The next day, all of Class 3-E sat on the courtyard ground outside, dressed in their sports uniforms.
Karasuma stood before them with a serious expression.
"As you all know," he began in a calm, official tone, "next week we'll be heading to Kyoto for a three-day, two-night school trip."
His eyes swept across the class.
"I don't want to ruin your fun more than necessary, but remember—you are still on duty."
One of the students immediately raised a hand with sparkling eyes.
"You mean we can assassinate him there too?"
Karasuma nodded.
"Precisely. Even during the trip, assassination remains your top priority."
He crossed his arms.
"Kyoto is far more complex than the school grounds. There are countless hidden areas, rooftops, and vantage points."
His expression sharpened slightly.
"It's an ideal environment for snipers."
Then he added,
"The government has already arranged for professional snipers to assist. If they succeed, they'll receive a portion of the ten billion yen bounty. The reward will be divided according to contribution, so think carefully about your assassination methods."
A chorus of determined voices immediately filled the courtyard.
"Yes, Sensei!"
Meanwhile, Akira—who was sitting suspiciously close to Erika again as usual—raised his hand.
"Karasuma-sensei, I have a question."
Karasuma looked at him warily.
He already felt tired somehow.
"…What is it?"
Akira asked completely seriously,
"Don't you think using snipers here is stupid?"
Karasuma raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Akira answered calmly,
"Koro-sensei is faster than sniper bullets. With his reaction speed, I seriously doubt long-range sniping can actually kill him."
He tilted his head slightly.
"The distance alone gives him more than enough time to evade."
Karasuma already knew that.
Still, he answered calmly,
"I'm aware of that. But if the students distract him at the right moment while the snipers fire, our odds improve."
Akira immediately shook his head.
"No. It's too optimistic."
He spoke with complete certainty.
"The success rate isn't even one percent. It's lower than that."
Karasuma crossed his arms.
"Then what would you suggest?"
At this point, the rest of the class had become interested too.
Everyone turned toward Akira.
Akira stood up confidently.
"The ideal way to defeat Koro-sensei is through mid-range or close-range combat."
He nodded seriously.
"So I propose an entirely different assassination strategy."
Then he pulled out his phone.
A holographic projection instantly appeared above it.
"So I present to you—"
A giant image appeared dramatically in the air.
"—the Anti-Tentacle Chainsaw Mk-II."
The projection showed Akira proudly holding an enormous chainsaw coated in anti-sensei material.
A second later—
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
The projected chainsaw activated with a terrifying roar.
The entire class stared in stunned silence.
"He actually made an anti-sensei chainsaw?!"
"Wait, Mk-II?! He made TWO of them?!"
"Forget the chainsaw, what kind of phone even does that?!"
Meanwhile, Akira continued enthusiastically.
"With this weapon, our overall success probability increases by approximately 0.8% compared to the sniper plan."
He nodded confidently.
"So my proposal is to construct a trap and then—"
Before he could finish—
Erika suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him straight back down to the ground.
Her voice was completely flat.
"I already told you, no chainsaws."
Akira immediately protested.
"But—"
He didn't get to continue.
Erika was already dragging him away under the collective gaze of the entire class.
Meanwhile, Nagisa quietly wrote another note into his notebook.
"He appears strangely fixated on chainsaws…"
---
During the break, all of Class 3-E gathered inside the classroom to decide their groups for the Kyoto school trip.
The class naturally split into self-selected friend groups. After spending so much time together, most of them already knew exactly who they wanted to team up with.
Akira, meanwhile, remained glued unusually close to Erika as always.
"Alright," he declared seriously, "I can legally be counted as Erika's luggage for this trip."
Erika sighed deeply.
"Don't joke around."
The entire class collectively thought:
That's somehow more concerning than romantic.
Unlike Akira, Erika had actually become quite popular in class and made several friends already.
Akira, on the other hand, was a self-proclaimed introvert who had only properly spoken to a handful of people, so he relied on Erika completely to avoid complicated social situations.
Kayano walked over with a bright smile.
"Erika-san, who are you going to group up with?"
Erika thought for a moment.
"Well… I'm still deciding."
Akira immediately suggested,
"How about the two of us just explore Kyoto alone? I'm sure it would be fun."
