Chapter 19

Class A alone was already outrageous, but I never expected Class D to come in last under the same conditions. That was terrifying. This school really had gathered the forty worst high school students in the country, hadn't it? At least Class D could still pay its bills. But in that case... Looking at Hoshinomiya, who seemed a little different from usual but was still smiling, Yuan Yuyuan knew his plan had gone awry. He had considered every possibility, but never imagined that Class D wouldn't manage to overtake Class C in one fell swoop. Hoshinomiya didn't look quite so happy now, but she was still within manageable limits. He couldn't get this homeroom teacher, who had no intention of helping her class reach Class A, to lend him a hand. Fortunately, the gap between Classes C and D wasn't large, and Hoshinomiya had been affected to some extent. He'd just have to see how things went and give Class D another push when the time came. When everyone saw that Class B and Class A were separated by only twenty Class Points, some were frustrated and others ashamed, but no one brought the issue out in the open to address it. Hoshinomiya spoke again. "Everyone did very well this month. Yuyuan has already explained the points and class placements to you, so I won't repeat it." "Here are the results of the last test. I'm very pleased—everyone did quite well." Yuan Yuyuan took a quick look. He had scored full marks, Ichinose had gotten ninety-two, Kanzaki eighty-five, and most of the others had scored between seventy and eighty. Overall, they'd done well. Before anyone could finish being surprised that Yuan Yuyuan had managed to solve the last three questions, Hoshinomiya doused them with a bucket of cold water. "It's worth mentioning that you'll be expelled if you fail even one subject in the official exams." That frightened everyone. Class B was academically strong, but at a school that prided itself on being governed by ability, they could be in trouble if it decided to weed out the weakest. Shibata Sou, an athletic but academically hopeless student, was especially worried. "You get expelled for failing one subject? Why have we never heard about this?" "Don't worry, don't worry. The passing score is thirty-seven, so you're all safe. Still, be careful—if you have an off day, you could be in trouble." "Midterms are three weeks away. I'm sure you can figure out a way to make sure everyone passes." After she finished speaking, Hoshinomiya glanced at Yuan Yuyuan. That line and the look in Hoshinomiya's eyes had a strong flavor to them. Whenever this sort of thing came up, she'd drop some piece of information that other people wouldn't pay much attention to, but that was actually important. This school really did have a twisted sense of humor. Still, saying that to Class B, whose average academic ability was second only to Class A, was strange. At the very least, Classes A and B should have gotten different speeches from Classes C and D! After Hoshinomiya left, Yuan Yuyuan didn't want to linger in the classroom either. Class D might have fallen flat, but he couldn't do the same. He still had to go stir up Hoshinomiya's feelings a little. Just then, an emotionless announcement came over the PA system. [Ayanokoji of Year 1, Class D, your homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, would like to see you. Please report to the teachers' office.] Ayanokoji? If nothing unexpected had happened, he was the so-called hypocritical genius Arisu had mentioned. Yuan Yuyuan had to go to the teachers' office anyway, so he could take the opportunity to meet the White Room's greatest masterpiece. When he arrived, a boy with dead fish eyes and hair that nearly covered them was standing at the entrance. Yuan Yuyuan recognized him as the gloomy boy who had spoken with Horikita Suzune at the club fair. He was now talking to Hoshinomiya, who was inside the office. "Um... excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?" "Sae? She was just here, but it looks like she stepped out for a bit. Want to come in and wait?" "No, I'll wait in the hallway." Hoshinomiya came out, looking thoughtful. She was about to say something when she noticed Yuan Yuyuan walking over. "Yuyuan's here too. What can I do for you?" "It's fine, go ahead and take care of what you need to, sensei. I'm in no hurry." Hoshinomiya had been about to make small talk with Yuan Yuyuan, and was pleased to see how easily he'd caught on. "All right, then I'll start with this..." Ayanokoji had been thinking that they needed to talk, and that this way he could wait for Chabashira alone in the hallway. But there was no helping it now. "My name is Ayanokoji." "So why did Sae call you out here? Hey, why?" "I have no idea." "Oh? She called you out without even telling you why?" Hoshinomiya furrowed her brow and looked Ayanokoji up and down as if he were a criminal. "Hoshinomiya, what are you doing?" Chabashira had appeared from who knew where and smacked Hoshinomiya on the head with the clipboard in her hand. Hoshinomiya crouched down, clutching her head, looking as though it hurt. "Ow! What was that for?" "Because you're harassing my student." "He said he was here to see Sae, so I was just keeping him company while you were away. Right, Yuyuan?" Yuan Yuyuan, who had been pondering something, was suddenly put on the spot. But Hoshinomiya wasn't wrong. "Hm? From a broader perspective, that's true." "See? Sae called someone over and then wasn't here, so I kindly kept him company. She really doesn't appreciate a good deed." "Why not just ignore him? Ayanokoji, sorry for the wait. It's not convenient to talk here, so come with me to the counseling room." "No, I think here is fine. More importantly, the counseling room... Did I do something? Even though I'm like this, I think I've been careful not to stand out too much during my school life." "Don't talk back. Come with me." Ayanokoji had no choice but to follow Chabashira. Hoshinomiya followed the two of them with a smile on her face. Chabashira immediately noticed and turned around with a look like an evil spirit. "Don't follow us." "Don't be so cold. It's not like listening in will cost you anything. And Sae's definitely not the type to give individual guidance, right? But she suddenly called the new student Ayanokoji to the counseling room... I'm wondering if Sae has some sort of ulterior motive." "Could Sae be planning to commit insubordination?" "Don't be ridiculous. That's obviously impossible." "Hehe. Sae really couldn't pull off something like that," Hoshinomiya murmured pointedly, never slowing her step as she continued to follow them. "Don't you have a visitor waiting? Get going." Chabashira smacked Hoshinomiya on the butt with her clipboard. "Good grief. If I keep joking around, Sae's going to get angry. See you next time, Ayanokoji. Now then, Yuyuan, let's go to the teachers' office." Seeing that Chabashira was determined not to let her listen in, Hoshinomiya had no choice but to bring Yuan Yuyuan back to the office with her. "Sorry about that, Yuyuan. I was worried Sae might get deceived by some bad man or something." "Don't worry about it. You and I both know what Chabashira-sensei is really trying to do." Hoshinomiya's eyes flickered, but she still blinked at Yuan Yuyuan innocently. "What strange things are you saying, Yuyuan? I have no idea what you mean." "You really don't? What if I told you that Ayanokoji is a genius who's been hiding his true abilities?" "What did you say?" Pretending not to notice Hoshinomiya's face darkening, Yuan Yuyuan continued to explain. "You heard me. He's one of the White Room's..."