Chapter 90: The Source of Your Best Friend's Madness is You, Chabashira-sensei! I Will Crush You!
Just as Chabashira was sinking into despair, Hikigaya Hachiman tucked away the voice recorder and started walking toward her again. This time, he didn't pass her by; he sat directly in the chair opposite her and looked her in the eye.
"This isn't the place for a conversation. Let's change locations."
"Chabashira-sensei."
Chabashira Sae's body stiffened instantly. Her lips moved, trying to say something, but her throat was too dry to produce a sound. She looked at the small recorder in Hachiman's hand, then at his certain gaze.
She knew she was caught—completely without room for resistance.
If she refused, given the boy's sharp mind, the contents of that recording would likely spread across the cruise ship in seconds, eventually reaching the ears of the Chairman. If that happened, she would be truly beyond redemption.
She took a slow breath, forcing herself to calm the panic in her chest, and nodded. "Fine."
She knew she had no other choice.
They rose at the same time. Chabashira instinctively followed behind Hachiman.
They walked out of the theater in silence. The warm yellow lights of the corridor cast long, stretching shadows, creating an atmosphere so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Behind him, Chabashira's mind raced through every possibility.
'Does he want to blackmail me into doing work for Class B? Does he want to extract intelligence? Or does he simply want to destroy my career?'
Countless thoughts swirled. The confidence she had felt while successfully manipulating Ayanokouji earlier was now replaced by a fear of losing her position as a homeroom teacher. If she lost that role, she would never have another chance to lead Class D. Her lifelong obsession would end right here!
"Where are we going?" Chabashira finally spoke. She knew there were few private places on the ship. Staying in the theater was impossible, and going to either of their rooms would spark even worse rumors and unnecessary trouble if seen by other staff or students.
Hachiman didn't stop, having clearly planned ahead. "The library."
'The library...?'
Chabashira paused, then realization dawned on her. At this hour, students were busy enjoying the ship's leisure facilities—either out on the deck or in the entertainment halls.
Very few would visit a quiet place like the library.
Moreover, while the ship's library wasn't large, it was exquisitely decorated and quiet. The librarian usually stayed at the first-floor desk, leaving the second-floor reading area almost entirely undisturbed. It was an excellent spot for a private talk.
They walked in silence until they reached the library. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, they were greeted by the faint scent of ink and paper. Unlike the bustling atmosphere outside, it was remarkably still.
Hachiman bypassed the first-floor shelves and headed straight for the stairs. Chabashira followed, her anxiety not lessening in the slightest. On the second floor, the atmosphere was even more hushed. The shelves were higher, filled with rare and limited-edition books. In a corner sat soft sofas and desks, all currently vacant.
Hachiman chose a window-side corner and sat down. He placed the recorder on the table, his fingers lightly tapping the surface as he looked calmly at Chabashira, signaling for her to sit.
Chabashira hesitated before pulling out a chair. Her body was tense, hands on her knees, eyes locked on the recorder.
She found herself calculating the odds of success if she were to open the window right now and hurl the device into the ocean.
But she dismissed it as a pathetic move.
So, she remained silent. She perceived Hikigaya Hachiman of Class B as a remarkably mature individual. Her contact with him had been minimal—mostly involving the first month when he tried to sell the "truth of the school" to Horikita Suzune.
At the time, Horikita had wanted to drive Chabashira away from the rooftop, but Hachiman had insisted she stay as a witness.
She later realized that Chie had intervened. Chie knew Sae was fixated on Horikita's status and potential, so she had arranged for Hachiman to approach Horikita.
"..."
As they sat facing each other, silence enveloped them again. Chabashira opened her mouth several times to beg for mercy or ask his goal, but swallowed her words each time out of fear. Looking at him now, she realized her previous actions were not just bold, but egregious.
In truth, the story of "Ayanokouji's father coming to demand his expulsion" was a lie she had fabricated. She had discovered by chance that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had entered through the Chairman's special channel and possessed strength far beyond his mediocre facade.
She was obsessed with reaching Class A to make up for her own past regrets. Since she couldn't "use" Horikita, she pinned all her hopes on Ayanokouji.
To force him to stop hiding and lead Class D upward, she had used the threat of expulsion to coerce him.
It was all her doing.
Fabricating facts, deceiving a student, and threatening a student—any of these three charges crossed the professional line for a teacher. If the school found out, she would be dealt with severely.
There was no defense.
'It's over' she thought. 'I'm in despair.'
At that moment, Hachiman spoke.
"Come to think of it, even for mistakes, one can use points to purchase 'innocence,' right?"
"Huh?"
Chabashira looked up sharply, a flicker of hope appearing like a drowning person grabbing a straw. But it vanished as quickly as it came. She shook her head bitterly. "It's impossible."
"The school claims that merit is everything and anything can be bought—points, privileges, exam answers. But serious violations of the school's core boundaries cannot be erased with points. Especially for teacher misconduct; the punishment is only more severe."
She paused, then added with a hint of hesitation, "However, if it's just a minor error by a teacher that didn't cause serious consequences, sometimes points can be used to buy innocence and cancel the penalty."
