Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! 22

Horikita Suzune's expression froze instantly.

She finally realized that she had fallen completely into the other party's linguistic trap.

This teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, was staring right at her while deliberately mentioning the name of another girl.

(That name... have I seen it somewhere before?)

Horikita Suzune suddenly recalled the contact list on the phone Shimizu Akira had shown her last week—among those dense lines of text, the name "Ichinose" had indeed appeared, with the full name likely being Ichinose Honami.

(She did it on purpose, absolutely on purpose.)

Horikita Suzune's gaze gradually turned cold.

Her previous attempt to deliberately ignore the woman had clearly invited this meticulously designed counterattack.

(These teachers are one more incompetent than the next!!)

Horikita Suzune made a cold judgment in her heart.

First was her own homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae—that woman who always left work on time in her high heels.

Since the start of the semester, let alone class meetings, she had even brushed off the most basic class affairs.

Other classes had long since elected class representatives, but Class D remained leaderless, like a flock of sheep left to fend for themselves.

And this one in front of her...

Hoshinomiya Chie was tilting her head, playing with the tips of her slightly curled hair, and with those long legs under her ultra-short skirt, she looked exactly like a gyaru from the streets of Shibuya.

Even more absurdly, she was openly prying into a male student's romantic privacy at the entrance of the faculty office, and was even petty enough to hold a grudge over being ignored earlier.

Horikita Suzune stepped back half a step with a cold face, "The hiring standards of this school are truly questionable. Your frivolous attire alone is completely inconsistent with professional teaching standards."

"Ooh, wow~ little 'Chabashira', how scary, how scary~" Hoshinomiya Chie covered her chest with an exaggerated gesture, yet her smile only grew brighter.

She suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pointed at the security camera in the hallway: "However, under the surveillance, questioning the school authorities in public will cost a teacher quite a few points, you know~ It seems little Chabashira's plan is going to fall apart again, and I'm afraid she's going to try to hit me again!..." As she spoke, she suddenly changed her expression, drooping the corners of her mouth and looking at Shimizu Akira with a pitiful, aggrieved expression, "Shimizu-kun, you have to testify for me! She was clearly the one who started it."

"Right! Shimizu-kun even gave me beer to drink, so you'll protect your teacher, right? Don't worry! As long as you protect your teacher, I'll give you plenty of 'rewards'." Hoshinomiya Chie reached out as if acting spoiled, but Shimizu Akira agilely stepped back half a step to avoid her.

He never expected that his first opponent for a backstep after learning boxing would be the frail-looking Hoshinomiya Chie.

(So that's how it is...)

He finally cleared up the cause and effect—those cans of beer given as a token of gratitude had been passed on by Ichinose Honami to her own homeroom teacher.

And the teacher before him had taken this student's gesture as a matter-of-course sign of affection toward herself.

So, was this person a drunkard, too?

(The so-called "reward"... it couldn't really be what I think it is, could it?)

This ambiguous term fermented in his mind, causing his previously certain judgment to waver—perhaps that "physiological need" really did mean exactly what he had first understood it to mean.

Our Advanced Nurturing High School is visibly getting better, indeed.

Extremely strict with students, yet unusually lenient with teachers.

(But... she really is the homeroom teacher for Class B!)

Shimizu Akira suddenly realized something, his eyes flickering slightly.

Hoshinomiya's seemingly casual words and actions just now—deliberately using a frivolous tone to provoke Horikita and picking a fight in a spot clearly captured by the security camera—were likely all meticulously designed traps.

Horikita Suzune had fallen into a loss of composure just as she had expected, and a portion of her class points had already been deducted.

From the perspective of other classes, such behavior of tripping up a competitor was indeed beneath the dignity of a teacher.

But if one stood in the shoes of a Class B student, one should perhaps feel fortunate to have a homeroom teacher who thought of the class's interests at every turn, right?

However, overall, his impression of this female teacher was not very good.

Regardless, a teacher indirectly taking action against students in such a way was problematic no matter how you looked at it.

ps: To ensure the readability of this book, some characters' abilities will be enhanced.

ps2: Many thanks to the readers for their votes and comments.

039 Hoshinomiya Chie: It seems a shark has snuck into Class D

Horikita Suzune looked at her with icy eyes.

