I Don't Want to Graduate Without Ever Having Been in Love

"This vote was mine."

However, Kitagawa Ryo quickly acknowledged the vote in favor:

"It wasn't an accidental touch."

As he spoke, he glanced back at the clock on the wall and continued in a relatively relaxed tone:

"It's 9:10 now, and there are still almost four hours until the Special Exam ends. It's also too early for lunch, so I'd like to have a good chat with everyone about this topic and some of the aspects it extends into. I think this will be helpful for the development of the class and everyone's future studies and life at ANHS."

When Kitagawa Ryo said these words, Karuizawa Kei, who was sitting next to him, also looked a little uneasy. After all, as one of the people in the know, she knew very well that what he was about to say was essentially a farewell to Class A, and also his last gift to the class.

"Hoshinomiya teacher."

He called Hoshinomiya Chie was standing outside the door, in and, in front of the whole class, Kitagawa Ryo proactively asked her about some things from the past:

"If I remember correctly, when you were studying at ANHS University, you seemed to have encountered Special Exam similar to today's, as well as this last question."

It wasn't a secret in the class that Hoshinomiya Chie was a graduate of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. In the past, many girls had tried to find out about their homeroom teacher's student days, but she always kept quiet and casually brushed the question off. Now that Kitagawa Ryo had mentioned her by name, the students in Class A all cast curious glances at their homeroom teacher.

"... That's right."

Seeing that Kitagawa Ryo had steered the conversation towards her, and considering that she had just been mocked by Chabashira Sae in the corridor, Hoshinomiya Chie's tone was unusually cold:

"However, the situation in our class back then was completely different from now. It wasn't because of someone's sudden idea, but because we were genuinely stuck on this topic for a long time."

As she spoke, she glanced at Kitagawa Ryo, who had suddenly come up with this idea, before continuing:

"Choosing Class Points or partners was an ultimate dilemma. So we argued for a long time, and it didn't just stay verbal; the boys even grabbed each other's collars and almost got into a fight."

"Wouldn't that be going a bit too far?"

It's unimaginable in this class for a conflict to escalate to a physical level.

Seeing the bewildered looks on the faces of the girls who were hearing this for the first time, Hoshinomiya Chie lowered her eyes, playing with the ends of her hair as she explained further:

"After all, as mentioned before, the situations in different classes are different, and the times are different too. I was in the third semester of my third year, a time when everyone was working hard to earn as many Class Points as possible. We've all known each other for almost three years, so if you even mentioned wanting someone to drop out, my friends would naturally side with that person."

"But there are also situations where you have to sacrifice someone to win, right? If you were in a situation where you only needed to get 100 more points to guarantee graduating in Class A, could you make the same decision as you are now?"

"We can't just expel someone. We can try our best to make it back in the next Special Exam— "

Sitting in the front row, Shibata Sō subconsciously retorted.

"What if there's no next time? What if this Special Exam is the last one before graduation? Let's assume that the gap between you and Class B behind you is only a few dozen points. If you choose to protect your comrades here, you'll most likely end up in Class B. Okay, what are you going to do? Are you going to pin your hopes on Class B, who will be just as unwilling to abandon any student as you are? You'd think they'd be willing to sacrifice someone just to get 100 points, right?"

Perhaps it was because some of the emotions buried deep in her heart had finally surfaced, Hoshinomiya Chie rarely showed such a loss of composure in front of her students, and a series of rhetorical questions were like interrogations, leaving Shibata Sō no chance to retort.

Choosing to protect your partner almost certainly means being relegated to Class B, and that's right before graduation.

"Can you really produce such Unanimous Vote opposition as you are now?"

The students of Class A, who had taken the opposition to this matter for granted, finally fell silent and began to seriously consider the hypothesis proposed by Hoshinomiya Chie.

"Undeniably, this is a malicious question. And that's not actually the case right now. But one thing is certain: don't do things you'll regret, and if you must do something, choose the lesser one."

After expressing her opinion somewhat dejectedly, another student timidly asked Hoshinomiya Chie a question:

"Teacher, what choice did you make back then?"

