Chabashira Sae's Reminder

That afternoon,

You En returned to the classroom feeling refreshed after his lunch break,

The atmosphere in the first class had been a little oppressive. Most of the students had at least some sense of shame.

The group of idiots centered around Yamauchi was the exception. They were still constantly slacking off, making vulgar sexual jokes about their female classmates or teachers for their own amusement.

Even groups with bad habits, like Karuizawa's, could at least pretend to be well-behaved students for a class or two. Filing their nails didn't bother anyone else.

You En felt that the word "idiots" wasn't suitable for people like Yamauchi Haruki. He should call them the "moron group" instead.

There was no point trying to reform people like them,

When You En was younger, he had wanted to improve the people or systems around him. At first, that meant his class and classmates; later, it meant the places where he worked.

But most of it had been a waste of effort.

So many people didn't take you seriously. What was the point of taking them seriously in return? In essence, it was just sticking your nose into other people's business.

The only people you could influence were those who cared about you and those you cared about.

Besides, reforming someone like Yamauchi would take a lot of effort. He could spend ten thousand units of energy and only get ten units of change out of them. He might even get a negative response... It just wasn't worth it.

Speaking of the moron group, Ayanokoji seemed to have started hanging out with them again lately. Was he thinking about maintaining his persona again?

Or was he plotting something?

You En was just bored. He turned around, intending to tease Ayanokoji,

"What have you been up to lately?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had been keeping some of his attention on You En the whole time, so he reacted at once.

On the surface, he showed only mild surprise that "You En had suddenly started talking to him," but in the space of a few moments, he thought,

Why had the other party suddenly spoken to him?

Had he noticed what Ayanokoji was doing?

That was unlikely. So far, it was only the early stages of a plan, and his intentions on that front hadn't been exposed.

Watching Ayanokoji's reaction, You En's heart gave a little jolt. He had only asked casually, but it seemed this guy really was up to something.

What was he thinking about...? He wasn't planning to somehow drag You En into a men's restroom or onto the roof and beat him up, was he?

Honestly, getting beaten up would be embarrassing. But the fact was, You En couldn't beat him right now. No matter. Humanity's ultimate goal was to get into the system, and at school, he had the Student Council on his side.

If he got beaten up, he'd go to the Student Council and call Horikita Manabu his brother-in-law. He'd make a huge scene at the entrance, crying, throwing a tantrum, and threatening to hang himself. He'd make sure Ayanokoji paid for it.

Within a second,

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had gathered his thoughts,

"...Nothing. Just hanging out with them."

"Are you sure?"

You En knew he was talking about the Three Idiots.

Just then,

Chabashira Sae walked into the classroom, looking rather grim. Since it wasn't class time, the students quieted down for a moment before growing noisy again.

Kanji Ike even called out to Chabashira Sae,

"Sensei! You wouldn't happen to be on your period, would you?"

Most of the boys and girls thought that joke had gone too far. Only a few of them kept laughing.

You En noticed that Chabashira Sae's expression hadn't changed. Her attitude was the same as usual. It wasn't so much disdain as utter contempt.

Like an ancient tyrannosaurus stumbling upon a tiny algae cell that had dared to provoke it. At most, it would find the whole thing rather amusing.

"You En, Ayanokoji, Koenji, Horikita, Hirata—you five, come to my office. Everyone else, study on your own until class starts."

With that, she left again.

You En mulled over the names she'd called out. Was Chabashira-sensei about to make a move?

"What do you think this means?"

Horikita Suzune thought it would make sense if Chabashira had called only her and You En. The problem was that she'd included three others. What was that about?

As for their grades, Ayanokoji had scored fifty points in each of two subjects, for a total of one hundred. That was pretty good for Class D.

As for Koenji, he seemed to have tried hard on the last test and gotten a good score.

Hirata was decent, but too many classmates had demanded his attention. He was probably capable of much more.

"We'll find out when we get there."

You En stood up.

Horikita Suzune stood up too,

"True. There's no point guessing here. We should hear what Chabashira-sensei has to say."

She wanted an explanation. Although You En had analyzed the school's class-placement system in terms of obedience,

she still couldn't accept it. No matter how poor their obedience, she and You En could still contribute a great deal to the group.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came over. "Can I come with you?"

"Suit yourself," You En replied.

Hirata glanced over as well. They exchanged a look and walked out of the classroom together.

Koenji didn't move from his seat. It seemed he had no intention of going. Hirata tried to persuade him, but Koenji simply refused.

They arrived at the faculty office for their year.

The office was divided into individual and year-group sections.

You En had a feeling this conversation wouldn't get too personal. If Chabashira wanted to discuss private matters or anything involving personal feelings, she generally wouldn't choose a public place.

"Sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

Chabashira Sae wore a professional office outfit, her long legs in black stockings crossed. Compared with her attitude in class, she seemed a little more relaxed.

