The Grudge Between Teachers, Today Really Is Just a Guess

The students who had just been shouting themselves hoarse in Hirata's defense: "..."

Then what was everything we just said?

"It's just that, Hirata, what someone wants to express is often affected by all kinds of external factors. In the end, it can even become completely different from what they originally meant."

"I'm willing to believe you this time. But for people who don't know you well, the accusations against you just now would become fact—because they do seem to fit the evidence. Do you want them to trust your reputation, or what you say, or to believe the facts they've seen?"

Hirata Yosuke: "..."

En Hoshino was right, and he had no answer. But that didn't mean he would say anything against a classmate who had gone out of their way to help him.

"Anyway, you should find more reliable people to help you persuade others in the future. No matter how close you are, if they aren't up to the task, they'll only end up doing more harm than good, won't they?"

By then, the other students in the class understood. So that girl was the reason Hoshino had misunderstood Hirata!

Hirata Yosuke's good reputation in Class D was beyond question. Hoshino En, meanwhile, had only just been revealed that morning to have won the class a benefit. It was a small one, but something was better than nothing, so most people were grateful to him.

And now they had nearly been turned against each other because one person had made a unilateral claim. It was no wonder most of them were furious.

So a new round of verbal attacks began, with the nameless girl as their target.

Thanks to Hirata Yosuke's intervention, nobody dared say anything to her openly. But the seed had been planted, and her isolation and rejection were now inevitable.

None of that had anything to do with Hoshino En, though. With some time left before his afternoon class, he simply lay down and went to sleep.

First Semester of First Year

Chapter 57: Chapter 053: The Grudge Between Teachers, Today Really Is Just a Guessq

The afternoon classes soon ended.

Afterward, following the plan they had made at noon, Hirata Yosuke took over the podium and began discussing how to prepare for the Midterm Exam and earn Private Points with his classmates.N

Nearly thirty of the forty seats in the classroom were occupied. That gave a good idea of how much influence he had... But it did nothing to change Hoshino En's resolve not to take part.:

He hadn't been out of the classroom for long and hadn't even left the school building when an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Class 1-D's Ayanokoji and Hoshino, your homeroom teacher, Chabashira-sensei, needs to see you. Please report to the Teachers' Office."

Was she trying to get back at them?

Though he was deeply reluctant, Hoshino En still messaged the Swimming Club to ask for time off, then headed for the Teachers' Office on the top floor.

He hoped it wasn't anything troublesome and that he could still make it to his lesson with Karuizawa.

By the time he arrived, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was already waiting outside. But he didn't look like someone who had just been lectured. Instead, he seemed hesitant to go in.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you going inside?"

"Well... When a teacher calls you to the office, does that mean you've done something you shouldn't have? I've been thinking it over, but I can't figure it out."

Kiyotaka wore an innocent expression. Being called in alone by a teacher seemed to have shaken someone as well-behaved as him.

"Maybe she's on her period and just grabbed two punching bags to vent on. Don't stress about it."

Hoshino En pushed open the office door, boasting as he did.

"Listen, I'm not bragging, but I've been called in by people much scarier than her. A homeroom teacher's no big deal~"

When they opened the door, they got a clear view of the Teachers' Office. But Chabashira Sae was nowhere to be seen.

More precisely, the only person there was a vain teacher looking at herself in the mirror. There were no other teachers around.

That woman... She'd called them over, but she wasn't even here?

One star! She deserved a terrible rating on the teacher evaluation system!

" Hoshinomiya-sensei, is Chabashira-sensei here?"

Hoshino En asked the woman, who seemed to be admiring herself but was actually watching them through the reflections in a hand mirror and a standing mirror.

Hoshinomiya Chie was the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B, as well as the woman who ruled over the infirmary. Hoshino En had met her after taking Karuizawa Kei there when she strained her leg during morning exercise.

She looked like a scatterbrained airhead, but there was an indescribable air of calculation about her. She reminded Hoshino En less of Shiina Hiyori and more of Kushida Kikyo.

