A Great Use for the Yorozuya

There was only one week left until the midterm exams.

Early in the morning, Karuizawa brought out the past exam papers and answer keys she had promised to share with everyone the night before.

"That's amazing, Megumi! I never expected you to come up with something like this!"

The girls had already surrounded her; if they weren't in a classroom, they probably would have tossed Karuizawa high into the air in celebration.

"This... actually, Katsuya and I bought these together..."

Because Shinjo had essentially made their relationship public last time, and Karuizawa herself had looked bashful whenever she was asked about it, the entire Class 1-D was envious of the first couple to emerge in their class.

Who wouldn't want to have a wonderful romance during their high school years?

"Thank you both! Karuizawa-san, Shinjo-san."

Hirata Yōsuke, who was wholeheartedly dedicated to the class, was beaming with joy. Although he had heard from Horikita that Chabashira-sensei had given them the wrong exam scope, obtaining the answers directly now was a classic case of a blessing in disguise.

"Even so, I still think Chabashira-sensei owes us an explanation! Otherwise, if she does this for every exam, we can't expect to get the answers every single time, can we?"

As a top student who wasn't particularly worried about his own grades, Yukimura was more concerned about why the teacher would do such a thing.

This time it was just a mistake in the scope, but what if she intentionally taught them incorrect information next time?!

With Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo taking the lead, nearly half the class headed to the office to demand an explanation from Chabashira.

"Sensei, could you please tell us why the students in Class 1-C said we were studying the wrong exam scope?"

Horikita got straight to the point and threw the question at Chabashira.

Chabashira, who was busy with paperwork, acted as if she had foreseen this moment, merely lifting her eyelids:

"Ah... I seem to recall that the school changed the exam scope at the last minute, and I forgot to tell you."

"Chabashira-sensei, do you take us for fools?!"

"Heh, even if the exam scope was wrong due to my mistake, those were all things you were supposed to learn anyway. Are you saying that you only study exactly what will be on the test? If that were the case, I'm afraid there would be no need for many of these courses to exist at all."

Horikita was flushed with anger, but there was nothing she could do to Chabashira.

They had come to hold her accountable, but Chabashira was, after all, a teacher, and they were students.

The school rules didn't state that a teacher couldn't provide the wrong exam scope, so no matter how resentful they felt, they had no choice but to swallow their pride.

"Let's go..."

Seeing this, a mocking smirk hung on the corner of Chabashira's mouth, and she then looked at the figure who had lingered behind.

"Aren't you leaving?"

"Because I have some questions. As a teacher, answering a student's doubts is only right, isn't it?"

"That depends on whether I can answer what you're asking."

"Right here?"

Hearing this, Chabashira slowly stood up and smoothed out her skirt, which had wrinkled from sitting:

"Let's go. I was just about to go have a smoke."

"Speak. What do you want to ask?"

Shinjo took out the file folder he was holding and waved it:

"The reason you gave the wrong scope this time—it wasn't just to see if we could get our hands on this, was it?"

"If you can get it, that's your ability. If you can't, it doesn't matter. After all, the class points are currently at zero; taking this opportunity to do a little cleaning wouldn't be a bad thing."

Although it might clear out athletic talents like Sudō, in reality, Chabashira truly felt that people like Yamauchi and Ike were useless.

Rather than carrying dead weight, it was better to cut off the limb to save the body.

"In other words, you actually do want to climb higher, don't you?"

Chabashira didn't answer, instead taking a deep drag from the cigarette in her hand.

"Well, I can actually understand that. Given the way this school operates, the monthly income for the four homeroom teachers must be different, right?"

"That is not something a student should be asking about."

Shinjo shrugged. It was better to clarify certain things with Chabashira in advance; he always felt this teacher was the type who would sacrifice everything to achieve her goals, a "general who succeeds on the bones of ten thousand."

"Fine. But I think your educational model is a bit off-track. You know the situation in Class 1-D very well. Wanting to climb up, or even defeat the high-and-mighty Class 1-A... that's no easy task, is it?"

Of course it wasn't easy!

Chabashira couldn't even remember how high a price she had paid for that goal!

"Shinjo, since the opportunity is here, I'll be blunt. This year's Class 1-D is the worst I've ever led. Your overall strength is the lowest, while this year's Class 1-A is full of monsters."

Chabashira said in a hoarse voice.

"But you are also the most unpredictable batch. I see hope..."

Hope?

Calling it hope is a stretch; given the personalities of Kōenji and Ayanokōji, it would be more accurate to call it despair.

"Heh... I heard your Yorozuya has already started operations?"

"Hey, you aren't planning on targeting me, are you? Let me be clear: I'm different from Ayanokōji. I at least put in some effort when it comes to the various matters of the class."

"But you don't give it your all! Do you?"

Chabashira Sae noticed the verbal trap Shinjo had set.

"There are plenty of people who don't give it their all, aren't you the same? You intentionally gave out the wrong exam scope... you intentionally dug so many pits for us at the start of the school year. Even if you don't admit it, everyone knows it deep down."

"I won't deny that. But that was also a way to test you all!"

To be able to say such shameless words so openly, this teacher's professional ethics were truly pitifully low.

However, it was no surprise to see any kind of person in this school, and Shinjo increasingly felt that the longer someone had been at this school, the greater their psychological issues became!

Calling it a school—what difference was there between this and a prison?

"So, I want to ask you: if it were you, in that identity of the Yorozuya, how much effort could you put in?"

"Regarding that... I personally have four major principles, but generally speaking, how much effort I put in depends entirely on how much capability the client has."

To put it simply, the more money paid, the more effort naturally put in.

"I understand..."

Chabashira extinguished her cigarette, turned around, and left the secret room.

Over these many years, she had actually accumulated quite a lot of personal points, but the school had strict regulations prohibiting teachers from using their points directly on students, such as helping them purchase items that exceeded the rules.

And the existence of the Yorozuya was clearly a massive loophole.

She could pay money to Shinjo in the form of a commission, and Shinjo could then go and purchase those prohibited items.

This process was commonly known as money laundering!

"Yorozuya... as long as it can be used for my purposes, it's no different than having you... As for that Hermit, I have a way to deal with him as well."

"Class A... Class A..."