"Chabashira-sensei, is there something you need me for?"
The meeting place was the same as before, in the pantry next to the staff office.
"Do you intend for me to look up and talk to you?" Chabashira-sensei's attitude was not particularly good.
Ayanokoji didn't bother with it and sat down on his own.
Chabashira-sensei skillfully brewed a cup of tea.
Then she glanced at the time.
"Our conversation must end before class, so I'll keep it short. Are you willing to be pushed forward to stand at the forefront, or is Miyako pushing this matter from behind?"
Unlike others, having witnessed Amane's performance at the arbitration meeting, she simply didn't believe that the person who defeated Ryuuen and Ichinose could be Ayanokoji.
Although she knew from the beginning that Ayanokoji's abilities were beyond exceptional, compared to Amane, who repeatedly took action, Ayanokoji had no outstanding achievements to show for himself.
It's like someone tells you a person is very strong.
Whether from background or physical examination and other evidence, you can determine that this person is indeed very strong.
But he simply doesn't display his abilities; a strong person who shows no performance, no matter how much you trust him, at the critical moment when you need him to decide success or failure, you will still hesitate and waver. This is human nature.
"I volunteered, probably."
Ayanokoji originally intended to say he volunteered, but then he thought that he should say it was a transaction reached after being coerced, so it should be considered half-voluntary.
"Probably? So Miyako is interfering with your choice, right?" Chabashira-sensei frowned.
She didn't know why Amane, who was indifferent to class promotion, would suddenly push Ayanokoji to the forefront.
Was it just because she didn't want to stand out? Chabashira still considered herself to somewhat understand that little brat Amane's personality.
That fearless demeanor meant she wouldn't do anything like biding her time.
So what was Amane plotting then?
The more Chabashira thought about it, the angrier she became.
Amane's behavior was simply unheard of.
She had no idea where to even begin to analyze Amane's behavior and principles.
Having such an unstable factor as Amane in a class, she didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse.
"Amane didn't give me specific instructions; she just told me to lead the class to Class A," Ayanokoji calmly stated their agreement.
"Promote to Class A? Are you sure Amane told you this and not Horikita?" Chabashira looked at Ayanokoji in disbelief.
Promote to Class A?
Chabashira didn't believe Amane had such resolve. If Amane truly had even a slight desire to promote to Class A, she would have unhesitatingly put everything on Amane.
But Amane's ambiguous attitude always made Chabashira hesitate whether to bet on her.
"Amane told me so."
"Then what did she pay you? Points?" Chabashira offered her guess with a half-smile.
She even felt that such a price seemed like child's play.
If Ayanokoji was someone who could be swayed by points, then her first earnest persuasion wouldn't have been necessary.
Even when she used that man to threaten him, it only made him slightly more proactive.
But what Chabashira didn't expect was that Ayanokoji, who could be seen as a message slacker, would eventually obey Amane's instructions... Chabashira couldn't think of what Amane possessed that could make Ayanokoji obey.
The only thing Amane could offer was probably her unparalleled points throughout the school, right?
Like a vampire, she harvested the entire third year and it wasn't enough, even extending her reach to the second year, and even developed a installment payment method, harvesting the points issued by the school to students every month.
This led to the second and third years not daring to casually initiate conflicts due to insufficient class floating points, fearing that there would be no points to save expelled students.
This resulted in the second and third years actually coexisting peacefully in a balanced and strange manner... It was truly incredible.
The higher-ups would surely stop such behavior sooner or later, but Amane must have harvested almost enough, right?
"Chabashira-sensei, do you think something like points could sway me?" Ayanokoji picked up the teacup and drank it down like a thirsty cow.
Chabashira-sensei rolled her eyes.
"This is very expensive tea! Forget it, you kids prefer drinks over tea anyway... Back to the topic, if you say that, I'm even more interested. If she didn't use points, what else could she use to get your promise?"
Chabashira became curious about what kind of price Amane had paid to be able to command someone like Ayanokoji.
"She promised me that she would let me stay here peacefully until graduation."
"Oh? You trust Amane so much that she would offend that man... your father, for you?"
Ayanokouji Atsuomi, a country bumpkin who climbed step by step to a high position, only half a step away from becoming Prime Minister.
However, at the most crucial moment, he missed that position and thus fell into the abyss of the bottom.
Even so, that man still held supreme power in this society, because his connections were so terrifying that if he truly wished, even Chairman Sakayanagi would be unable to stop him from taking Ayanokoji away.
Rules?
In that man's eyes, rules were meant to be broken. He would only follow rules in one situation: if there was someone here who could make him bow his head.
It was hard to imagine Amane making such a promise for Ayanokoji.
"Besides her, do I have anyone else I can trust?"
Ayanokoji's lips curled slightly.
This was the first time he had shown an "expression."
"What do you mean by that? Do you not believe what I said?"
Chabashira felt a little guilty, but to prevent Ayanokoji from seeing through her, she could only force herself to calm down and sternly rebuke him.
"You didn't see him at all, did you?"
Seeing Chabashira's poor performance, Ayanokoji finally confirmed that everything Chabashira had said during their first meeting was a lie.
'That man wants you to withdraw, but a student's withdrawal requires the homeroom teacher's consent. I resisted his pressure and refused his request. Ayanokoji, if you want to stay here, try to lead these flawed students to Class A. Only then will I continue to protect valuable people.'
These were Chabashira's words when she met him.
At the time, his mind was so full of that man's face that he agreed to Chabashira Sae without thinking deeply.
Thinking about it now… how ridiculous. It was full of holes… what right did she, a mere homeroom teacher, have to stand before that man?
Ayanokoji slowly stood up.
"I don't intend to pursue what happened before. I will continue to try and lead this class forward, but it will no longer be to fulfill your wish. I am not anyone's substitute, and I will no longer live for anyone else."
Seeing Ayanokoji showing signs of escaping her control, Chabashira Sae, disregarding decorum, stood up directly.
"Do you really think you can break free from the chains of fate? What if I allow your father to make you withdraw?"
Chabashira regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth.
Ayanokoji was not someone who responded to threats.
Her threat was undoubtedly the worst choice at this moment.
But since the words were out, she had no way back.
"When I came, I asked Amane what to do if someone wanted to break a bird's soaring wings. Teacher Chabashira, do you know how she answered?"
Ayanokoji's gaze turned cold.
"Hmm? How did she answer?"
Recalling Amane's personality, Chabashira felt an inexplicable chill down her spine.
"She said, whoever wants to break my wings, let me cut off their hands, and make them feel the pain. Teacher Chabashira… I hope you don't try to do things that are not beneficial to either side."
Ayanokoji finished speaking and opened the door to the pantry.
Then—
Bang!!!
The loud sound of the door closing made Teacher Chabashira's body tremble involuntarily.
"One after another… why are they all such problem students!!!"
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