Her voice grew smaller. She knew her actions weren't a "minor error," but a fireable offense.
Hachiman listened and then said, "Then your luck is truly terrible, Chabashira-sensei. Threatening a student, fabricating content, and fraud... three serious violations. It seems you have no chance of saving yourself."
"......"
Chabashira froze. Every drop of color drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word. She was in a full-blown panic. She knew she was finished.
Even though he hadn't played the recording or even checked it, he seemed to know every detail of her conversation with Ayanokouji. Did he have other bugs planted? Did Karuizawa do something else when she placed the recorder?
Regardless, it was clear he had come specifically to target her. Rather than being interrogated step-by-step, it was better to confess and perhaps salvage a shred of dignity.
She took a breath and said bitterly, "Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."
'Is that so? Your behavior is remarkably similar to Horikita Suzune's.'
After hitting a wall, you immediately become obedient.
Hachiman didn't speak, just looked at her calmly, signaling her to continue.
Chabashira closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, the panic was replaced by exhaustion and nostalgia, as if she were traveling back to her own student days.
"The homeroom teacher of your Class B, Hoshinomiya Chie, and I were students at this school. We both came from Class D.
Back then, Chie, myself, and a boy were classmates and best friends.
That boy was our class representative. He was perfect—academics, athletics, leadership. The three of us worked hard from Class D and climbed all the way to Class B. We were just one step away from Class A.
We thought that with one more push in the final exam of the third year, we would realize our dream. But before that exam, the school arranged a special exam involving expulsion—the 'Unanimous Voting Exam.' The rule was simple: the class had to unanimously agree on one person to be expelled to pass. Otherwise, the entire class would lose a massive amount of points, losing any chance at Class A."
Chabashira's voice began to tremble.
"That exam was a nightmare. No one wanted to be expelled. Everyone was struggling. I suggested expelling the student with the worst grades and weakest ability. I thought that was the only way to minimize losses and save our hope.
But our representative refused my proposal.
He said everyone in the class was equal; no one should be sacrificed. He didn't want to ruin a classmate's future for his own dream. So, he made a decision—he guided the class to vote for him to be expelled so the class could pass and reach Class A.
But I didn't agree.
Because the night before the exam, he had confessed to me. He was like Hirata—someone who cared deeply for the class. We had decided to start dating.
I wouldn't agree to his expulsion. So, during the voting, I consistently voted against it, doing everything to protect him.
But I didn't expect that when the others saw my persistent opposition, they turned around and tried to vote to expel me." Chabashira's mood darkened as she recalled the past. "And he consistently voted against that, doing everything to protect me. We protected each other, locked in a stalemate. We could never reach a unanimous decision."
"In the end, time ran out. We failed the exam, the class lost 300 points, and we lost the chance to reach Class A forever." Her voice turned low and gravelly, filled with regret.
"We broke up the day the exam ended—we had been dating for less than twenty-four hours before it was over. Neither of us could accept that our 'protection' had destroyed everyone's dreams and everything between us.
Later, we graduated as Class B. We never contacted each other again, as if the other had never existed." She lowered her head, covering her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking.
"This became the greatest regret of my life. My obsession with getting Class D to Class A isn't just about my regret; it's about finishing the dream we failed, to prove our efforts weren't in vain.
And Chie... Hoshinomiya Chie probably hates me because of that failure. If I hadn't been so stubborn, maybe we would have passed. She wouldn't be left with the same regret I have."
After saying this, a weight seemed to lift from her chest. Her eyes grew peaceful.
She felt Hachiman had no reason to attack her personally; he probably just wanted information. Since he had been asked by Chie to approach Horikita before, she assumed this was more of the same.
"I've given up on having Horikita lead Class D. It's not just that she has no interest; she's Horikita Manabu's sister, and besides, she's been very close to you lately."
Her survival instinct kicked in, making it clear she wouldn't interfere with Horikita anymore.
She thought that by compromising and stating her position, Hachiman might let her go and destroy the recording.
However.
"I can see you care a lot about the recording, and you've proactively reopened old wounds. But," Hachiman said, "that is not why I am here."
Chabashira froze, her face filled with confusion.
"Then why... are you doing this?"
She understood that Karuizawa placing the recorder was Hachiman's arrangement. This meant he had been targeting her for a long time, planning to record her talk with Ayanokouji. But if it wasn't for blackmail or intelligence, why?
Hachiman looked at her and said bluntly, "Last night, Hoshinomiya-sensei pulled Ichinose Honami aside privately."
At the name "Ichinose Honami," a flicker of surprise crossed Chabashira's eyes. Ichinose was the former leader of Class B—gentle, capable, and beloved. Now, she was Hachiman's close collaborator; the two were inseparable.
'Did Chie do something... that made Hikigaya target me because I'm her best friend and classmate? Is this a disaster caused by someone else's actions?'
Chabashira felt a surge of emotion.
Sensing her reaction, Hachiman continued, "Hoshinomiya-sensei tried to persuade Ichinose to approach Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, to pry into his secrets, and to interfere with any of your plans. To stop you from letting Class D reach Class A, she was willing to sacrifice Ichinose from my class—even if it meant ruining Ichinose's future, she didn't care."
