The afternoon class was only halfway through. Sunlight poured through the windows and fell across the textbooks, warm and drowsy.
Shangguan Che lay sprawled over his desk, propping his chin on one hand and twirling a pen with the other. He had no interest in listening to the teacher's English conversation lesson. He'd already learned this material, and hearing it again, mixed with the peculiar Japanese-English pronunciation, was practically like listening to a spell meant to make him drowsy.
Since I'm just sitting here anyway, I might as well sum up the intel I've gathered over the past few days. Shangguan Che took out a notebook and pen, pretending to take diligent notes while actually scribbling away, launching his own "Class Intelligence Analysis Meeting."
First up was Class 1-A.
Shangguan Che recalled what he'd seen when he used Clairvoyance to observe Class 1-A's classroom. His pen paused.
"Class 1-A seems to have two leaders. At the last class meeting, Katsuragi stood up first and explained the class's affairs, making a lot of sense. But as soon as he finished, a white-haired little girl with a cane slowly got up from her seat and added a few things."
Thinking of the white-haired girl, Shangguan Che couldn't help frowning. "She doesn't seem to be in the best of health. She needs a cane to walk, and her name isn't in the textbook, so I still have no idea what she's called. It's driving me crazy."
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Right! Why did I forget that the school's student database has photos matched with names? I was so stupid before."
Shangguan Che mentally ran through the steps. "Filter by year, then by class, and then look through the photos. I'm sure I'll find her."
It took him only a few seconds to "zero in" on his target. "Found her! Sakayanagi Arisu. It says she has a congenital heart condition? Then how did she get into Class A?"
Shangguan Che rubbed his chin, puzzled. "You'd think poor health would make it easy to fall behind in your studies. But Class A is full of top students. It seems a little contradictory, though maybe it's not really a problem. She might be a genius, after all."
After thinking it over without reaching an answer, he gave up. "Forget it. Why bother thinking so much? It has nothing to do with me anyway."
He continued writing. "Class A has two leaders. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? If they get along and work well together, Class A will only get stronger.
"If they don't get along and start fighting for control, that'll be interesting. But Katsuragi and Sakayanagi seem to be getting along pretty well, so I'll wait and see for now."
Next up was Class 1-B.
The moment Class 1-B came to mind, Shangguan Che couldn't help smiling. "Class 1-B is completely different from Class A. Ichinose Honami is the only leader, and she's even chosen class officers. They've got the beginnings of a leadership team. They seem pretty organized."
He remembered that he often chatted with Ichinose but had never brought up Class 1-B. It's not that I don't want to talk about it. Ichinose and I are friends, but our classes are rivals. I can't exactly volunteer information about Class 1-B, can I?
That would be pretty disloyal. I should do my best to keep the competition between our classes from spilling into our pure friendship. At least I'm clearheaded about that. The system mission and friendship are both important.
Shangguan Che also thought of Class 1-B's group activities and couldn't help shaking his head. "Class 1-B has way too many get-togethers! A small gathering every three days, a big one every five, and a whole-class gathering every ten. Good thing I'm not in Class 1-B. If I had to attend gatherings every day, I'd be exhausted."
"It's not that Class 1-B has a bad atmosphere. It's the opposite—the atmosphere is so good, you'd think they were one big family." Shangguan Che smiled helplessly. "They all get along and gather often, and their relationships seem to come in all levels: acquaintances, casual friends, friends, close friends, brothers. But I don't like parties. I'd never fit in with them."
Suddenly, he recalled the scene he'd witnessed with Clairvoyance, and his expression darkened. "Class 1-B is so united, but its leader, Ichinose, was still threatened with a gun? That's way too dangerous! I don't know who did it, but they definitely meant trouble. I have to warn Ichinose to be careful."
Then came Class 1-C.
At the mention of Class 1-C, Shangguan Che's pen paused, and his expression turned complicated. "Class 1-C's leader is Ryuen Kakeru. He has long red hair, so he really stands out. I've noticed the school doesn't seem to care how long students grow their hair. They're pretty free about that. Come to think of it, my old high school didn't care either. Never mind, then."
