Ayanokoji and I Had Nothing to Do with It

May weather was always enchanting: bright sunshine, gentle breezes—it seemed like everything was just as it should be in a happy school life.

But the atmosphere inside the Class D classroom was nothing like the pleasant weather outside.

"Sensei, our points haven't been deposited this month, have they?"

Faced with the student's reminder, Chabashira seemed unconcerned. She gently set down the poster in her hand and said, "As I said before, points are deposited on the first of every month. This month won't be any different."

"But we really haven't received any points!"

The classroom quickly grew noisy as the students talked over one another. It seemed that discipline had lost all its power.

Anyone who knew better would recognize that Class D was having a homeroom meeting. Anyone who didn't might think they were holding a rally.

"You really are a bunch of foolish students!"

Chabashira's voice wasn't loud, but her words had an immediate effect. Everyone was startled by the mocking tone in them.

The Chabashira-sensei who used to ignore her students completely had disappeared. In her place stood a devil radiating a terrifying aura.

Satsu wasn't paying the slightest attention to the homeroom meeting. His bored gaze rested on the sky outside the window, while his fingers absently clicked his pen over and over, its ticking sound striking again and again through the silence.

He had no interest whatsoever in rules he already knew. In the end, he simply laid his head on the desk and dozed off.

"For a meeting this important, he actually chose not to listen?"

Suzune was surprised by Satsu's behavior. She hadn't missed how he had acted over the past month.

Satsu wasn't the sort of student who tuned out in class. Besides, every word Chabashira-sensei said at this meeting was challenging everyone's understanding of the school.

Falling asleep at a time like this was truly baffling.

Ayanokoji had noticed Satsu too, but he didn't seem surprised. He merely glanced at him before turning back to listen to Chabashira-sensei.

After a long while, Ayanokoji's mechanical, emotionless voice finally rang out.

"Satsu, Satsu! The homeroom meeting's over. Chabashira-sensei has already left." Ayanokoji gently shook Satsu as he called to him.

"Huh? Is it already break time?" Satsu rubbed his eyes.

"I almost envy your nerves and your ability to sleep, being able to doze off at a time like this," Suzune remarked with a teasing smile.

"Do you know what you missed?"

"Why can't I sleep at a time like this? Let me guess what Chabashira-sensei said."

Satsu answered confidently. He might not be able to repeat every word Chabashira had said, but he could definitely sum up the main points.

"Judging by how relaxed his body was just now, and his first reaction when I woke him, Satsu really was asleep." (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"But he knows what Chabashira-sensei talked about. Could it be that he knew beforehand?" (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

Ayanokoji's face remained expressionless. To an outsider, he seemed to be doing nothing more than quietly listening to Satsu.

But in truth, he had already considered countless possibilities.

"You knew the rules in advance?"

Suzune sounded shocked, but after only a moment, her expression settled back into calm.

She couldn't help remembering how, when they'd first started school, Satsu had demonstrated an impressive ability to gather information by accurately describing what had happened with Kuraku and the other two.

"That makes sense. With your absurdly extensive network, it's hardly surprising that you knew about this in advance."

"Network?" (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"But if you knew beforehand, why didn't you say anything?" Reine asked, puzzled.

Satsu didn't deny that he'd known in advance. Instead, he asked, "Why should I have said anything? Whatever happens to these people has nothing to do with me."

It wasn't that Satsu didn't want to tell them. The outcome was obvious: most people wouldn't believe him.

A month later, everyone would realize he'd been right. But by then, he might be forced to shoulder the class's burden. After all, he'd known the rules.

If they succeeded, no one would thank him, because he was part of the class. But if they failed, everyone would just think he wasn't good enough, and they'd vent all their resentment at him.

"Horikita, Ayanokoji, Kato."

The speaker was Hirata. He walked over to the three of them and sincerely invited them, saying, "About what Chabashira-sensei just said, I think everyone should sit down and talk it over. Could you join us?"

"Sorry, Yosuke. I don't want to take part. Ask someone else."

Satsu rejected Hirata's invitation without hesitation. As he spoke, he got up and left the classroom.

Satsu had no intention of joining Hirata for a pointless meeting. He had more important things to do than let Hirata pester him.

"That's all right. If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."

Hirata didn't try to force him. There was no point in forcing anyone to attend something like this.

"Then, Horikita..."

"I'm not interested. Don't ask me to join these activities in the future, either."

"Hey, you two don't both have to shut me down so firmly, do you?" After hitting one dead end after another, even Ayanokoji seemed unable to watch any longer. He tried to smooth things over.

"If you're interested, why not represent us?" Reine coolly left him with that remark and got up to leave as well.

"Sorry, Hirata. That's just how those two are."

"Actually, I didn't expect Satsu to suddenly show such a strong sense of distance from his classmates, either." (Ayanokoji Kiyotaka)

"It's all right, Ayanokoji. I know that getting started is always the hardest part. So, will you..."

"Uh... Well, actually, I'm even worse at talking to people than those two."

"I understand. But I still hope you'll think it over."

In the teachers' office, Chabashira had just sat down. She had filled a cup with water and was lifting it to her lips when Satsu's voice came from the doorway.

"Chabashira-sensei, I'd like to buy something from you."

At his words, Chabashira looked at Satsu thoughtfully. After a moment's consideration, she finally asked, "What do you want to buy?"

"A new phone."

"If your phone is broken, the school has a special electronics shop that can repair it. There's no need to replace it."

"No, no! You've misunderstood. I don't want to replace my phone."

"What I want is to buy another one just like the one I'm holding—the phone the school handed out at the start of the year, which can access the school system and effectively serves as a student ID."

"Let me put it more plainly: I want to buy another identity and account to use as a cover."