Jonan Private High School is located near Nezu Station in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, and ranks among the top five private high schools in the Tokyo Area.
Compared to other long-established private high schools, this New generation private high school, founded in the 1990s, has carved out a path in the Red Ocean through its excellent teaching quality, hardware and software facilities comparable to an elite academy, a rigorous School Spirit, and outstanding university Advancement rate and Famous School acceptance rate.
Tied to the high Advancement rate and acceptance rate is the tight teaching pace within the school and the intense atmosphere of competition among the students.
Someone once complained on the Jonan Private High School School Forum that the academic pressure at the school was a bit too much, and that they were already giving their all just to keep up.
But later, they checked and realized that the person complaining was the First place student from Class C of the Second Year Grade that year—the one who secretly attended private tutoring, quietly did Tutoring, spent all of his Break between classes time studying, and claimed he hadn't reviewed before exams—the most intensely competitive kid in the entire grade.
His reason for posting was simple: he hoped to stir up the complacency of the second and third-ranked students in the class so he could seize the increasingly unstable position of First place in the class.
To be fair, BYD was using military strategy, so to speak.
However, to be fair, based on Watanabe Yu's actual experience over the past ten days or so, the academic pressure and teaching pace at Jonan Private High School were not actually that high.
After all, even at a private high school, the total amount of class time per day is limited, not to mention that First Year students do not have classes on Saturday.
Under these circumstances, and without needing to attend private tutoring, this Transmigrator truly could not, against his conscience, utter the words "the pressure is immense." Compared to "wanting to sweat" versus "dying without regret," isn't the former light and easy?
"Morning, Watanabe."
"Mm, morning."
"Morning, Watanabe-san!"
"Morning."
After greeting a few Classmates, Watanabe Yu returned to his seat, hung his school bag on the side of his Desk, and then took out his Biology textbook from his Desk drawer.
For him, a Transmigrator who had returned to high school life for over a week, the most strenuous subject was not Mathematics, nor the classic English, but Biology.
Unlike the Biology textbooks in his home country, the Biology book here in Japan is thick, and the specialized vocabulary that needs to be memorized is numerous, complex, and difficult to pronounce—it’s practically Hell.
What’s more, Jonan Private High School is extremely strict about failing, and Subject selection won't happen until the Second Year Grade. This means that no matter how hard those specialized terms are to memorize, they must grit their teeth and endure for a year, at least achieving a Pass score.
But right now, the tables have turned.
Opening the Biology book, Watanabe Yu concentrated and began to read carefully.
The terms that previously felt wrong no matter how he read them now looked exceptionally pleasing, reading without the usual awkwardness, and memorizing them became quite smooth.
Indeed, the success of every Transmigrator relies on sweat and effort.
Wouldn't you agree, Well-informed and Retentive (Beginner).
"Watanabe-san doesn't seem to be like what you said, does he?"
Outside the Classroom, a Girl with a Chestnut Bob Haircut linked arms with Hayakawa Yuki, withdrew her Line of sight from observing the Classroom through the back window, raised an eyebrow, and gestured for the latter to look inside.
"Some people know the person but not their heart; don't be fooled by him!"
Hayakawa Yuki pouted, clearly not believing what the Bob Haircut Girl had said.
"If I were to be fooled by Watanabe-san, perhaps... that wouldn't be so bad?"
The Chestnut Bob Haircut Girl blinked and said this half-jokingly, half-seriously.
She had interacted with Watanabe Yu quite a bit; they belonged to the same cleaning group.
Judging by the serious way Watanabe Yu conducted himself during cleaning duties, the word 'frivolous' simply didn't apply to him.
Therefore, she personally leaned more towards the idea that those words were brought up unilaterally by Watanabe Yu's Close friend, Kiriyama Kazuma.
After all, boys this age always like to tease their friends by saying 'who belongs to whom.'
—even if their friends had never mentioned a specific Girl in front of them.
"Stop daydreaming!"
Hayakawa Yuki withdrew her gaze and glared at her friend, somewhat Disappointed by someone's failure.
"Hmph, I like it~" The Chestnut Bob Haircut Girl lightly shook her head, "That's our class's... we need to go in!"
The Chestnut Bob Haircut Girl's expression suddenly froze. Like a mouse seeing a cat, the relaxed look on her face instantly tightened. She crouched down, grabbed Hayakawa Yuki's hand, and quickly walked into the Classroom.
—In the corner of her Line of sight, a woman with a sharp demeanor, short hair, and wearing a small Suit was walking towards the Classroom.
Thump, thump, thump.
After a boy sitting in the front row tapped the wooden Podium three times rhythmically, the Classroom, which had been Whispering just moments before, instantly fell silent. Many students pretended to look serious by pulling out a Textbook.
The sound of footsteps grew closer.
Five seconds later, a tall, young woman, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, walked into the Classroom.
This was their homeroom Teacher in charge and Modern Literature teacher, Anbara Risa.