After learning he was a Class D student, she had begun testing him in subtle, hot-and-cold ways, while revealing nothing about herself. She seemed like a highly skilled player, and there might have been some kind of conflict between her and Chabashira Sae.

"Huh? Little Sae? She was right there just a moment ago!"

All right, she was on such familiar terms with Chabashira Sae that their relationship seemed more complicated than simple hostility. On the surface, they must have gotten along pretty well.

Had they once been best friends, only to turn against each other over something?

But last time, she had guarded her own affairs so carefully. Why was she letting this information slip now?

"Oh? The one behind you... Is he the other student Little Sae called in? Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, right?"

At that moment, Hoshinomiya Chie turned her curious gaze to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka behind Hoshino En.

Was she interested in Kiyotaka?

Hoshino En's first thought was that this player had her sights on the kid he was looking after. He instinctively wanted to hit her with something nasty.

But before he could throw an elbow, he held back and forced himself to calm down.

No, no. If it was just a matter of being called in by Chabashira Sae, he and Kiyotaka were probably on equal footing. It wasn't necessarily Kiyotaka she was interested in. Maybe, when she had first met him, he hadn't been important enough to earn this information. Now, because Chabashira Sae had given him special attention, Hoshinomiya thought she could reveal a little to draw them closer.

Yes, that had to be it.

As Hoshinomiya Chie's gaze traveled up and down Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hoshino En gradually sorted out his thoughts.

She was fixated on the people Chabashira Sae valued. Considering how the school's class competition worked, that suggested she didn't want Class D to move up.

Or rather, she didn't want Chabashira Sae to succeed!

They were close enough for Hoshinomiya Chie to call her by name, yet she hated her so much... What on earth had Chabashira done to twist their relationship into something like this?:

It couldn't have been that she stole Hoshinomiya Chie's boyfriend, could it?

Meanwhile, under the teacher's scrutiny, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shrank behind Hoshino En, gave a stiff little nod, and said nothing.

It seemed he was working hard to play the part of an ordinary student who was afraid of teachers.

But, buddy, you're overdoing it! All you had to do was lower your eyes a little and give a small nod. Why are you hiding behind me? Why are you standing so close? People are going to get the wrong idea!!

"Oh my~ Are you two close?"

Sure enough, when she saw him acting like that, Hoshinomiya Chie immediately put on a gossipy air, excitedly looking back and forth between them.

"This one looks even more handsome than you, Hoshino. Which one of you is the top and which is the bottom?"

"Is it the classic aloof top and timid bottom, or the contrasting aloof bottom and timid top?"

Hoshino En and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, although things definitely aren't the way you think, allow me to ask you something—"

He knew this was probably a way for her to control the conversation, and he really, really, really wanted to say he wasn't gay. But Hoshino En had realized there was something more important than all of that.

"When you say 'timid,' are you talking about me?"

He pointed at himself, his face full of disbelief.

It was the last thing he would have expected. He was a full-grown man who ate plenty and worked out plenty. He wasn't exactly a muscle-bound brute, but how could anyone associate him with the word "timid"?

"Huh? Hoshino, you really don't realize it?"

Hoshinomiya Chie looked surprised too.

"You're so cute, and you don't even know it?"

"So you've never had a girlfriend, either? You're still a virgin?"

She seemed even more excited.

Hoshino En: "..."

What are you trying to do?

No, he couldn't let her steer the conversation. He had to fight back.

"Rather than my relationship with Kiyotaka, I think the relationship between you and Chabashira-sensei is much more interesting."

"Oh my~ Little Sae and I have been close friends since high school. There's nothing particularly special about our relationship!"

High school? Close friends?

Those words immediately brought Kushida Kikyo to mind. She had said she wanted to become close friends with everyone—that is, to be their "best friend."

Kushida Kikyo was a student at Kodo Ikusei, a school supported by the government with a completely different approach from other schools. Naturally, its teachers were different too.

