This Class Is Beyond Saving

The cheerful atmosphere came to a halt when Hirata started bringing up the next piece of information.

Hirata took a butterfly-shaped brooch out of his pocket.

A lot of people assumed it was a token of love between Hirata and Karuizawa, but Hirata mercilessly crushed their fantasies.

A few girls even complained that he wouldn't let them ship the couple.

Ayanokoji stayed silent. It was his token of love, after all—too bad the love part had gone nowhere.

Jokes aside, most people were still willing to hear Hirata out.

Hirata removed one of the butterfly's wings, then exchanged a glance with Ayanokoji and began to speak:

"Everyone, this little thing contains some information about the rules of this school. I hope you'll listen carefully so we can make plans that benefit our class."

The students in the class immediately started talking among themselves.

They said the change in tone had been too sudden, and they couldn't adjust to it.

A few impatient students even started cursing:

"First you make us watch you show off your love, and now you want to talk about some random stuff. Who cares what happens to this class?!"

"Exactly! Don't interrupt me while I'm reading manga, man."

Hirata looked a little helpless and said with a wry smile, "Please bear with me. This concerns everyone's monthly point income."

At the mention of point income, most of them settled down. Even the few dissenters put on sour faces and decided to hear what he had to say.

Once everyone was quiet, Hirata did as Ayanokoji had instructed and pressed the play button. A conversation came from the little butterfly.

"Chabashira-sensei, there are a few things I'd like to ask you about..."

The audio quality was poor, and it had been recorded inside a pocket, so they could only make out a man and a woman speaking. But by listening carefully and hearing Ayanokoji's way of addressing her, they could more or less confirm the woman was their homeroom teacher, Chabashira. Since the man's voice was so quiet, his identity remained a mystery.

"..."

When the recording ended, the expressions on everyone's faces changed.

Kushida, Matsushita, Wang Meiyu, and the other girls looked shocked, as though they'd just discovered the dungeon was far more difficult than they'd expected.

The boys, including Yukimura and Miyake, looked surprised as well.

Horikita Suzune furrowed her brow, her expression growing even more serious, as if she'd already been prepared for unexpected developments.

The yellow-haired guy seated toward the back remained as calm as ever, wearing the same confident smile.

The red-haired guy and a few other boys started loudly questioning it. "Hey, Hirata! You didn't just cut out some random audio clip to scare us, did you?"

"Tch, what a waste of time!"

"Are you trying to make us save our points so you can buy up all the new limited-edition games and scalp them?"

Idiots...

"Idiots."

Ayanokoji was taken aback. Had Horikita Suzune just become his mouthpiece?

Her voice hadn't been all that loud, but the red-haired guy beside her had still heard.

"What did you say?!"

The red-haired guy took a furious step toward them, grinding his teeth as if he were about to tear her apart.

Damn, I hate violence.

Ayanokoji grumbled to himself.

Whatever. I should step in and say something to calm things down.

But before he could speak, a voice as cold as the air before a storm rang out again.

"Since we have the chance today, I'll say it plainly."

"From the very beginning, I thought the school was far too lenient with its students. Ten thousand points a month to support a bunch of useless people who do nothing but show up late, skip class, slack off, read manga, sneak onto their phones, and play childish social games? Just think about it with that rusted brain of yours. Does that sound plausible?"

"Or do you think the school has a duty to support you just because it let you enroll, and then guarantee you a job after graduation? What a joke."

"Anyone who can't even see that has no business baring their fangs and interrupting someone else's argument. I can't imagine what kind of person would have the nerve to act like that."

Damn! She's really going for the jugular!

But, sis, maybe say a little less!

You're not usually like this. Did you finally open the floodgates today?

Ayanokoji glanced at the red-haired guy opposite them. After a brief delay, the red-haired guy seemed to receive the signal and suddenly exploded. His red hair stood on end with rage, and the veins at his temples bulged conspicuously.

"You! Don't hold me back. Say that again if you've got the guts!"

Horikita Suzune folded her arms and didn't even look the red-haired guy in the eye.

"You f#&%@..."

Within a minute, the red-haired guy had exhausted his entire vocabulary of curse words.

"Sudo, calm down! You'll get expelled!"

Fortunately, a few of his buddies managed to hold him back with all their strength, keeping his flailing fists from landing.

If he started a fight in a classroom full of security cameras, he'd undoubtedly be expelled on the spot. His buddies clearly knew that.

Ayanokoji narrowed his eyes slightly. That was when he remembered the red-haired guy's name was Sudo Ken. Early on, he'd been an out-and-out delinquent.

Hirata watched anxiously from the front of the classroom. He hadn't expected the usually taciturn, aloof girl to speak up so boldly today.

"What? Apart from getting angry and swearing, is there anything else you're good at?"

"The school would have to be blind to support a failing student like you unconditionally."

Another hit! She's piling it on!

Good grief, can't you tell those guys are barely holding him back?

In an instant, Sudo's fury pushed him to another level of strength. He broke free, flung his buddies aside, clenched his fist, and swung it hard at the girl.

At the sight, quite a few people instinctively shut their eyes.

They didn't dare imagine how hard a punch from a young man aspiring to become a professional basketball player would be. But they knew the frail-looking Horikita Suzune wouldn't be able to take it.

The scene might get too bloody!

His fist cut through the air, making even the faintest whoosh audible.

That guy's not holding back!

Ayanokoji didn't have time to hesitate. He was just about to stand when, at the instant the man's iron fist was about to strike Horikita's right cheek, it stopped abruptly. A solidly muscled arm had seized Sudo's forearm and brought him to a halt!

Horikita Suzune froze. She'd already lowered her shoulder and prepared to block and absorb the force, but the iron fist had stopped right in front of her.

She looked up along the arm that had stopped the punch. A blond man had appeared in her field of vision.

"Hey, angry boy~. Throwing that punch won't do anyone any good."

The blond man held the arm that had been swung with all its strength in one hand, while toying with his own hair with the other. He looked completely at ease.

"You..."

Sudo tried to pull his arm free so he could attack again, but found he couldn't move it at all.

This guy's stronger than me!

"Hey, angry boy~. If you're itching for a fight, I'm always game—provided you're still at this school. Take a look around."

For a moment, Sudo seemed to snap out of it. He looked around. Several desks and chairs nearby lay in a messy heap, the friends he'd thrown aside were sprawled on the floor, and the onlookers were looking at him fearfully...

"Tch."

When Sudo's fighting spirit faded, the blond man let go.

Sudo Ken pulled his arm back, slung his bag over one shoulder, and left the classroom without looking back.

"Sudo..."

Hirata wanted to stop him, but didn't get the chance to speak. He glanced at the recorder in his hand, then at Ayanokoji, who'd been doing his best to help the class. He shook his head at him and sighed.

Hirata, you weren't the one at fault.

This class was beyond saving.

Ayanokoji watched the whole thing with an expressionless face. His vacant eyes grew a little more indifferent.