The True Elites

Chapter 4.5-2: The Fated Encounter

I insisted on my innocence, but Katsuragi didn't look convinced.

"How do I know that isn't just a cover story?"

I let out a sigh. How had a simple detour to pick up some groceries turned into this?

Whether it was a product of this school's nurture, the class I belonged to, or whether it was just how he is, Katsuragi seemed adamant about remaining suspect of me.

"I'm just going to go into the store."

I left a suspicious Katsuragi and an angry-looking Sakayanagi behind, and entered the store.

The stock was noticeably thinned by the influx of returning students re-stocking. I wondered briefly just how much stuff the school had.

Presumably, a small amount of goods were stored on-site, enough to supply around a week or two of student demand.

If you were an observant student, you will have noticed the shipment trucks that arrive at the school's main road periodically. They didn't come onto the campus itself; it was likely that the shipments were unloaded outside school grounds.

I mindlessly collected various items I remembered I needed whilst I enjoyed pondering over trivial things.

The total for my purchase came to around 32,000 points, which was unsurprisingly larger than your average grocery expense.

This should last me at least a month, however, and since my monthly income far exceeded the amount spent, I wasn't worried.

I thanked the store clerk, and left the shop with two plastic bags in hand.

Katsuragi appeared to have left now, however the little girl with a cane was waiting for me, a mysterious glint clear in her eyes.

"Sakayanagi." I raised my hand in polite greeting.

"Welcome back, Ayanokōji-kun. I've ridden us of the nuisance that was bothering you."

The way she described her own classmate was slightly unsettling, but I brushed it off as a quirk of the kind of personality which would be suitable to run Class A.

"Uh, right. Thanks."

The conversation quickly went dry, and I was once again reminded of my severe lack of practice in social interaction.

"Is there something you wanted from me?"

Sakayanagi smiled pleasantly, as if expecting my question.

"I've come across rather transparent, haven't I?"

Met with a peculiar answer, I theorised again what this girl could possibly want from specifically me, to no avail.

"Would you like to go somewhere a little more private, Ayanokōji-kun?"

Sakayanagi wanted us to go somewhere alone? Was this a confession? It would explain why she'd been so eager for Katsuragi to leave.

It didn't make a lot of sense, though. Why would the leader of Class A confess to some random student she's never even spoken to before?

Somebody of Sakayanagi's status should easily be able to get better than me if she so wished.

According to Kushida, my popularity has been rather volatile throughout the school year so far.

I was apparently ranked highly by the girls at the start of the year. However, as time went on and we learned each other's personalities, physical appearance became less of a primary focus.

As Kushida had cruelly put it, my personality was simply missing something to make me popular. Therefore, my rank began to fall.

However, after the recent deserted island special exam, my reputation has turned, and is now on the rise again, due to the stunt that I pulled.