on doing that."

"I guess I have to work on my attitude, then…" Sudo smiled nervously while scratching the back of his head. "You're Ayanokouji, right?"

Kiyotaka nodded. "That's right. And you are…?"

"Sudo Ken," the red-haired teen then threw out his hand for a handshake."Thanks for the assist with those guys."

"No problem," Kiyotaka accepted the gesture and the two shook hands for a few seconds. "Are you heading back to the dorms?"

Sudo shook his head slowly. "Nah. I think I'll walk around a bit before calling it a day. Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble this time. See ya tomorrow, Ayanokouji."

As Sudo left, Suzune walked up towards Kiyotaka and handed him his plastic bag that had the goods he purchased from the store. Before he went off to help Sudo, Kiyotaka told the girl to hold his purchases for a while after paying for them at the counter. Suzune only agreed and after paying for the items she picked, she watched the whole interaction from nearby while concealing her presence from them.

"That was an ingenious way of handling those three students," she remarked, complimenting the way Kiyotaka dealt with those upperclassmen without instigating a fight. "I'm impressed."

"You flatter me. I simply utilized the rules of this school and used it against them," he waved off words, although it was nice to hear them from a person like Horikita. "We better get a move on."

And the two began to walk. Things were quiet between them at first, but Suzune was feeling tempted to continue what she was about to say earlier, before getting interrupted.

Right now was her chance. They could still take a detour before reaching the dorms, and she would treat him to a quick snack to repay him for what he did. Kiyotaka liked ice cream, right? She could buy him a cone or two and then they can continue on their way. All she had to do was ask him…

"Ayanokouji-kun, do you want to—

"Hiya, Ayanokouji-kun~!"

Suzune clenched her fist in frustration upon hearing someone interrupt her. This was the second time she got interrupted before she could even ask him! Was the universe playing with her or something?!

It wasn't Kiyotaka who interrupted her this time, though.

Both teenagers turned their heads to the source of that voice, as they saw a familiar face approach them, a girl with short beige hair and crimson eyes who happened to be their classmate.

"What are you doing here, Kushida?" asked Kiyotaka, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Kikyo clapped her hands together and smiled cutely. "I wanted to head back to the dorms with you. You're going there, right?"

"I am. Is that all?"

"Oh, I have another reason!" she walked closer towards him as her smile widened. "Since you said that you're not good at making friends, then I'll be your friend!"

"You didn't have to say it out loud like that… although I wonder if she's being genuine. She can fake her emotions easily, so I shouldn't be surprised if she's just making this up. But then again, she's supposedly one of my 'Heroines', and I can't deny that she's cute…" Kiyotaka had a mental war in his mind between being cautious and accepting for a few moments, before letting out a sigh."You can come along with us, I guess…"

Kiyotaka failed to notice the frown that Suzune was sending him after uttering his answer, because he was more focused on the notification that appeared in front of him.

[You gained 5 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]

"I've been gaining 'Affection Points' faster with her than with Horikita…" he thought. "I believe Nanase is still higher than her, but I suppose that's because we've already known each other even before I got this weird power, while I've only met Kushida today."

"Really?!" Kikyo smiled brightly, which only made her even cuter than before. "Come on, let's go! We can talk about a lot of things on the way there." She then grabbed Kiyotaka's wrist and was about to pull him along with her, when Suzune's voice immediately stopped her in her tracks.

"Kushida-san, would you please calm down? I was having a perfectly normal conversation with Ayanokouji-kun before you happened to interrupt us."

"What are you talking about? We weren't—" the young man tried to speak, but was quickly silenced by the scowl that Suzune sent him. "What is she angry about?" he asked himself in confusion.

Kikyo turned to Suzune and bore a confused look. "But Horikita-san, I was just trying to be a good friend to Ayanokouji-kun. There's nothing wrong with that, right? I'm sorry if I interrupted you two, but we could talk about it together on the way to the dorms!"