What puzzled him most was how Ryuen Kakeru had become the leader. "Judging from Class 1-C's atmosphere and what I've observed over the past few days, I can more or less guess. He probably got the position through bullying, right?"
The thought left Shangguan Che speechless. "Does the school not care about bullying? And his classmates don't report him? Aren't they afraid of Ryuen Kakeru?"
He recalled a scene he'd accidentally witnessed, and his face went dark. "If I hadn't seen Ryuen Kakeru use that disgusting 'thousand years of death' move on a Black classmate who was using the bathroom, I wouldn't have believed it.
"That sight was so awful, I still feel like my eyes have been defiled! I watched the whole thing, but I'm sure there's nothing wrong with me. Ryuen Kakeru is the one with a problem! If he hadn't done something like that, would I have seen it?"
Shangguan Che wrote a few words in his notebook with a heavy hand. "Class 1-C is Ryuen Kakeru's one-man show. A typical dictator."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "From a historical perspective, dictators always fail in the end. But from the perspective of famous historical events, dictators usually have a peak moment that shocks everyone.
"Still, when it comes to Ryuen Kakeru, who likes to bully people, I have Clairvoyance, so it should be hard for me to get the short end of the stick. Probably."
Last was Class 1-D, his own class.
Looking at the words in his notebook, Shangguan Che couldn't help sighing. "Class 1-D... It's nothing special. It's about the same as my old elementary school."
Thinking of his classmates, he smiled helplessly. "Everyone knows that skipping class, talking, and sleeping during lessons are bad, but sometimes they just can't control themselves. Their bodies act before their brains, and afterward they regret it.
"Take Sudo, for example. He sleeps through class every day, then talks about games with Ike and Yamauchi during breaks. I've told him how many times, but he never listens."
"I've figured it out. From now on, I'll do whatever Hirata tells me to do, except for things I'm willing to do. No one can make me do a single thing extra." Shangguan Che made a firm resolution to himself. "In elementary school, I was too eager to help the class, but hardly any of my classmates remembered me aside from the teacher. I can't make that mistake again."
The class analysis was done. Now it was time to analyze individuals.
Ichinose Honami: "I can't see anything wrong with her at all. But the more perfect she seems, the more I feel there's something off about her. That uneasy feeling keeps making me send her messages praising her, hoping I can find some clues in her reactions."
Karuizawa Kei: "After observing her for the past few days, I've realized she's become the leader of the gyaru group. She also acts like she's second only to God. I think she needs some proper guidance. I haven't figured out how to guide her yet, but I'll take my time."
Yosuke Hirata: "A genuinely sunny, good-hearted guy. Nothing unusual so far. He's in good shape. Keep it up."
Sakura Airi: "She's always right under my nose, and I haven't asked her about... Wait! There might be something suspicious about that pink letter that looks like a love letter!"
Shangguan Che's pen suddenly stopped. His thoughts started tangling again. Should I read that letter or not? If I do, it'd be an invasion of her privacy. But if I don't, I'll keep wondering what's inside. I'm really curious.
After thinking for a long time, he finally made up his mind. "Forget it. I'll ask her after school. Knowing Sakura's personality, she'll probably tell me the truth."
He looked down at his notebook and realized he'd written less than a page. He couldn't help smiling. "Good thing I wrote this in a notebook. I'll tear it out and throw it in the trash when I get back to my dorm. I can't let anyone else see it, or I'll be in trouble."
Just then, Sakura suddenly called his name. "Shangguan, how do you solve this problem?"
Shangguan Che shot to his feet, his mind completely blank. Luckily, he reacted quickly, piecing together what he'd caught from the lesson and walking over to Sakura's desk to think it through with her.
Only after answering Sakura did Shangguan Che realize:
Oh, class was over.
After sitting back down, he patted his chest and exclaimed inwardly, "That scared me to death. I'm never writing stuff like this in the classroom again. If someone else finds out, I'll be in serious trouble."
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