The girls instantly reacted.
"No!"
"That's cheating!"
"Yeah, that stops being a class trip at that point!"
"It's a group trip! You need a proper team!"
Erika immediately gave Akira a flat look.
"Don't listen to this idiot, we are not making a duo group."
Akira opened his mouth to protest—
then immediately closed it after receiving Erika's warning glare.
Kayano clapped her hands happily.
"How about both of you join our group instead?"
She pointed around the classroom.
"We already have Nagisa-kun, Okuda-san, Kanzaki-san, and Karma-kun."
Erika smiled politely.
"Sure. That sounds fine."
Then Kayano turned toward Akira.
"What about you, Akira-kun?"
Akira paused thoughtfully.
Wasn't Sugino supposed to be in this group in the anime…? Well… whatever. Things changed already anyway.
He nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine with that too."
Kayano beamed brightly.
"Great! Then let's start planning where we should visit first!"
The newly formed group began properly introducing themselves and discussing sightseeing plans excitedly.
Then suddenly—
the classroom door slid open dramatically.
Irina entered with her usual theatrical flair.
"What is this, children? A school trip is far too ordinary for someone like me, who has traveled all over the world."
Maehara immediately grinned.
"Then stay home, Bitch-sensei."
Another student added casually,
"Yeah, keep the flowers watered while we're gone."
The class instantly resumed discussing the trip again, completely ignoring her existence.
Irina's eye twitched violently.
With a sharp snap, she pulled out a handgun.
"Don't you dare leave me out of your exciting plans!"
Maehara yelped.
"Argh! Look, do you want to come or not?"
Irina crossed her arms while still pointing the gun.
"Shut up."
She flipped her hair dramatically.
"I suppose I have no choice but to accompany you."
Just then, the classroom door opened again.
Koro-sensei entered proudly while carrying a gigantic stack of thick booklets in multiple tentacles.
"One per person!"
He distributed them dramatically across the classroom.
"These are your official Assassination Classroom Kyoto School Trip Guides!"
The students flipped through the pages in disbelief.
"…This is basically an encyclopedia," Nagisa muttered.
Koro-sensei puffed himself up proudly.
"It contains illustrated explanations of every tourist location, the top one hundred souvenirs, beginner-to-advanced travel tips, and even hidden back alleys perfect for assassination ambushes!"
He struck a dramatic pose.
"Sensei stayed up all night making them!"
Akira looked genuinely impressed while flipping through the pages.
"This is more detailed than most travel databases."
A grin appeared on his face.
"Hehe… we can definitely use this to find hidden gems."
Just as everyone was getting excited about the trip—
Karasuma suddenly entered the classroom.
He walked straight toward Koro-sensei and Irina.
"You two. There's a teachers' meeting."
His expression remained serious.
"The principal is there too, so hurry up."
He gestured for them to follow him.
As the three adults left the room, Erika quietly leaned closer toward Akira.
"What do you think?"
Akira shrugged lightly.
"Who knows. But I doubt he'll try anything too extreme right now."
In the teachers' lounge, the air felt noticeably heavier than usual.
Koro-sensei moved at Mach 20 speed the moment Principal Asano Gakuho entered, pulling out a chair, placing a perfectly brewed cup of tea in front of him, and even giving him a lightning-fast shoulder massage with multiple tentacles at once.
"Welcome, Principal Asano! Please make yourself comfortable~! Would you prefer imported tea leaves from Britain, Principal Asano? Sensei fetched them personally this morning~! Nuuhuhuhu!"
Karasuma stood with his arms crossed, expression unreadable. Irina leaned against the wall, eyes narrowed in clear suspicion.
Asano sat down gracefully, taking a sip of tea with perfect composure. His smile was polite, almost gentle.
"Thank you for the warm welcome. I won't take much of your time."
He set the cup down and looked at them calmly.
"I am here to apologize for the midterm exam situation. It seems the school forgot to properly inform Class 3-E about the change in exam scope. That was an oversight on our part."
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Everyone knew it wasn't an "oversight." Asano had done it deliberately. Yet here he was, apologizing with a straight face.
Karasuma's jaw tightened slightly. Irina's eyes flashed with clear disbelief.
Koro-sensei's cheerful expression faltered for a fraction of a second before he recovered with a bright smile.
