Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

Masayoshi came to his room just to report the situation, displaying no signs of nervousness. This indicated that this month's special exam hadn't yet begun.

Meanwhile, he was free to enjoy the cruise ship's comfortable amenities.

However, since no one had seen him for three days, he wondered what messages awaited him on his phone.

When Houtarou checked, he found several messages from his classmates.

Masumi had sent one at noon, saying she'd discovered something and wanted to discuss it with him.

There were two messages from Kikyō's friend containing standard greetings and invitations.

Airi Sakura had messaged about the beautiful sunrise, suggesting they take photos with her high-definition camera from school.

Kei had sent three invitations.

At first glance, there was nothing from Suzune — but no, she had sent one message at 10 AM containing only an exclamation mark.

Whether this was a condensed expression of complex feelings or simply sent by mistake remained unclear.

This was typical of his interactions with her — they would meet when necessary, but could go days without contact otherwise.

Who would have thought his future self would marry her, watch her become a lawyer, and have twin daughters with her?

Having just experienced that Precognitive Dream, Houtarou felt uncertain about his future path.

One thing was clear, though — the dream's effect was powerful.

In the past, when he'd dreamed of Suzune, he would briefly pay more attention to her. But after his experiences with Kikyō, he'd learned to resist such impulses, and the dreams would fade.

This Precognitive Dream was different. Its certainty made him instinctively concerned about matters relating to Suzune.

He needed to check on this socially isolated girl.

So he ignored Kikyō's messages and his classmates' invitations, sending only a quick reply to Kei promising to find her later. Then he left his cabin for the first time.

The sea breeze swept over him as he emerged.

Stepping onto the deck, Houtarou found himself bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.

⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟

The luxury cruise ship "Speranza" was magnificent and fully equipped, with comprehensive facilities and a complete staff.

Though Houtarou would typically explore a new location, his priority now was meeting Suzune.

| Suzune Horikita — Lone Girl |

| Where are you now? |

After sending his message, it took about five or six minutes to get her reply. They agreed to meet on deck.

Since the school had chartered the entire luxury cruise ship, all services on board were complimentary.

However...

"240,000 per month?" Houtarou discovered from a server when he only needed to spend 5,000 Points for this basic information.

Just as he'd spent 100,000 Points through Tomonari for a private room, Points remained valid currency on the ship.

Then he learned something unexpected: the school hadn't chartered the ship at all — they owned it.

When not being used for student exams, they rented it out for additional income, keeping the staff employed year-round.

This spoke volumes about Nurturing High School's financial resources.

"This is Chairman Sakayanagi's investment." The server explained, "The school's funds alone couldn't maintain a luxury cruise ship — it actually belongs to the Sakayanagi family."

So Arisu's family was truly remarkable.

He wondered if having a future daughter with someone from such an elite background would make him a kept man.

"..."

That dream was still haunting his thoughts.

"You don't look well." A cool voice interrupted his musings.

Houtarou sat at the deck's bar when a black-haired beauty in red sportswear appeared beside him.

She was striking, with her usual cool, dignified gaze, though her cheeks held an unusual flush. She appeared somewhat frail — a stark contrast to her typical aloof dignity that stirred something unexpected within him.

This was Suzune.

"You don't look well yourself." Houtarou observed briefly before averting his gaze.

Feeling... reassured.

Despite Suzune's current weakness, her vulnerable side only added to her charm in an endearing way.

After that Precognitive Dream, he'd worried about facing her, but now he felt at ease.

But now... his resolve was firm. She was still just Suzune, after all.

Yet something felt mysterious. How would this solitary girl become his choice ten years later?

He was curious. He knew himself well — his attention often drifted to Arisu.

So why?

"By the way, do you think lolicons are bad people?" Houtarou asked.

"Lolicon? What's that?" Suzune seemed genuinely puzzled.

Of course — she rarely read anything beyond textbooks and study materials.

Though the ship had a small library, and based on her disheveled bangs — a clear sign of hours spent hunched over books — she'd been making good use of it.

"A friend of mine likes girls who don't grow tall." He said, "People often say it's wrong. Would you consider someone like that a pervert?"

