[Yeah, that's what I'm saying. No wonder she looks like she's never had a man. If she was in D Class back in high school, then it's not strange at all. Come to think of it, isn't she basically scolding herself? That's seriously hilarious.]
Filled with malice, Ikeda Kanji recklessly poured out his true thoughts onto the paper ball.
Feeling that one paragraph wasn't enough, he paused for a moment, then continued writing.
[But if she can come back to the school and become a teacher, doesn't that mean we could do it too in the future? Then we could scold disobedient female students however we want, and even sell information about special exams to rake in tons of points! No matter how you think about it, that's way too awesome, right?! No wonder Chabashira came back to be a teacher! I wanna be a teacher too!!!]
As he wrote, a grin gradually spread across Ikeda's face.
He had already started imagining himself being invited back to the school as a homeroom teacher after graduation, earning hundreds of thousands of points every month by selling special exam information, while pretty female students obediently lowered their heads and greeted him.
Just thinking about it made him feel ecstatic.
Ikeda felt that he now completely understood Chabashira Sae.
He couldn't agree more!
Teachers were the best!
With a heart full of excitement, Ikeda crumpled the paper again and smoothly tossed it forward.
A perfect arc traced through the air—
And landed, with absolute precision…
In a hand that stretched out from the side.
"?!"
Ikeda Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki's breathing stopped in perfect sync.
Because the hand belonged to—
Hirata Yōsuke.
With an expressionless face, Hirata squeezed the paper ball even tighter in his hand and spoke coldly to the two of them.
"...Pay attention in class. Understood?"
"Y-Yes..." Ikeda shrank back, as if he had just been drenched in ice water from head to toe.
D-Damn it, how did he notice?
"I-It was just passing a note..." Yamauchi Haruki tried to struggle a little.
"Hm?" Hirata replied.
"N-Nothing..." Under Hirata's pressure, Yamauchi immediately backed down.
Shrinking back, Yamauchi cursed inwardly.
Who was it?!
Who stole away the kind and gentle Hirata Yōsuke from before?!
Where did the Hirata who tolerated everything, who always covered for him, who helped anyone who asked, go?!
The one in front of him now was just a devil wearing Hirata's skin!
Not only forcing him to go to library study sessions every day, but now even controlling him in class.
It was just a midterm exam! Did they really need to work this hard?!
He hadn't even seen what Kanji had written yet, and he still had a ton of things he wanted to say about Chabashira.
Once the urge to gossip started, it was hard to suppress.
So, twisting his body slightly, Yamauchi began thinking about how to continue the topic under Hirata's supervision.
"...Oh?"
Before he could think further, another voice appeared beside him.
It was—
Kōenji Rokusuke.
After confiscating the paper ball, Hirata had casually placed it on his desk.
But while he was busy scolding Yamauchi and Ikeda, Kōenji—who was sitting with his legs crossed and not listening at all—picked up the paper and unfolded it.
"Hahaha, isn't this a very interesting discussion?" Kōenji raised his eyebrows and laughed cheerfully. "Hirata-boy, don't suppress your Free nature."
"No matter how much you try to lock birds in a Birdcage, those meant to soar will eventually spread their wings in the sky."
His sudden loud voice instantly interrupted the hypnotic lecture on the podium, and the whole class turned to look.
Compared to the unbearably boring world history lesson, the students were obviously more interested in this unexpected commotion.
"Mm-hmm, the Teacher who criticizes you as defective products was once a defective product of D Class herself. Compared to mocking you, it's more like mocking herself," Kōenji said, turning to Ikeda. "That's quite an interesting discussion. But instead of whispering it on paper, why not openly discuss the Teacher together with everyone?"
"Right, Ikeda-boy?"
"...Guh." Ikeda couldn't say a word.
To be honest, this should have been the scene he wanted most.
Everyone getting fired up because of his words.
All eyes focused on him.
Center of attention.
Popularity skyrocketing.
Then naturally getting confessed to, getting his first girlfriend, sweet high school romance—
But now, he wished no one would notice him.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
Hirata was damnable.
Kōenji was even more damnable!
Just as Ikeda was about to dig a hole through the floor with his toes, other students began speaking up.
"Kōenji means that thing on the message board, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, I saw it too. No matter how you think about it, it's about Chabashira, right?"
"But... has Chabashira-sensei ever called us defective products?"
"Maybe not, but Sakayanagi from A—oh, B Class did. I still remember it. She came in and scolded us right away. And now she fell to B Class. So funny."
Someone, still holding a grudge, mocked her like that.
In an instant, the class returned to its usual noisiness.
"Quiet," Hirata Yōsuke said calmly and expressionlessly. "Class is still in session. Don't disturb the teacher."
But his voice couldn't easily suppress everyone else.
The noise quickly drowned him out.
"She didn't say it directly, but it felt like she was basically calling us trash."
"...The fact is, we got zero points."
"But wasn't that Yamauchi's fault?"
"And Kōenji's too, right?"
"Didn't Horikita only explain things halfway?"
"The biggest problem is still Chabashira, right? Taking money and not doing her job is the worst."
Once arguments and self-reflection began, people inevitably started digging up old accounts.
And depending on each person's stance and relationships, the target of blame naturally differed.
"I said—quiet!"
Hirata slammed his desk hard.
His heavy voice instantly strangled all the noise.
Enjoyed these chapters? Access advanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?