By the time the afternoon rolled around and school officially ended, the melodious bell rang through the halls.
The previously subtle rustling sounds in the classroom were no longer hidden; the room instantly erupted into noise, sounding like a busy fish market.
“Kei, wanna go grab a drink at the cafe?”
“Sure!
There’s actually a piece of clothing I’ve been wanting to buy.
After we get drinks, let’s all go check out the boutique together.”
The gyaru group in the class happily began enjoying their vibrant youth.
Tsugikuni Shiki stood up and walked out the door.
He was heading to the faculty office to negotiate with Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher for Class D.
He arrived in front of a door marked [Faculty Office].
He raised his hand, knocked twice, waited a moment, and pushed the door open.
His eyes quickly scanned the room before he approached the nearest teacher and asked, “Excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?”
The teacher, who had medium-length wavy hair and looked incredibly cheerful, looked slightly confused.
“Oh, you’re looking for Sae-chan…
She was just here a moment ago and hasn’t left.
Let me think, she probably went to the break room to make some tea.
Just wait a moment,” the teacher smiled.
Her name tag, pinned right above her massive treasure chests, read ‘Hoshinomiya Chie’.
“No problem.” Shiki looked away.
“And what is this student’s name?”
“Tsugikuni.
Just call me Tsugikuni.”
“Oh, Tsugikuni-kun…
I am Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher for Class B and also the school nurse.
You can come visit me anytime.”
“I think I’ll pass.
I consider myself to be in pretty good health.” Shiki’s eye twitched.
What kind of normal person frequently visits the school nurse?
“Hahaha, that would be a lot more convincing if Tsugikuni-kun’s dark circles were a little lighter.” Hoshinomiya teased him without holding back, acting nothing like a strict teacher.
Shiki felt like her personality was exactly like Kushida Kikyou’s.
She wore a thick exoskeleton of ‘gentleness’ that acted like a heavy suit of armor, completely hiding whatever was underneath.
He felt like this school could no longer just be described as “weird.” Everyone you bumped into was an absolute heavyweight in the weirdo department.
Was this school secretly trying to breed a Demon King to conquer the world or something?
However, since she was the homeroom teacher for Class B, she probably wasn’t completely unhinged.
Regardless, Shiki mentally raised his guard against her.
Hoshinomiya seemed very interested in why he was looking for Chabashira.
“Does Tsugikuni-chan have some business with Sae-chan?”
Great, I’ve lost the ‘kun’ honorific and now I’m ‘chan’.
The only bright side is that she gave me the same prefix as my homeroom teacher.
Does nobody in this school understand personal boundaries?
Shiki kept dodging his head left and right, desperately avoiding the overly friendly teacher’s finger that kept trying to poke his cheek.
Just as he was feeling completely helpless, a cold, strict voice rang out.
“Hoshinomiya, what do you think you are doing to my student?”
Chabashira Sae appeared right on time and ruthlessly smacked Hoshinomiya on the forehead with her clipboard.
Hoshinomiya cried out in pain, holding her head and squatting down like a little girl.
“Ouch!
What was that for?!”
“I walk in and immediately see you harassing my student.
What do you think it was for?” Chabashira lowered the clipboard, her face ice-cold.
Hoshinomiya looked up with teary eyes, looking incredibly pitiful and wronged.
“I just wanted to get to know Sae-chan’s student a little better.
I didn’t have any bad intentions…”
Yeah, right…
Shiki didn’t buy it for a second.
Chabashira, who knew exactly what her best friend was like, shook her head and ignored her.
She turned to Shiki.
“If you have something to discuss, follow me to the counseling room.”
She led Shiki into a separate counseling room down the hall and closed the door behind them.
In the corner of the room sat two comfortable sofas facing each other, with a smooth wooden coffee table in between.
The two of them sat down across from each other without much formality.
“Alright, Tsugikuni.
Tell me why you’re looking for me.”
Shiki casually picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup.
Warm steam drifted up from the rim.
“It’s nothing major.
I just wanted to confirm a few things with you, Chabashira-sensei.”
A sharp glint flashed through Chabashira’s eyes.
“Confirm things?”
“Yes.
The conditions this school provides its students are incredibly good—almost too good.
Although you mentioned during the opening ceremony that our points are determined by the students’ ‘value,’ based on my observations, the vast majority of Class D is made up of absolute dead weight.
Forget about being excellent; you can count the number of normal people on one hand.
Just looking at the class discipline this morning makes it clear.
It’s incredibly hard to imagine what kind of ‘value’ they could possibly have…” Shiki said calmly.
He basically pointed at Class D and fired a massive cannon: What kind of absolute garbage are you people?!
