Hoshinomiya spoke so quickly that the hallways were still empty. Hachiman soon spotted her and jogged to her side.
"Oh, Hachigaya-kun?" Hoshinomiya stopped and teased, "Need something? Did you fall in love with Teacher at first sight? I'll have to think about that carefully."
"The second part was unnecessary." Hachiman was speechless. For some reason, while he would get sweaty palms around girls his age, he felt no awkwardness with women of other ages. Actually, because of his sister, he was quite good at dealing with younger girls. As for Hoshinomiya, she felt no different from a little girl.
"I have something to ask," Hachiman said frankly.
"Hmm?" Hoshinomiya subtly furrowed her brow—a detail Hachiman caught. Why did she suddenly seem annoyed?
"Why didn't you ask in class?"
"Well..." Hachiman said awkwardly, "There were a lot of reasons."
"Like what?" She wouldn't let it go. Even though school just started, he was part of Class B but ran out to ask questions privately. She suspected Hachiman didn't see himself as part of the class.
"Like... uh, because I want to ask some personal questions."
"Hmm..." Hoshinomiya gave him a scrutinizing look that made Hachiman feel seen through. What kind of ghost school is this? These people are scary. Maybe Hoshinomiya is just pretending to be cute and is actually a demon teacher.
"Ask away," she said after a long pause, putting her hands on her hips with a "hurry up and coax me" expression. "But whether I answer depends on my mood."
"Can I apply to withdraw from school voluntarily?" Hachiman asked seriously. I don't know how I got admitted, but I can't even leave? A school without Komachi is meaningless, no matter how luxurious. Plus, ten minutes ago, my youth ended.
"Huh?" Hoshinomiya was stunned. Advanced Nurturing is a top school; being admitted usually means a smooth future—at least that's what freshmen think. In all her years of teaching, it was the first time she met someone wanting to quit on the first day.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well... lots of reasons." Hachiman dodged. This time, she didn't press. For someone with no ambition, staying at this school was a waste.
"You can," Hoshinomiya said directly. "The school will notify your parents that you were unable to adapt."
"No, that's not what I meant." Hachiman explained with a dry laugh. "I mean, can I leave without notifying them? Or like, tell them I lacked the ability to keep up, so I was expelled?"
Incompetence! If he used that excuse, his parents couldn't say anything. As for sympathizing with his parents? Don't be ridiculous. He was sure his "trash dad" and the others were celebrating finally sending him away. Work hard for me, old man!
"Hmm?" Hoshinomiya blinked, finally understanding. He didn't truly want to quit; he just had something outside he missed and wanted an excuse to convince his parents. There's still hope! Although the school was special, as the Class B homeroom teacher, she cared for every student—that's why she memorized every name before school started. Chie Hoshinomiya decided she would try her best to save this "lost sheep."
"You can," she nodded, smiling. "If you lack ability, you'll be expelled sooner or later. But if you're deliberately hiding your strength to get expelled, I will tell your parents the truth. That is the school's duty."
Damn it. That meant he could have just slacked off to get expelled, but he had just blocked his own path by mentioning it? If his dad knew he deliberately threw away such a good opportunity, he'd be kicked out of the house. That wouldn't do. He loved his parents—deeply wishing they would live to a hundred and evolve from "corporate slaves" to "ultimate corporate slaves" so they could work until 100 to support him. Being kicked out was not allowed.
Besides, what strength did he have to hide? He was just a guy whose goal was to be a house husband, a guy who couldn't even make friends, at best a future member of the "reserve corporate slave army." Hachiman had that much self-awareness. Ichinose, Kanzaki, and Shibata were clearly more excellent than him, not to mention the other classes.
"I understand. Please don't do that." Hachiman bowed in defeat. This woman wasn't a cute teacher; she was a demon who could see through hearts.
"But Hoshinomiya-sensei, what did you mean by 'expelled sooner or later'? Is expulsion common here?"
"Sort of. Any other questions?" She nodded without hiding it.
As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch. In Sakura Island, being labeled as a "high school dropout" would ruin your life. This school was a trap.
However, for someone whose goal was a private university and the dream of being a house husband, it didn't seem to matter. As long as I slack off enough, no one can target me.
"What about the division between Humanities and Science...?" Hachiman asked seriously. This school was breaking all his life plans.
"This school doesn't have Humanities or Science divisions," Hoshinomiya interrupted. "You have to study both."
