Aside from roll call and his usual chatter, the middle-aged teacher's class was full of solid material.
Very worth listening to for anyone hoping to score well.
He didn't cover extremely advanced topics, but explained commonly used formulas thoroughly.
The classroom was filled only with the sound of scribbling notes and the teacher's voice.
But among them, one person looked completely out of place.
'Should I be taking notes too?'
Holding his pen, Rojin stared at his blank textbook and notebook filled with scribbles.
He always felt that not studying in this kind of atmosphere made him stand out.
But he really couldn't bring himself to be interested.
He didn't need to put effort into studying for college entrance exams.
After graduating high school, he would most likely enter the institute's combat division directly.
From this awkward in-between state, he would become a true special-operations fighter.
Forget it, might as well take notes.
Letting out a sigh, Rojin quietly began taking notes.
Even though he never looked at them afterward and didn't even take them out again, he still earnestly wrote down the important points.
Turning his head and looking around the classroom, the middle-aged teacher nodded in satisfaction.
The whole class was studying. Wonderful.
No, wait—there was one exception.
His gaze slowly moved to Tomoya, and veins surfaced on the teacher's forehead.
With everyone else taking notes, the spacing-out Tomoya stood out terribly.
He had no idea what was going on in that kid's head, but it definitely wasn't related to class.
The teacher felt it was time to show some authority as an educator.
After thinking for two seconds, he wrote a somewhat difficult problem on the board.
"Tomoya Aki, please come up and solve this problem."
Hearing his name, Tomoya snapped back to reality.
Looking at the problem on the board, a drop of cold sweat slid down his temple.
He had absolutely no idea.
He hadn't listened at all. He couldn't even form a solution path.
Forcing himself forward, Tomoya took the chalk and tapped the board repeatedly, leaving one small white dot after another.
As if this could calm his nerves a little.
"Don't know how to do it?"
The teacher spoke slowly beside him.
He didn't hold any real ill intentions toward Tomoya.
After teaching for so many years, he was long past that.
You don't study? What does that have to do with me?
At worst, he just ignored you. No need to make himself annoyed.
Maybe a few students could be guided into a better future after some careful advice.
But what did that have to do with him?
He wasn't the protagonist of a TV drama. He only needed to do his job.
As for Tomoya?
He would help if he could, but if the boy wanted to give up on himself, he wouldn't interfere further.
Being a laid-back teacher was far better than exhausting yourself every day.
"Sorry, sir, I don't know."
Scratching his head awkwardly, Tomoya answered in a low voice.
"Alright, go back."
The teacher didn't say anything else, simply gesturing for him to return to his seat.
Then he picked up the chalk and began explaining the solution method and formulas.
Tomoya tried to listen for a bit after sitting down, but soon drifted off again.
Yesterday he'd found another heroine who fit his tastes perfectly.
Wait?
Why did I say "another"?
While Tomoya sank into thought, Rojin was secretly watching him.
More precisely, watching the back of his head.
Almost done swelling?
Rojin nodded slightly. Tonight seemed like a good time to take action again.
Tomoya was such a helpful guy.
Rojin couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Tomoya always managed to bring all sorts of strange "heroines" to the institute.
This time was no exception.
Tomoya suddenly felt a chill down his back.
As if something was staring at him.
And the sensation felt very familiar!
He scanned the classroom.
Even someone as thick-skinned as him would notice something if he lost his memory two days in a row, right?!
But even if he noticed—what could he do?
He was still in the dark, playing games while attracting dangerous containment objects.
Rojin shook his head and returned his attention to his notes.
Since he was already writing, he might as well write neatly.
Very soon, class ended.
The teacher on the podium reluctantly closed his mouth.
To be honest, teaching in this kind of atmosphere felt great for a teacher.
Everyone was listening seriously, recording every point properly.
Even without questions, you could feel that students were engaged, not lost in their own worlds.
If not for his long-standing habit of never dragging out lessons, he might have said, "Just two more minutes," or "Let me finish this problem before dismissal."
"Class dismissed."
Pushing that impulse aside, the teacher strode out of the room.
Immediately, the classroom grew lively.
"Hey hey, about that department store—"
The boy who had been excitedly discussing the topic earlier turned to his friend again, speaking animatedly about the urban legend.
Even if they didn't go there themselves, talking about it was fun.
The brown-haired boy being dragged into the conversation looked completely uninterested.
He just listened quietly, occasionally responding a little.
"Excuse me."
After finding his targets, Rojin walked straight over.
He had some impression of these two.
Fukube Satoshi and Oreki Houtarou.
The former was vice-chairman of the Executive Committee. The latter wasn't any kind of officer, but his "energy-saving" lifestyle had left quite an impression on many.
He also had a fair bit of attention among the girls.
Well… because he looked pretty good.
The type girls liked these days.
"What's up?" Fukube asked curiously.
Oreki didn't speak, but his eyes also showed confusion.
They'd never interacted with Rojin, so their confusion was natural.
"Regarding this department store rumor—where did you first hear it?"
After saying that, Rojin added:
"Our club has also been collecting urban legends recently, so I was curious."
Hearing this, Fukube didn't think much of it and answered promptly:
"It was the people from the Occult Research Club."
"I happened to overhear them discussing it last time I went to look for their president."
"I see, thanks."
Rojin nodded, thanked him, and turned to leave.