Volume 2 - CH 4.1

“It’s this student again from that class ……”

The staff meeting at the beginning of the week was rough. The principal whispered bitterly while looking dumbfounded.

“This is an unprecedented situation, Principal!”

“This is a disgrace to the school. You have taken on a terrible student.”

Some of the teachers, who were not pleased with his presence, agreed.

“Did you see anything suspicious, Fujishiro-sensei?”

“Not at all.”

Sayuri Fujishiro assured them. For Fujishiro, the results of the previous test were something to be proud of and nothing to be ashamed of. However, it was also true that some of her colleagues were jealous of the fact that Sayuri Fujishiro was the best among them.

“What about the other teachers who supervised the test?”

“I don’t think there were any students who were acting suspiciously when I was there.”

“I think it would have been difficult to conceal the fact if it was done on such a large scale.”

As the principal urged them on, they answered one after another as they recalled those days.

The answers were unanimously positive. It was impossible.

There was no surprise there. If this were true, it would mean that everyone who was in charge of supervising the examinations had proven themselves to be incompetent.

It all started with a single postcard that was leaked earlier in the week.

A massive organized cheating during a test in Class B of the first year.

The average score of the B class was notably high, so the contents of the letter could not be ignored.

However, there is no proof. The teachers who oversaw the test all testified that there was no such cheating going on. If that were the case, it could have been dismissed as just jealousy and a despicable lie to undermine them, but the problem was the student who was said to have led the charge.

Yukito Kokonoe. His name is frequently mentioned in staff meetings as a problematic student. The preconceived notion that this student might be capable of committing a wrongdoing clouded their eyes.

“Why don’t we call him out and have him solve the problem under close supervision? Let’s expose him.”

“It’s as gray as black can be.”

“There is also the matter of slander and libel. Principal, may we consider disciplinary action?”

Despite the fact that the case was rootless, few would defend it. With Ando looking away, only Fujishiro and Suzuka Sanjoji were struggling on their own.

“Just now, everyone who surveyed the test, testified that there was nothing suspicious about it. I don’t understand why this is the case!”

“I also disagree with the idea of punishing someone for being suspicious without any evidence. What are we adults supposed to do with such shortsightedness?”

Sanjoji’s words could be taken as a reprimand, but the principal quieted her as if to admonish her.

“But, you see, it is a problem when someone writes a letter like this. It doesn’t change the fact that he is a disgrace to the public.”

“This is a problem. I don’t want them to cause more trouble for the school.”

“Something wrong? This is not like Sanjoji Sensei. I think you are the one who should be teaching him properly. ……”

Each of them speaks out in bewilderment. The teacher, Suzuka Sanjoji, is extremely talented and fair-minded. People around her well understood that she was not the kind of person who would tolerate injustice.

“What justification is there for any of this!”

“Calm down, Sanjoji-sensei. Here’s what we’ll do. For the next exam, we will have a strict inspection of their belongings and two exam proctors. Is that okay, Fujishiro-sensei?”

“…… That’s fine”

Fujishiro bit her lip in frustration. For Fujishiro, the decision was humiliating.

“Also, I can’t let this matter go to the ears of the teacher. The school spirit is very strong in me. As an alumnus, I will not tolerate this. The inspection shall be the responsibility of Class A.”

“Wait a minute! That’s–“

“Fujishiro-sensei. There are many excellent students in Class B. I am concerned about the negative impact on them. We can’t just leave rotten apples on the ground.”

The school principal glared at her as if that was the natural course of action.

“Are you serious about this?”

“Fujishiro-sensei, please be very careful not to damage the reputation of the school any further.”

He terminated the conversation with an annoyed and vexed look at her.

As if the previous confusion had never happened, they moved on to the next task on the agenda. Leaving nothing but a huge mess in its place.

“Kokonoe I’m sorry about Reika. let’s play chess again.”

“You’re in the board games club, right?”

Aihara-senpai leaves with a wry smile. Speaking of Aihara, he is the head of the board games club, but he is also a very strong chess player and he beat me to a pulp. I will never forget the bitterness I felt when he tortured me to death, leaving only the “King” behind.

“Why is your face so wide?”

“What do you mean? It looks normal.”

Through the introduction of the hot-blooded senpai, I have been accompanying Aihara-senpai for a while to discuss love affairs with Suo-senpai, the love of his life, but the fresh and handsome guy said something unexpected.

“Listen okay? If you want to measure an irregularly shaped object, first divide it into triangles and then sum them up using Heron’s formula.”

“I’m not talking about the area of your face! Honestly, what is it about you that makes you a loner? It’s about time you got pissed off from all sides.”