Suzune would never say these next words in front of other people but right now, she was too frustrated to even care. "As far as I'm concerned, he only allowed you to accompany us on the way to the dorms. I don't think he said anything about accepting you as a friend."

Ouch.

Even Kiyotaka winced as Suzune said those words. He even felt bad for Kikyo, despite knowing what she was like under that mask she was putting up.

"E-Eh? W-Why are you speaking for Ayanokouji-kun as if you know what he's thinking? Are you perhaps his girlfriend or something, Horikita-san?" Kikyo replied, the smile on her face straining a little as the girl struggled to keep her inner emotions in check. "That bitch! How dare she say that to me?! I'll show her!"

"I am not," she said firmly. "I am only basing my words on what I see and hear, and I don't believe he acknowledged you as his friend."

"Oh, and are you saying that you can make Ayanokouji-kun's decisions for him?" Kikyo giggled.

Kiyotaka was beginning to sweat out of nervousness from what he was witnessing between the two. "This is bad… Kushida supposedly hates Horikita for knowing something about her, and she's using this argument to relay what she really feels. On the other hand, I think Horikita's getting jealous because Kushida just showed up out of nowhere. She's jealous, right? She wouldn't say those things if she wasn't."

Okay, he obviously has to stop these two from arguing any further, but how exactly? Okay, he could stop Sudo from being an idiot and picking a fight with other students, but this was completely different. He couldn't take advantage of anything here and to make matters worse, these two were both 'heroines'. One wrong word and he could screw things up.

Darn it, what was he supposed to do?!

[TOKI WO TOMARE!]

"What the hell…"

Fortunately for him, the young man was saved from having to think about what to say to them because the 'time freeze' mechanic of the system kicked in, and the world around the young man lost its color. The

A. [Would you both keep it down? Otherwise, I'll just walk on my own and leave the both of you here.]

B. [Why don't we all just get along and walk together to the dorms? We all have the same destination, anyway.]

C. [Girls, please, please. There's no need to fight over me because I belong to everyone. You are even free to share me if you are willing to.]

"I don't know what that earlier notification was about but anyway, how nice of the system to lend me a hand for this problem," Kiyotaka thought, feeling confused with that 'toki wo tomare' notification before shrugging it off and focusing on his choices. Must be a reference or it's just the system messing with him again.

Alright, the first choice was obviously out of the question because it was plain rude and would likely end up doing more harm than good. The second choice was a plausible one to calm the two girls down, but Kiyotaka had a feeling that even if he says it, the two won't stop and will continue to argue… which leaves the third option… again.

"Why can't there be four options instead…? One that doesn't involve an embarrassing answer, preferably…" he sighed and covered his face with his hand. "I'm going to regret this, but if it means getting to the dorms as soon as possible so I could sleep already, then whatever."

With a clear frown on his face, the young man picked Option C as the world returned to normal, especially the two girls.

"Horikita-san, if you have a problem with me, then you could just say it. How will we resolve this if you don't tell me what's wrong?" Kikyo asked, continuing to put up a fake smile that was about to shatter at any second.

"I have no problem with you. All I'm saying is that you should be mindful of your limits and to be careful not to overstop your boundaries. Ayanokouji-kun said that you can come with us, that doesn't give you the power to drag him wherever you wish," Suzune shot back while hiding the real reason why she was pissed.

The sound of Kiyotaka clearing his throat made both girls stop in their seemingly endless argument as they turned to him.

"Girls, please, please. There's no need to fight over me because I belong to everyone. You are even free to share me if you are willing to," he spoke while flashing them an alluring smirk.

It proved to be very effective in shutting them up, as well as making their faces turn red in the process.

[You gained 5 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]

[You gained 2 Affection Points with Horikita Suzune!]

[You silenced two arguing Heroines by smooth-talking them! You gained 1 in Charm!]