"You could be a little louder."
After casually placing her Teaching Materials on the Podium, Teacher Anbara, standing on the stage, frowned with an imposing air and scanned Below the stage.
"..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the students obediently lowered their heads, choosing silence out of shared understanding.
Admittedly, Anbara Risa was a good teacher in private, patiently answering their questions about studies and life, treating them Sincerely, and caring for every one of them. But when she was angry, or wore a stern expression, it was completely different.
In the Class group, someone once made a Sharp comment: if someone didn't understand the speed of an Adult's Face changing, they should just watch their class's Teacher Anbara.
"With six minutes left before class officially starts, we'll have a short meeting to cover two things."
Seeing that no one in the Classroom was whispering anymore, Teacher Anbara's tone Softened slightly. She picked up a piece of Chalk, turned around, and quickly wrote the first keyword on the Blackboard.
Exam
The moment they saw the word Exam, the expressions of many students immediately turned grim.
Although everyone knew upon enrollment that Jonan Private High School had a tradition of Monthly Exams.
But knowing about it and actually facing it are two completely different things.
Students who like exams, much like Office workers who like working, are ultimately a very few among the very few.
"As you can all see..."
Anbara Risa turned around, put down the Chalk, and looked at the students Below the stage who all looked like they had eaten a Fly; she almost couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.
Watching students take exams and participating in exams are two completely different things.
The dragon-slayer truly becomes the Evil dragon in the end.
She coughed lightly, composed her emotions, "The first Monthly Exam is coming soon.
"According to the schedule, the specific exam dates are the 19th and 20th of this month, which is next week's Thursday and Friday. The location will be announced later.
"As for the scope of the exam, I can only say it won't be too broad; specifically, we will test exactly what we have covered.
"Alright, if anyone has questions, you can raise your hand."
As soon as she finished speaking, Kiriyama Kazuma immediately raised his hand.
"You, Kiriyama."
Anbara Risa lifted her chin, signaling him to stand up and speak.
"Teacher Anbara, are there Prizes or punishments for doing well or poorly on the exam?"
Kiriyama Kazuma stood up and asked this question.
He had seen a few related posts on the School Forum.
—Jonan Private High School does have an exam incentive called a Scholarship.
However, the posts did not mention the specific amounts, only saying that the money was considerable.
"There are rewards for doing well," Anbara Risa paused. "The top twenty in the grade for the Monthly Exam will each receive a Scholarship; I won't disclose the amounts for the rest, but the Prize money for the top three is twenty thousand, fifteen thousand, and ten thousand Japanese Yen, respectively.
"For the Midterm Exam and Final Exam, these amounts will be doubled.
"As for doing poorly..."
Anbara Risa narrowed her eyes, showing a faint smile, and looked at Kiriyama Kazuma with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "I don't think we should feel discouraged that we'll definitely do poorly before we've even taken the test, what do you think?"
"Yes, yes!"
Kiriyama Kazuma immediately nodded in agreement.
Although Anbara Risa was smiling, the meaning behind that smile was something that those who understood would understand.
In any case, his warning radar started buzzing 'dududu'!
"Sit down."
Anbara Risa dropped her smile, waved her hand, picked up the Chalk again, turned around, and wrote the second keyword on the Blackboard.
Hair Length
"I believe everyone has some understanding of the Jonan Private High School rules," Anbara Risa turned around, resting both hands on the sides of the Podium. "Regarding hair length, the school has strict regulations: for Girls, it cannot exceed the Shoulder.
"The reason this wasn't mentioned last week is that the school was handling opening procedures, and only this week have they officially made time for it.
"Now, let's discuss the specific requirements.
"For boys, hair is not allowed to exceed four fingers in length; long bangs like Kiriyama-san's are not permitted.
"Go get a cleaner short haircut; perhaps you'll even look a bit more handsome.
"As for Dyeing Hair, this applies equally to both genders.
"In Principle, Dyeing Hair is not allowed, but if you have already dyed it before enrollment, as long as it's not an overly unconventional hair color, it can barely be overlooked.
"To prevent misinterpretation, or self-deception, I will state it plainly as per the school's requirements: Red, green, white, blue, purple, and orange hair colors are strictly forbidden, and gradient colors involving these main categories are also not allowed.
"Today is Thursday; we will inspect next Monday, leaving you three days to make adjustments. Is that alright?"
As she finished speaking, the few boys with long hair immediately made Bitter melon faces, and the few Girls whose hair was a bit long also looked troubled.
But in the end, everyone nodded reluctantly.
"Yes (Hai)!"
A sound that was not uniformly synchronized rang out.
*Ding-a-ling-a-ling.*
The class bell rang.
"Alright everyone, take out your Modern Literature textbooks; we are about to start class."
Anbara Risa opened the Textbook, and her tone became much more serious, clearly having entered teaching mode.
2/2
See you guys tomorrow, Brothers~