Asano continued smoothly, as if he hadn't noticed their reactions.
"I will make sure something like this does not happen again."
He paused, then added in the same calm, measured tone,
"But if you truly wish to prove the value of your class, you should do so through the normal, proper channels. It won't be easy, of course."
Asano stood up gracefully.
"Oh, and one more thing — because this was a school problem, I have decided to increase the budget for Class 3-E's Kyoto trip as compensation. Please use it well."
Koro-sensei's eyes sparkled with sudden excitement.
"Oh! The students will be so happy! I'll be sure to tell them right away~!"
Asano turned to leave, but paused at the door. He looked back over his shoulder, his expression still perfectly polite.
"Oh, Koro-sensei… I wonder."
His smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Which one of you is the real monster here?"
With that, he left the room without another word.
The lounge remained silent for several seconds.
Karasuma frowned slightly.
"…What was that supposed to mean?"
Irina crossed her arms.
"Who knows. That man always talks like a villain in a drama."
Meanwhile, Koro-sensei remained unusually quiet.
His tentacles lowered slightly, as he processed the principal's parting words.
For some reason…
he had a strong feeling he already knew exactly who Asano had been referring to.
---
Back at home, Akira and Erika began preparing for the Kyoto trip.
Erika was actively sorting through clothes and necessities, thinking out loud about what to bring. Akira, however, suddenly latched onto her back in a piggyback position.
Erika jolted in surprise.
"What are you doing?!"
Akira rested his chin on her shoulder comfortably.
"I don't know… I suddenly felt like doing this. It feels good. Maybe you should carry me around Kyoto like this the whole trip."
Erika was a bit annoyed but secretly didn't entirely mind.
"Get off. We still have many things to do."
Akira tightened his hold.
"Nooo~ I want to stay like this forever. Like a koala or a…"
As he searched for the right comparison, Selena's voice suddenly cut in telepathically.
"Or a male anglerfish."
Akira nodded.
"Exactly! A male— wait, NO! What nonsense are you talking about?!"
He screamed in horror and immediately dropped off Erika's back.
Erika, now free, turned to him with deep confusion.
"What does a male anglerfish do?"
Selena started cheerfully,
"You see, the male anglerfish—"
Akira immediately interrupted in panic.
"Don't listen to her! She's talking nonsense! She's just stupid!"
Selena shot back,
"Who are you calling stupid? I'm stating a fun fact."
Erika looked even more suspicious now.
"…What is it?"
Akira waved his hands frantically.
"Don't worry about it! And definitely don't google it, okay?!"
Erika stared at him with growing suspicion.
Now she was deeply concerned about what exactly male anglerfish did.
Realizing the situation was getting dangerous, Akira immediately changed the subject.
"Anyway! We need to think about something really important for the trip."
Erika sighed.
"Sure. What is it?"
Akira's expression turned serious.
"During the trip, we'll mostly be surrounded by other Class 3-E students and teachers. So… how are you going to drink my blood?"
Erika suddenly froze as the problem hit her.
"How about… I just drink from blood packets instead of directly?"
Akira asked doubtfully,
"Will that even work?"
Selena's voice came in.
"Well, I don't think it will. If we were in our original world with Eclipse clarity magic, maybe. But here… I don't think it'll be effective unless drunk directly."
Erika asked,
"What will we do then?"
Akira thought for a moment.
"I do have an idea… but I'm not sure if you'll be mad or not."
Erika looked at him suspiciously.
"What is it?"
Akira leaned closer and quietly explained his "high-risk strategy."
Erika listened silently.
Then her entire face slowly turned a bit complicated.
"…Absolutely not," she said at first.
Akira tilted his head.
"Do you have a better idea?"
Erika sighed and went silent. She really didn't. The idea was risky, but it was also the most practical one they had.
Selena sighed telepathically.
"Honestly, I also think it's the best option here. The risks are manageable if you're careful."
Erika buried her face in her hands for a moment before finally groaning in defeat.
"…Fine. But if this goes wrong, I'm throwing you into the river."
Akira brightened immediately.
"Yay."
And so, while preparing for the Kyoto school trip, the two of them unknowingly began preparing for an entirely different kind of disaster as well.