Chapter 1 Part V

After the two students left.

Mashima openly revealed his opinion to Chabashira.

"I still can't believe what's happening."

"I'm the same, Mashima-sensei. But what Ayanokouji-kun said was true."

"Interfering with the very structure of the school, all for a single student?"

Mashima-sensei exclaimed. No matter how many people around him emphasised the authenticity of the situation, it would still be hard to believe.

"You've observed Ayanokouji for a year now, Chabashira-sensei, so what kind of existence do you think he is?"

"That's a difficult question."

Because they couldn't stay for long, they left the reception room a minute after Ayanokouji and Sakayanagi left.

"At first glance, he seems like a normal high school boy you could find anywhere, indifferent to his surroundings."

The other teachers of the other classes would probably think of him in that way.

Their impression of him wouldn't be deep, maybe it would be up to the point where you could barely match up the name to the face.

"But there are two sides to him. It's unnerving. Those eyes which see through everything, those aren't the eyes of a child."

"I'm still in disbelief…"

"Yeah. A first-year who has already reached that level…"

"Although I've only been a teacher for a few years, I've seen a lot of types of students. If we focus on the past two years, Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi are the ones that have left an outstanding impression of themselves."

"That's true."

Both of those students had excellent academic and athletic abilities, second to none throughout their respective years, as well as possessing rare leadership ability on top of that.

"This year's first years gave me the impression that they are slightly inferior compared to those two people. Of course, some students can match them in some aspects, but not in every one of them. Overall, what do you think is the extent of Ayanokouji's abilities?"

"Will my answer have any impact on what you do in the future?"

"No, not at all. No matter what kind of student Ayanokouji is, I won't allow Acting Director Tsukishiro to do what he wants. This is just out of curiosity."

"Curiosity… That's unusual for you. But I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

Chabashira was also one of the people who wanted to learn more about Ayanokouji.

It was true that she couldn't answer.

"That really is a difficult question."

Mashima grudgingly folded his arms.

"Originally, the teachers were to maintain a proper working distance with the students and govern them like that. Forming such close relationships isn't the best thing to do."

"So we just have to eliminate Acting Director Tsukishiro as quickly as possible."

"But after we eliminate him-Is that really going to be the end of all this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even if we expose the Acting Director, there's no guarantee that there will not be another person sent afterwards. In that case, Ayanokouji's situation will create a disturbance for the entire year…Depending on the situation, even the school itself might suffer from it."

Mashima expressed his own unease.

Of course, even having said that, he still would not abandon the students.

"The way this situation is unfolding, it's like I'm sinking deeper and deeper into quicksand. This scares me."

"Yeah."

If this continued, other students would not be able to receive a fair evaluation.

This is something that the teachers must prevent from happening.

"But I hope my hunch won't turn out to be true."

The two teachers envisioned what would happen in the future, and prayed that those were just groundless fears.