Classroom of the Elite Volume 15 Chapter 4 Part 3

As it would turn out, Kenjis objective had been the Task in area E3 after all.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Task site and promptly completed the registration process. It was only then that he finally stopped moving.

A few minutes later, Mikitani and the rest of the Free Group caught up with him. However, somebody else had already filled up the last slot in the time it had taken them to arrive, so they were forced to sit back and wait until it was over. The Task in question was an English Test, and although the participants varied from first-years to third-years, the difficulty of the subject matter was the same across the board.

Ultimately, a student named Dmichi, who was widely thought of as one of the brightest students in the third year, took first place, but Kenji had taken second by a slim margin, earning himself four points as a result.

Because there were teachers and event staff around, Mikitani and the rest of the Free Group planned on closing in once Kenji left the Task site, but Kenji broke into a sprint before any of the teachers had a chance to disperse.

They had lost the initiative, left with no other choice but to reactively chase around a man whose speed far outmatched their own.

The next time they managed to catch up was just before 3:00 PM, right after Kenji arrived at his third designated area.

For the third time, Mikitani and the rest of the Free Group surrounded him.

Youre quite the persistent bunch, Ill give you that.

As if we give two shits about what you think!

For essentially the entire eleventh day of the exam, they had tried their best to anticipate the Tasks Kenji was going for, but not even once had they been able to stop him.

It was safe to say that, by this point, their pride as third-years had been completely torn to shreds.

Nagumo would probably be extremely disappointed upon hearing about it too.

The word amicable could hardly describe the situation anymore.

This is your last warning, Kenji.

Kiriyama spoke sternly as the Free Group surrounded Kenji for what seemed like the final time.

Just one day. Just listen to us and stay put for one day. Thats all you have to do.

If they could get him to halt his movements for 24 hours, then Nagumo would be practically guaranteed to hold onto first place.

All that mattered was that they prevented Kenji from taking the top spot again.

H-hey, Nagumo said to keep him busy for two days though! Shouldnt we be tellin him to stay put for both tomorrow and the day after?

Well lose the ability to check on the rankings by then. Although I doubt therell be any other groups capable of catching up to us, we should focus on improving our own score instead of trying to shut down somebody else.

This was the conclusion Kiriyama had reached after having observed Kenji thus far.

Spending three full days on this simply isnt worth it.

Then just leave a few of us here to make sure the dude stays put for two days! Problem solved!

You really think Kenjill just play along with that?

If Kenji stayed put for only one day, hed still have a fairly good chance of taking second or third place overall.

However, if it were two days instead, hed run the risk of dropping off the leaderboards altogether.

Theres no way hell take a defeat like that lying down.

Well that depends on how we handle this, now doesnt it?

Having been fed up with following Kiriyamas instructions for a while now, Mikitani finally broke.

You really think you can do it?

Course I can, and once I do, its on you to get me a one-way ticket straight to Class A, got it?

With that, Mikitani stepped forward, pushing Kiriyama aside as he spoke directly to Kenji.

You heard all that, right? Tomorrow and the day after, stay here.

Is that a request?

No, its an order.

How audacious. And what if I refuse?

Worst case scenario, youll be expelled.

With those words, Mikitani and the rest of the third-years drew in even closer.

Although not explicitly stated, their intentions were perfectly clear: if they couldnt solve this peacefully, then theyd do it by force.

But, despite their threat, Kenjis fearless smile never faltered. He simply watched on as the third-years approached.

Seeing as though youre not saying anything, can I assume that means youll give in and obey us?

Ill not be giving in to anyone.

Then, youve left us with no other choice. Well have to make you submit to us. Youre fine with that, right Kiriyama?

I dont care anymore as long as he gives in. Its your decision to make.

Upon hearing Kiriyamas tacit agreement, Mikitani let out a scornful laugh, his attitude as bullish as ever.

However, the moment the final designated area of the day was announced, Kenji rose to his feet.

Panicking a bit, Mikitani quickly gave the signal for everyone to close in.

I told you. Stay. Put.

They were so close that there was practically no way Kenji could get away without pushing Mikitani or one of the other third-years aside.

Cant say I find any beauty in how close youre getting. Im no sodomite do leave me out of this.

So whatre you gonna do about it? If you force your way past us, Ill take that as a declaration of war.

Fufu, is that so?

Kenji smiled as he took a step forward.

Of course, that single step was enough for him to come into contact with Mikitani, who was standing right before him.

However, he didnt take this step with the intention of pushing Mikitani out of the way.

Rather, it was just an ordinary step forward, one that resulted in nothing more than their shoulders bumping into each other.

Put simply, it was Kenjis attempt to force his way past Mikitani without actively raising his hand against him.

Mikitani couldve simply been brushed aside, but thanks to his strong, well-built physique, he was fairly confident that hed be able to hold his ground. For him, this was a golden opportunity to prove that just because Kenji was fast didnt mean that he was powerful, but

!!!

It felt as if a boulder was slowly crashing into him, and before long he found himself with no other choice but to give in and move out of the boulders way.

On the other hand, Kenji just proceeded to walk forward as if nothing had been in front of him to begin with.

You bastard, wait!

Mikitani desperately reached out and grabbed Kenji by the shoulder, but such a half-hearted effort would never be able to stop him.

If he let Kenji go now, while he was right under his very nose, then hed be left to repeat the same, inane game of cat-and-mouse hed been playing the entire day today.

Therefore, he chose to do what he could to resist, yet he couldnt stop Kenji from pushing forward.

When he realized that Kiriyama was watching him struggle, Mikitani clicked his tongue and changed gears.