Oh wait, I’m one of them?
Never mind then.
“You’re certainly not holding back when evaluating your classmates,” Chabashira said noncommittally. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
“So, are you dissatisfied with your current class and want to transfer?
If so, you’ll be disappointed.
I told you before, classes are completely fixed.
There is no such thing as reshuffling…”
“You also said that absolutely anything in this school can be bought with points, right?” Shiki cut her off.
“Please, Sensei, let’s stop playing games and get straight to the point.”
“I will use my points to buy information from you.”
Chabashira fell silent for a moment.
She pulled out a cigarette, placed it between her lips, but didn’t light it.
“Tsugikuni, I have to warn you.
Even if you’ve seen through a portion of this school’s rules, your personal points are nowhere near enough to buy school secrets.
Unless…”
Chabashira subtly confirmed Shiki’s theory and stared directly at him.
Her meaning was obvious.
In this school, individual power was not enough to survive.
You needed the collective power of a group—even if that group was completely useless and only good for pooling their points together.
However, she watched as Shiki let out a light laugh.
“You misunderstood me.
Perhaps I didn’t explain myself clearly,” Shiki looked at her.
“Using the word ‘buy’ probably wasn’t accurate.
To be more precise, I want to play a game with you.
It’s called ‘No Lying’.”
“I will ask yes or no questions.
You can only answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Ten thousand points per question.
How does that sound?”
Shiki stared intently at her.
He knew he was gambling here, maybe even acting a little too smart for his own good.
The game he proposed definitely wasn’t on the school’s official price list, which meant the person deciding the cost wasn’t the system—it was Chabashira Sae.
If she felt the price was too low and demanded 100,000 points per question, Shiki would have no choice but to take the loss.
But he hadn’t given up just yet.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
What if it worked?
Either way, he wouldn’t lose anything by trying.
Chabashira stared at him for a long time.
Suddenly, she smiled.
“Alright.
I’ll play along.
Go ahead, ask your questions.”
Shiki secretly let out a sigh of relief.
At least he didn’t have to resort to more complicated plans.
If Chabashira had refused, he would have had to delay his plans.
While it wouldn’t have been the end of the world, having to pay a higher price later was something he really hated.
“Question: Are the classes divided based on the students’s capabilities?”
“Yes.”
“Question: Are the points transferred every month based on an evaluation of the class as a whole?”
“Yes.”
“Question: Is the school’s promise of 100% college entry and employment only guaranteed to students who graduate from Class A?” (TL:Again I need lore-man to fact check this)
“Yes.”
Through their rapid fire Q&A, Shiki finally arrived at the crucial point.
He stared sharply at Chabashira and asked with total seriousness.
“Question: Has the class evaluation already begun?”
“…Yes.”
This time, Chabashira visibly hesitated before answering.
A look that clearly said ‘I knew it’ flashed through Shiki’s eyes.
He asked his final question.
“Question…”
His eyes locked onto Chabashira’s face, acting as if he could see right through the cracks in her icy exterior.
“Is the class evaluation based on assessing students’s discipline and behavior?”
Chabashira didn’t answer right away.
A complex mix of emotions appeared on her face.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, “How did you figure all of this out?”
If he had guessed one or two things, it would be understandable.
After all, anyone with a functioning brain would realize that the school handing out massive amounts of free points was highly suspicious.
But to figure out almost the entire hidden rulebook of the school in just one day was frankly absurd.
She desperately wanted to know how he saw through it all, but she quickly realized the situation wasn’t what she thought.
Shiki put on a completely blank, clueless expression.
However, the hand resting on the coffee table was subtly moving—his thumb and index finger rubbing together in the universal gesture for cash.
His meaning was crystal clear: You want the answers?
Pay up!
Looking down and seeing this, Chabashira actually laughed out loud out of sheer anger.
(After all this, you’re trying to get a free ride off me?!)
“Alright, fine.
I won’t charge you any points for today’s Q&A game.
Now, will you tell me?”
“Fair enough.” Shiki smacked his lips in mild disappointment.
Even though the price didn’t meet his expectations, Chabashira hadn’t made things difficult for him earlier, so he decided to quit while he was ahead.
Chabashira nodded repeatedly as she listened, occasionally letting out complex sighs.
When Shiki finished, she asked in confusion, “You didn’t explain how you figured out what this month’s exam was actually testing…”
“Just a simple, bold guess,” Shiki took a sip of his tea and winced slightly—it was hot, and he honestly couldn’t tell if it was good tea or not.
“At first, I only had a rough theory.
If the school evaluates the students’s value, how do they do it?
What methods do they use?
I figured there were two main ways.”
