Why was a homeroom teacher seeking him out so suddenly?
Just after finishing lunch, before Shimizu Akira could even reach the classroom, he saw a teacher standing at the entrance of Class 1-D.
It wasn't their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, but Class B's Hoshinomiya Chie.
She was wearing a short skirt today, her small lips pressed together, the corners of her mouth curved in a hint of a playful smile.
Seeing him approach, she raised a hand in greeting. "Shimizu-kun, good afternoon."
Her tone was as light as if she were discussing some trivial matter.
But Hoshinomiya Chie was standing right at the doorway, and her conspicuous figure immediately drew the attention of other students.
After all, to be fair, while Hoshinomiya Chie's personality was a bit flighty, her looks were undeniably striking—her figure was curvaceous, and her style of dress wasn't conservative like other female teachers. Instead, she dressed up brightly and beautifully every day, exactly like a university girl heading out on a date.
Adolescent boys, sometimes more easily attracted to well-endowed older sisters than to the inexperienced beauties in their own class.
Coupled with her always easy-going nature and her habit of greeting students from various classes, she was already a familiar figure among the student body.
Now, being cornered by Hoshinomiya Chie at the classroom entrance, Shimizu Akira felt the gazes from around him held not just curiosity but also a good dose of undisguised envy.
Like Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji not far away, huddled together whispering, their shoulders occasionally bumping.
Shimizu could guess what these two were thinking even with his eyes closed—nonsense like "He's already dated Kushida Kikyō, how come such a cute teacher is personally seeking him out now?"—probably fantasizing some far-fetched scenario.
He really felt like walking over and knocking some sense into their heads: the school rules clearly prohibited improper relationships. Even if this high school acknowledged student couples, teacher-student relationships were absolutely not allowed.
But currently pinned by Hoshinomiya Chie's gaze, he didn't even have a chance to move, forced to let those two probing stares practically burn holes through him.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei, did you need something from me?" Shimizu Akira steadied himself and spoke first.
"Over here~" Hoshinomiya Chie waved at him cheerfully, her tone as light as if inviting him to share a secret. "Just want to have a few words with you."
"..." Although Shimizu couldn't guess her intention, noticing the surveillance camera in the corner of the hallway from the corner of his eye, he still walked over as asked.
To his surprise, he had expected Hoshinomiya Chie, given her personality, to adopt a flirtatious attitude to tease him, but her expression now held a rare touch of seriousness.
"Shimizu-kun, what is your goal in this school?"
"...To graduate." Shimizu Akira answered almost reflexively.
After all, the system's ultimate purpose for sending him to this world was to graduate successfully.
"And before graduation," Hoshinomiya Chie's eyes held a bit more probing, "do you want to graduate as a member of Class A? Or as a member of Class D?"
Shimizu Akira didn't answer this time. Actually, the answer didn't seem very important to him.
According to the system, his mission was simply to graduate from this school.
But from an ordinary person's perspective, Class A was naturally the best—as the top class in the school, its graduates could easily enter top-tier universities, like the University of Tokyo, ranked among the top hundred in the world. Graduating from such a prestigious school made entering world-class corporations a matter of course.
"And what about me, your teacher?" Hoshinomiya Chie suddenly changed tack, her voice dropping lower. "I'll tell you a secret, I'm also a graduate of this school. Actually, I was a Class D student back in my day too."
She looked towards the window at the end of the hallway, a touch of complexity entering her tone. "I know Class D all too well. Often, what hinders Class D from advancing is never a lack of ability, but the people's hearts—everyone just doesn't like to unite, they always do baffling things, only focus on their own interests, completely disregarding other classmates."
As she said this, her expression inexplicably darkened, as if touching on some unpleasant memory.
"Your teacher really isn't lying to you." She emphasized again, a rare earnestness in her eyes. "Since this school was founded, no Class D has ever successfully risen to Class A. As for the fate of Class D graduates... you should be able to guess without me saying it. Shimizu-kun, your teacher genuinely wants to tell you, there is no future for you staying in Class D."
Shimizu Akira was genuinely somewhat surprised this time.
He could tell that Hoshinomiya Chie wasn't entirely lying in this part—the Student Council President had previously mentioned to him that historically, no Class D had ever successfully advanced to Class A. As for her status as a graduate, last week's intel had stated clearly: Chabashira Sae was a classmate from the same year's Class D, and since she was her high school best friend, she naturally must have also been in Class D back then.
To be fair, her tone and expression right now really did seem like she was sincerely thinking of his best interests.
But as the ancient saying from his homeland went, "If you want to take something, you must first give it."
After all this setup, she wouldn't be this well-intentioned towards him for no reason.
"So, Hoshinomiya-sensei, you mean... you want me to join Class A?" Following her logic, he tentatively offered an answer.
"Oh my, Class A isn't that easy to get into." The seriousness on Hoshinomiya Chie's face suddenly vanished completely. She shot him a reproachful glance, her tone reverting to its usual lightness. "You silly little Shimizu, what are you thinking?"
She had that careless smile back on her face.
Only she knew that she had just inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief internally—it seemed he had taken the bait.
After all, everything she said was the truth.
He had no reason not to believe it.
As for the fact that she and Chabashira Sae had once joined forces to lead Class D through the challenges, coming within a breath of reaching Class A—she naturally wouldn't mention that.
She wasn't stupid; why would she blatantly tell him that Class D actually had a chance to rise to Class A?
But, to be fair, they really were just that close back then.
Just thinking about the bastardly things Chabashira Sae did back then made her stomach twitch painfully, and along with it, most of her guilt about poaching the other's student dissipated.
(This is what Chabashira Sae deserves!)
She snorted coldly in her heart. While a smile still hung on her face, an extremely faint coldness flashed in the depths of her eyes.
"But hey, little Shimizu, you've hit the jackpot." Hoshinomiya Chie suddenly took a step closer, her voice brimming with cheerful laughter. "Your teacher thinks you're handsome, and you seem to have caught my Ichinose's eye—it's not impossible to save a spot for you in Class B, you know."
She tossed out this sentence with a giggle, the ends of her words carrying a note of triumphant pride.
All that heartfelt setup earlier, those lamentations about Class D's predicament, were ultimately just the prelude.
This sentence was her true objective.