Every word from this Class B mentor was like a carefully concocted potion, slowly corroding her patience.

Behind those seemingly casual taunts, there was clearly a more specific purpose—to enrage her, and then... deduct these so-called "points"?

So, what exactly did the "deducting points" the other party mentioned mean?

There was no such clause in the school handbook—was this another hidden rule set by the school?

Her mind rapidly scanned through various possibilities.

Could it be that some kind of point system existed in this school?

As long as a student violated a specific school rule, would the corresponding points be deducted?

Because she had purchased information from Shimizu Akira, she had already paid eighty thousand private points. With the balance in her account now less than ten thousand, if they were all deducted, she would have no choice but to go to the supermarket to get free ingredients and make her own bento.

Dealing with people was not her forte to begin with, let alone facing an opponent who perfectly blended teacher authority with social skills.

When it came to pure intellectual maneuvering, she had absolute confidence that she would not fall behind.

But facing someone like Hoshinomiya Chie—who was both a master of social interaction and held the inherent advantage of being a teacher—even she felt somewhat helpless.

However, Hoshinomiya Chie's attention had already shifted away from Horikita.

After all, Class D's class points had already been deducted, and this cold, honor-student type no longer held any value for her.

(Hehe... just thinking about how angry and annoyed Chabashira-chan looks makes me so happy.)

At this moment, she was far more interested in Shimizu Akira, who was standing to the side.

"Little Shimizu~" She twirled a strand of her hair with a flirtatious fingertip, her eyes flashing with a dangerous, curious light. "I heard you took our Ichinose to meet some second-year upperclassmen? Come on, be honest with your big sister, what exactly did you ask them?"

Shimizu Akira retreated another half-step without making it obvious, his back nearly pressing against the corridor wall.

He truly couldn't fathom why this Class B homeroom teacher was pursuing him so relentlessly.

She shouldn't know that Class D was likely already at zero! There were no points left to deduct!

Could it be... that she had already realized Shimizu Akira knew about the information regarding the S System?

Was she trying to suppress potential threats from other classes to maintain Class B's advantage?

But upon second thought, that felt absurd.

Their Class D was nothing more than the bottom-feeders; Class B's true rival should be Class A. Furthermore—

(Didn't she claim over and over that she and Chabashira-chan were best friends?)

Was this what she called a "best friend"? In the face of class interests, she would even scheme against her best friend's students?

Shimizu Akira couldn't help but wonder if all the homeroom teachers from other classes operated this way.

Facing Hoshinomiya Chie, the natural pressure emanating from her status as a teacher truly made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

After all, one wrong move and he could be labeled as "disrespectful to his elders."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei! What are you doing?"

A clear voice suddenly broke the stalemate.

At the end of the corridor, Ichinose Honami was holding her forehead in exasperation as she looked over.

Ichinose walked over quickly and stood beside Hoshinomiya Chie. "Please don't make things difficult for students from other classes. Can't you see that Shimizu-kun and the others are troubled?"

"Oh my~ so my dear Class President Ichinose has arrived~" Hoshinomiya Chie blinked with feigned surprise and finally stepped back, albeit reluctantly.

"Hoshinomiya! Don't you dare harass my students!"

Accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps, Chabashira Sae finally appeared at the end of the corridor.

She was slightly out of breath, her sharp gaze piercing straight at Hoshinomiya Chie as she raised her hand and gave the other woman a light chop on the head without a word.

"Who told you to lay a hand on Shimizu Akira?" There was a rare trace of anger in Chabashira's voice.

"Oh my~" Hoshinomiya Chie rubbed her head, looking aggrieved. "He was the one who came to find Sae-chan on his own; I was just helping to entertain him while you weren't around~"

Chabashira Sae snorted coldly, "It would have been better if you had just left him alone."

She turned to Shimizu Akira and Horikita Suzune, her tone softening slightly. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. It's not convenient to talk here. You two, come with me to the Counseling Room."

"Let me come along too~ I'll just listen in for a little bit~" Hoshinomiya Chie leaned in like a clingy cat, her eyes sparkling with gossip.

"No!" Ichinose Honami grabbed her wrist with quick reflexes. "Hoshinomiya-sensei, our class still has important matters to discuss!"

