Class time flew by, and soon it was time to go home.
As soon as the teacher left, the students of Class D immediately perked up, happily discussing where to spend their windfall.
From the back row, Ayanokoji shook his head, feeling nothing but admiration.
As expected of Class D!
But then he wondered why he was in Class D in the first place. He'd have to ask Chabashira Sae and get to the bottom of it.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door, and a slightly lazy "Come in" came from inside.
When he opened the door, he saw a luxurious conference table. To the left was an office area partitioned off by screens, with a lounge beside it furnished with sofas, coffee tables, and a coffee machine. To the right was a room with the words "Principal's Office" written on the door.
The sheer size of the place surprised Ayanokoji a little.
Even the teachers' office was this luxurious. As expected of Advanced Nurturing!
After looking around, a female teacher in the office area waved him over.
Ayanokoji shook his head. He was looking for Chabashira Sae, not some lecherous teacher.
Clearly offended by his rejection, the female teacher's expression darkened. A teacher's pride was at stake!
She covered the ten meters in three steps and appeared in front of Ayanokoji at lightning speed. Her face twitching slightly, she bit her lower lip and said, "Young man, refusing a gentle, beautiful, and intelligent female teacher is extremely rude."
=_=
Please don't phrase it in a way that's so easy to misunderstand.
Ayanokoji was speechless. Of course he knew who the woman in front of him was: Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.
The least reliable homeroom teacher of the four classes, she looked sweet and innocent, yet often teased the pure-hearted boys in her class with suggestive remarks.
Come on, you could get arrested for that in real life. Watch yourself!
Seeing that Ayanokoji had no intention of paying her any attention, Hoshinomiya immediately lost interest. The playful look vanished from her bright, moist eyes.
"Boring. So boring."
"These new students have no energy at all. I wish we had some more cheerful, sunny students who liked Chie-chan."
Damn!
I'm calling the police.
Hoshinomiya Chie returned to her desk, disappointed, and listlessly entered student ID information into her computer.
Ayanokoji looked around, but couldn't find Chabashira anywhere. He was just about to leave when that obnoxious woman spoke up behind him again.
"You're from Class D, aren't you... Ayanokoji?"
"Sae's in the Principal's Office. If you need something, you can sit and wait."
Hoshinomiya spoke to Ayanokoji while looking at the new student information on her computer.
So she could talk normally after all. Please try to act like a teacher from now on.
Grumbling to himself, Ayanokoji sat down on the sofa nearby.
It wasn't long before Chabashira Sae came out of the office, her expression as stern as ever.
"I believe you're... Ayanokoji, right? What do you want? I've already explained everything that needed to be said to the class."
Since Chabashira wasn't one to beat around the bush, Ayanokoji decided to get straight to the point, too.
"Chabashira-sensei, I have a few questions."
"Oh?" Chabashira Sae's face was icy. She picked up a cup of coffee, took a sip, and said,
"You can ask, but I may not answer all of them."
"That's fine. You only need to answer the ones you can."
"Go ahead."
"First, points can buy anything—literally anything, right?"
"..."
"I understand. Second..."
Chabashira Sae's expression shifted ever so slightly, and she grew a little more interested.
"The school measures students by ability and uses that to determine their value. So if someone lacks ability, or behaves in a way that doesn't meet the school's expectations, they'll definitely face some kind of punishment. And since the school divides each grade into Classes A, B, C, and D, with each class treated as a unit, that means individual students' punishments can affect the whole class. Is that right?"
"..."
Another long silence.
"Chabashira-sensei..."
Though Chabashira Sae still looked like a block of ice, inside she was already astonished by the student in front of her. She eagerly awaited his next question, wondering just what kind of genius had been assigned to her class.
She was desperate to know.
For a moment, she even thought that the wish she'd kept buried deep inside her might finally come true this year.
By this point, Ayanokoji had figured out the general rules of the school.
His earlier questions had simply been meant to confirm his suspicions.
Now, he would ask the question that had been troubling him ever since he learned he could attend this school.
"Chabashira-sensei..."
"Why was I assigned to Class D?!"
"Huh?" Chabashira Sae's impassive expression cracked in an instant.
Coffee caught in her throat, and she almost spat it out. Thankfully, she managed to hold it in, though she looked a little worse for wear.
"You don't know why you're in Class D?"
"Obviously. If I knew, would I be asking you?"
Ayanokoji was speechless. His homeroom teacher was playing word games with him.
"Your school's exam questions were a little obscure, but they weren't difficult. Including the time I spent checking my work, I finished all the subjects within sixty minutes, and I'm confident I didn't make any mistakes. My academic score should've been perfect. And that still got me placed in Class D?"
"This doesn't sound like you're judging students by ability at all."
Ayanokoji deliberately let a hint of sarcasm creep into his voice.
"That confident student who got a perfect score—do you remember what you wrote in the name field?"
Chabashira Sae had recovered her breath and put on her usual poker face again. Her tone was cool, and the corners of her mouth held the faintest trace of a sneer.
Taking her hint, Ayanokoji recalled the exam.
Reading the questions, answering them, zoning out, checking his work, recalling the past, writing his name, turning in the test...
Reading the questions, answering them, zoning out, checking his work, recalling the past, writing his name...
Wait. Out of habit, I only wrote Ayanokoji...
Why did Japanese names have to be so long?!
"Did you think your teacher was obligated to fill in your entire name for you, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji?"
Awkward.
A little too awkward.
Chabashira studied the student in front of her with a mischievous grin. Ayanokoji still wore his poker face, but she'd caught the subtle change in his expression.
"So, Ayanokoji, your academic score is zero, and your academic ability is E."
Chabashira pressed her advantage, delivering the final blow!
Zero points. E. Ayanokoji's pupils trembled. He hadn't expected the school to have made no mistake at all. He'd wasted his chance to apply for a challenge!
He really did belong in Class D.
Seeing Ayanokoji speechless, Chabashira couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising.
She admitted that Ayanokoji was a peerless genius. She had seen his answer sheet, and there was no doubt he'd gotten a perfect score.
But geniuses like him were bound to think highly of themselves. It was good to take him down a peg while she had the chance—and to establish her authority in his mind, too.
I'm Chabashira Sae. I've taught countless classes of eccentric Class D students, and I'm a legendary teacher who nearly made it to Class A when I was a student. Surely I can handle one Ayanokoji?
And yet, unbeknownst to her, Ayanokoji's lips had curled ever so slightly...
Hunters often entered the stage disguised as prey.
Before you continue