Just Want to Be a Slacker

"Bastard, what did you say?"

"Never mind whether we're teammates or not, you actually want to sell me out to save yourself right from the start?"

"Traitor dog!"

"Oh, right, you're Japanese after all, and my current identity is Japanese too."

"Turncoat!"

"I told you to come over, so come over. Don't talk back." Chabashira-sensei said to Ayanokoji, then turned to look at Hoshinomiya, who was trying to follow. "Don't you come along."

"Don't be so cold? Letting me listen wouldn't hurt, would it?" Hoshinomiya-sensei said with a grin. "Besides, little Sae's been acting a bit off lately, so I was wondering... little Sae, you wouldn't be trying to pull an Overthrow, would you?"

Overthrow?

What a niche word.

Kamio Tatsuya preferred its antonym—bullying the weak!

But if it's this school, was she planning to Rank Up Class D?

He wouldn't have guessed that Chabashira-sensei, who seemed indifferent to everything, had such ambition.

"Hoshinomiya, don't overthink it. I just have some issues to resolve in Class D."

"Oh, really? Then I can tag along too, right? See, I can help with advice!"

Just as Hoshinomiya-sensei was about to pester her way in, a girl walked over.

She had Strawberry Blonde Hair, an exceptionally beautiful girl with a striking presence, especially the pair of Weapons on her chest.

Fifteen years old!

He thought having someone like Hasebe Haruka at this school was already a stroke of luck, but now he'd met a second one.

And compared to Hasebe Haruka, her aura was clearly a cut above.

Damn, too dazzling.

Kamio Tatsuya almost wanted to look away, especially when their eyes met—too bright, he'd go blind.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, could I borrow a moment? There's something about the Student Council I'd like to discuss."

The scene fell into silence, then the atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

"Uh, did I come at a bad time?"

"Sigh, no help for it. Then I'll see you next time, Ayanokoji-kun. Sorry for the wait, Ichinose-san." Hoshinomiya waved regretfully at Ayanokoji.

As for Kamio Tatsuya, she never once gave him a proper look.

Did you think Kamio Tatsuya would be angry?

No, no, no—this Hoshinomiya woman clearly wasn't someone to mess with. Kamio Tatsuya wanted nothing to do with her, and besides, his attention was fixed on that girl named Ichinose.

Not bad at all.

Chabashira-sensei watched Hoshinomiya-sensei leave.

Then she irritably scratched her head and let out a strange sigh, leaving Kamio Tatsuya and Ayanokoji Kiyonaka utterly speechless.

Was this... early menopause?

Kamio Tatsuya thought maliciously as he followed Chabashira-sensei to the Counseling Room.

"So... what's the reason for calling us out?" Ayanokoji asked.

"Well." Chabashira-sensei glanced at the clock on the wall. "Before I explain, come over here."

Then she opened a side room in the Counseling Room, which seemed like a tea nook, complete with an electric stove and a kettle on top.

"Just brew some tea, right? Hojicha okay?" With that, Ayanokoji picked up the teapot and flipped over the teacups that had been placed upside down on the table.

"Then I'll have a Black tea, thanks."

Kamio Tatsuya sat down unceremoniously in a chair by the tea table.

"You two, cut it out. Put everything down. And until I call you out, stay quiet in here, no noise, got it? Violate it and you're expelled."

Even though Ayanokoji was the one who suggested tea first, why did he get scolded too?

As for being expelled for making noise, he'd take that with a grain of salt.

Then Kamio Tatsuya pulled out his phone, typed a message, and sent it.

[Asahina-senpai, can teachers at this school expel students on a whim?]

Chapter 33: Horikita: I Protest

A while later, at 3:30 PM, the Counseling Room door opened, and the expected guest finally arrived.

"Come in, Horikita. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Sure enough, it was Horikita. Kamio Tatsuya wasn't surprised.

"I have things to do later, so I'll ask directly: why was I assigned to Class D?"

Hearing this, Kamio Tatsuya shook his head inwardly. This girl—after a whole month, she was still hung up on this?

Is it really fitting to call them fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kids?

Confucius said: "I examine myself three times daily." You haven't taken that to heart at all.

No, not necessarily—maybe she really is reflecting on herself, but when someone gets stuck in a rut, their field of vision narrows.

So she simply can't see where her own problem lies.

Someone like that needs reality to slap her awake.

There's a saying that hits the mark—people teaching people never sticks, but experience teaches in one go!

I hope that when she stumbles, she can pick herself up on her own.

"You're asking me about something similar for the second time, aren't you?"

