A Conversation with Chabashira-sensei

After school, Hoshino arrived at the office of Chabashira immediately.

He knocked on the door.

"Please come in!" Chabashira's stern voice rang out.

Pushing the door open, the layout of the room was somewhat unexpected for Hoshino; he had assumed each teacher would have an independent office, but it seemed he had thought too much.

The office was not very large, but four desks were neatly arranged in the center, with some bookshelves on the side for storing documents and the like.

At this moment, besides Chabashira, there was only a middle-aged teacher with a "sly" look on his face. Oh, it was the history teacher! That was fine then. Come to think of it, he was probably the homeroom teacher for some class as well.

Recalling the incident at the library last time, Hoshino felt a bit awkward.

"Wait for me for a moment."

Before Hoshino had even entered, Chabashira seemed to be busy with something, her pen writing on a thick stack of paper.

Looking around, the office was quite clean and tidy. Although small, it wasn't cluttered. Whether it was the desks, the cabinets, or the floor, everything was spotless, and the glass was clear and clean. Soft sunlight streamed in; it would indeed be a nice experience to read here!

Hoshino felt a bit envious. With talk of high employment rates, could there be a better job than at this school? Could an ordinary job compare to these benefits?

"Follow me."

While Hoshino was lost in thought, Chabashira finished her work and beckoned for Hoshino to follow her outside.

Suddenly, the office door opened.

A familiar figure walked in, followed by a girl with long, gold-pink hair. Wasn't this Hoshinomiya and... the leader of Class B? Observing her up close, she was truly beautiful!

Noticing his gaze, the girl opposite him smiled at Hoshino in a poised and graceful manner.

"Eh? Little Hoshino, what are you doing at the office?" Hoshinomiya was all smiles as she leaned in, hooking an arm around Hoshino's shoulder.

"..."

"Hoshinomiya, stop messing around! Let go of my student!" Chabashira urged impatiently.

"Geez! Sae! I just wanted to have a nice chat with little Hoshino!..." Hoshinomiya stood up obediently, "acting like a spoiled child" with some dissatisfaction.

"Sigh—doesn't your class have students coming to see you too?" Sighing, Chabashira ignored Hoshinomiya's harassment and led Hoshino to a pantry, on the door of which hung a sign that read "Class D Counseling Room".

Was it for the class's exclusive use? Hoshino looked at Chabashira, feeling a bit uncertain.

Opening the door, Chabashira was the first to pull a sheet of paper from the table inside and hand it to Hoshino.

With a hunch, Hoshino took it.

Sure enough, it was the agreement to be signed. The content above had already been drafted, leaving only the signature. Chabashira's efficiency was truly astonishing.

Carefully scrutinizing every word, it took Hoshino nearly five minutes to finish reading this agreement, which was only a dozen lines long.

"Alright, no problem!" Hoshino picked up his school bag, rummaged through it for a moment, pulled out a pen, and signed his name.

"I say, Hoshino, isn't there a pen on the table?" Chabashira brewed two cups of tea and pushed one toward Hoshino.

"Eh? Is that so? I didn't notice." This was a lie!

"Hmm... let's talk business. Ask whatever you want to ask." Chabashira sat on the sofa opposite him and took a sip from her own cup.

"Chabashira-sensei, how did you know?"

"A homeroom teacher has a certain right to know. Within a certain period, I can check the information of students in my class, including the increase or decrease of personal points."

That made sense. If students were really left to trade personal points freely, wouldn't it be chaos? And it seemed quite reasonable for a homeroom teacher to be able to view their students' information!

"Alright! Let's just assume that for now! So, Chabashira-sensei, do you want Class D to be promoted?" Hoshino doubted it for a moment before cutting straight to the point.

"I refuse to answer that question!"

"Eh? You can do that?"

"I never said I would answer all your questions!" Chabashira said unceremoniously.

Wasting conditions on this question was meaningless. Hoshino sighed inwardly and gave up on pressing further.

"You seem to think highly of Ayanokoji?" This was a trap.

Assuming Chabashira was willing to promote the class and was actively helping Class D, then she must have a leader she favored who was capable of supporting the class's advancement; it was just unclear whether it was Horikita or Ayanokoji.

In terms of ability, Ayanokoji was likely above Horikita. Although Ayanokoji had shown very little so far, his exaggerated academic and athletic abilities were not something Hoshino could simply ignore. In these two aspects alone, Horikita was likely no match for Ayanokoji. He truly hoped that Ayanokoji was "nothing more than this."

"No, I think quite highly of Horikita. She has the aptitude to be a good leader." Chabashira continued to sip her tea leisurely.

However, Hoshino suddenly felt a sense of dissonance! Something must have changed in Chabashira! Sure enough, the one she favored was Ayanokoji.

People might try their best to conceal certain things, but as long as they lied, there would definitely be some subtle changes! People were always natural when telling the truth, but when telling a lie, they would be more or less deliberate, wanting the other party to believe them.

"Is that so?" Hoshino brought the cup to his lips and took a delicate sip. He was surprised; he hadn't expected Chabashira to have such skill.

It was just that, why not ask Ayanokoji for help directly, just like she asked him? There didn't seem to be any need for deliberate concealment. It appeared that there were indeed some significant secrets regarding Ayanokoji.

Wait! If that was the case, did Chabashira admit to having the intention of promoting the class?

After starting by demoralizing the students, she now suddenly had some intention of promoting the class? It seemed something had indeed happened to Chabashira, and there appeared to be some factor in the class that made her start taking action.

Sure enough, after drinking good tea, even his mind felt clearer!

"Chabashira-sensei, how many rules can you disclose?" Both of them drank the tea in their hands quietly. After a moment of silence, Hoshino spoke up.

"That's all for now."

It seems this school has already issued a "gag order," as the faculty cannot disclose too much information before the rules are triggered.

"Then let me rephrase: can I buy the content for the next exam?"

"Absolutely not! Because I don't know it either..."

"..."

Even though he knew the outcome, Hoshino kept asking about the rules using different phrasings, yet he didn't obtain any particularly useful information.

There was no need to rush, so Hoshino's thoughts began to wander: should he have Chabashira serve him tea every day? Her skills were actually quite good!