"I expected that to happen," Kiyotaka shook his head and sighed. "But it still makes me wonder why I've been gaining 'Affection Points' with Kushida so quickly. Does she actually like me or something?"

The two continued to stare at him dumbfoundedly even after Kiyotaka regained control of his body, to the point that he was starting to think that he actually made the wrong choice instead.

"Uh… I was just kidding?" he tried to say in an attempt to fix things before it's too late.

…and it was.

"Will it still be freedom if I kill myself? Seriously," the young man deadpanned in his mind, the apathetic look on his face gone and replaced by an annoyed expression instead.

Never in his life had he felt this frustrated and angry before, and he hated that man above everything else. In fact, if there was a gun somewhere around here, he was tempted to put a bullet in his own head if it meant putting a stop to this mess.

The reason why Kiyotaka was feeling angry was the two girls who were holding each of his arms like it belonged to them. No, no, it's not because of the girls themselves. It's because the stupid superpower he had led them to be like this.

On the brighter side of things, it did manage to quell the girls' anger and got them to stop arguing, only at the cost of them grabbing his arm like they were his girlfriends...

As they walked, Kushida began asking Ayanokouji a multitude of questions, ranging from 'which school did you come from' to more personal ones like 'do you have any siblings'. The young man answered her questions to the best that he could, but left some as vague because there are things about him that she must not know about.

Even though she was annoyed by Kushida's loud voice taking over the whole time, Horikita still listened with great interest to the questions that he answered, as it was also a way for her to get to know him better.

As they neared the dorm buildings, Kikyo let out an audible sigh. "I wonder why we can't be neighbors in dorm rooms… that way, we'd see each other more often and we can even walk to class together!"

Kiyotaka only shook his head. "Kushida, that should be obvious. I'm a guy, and you're a girl. We aren't supposed to live in the same dorm building."

"I know… but, it's not like other boys will think of going into a girl's dorm room, right? Plus, I'm sure there will be cameras that can record what happens in the hallways. Boys wouldn't even think of sneaking into a girl's room because it would be bad if they get caught!" Kikyo argued, which surprised even herself.

"I don't know why, but I want to be closer to Ayanokouji-kun…" the girl thought as she realized something. "Wait, if I can get him on my side, then I can expel Horikita for good! It's totally obvious that she likes him, which is mind-blowing to think about, but it will only make expelling her more satisfying! I can only imagine the look on her face when she sees that Ayanokouji helped in her expulsion!"

The more Kikyo thought about it, the more she liked it.

"Kushida-san, can you please give it a rest? Ayanokouji-kun said it himself. Boys and girls aren't allowed to live in the same building. Perhaps there are dormitories that offer a co-ed arrangement for its inhabitants, but our school does no such thing."

Kikyo resisted the urge to growl at her in anger. "Fine…" she sighed as she thought of a way to get closer to the young man with her.

Kiyotaka sighed in relief.

Finally, some peace and quiet. They were getting close to the dorms as well. Just a bit more, and he'll be able to take a rest from this day that served to tire him out to the absolute limit!

['To Protect Her Smile' has been Activated!]

…what?

For a moment, Kiyotaka's apathetic expression fell apart completely and was replaced with a look of shock.

"What the—" Kiyotaka's eyes went wide as he read the notification, because he knew what this skill was capable of doing and it wasn't good. "How the hell did it activate? These girls couldn't have been feeling sad."

The sound of a nearby megaphone pole turning on caught the three students' attention, making them stop in their tracks so they could listen to what was about to be announced.

"Attention, all students. Please check your phones for a very important message. I repeat, all students, please check your phones for a very important message."

While they were confused, Suzune and Kikyo did as they were told and turned on their phones. Meanwhile, Kiyotaka was already thinking of a hundred possible scenarios in which this could go, because this was definitely linked to that broken skill he possessed.

"I wonder what it's about," Suzune commented.

The three had received a video message sent to them by the school admin, which they played at the same time.

The video had opened with the school chairman standing in the middle of his office with a gentle smile on his face.

