Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Self-Test

Vol. 3: Chapter 5.1 - Under the Willow Tree

"It's a group effort. Ike's been a huge help, too."

"Ohh, true. The girls' opinion of him is slowly shifting. He's surprisingly reliable," she said.

Ike has never exhibited arrogance with his knowledge. It goes to show how he genuinely likes to share what he knows about the outdoors. Of course, he's probably putting in the effort to fix his reputation in the class, too.

"Yamauchi-kun, meanwhile... I mean, he's there, but nothing's really changed about him. He's been adamantly hitting on girls whenever he's free."

Well, it can't be helped, I guess. At least he's not slacking off.

"I see..."

Matsushita shifted her position to face me.

"You know, Ayanokouji-kun... Whenever we talk, it's almost always about the current situation of the class. It's great that we're having a productive conversation, but I want our talks to be more, you know... casual..." Matsushita looked down with a bitter smile.

Casual conversations, huh?

Well, we've had those before. Matsushita had already shared many things about herself, so I feel a lot closer to her than most of the girls. Meanwhile, I've rarely talked about myself, probably because she wants to respect my privacy. I'm starting to like it's a bit unfair because I'm usually the one who's asking.

"Sure. I don't know how we always end up having a progress report instead of a normal conversation, but I'm down to talk about casual stuff."

Her expression lightened up upon hearing my reply.

"Great~! Then, let's talk about you."

"Oh... Okay."

It was almost like she was reading my mind. I was feeling a bit guilty due to how our conversations usually go. But now, I was given the chance to mend that feeling.

"Ichihashi-san cleared up the misunderstanding last night, so all of the girls got off Horikita-san's back. But I'm still curious, you know? Do you like Horikita-san? If no, then do you like anyone right now?" 

Ah... Of course, this topic was on top of her priority list...

"No, not really. And I don't think I like anyone right now."

"Hm, hm, very direct. I understand, Ayanokouji-kun." Matsushita nodded with a satisfied expression. I suddenly felt like we were still engaging in a report-like conversation-- just with a different subject. "How about a crush then? Do you have a crush on anyone? It doesn't have to be someone from the class."

"Ah, no, I don't think so..."

"Hehh, I see..." Matsushita pondered for a second before facing me again. "You're aware that a lot, and I mean a lot of the girls in our class have a huge crush on you, right?"

What? Huge crush?

"Huh? No...?" I understand if they're fond of me like one would towards a reliable friend or classmate... But if it's the romantic kind of fondness--

"Are you serious...? Well, I guess that makes sense. The girls in our class are quite confident right now since Class B's Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is still unknown in the eyes of other classes. All of them were holding off on the idea of confessing," she explained.

"Wait, wait, wait. What you're saying is definitely intriguing, but how'd did you even get to know all of this? Are they even true?" My doubts should be grounded. Every girl in Class B has shown me a considerable amount of fondness and goodwill, but I'm not so self-conscious to misinterpret their nice attitudes as shows of romantic interest.