You don’t understand. You don’t understand, you fresh-looking guy.

Let me show you the reality. Don’t be surprised to hear that I’m a loner.

In the morning, I go to school with Yuuri. At lunchtime, I’ll either be worshiping the Goddess of Mercy, or I’ll be caught by Hinagi and Shiori in the classroom. If anything, there is a possibility that the president will come to the school. After school, it’s club activities, and even outside of that, I’m usually involved with someone. If I go home, I am mentally attacked by my mother and sister, who are devoted to invading my personal space, and if I try to go outside, I am discovered by Himiyama-san.

“What part of me is a loner!”

“That’s my line!”

While we were having a silly argument, Seido, who was getting ready to go home, called out to me.

“I’d like to have dinner with you next time, Yukito. My mother and father would like you to come again.”

“Hm? Your mother too?”

“Yes…… We’re still family.”

“I see. Well, call me any day that works for you.”

“Understood! Thank you. Bye!”

Seido is going home, but that can’t be helped. It wasn’t a very comfortable situation, but he’s finally calmed down. It might be a good idea to ask him to join the basketball team.

“Mikuriya, he has brightened up a lot.”

“At one point I wondered what was going to happen. …… Shall we go to club activities for the time being?”

“My students are rotten apples? Screw you, that old man and his friends!”

“Fujishiro-sensei, please don’t drink too much. It will affect you tomorrow.”

Sanjoji gently rubbed Fujishiro’s back in exasperation. After the staff meeting, Sanjoji, worried about Fujishiro, invites her to dinner.

Fujishiro downs a gulp of sake and bows her head.

“I’m sorry. I got Sanjoji involved.”

“It’s alright. I feel the same way.”

It was the first time for the two of them to dine together like this. From Fujishiro’s point of view, who is still new to the position, Sanjoji is above the clouds, and until now has been an unapproachable person to deal with.

“I’m sorry I made Sanjoji’s position worse.”

Fujishiro was unintentionally embarrassed. Their careers were very different. Sanjoji’s kindness toward her, a young woman, made her vaguely idealistic about what a teacher should be like.

“Is that what this is about? I don’t care. They will eventually understand. And when they do, it will be too late. –They are really stupid people.”

Fujishiro gasped at Sanjoji’s unusual behavior.

“Sanjoji Sensei, are you….”

“I’m ashamed to say this, but I used to be on that side of the world. I guess I didn’t have the eyes to see people. If things had stayed the same, I am sure I would have joined them in condemning you.”

Fujishiro did not dare to touch what had happened in the past. Surely it was not something to talk about at a drinking party like this.

“Please tell me about it sometime…….”

“Sure. Speaking of, when I went to the New Year’s shrine, I drew a omikuji fortune. It said that there would be a turning point in my life. I had my doubts, but today I became aware of it. Now is the time.”

“It sounds like a love fortune, right? Although I am not very good at that side of things.”

“That may be so. The person I was waiting for appeared at the place where I ran away. This must be fate, too. I never thought this would happen. I am grateful to God for giving me one more chance. It must be ……. Fujishiro-sensei, there is nothing to worry about. No matter what happens in the future, please have faith in your students. That’s all you need to do.”

“……… I may have misunderstood you, Sanjoji-sensei.”

It’s a secret that she thought she was a stiff and difficult person to deal with.

“Fufu. Is that so? I’m that lonely woman who, despite my age and maturity, is still unmarried, and when I go home, my dog soothes my soul.”

“What is wrong with men in this world to leave such a good woman alone?”

“Look, Fujishiro-sensei, you should cheer up too. But, yes, I do. Maybe you have already met your destiny, right?”

“I wonder what kind…..”

The prophetic words of Sanjoji were burned into Fujishiro’s mind.

“I’m so sorry! It was my fault for not protecting you.”

In the morning, Sayuri-sensei is apologizing with her head so low that her forehead almost touches the podium.

I don’t blame Sayuri-sensei. Rather, it is the small Sayuri-sensei who can bow down to her students in this way, head-on, who is the adult. She is an admirable teacher.

“Sensei, we didn’t cheat!”

“We worked hard, but this is terrible. ……”

“What’s with all the circumstances ……?”

“Why is Yuki the only one who gets blamed for this?”

The blame goes to Sayuri-sensei, but everyone feels the same way.

“I know that. It was brought up at the staff meeting, but no one took it seriously. So I wasn’t going to tell you guys…….”

Sayuri-sensei tells us the story. The genesis of the matter is simple.

The last test was cheated and it was on the agenda at the staff meeting. But since there was no proof and the credibility of the information was extremely low, it was not passed on to us.