"Forgive me for this sudden interruption, dear students, but I forgot to mention this during the entrance ceremony earlier. This is very important, especially for this year's freshmen, so listen carefully. For the first time in the history of our school, the administration has decided to implement a co-ed dormitory arrangement for the students!"

Suzune's eyes widened in shock at the sudden announcement, as she wondered how exactly did the chairman forget such an important matter at the entrance ceremony. Kikyo was on the same boat, before a smile took over her features as she realized that she could now put her plan in motion. Kind of out of nowhere, but hey, it works in her favor.

Kiyotaka felt a mixture of both amazement and distress; amazement because he was seeing this particular skill manipulating reality itself like it was nothing, and distress because he knew that the reason this was happening is because one of 'heroines' was feeling sad, which was likely Kikyo. She was talking about dorm neighbors earlier, after all!

"For those who are unfamiliar with the term, it simply means that both boys and girls will live in the same dorm building from now on. That being said, we expect all of you to follow basic rules even with this arrangement. That means that everyone will respect each other's boundaries, no matter what, for there will be severe punishment for those who choose to test our patience," the chairman warned, which was scarier than intended because of the eerie smile on his face.

"Well, would you look at that? Looks like it is possible for us to be neighbors, Ayanokouji-kun!" commented Kushida while sending a subtle smirk at the person whom she hated. Oh, she was now hoping that they would really end up as neighbors now, just so she could see the look on Horikita's face when she sees it.

"Indeed…" muttered Horikita.

"The system's going to make it so that the two of us are neighbors, isn't it?" the young man asked in his mind, looking at Kikyo. He could already see it happening from a mile away. "The skill's description says that it will manipulate reality for the sake of a heroine's happiness and if it will make Kushida happy, then the system will make us neighbors."

Seriously, he just wanted to rest! Why can't the system stop giving him headaches at every turn?! The worst part about this is that it was only his first day with this power, and there's THREE years of him being in this school. He had already 'unlocked' two heroine routes and if Chabashira herself wasn't enough of a warning that Horikita and Kushida won't be the only ones he'll be romancing, then his other classmates are the solid proof.

He could already tell that the system was just waiting for the right time to slap him in the face with another '(INSERT NAME) Route has been Unlocked!' notification.

And then there's also Nanase back home with Matsuo… who was planning to go here in a year's time… and she also happened to be a heroine as well.

"However, I regret to inform you that this change will only apply for this year's freshmen, so the second-years and third-years will have to stick to the same arrangement until they graduate. From this year going forward, a co-ed dormitory will be the living arrangements for our students, That is all. I thank you for taking the time to listen."

As the video message ended, the young man with a 'dating simulator' power fell to his knees, which is something that you would never see Ayanokouji Kiyotaka do in a lifetime, especially the words that would come out of his mouth next.

"I give up," Kiyotaka mumbled quietly, surrendering to his fate.

As both Suzune and Kikyo knelt down to his level with worried looks on their faces, Kiyotaka bore an expression that showed he was dead inside. Even if he was a highly dangerous and capable individual who survived the horrors of the White Room, there's only so much that a teenager like him can handle. Plus, he wasn't exactly facing off against a person or someone whom he can defeat with wit alone.

Perhaps he should just stop being annoyed and instead, embrace this messed-up superpower for what it is. Maybe the system might become merciful towards him if he does that…

Still, how embarrassing for the so-called 'masterpiece'. If his father could see him now, then he would be the one to commit suicide instead.

"Woooow… I still can't believe it! We're actually neighbors, Ayanokouji-kun!"

A big smile could be seen on Kikyo's face as she skipped through the hallway of the 4th floor, marveling at how clean and beautiful the place looked. Behind her were Kiyotaka and Suzune, who weren't affected much by the sudden change in living arrangements for the students, although the girl did feel a bit embarrassed about where exactly her dorm room was located.