Chabashira Sae, meanwhile, played her trump card directly: "If you dare follow us, I don't mind making sure you spend your weekend bedridden recovering from injuries."

She added expressionlessly, "It would save you from going out and causing trouble all weekend anyway."

"Waaah~ you two are so mean!" Hoshinomiya Chie let her shoulders slump dramatically, looking like a puppy caught in the rain. "One is my best friend, and the other is my most trusted class president... how could I possibly defy you~"

As the figures of Shimizu Akira and the others disappeared completely at the end of the corridor, the bright smile on Hoshinomiya Chie's face receded like a receding tide.

"Sae-chan..." she whispered, "you don't actually intend to commit insubordination, do you? That kind of thing... I'll be the first one to say no."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei?" Ichinose Honami tilted her head in confusion. "What did you just say?"

"Ah, nothing~" Hoshinomiya instantly returned to her usual lighthearted expression. "I was just bad-mouthing Sae-chan~"

"But aren't you best friends?"

"Exactly because we are best friends... when we do tear each other apart... it'll be even more terrifying."

"Sensei is saying strange things again..."

"Hehe~ that's still too early for you to understand, Ichinose! By the way, how was our class doing last week?"

Ichinose's expression dimmed instantly. "It wasn't ideal... a few students with lower grades saw that you weren't really enforcing classroom discipline, so they've been playing on their phones and skipping class lately..." She twisted her fingers in distress. "As class president, I didn't want to be too harsh on them, so I could only... let it slide for now."

Hoshinomiya Chie sighed. "My dear class president... you spent four whole lunch breaks with those upperclassmen last week; did you really not notice anything?"

Ichinose blinked in confusion, "I was just making friends normally..."

Hoshinomiya Chie felt a mix of amusement and frustration.

(Even Ichinose, who has an A in intelligence, didn't notice the clues... why did that student from Class D...)

Suddenly, her eyes widened as if she had caught a key lead.

(Wait... that girl was easily provoked by me into violating school rules, yet after hearing the word "points," she looked at me with a very confused expression... This isn't right!)

(Either he didn't get any information from the upperclassmen at all, or... he chose to hide that hidden information from his classmates.)

"Ichinose!" Hoshinomiya Chie suddenly turned around, pressing both hands onto her student's shoulders. "What is the name of the senior that Shimizu asked you to contact? And why did you suddenly appear here?"

"It's a second-year senior named Yamamura... and this, actually, was also because Shimizu asked me to come and help out!"

Hoshinomiya Chie narrowed her eyes involuntarily upon hearing this.

(To think he intentionally called my Ichinose over.)

(It seems there really is a need to go and meet this student named Yamamura in person...)

(It appears a shark that shouldn't be swimming in the shallows has snuck into Class D...)

(I hope my intuition... is wrong this time too.)

040 Asking me to be class representative? And using 1 million in class funds to buy information?

Counseling Room.

Shimizu Akira looked at the slightly heaving shoulders of Chabashira Sae and suddenly realized he might have misjudged this homeroom teacher.

He lowered his head to glance at his phone—only three minutes and thirty seconds had passed since he sent the distress message saying "Teacher Hoshinomiya is targeting Class D."

And at this moment, the Teacher Chabashira standing before him had slightly disheveled hair, her uniform collar was crooked from running intensely, and her breathing was still rapid and labored.

Setting aside previous matters, at least this time, Teacher Chabashira was quite protective of the class and the students' interests. "Teacher Chabashira, thank you for stepping in to help just now."

This sentence acted like a sudden spell, causing Chabashira Sae to freeze completely.

Ever since she chose to adopt a "laissez-faire" approach as a homeroom teacher, it had been far, far too long since she had heard such gratitude.

(No... it should be said that it would be good enough if the students didn't look at her with cold eyes.)

Chabashira Sae gave a light cough, quickly composing herself from her previous loss of composure.

"Shimizu, let me ask you—" Her voice carried a hint of hesitation. "I just heard Hoshinomiya say that you sought out a second-year senior. Given your personality, it's unlikely you would do such useless things. It's not just about the class divisions and points; have you... already learned about the other information that the school authorities intentionally concealed?"