"The best tea," You En said without hesitation. Ayanokoji and Hirata glanced at him. He really had some nerve.

Horikita Suzune knew he was acting up again and hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, but You En didn't budge.

Chabashira Sae closed her eyes and smiled faintly,

"The best tea? I don't have any. I only have some inferior stuff. Want some?"

You En pulled up a chair and sat down, waving his hand,

"That's fine. I'll just have a taste."

Chabashira Sae's smile grew more pronounced. She stood up,

"I'll go to the tea room. Wait here a moment."

Once Chabashira Sae had gone in,

Hirata hurriedly said, "Aren't you being a little impolite to the teacher? You're asking for a lot."

You En looked up at Horikita Suzune, who seemed to want to say something but held back,

"It's nothing. I was just thirsty, so I said whatever came to mind."

Horikita Suzune looked doubtful. He might have been a bit of a goofball, but there was no way he was stupid.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, meanwhile, had a pretty good idea. He had studied the theory behind this sort of thing. He thought You En had just been testing Chabashira Sae's attitude toward him by asking for "the best tea," without specifying what that meant.

Her reaction would give You En a rough idea of where he stood in Chabashira Sae's eyes.

As things stood,

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt that, in Chabashira Sae's eyes, everyone else in the class—including him—was worth less combined than You En alone.

The order in which she had called their names was interesting too. It probably reflected how much she valued each of them.

Chabashira Sae came out with tea and a tray of teaware. She poured a cup for You En, then one for herself, and finally set down the teapot,

"If you want some, pour it yourselves."

Horikita Suzune felt that Chabashira's obvious favoritism was too much. She had no teacherly virtue at all.

You En accepted the tea and thanked her, then gulped it down in one go,

"Good stuff, good stuff. Another cup."

"Pour it yourself,"

Chabashira Sae shot him a look. He really seemed to think she was his maid or servant.

"And your tea ceremony is a strange mishmash. You should ask Sakagami-sensei to teach you sometime."

Sakagami? The homeroom teacher for Class C. Did that mean he might offer a tea ceremony elective in the future?

You En poured himself a cup, then poured one for each of the others,

"We'll see. Chabashira...sensei, why did you call us here today?"

That had been close. He had almost called her just "Chabashira." You En had unconsciously started thinking of himself as an adult, just like her.

Chabashira Sae didn't seem to mind. Instead, she asked,

"Have you all joined a club or the Student Council?"

Only Hirata Yosuke spoke up,

"I joined the Soccer Club, but I'm just an ordinary member, not an official one."

"Your application wasn't approved?"

Chabashira Sae rested a hand on her desk and lightly tapped it with her index finger,

"Try to join if you can. The Soccer Club has a lot to offer. It isn't on the level of the elite clubs, but it's still one of the most prominent intermediate clubs."

Hirata Yosuke wasn't sure why, but he nodded politely all the same,

"I'll do my best, Sensei."

Chabashira shifted her gaze to Ayanokoji,

"Ayanokoji, stop hiding your abilities and join a club. With your skill, you might even be able to get into an elite club."

Ayanokoji kept pretending to be clueless,

"Sensei, I don't know what you mean. Isn't it hard to become an official club member?"

Chabashira Sae couldn't be bothered to explain. "Forget it. If you want to keep pretending, go ahead.

Whether you're genuinely stupid or just pretending, the result's the same in the end."

If You En hadn't been in the class, she might have tried to get Ayanokoji to show his abilities. But now she couldn't be bothered. She was rather lazy by nature, after all.

"Horikita Suzune,"

Chabashira Sae began,

"I know why you came to this school. But if you don't take it seriously, you won't just fail to get closer to your goal—you might not even see the whole picture. You may even lose sight of the people around you."

"What?"

Horikita Suzune thought Chabashira was talking about her relationship with her brother, but what did those words mean?

Out of consideration for her brother, Chabashira Sae gave her one more warning. "Stop thinking about joining the Student Council. Find a club to join, whether it's one you're interested in or one that suits your talents."

Horikita Suzune didn't understand. "I don't get it. What's the point of clubs? Isn't getting good grades enough?"

"Heh,"

Chabashira Sae said carelessly. If she didn't want to listen, that was her problem. She had only meant to say a few words to the others anyway. The real focus was this one.

But You En didn't need her advice at all. His ability to act and observe was exceptional.

And his most prominent skill was apparently Creation, at the master level?

That wasn't a useless skill. Its importance simply wouldn't become clear at this school until the middle years—at the earliest, their second year.

"Go on, get out of here. Go do whatever you're supposed to. Oh, Hirata, tell the students when you get back that they can study on their own this period. I'm not going back."

The five of them had been summoned for no clear reason, heard a few words, and then hurried out.

You En didn't know what Chabashira Sae had meant, but he was sure of one thing: he hadn't done anything wrong. Overall, he was on the right track.

So he would keep working hard,

The day the answer was revealed didn't feel far away.