In Kiyotaka's case, he wasn't surprised which unit he ended up in.

Upon reaching the dorm buildings and getting their keys from the registrar at the lobby, the three students realized that they would be living next to each other by simply looking at their room keys. By that, it's actually Kiyotaka's unit being in the middle of the two girls' dorm rooms.

Yep, he was officially living between two girls who were about to strangle each other earlier. If that's not a recipe for disaster, then he didn't know what is.

As the three reached their individual dorm units, Kushida walked up towards the young man with a cute smile on her face. "Come on, Ayanokouji-kun, aren't you excited about being neighbors with me?" she asked.

"Kushida-san, would you please stop bothering him already? Ayanokouji-kun has had a long day, and the reason why he wanted to head to the dorms early is because he wants to rest," Suzune said firmly, scolding the girl for continuing to act bubbly and energetic around Kiyotaka. Can't she see that he was looking tired?

"Thanks for that," he thanked Suzune for speaking up on his behalf, before turning to their other companion who looked troubled because she did something wrong. "Kushida, I don't mean any offense, but I just want to go inside my room and rest for maybe a few hours. I feel exhausted from everything that happened today."

"O-Oh, it's fine…" she replied, before looking apologetic. She didn't mean to put on an annoying act, she was only trying to be a good friend. "I'm sorry if it seems like I'm annoying you, Ayanokouji-kun…"

"You're not annoying me, so don't worry about it," he waved off her apology. It's not Kushida's fault that he felt exhausted, anyway. "Besides, you yourself said it earlier. Now that we are neighbors, we can walk to school together, right?"

Kiyotaka had no idea if he was saying the right thing, but based on the responses that he gave to this girl thus far, she can be easily swayed by kind words and according to her summary, she loves getting praised by other people as well.

[You gained 2 Affection Points with Kushida Kikyo!]

"Yeah! That'll be really fun! I'll wait for you tomorrow then!" Kikyo clapped her hands together and chuckled, before opening the door to her unit. She secretly sent a smug look towards Suzune. "This is going well… oh, I can't wait to see the look on her face when she realizes it!"

With Kikyo gone, the brown-haired teen towards his other companion, who was already

"See you tomorrow, Ayanokouji-kun." Suzune's words were quick and direct, as she opened the door to her unit and walked inside. She closed the door afterwards, but not before seeing Kiyotaka sending her a nod of acknowledgement. Now that she was alone, her mind was taking a different direction after listening to her two classmates. "I will make sure to wake up early tomorrow like them."

With Suzune gone as well, this left Kiyotaka as the only one left in the hallway. He quickly brought out his own key and unlocked the door to his unit. "Finally… I can lie down in bed and sleep for the rest of the day," he said in his mind, as an overwhelming wave of relief filled his entire being.

"Who would have thought that this would be the place where we'll finally meet?" a female voice spoke from behind him, making him stop

"...or not."

Instead of feeling annoyed, Kiyotaka only sighed and decided to deal with this as fast as possible. It's just one more girl, right? He just has to smooth-talk her, 'unlock' her route and make her a heroine, then end the conversation as soon as he can. And then he can FINALLY get some rest.

"Who are you?" he asked, pocketing his key but not turning around to face this stranger… yet.

"Fufu, I'm not surprised that you don't know me, but it's been 8 years since the day I've laid my eyes on you for the first time and I must say, seeing you in person is nothing like seeing you through glass."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in slight suspicion before turning around.

Standing outside of the room that was opposite to his was a small, petite girl with lilac-colored hair and violet eyes. She was wearing the standard female school uniform, along with a black beret and white stockings with garterbelts. She also had a cane in her hand. Despite her small stature, there was something about her presence that made her stand out compared to other students, including Suzune and Kikyo.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, also known as the 'Masterpiece'," the girl smirked as she did a curtsy. "I'm Sakayanagi Arisu. You could say that I'm a big fan of yours~"

Almost immediately, Kiyotaka's eyes flew in all directions, checking to see if they were alone out here in the hallway. Once he was sure that there was nobody around except for them, he turned his attention back to the girl and walked closer towards her.