Hachiman's gaze became exceptionally sharp and firm.
"I will not allow that to happen."
Chabashira Sae finally understood. Hachiman had gone to all the trouble of recording her and Ayanokouji not for himself, but for Ichinose Honami. To stop Chie from using Ichinose, and to protect Ichinose from harm.
He was here for Ichinose.
But Chie was making these moves, even directing her students to target a student from another class—that too was a violation.
"Perhaps neither of us is fit to be a teacher," Chabashira said suddenly.
She realized both she and Chie had deviated from their original purpose. They were imposing their will on students, fixated on their own failed dreams. They were manipulating and inducing students to resolve their own private regrets.
Sae lied to and threatened Ayanokouji; Chie tried to use Ichinose to stop her. They had both forgotten that a teacher's duty is to guide students to realize their own value, not to use them as tools for personal redemption.
"Even if we fulfill our wish this way... can we truly accept it?" Chabashira murmured, her eyes lost. "I thought that if Class D reached Class A, I could move on. But now I see I was just deceiving myself and betraying my original intent.
So, is there a precedent for a homeroom teacher being removed for violations and replaced?" Hachiman asked.
"Nothing like that has happened recently, though there was a similar case in the upper years where students didn't get along with their teacher and tried to use points to replace them.
But students' points weren't enough to influence the Chairman's arrangements. After an investigation, it was found the teacher hadn't committed any violations; they were simply disliked," Chabashira explained.
In other words, through normal channels, if one can't catch Hoshinomiya-sensei in a violation, it's impossible to replace her. And Ichinose, being so gentle and naive, likely didn't think to record the conversation last night.
Hachiman's own previous calls with Chie were also unrecorded.
So, was the only way to wait for a mistake and report it?
That wasn't the right choice for Hachiman.
Was there no other solution? There was.
Under Chairman Sakayanagi, things were lenient but followed rules.
However, once the era of Tsukishiro (from the original story) arrived, it would be different. If Tsukishiro were Acting Chairman, he would be much easier to deal with—even willing to compromise—because his only goal in the school was to assist Ayanokouji.
He wanted to use the school's special exams to cultivate Ayanokouji and watch him crush the educational system to prove the "results" of the White Room.
If Tsukishiro were here, it might be possible to use points to replace a teacher even without an explicit mistake. Tsukishiro's own appointee, Katsunori Shiba, was a violator who nearly beat Amasawa to death because he was a White Room instructor. To Tsukishiro, replacing a teacher for points wouldn't be a violation at all.
However, Tsukishiro's arrival would mean the collapse of order. Hachiman didn't think his arrival would be a good thing.
Was there another way?
Perhaps.
Hachiman's gaze returned to Chabashira.
"Chabashira-sensei," he said. "I want to protect Ichinose, but Hoshinomiya-sensei of my class is the obstacle.
And her obstacle is you," Hachiman stated.
Chabashira's eyes dimmed. She knew Chie was drowning in the past, leading to her recent violations, which in turn led to Hachiman's recording.
"If you submit that recording, if I leave this school, then Chie... will very likely resign from Advanced Nurturing as well," Chabashira said softly, her eyes reflecting a despairing realization.
She assumed this was the answer Hachiman wanted. Chie's problem was rooted in her; if the root was pulled out, it would end.
"That is indeed the fastest solution," Hachiman said, looking at her. "However, if I do that, you might accept your fate, but it won't erase the obsession in your heart. That isn't a karmic burden I should carry."
"What do you mean?" Chabashira looked up, her gaze uncertain.
"I'm telling you, your wish was a failure from the start. Everything ended with your graduation year! It is useless for you to pin your hopes on Ayanokouji through unscrupulous means."
Hachiman stared into Chabashira's golden eyes, speaking one word at a time.
"Because as long as I am here...
Class D will never become Class A!
So for this exam, Class D will not rise!"
"If that's the case..." Chabashira understood his meaning instantly.
He was giving her one last chance. He wanted her to see the results of this island exam with her own eyes.
She had pushed Ayanokouji into action. This exam carried massive point values for the first years—it was a critical battle that would decide the class's trajectory. Whether Class D could rise would be clear as day after this.
And Hachiman held the leverage to get her teacher's license revoked at any moment.
"Regardless of the result of this exam, after I finish teaching this year's class, I will resign. According to the rules, a homeroom teacher can't be changed at will, so I will see this Class D through to the end." A tragic but relieved smile appeared on Chabashira's face.
"Until then, I will not interfere anymore."
Chabashira Sae made her promise quickly.
Chabashira was the source of Hoshinomiya Chie's overstepping. If Sae gave up on the promotion and stopped acting, Chie would lose her target and stop her shadow operations. This was the most stable plan.
Of course, the direct method was to report Sae and have her fired, causing Chie to lose her obsession. But that might make Chie resentful, and Chie herself was currently "faultless."
Therefore, if Sae gave up voluntarily and stopped her interference, not reporting her and letting her keep her dignity was the most reasonable, gentle, and final solution.
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