"Me? Me... of course I chose to discard those who are useless. Because no matter what friends or best friends they are, in the end, what matters is yourself."

As if a switch had been flipped, or as if she had realized a fact that was about to happen but she was powerless to stop it, Hoshinomiya Chie rubbed her forehead, feeling like she was back in a hangover state she hadn't experienced in a long time, and sneered at the students in her class:

"Actually, aren't the students who voted against it the same way? They essentially think that as long as they can be saved, that's enough, because if they vote against it, there won't be any dropouts, and if they vote in favor, they'll naturally become a member of the dropout waiting list."

Chabashira Sae was right; she and the other person were essentially the same—lacking the professional ethics of a teacher and of the same despicable nature.

Her decision to take a teaching position at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was nothing more than a revenge quest, following in the footsteps of the former.

Unlike Chabashira Sae, who, as a homeroom teacher, would not openly slack off or even have a counterproductive effect under the guise of testing her students, Hoshinomiya Chie has never truly put herself in the students' shoes. The purpose of this class is to hinder Chabashira Sae's upward advancement; it is merely one of her tools and methods.

Perhaps, just as Chabashira Sae said, she too secretly hoped that such a class would fail, and fail again and again, because they absolutely refused to believe or admit that such a class that did not betray anyone could win.

Everyone hopes that we can all seize the opportunity to graduate from Class A —this is a thought that everyone has.

But it should exist as an ideal that is absolutely impossible to achieve.

Otherwise, it would be as if all the harm they suffered because of this school in the past, and the pain they endured during that time, were in vain.

"The so-called good class atmosphere and the desire to prevent anyone from dropping out is essentially just a group of the weak and those unwilling to change banding together. Because they are afraid of becoming the one who will be abandoned, they put forward this idea beforehand and then repeat and emphasize it day after day, like a steel imprint, injecting it into everyone's mind, so that they will no longer be in danger."

"After all, no matter what happens, everyone will instinctively protect every student. Even if they fail Special Exam, even if they give up the opportunity to move up a class and the Class Points, even if they have to use their Private Points to save a student they don't actually know, they can comfort themselves that 'at least no one has been expelled,' and they can deceive themselves that 'compared to graduating from Class A, it's most important that everyone lives happily every day.'"

Hoshinomiya Chie was more aggressive than anyone imagined. After all, she had been the homeroom teacher of Class 2-A for more than a year. Even if she wasn't very attentive, she still had a certain level of understanding of the students in her class.

It is precisely because of this that, even though it involves a lot of sophistry, it has indeed struck a nerve with many students, or rather, it has made many students feel that their dark side has been exposed, and their expressions have gradually become unnatural.

"After all, you've only known each other for less than a year and a half, right? So-called friendships aren't as deep as you imagine, so the pain of losing a friend won't heal for long. In fact, Yagami, who dropped out of the class last year, is already a memory of the past, isn't he? But if you can't get into Class A, that Regret will stay with you for the rest of your lives."

"Of course, if you don't think that way, but truly believe that friends are more important than anything else and must take friends as your priority, then I won't say anything more. I just hope that one day you won't regret it."

After saying all this, Hoshinomiya Chie glanced at Kitagawa Ryo again. In fact, the "one day" she mentioned earlier was the day Kitagawa Ryo left the class.

Like Chabashira Sae, she also inexplicably attributed the class's current status as Class A and all its achievements to Kitagawa Ryo alone, and believed that once he left, the bubble of Class A would burst, just like the current Class 2-B.

"Hoshinomiya's speech was brilliant. To be honest, I never expected you to say so much in one go."

Kitagawa Ryo clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back, and then spoke to Hoshinomiya Chie:

"But this is for the best. It's definitely easier to talk things out. After all, if people still have any biases about you, it's not really appropriate for me to say anything more."

"Admittedly, what you just said wasn't entirely wrong, because you yourself went through the same thing. But there's one point I still have to point out: even if you believe this so-called class is a band of the weak, and that this concept was established to protect themselves, from a behavioral perspective, this is precisely the part that shouldn't be criticized."

Good people should not have guns pointed at them.