"If you know who I am, then you know that you should be careful of what you're saying," he also took notice of her family name that he heard before. "Are you somehow related to the chairman?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Believe it or not, the cameras along this hallway don't work. I checked them myself earlier," she continued to smirk. "And you are correct about that assumption. He's my father."

Before he could say anything else, a familiar screen appeared on top of her head that Kiyotaka quickly read in order to gain more information regarding this girl.

[Sakayanagi Arisu: 'Obsessed Little Girl']

[Relationship Status: Childhood Friends]

[Affection Points: 70/100]

[Heroine Summary: Arisu is a petite girl with a certain condition that requires her to use a cane in order to walk around. She knows you ever since you were a child, although you've technically never met. She has simply seen and heard of you before because she has visited the White Room before with her father. While she is impressed with what you have accomplished in the White Room, she also refuses to believe that a 'fake genius' like you can win against a 'natural genius' like her. Regardless, she has been looking forward to meeting you so much that she has 'relieved' herself lots of times just by thinking about you.]

"Do you doubt my words? It's alright if you don't believe me, Ayanokouji-kun," she continued, but Kiyotaka was no longer paying attention to her. Rather, his gaze was fixated on her 'Heroine Summary' instead.

"Huh… I wonder what 'relieved' means but more importantly, why is the system showing her summary as if her 'route' was already unlocked?" the young man thought. He was completely sure that he hadn't met this girl before, therefore he should have chosen between three choices to 'unlock' her route, just like how he had done for Nanase, Horikita, and Kushida.

But her summary said otherwise, and the 'Relationship Status' between them was even 'Childhood Friends', even though this was the first time they met. And what the hell was with those 'Affection Points'? It's almost about to reach 100 despite this being their first interaction!

But most of all, why didn't the system tell him about this? Is it still trying to make him suffer? Heh, he wouldn't be surprised at all if that's the case—

"Wait a second…" he said in his thoughts, remembering something that happened earlier today.

Earlier, while he was still in Matsuo's home and exploring the 'Menu' of his weird power, there was a sub-menu that was labeled [Heroines' Status]. He didn't feel the need to check it because he was sure Tsubasa was the only heroine whom he had met that time. It never occurred to him that there was already someone else included in it… but he should check just to be sure.

"Menu," he whispered, summoning the dating simulator's menu as the world around him stopped all of a sudden.

Oh, would you look at that? It seems that when he opens the menu, the world around him freezes similar to whenever the 'three choices' appear before him. At least this saves him from having to explain himself if Sakayanagi asks him what he's doing.

Kiyotaka didn't waste time and quickly chose the second sub-menu, and he was surprised to see what was shown there.

[Heroines' Status]

[Sakayanagi Arisu ]

[Nanase Tsubasa ]

[Horikita Suzune ]

[Kushida Kikyo ]

Okay, this could only mean that Arisu's information was already here, even before he 'unlocked' Tsubasa's route, which means that this mistake was on him. He could have known about Arisu way earlier, but he wasn't able to because he didn't check this sub-menu out while he was still at Matsuo's home.

This also meant that Arisu wasn't kidding when she said that she was a 'big fan' of him, but was that really a good enough reason for her 'Affection Points' to be close to 100 already? As of now, she had overtaken Tsubasa's lead by a large margin that Kiyotaka was actually curious about what would happen if she reached 100.

It also meant that she was really a person from his childhood, despite not meeting her up close, which would explain why she is already considered a heroine in the eyes of this dating sim system.

"Interesting…" he thought, feeling intrigued regarding this girl but his interest can wait for now. He still felt mentally tired from everything that's happened today. "So is there any reason why you wanted to talk? I kind of want to go inside my dorm room right now and get an early rest."