“One is the traditional written exam, evaluating value based on academic knowledge…”
Chabashira nodded slightly, knowing the punchline was coming.
“The other method is much more complicated.
It’s evaluating behavior based on a strict set of rules.
It’s similar to how normal schools praise students who follow the rules or give ‘Best Class’ awards to the cleanest class…
Combining that with the fact that all the teachers collectively turned a blind eye to the absolute chaos during class this morning, plus your confirmation that the exam has already started, led me to that bold guess.” (TL:It’s big brain time)
“Clap, clap, clap—”
Chabashira clapped her hands slowly.
Her usually cold eyes were filled with undisguised admiration.
“Incredible analytical and deductive reasoning skills.
To figure out almost all of this school’s hidden rules by yourself in just a single day…
As far as I know, you are probably the very first person in the school’s history to do so.
I’m actually very curious—how did someone like you end up in Class D?”
Chabashira stared intensely at him, expecting to see anger or frustration in his eyes.
However…
Shiki just gave her a weird look.
“What’s there to be curious about?
Trash belongs with trash.
Isn’t that perfectly normal?”
Chabashira choked on her words.
She couldn’t tell if this kid was purposely playing dumb or if he actually believed that.
If he truly believed that, then she definitely knew exactly why he was put in Class D…
“Alright, if you say so.
But there is something I need to confirm with you…” Chabashira’s gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp, like a dagger reflecting cold light.
“Tsugikuni, what do you think about leading Class D up to Class A?”
“You want me to put in the effort to help?
For that room full of humanoid creatures?” Shiki thought Chabashira-sensei had a great sense of humor.
“You must be joking.
Judging by their behavior over the past two days, barely any of them can even be called human.
Honestly, it would probably be easier if you replaced them with a pack of stray dogs.”
Chabashira let out a heavy sigh.
“You have a point.
But there are also quite a few highly capable students in the class.
It’s just that their flaws are as obvious as their strengths.
If they are guided properly, maybe…”
“Educating students is a teacher’s job, not mine,” Shiki said bluntly.
“Even if the school’s rules force teachers to act more like quest giving NPCs who can’t offer much direct help, that doesn’t mean it’s my responsibility as a student to dig out their hidden potential.
The risk to reward ratio is completely unbalanced.”
He was someone who constantly evaluated risks and rewards.
However, his main focus was never on ‘what he could gain,’ but rather ‘what he could lose.’ He was perfectly fine putting in hard work and getting absolutely nothing in return, maybe even taking a small loss.
But he absolutely refused to do something where the losses massively outweighed the gains, rendering the effort completely meaningless.
In his eyes, trying to drag Class D up to Class A was exactly that kind of meaningless task.
The fact that he hadn’t already sued those humanoid creatures for emotional distress meant he was already being incredibly merciful.
After a rather sour ending to their meeting, Shiki left the counseling room and walked back through the main faculty office.
That two faced homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, was still there, but she had found a new target to harass.
It was a girl with pink hair and bright blue eyes, wearing the Advanced Nurturing High School’s red uniform.
Her blue eyes looked as clear as the sky, and her beautiful, vibrant face radiated energy as she stood there gracefully.
Shiki looked at her bright, smiling face, and completely froze in his tracks.
Hearing the door close, Hoshinomiya looked up and saw Shiki staring blankly.
A teasing smile spread across her face.
“Our class’s Ichinose-san sure is charming.
She instantly captivated Class D’s capable new student.”
“Ehh?!
Hoshinomiya-sensei, what are you saying?!” Ichinose Honami’s face turned bright red, refusing to accept that she had completely mesmerized someone.
She looked over at Shiki and noticed he was still staring at her without moving a muscle.
That intense, unblinking stare made even her feel a little shy, but she gathered her courage and greeted him.
“Excuse me.
I am Ichinose Honami from Class B.
Is there something you need?”
However, her kind greeting did not receive a polite reply.
Shiki snapped back to reality, looking exactly as if he had just seen something horrifying.
He muttered a quick sentence and immediately ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
“Nothing.
I was just lost in thought.
Goodbye.” Shiki’s voice was filled with pure, unfiltered terror.
Watching him flee like he was running for his life, even someone as kind and understanding as Ichinose Honami couldn’t help but feel a little awkward and hurt.
Do I look that scary?
“As expected of Ichinose-san!
You easily scared away the completely unflappable Tsugikuni-kun, making him run for his life,” Hoshinomiya teased.
“Hoshinomiya-sensei!” Ichinose Honami whined, sounding more like a pouting child than someone actually angry.
But she firmly memorized the name of the guy who ran away the second he saw her.
Tsugikuni-kun, huh…