Kitagawa Ryo made this statement very calmly, which made Hoshinomiya Chie laugh in exasperation:

"This is ANHS..."

"But ANHS is actually just a high school. Each student will only stay here for a maximum of three years. One day, everyone will graduate from here. Only former graduates like you, the class advisor, who have been completely controlled by the mindset fostered by this special environment, would be so resentful about this."

"Many students have graduated from here, and there are probably twenty or thirty of your classmates who experienced that accident back then, but only you and Chabashira still can't forget it. So you two are the exception."

"Ignoring changes in time, place, people, and other specific circumstances, and simply applying one's old way of thinking to any seemingly plausible matter in a didactic manner, I don't think this is what a qualified teacher should do."

"Using your own logic, isn't the homeroom teacher also the weakest one? She came back to ANHS only to band together with the homeroom teacher, Chabashira, because she knows in her heart that this is the only place she can stay... She can only barely survive here."

After refuting Hoshinomiya Chie to the point of near silence, Kitagawa Ryo addressed the other students in Class A in a loud voice:

"Let's get back to the topic. Actually, the fact that we all reached Unanimous Vote decision to oppose it in the first round of voting is the optimal solution for this topic, and also the most suitable solution for us."

"The kind of 'marking the boat to find the sword' approach to verification is meaningless except for self-comfort, because the situation faced by each person and each class is always different. In fact, there is never any such thing as Unanimous Vote. It is just the result of a choice, but some things are judged by actions, not intentions."

"We can enjoy all the resources and benefits that Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School provides, but at the same time, we shouldn't limit our vision to this small circle, or treat ABCD, Class Points, and Private Points as some subconscious guidelines for our actions, otherwise..."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't finish his sentence, but everyone already understood what he meant, because Hoshinomiya Chie, who was standing in front of the podium with an uncertain expression, and Chabashira Sae, who was looking thoughtful outside the window, were the best examples.

The ten-minute intermission discussion ended at the very last second, and everyone's tablets lit up with the voting page again.

This time, Kitagawa Ryo placed his finger on the 'oppose' sign.

He never intended to artificially recreate a similar scenario here as he had with Honami and the others, and then demonstrate a better standard answer for Chabashira Sae than he had done back then.

Because it's meaningless in itself.

He didn't need to exhaust the entire class by putting on such a torturous show for him, nor did he need to personally demonstrate for Chabashira Sae, and he certainly didn't need to further impress her with the impression of a so-called Salvation.

Or perhaps...

"No need" was Kitagawa Ryo's answer to Chabashira Sae.

The most real and eternal things are actually just a thought away. As long as you keep thinking about them, they will never die. Once you give up thinking about them, they will disappear as lightly as a wisp of smoke.

Chabashira Sae Kitagawa Ryo inside, and suddenly realized that she could no longer remember the facial features of her first love, whom she had risked destroying the entire class to protect.

After all, they never saw each other again after that.

Eleven years have passed, and most of the graduates from that class should be married by now.

Eleven years...

That's all in the past.

P. S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter 61: I Don't Want to Graduate Without Ever Having Been in a Relationship

[Second vote: 0 votes in favor, 41 votes against]

After Unanimous Vote was reached on topic five, the homeroom teacher should theoretically be responsible for announcing the end of the Special Exam. However, Hoshinomiya Chie was clearly unable to complete this simple task, so after waiting for a while, a school staff member supervising at the back of the classroom announced it for her:

"So, since the final question also reached Unanimous Vote conclusion, this Special Exam is now over. Class 2-A has successfully passed and will receive a reward of fifty Class Points."

Only an hour and a half of the five-hour exam time had been used up. For Class 2-A, the rest of the day was practically free time, just like a holiday.

"By the way, you are the first in the second grade to finish this Special Exam. While congratulating you, please also be aware that other classes are still taking their Special Exam, so please don't disturb them. The teachers will now guide you out of the school building, so please leave your seats quietly."

Guided by school staff, the students of Class 2-A got up and left their seats one by one, passing by their Hoshinomiya Chie, whose expression was complicated. They returned their tablets and took back their cell phones, then silently left the school building along the predetermined route in the corridor.

