You Will Regret This Ichinose! [9]
As someone raised in a strict, elite environment, Kanzaki always held himself to high standards. He had chosen Advanced Nurturing High School knowing full well that its 99.9% employment and graduation rate implied an extremely disciplined environment and top-tier educational quality.
That morning, he arrived in the classroom early, prepared to review the day's material and absorb the knowledge that only this school could provide.
Everything was ready. Kanzaki sat quietly, waiting to witness the skills of Advanced Nurturing's teachers.
...
Two classes later, Kanzaki stared blankly at the notes he'd meticulously written in his notebook. His gaze then shifted to his friend, who had spent both periods napping, not even bothering to take out a pen.
This can't be happening. It's just not possible.
This was Advanced Nurturing High School. The Advanced Nurturing High School. The one with unparalleled educational resources and a 99.9% success rate.
So why… why were the teachers ignoring the students entirely, delivering lectures that felt more like monologues for an empty room?
This was nothing like what he'd imagined.
"Is this really a government-backed school?" Kanzaki muttered to himself in disbelief.
"Who knows? Maybe it's just full of lazy adults who only care about collecting paychecks," Uesugi Gen replied lazily, leaning back in his chair. He grabbed a textbook, placed it over his face, and pretended to nap again.
"Uesugi, did you not get any sleep last night?" Shibata, seated behind him, asked curiously.
"Nope," came the muffled reply. "Got my hands on the newest game last night and pulled an all-nighter."
"You're seriously unbelievable," Kanzaki scolded. "Sure, the school might be more relaxed than we expected, but you can't just give up like this!" He paused, then added, "Still… something about this place feels off."
Kanzaki was starting to overthink things.
A can of coffee slid onto Uesugi's desk, passed forward from his front-row classmate.
Himeno Yuki, resting her cheek on one hand, looked at him with mild annoyance.
"Here, drink this. You're going to pass out at this rate," she said.
"Thanks, Himeno-san," Uesugi said, lifting the book off his face and taking a sip.
"I can't shake the feeling something's wrong," Kanzaki continued, still mulling over the situation. "For now, it's better to play it safe and follow the rules strictly."
"Hey, Kanzaki," Uesugi said, deciding to give him a small nudge in the right direction. If he didn't, Kanzaki might end up obsessing over this and trying to dig too deep—potentially uncovering things he shouldn't.
"Your family owns a company, right?"
Kanzaki looked puzzled but nodded. "Yeah, Kanzaki Heavy Industries. Why do you ask?"
"Let me ask you something," Uesugi said, taking another sip of coffee. "Under what circumstances would your company guarantee 100% acceptance of an applicant?"
Kanzaki frowned in thought, stroking his chin. After a long moment, he said, "Only if the applicant was exceptional in every way, perfectly meeting our requirements and proving they could bring significant value to the company…"
His voice trailed off as realization struck him. He turned sharply toward Uesugi.
"Wait. Uesugi, are you saying—"
"I didn't say anything. You're the one thinking it," Uesugi interrupted casually, finishing his coffee and putting the textbook back over his face.
Behind them, Shibata and Himeno exchanged confused looks.
"Are they speaking in some kind of secret code?" Shibata scratched his head, bewildered.
Kanzaki quickly explained, "Shibata, do you remember the school's advertisement? The part about a 99.9% success rate for students landing their desired jobs?"
"Of course. That's the reason I enrolled here," Shibata replied.
"Well, think about it. If the school's claim is true, then how does it convince companies that all its graduates are excellent candidates? Even with a recommendation, no company would hire someone unqualified. Businesses are driven by profit; they won't waste resources on someone who doesn't meet their standards."
Kanzaki's tone grew more serious as he continued.
"Now, considering how laid-back things are here, do you think you could really transform into someone worthy of that kind of success after three years?"
Shibata hesitated, unable to answer.
"So, if the school's claim is legitimate," Kanzaki concluded, "then the administration must have some plan to drastically change the current atmosphere. They have to. Otherwise, it doesn't add up."
"So you're saying the school is about to take some big action," Himeno said, now understanding his point.
"Exactly!" Kanzaki nodded before turning back to Uesugi. "That's what you were hinting at, wasn't it?"
"I didn't say anything. You came to that conclusion on your own," Uesugi replied from behind his book.
"Big actions by the administration…" Himeno murmured thoughtfully.
"Is that what's going on?"
A cheerful voice suddenly interrupted their discussion, making Uesugi sit bolt upright, his hair standing on end. He whipped around to see Ichinose Honami waving at him with her trademark energetic smile.
"When did you get here?!" Uesugi demanded, his composure slipping.
"While Kanzaki-kun was explaining," she replied with a laugh. "You were all so engrossed in your conversation that no one noticed me."
She leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped behind her back, and peered at Uesugi with a teasing grin.
"I came to check on you, Uesugi-kun. You seemed really tired in class. Do you need any help?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine," Uesugi replied curtly, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Kanzaki, however, was still caught up in his theory. "The school must be using points to enforce discipline," he said with growing excitement. "They're using the points system to motivate us to study harder!"
"That's definitely possible," Ichinose said thoughtfully, pressing a finger to her lips. "When Hoshinomiya-sensei said the criteria for point distribution were a 'prohibited topic,' it made me wonder. If points are tied to discipline, it would explain everything. I should tell the class about this."
Uesugi surprised everyone by speaking up. "Ichinose, at the end of the day, this is just a theory. There's no solid evidence. It's enough to tell everyone to be mindful of the rules."
He didn't want his classmates to accidentally leak this theory while chatting with students from other classes—it could inadvertently help their rivals.
At the same time, he didn't want Class B to fall too far behind Class A in points, as that would be a pain to recover from later. Having Ichinose use her influence to encourage better behavior was the perfect middle ground.
"I understand," Ichinose said with a decisive nod. "I'll make sure everyone pays more attention to the rules."
Then, with a sly smile, she added, "But, Uesugi-kun, falling asleep in class is also breaking the rules, you know."
"..."
Uesugi glared at her radiant smile, feeling his annoyance boil over.
"…So annoying!" he muttered through gritted teeth.
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T/N: hehehe Ichinose <3