The second time?

Kamio Tatsuya was taken aback. He'd come to ask before?

Could it be back when he got that information from him?

Going back about a month.

Horikita Suzune had been mulling over this ever since she got the class assignment info from Kamio Tatsuya, but there was no way she'd admit she was on the same level as those losers in Class D.

So the day after getting the info, she went straight to Chabashira-sensei to ask about it.

Her question was just as blunt then.

"Sensei, I heard this school's class placement rules are different. Is that true?"

When Chabashira Sae heard Horikita Suzune ask that, she couldn't have been more moved.

How many years had it been? Finally, was Class D about to produce someone extraordinary?

Wait, she said "heard"?

"You say you heard it. Can I ask who from?"

"I promised them I wouldn't tell."

Chabashira Sae felt a twinge of regret, but from Horikita's expression, there was no way to get the person's name out of her.

"Then I'm sorry too. There's a lot about this school I can't tell you in the first month. If you want to know, come ask me on the first of next month."

With that, Chabashira-sensei brushed Horikita Suzune off, and after returning, Horikita Suzune observed the students in Class D.

She admitted Class D had plenty of unreliable students, but there were also some excellent ones.

Like Hirata Yosuke.

So she figured the info Kamio Tatsuya gave her had to be wrong—how could someone as outstanding as her be at the bottom like those in Class D?

Even today, when Chabashira-sensei said the same thing as Kamio Tatsuya, she still didn't believe it.

So right after school, Horikita Suzune arranged to meet Chabashira-sensei, and as soon as they met, she asked about the class placement again.

And from the teacher's tone, she still felt she shouldn't have been placed in Class D.

Chabashira-sensei had also learned today that the current Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, was Horikita Suzune's brother, so she wondered if Horikita Manabu had told her about the class placement.

"It seems unfair for me to be the only one answering. How about this—I have a question for you too. The class placement info you heard at the start of the term—who did you hear it from?"

Hearing this question, Kamio Tatsuya, in the break room, suddenly felt stuck.

He'd told Horikita not to reveal him back then, but times had changed—the info hadn't been disclosed then.

Now it was all out in the open. Would she keep his secret?

"I promised him I wouldn't say his name."

Hearing Horikita Suzune's words, Kamio Tatsuya breathed a quiet sigh of relief. At least she kept her word.

"Then let me rephrase. Was he an upperclassman? He probably didn't forbid you from revealing that."

Horikita Suzune tried to recall, then nodded.

"He's a First Year, like me."

So it wasn't her brother's help.

But Chabashira Sae quickly caught on. A First Year?

Horikita Suzune's social circle was incredibly narrow—so narrow she barely even acknowledged her classmates. The people she interacted with were very few.

And if the student was someone familiar to her, the most likely candidate... was in that break room.

Because only those two could usually have a word with Horikita.

Who was it?

Ayanokoji Kiyonaka?

Or Kamio Tatsuya?

Chabashira Sae couldn't decide, but if it wasn't either of them, it was probably a student from Class A.

After all, Class A had only lost six points in the first month this year, making history just like Class D—except while Class D hit a new low, Class A set a new high for the school.

But if there is someone in Class A who can see through the rules in advance, that wouldn't be surprising either.

There is no worse news than this.

Chabashira Sae grew more irritated the more she thought about it.

"Teacher, you said today that outstanding students will be selected into Class A in order, and that Class D is the last bastion for the school's bottom-feeders. But I don't think I'm the same as those people."

"Oh? Not convinced? It seems you think you're quite excellent."

"Of course! I'm confident I solved almost all the entrance exam questions, and I don't recall making any major mistakes in the interview. At the very least, I can't imagine being assigned to Class D."

Major mistakes?

That's no different from saying she was being targeted.

To put it bluntly, who does she think she is, that the school would bother targeting her?

If the school wanted to target her, they could have simply not admitted her.

Even now that the school's rules have been revealed, this school is still far better than most schools outside.

At the very least, there are no tuition or dorm fees—just that alone beats the vast majority of high schools.

This is clear from the reactions of the Class D students. The information this morning undoubtedly hit them hard, but not a single one chose to drop out.

After all, even the biggest idiot knows this school is better than others.

Even without the privileges.

Besides, outside high schools don't have those privileges either, and here, there's still a chance to fight for them.

Moreover, Horikita isn't the only one in Class D with good grades. Kouenji, Yukimura, and Hirata all have decent academic performance too.

And Kouenji and Hirata have even better athletic ability than Horikita.

If they're not making a fuss, what right does she have to?