Once outside the teaching building, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if a spell had been lifted from their silence. They gathered with their friends, whispering amongst themselves while occasionally glancing back at Kitagawa Ryo or inside the building, seemingly checking to see if Hoshinomiya Chie had followed them out.

"Ryo knew Chabashira would be coming to our place today, right?"

Ichinose Honami quickly walked to Kitagawa Ryo's side and asked him to confirm.

"This was originally part of the agreement between her and me, but judging from the outcome alone, I might be considered to have breached the contract? But that was the plan from the beginning."

Unlike Ichinose Honami, Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips and asked about Hoshinomiya Chie:

"The reason why Hoshinomiya- sensei said those things... was because Ryo deliberately had Chabashira lead them, right?"

"Maybe so. Anyway, they always argue about this kind of thing when they meet. One more time today won't make a difference, and one less time won't make a difference either."

"... Don't try to brush me off like that. I know Liang's intentions and plans."

Karuizawa Kei turned away somewhat defiantly, seemingly dissatisfied with Kitagawa Ryo's lack of honesty.

"Okay, I Classroom of the Elite Chabashira a few things... Well, consider it my final gift before leaving Class A. At least this way the class will have an easier time in the future."

Seeing that Karuizawa Kei wasn't going to be fooled, Kitagawa Ryo smiled and admitted it. The biggest difference between Hoshinomiya Chie and Chabashira Sae was that she always thought she was on a moral high ground. This sense of superiority over Chabashira stemmed from that Special Exam. Because Chabashira Sae had indeed harmed the class at that time, and because of her subsequent Aloof and aloofness, Hoshinomiya Chie gradually reinforced this impression.

But just like Chabashira Sae, they are all essentially the same rotten when it comes to their identity as teachers. It was precisely because this point, which they had never realized or admitted before, was pointed out that Hoshinomiya Chie said those things in front of the whole class today.

"Ryo is indeed transferring classes and leaving."

Karuizawa Kei muttered softly:

"It's only been half a year since then."

The birthday date on March 8th, in early spring, seemed like only yesterday. Now, in June, with the summer heat approaching, Karuizawa Kei asked him again:

"When?"

"Hiyori told me the timeframe is the end of this semester, before summer vacation."

"... They didn't even tell me about this."

"Because it seems like the decision was made just last night, or rather, late at night or even early morning."

Kitagawa Ryo showed the chat history on his phone to Karuizawa Kei, his fingers tracing the last sentence of the message:

"This is also the Unanimous Vote of our entire Class D."

Although Class 2-A was the first class in the second year to complete the Unanimous Special Exam, it was not the fastest among all three grades of ANHS, because the four classes in the third year were even faster.

"At first, I thought Class A and Class B would be locked in a tough battle, after all, this kind of exam is a real rule where one person can destroy an entire class... but it turns out that Nagumo and Kiriyama are both more honest than I expected."

Inside the coffee shop at the Keyaki Mall, I once again sat with Asahina Nazuna, a third-year student, in the familiar seats we'd visited countless times over the past year. We aimlessly stirred the ice cubes in our cups with straws, listening to the soft clinking of the ice against the sides of the cups, and chatted idly with our chins propped up.

Just as Chabashira Sae could ruin the entire Class 3-B with her own stubbornness, if Miyabi Nagumo and Kiriyama Ikuto had continued to go against the class, they could have easily dragged out all the time and caused the class to lose in this Special Exam Unanimous Vote.

But neither of them chose to do so.

It was precisely because of this that the third-year students, who were originally under the overall command of one person, were able to pass this Special Exam at an even more astonishing speed than Class 2-A.

"Kiriyama did it because Nagumo didn't instruct him to do it, while Nagumo did it because his superior gave him other instructions."

"Another instruction? What is Ayanokoji?"

"This has nothing to do with you third-year students, or even with ANHS; it's a rather personal matter."

"It's a private matter... but that's fine too, it's always good if no one causes trouble."

As she spoke, Asahina Nazuna let out a weary sigh: