Method Determined

"I heard that you are the moderator for this hearing?"

In the Class D Counseling Room, Chabashira stood with her arms crossed, her expression stern.

"...Yes." Hoshino, who had been summoned immediately after school, felt a bit puzzled but still slowly sat down across from Chabashira.

It seemed the official details regarding the hearing had been posted on the Student Council website this morning, with the time set for tomorrow afternoon. It was no surprise that Chabashira knew about it.

"What do you intend to do?"

"..." Hoshino didn't know how to answer that question right away. Stunned for a moment, he countered with a question of his own: "How are things going with Horikita and the others?"

"...Progress is average. Things are still not going smoothly with Sakura..."

This aligned with Hoshino's expectations. Based on his observations, given the extent of Sakura's "social anxiety," she certainly wouldn't be persuaded overnight.

Sure enough, Chabashira was indeed paying close attention to this incident, which largely confirmed Hoshino's guess: Chabashira definitely had her own designs on moving up to a higher class.

Lowering his head in thought, Hoshino spoke slowly: "Actually, I have sufficient evidence here."

Upon hearing this, Chabashira looked up in astonishment, though her face soon clouded with confusion: "But... you are the one who is..."

"President Horikita is likely testing me. After all, being appointed as secretary right off the bat—without any achievements to show for it—it's hard to convince others."

"..." Chabashira fell silent.

This was merely Hoshino's speculation, but at the moment, there seemed to be no reason more convincing than this.

What Hoshino was somewhat skeptical about was whether President Horikita even knew that he was holding the evidence.

What a pain!

"By the way, Chabashira-sensei, I heard that Class B is also involved in this?" Hoshino asked, suddenly remembering something.

"That side? It seems Kushida had some exchanges with Ichinose, and Ichinose is the type who likes to help others..."

Chabashira's words caught Hoshino off guard. He was half-doubtful—was it really just for that reason?

However, if Class B weren't involved, the incident would basically be clear-cut.

"So? What do you plan to do?" Seeing that Hoshino had been deep in thought for a long time without speaking, Chabashira grew restless.

"...Actually, I had considered handing what I have over to Ayanokoji, but if I did that, this matter would likely just fizzle out."

The utility of this video was highly dependent on timing; exposing it in a rush now wouldn't create much of an impact.

As it stood, Ayanokoji would likely still let Horikita handle the operation to defeat Class C during tomorrow's hearing.

But the gains from that alone were truly too small.

"..."

"Chabashira-sensei, I remember that the exams are next month, right?"

"...Are you trying to..."

"Yes. If we can trigger a suspension during the exam period, according to school regulations, they won't be granted make-up exams and will receive a zero in all subjects." After days of racking his brain, this was the optimal solution Hoshino could come up with.

"If there is no evidence during this time, it will just drag on?" Chabashira understood what Hoshino was trying to do.

"At least in my view, given Horikita's personality, she won't give in easily, and Ayanokoji should be teaching her how to proceed!" Hoshino was actually a bit uncertain, but he could only guess this way, betting that Ayanokoji would intervene to help Horikita stall for time and find a solution.

"By the way, Chabashira-sensei, if a student is expelled, what are the consequences?"

"...Expelling one person deducts three hundred class points!" After a long moment of contemplation, Chabashira spoke slowly.

"Huh???" This was something Hoshino hadn't expected. He had assumed that expulsion would at most result in a deduction of personal points, but three hundred class points...

It really tied everyone to the same ship!

However, it didn't seem to have much of an impact on the current Class D. It was impossible for the score to drop into the negatives, and if personal points were deducted every month, the students would just give up, making any effort meaningless.

"Do you want to move up to Class A as well?" With a solution in place, Chabashira secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah? No, I don't?" Interrupted by Chabashira's remark, Hoshino was puzzled. "The greater the impact I can create, the more I can squeeze out of Ryuen, right?"

"..." Chabashira fell silent, not knowing what she was thinking. However, Hoshino understood a little.

"Moving up to Class A should be everyone's common goal! Chabashira-sensei, you don't actually think the current Class D is qualified to move up, do you?"

"..."

"Not to mention Horikita and Ayanokoji, let's talk about Sudo—impulsive and hot-tempered. What happens if he triggers a similar incident next time? And then there's Koenji, who is completely detached from the class. Then there's Hirata and Kushida, who seem to have no problems, but Chabashira-sensei, you should be aware of the reality. And then there's Ike and Yamauchi..."

Hoshino was speechless. He had never seen a class with so many problem students; basically, everyone had some kind of issue!

"Aren't you afraid that I'll have you expelled?" Chabashira bared her "fangs," her face gloomy as she stared straight at Hoshino.

Hoshino was suddenly surprised; Chabashira actually had such a strong obsession with moving up a class.

Even with the class having such significant problems, Chabashira seemed determined to make them advance. It felt very different from the image of a teacher in Hoshino's mind. At least in his view, shouldn't teachers prioritize the growth of their students?

"You won't, and you can't." Hoshino's calm gaze met her sharp stare.

After a long standoff, Chabashira seemed to lose, shifting her gaze away as her momentum withered.

"The current situation isn't a bad thing. At the very least, the cost of trial and error is low, and there is still a chance to weed out the true impurities."

Of course, most of these words were just excuses.

Hoshino had no intention of working for free. Suppress Class C? Why? Deducting Class Points from Class C wouldn't add a single Private Point to his own account!

How could that possibly be as practical as shaking down Ryuen directly?

It was just that his current status didn't really suit him for threatening Ryuen, but he could always just find someone else to do it for him.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place, and Hoshino felt a wave of relaxation wash over him.

Lately, the work for the Student Council had really made Hoshino feel out of his element.

After chatting briefly with Chabashira, he felt his train of thought suddenly become clear.

As expected, it really takes a "clash" of ideas to spark a "flame"!