"Although I don't know which malicious teacher leaked this information, all of this is—absolutely—true, you know?"
The images she had just seen on Shiranami Chihiro's personal terminal were still lingering in Hoshinomiya Chie's mind.
A past laid bare, malicious speculation recklessly spread by others under the cover of anonymity.
She didn't know who had done it.
But it didn't matter.
As long as she could see everyone bashing Chabashira Sae, she was so happy she could barely contain herself.
In the past, she hadn't taken the initiative to talk about these things. First, because there was no point—no matter how much she recounted their past from her own perspective, it wouldn't change anything.
They were all homeroom teachers now. In the end, the ones who would decide everything were still their students.
Besides, on the surface, Chabashira Sae had been behaving herself, as if she intended to honestly spend the rest of her life in the position of D-Class homeroom teacher. There was no reason for Hoshinomiya to stir up trouble.
Second, she couldn't.
As a homeroom teacher, she could casually chat with students about gossip when there was nothing going on, but once it involved special exams and anything that might resemble leaking information, she absolutely couldn't speak carelessly.
It could turn into a violation.
And if that happened, and she could no longer teach together with her "most, most, most beloved Little Sae," she'd be heartbroken.
But now, it was different.
Now, it was the students who had taken the initiative to ask her about it.
Of course she was going to nod and add fuel to the fire without hesitation!
"So~ watching you all climb up to A Class so quickly really gives me sooo many feelings," Hoshinomiya said with a bright smile, leaning forward again and lazily waving one hand. "You absolutely must not fall down again, okay~?"
You'd better keep stepping on Little Sae's class—hard, and keep stepping on it.
Watching her hand sway and gradually drop lower, Asakusa Tōru was about to complain that she seemed to have forgotten she was supposed to be teaching.
But before he could say anything, Hoshinomiya suddenly straightened up.
"Alright! Gossip time is over!" she said, shaking herself a bit as she tidied her slightly messy collar. "That's all I can say~ Whether it's about the exams back then or anything else, I can't talk about it. Otherwise, if I lose my job, I'll have to cry and beg you to support me after you graduate."
Still, even when stirring things up, there had to be moderation.
As long as she admitted that everything was true, the students would naturally spread more on their own.
Extra words could be said—
Just not by her.
"Now, let's focus and get back to class—" Straightening up, Hoshinomiya smiled and ended the gossip topic.
...
Year 1, Class D.
After being hit by the double blow of zero points in the conduct exam and the midterm warning, the noisiest and most chaotic class in the school had gradually toned things down and begun listening in class more seriously.
Some people still thought, "We're already at zero anyway, and it won't go lower, so skipping class doesn't matter," but most students still wanted to escape the zero-point hell.
The first month's 100,000 points had made them used to spending freely.
Then, after just one month, being told they had nothing left was truly painful.
Even though the school provided free necessities and meals, the taste of the vegetable set meals was something high schoolers simply couldn't accept.
But more than any of that, the biggest reason D Class had changed was probably—
Yamauchi Haruki.
The strongest, greatest, most mighty "masterpiece" Yamauchi Haruki had been sealed.
To save Yamauchi Haruki—who couldn't absorb knowledge even in library study sessions—and to prevent anyone from falling behind and being expelled, Hirata Yōsuke had resolutely spent his remaining points to swap seats and sit next to him.
In other words, he had exchanged seats with Hasebe Haruka.
Although his girlfriend, Karuizawa Kei, seemed very dissatisfied, the result didn't change because of her opinion.
With Hirata personally suppressing Yamauchi, and Sudō Ken forcing himself to study, the only person left in D Class who would actively stir things up was Ikeda Kanji.
But with both of his "best friends" keeping their heads down, it was hard for Ikeda to stand out on his own.
Unless...
There was some huge piece of news that could stir his restless heart.
For example, the rumors about Chabashira Sae that had been spreading like wildfire on the school message board lately.
"...Francis Bacon..."
The teacher on the podium casually mentioned names that were impossible to remember and talked about hazy, confusing concepts.
Meanwhile, Ikeda Kanji, unable to endure the itch in his heart any longer, glanced around, secretly checked the podium, then tore off a piece of paper, lowered his head, and picked up his pen.
[Have you heard about what's been on the message board lately?]
After writing that, Ikeda casually crumpled the paper.
He carefully watched Hirata in front of him, then seized the right moment and lightly tossed the paper ball, sending it in a neat arc onto Yamauchi Haruki's desk.
"—"
Yamauchi's breathing instantly stopped.
He casually pressed his hand over the paper, then cautiously glanced at Hirata beside him. Seeing that he was listening attentively, Yamauchi finally relaxed and opened the paper.
The next moment, his eyes lit up.
Those eyes, dulled by endless lectures that sounded like demonic chanting, instantly regained their sparkle.
This was it!
This was how class was supposed to be—gossiping!
Listening seriously to lectures?
That wasn't the Yamauchi Haruki way at all!
[Of course I've heard!!! It's about how Chabashira used to be in D Class too, right? LOL. I remember she called us defective products before—turns out she was D Class herself! Where does she get the nerve to criticize us? And since she was D Class too, she should've known we'd lose points, right? Yet she didn't say anything at all. Isn't that way too much?]
With sweeping strokes, Yamauchi wrote a long reply at unbelievable speed, crumpled it up again, and tossed it back.
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