"As expected..." Hachiman lamented again. Trash school. He had planned to drop science after middle school and focus on humanities, using his dad's money for a private university. He hated math. He only wanted to learn useful things. Effort doesn't guarantee success; failure is the result for most people. He just wanted to take it easy. Now he couldn't even drop science.
"I remember you left your entrance exam paper blank," Hoshinomiya said, chin in hand, studying the boy. "Was there a problem?"
"Haha..." Hachiman laughed awkwardly and looked away. If you knew that, you should have just not admitted me, seriously.
"Never mind." Hoshinomiya put her hands on her hips. "If you have trouble with studies, you can ask Honami-chan. She was rank #1 on the entrance exam. Don't come to me."
"Usually, shouldn't you say 'Leave it all to Teacher' to show off your cute side?" Is a teacher who hates work this much really okay? Hachiman was speechless. On the other hand, Ichinose was truly excellent. This class had an unusually high number of excellent people.
"Hmm?" Hoshinomiya narrowed her eyes, smiling. "Do I look like the type of person who tries to act cute?"
"Yes." You literally are! Honest Hachiman wouldn't lie.
"Huh?" Hoshinomiya shook her fist, making no effort to hide the threat. Confirmed: this is one irritating brat.
"No, that's not what I meant," Hachiman broke out in a cold sweat and immediately took a step back. "Teacher is cute even if you do nothing."
"Are you subtly insulting Teacher for being lazy?"
"No, no, absolutely not."
"Fine." She patted his shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous. "Anything else?"
"Phew." Hachiman felt relieved. The teachers here were scary. "One more thing: is it true that we have the chance to freely choose any career upon graduation? Are there any conditions?"
Looking into Hachiman's dead-fish eyes, Hoshinomiya had the illusion that he had already seen through everything, as if he didn't even care about the answer. In reality, that was exactly the case.
The only important things are expulsion and the division of arts and sciences; everything else is simply not to be believed.
Tuition-free, freedom of employment.
Such a good thing cannot possibly exist in this world, and even if it did, it would not happen to him.
"Hikigaya, you're quite sharp," Hoshinomiya said with a hint of admiration in her tone.
"Hahaha."
Hikigaya gave a dry laugh: "Ordinary people know there's no such thing as a free lunch, right? As expected, is there some kind of trap?"
"How could there be such a thing? Hikigaya-kun, your victim mentality is too severe."
Hoshinomiya tapped his head with her book bag, puffed out her cheeks, and said: "Freedom of employment is real, but there are indeed conditions!"
"What conditions?"
"Puu puu."
Hoshinomiya made an 'X' with her fair arms in front of her chest: "No entry ahead!"
"You can't say it again..."
Hikigaya was somewhat speechless. This school probably has some kind of major illness; they make the students guess everything.
However, it was actually quite easy to guess.
Freedom of employment indeed has conditions; only by passing the school's tests can one obtain the opportunity for freedom of employment.
But, if it were a test from the school to the students, there would be absolutely no need to hide it; telling the truth directly would be no problem.
After all, students have no power to resist.
There was only one answer left.
Competition between students and students.
A simple process of elimination. He believed that the excellent Ichinose and others had already discovered this as well.
"Competition between students and students," Hikigaya lowered his head, lost in thought, and murmured: "And the number of people who have the right to free employment is in the minority."
The conditions are... academic grades? Sports grades? Special talent students? Or a comprehensive evaluation?
Or perhaps it's for loners? After all, loners are the smallest group. Doesn't that mean he already has the opportunity for free employment?
That would be wonderful. Hikigaya thought happily to himself.
Across from him, Hoshinomiya's pupils narrowed slightly, truly looking at the boy in front of her for the first time.
Having been a homeroom teacher for many years, she had seen countless clever students, but their thinking basically stopped at the step of "the school's test for students."
After all, whether in elementary or middle school, the school is always the absolute dominant party; it is difficult for people to leap over such an inherent concept. Usually, it's only in the following month that they realize it's a competition between students.
Yet the man before her considered this step based only on a few questions. It was terrifying.
She originally thought having an excellent talent like Ichinose in Class B was like finding a treasure. She didn't expect there to be such an extraordinary talent as well—though he seemed a bit self-deprecating and poor at communicating with others.
Only, she didn't know yet that Hikigaya Hachiman's thinking was not over.