There was only one week left until the midterm exams.
Early in the morning, Karuizawa brought out the actual midterm exam questions and answers she'd promised the night before to share with everyone.
"That's amazing, Kei! I can't believe you came up with this!"
The girls had already surrounded her. If they weren't in the classroom, they probably would have tossed Karuizawa high into the air on the spot.
"Well, actually, Katsuya and I bought them together..."
Since Shinjo had practically gone public with the fact that he was dating Karuizawa last time, and Karuizawa herself had blushed shyly when asked about it,
everyone in Class D was envious of the class's first couple.
Who wouldn't want to have a wonderful romance in high school?
"Thank you, Karuizawa, Shinjo."
Hirata Yōsuke, who always put the class first, was even more delighted. Horikita had told him that Chabashira-sensei had given them the wrong exam topics, but now they'd gotten the answers directly. Wasn't this a blessing in disguise?
"But even so, I still think Chabashira-sensei should give us an explanation! Otherwise, if she does this for every exam, we can't expect to get the answers every time, can we?"
As a good student who hadn't been particularly worried about his exam results in the first place, Yukimura was more concerned about why the teacher had done this.
This time, she'd only given them the wrong topics. What if she deliberately taught them the wrong material next time?!
With Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo taking the lead, nearly half the class headed together to Chabashira's office to demand an explanation.
"Teacher, could you tell us why the students in Class 1-C said we'd studied the wrong exam topics?"
Horikita got straight to the point.
Chabashira, who was handling paperwork, seemed to have seen this coming. She merely raised her eyes a little.
"Ah... I think I remember. The school changed the exam topics at the last minute, and I forgot to tell you."
"Chabashira-sensei, do you think we're idiots?!"
"Heh. Even if I gave you the wrong topics by mistake, that material was still something you were supposed to learn. Do you only study what's going to be on the exam? If so, I suppose there'd be no need to teach many of your courses at all."
Horikita was so angry that her face turned red, but she couldn't do anything to Chabashira.
They'd come to demand an explanation, but Chabashira was still their teacher, and they were students.
The school rules didn't say that teachers couldn't give students the wrong exam topics, so no matter how indignant they felt, they could only swallow their anger.
"Let's go..."
Seeing this, Chabashira's lips curled into a mocking smile. Then she looked toward the figure who still hadn't left.
"Aren't you leaving?"
"I have some questions. As a teacher, you're supposed to answer your students' questions, aren't you?"
"That depends on whether I can answer what you ask."
"Here?"
At that, Chabashira slowly stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt from sitting.
"Come on. I was just about to have a cigarette."
"Go on, what do you want to ask?"
Shinjo waved the document envelope in his hand.
"Was the reason you gave us the wrong topics this time to see whether we could get our hands on this?"
"If you got it, that was down to your own ability. If you didn't, it wouldn't matter. After all, the class's Class Points are at exactly zero right now. It wouldn't be a bad time to clean house."
She might lose an athletic powerhouse like Sudō, but Chabashira genuinely thought that people like Yamauchi and Ike were mostly useless.
Better to cut off a limb than drag it along as a burden.
"So you still want to climb the ranks, don't you?"
Chabashira didn't answer. She took a deep drag from her cigarette.
"Well, I can understand. Given the way this school operates, the four classes' homeroom teachers probably don't all earn the same amount each month, right?"
"That's not something a student should be asking."
Shinjo shrugged. Some things were better made clear to Chabashira ahead of time. He had a feeling this teacher was the kind of person who would let countless others perish to make one person's success. She wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it took to achieve her goal.
"Fine. But I think your teaching approach has gone a little off course. You know the state Class D is in. Climbing up, let alone defeating the lofty Class A... won't be easy, will it?"
Of course it wouldn't!
Chabashira couldn't even remember how much she'd sacrificed for that goal!
"Shinjo, since we have this opportunity, I'll be blunt. Your Class D is the worst class I've ever taught, with the lowest overall ability. But this year's Class A is full of monsters."
Chabashira spoke in a hoarse voice.
"But you're also the class with the most potential for change. I've seen hope..."
Hope?
Considering the personalities of Kōenji and Ayanokōji, it would be more accurate to call it despair.
"Heh... I hear your Yorozuya is already open for business?"
"Hey, you're not thinking of making use of me, are you? Just so we're clear, I'm not like Ayanokōji. I'll at least pitch in with the class's big and small affairs."
"But you won't give it your all, will you?"
Chabashira Sae had noticed the verbal trap Shinjo had set.
"A lot of people don't give it their all. You're no different, are you? You deliberately gave us the wrong exam topics... and deliberately set so many traps for us at the start of the school year. You may not admit it, but everyone knows."
"I won't deny it. But I was also testing you!"
The fact that this teacher could say something so shameless so openly showed just how pitiful her professional ethics were.
But nothing was surprising at a school like this. In fact, Shinjo was increasingly convinced that the longer someone had been at this school, the worse their psychological problems were!
It was called a school, but how was it any different from a prison?
"So I wanted to ask you: if you were me, how much effort would you put into your role at the Yorozuya?"
"As for that... I have four principles. But generally speaking, the effort I put in depends entirely on how capable the client is."
In simple terms, the more money you paid, the more effort you got.
"I see..."
Chabashira put out her cigarette and turned to leave the room.
Over the years, she'd accumulated quite a lot of personal points, but the school had expressly forbidden teachers from spending their points directly on students—for example, by helping them buy things beyond their means.
The Yorozuya was clearly a huge loophole.
She could pay Shinjo in the form of a commission, and then he could buy those things that were otherwise out of reach.
In other words, money laundering!
"The Yorozuya... As long as I can put it to use, it'll be no different from having you on my side... As for that Hermit, I have a way to deal with him too."
"Class A... Class A..."
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