Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate

Chapter 7 - Automaton

Closing the door of my dorm room, I made my way towards the elevator after finishing up my morning routine.

I didn't train as much as in the White Room, but I still made a habit of staying in shape, even if I didn't feel like it. Keeping healthy was a wise future investment, since I would probably go back to that place after my time here was over. I didn't know how that man would react when I returned and couldn't even physically overpower one of the tutors there.

Today would be very good weather. This much was a given after glancing up. The sky was clear, and the clouds were drifting over the horizon, partially covering the blazing sun. I drew a deep breath and inhaled the clean air, which had a hint of salt in its scent due to the school's location near the ocean.

After this comfortable sequence of actions, I coughed.

I took the elevator down and mixed with the students that were walking towards their respective classrooms. To my surprise, I didn't notice a single Class D student despite this huge crowd. Instead, I caught sight of Ichinose who was walking to school with Amikura and a few other classmates, who I had seen in their classroom. Aside from the students I recognized were many from Class A and C, which I couldn't allocate to their respective classes due to my lack of knowledge.

What took me by the most surprise, however, were the three words spoken to me from behind.

"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun."

The young girl's voice was as static and aloof as ever, but I believed that something had changed compared to yesterday. It might have been my imagination, but I concluded that the reason for these thoughts was her pleasant tone.

"Good morning, Horikita."

I turned to the acquaintance who had slowed down beside me.

Her expression changed into one of confusion before turning into a questioning, deeply puzzled stare. It was almost as if I could follow the chemical and electrical signals that her neurons were emitting through the different synapses as she was trying to make sense of my current getup.

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask."

"You aren't?"

I was genuinely surprised, since I wouldn't have been able to help myself.

"I... why would you think that it was a good idea to wear a scarf when it's this warm?"

"So you still asked in the end?"

"Because this is just too out of place, even for you."

She heaved an exasperated sigh while shaking her head in disbelief.

Well, sorry? It's not like I had a choice. I'm dying underneath this, you know?

I forced out a few coughs before replying to her inquiry with a hoarse voice.

"I caught a slight cold, but I don't want to miss school because of something minor. Since my throat feels quite sore, I wrapped that scarf around my neck to protect it from the cold breeze."

"If you infect me, I will beat you. Stay away, Ayanokouji-kun."

She shooed me away, as if I was some sort of annoying fly, but didn't make any movements to widen the gap between us herself. While we ambled along the marked paths towards our classroom, I steered the topic away from our usual banter to a rather important topic that was weighing on my mind.

"Say Horikita, about what I wanted to discuss yesterday. Could we talk today?"

My classmate turned around a few times while looking through the crowd of students. After she made sure that there was no sign of Kushida or any of her friends in the vicinity, she nodded in satisfaction.