The Rooftop Conversation and the Eavesdropping Fiasco

The rooftop door was ajar, and a cool breeze slipped through the gap, carrying faint sounds of commotion.

Chabashira Sae had probably come up here to get some fresh air during the break.

(Actually, she was off to pull for Sampo in the fourth banner, but Yanagi wouldn't give her Shenhe.)

Ayanokoji didn't hesitate. He pushed the door open and went up.

The iron door creaked softly.

Suzune Horikita stopped at once and signaled for Lin Mu to stop, too.

The two of them silently stepped behind the wall beside the door and listened.

The wind was stronger on the rooftop. Chabashira Sae's voice wavered slightly in the breeze, but remained clear:

"Is there something you need? Class is about to start."

She sounded relaxed, even a little languid—a far cry from the icy judgment she'd delivered in the classroom moments ago.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's voice was calm and even. He dispensed with any pleasantries and got straight to the point:

"Teacher, may I ask you something?"

"A question?" Chabashira sounded a little puzzled.

"Do you think society today is equal?"

Ayanokoji's voice remained calm and even, as if he were simply discussing some trivial academic topic.

Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow, sounding a little impatient. "That's rather out of the blue. What's the point of asking me that?"

"It's very important. Would you please answer?" Ayanokoji insisted.

Chabashira Sae pondered for a moment before answering. "In my view, society is obviously unequal—not in the slightest. Equality is just an illusion that conceals the truth."

"But humans are capable of thought. At the very least, every rule and regulation has to appear equal."

As he spoke, Ayanokoji took out his Student Terminal, swiped across the screen, then held it out to Chabashira.

"Please sell me one point from Sudo's English score."

Chabashira Sae was taken aback, then let out a low laugh, amusement in her eyes.

"You're quite something. I never expected you to make a request like that—buying a point."

"On the first day of school, didn't you say that purchases had to be made using the points on our Student Terminals? Every rule and regulation has to at least seem fair. This exam is no exception."

Ayanokoji was expressionless, his reasoning clear.

"But I doubt the points you have are enough to buy that one point."

Chabashira Sae held up one finger, her tone deliberately challenging.

"Let me think. If you can pay me a hundred thousand Private Points right now, I'll make an exception and sell you that point."

Ayanokoji remained impassive and spoke mildly. "You're quite mean, teacher."

At the words "buy a point," Suzune Horikita's eyes visibly lit up as she eavesdropped.

Her hand curled slightly at her side, and she leaned forward, clearly waiting anxiously for Chabashira's response.

Lin Mu, meanwhile, continued to lean lazily against the wall. A faint crunch came from the lollipop in his mouth—he'd bitten through the last of the candy.

He'd already seen this exchange in his precognitive vision, but hearing Ayanokoji say, in that utterly flat tone, "Please sell me one point from Sudo's score" still made him feel...

Suzune Horikita could no longer hold back.

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The iron door slammed into the wall with a bang, making the two people on the rooftop turn toward her at the same time.

"Then what if you add my Private Points?"

Horikita's voice was firm, her gaze fixed on Chabashira Sae.

She calmly weighed the pros and cons, her reasoning clear and her tone unmistakably earnest.

"I don't know what penalty a class faces when someone is expelled. But keeping Sudo benefits Class D more than it hurts us."

Lin Mu, following Horikita, saw that they'd been caught eavesdropping and decided to step out as well.

With his hands in his pockets and the bare plastic stick of his lollipop in his mouth, he leaned lazily against the doorframe, looking for all the world like someone who'd just happened to wander by.

Ayanokoji and Chabashira Sae both looked at them.

Ayanokoji's expression didn't change. He merely called out their names. "Horikita. Lin Mu." As if their appearance here were perfectly ordinary.

Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow, her smile deepening. There was amusement in it, and perhaps some appreciation... maybe.

"You two really are quite interesting."

Her gaze swept over Horikita, then shifted to Lin Mu, leaning against the doorway. She sounded curious.

"Lin Mu, are you here to plead for Sudo, too?"

Everyone's attention turned to him.

Lin Mu licked his lips, savoring the last hint of grape sweetness as it dissolved on his tongue.

He spoke unhurriedly, his voice carrying its usual languor and indifference.

"Teacher, I'm just here to watch the show."

He shrugged, the plastic stick bobbing at the corner of his mouth. "I'm not interested in Sudo's situation.

"As far as I know, students get expelled from the second- and third-year classes, too. The survival of the fittest is inevitable; it's just a matter of when."

His gaze passed over Horikita and Ayanokoji, his tone flat. "What Horikita and Ayanokoji decide to do is up to them. I won't interfere or get involved. Go ahead."

His words were blunt and cold, even a little cruel—but strangely, they fit the impression he'd always given:

A slacker who couldn't care less about class affairs and only wanted to make life comfortable for himself.

Chabashira Sae looked at him for two seconds, then didn't ask anything else. She simply smiled faintly and turned her attention back to the deal at hand.

What followed went smoothly: Ayanokoji and Horikita pooled a hundred thousand points, Chabashira Sae accepted them, and agreed to "sell" that one point.

And so Ken Sudō's expulsion crisis was casually resolved—with a sum large enough to make an ordinary student who'd only just enrolled wince for a long time.

Just like this school. Everything had its price, clearly marked.

Lin Mu sneered inwardly. He felt he'd seen enough of the show.

He gave the three people on the rooftop a slight nod and spoke casually.

"I've had my fill of the excitement. I'll head back to the classroom."

With that, he turned and ambled back the way he'd come, his hands still in his pockets.

Behind him, the conversation on the rooftop continued. He could faintly hear Chabashira talking with Ayanokoji and Horikita, but it had nothing to do with him anymore.

When he returned to the Class D classroom, the atmosphere had barely changed.

Ken Sudō was still slumped in his seat, his face ashen. Hirata Yosuke was still trying to comfort him, but to little effect.

The other students were either silent or whispering among themselves, their faces full of helplessness.

Kushida stood with both hands clasped before her chest, her brows knit as she anxiously tried to think of a solution.

As soon as she saw Lin Mu return, her eyes lit up, and she hurried over.

"Lin Mu! You..."

Lin Mu raised a hand and gestured for her to keep her voice down, then motioned for her to come closer.

Though puzzled, Kushida leaned toward him.

Lin Mu lowered his head and bent toward her ear, whispering so softly that only the two of them could hear.

"Don't worry. Sudo's going to be fine."

Kushida's body stiffened noticeably.

"Ayanokoji and Horikita have already gone to Chabashira-sensei to sort it out."