Makes Sense! / Chapter 43: Ayanokoji Says He Wants to Drop Out

That was how Ichinose, who had suddenly shown up, helped Shuichi Kanda and the others get away from the troublesome Hoshinomiya-sensei.

Chabashira-sensei watched Hoshinomiya-sensei leave. She irritably scratched her head, then let out a inexplicable sigh and started toward the Counseling Room.

A little while later, Shuichi Kanda followed Chabashira-sensei into the Counseling Room near the teachers' office.

"So... is there something you wanted to talk to us about? I don't remember doing anything to offend you, Chabashira-sensei." Shuichi Kanda scratched his head, mirroring Chabashira-sensei's earlier gesture.

"Are you trying to provoke me?"

"Uh, I wouldn't dare."

Shuichi Kanda awkwardly lowered his hand, pretending nothing had happened.

Chabashira-sensei then opened the side room off the Counseling Room. It seemed to be a kitchenette, with an electric kettle and a teapot on top.

"Tea should be fine, right? Is hojicha okay?" As he spoke, Ayanokoji picked up the teapot and turned over the teacups that had been placed upside down on the tea table.

"Ayanokoji, you know how to make tea? Then I'll have black tea, with sugar and milk."

At Shuichi Kanda's words, Ayanokoji gave him a speechless look.

"I seem to remember you abandoning me at a crucial moment. How do you have the nerve to drink tea I made?"

"That was unavoidable. You saw how troublesome Hoshinomiya-sensei was."

It was a perfectly reasonable excuse, since even Ayanokoji thought that teacher was hard to deal with.

"You two, that's enough. Be serious. Anyway, stay here quietly until I tell you to come out. Don't make a sound. Understood? If you disobey, you'll be expelled."

She was bluffing. She absolutely had to be.

Because when expulsion was actually on the table, Chabashira-sensei's tone was completely different.

As Chabashira-sensei closed the door and left, Shuichi Kanda took the teapot Ayanokoji had put back on the table, quickly filled it with water, and set it on the electric kettle, paying no heed to what she'd just said.

Water made a lot of noise as it boiled, so not long after the kettle was plugged in, Chabashira-sensei heard it.

Her eyebrow twitched twice. Chabashira took a deep breath and decided not to stoop to the two boys' level.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

Using the sound of the kettle as cover, Ayanokoji asked in a low voice.

"It's fine. I want to try your handiwork, too."

"Didn't I just ask if you had the nerve?"

"I told you, it was unavoidable. Cut me some slack."

Bang!

"Quiet!"

Chabashira-sensei's voice came from outside, and the two immediately fell silent.

A little while later, Chabashira-sensei spoke again.

"You're here, Horikita. The water will be ready soon. Would you like a cup of black tea?"

At that, Shuichi Kanda immediately looked at Ayanokoji and pulled out his phone to type.

[Make tea for four.]

Though he looked exasperated, Ayanokoji prepared four cups. He took tea leaves from the container marked "black tea," then waited for the water to boil.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Please sit over there for now."

Soon, Horikita and Chabashira-sensei could be heard talking outside. Then came the sound of water boiling in the kettle.

"The water's boiled. Aren't you going to make tea, Chabashira-sensei?"

"Horikita, it seems you've never studied the Tea Ceremony Club's customs. You can't make tea with water that's just boiled."

Hearing Chabashira's explanation, Shuichi Kanda finally understood. No wonder Ayanokoji hadn't done anything—he was waiting for the boiling water to cool.

A few minutes later, the sound of Chabashira-sensei's heels clicking against the floor rang out.

Then the door opened. But at Chabashira-sensei's specific instruction, Horikita was sitting on the sofa, facing away from them. She couldn't see into the room.

Chabashira-sensei waited until Ayanokoji had made the black tea and added milk and sugar, then glared fiercely at the two of them.

She placed the two finished cups of black tea on the back of the clipboard she'd taken earlier and carried them out.

Well, if she changed her suit for a maid outfit and the clipboard for a tray...

No, I don't dare think about it. Demons and monsters, get out of my head!

Chapter 42: Makes Sense!

Horikita Suzune couldn't help feeling speechless when Chabashira-sensei actually came out of the kitchenette with two cups of black tea. Are you serious? How did we actually end up drinking tea?

Even so, Horikita Suzune picked up the cup in front of her. Judging by the color, it had milk in it.

And when she touched the rim, it wasn't hot. Was it cool enough to drink already?

She just wanted to ask the question that had been bothering her for days. She was in a hurry, but it seemed the other woman wouldn't tell her unless she drank the tea.

Then she'd have a sip. Horikita Suzune brought the cup to her lips and took a drink.

Delicious!

She didn't know much about tea, but she could tell this was excellent—better than what she'd had at shops.

But could a single teacher nearing thirty really make tea this good? With those skills, she'd probably make more money opening a shop outside the school than working as a teacher.

"Horikita, that's a very rude look."

Chabashira also picked up her cup and took a sip. She was no less surprised than Horikita. What exactly was Ayanokoji? How did he even know the Tea Ceremony Club's customs?

Shuichi Kanda, who was in the kitchenette, was just as astonished.

To be honest, Shuichi Kanda wasn't used to Japanese tea. They ground the leaves into powder and whisked it into water. It didn't sound like something he'd enjoy.

He'd only meant to give it a try, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The milk made the black tea smoother, while the sugar balanced out its bitterness.

He still preferred the jasmine tea he'd tried before, with its fragrant aroma and hint of bitterness, but he had to admit this cup was good.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji really knew his stuff!

