Office Meeting, Ayanokoji's Trap

Class time flew by in a blur, and soon it was time for school to end.

As soon as the subject teacher left, the students of Class D immediately burst into excitement, happily discussing where to spend this massive sum of money.

Ayanokoji, sitting in the back row, shook his head, feeling nothing but admiration in his heart.

As expected of Class D!

However, upon second thought, he wondered why he had been placed in Class D, and it seemed he would have to go find Chabashira Sae to get a clear answer.

Knock, knock.

The office door was knocked, and a somewhat lazy "Come in" drifted out from inside.

Pushing the door open, what came into view was a luxurious conference table. On the left side was an office area separated by partitions, and next to the office area was a lounge area furnished with sofas, a coffee table, and a coffee machine. On the right side was a room with the words "Principal's Office" written on the door.

The sheer size of the space left Ayanokoji slightly surprised.

Even the teachers' office is this luxurious; as expected of Advanced Nurturing!

After a quick observation, a female teacher in the office area waved at him, signaling him to come over.

Ayanokoji shook his head; after all, he was looking for Chabashira Sae, not some obsessed female teacher.

The rejected teacher clearly looked a bit sullen; her pride as a teacher couldn't take it.

She covered the ten-meter distance in three strides, arriving at Ayanokoji's side with a slight twitch of her face, and biting her lower lip, she said, "This student, rejecting a gentle, beautiful, and intellectual female teacher is a very rude thing to do, you know."

=_=

Please, stop phrasing things in such easily misunderstood ways.

Ayanokoji was speechless. He naturally knew who this female teacher was: the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B, Hoshinomiya Chie.

She was the most unreliable homeroom teacher among the four classes. Despite her pure and cute appearance, she often teased the innocent, puberty-stricken boys in her class with suggestive language.

Seriously, in the real world, this kind of behavior would get you arrested; please be a little more careful.

Seeing that Ayanokoji had no intention of paying her any mind, Hoshinomiya quickly lost interest, and her watery eyes lost their playful glint.

"Boring, so boring."

"The freshmen this year have no energy at all. If only there were more cheerful, sunny freshmen who liked Chie-chan."

Damn!

I'm calling the police.

Hoshinomiya Chie returned to her workstation, looking somewhat disappointed, and began editing student ID information on her computer with a dejected expression.

Ayanokoji scanned the room and indeed did not find Chabashira. Just as he was about to leave, the voice of that flaky woman came from behind him again.

"This student, you're the one from Class D... Ayanokoji-kun, right?"

"Little Sae is in the Principal's Office. If you have business, you can sit down and wait for a bit."

Hoshinomiya said to Ayanokoji while looking at the freshman information on her computer.

Can't you just communicate normally? Please try to maintain the demeanor a teacher should have in the future.

Ayanokoji complained internally while sitting down on the nearby sofa.

Not long after, Chabashira Sae walked out of the office, her expression as grave as ever.

"I remember you are... Ayanokoji, right? What do you want with me? I've already said everything that needed to be said in the classroom."

Since Chabashira was not the type to beat around the bush, Ayanokoji decided to get straight to the point.

"Chabashira-sensei, I have a few questions I'd like to ask."

"Oh?" Chabashira Sae, her face as cold as ice, picked up a cup of coffee, took a sip, and said, "You may ask, but I won't necessarily answer all of them."

"That's fine, Sensei. You only need to answer what you can answer."

"Speak."

"First, points can buy everything—literally everything, right?"

"..."

"I understand. Second point."

Chabashira Sae's expression shifted slightly, and she became a bit more interested.

"The school evaluates students based on ability to determine their value. Therefore, if one's ability is insufficient, or if the behavior displayed does not meet the school's expectations, there must be certain penalties. The school divides the grade into four classes: A, B, C, and D. Since it is organized by class, it implies that penalties received by individual students will implicate the entire class, correct?"

"..."

Another silence followed.

"Chabashira-sensei..."

Although Chabashira Sae still looked like an iceberg, her heart had already been stunned by the student before her. She was immensely looking forward to his next question. She was desperate to know just what level of genius had been assigned to her class.

She even felt, for a moment, that the wish she had buried deep in her heart might finally be fulfilled with this year's batch.

And by this point, Ayanokoji had already confirmed the general rules of this school.

All the previous questions were merely to verify his own conjectures.

The remaining question he was about to ask was the one that had been bothering him ever since he learned he could attend this school.

"Chabashira-sensei..."

"Why was I assigned to Class D!"

"Huh?" The perpetually expressionless Chabashira Sae instantly broke character.

She choked on her coffee, nearly spitting it out, but managed to hold it in at the last second, though she looked quite disheveled.

"You don't know why you're in Class D?"

"Obviously. If I knew, would I be here asking you?"

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji felt speechless; his homeroom teacher was actually playing word games with him.

"Although the school's entrance exam questions were a bit unconventional, they weren't difficult. Including the time spent checking, I finished every subject in 60 minutes and was confident there were no errors. My academic scores should have been perfect, so how could I still be relegated to Class D?"

"You aren't evaluating students based on their actual ability at all, are you?"

Ayanokoji deliberately used a sarcastic tone to challenge her.

"This student who is so confident in his perfect score, do you remember what you wrote in the name field?"

Chabashira Sae caught her breath, put her poker face back on, and said in a cold tone, a faint, mocking smile visible at the corner of her mouth.

Following her hint, Ayanokoji recalled the scene of the exam.

Reading the paper, solving problems, spacing out, checking, reminiscing about the past, writing his name, handing in the paper...

Reading the paper, solving problems, spacing out, checking, reminiscing about the past, writing his name...

Ah? Out of habit, I only wrote Ayanokoji...

Why do Japanese names have to be so long!

"Do you think the teacher has an obligation to help you finish writing your name? Student Kiyotaka Ayanokoji~"

Awkward.

A little bit too awkward.

Chabashira examined the student in front of her with a wicked grin. Even though Ayanokoji maintained his poker face, she still caught the subtle change in his expression.

"So, Ayanokoji-kun, your academic score is 0, and your academic ability is E."

Chabashira pressed her advantage, dealing Ayanokoji the final blow!

0 points, E... Ayanokoji's pupils trembled. He hadn't expected that the school hadn't made a mistake at all; he had wasted a chance to challenge his placement for nothing!

He was, in every sense of the word, a genuine Class D student.

Seeing Ayanokoji unable to speak for a long time, the corners of Chabashira's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

She admitted that Ayanokoji was a peerless genius, and she had seen his answer sheet—it was undoubtedly a perfect score.

But such a genius would inevitably be arrogant, and having this opportunity to deflate his ego was excellent; it would also help establish her authority in his heart.

I, Chabashira Sae, have led countless batches of Class D oddballs and am a legendary teacher who nearly ascended to Class A during my own student days. Can I really not handle a single Ayanokoji?

However, in a corner she couldn't see, the corners of Ayanokoji's mouth curled up imperceptibly...

Hunters often appear in the guise of prey.