"Educator" and "Chairman"

　　"You are here."

　　Standing on the edge of the roof, looking at the school's scenery beyond the barbed wire, at the sound of the iron gates closing, Fuutarou spoke lightly.

　　"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

　　His voice was clear and dignified.

　　There were only the two of them on the roof of this secluded teaching building, there were messy potted plants that hadn't been decorated in a long time, only two simple stone chairs and a stone table.

　　"Yes..."

　　Shinichi put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the iron gate.

　　As if sensing the stormy atmosphere, his expression gradually became indifferent.

　　"Sorry, Kirisu Sensei just asked me something. I brought yakisoba buns, would you like to eat them?"

　　"Heh... Yakisoba buns? Who do you think I am?"

Fuutarou sneered disdainfully, raised his head haughtily, and his eyes were gloomy under his bangs.

　　"Even if it's just red bean buns, I can happily eat them for you! I happen to be very hungry, so thank you in advance."

　　"... You're welcome." Shinichi sighed, recovering from his cold male state.

　　Compared with his previous two experiences, he found that playing with boys was extremely boring, and he had absolutely no sense of substitution.

　　Shaking the bread bag in his hand, Shinichi was about to get straight to the point. The scene of exiting the classroom in the third period that he had forced into oblivion was playing back in his mind right now.

　　"By the way, Fuutarou... Before I ask what you want from me, I have to advise you first."

　　"Oh?

　　Shinichi looked at him coldly.

"Don't say sentences that make others misunderstand! It's your business if you want to be treated as gay, but I don't want to!"

　　Recalling the shocked eyes of the group of people in the class, and Furuhashi's disbelieving eyes with a trace of excitement, Shinichi couldn't help but rage raging in his heart, wanting to kick this person off the roof right now.

　　Nairyuki is like this, so is Fuutarou, do they like being misunderstood as gay?

　　Fuutarou's smile froze, his ears slightly red, and he screamed out of embarrassment.

　　"I don't want either! Who knows that a group of people will misunderstand, could it be my fault?"

　　"Not blaming you and blaming the world? The fact is that you have tarnished my reputation! You are only allowed to send clarification notices to the entire class before school today. Otherwise, a love letter with your name will appear on Sensei's desk in physical education class tomorrow!"

　　"You really have no lower bound when you go too far!" After complaining, Fuutarou hastily ended the joke-like conversation, and changed his tone.

　　"Don't worry about little things like that. I came to you because I really have something important to say."

　　Shinichi snorted displeasedly, but had no intention of continuing to make jokes, and followed him to choose a table and sat across from him.

　　"By the way, why did you choose a ghost place to talk?"

　　"It's more atmospheric. Actually, I chose it at random. I hastily finished speaking and left." Opening the packing bag, Fuutarou lowered his head and took a bite of the bread, saying calmly.

　　"Hey Shinichi, what do you think... Is it possible for an idiot to combine study and club activities?"

　　This strange, nonsensical question made Shinichi stunned for a moment, then he understood what he wanted to say.

　　"You want to talk to me about Yotsuba?"

　　"No." Fuutarou stared at him. "That's 'them' business."

　　Shinichi tapped his index finger on the table, "...After this month, everything will return to normal."

　　"However, half a month later, it will be the midterms." While chewing, Fuutarou's voice was faint, "They won't be able to graduate if this continues."

　　"...I've considered it, and it won't affect their studies." Shinichi lowered his gaze.

　　"Your job is to let them pass, right? If so, rest assured. If it doesn't work, I can help."

　　Fuutarou forcefully swallowed the food in his mouth, and said to him seriously.

　　"I've said it before, it's not necessary. Teaching is my job, don't interfere."

　　"…I'm too lazy to interfere." Shinichi returned his gaze without blinking, "On the other hand, don't disturb my committee."

　　Fuutarou smiled and shrugged.

　　"I know you're going to say that, but unfortunately, I'm a soft-spoken person, so I can't interfere at all."

　　"Then…" The other party's temptation was rebuffed by him, and Shinichi was now curious about what else Fuutarou had to say.

　　"It's one thing to teach people, but it's another thing for someone to influence students' enthusiasm to study…" Fuutarou suddenly smiled, and said to Shinichi with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be a self-proclaimed educator. There are also people who teach students, and they will use this method to make other people's students not study hard."

　　"Just like the playground after class, it's the most annoying existence for parents and Sensei, isn't it?"

　　He sneered.

　　"How ironic, you who gave me teaching notes and let me start tutoring work in the fastest way is now the biggest obstacle for me to teach students..."

　　"By the way, let me tell you one more "good thing". "

　　Squeezing the packing bag tightly, Fuutarou spoke word by word.

　　"If they fail the midterms, I will lose my job."

　　Shinichi's expression gradually disappeared, and without saying a word.

　　"I'm telling you this not to make you feel guilty, but to tell you the truth."

　　Fuutarou stood up and looked at him with his head down.

　　"I have been cornered, and I will do anything for my job."

　　"If they pay me, I will give them value. Even if they can't do anything right now, I'll try my best to make them learn spontaneously… You wrote that down in your notes too, right? This is the job of educators."

　　"For students, learning is more important than anything else, for me learning outcomes are reflected in grades."

　　"Then neither you nor your committee will let my student's grades drop!"

　　He left the stone table, walked behind Shinichi, and stood with his back to him.

　　"Remember what I said at the beginning?"

　　——Is it possible for an idiot to balance study and club activities… Or, in other words, forest school affairs?

　　"I'm telling you now, those five idiots would never do such a thing!"

　　Fuutarou made a confident conclusion amidst the increasing wind.

　　Faith in it is unshakable.

　　——The belief in the five people who have no learning ability, only this is stronger than anything else.

　　He was so firm that Shinichi's eardrums, his index finger slowly retracted his palm, and clenched tightly, veins popping up on the back of his fist.

　　This feeling... Reminded him of the fight with Mafuyu in the yard.

　　It was precisely because of that memory that he was able to remain calm now, not immediately grab Fuutarou by the collar, talk to him about the wonders of hard work, and not underestimate them.

　　After all, at this moment, Fuutarou was their "educator". If he had relied on his own beliefs to question his assertion, wouldn't he have repeated the same mistake and acted as arrogant as last time?

　　What's more, did he really have the position to ask such a question? Extracurricular activities are more important than studying.

　　He had spent more than half of his life studying, questioning this was like questioning his own life.

　　Shinichi tried to sort out some thoughts.

　　He had to clarify his thoughts before he was qualified to refute Fuutarou.

　　However, Fuutarou didn't give him this opportunity, but instead stepped towards the iron gate.

　　"A favor of the yakisoba bun, I'll pay it back now."

　　As he walked, opened the iron gate.

"For them now, do grades matter, or can they pass?"

　　"For their parents, what matters is grades, or a future where they can graduate safely?"

　　"If you really want to treat them well, you must think this through carefully— Chairman."

　　The door is closed.

　　On the roof, only Shinichi was deep in thought.