It was only a sudden hunch, and he couldn't be sure, but Hoshino En had a feeling: Could Hoshinomiya Chie and Chabashira Sae have once been students at this school? In the same class, even? Otherwise, it would have been hard for them to become close friends.

If they had been in the same class, their evaluations must have been similar. So why was Hoshinomiya Chie in Class B, while Chabashira Sae had been dumped in Class D? Had Chabashira once made a serious mistake, causing the school to lower its evaluation of her?

Then it probably wasn't some personal matter like stealing a man. It would have to be something more serious, tied to a major incident—something like a Special Exam.

Tsk. These were all assumptions based on guesswork. He still didn't have...

"Hey! Hoshino, that's incredibly rude!"

Hoshinomiya Chie's voice suddenly sounded right next to Hoshino En's ear. The close-range buzz made his ears ring and his head spin as he thought.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, what are you doing?"

He turned to look at Hoshinomiya Chie. She had her arms crossed and her head turned to one side, chin raised and eyes closed, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. With her shoulder-length hair turned toward him, she looked like the classic image of a sulking tsundere.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had clearly never seen anything like it. He looked at Hoshino En, hoping his all-capable friend could explain.

But Hoshino En looked like he couldn't bear to watch.

Come on, lady, how old are you? And you're still acting cute like a little girl?

Hoshino En had seen plenty of cute and adorable people, but in all his life he had only seen one person make acting cute look this awkward: Hoshinomiya Chie.

Her appearance was flawless. If she put on Ichinose Honami's clothes, she could easily pass for a high school student. But the careless, jaded, and just-getting-by air of an adult clung to her so strongly that she looked fine at first glance, then painful to look at when you paid closer attention.

"Hmph~ It's all Hoshino's fault. I—ow!"

Her malicious attempt at acting cute barely got started before it was cut short: Chabashira Sae had arrived.

First Semester of First Year :

Chapter 58: Chapter 054: Do Young People These Days Really Get Up to Such Things?

"Hoshinomiya, what are you doing?"

Chabashira Sae, who had appeared in the office at some point, brought the clipboard she was holding down hard on Hoshinomiya Chie's head. The woman, who had been pouting a moment earlier, immediately crouched down and covered her head.

"Ow! Little Sae, what was that for~"

She slowly raised her head, gazing up at Chabashira Sae with eyes that looked ready to spill over with tears.

"Because you were pestering my students."

"Because Little Sae is so mean! You called them over and then weren't here... I was just keeping them company for you!"

"They don't need you to worry about them. You two, this isn't the place to talk. Come with me to the Counseling Room."

Chabashira Sae brushed aside Hoshinomiya Chie's excuse and addressed the two students.

Then why didn't you have us wait outside the Counseling Room in the first place? Why did we have to run into Hoshinomiya Chie?!

Hoshino En complained inwardly.

And this really was revenge, wasn't it? He'd only talked back to her a little in class. Besides, she'd been the one to start it!

"Chabashira-sensei, you said we're going to the Counseling Room... I think Kiyotaka and I have kept a low profile and had a fulfilling school life. We haven't done anything that would get us into trouble."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka tried to explain, but all he got in response was a cold, "Don't talk back. Come with me."

Did this teacher have no "professional ethics" at all?

Hoshino En and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could only follow.

When she saw them move, Hoshinomiya Chie, who had been putting on an act on the floor, quickly stood up and followed after them without a sound.

"Don't come with us."

But Chabashira Sae seemed to have anticipated her move. Before they had gone far, she suddenly turned around and spoke.

"Don't be so cold~ Little Sae isn't the type to give private lessons, so surely it wouldn't hurt to let me listen in?"

Hoshinomiya Chie rested both hands on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's shoulders as he followed behind Hoshino En. Her smile was gentle, but there was no warmth in her slightly narrowed eyes.

"Besides, I was wondering... You called Hoshino and Ayanokoji to the Counseling Room. Could it be that you have some ulterior motive, Little Sae?"

"Little Sae, you're not planning to prey on your students, are you?"