"Of course you do, and I apologize for keeping you from doing so. However, you might want to take notice of the fact that I live inside the room that is opposite yours."

He actually noticed that the moment he realized that this girl was also a heroine. It actually makes sense for the system to have her live here, because she was one of his heroines! Horikita and Kushida were his next-door neighbors, while Sakayanagi lived in the unit in front of his.

"And I'm supposed to care about that because…?" he said, playing along with her words.

She flashed a smug look. "Because I want you to know this, Ayanokouji-kun. You may think that there is no instance in which you can lose, but I will be the one to prove you wrong."

"Is that so?" he asked, seemingly disinterested in the conversation but was actually listening closely.

"A false genius cannot win against a natural genius. The White Room creates artificial geniuses, doesn't it?" she explained with a fond smile on her face. "And you're considered it's masterpiece. You represent my biggest obstacle, and I will take great pleasure in defeating you, else other than me deserves the right to bury the 'Masterpiece' of the White Room."

Kiyotaka listened to her explanation closely and tried to, but couldn't understand the girl. Her words were a clear contradiction against the summary that the system had for her. The system couldn't be lying, unless it was planning to drive him insane.

"Hmm, I don't get it… she says she wants to take me down, and yet she is the one with the highest amount of 'Affection Points' among the heroines I have."

Truly, a maiden's heart is hard to figure out.

[A Special Event Has Been Triggered!]

"You're saying that you want to beat me and prove you are superior and yet, you refer to yourself as a fan of mine. What is it really, Sakayanagi?" asked Kiyotaka out of confusion.

Her smile widened. "Fufufu, I wasn't lying, Ayanokouji-kun. While I do admire and feel impressed with your accomplishments in the White Room, I will still aim to defeat you and prove that a natural genius is superior to even the 'Masterpiece' himself."

In a move that surprised even himself, the edge of Kiyotaka's lips curled up slightly and formed a little smirk, something that he supposedly couldn't do without the system taking control of his body. Arisu noticed the change in his expression, yet she only tilted her head in slight confusion.

"Really? Then what if I do this?" he asked in an amused tone, moving even closer towards her.

The smug expression on Arisu's face fell apart quickly as she moved away from the young man, at least until her back met the door to her room seconds after.

Kiyotaka stopped about an inch away from her and leaned down so they could look at each other directly. He even slammed his arm against the door behind her, pulling off a kabe-don that startled the lilac-haired girl and even caused her cheeks to turn red.

"Hoh? Is that a blush I see, Sakayanagi?" asked Kiyotaka, his smirk growing wider at the sight of the girl like this.

"W-What are you trying to do?" she stuttered, as she hasn't experienced something like this before. Even though she had a disability that made her physically frail, no one had dared to cross her in any way due to her status as well as the fact that she can make anyone feel intimidated and fearful of her thanks to her intelligence.

Unfortunately, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wasn't one of those people.

"I'm trying to see how much of a 'fan' you are," he chuckled in amusement. "And it seems that you really are one if I can get a reaction like this from you."

The girl was forced to turn her head away. She hated feeling helpless, but there's no way she could win against him like this. "P-Please keep your distance from me, Ayanokouji-kun."

"And if I don't? What exactly are you going to do?" Kiyotaka smirked at her. "As you said, the cameras here aren't working, no one's going to see this. Will you push me away? I want to see you try."

"I-I'll scream for help," she shot back. Sakayanagi knew that she was losing this battle and she hated it, especially now when she could feel her heart beating faster than before.

"Can you even do that? Will you even do that?" he challenged her, making her frown at him. Despite her earlier threat, Kiyotaka wasn't even taking her seriously and it was annoying her. The girl almost looked like a poor cat who had her favorite ball of yarn taken from her. "Something tells me that you're only lying to yourself, Sakayanagi."

She tried to flash a smirk of her own in an attempt to fight back against him, but was obviously failing due to the fact that her body began to tremble. "How would you know? It's not like you can read minds, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I can't," he lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to look up at him as her eyes widened. "But I can read your body language, Sakayanagi. I actually think that you're even liking this."

