Construction

He let go of the hand he was holding.

Since the first matter was settled, it was time to move on to the next topic.

"How much do you know about the school, Gojo-kun? Back in the library, why did you say in front of everyone that I didn't need tutoring? My test scores last time were barely passing, not much higher than that. If you knew my situation, then what did you mean by that follow-up line, 'Anyway, according to school rules, passing should be easy, right?'"

"Just call me Satoru—I've been calling you Kiyotaka-kun all along. You've probably figured it out by now, haven't you? Chabashira said it from the start: anything at this school can be traded with points. It's just that the targets, content, and amounts vary."

Is that so?

Just as he'd thought—if anything could be traded, then grades or answers were no problem at all. And since this was a special exam that could boost class points, there had to be a special way to pass. After all, it was tough for an individual to improve rapidly in less than a month, let alone an entire class. Barring any surprises, the test questions could probably be obtained through special channels. But if that was the case, why had he been told to do nothing this month?

"If there's a stable way to pass the midterms, why not act on it? According to what the teacher said at the start, this school operates on a merit-based system. If a student gets expelled, doesn't that mean the class lacks ability, leading to a drop in class points?"

You've thought it through pretty thoroughly. With just the information you have, you've pieced together a lot of hard-to-notice rules.

"That's right—if a student gets expelled, class points do decrease. But not right now, and even if they do, it doesn't matter. Class points can't go negative. The only downside to not acting is that class points won't increase much, because the students won't improve drastically all at once. But it lets me weed out the people I dislike and the useless ones who can't even grasp basic study skills and won't bother trying. Of course, if you want the class to improve faster, you can buy test papers your way—just don't hand them out to Yamauchi and Ike. That's the optimal solution for now: the people I hate get eliminated, class points go up, and we keep some sacrificial lambs for future special exams."

He'd already thought this far?

Even though there was a way to keep everyone safe, he still planned to get rid of the people he disliked. He'd even marked out sacrificial lambs to prevent surprises in future special exams. A self-interested person like himself, but one who let his emotions drive him—reckless, in a way.

"If that's the case, I know what to do. I'll buy the test papers normally, but I'll leave the distribution to Horikita. I promised Chabashira-sensei I'd help Class D rise in exchange for information about you. So I'll give it a try first."

An unexpected choice—not the usual little angel.

"Is that so? But why Horikita for distributing the papers? Wouldn't Kushida Kikyo be more suitable?"

"Her situation is a bit special. If she handed them out, we'd have to deliberately exclude two classmates. If that got out, her reputation would take a big hit, and she'd be almost useless going forward."

I see.

He'd thought it through thoroughly. Well, as long as someone was willing to do it, his own plans had become irrelevant. If the other party was willing to indulge him and go all out to improve the class, then even if he did nothing, the class would probably rise in the end. That way, whatever happened to the riffraff in the class wouldn't affect his mood, and he wouldn't need to waste time. Compared to pointless struggles, finding a partner was more important.

"If that's how you see it, that's fine. But I should warn you—Horikita's brain might not be as sharp as you think."

With that, he turned and walked away. There was nothing left to argue about now. But Chabashira's actions had left him a bit cold—he'd have to collect some interest.

Watching his retreating back, he pondered that last line.

'Her brain is worse than I imagined?'

But if it's just handing out exam papers, there shouldn't be any problem, right?

Although she's a bit hard to get along with, her personal ability still ranks among the top in the class.

It's just that the gap between her and the very frontrunners has widened significantly.

Still, there's no denying she has considerable skill and potential.

Bang!

The door to the faculty office was suddenly thrown open, and a figure dashed in.

"Little Sae! I've come to find you!"

Gojo Satoru jumped in, shouting with a delighted expression.

But the situation seemed a bit off.

It wasn't just Chabashira Sae—Hoshinomiya Chie, the Class B homeroom teacher, was there too.

Still, the awkwardness was only on their end; Gojo Satoru had sensed two people inside from the start.

As for who the other one was, it didn't matter—as long as he confirmed one of them was Chabashira Sae.

At that moment, Chabashira Sae and Hoshinomiya Chie were staring blankly at the student who had suddenly barged in.

"Hey!

He uses the same nickname as me!

Little Sae, is he your boyfriend?!"

Hoshinomiya Chie, snapping out of her daze, grabbed Chabashira Sae by the shoulders and shook her excitedly.

But before Chabashira Sae could answer, the other woman kept going.

"A teacher-student relationship—how enviable! But wait, I remember you, student, you're dating Amikura from my class, right?

And you're also dating Kamuro from Class A!

I never thought you'd have a secret thing going with Little Sae too!

What a sinful man."

It sounded exaggerated and serious, but her expression was still one of excitement, as if this were the most amusing thing ever.

This time, though, Chabashira Sae wasn't about to let her keep rambling nonsense. She set the record straight.

"You're overthinking it. We have a normal teacher-student relationship. It's just that Gojo's personality is a bit odd.

Of course, the fact that he's dating two girls at once is true."

Hearing this, before Hoshinomiya Chie could respond, Gojo Satoru put on a hurt expression.

He pressed his left hand on the nearby desk, raised his right hand with a delicate gesture to his lips, and spoke mournfully.

"I never thought that in Little Sae's eyes, I'd be a person with a strange personality.

Have you forgotten our promise under the cherry blossom tree back then?

Boo hoo hoo~"

What promise under the cherry blossom tree?!

This time, it wasn't just Chabashira Sae—even Hoshinomiya Chie fell silent.

She had been planning to tease Chabashira Sae a bit more, but this student was even more explosive.

Give me back the high-quality handsome guy from my first impression!

How can someone like this be dating two beautiful girls at once? Just because he's good-looking?

Sure, his appearance is tempting, but this personality...

Paying no attention to their stunned gazes, Gojo Satoru snapped back to his usual self and asked with a smile.

"Little Sae, when do you have time? There's something I need to discuss with you."

At that question, Chabashira Sae felt a flicker of panic inside.

That guy hasn't already spilled the beans, has he?

She had thought that, given his nature, there wouldn't be any problems for a while, and he could quickly help Class D. She hadn't expected him to give in to the temptation of freedom so soon.

But it probably wasn't a big deal, right?

To be honest, this was actually finding a powerful ally for Gojo Satoru. After all, the condition she had set was just to stay in Class A. If she added Ayanokoji to the mix...

Then even graduating from Class A all the way through shouldn't be a problem.

Their abilities were no less than what Horikita Manabu had shown. As long as they could cooperate, Class A would be within easy reach!

While she was still lost in thought, Hoshinomiya Chie couldn't hold back anymore and spoke up in a pitiful tone.