On the other hand, the school, wishing to avoid any misconduct, decided to change the inspection to another class for various reasons.

This is the end of the story, but here is where an irregularity occurred. The same information was circulated on social networking sites. It seems that there was some kind of large-scale organized cheating, and the main culprit was, of course, me, Yukito Kokonoe.

The flames had been flared up by a self-made maneuver, and while the fire has not yet been completely extinguished, this is a follow-up to the fire. Another page has been carved in the legend of the evil Yukito Kokonoe.

Still, the world is not so bad after all, to know that there is a third party with good intentions who is willing to cooperate with my shady little plan. Keep up the good work, stranger!

“[Please don’t bring the school’s reputation into disrepute]. Is that right?”

“Yeah. It’s disgusting. How come you guys get the bad end of the stick? Why are we suspicious? Then there’s no need to change it.”

Sayuri’s expression was very sad. What she said was the most reasonable. The fact that the school changed the inspection site was like an implicit admission that they were suspicious of the students. It is easy to understand what “various circumstances” means.

“The teachers seem to be in a panic now that it has become public knowledge. Well, that’s a good sign. What rotten apples. I’ll never forgive anyone for mocking my students, ever!”

It’s obvious that I’m a fully automatic reputation-destroying machine at this school, but I can’t just turn a blind eye to what’s going on.

“I’m sorry I caused all this trouble for all of you.”

“That’s not true. You didn’t do anything.”

I was trying to live a quiet life, but how could I let this happen?

But I have to make up for it.

“I’m very soooooooooooooooooooorrry!”

I perform a grand prostration. I ruined the results of everyone’s hard work on the test. My personal apology will not be forgiven. I am prepared to commit seppuku.

“That’s right! Then why don’t I just quit school?”

I must be a degenerate, to have forgotten something as simple as this. If I quit school, there would be no further damage to their reputation, no more sarcasm from Sayuri-sensei, and my classmates would get their deserved reputation, and all would be well. My classmates would be fairly evaluated, and all would be well. It’s a win-win proposition that will bring smiles to everyone’s faces.

I may cause trouble for my mother, but I’m sure she’ll forgive me if I get down on my knees and lick her feet. She’s been strangely kind to me lately, even more so than before.

Wait a second? I just thought of something even better! A brilliant brain. If they want, I’ll leave home at this point. I don’t need any money sent to me. It’s going to be okay, I can manage. I’m sure my mother will be happy to agree with me. I’ll live on a remote island and grow mandarin oranges.

As I present this perfect plan that has nothing but merit, everyone gathers around.

“Then, I’ll quit school too.”

“Ha? What nonsense are you talking about? Akane-san would never allow such a thing.”

“I quit too! Let’s make tangerines together, Yuki.”

“So what are you guys talking about?”

“Remember? I came to this school in pursuit of you, Yukito. If Yukito is gone, what the point of being here?”

Hinagi spins her words with a smile and a chuckle. But there is not a single lie in her words. I turn my gaze next to her as if pressed by her. Shiori also had a similar expression on her face.

“…… cowardly. I know. I know that if I say it this way, Yukito will be in trouble.”

“Why ……”

“I’ll tell you again and again. –I like you. I want to be with you because I like you.”

Hinagi said it clearly and unabashedly. The people around her held their breath and no one could interfere. I knew it was a checkmate. The board could not be overturned. But I struggled to get my foot in the door.

Ungracefully and ugly. I felt that the truth I did not want to admit was hidden there.

“Think about your future. With this, your future is—”

“Then what about the future of you, Yukito? Where is your happiness?”

I’m at a loss for questions I haven’t thought about. The future. I wondered if there was such a thing.

I had never envisioned the future. I was so busy living in the present that I never thought about what lay ahead. I had no idea where happiness was, and such things were nothing more than a pipe dream. If there was a future for me, the future I could see was….

“I’ll probably die in the field.”

“I won’t let that happen. I will never allow such a future.”

“It’s your defeat. But if it were to happen, I’ll quit school too. We are talking about you. If you start growing tangerines, I’m sure you’ll make a big fuss over a new species or something, and it’ll be more fun that way.

For some reason, the fresh and handsome guy joins in. Is everyone really that much averse to the school?

“If all four of you quit at once, Sayuri-sensei will be in a lot of trouble.”

“Do not worry about it, Yukito kokonoe. If you quit, I’ll retire too.”

These people are crazyyyyyy! I asked my classmates to agree with me, but my allies were nowhere to be found.

