Vol. 4: Chapter 20 - The Marionette

(20:19) [If things go wrong, you'll receive the names tomorrow in accordance with the agreement.]

(20:19) [Don't worry.]

(20:19) [Thank you, Ayanokouji-kun.]

After rereading the last parts of our message, I finally turned my phone off. Light footsteps could be heard from behind me.

"Are you trying to be poetic by asking to meet in the same place and time?"

I could brush her comments off like I normally would, but for some reason, those words made me think.

"Who knows?" I flatly replied.

"Hmph. Well, I guess there's no time for idle talk. We're still at risk, even at this place. Let's get this over with."

It was already 11:00 PM of the Rest Day. On the same unmonitored part of the ship, I secretly met up with Class B's adviser, Chabashira Sae-sensei.

"Alright. First off, I want to know what happened with that guy?" I asked.

"Ah, that shop clerk? He quit his job for reasons that he wanted to keep for himself." Chabashira-sensei had a slightly disgusted expression as she answered my question.

"I see. That's good enough," I sighed.

"He assaulted a minor. You can press worse charges if you want. And if Sakura's concern is getting unnecessary attention, it's easy to keep the victim's identity."

"That's for her to decide. And her decision was to forget about that guy. Of course, I also believe that he needs to pay for his crimes, but we'd be troubling ourselves more. If Sakura is satisfied with the results, there's no reason for me to get involved any further," I replied. "You didn't tell anyone about this, did you?"

"Of course not. If other teachers learn about that incident, they'd probably stick their noses in. It'll be a pain for me, too," she shrugged.

"Thank you for being understanding." My show of gratitude was sincere, albeit my tone.

"You're very welcome." Chabashira-sensei accepted my dry thanks. "Let's move on with the next one then."

She approached me with slow steps, handing over a single cellular phone.

"He's a busy man, but he made time for you. Take this chance to say everything you want."

I received the phone and saw that the call was one tap away. When I pressed the call button, it only took a few seconds before the other end answered.

"Hello? I'm assuming that this is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun?"

The gentle voice of the same middle-aged man rang inside my ears.

"Good evening, Chairman Sakayanagi."

"I didn't expect you to make contact with me so soon. According to Chabashira-sensei, you wanted my name and influence for a certain action."

"Yes, that is right."

"I see. Firstly, I apologize for only having this inconvenient schedule for you. I'm sure you can understand how troublesome everything is right now. I simply cannot arrange a personal meeting for the next few months."

"Of course. I sincerely appreciate the time you've given me tonight."

"Alright. Then do tell me about this so-called request."

"Right. So as to not waste time, you'll hear the nitty-gritty details from Chabashira-sensei herself. She will also do all of the work involved so no rules would be broken. All I need is your approval for the job. After all, we can't possibly convince them without backing from a higher power such as yourself."

Doing something that involves a student with the outside world is still against the rules. I can't imagine an exception for that. So, I asked Chabashira-sensei, a teacher, to do what needed to be done. After all, she isn't bound by such a rule.

The two of us emotionlessly stared at each other. I already told her the specifics, so she was just hearing my demands for a second time. Chabashira-sensei already agreed to do everything.

It took around five seconds of silence before I finally heard a response.

"Hmm... Alright. I'm sure you're smart enough to not endanger anything with regard to the school. And besides, since you managed to supplicate a teacher's help, then I guess I don't have anything to worry about in that regard," he sighed. "I understand. I permit you to make use of my name this once."

How decisive. And he's talking like he's doing this for free. As if I could possibly believe that.

"Now then, for your terms..."

"Oh...?" He never asked for anything in return, but I still uttered such words. I can faintly imagine a smile forming on his face. "Well, I guess it's not that hard to figure out, especially for someone like you. I admire your initiative, Ayanokouji-kun."

"There's a limit to what a student like me could give but—"

"—the future you doesn't have that limit."

What a sly old man.

"Don't worry about it too much, Ayanokouji-kun. Just keep this favor in mind for now. I'll expect something in return when the time comes."

I knew exactly what cards I had. So naturally, I also knew that this was the only card that I could possibly use while negotiating with him.

A favor from the future me, huh? I wonder how that would go?

"Okay. If you can get their approval for it, then that's all I care about."

"Sure, I'll do my best to negotiate."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

With his status, I doubt negotiations are even necessary. They'd probably give him permission to do as he pleases with smiles on their faces.

When I returned the phone to Chabashira-sensei, she pressed the mute button before addressing me.

"How goes the exam, Ayanokouji?" she asked.

"Don't worry, everything's going according to plan."

"Your plan?" Chabashira-sensei raised an eyebrow.

"Me? I'm not even helping my groupmates. I left everything to Horikita this time. If I can give her the spotlight before I step down, the class should recognize her as a worthy leader."

"You're really stepping down, huh?"

"We have enough points for it. Even if things don't go as smoothly when I'm gone, and even if something devastating happens that compromises our class points, it'll be easy to take back."

"And you think Horikita and the others can take those points back without you?"

"As they are now, it'll be hard. But the upcoming battles will polish their abilities. The class is already strong on its own if I'm being completely honest. Even if the enemies grow at the same rate as them, the class will be able to keep up as long as they continue to fix their flaws."

"Yes, I know that much."

"I'll prevent anything from going terribly wrong, but you can't expect me to help every time. Doing that would be, quite frankly, unfair for the other classes."

Chabashira-sensei smirked with a light snort. My statement was arrogant and ridiculous, but it was also the undeniable truth. Even if she didn't know the root of my confidence, the results spoke for themselves.

"You were testing yourself, right?" Chabashira-sensei gave me a side glance. "It seems like you've found your answer."

"To be honest, it was pretty underwhelming, but I can't really do anything about it. Right now, I just want to have a peaceful high school life," I sighed.

"I see." Chabashira-sensei turned around before marching back towards the cabins. "Thank you, Ayanokouji. I may have used your abilities to drag this class from the bottom, but I sincerely hope that your wish comes true. I'm aware that my past desires are uncontrollably strong— strong enough to be considered pitiful and pathetic... But I'm still a teacher. The least I could do is acknowledge my students' wishes."

I don't know what happened in her past nor was I interested. But giving her this kind of temporary satisfaction wouldn't feel fulfilling in the long run. She will realize that soon enough.

"You're welcome, Chabashira-sensei. And thank you, too."

She responded with a genuine and unfeigned smile. It was enough to make any man's heart race.

"I'll be going on ahead to discuss everything with the chairman. Don't linger around for too long lest you want to get chewed out."

"Will do," I shrugged. "Good night, Sensei."

The sound of her heels hitting the floor slowly faded. I was, once again, alone. If things go well after this exam, my so-called "Self-Test" will finally come to a halt. While thinking about the near future, I looked at another group conversation on my phone.

The group chat consisted of four students, including me.

(21:27) [We've negotiated with them, Ayanokouji-kun.]

(21:27) [They were willing to cooperate.]

(21:27) [Well, I guess that's a given.]

(21:27) [You've already done the heavy lifting, anyway.]

(21:27) [Right, Ayanokouji?]

(21:28) [Yeah, everything is finally in place for tomorrow.]