"Well then, Horikita, you've had your tea. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Speaking of Horikita, Shuichi Kanda thought she looked like the heroine of a light novel that had been popular a few years ago: long, straight black hair and an aura that made her seem hard to approach.

And as a side note, Ichinose, whom he'd met today, was exactly like a losing heroine from a light novel—the kind of pitiful girl who excelled at everything but was destined to lose for some inexplicable reason.

"I'll get straight to the point. Why was I assigned to Class D?" When Horikita brought up the matter, all the poise she'd shown while drinking tea vanished. Her tone was full of indignation. "You said today that excellent students were selected for Class A in order, while Class D was the school's last resort for academic dropouts. But I don't think I'm anything like those people."

Hearing those words from the kitchenette, Shuichi Kanda quietly set down his cup.

Sorry, light-novel heroines. I was wrong. She's not like you. At most, she's a supporting character.

Sorry, Ichinose. This must be my punishment for talking about you behind your back. Please forgive me!

But hadn't Horikita wanted to ask Chabashira-sensei these questions last Friday? Hirata was going to announce a way to solve their point shortage, and it was Friday, so she'd held it in for three... no, today was Monday after school, so four days?

Well, that must have been rough. She hadn't even been able to enjoy the weekend properly. Poor thing.

As he raced through those thoughts, Shuichi Kanda picked up the black tea, now less than half full, and relaxed.

"Judging by how dissatisfied you look, you think you're pretty exceptional, don't you?"

"Of course!" Horikita Suzune said confidently, nearly making Shuichi Kanda, hiding in the kitchenette, spit out his tea.

Girl, do you have some misunderstanding about what it means to be exceptional?

Wake up. Horikita, the Student Council President, is what you'd call exceptional. You're not.

"I'm confident I solved almost all the questions on the entrance exam, and I don't remember making any major mistakes during the interview. At the very least, I can't imagine why I'd be assigned to Class D."

The girl continued voicing her dissatisfaction to Chabashira-sensei.

"I see. Normally, I'm not allowed to show anyone the entrance exam results. But since you put it that way, I'll make an exception. I happen to have your test here."

Liar!

What a coincidence. Chabashira-sensei, you're not a good person! And you definitely knew Horikita was coming, didn't you?

That was exactly right. Chabashira had prepared the test last Friday, but Horikita hadn't come, and she'd been disappointed for quite a while.

As it happened, Horikita had messaged Chabashira during homeroom that morning, saying she had something to ask and hoped Chabashira could set aside some time after school.

"You're well prepared. Did you already know I'd bring this up?"

"I'm a teacher, after all. I have some understanding of my students' personalities. It isn't difficult to predict what they'll do next based on that."

Lying again. Then how did you fail to predict that I'd actually make tea?

"Horikita Suzune, you ranked third among this year's first-years on the entrance exam, tied with another student. Your score was also close to those of the first- and second-place students. There were no particular issues in your interview, either. All the interviewers gave you excellent reviews."

So what?

"Thank you. Then—why?"

Horikita Suzune, why didn't you follow the script?!

"Before we get to that, why are you so dissatisfied about being placed in Class D?"

"No one is happy when they aren't evaluated properly. Besides, a student's class at this school will have a huge impact on their future. Of course I'd be dissatisfied."

"Evaluated properly? Hahahaha, you certainly have a high opinion of yourself."

Hearing Horikita Suzune's words, Chabashira-sensei seemed to think of something and laughed to herself, as if mocking Horikita Suzune's naïveté.

Shuichi Kanda set down his now-empty cup of black tea, took out his phone, and started typing.

[Did Chabashira-sensei have a student like Horikita before? She's got her wrapped around her finger.]

After reading what Shuichi Kanda had typed, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji sent a similar reply.

[How would I know?]

Couldn't you just play along? Say "maybe" or "probably." You'll never make friends like that, Ayanokoji.

But Ayanokoji's fingers kept moving, as if he was typing something else.

[Maybe she used to be like this, too?]

Seeing the words Ayanokoji had typed, Shuichi Kanda froze.

[That makes sense!]

Chapter 43: Ayanokoji Says He Wants to Drop Out

Shuichi Kanda and Ayanokoji thought they'd uncovered a huge secret about Chabashira Sae. Maybe they could use this chance to blackmail her?

If Chabashira-sensei had been like Horikita Suzune in the past, that must have been her embarrassing history, right?

Chabashira-sensei, you wouldn't want your embarrassing past getting out to the students in your class, would you?

While Shuichi Kanda was letting his imagination run wild, Chabashira-sensei's voice continued from outside.

"You have excellent academic ability. I'll acknowledge that. But who said that students with outstanding grades get to enter the best class? We've never said that."

"That's—that's common knowledge in society."

Common knowledge? Did you live in some ancient feudal society where people became officials by passing the imperial examinations?

"Common knowledge? What ridiculous common knowledge. Being good at studying is certainly one kind of ability. But this school's purpose is to create truly exceptional people. If you think good grades alone will get you assigned to a high-ranking class, you're gravely mistaken."

"Besides, if academic performance were the deciding factor, then Kouenji, Yukimura, and Hirata shouldn't be in Class D. As for Sudo and the others, the school probably wouldn't have admitted them at all."

Chabashira-sensei really was trying to reason with her. First, she mentioned several people whose academic abilities were about as good as Horikita's, if not better, making the point that Horikita wasn't the only one in the wrong class—and they hadn't protested. Then she brought up a few students with extremely poor grades to show that there was more to the school's admissions process than met the eye.

"I..."