All Arisu could do was stare at him, completely helpless to do anything else. Their faces were so close to each other that Kiyotaka could lean in and kiss her if he wanted to. Even if she didn't want to, the girl couldn't actually do anything to stop him.

And so, surrendering to logic and Kiyotaka himself, Arisu simply closed her eyes and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. When she opened her eyes though, she quickly noticed that he leaned close to her ear instead.

"You have no chance of beating me, Sakayanagi. Especially not when you act like this around me," he whispered into her ear, which managed to send a chill down her spine. "Still, I might enjoy your company. While we have never met each other like this in the past, I feel that you and I have a certain connection that can't be imitated by anyone else."

And with that, he moved away from the girl and got a good look at her blushing face as he heard the snapping of a camera followed by the familiar musical chime that the system had.

The 'image' of Sakayanagi's look of shame appeared before him as a notification showed up under it.

['Superior into Inferior' was added to the gallery!]

Kiyotaka ignored both screens in favor of Arisu herself blushing in front of him like an embarrassed schoolgirl. Her smug demeanor was nowhere to be found and while the young man was tempted to play around with her for a bit longer, he still wanted to rest his body so he should end this now.

"Have a good night Arisu," he sent her one final smirk before he turned around and walked back to his unit. As he heard the sound of a door slamming shut behind him, several notifications then appeared in front of Kiyotaka.

[Special Event 'An Interesting Reunion' has been cleared! You gained 25 Affection Points with Sakayanagi Arisu!]

[You were able to make a girl completely speechless all on your own! You gained 5 in Charm!]

[You knew just what would make your Heroine flustered and capitalized on it! You gained 3 in Wisdom!]

[Congratulations! You unlocked the Achievement: 'And The Rest is Silence'! You gained 10 in Aura!]

Too tired to dismiss them himself, the young man ignored them completely, walked into his dorm room and let himself collapse on the bed.

A massive wave of relief overtook him completely as he felt the comfort of a nice soft bed after all the craziness that he went through today. However, this didn't stop him from thinking about what just happened a while ago, particularly when he did something that he has never done before.

"I actually smiled… or rather, I smirked. Completely different from a smile, but it's as good as one considering who I am," he thought, remembering the feeling of moving his lips willingly in order to throw Sakayanagi off her game. "And I wasn't even being mind-controlled by some god. That was really me

The last several times that he smiled in front of other people was because his mind and actions were overridden by some kind of external force. It may actually be the system itself that was forcing him to smile but this time, he did it on his own and was even into it as if he was playing a role.

"Maybe this system is actually trying to help me in some way, even though it's been cruel to me thus far. Those 'dating stats'… maybe they're not just for show. Perhaps they really do help me exactly as they were intended to be. My ability to make people think of me as attractive, my ability to figure out what they want from me, and my ability to draw them towards me. The higher they are, the more I'll be able to do this on my own… without the help of choosing from three options."

Perhaps the system was making him suffer problem after problem in order to prepare for situations like this. Because this time, he didn't have to choose between three choices on what he could possibly say to Arisu and handled her on his own. He even underwent a sudden shift in personality when he smooth-talked her, yet he was in full control of his actions.

Perhaps in the future, when those 'dating stats' that he possessed have reached a high amount, he'll be able to show emotions and even act like an average everyday person… although there's no telling the amount of 'heroines' that he would have if it ever comes to that.

"I had no idea that I could do something like that…" he muttered as he rolled over on his back and stared at the ceiling. "That actually felt entertaining, for once. Getting used to this 'power' might not be as hard as I thought it would be, but I suppose we'll see."

Maybe there was hope for his life in this school to be more exciting, after all.

It's so satisfying to write this edgelord suffering for all the bullshit he has done in the light novel, lol. Don't worry, he'll live.

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance