Miyake asked curiously, “Did you seriously even plan an escape route for our study group?”
Shiki looked at him and smiled.
“Of course.
Although I promised Hirata I’d help, if the people I was supposed to tutor didn’t even act like basic human beings, I would have immediately run away without a second thought.”
Hasebe narrowed her eyes slightly.
“So, does that mean we passed your ‘human quality inspection’?”
Shiki gave her an approving look.
“Exactly.
I have to say, your phrasing is very much to my liking.
It’s just a shame it doesn’t match your actual literature grades.”
Hasebe let out a light hmph and secretly rolled her eyes.
Miyake raised his hand.
“Excuse me, but what exactly are your standards for a ‘human inspection’?”
“Hmm…
how should I put it,” Shiki thought hard.
“Basically, you just have to look and act like a normal person.
Display basic human characteristics…”
Kamuro crossed her arms and glared at him sideways.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?
Aren’t normal people literally everywhere in this school?”
Shiki just glanced at her and fell completely silent.
“Hmm?” Kamuro’s eyebrows shot up.
She stared at him fiercely.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Ahem, nothing.
Let me just give you a simple example.
There is a specific species known as ‘weirdos’.
You should all familiarize yourselves with them.”
Shiki quickly changed the subject to distract Kamuro.
“So called ‘weirdos’ are people whose words and actions are incredibly abstract and completely detached from reality.
They constantly do things that leave normal people utterly baffled.
And our class just so happens to have quite a few of them.”
“Oh, I see,” Hasebe nodded in understanding.
“If you put it that way, there really are quite a few students in our class whose behavior is completely impossible to comprehend…”
Shiki coughed lightly twice.
“Ahem, let’s stop this topic here.
It’s not good to talk badly about people behind their backs.”
Kamuro shot him a dry look.
(You’re the one who constantly complains to me about the class, even if you don’t name names.)
Ignoring her gaze, Shiki continued, “Anyway, to me, you guys are all definitely human.
Even though your personalities are all a bit introverted…
Speaking of which, is this some kind of introverts only club?
How did everyone here end up with the exact same personality trait?”
Hearing his words, everyone realized he was right.
They all gave off a very distinct “loner” vibe.
Just like how introverts can easily spot other introverts, even though they thought differently, their core personalities were fundamentally the same.
Hasebe chuckled softly.
“That is true.
But the only thing that surprises me is how talkative Tsugikuni-kun is.
I always thought you were the type who never said a word, but then suddenly dropped massive truth bombs when it mattered.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.
Actually, I’m genuinely not good with words.
It’s just that I saw nobody taking the lead today, so I had to force myself to overperform.”
Kamuro couldn’t even be bothered to respond to that.
If you’re not good with words, then nobody on earth is eloquent.
During his verbal spars with Sakayanagi—the girl who literally looked down her nose at everyone—not once did she ever gain the upper hand.
Most of the time, she was forced into complete, defeated silence under his relentless attacks.
She honestly couldn’t understand why Sakayanagi enjoyed it so much.
Did she just want to test the absolute limits of her heart condition?
(TL:She is risking heart attack every single time lol)
Looking at it that way, Sakayanagi definitely has some kind of sick fetish.
“So, Sakura-san,” Shiki shifted his focus to the deeply nervous Sakura Airi.
“You can be a little bolder.
Speak up a bit.
Everyone here struggles with socializing and interpersonal relationships.
Everyone sitting at this table is exactly the same as you.
So there’s no need to be so nervous.”
He paused, adding a light joke, “At the very least, you have to trust my ‘human quality inspector’.
Everyone here is 100% genuine human.
Nobody is going to eat you.”
Hearing Shiki’s gentle encouragement, Sakura slightly raised her head and looked around.
Seeing that nobody looked annoyed or impatient, the tight strings in her heart loosened quite a bit.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and tried to look Shiki in the eyes.
But the moment their eyes met, panic overtook her, and she stammered, “I-I understand.”
Shiki frowned.
“Speak up.
I can’t hear you.”
Sakura swallowed hard, squeezed her eyes shut, and practically squeaked, “I understand.”
“Did you not eat?
I can’t hear you.”
“I understand.”
“What?
Is there a mosquito buzzing around?”
“I understand!!”
Sakura used every ounce of her strength to shout louder than she ever had in her life. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The moment she realized what she had done, she looked around in absolute terror, looking exactly like she was about to burst into tears.
Shiki nodded in satisfaction.
“Mhm.
Very energetic.”
Suddenly, a finger poked his ribs.
Shiki reflexively twisted away, turning around with an annoyed look.
“What?”
Kamuro’s face was completely blank.
She just pointed across the table at Hasebe and the others.
Shiki looked over.
Miyake, Hasebe, and Sakura all had their heads buried deep in their textbooks, reading with absolutely terrified levels of focus.
Shiki’s entire body went stiff.
His neck turned notch by notch, like a rusty machine, until he looked over his shoulder.
The middle aged librarian was standing right there, staring down at him with a terrifying, unsmiling face.
An absolutely crushing pressure radiated from her entire body.
Only one word crossed Shiki’s mind.
Dammit!
After a stern lecture, Shiki glared resentfully at his group members, who had finally lifted their heads.
His face was filled with the pure rage and disappointment of deep betrayal.
“You really can’t judge a book by its cover.
I truly misjudged all of you.”
Hasebe laughed awkwardly.
“You can’t say that.
We really wanted to warn you!
But the librarian moved way too fast, we didn’t have a chance!
Besides, we didn’t abandon you…
What do they call it in the military?”
“Preserving effective combat strength,” Miyake chimed in.
“Exactly.” Hasebe gave Miyake a thumbs up.
“Preserving effective combat strength.
That’s what it was.”
Shiki rolled his eyes at them.
He completely saw through these people.
“U-Um,” Sakura said softly.
Although her voice was still quiet, she was at least speaking normally now.
“It-It was all my fault.
If I hadn’t suddenly shouted…”
She looked incredibly downcast.
Shiki waved his hand dismissively.
“Stop looking so miserable.
I’m the one who told you to speak up.
Besides, getting yelled at is definitely better than having to deal with that impossible to communicate with version of you from earlier.”
“It’s true, Sakura-san,” Hasebe said, playfully twirling the ends of her hair.
“Opening up isn’t actually that hard.
Rather than worrying that speaking will make people annoyed, it’s actually much more annoying when someone completely refuses to communicate.”
Sakura thought about it carefully, then gave a small nod.
“Mhm.
I understand.”
After this brief period of communication, the awkward unfamiliarity between the group vanished entirely.
They instantly grew much closer.
(TL:Yeah this kind of chemistry, relationship is so healthy to read lol)
Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the other study group across the library could only be described as a raging thunderstorm.
(TL:Speaking of healthy~)
“Dammit!
Are you looking down on us?!” The red haired gorilla suddenly stood up, snarling viciously.
“Exactly.
Running away the second you face a challenge like a coward shrinking into its shell.
I imagine you’ve spent your entire lives running away from every difficulty you’ve ever faced.
It’s precisely because of that pathetic mindset that your lives are nothing but absolute failures…” The black haired girl crossed her arms, her face ice cold and her words incredibly sharp.
“Say that again?!” The red haired gorilla glared fiercely.
“Please, everyone, calm down!” The girl with massive treasure chests looked incredibly panicked.
“Hmph!
Whatever.
I refuse to be part of this stupid study group anyway.
It’s completely useless!”
“Yeah, exactly!
If you’re going to keep looking down on us, I’m out too.”
“Right.
Let’s go.”
The Idiot Trio grabbed their bags and stormed off without looking back, leaving behind a complete mess.
Shiki, who had been secretly peeking at the drama the entire time, found it incredibly satisfying.
If he could, he would have loved to grab a giant bucket of popcorn and an ice cold cola to fully enjoy the show.
After the drama ended, Kamuro noticed his lingering look of pure entertainment and asked, confused, “Was it really that funny?”
“You don’t understand.”
Shiki shook his head sagely.
“Gossip is a fundamental part of human nature.
Or rather, the desire for knowledge is the core driving force of human evolution.
Seeing fire and wanting to get closer created civilization; picking up a stick and feeling ambitious turned us into the apex predators of Earth.
Therefore, listening in on other people’s juicy secrets is a primal instinct carved into our very bones.
It is a highly noble pursuit.”
Listening to his endless, highly philosophical nonsense, Kamuro successfully translated it into three words: I love drama.
She instantly gave him a look of pure disgust.
“Why are you talking so much nonsense?
You’re basically just a gossiping old lady.”
“Even I have some pride when a girl calls me a gossiping old lady, you know.” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Shiki changed the subject.
“But looking at it this way, I’m actually incredibly lucky.
If you guys were like Sudou and his gang, I honestly think I’d just want to die.”
Hasebe flipped her hair and smiled softly.
“Then Tsugikuni-kun should properly thank us.”
“Yeah, seriously.
Thank you all for being normal human beings.
Honestly, I really admire Horikita.
Given that she looks like she wants to violently strangle Sudou and his friends every time she sees them, the fact that she actually agreed to serve those arrogant idiots is crazy.
In a way, she really is superhuman.”
The Idiot Trio was widely known throughout Class D—everyone knew about them except the trio themselves.
One was a raging hothead, one was a disgusting pervert, and one was a chronic liar.
For tiny Class D to gather such an elite squad of absolute losers was truly a marvel.
What kind of cursed, blessed land was this place?
Sigh, Advanced Nurturing High School truly is a magical place!
__________
Over the next few days, Shiki’s study group proceeded smoothly.
Aside from Sakura, who was still slightly in the danger zone, the grades of Hasebe and the others were all perfectly safe.
They ranked somewhere in the teens to early twenties within the class.
Considering the massive gap between the top and bottom of Class D, their scores were quite average for the grade.
The main reason they joined the study group was to fix their weak subjects.
Also, after learning the terrifying truth about the school, almost everyone—whether motivated by the sheer need for survival points or pure spite at being looked down on by the other classes—was fueled by a burning desire to prove themselves.
Shiki just didn’t know how long that fire would last.
On a beautiful, sunny afternoon, Shiki was enjoying his lunch by a flowerbed.
Next to him sat an open box containing a rich, aromatic pizza.
The scenery was great.
Looking out, he could see groups of students playing and chasing each other in the courtyard.
The surrounding bushes were thick and lush, perfectly hiding him from view.
He chose this exact spot for one simple reason: Security!
It is said that all young animals instinctively hide in small, tight spaces because it helps them avoid predators.
Shiki thought this was incredibly accurate—because in the very next second, he became the prey.
“Ah!
Tsugikuni-kun, so this is where you are!”
A delightful, surprised voice rang out.
A head with pink hair and bright blue eyes suddenly popped out from the bushes right beside him, almost making Shiki choke on his pizza and get sent straight to the afterlife.
“Cough, cough!
Ichinose, what do you want?!” Shiki pounded his chest, barely surviving his brush with death.
(I was almost solo killed by a slice of pizza.
Ichinose Honami truly is a terrifying woman.) (TL: nah this was on you)
Shiki looked at his half eaten pizza with lingering fear.
“Ah, you need to eat slower!” Startled, Ichinose gently patted his chest to help him recover before sitting down right beside him.
Shiki immediately scooted over, cautiously maintaining a safe distance.
“Is Tsugikuni-kun eating pizza all alone out here?” Ichinose asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
“Well, if one of us isn’t human…”
“I meant that you don’t have anyone eating with you,” Ichinose said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“It feels like Tsugikuni-kun really prefers being alone.
It would be good for you to go out and have fun with friends more often.”
“…How did you find me?” Shiki ignored her advice, asking the real, terrifying question.
“Hmm…
it was actually really easy!
I just asked some students nearby if they had seen someone who looked like they had absolutely zero energy.
A few minutes later, someone told me you were over here.
So lucky!”
“…”
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying!
This girl can track someone down that easily?
Everyone in this school has definitely fallen under her mind control charm!
Those superficial idiots have absolutely no idea how terrifying Ichinose actually is!
Shiki trembled in fear.
Ichinose tilted her head in confusion, glancing up at the perfectly clear, sunny sky.
“Tsugikuni-kun, are you cold?”
“N-No.
I’m not cold.”
“Your voice is shaking.
Are you sick?
Do you want to go to the nurse’s office?
Hoshinomiya-sensei would definitely be very happy to see you.”
“I’d honestly rather die,” Shiki sighed heavily.
“Please don’t say things like that!”
Ignoring her complaint, Shiki looked at her with utmost seriousness.
“Ichinose, why are you relentlessly hunting me down?
You know perfectly well that I’m terrified of you, right?”
Ichinose looked troubled, scratching the back of her head in confusion.
“Well…
even though I really don’t understand why Tsugikuni-kun is so afraid of me, I just wanted to thank you in person…”
“Thank me?” Question marks popped up over Shiki’s head.
“Yes!
Didn’t Class B get an amazing score of 890 class points this month?
Even though we didn’t beat Class A’s 940, if it wasn’t for the intel Tsugikuni-kun provided, Class B probably would have dropped to around 600 points.
Then the gap between us and Class A would have been massive.”
As she spoke, the worry on Ichinose’s face vanished, replaced by a radiant smile.
Her blue eyes overflowed with pure joy and satisfaction.
“But because of you, Class B gave it everything we had in April.
Getting this score is the result of everyone working together, and we are all so happy with it.
But of course, Tsugikuni-kun’s contribution was the most important of all.”