“Don’t worry, sensei. It won’t come to that. Besides, Yukito will solve it in no time. Because that’s the kind of person I like about —–Yukito Kokonoe”

The fresh handsome guy was right. Absolute defeat. I was the only one who didn’t understand. Neither did Hinagi nor Shiori. When we first met again, they looked so gloomy, but now I don’t see the slightest hint of gloom. If that is growth, the only one who has not grown is always me. I sat down as if to give up. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

I deserve to die for making Sayuri-sensei bow her head and deny the efforts of my classmates. Then there was only one thing to do in this situation.

“Let’s make them realize that Sensei’s bowed head isn’t cheap.”

After the shocking SHR, I opened the newspaper.

One of the arguments in favor of newspapers that is prevalent in the world is that, with the Internet, one can only get information that interests him or her, but with newspapers, one can see information that does not interest him or her, and the information is unbiased.

Nonsense. This is nothing more than the plaintive cry of a declining media.

Where does the assumption come from that people who read newspapers read them cover to cover?

Some people only read the TV section, some are interested only in stock prices. There are probably people who read only the three-page articles. One should not forget that newspapers themselves are biased. In the end, all media have their advantages and disadvantages, and this kind of advocacy does not in any way indicate the superiority of newspapers.

Regardless of this, the class was, as expected, in disarray.

“Cheating? We didn’t do anything like that!”

“Uwa, there are a lot of terrible things written in the paper. Kokonoe, you shouldn’t look at them.”

“Poor Fujishiro-sensei. ……”

“I didn’t think I’d get in trouble for getting good grades. What are you going to do about it, Yukito?”

What what, another victory for the goddess of the legal profession? Heh, there are goddesses in the legal profession. It’s not only in this school, huh? Maybe there are goddesses everywhere.

“I’m thinking about it.”

For some reason, Hinagi and Shiori grabbed my arms tightly. What’s wrong with you guys?

They are looking at me with anxious but strong-willed eyes.

“No one person can do it alone. We must think together. I won’t allow Yukito to be the only victim.”

“That’s right. It’s not just Yuki’s problem. We are all here.”

“You’ve been going …… again. That’s enough!”

She took the newspaper away from me and was unreasonably angry with me.

“Even so, you know, ……”

Suddenly, the local section of the newspaper caught my eye.

“Hihi-…… even though my mom praised me, …… it’s sad …….”

A leopard lizard-mockingbird comforts a dejected Shakado. —-!? Ah, what a gacha figure. I was surprised. Gacha these days can be anything. Picone!

“I’ve got a flash of inspiration!”

“You’re still the same cartoonish guy.”

I hesitate to say my thoughts out loud. It’s always easier when I’m alone. No matter what the outcome, I don’t have to bear the responsibility, no conflicts. But, maybe—-

“I love you. That’s why I can’t allow only Yukito to be sacrificed. I think it is the same for everyone. I will help you because I love you, and I will cooperate with you because we are friends. That’s all there is to it. What Yukito has done for us so far. You always do your best for someone, you always do your best for them. So don’t think too hard. You are not alone.”

She looks around. I was supposed to be a “shady, lonely person,” but I’m going in the opposite direction.

Somehow, my surroundings are always full of people. A sigh escaped my lips.

“I can’t do this on my own. I need everyone’s help.”

“Yukito”

“Yuki!”

The two people who clung to my arms were quickly pulled away and I began to talk about what I had come up with, and gradually a wicked smile began to appear on the faces of my classmates.

“Given what schools are most reluctant to do right now, the answer is obvious. It’s the right approach.”

“What were they doing, putting our homeroom teacher through all that? Let’s teach them a lesson, Yukito!”

“Hahahaha! Kokonoe, you’re the best! Let’s do it, let’s do it!”

“My mom would have said OK immediate. She was originally planning to attend.”

“Yuki, what about fathers?”

“If anything, the school might not like fathers as much.”

“Then, I’ll have a little talk with him.”

“I haven’t seen Kazu in a while. I’m embarrassed, but I guess I don’t have a choice.”

Takahashi and Akanuma hold hands tightly. In fact, these two have been classmates since junior high school and are apparently good friends. Everyone is already making moves, contacting their families.

“However, in this situation, it would be irresponsible for me not to inform you. It can’t be helped.”

I could not turn my back on the situation. I had asked for everyone’s cooperation, but I couldn’t do nothing on my own. I had no choice but to bring a gift and go and ask for help.

“I hope you can rest in peace, Sayuri Sensei. I should be the one to clear your name.”

“You are aware that our homeroom teacher is still alive, right?”

He never forgets to fang chop me. The refreshingly handsome is so disciplined.