He quickly called for one of his companions, Morooka, to help, and together, they tried what they could to pull Kenji to a stop.

However, the moment Morooka placed his hand on Kenjis shoulder, he found himself being dragged along, overwhelmed by Kenjis momentum.

A split second later, he collapsed to the ground in dramatic fashion, seemingly wrought with pain.

Aaaagh! I think my arms broken!

Morooka began to scream and holler about his apparent injury, much like a professional soccer player whod been injured on the field.

Upon seeing what had happened to his companion, Mikitani quickly cut around Kenji and stood directly in front of him, forcibly blocking off his path.

Look what youve done now, Kenji! You clearly hurt Morooka!

Looks like hes just staged an injury if you ask me, no?

Yeah yeah, say whatever you want, it aint gonna change the fact that hes been shoved to the ground.

Everyone seemed to feel as though the tides had changed as they once again closed in on Kenji, completely preventing him from making an escape.

The more moderate, amicable approach that they had been using earlier was now a thing of the past.

So its gotten to the point where I cant overlook your actions anymore, hm? What to do, what to do, I wonder?

By that cocky look on your face, Id imagine youre about ready to send us flying. But, itll be a big problem if you somehow manage to beat each and every one of us to a pulp, you do know that right?

This was Mikitanis way of giving a warning, making it clear that Kenji wouldnt be able to lay a single finger on any of them.

However, rather than refute Mikitanis point, Kenji went on to speak neutrally.

I dont have any intention of showing mercy to people who get in my way, much less those who bare their fangs at me whilst doing so.

Having heard Kenji say that he would not hesitate to use violence, Mikitanis expression hardened for a moment.

What if we report you to the school then?

What if? Wouldnt it just put a stain on your records as a bunch of third-years who tried to sabotage one of your underclassmen?

Kenjis confidence stemmed from the fact that he knew all of the third-years watches were operating properly. If they werent, their strategy of trying to predict the Tasks Kenji went for and registering for them ahead of time would never get them anywhere. After all, you needed a working wristwatch to register for Tasks.

So are we done here? Thanks to all of you, Ill be hard-pressed to get to my Early Bird Bonus in time.

It had been more than ten minutes since the final designated area of the day was announced, so opposing groups were probably already well on their way to it by now.

There was a decent chance that Kenji would miss out on the first-place Early Bird Bonus, but there was no telling exactly how itd end up playing out.

Sorry, but we aint lettin you go.

Mikitani spoke with certainty, making it clear that he and his friends would never stop coming after Kenji.

Were also not gonna play nice with you forever, you got that?

So youre saying you intend to continue to bare your fangs at me?

Although many of the third-years had been at a loss due to Kenjis bizarre atmosphere until now, they soon recalled their original purpose. They knew very well how shameful a sight it was for so many people to surround a lone underclassman, but since it was the only option they had to survive, they didnt care.

Under more usual circumstances, their opponent wouldve given in once they realized how truly desperate they were, but Kenji was different.

A young man who held no interest in anyone but himself. A man who only cared about dealing with the current situation in a way that would appease his sense of beauty. His long, blond hair was in no way inferior to a womans, and it was clear that he had been taking care of it even during his time on the island.

Kenji brushed his slightly messy bangs to the side and smiled a daring smile.

Seeing that, Mikitani felt momentarily overwhelmed with a mix of awe and fear and subconsciously took a half-step back.

Time is money, so by all means, do come at me.

Saying that, Kenji spread out his arms, seemingly inviting the third-years to strike the first blow.

You sure about this Mikitani? Like 100% sure?

One of his companions tentatively asked for confirmation, and after a moment of silence, Mikitani steeled his resolve once more and issued the inevitable command.

Yeah. Worse comes to worst, well just have to take Kenji down with us. Get him!

With Mikitanis words acting as their battle cry, three third-year students simultaneously charged Kenji.

One approached from behind to try and restrain his arms while the other two moved in from the front and left.

At a glance, it might seem like dealing with three oncoming attackers would be difficult, but the three students in question werent exactly experienced when it came to fighting.

Their movements lacked a sense of teamwork as well, so it was more like they had all just pounced at Kenji with roughly similar timing than executed a planned, coordinated assault.

None of them were seriously trying to injure him either. If anything, they each seemed to be thinking that someone else would throw the actual punches.

As such, Kenji avoided everything with one single, grandiose step off to the side, causing the oncoming third-years to accidentally collide head-first with one another.

Dude! Attack him, not me!

I should be saying that to you!

The third-years began to squabble with each other over who was at fault, and needless to say, it was anything but the beautiful scenario Kenji had been hoping for.

Dont you guys lose sight of why we came here in the first place. Our target is Kenji and Kenji alone.

Mikitani, the most experienced fighter out of all of them, called out to his bickering companions to try and stop them from self-destructing.

TL Notes:

Hello everyone! Its been a while, but I think Im pretty happy to say that Im back. I took a break for a month, did a lot of gaming, a lot of work, and a lot general just life-improvement stuff and now I think I feel the spark of motivation within me to continue translating again. Hopefully you all didnt lose interest entirely, and thanks for waiting nonetheless.

Anyway, this part really really sucked. The whole Mikitani chasing Kouenji thing has been so overwhelmingly painful to translate and Im so happy to say that it seems to get resolved in the next part, and then were back to our good old Kiyotaka. Im really looking forward to it and I hope all of you are too. I dont expect the next part to take very long, so expect it in 2 days or so. (But as always, take my ETAs with a grain of salt.) Thank you for reading and Ill see you again soon.

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