"Oh." Suzune's voice remained neutral, showing her typical disinterest in romantic matters, "I don't see any problem with it. Not growing tall isn't anyone's fault. Since these girls exist, they naturally can have relationships too. So having such preferences is fine. You're not a pervert."

Her answer was logical and straightforward.

But.

"Why would you assume I was talking about myself?" Houtarou asked, surprised.

"I share a room with Kushida and Sakura." Suzune stated matter-of-factly, "Though I'd rather not, Kushida is always there. I've overheard her conversations — whenever someone starts a question with 'my friend', they're usually talking about themselves."

I see.

Not only had Kikyō failed to get closer to Suzune, but she'd inadvertently given her some experience points instead. That little angel would be furious if she knew.

Since this week's portion was already taken, getting more would be two days away. There was no point in contacting Kushida now.

He thought heartlessly.

They sat together at the bar counter, and as they talked, he could see her profile. Her cheeks were flushed.

His suspicions were confirmed — she was sick. It showed not just in her complexion but in her actions too. When the bartender asked for her order, she chose warm water.

Though Suzune was typically frugal, everything on the ship was free. She would normally have chosen something else. Asking for warm water suggested she wasn't feeling well.

That explained her morning message with just an exclamation mark. She must have sent it when she first noticed feeling unwell.

She probably thought her strong constitution would help her recover quickly, which explained why she hadn't sent any follow-up messages.

Houtarou understood her way of thinking.

While he had no romantic interest in her, their comfortable dynamic remained unchanged. Still, knowing she was unwell, he couldn't simply ignore it.

He generally avoided troublesome things, but when there was a simple solution, he'd take action.

If her symptoms persisted into the exam and affected her performance, that would create more problems later.

Helping her recover before the exam started was the most straightforward solution.

However.

"When exactly did you start feeling unwell?" He asked.

His newly acquired superpower — Restoration Ability — could only push back disease symptoms by one day when used on living beings. If she'd been sick since boarding the ship, he wouldn't be able to help.

"You noticed..." Suzune relented, "Actually, when I woke up this morning, my body was sore and my throat hurt. I think it's because I left the air conditioning on all night and caught a cold."

"Oh." Houtarou nodded.

It was still within the time limit.

"Have you been pushing yourself too hard lately?" He asked, "With studying?"

"..." Suzune fell silent, "Your scores are higher than mine. Even without controlling points, I can't match your grades. But I never see you studying. So on the ship, I've been working harder."

Ah. This was his fault. He had underestimated her competitive nature when it came to academics.

Since she'd only noticed symptoms this morning, he should be able to use his superpower.

"Hold my hand for a moment." Houtarou said.

"Why?" Suzune's guard went up.

Right. Though she was straightforward, she wasn't naive.

When Kikyō was talking out trash, Suzune had shown she could see through her attempts to charm him.

Being suddenly asked to hold hands... of course she'd be cautious.

"Kushida has been trying to get closer to me lately. I'm not sure if I've been affected." Houtarou said.

In other words, he wanted to test if he'd become the type of playboy who was getting interested in a bunch of girls.

"Oh." Perhaps because he mentioned someone she disliked, Suzune complied.

Their hands joined together.

It felt strange — though his relationship with Kikyō was closer, they had never held hands.

As the little demon herself had said:

[Hold hands? Are you joking? Are we really dating? I don't want to.]

So hand-holding wasn't allowed, but groping was fine. At the time, Houtarou had questioned his peculiar relationship with Kikyō.

But now he was actually holding hands with a girl.

Suzune was beautiful, and her hand felt warm in his grip, likely from her fever.

Were girls' hands always this small?

Houtarou realized he'd gained a new experience.

〖 Do you want to use Restoration Ability on Suzune Horikita? 〗

He brought up the system.

Yes!

With that action complete, Suzune's weakness instantly vanished. Her cheeks returned to their normal color, and her eyes regained their usual spirit.

Houtarou released her hand at just the right moment.

"...??" Horikita's expression turned puzzled.

⍟⍟⍟

T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!

For just $1 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!

That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)

https://www.patreon.com/mrblackwing