Reason

"The conversation just now... did you hear all of it?" Horikita questioned Ayanokoji.

"What conversation? I knew you were talking about something outside, but I couldn't hear clearly. The walls are surprisingly thick."

"That's not true. The sound in this room carries clearly to the staff room." Chabashira-sensei tapped the wall, producing a hollow sound that exposed Ayanokoji's intention. Konoe stifled a laugh.

Chabashira then showed Horikita Ayanokoji's entrance exam scores.

Fifty points in every subject, which greatly surprised Horikita.

"Coincidence is a terrifying thing," Ayanokoji attempted to explain.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Chabashira pressed Ayanokoji.

Seeing his objective achieved, Chabashira exchanged a few more words with them before ushering them out of the guidance room.

Afterward, Chabashira locked the door and returned to the staff room. Hearing the lock click, Konoe's heart skipped a beat.

"There's no need to lock the door, is there? Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a boy in his prime." Seeing Chabashira return to the staff room, Konoe shrank back into his seat.

"Oh? But you seem to be backing away? As a boy, what are you afraid of now?" A playful smile appeared on Chabashira's face as he approached Konoe. "Jokes aside, Konoe, what do you think?"

"If I can watch from the sidelines, I'll watch from the sidelines. What do you mean, 'what do I think'..."

"I understand what you mean, and I have a general idea of your personality. But since you shared information with Hirata and the others, you must have some thoughts about the class's advancement, right?"

"Not at all. I just want to have more points."

"That's not a conflict. Increasing the class points is the same as increasing your points, isn't it?"

"No need. I'll increase my personal points myself from now on. Isn't that simpler, Chabashira-sensei?"

"...Speaking of which, I looked at your entrance exam, Konoe-kun. Unlike Horikita, you didn't score high. Your exam seemed to have questions left blank at the end, as if you felt you had done enough. If it weren't for this recent quiz, I might have thought your academic ability was only this much."

"It was just a coincidence. It's normal to not know the answers to the later questions. The quiz questions were simple; I just happened to have done similar problems for the last three questions."

"Another coincidence? Konoe Hirakawa, you have no reason not to act. You told Hirata the information, didn't you? Precisely because you wanted him to protect the class's points?"

"...In fact, he didn't succeed either, Chabashira-sensei. I'm a student who dislikes trouble, so no matter what you say, I won't act."

"Fifty thousand."

"...What?"

"If you can handle the upcoming assessment, that is, ensure everyone passes the midterms. I will personally pay you fifty thousand points."

There's such a thing? Konoe couldn't believe it.

"You only received 11,000 points this month, right? I don't know what you want points for, but isn't your reason for acting points? I'll pay you personally."

"Excuse me, Chabashira-sensei, it's not about the points, it's..."

"Eighty thousand."

"...Thank you for valuing me so highly, but I think..."

"One hundred thousand. If you refuse again, I'll kick you out."

"Deal."

"Heh." Chabashira's cold laugh made Konoe feel a bit embarrassed.

"I'm curious, how many points do you have left?" Chabashira inquired.

"Although this is personal privacy, I'll tell you specially if you give me five thousand points right now."

"No need. I have ways to check."

"Wait, two thousand points. Don't your channels require a cost?"

"Hmph..." Chabashira transferred two thousand points to Konoe and discovered that Konoe had as many as one hundred fifty thousand points.

"...It seems I underestimated you."

"Heh heh, Chabashira-sensei, don't think about making me use my points to help the class. If a situation arises where the class absolutely needs my points, I will sell out the class without hesitation. Of course, I wouldn't do something like betraying the class for points either." Konoe put on a threatening demeanor just in case.

"...I'm not interested in your petty cash. We're going to have a meeting now."

As Konoe was unlocking the guidance room from the inside, Chabashira-sensei's voice came from behind him:

"Konoe Hirakawa, if you always give up halfway and don't give your all, when you truly want to give your best, it might already be too late."

Still quite amusing, Konoe thought, rating it in his mind, and then left.

He hadn't walked a few steps down the corridor before he saw Ayanokoji.

"Yo, how's it going?" Ayanokoji seemed to be trying hard to act enthusiastic.

"Where's Horikita?"

"Don't worry, she doesn't know. Rather, I seem to have been forcibly made her subordinate."

Isn't it the other way around? Konoe looked up at Ayanokoji's expressionless face, realizing he thought he was being humorous.

"What are you going to do next? You talked with Chabashira-sensei for so long, what did she say to you?" Ayanokoji chatted casually.

"Although I still don't want to take the initiative, Chabashira... In short, I'll do what I can within my abilities from now on." Ayanokoji noticed Konoe making a strange expression and, thinking about Konoe's appearance, involuntarily considered a possibility.

"...It seems that when Horikita and I left, Chabashira-sensei locked the door... You..." Ayanokoji trailed off.

"What are you thinking? That's impossible. Besides, as a guy, could I really..." Konoe pondered, realizing he might not actually be able to subdue Chabashira with force. He felt a familiar disappointment in his own physical weakness.

"So, what do you want to do?" Konoe asked, puzzled.

"...Isn't it good enough like this? Let's leave it as is," Ayanokoji replied.

It seemed Ayanokoji still wasn't keen on taking direct action. He always appeared indifferent to points and such.

"I'm feeling a bit hungry. It's been a while since I had Extremely Spicy Beef Curry Rice. Shall we go?"

"I think eel suits me better today. Let's go."

"...There's one more small thing. I accidentally offended Horikita earlier. If you have any instructions for him... cough I misspoke, I meant if he has any instructions for you, could you relay them for me? I need to mend our relationship."

"That's fine, but what did you do?"

"Don't ask. I'll treat you to eel."

Ayanokoji gave Konoe an admiring glance, then said nothing more and walked with Konoe towards the restaurant.