"Kirisu-sensei aside, Hiratsuka-sensei, haven't I said this more than once? Arrogance..."
Mafuyu Kirisu: "???"
What did he mean, she could be set aside?
Shizuka Hiratsuka: "..."
Heh, of course she knew—but she just wouldn't change!
No, wait. How could a teacher educating her students be called arrogance?
Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."
Was she the same way too?
But before they could speak, Sogo Doma said, "You are not a fish, so how can you know a fish's joy? Kirisu-sensei, why do teachers like you always want students to live according to your ideas? Is this what they call a desire for control?"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "???"
She didn't. She wasn't. She...
"Don't deny it..." As though responding to her, Sogo Doma said with a light laugh, "Didn't you say we were wasting our talents?"
"Isn't that true?"
"Then what makes you think we're wasting our talents? Your subjective assumptions?"
Mafuyu Kirisu: "..."
That should have been an objective fact, shouldn't it?
Sogo Doma's smile did not fade. "Working hard, striving forward, making many friends, becoming someone people call useful, contributing to all humanity—those are the meanings of life...
Is that what you believe?"
Everyone: "..."
Was that mocking look on his face? Those statements were somewhat broad, but there was nothing really wrong with them. So why was he...
Before they could finish wondering, Sogo Doma continued, "May I ask, who decided that?"
Everyone except Mafuyu Kirisu: "..."
Mafuyu Kirisu, meanwhile, said, "No one needs to decide that. It's..."
"So, it's merely a convention?"
"..."
"Phew..." As everyone fell silent, Sogo Doma suddenly sighed. "I finally understand why the sages said they wished everyone under heaven could be like dragons..."
"What do you mean?" As a language teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka could not help asking. Of course she knew that phrase, but saying