Chapter 117 Do You Really Think This Is Fair?
"Enough, I don't want to hear about a little virgin's daydream fantasies.
I just want to ask you: what will it take for you to be willing to help the class rise?"
Chabashira Sae's patience had been completely worn away by Hikigaya's nonsensical "dream talk," so she decided to lay her cards on the table.
"Didn't I say it from the very beginning?" Hikigaya said. "If it's about the class, please keep your mouth shut."
Was she joking? Leading this group of "extraordinary" people in Class D to the top would be harder than pulling a sow up a tree!
Hikigaya had absolutely no reason to do something so thankless.
"Don't be so absolute; the conditions can be negotiated."
Chabashira Sae seemed to feel a bit hot. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her collar, revealing a glimpse of her snow-white cleavage.
'Wait, is this an action a sensei should be taking?'
Hikigaya calmly took a sip of his coffee, his heart completely unruffled.
"Strange..." Chabashira Sae looked puzzled. "Aren't you a huge fan of big breasts? Why are you able to stay so calm?"
"Ahem!
Wh-What 'big breast fan'? Which bastard is spreading rumors about me!!"
Hikigaya nearly spat out his coffee.
"Sakura, Hasabe, Kushida, Horikita, and then Ichinose from Class B—isn't it obvious?" Chabashira Sae's analysis was well-reasoned.
"Th-Then what about Ibuki and Shiina from Class C, or Kamuro from Class A?" Hikigaya argued back vigorously.
Chabashira Sae was stunned for a moment, then stared at him with a strange gaze.
"There are that many? For a brat with such a 'herbivore' face, I didn't expect your ambitions to be so large!"
"I'm just refuting rumors." Hikigaya looked righteous.
"Then what do you actually want? Personal points?"
"I'll earn personal points myself; there are plenty of ways."
"Tch! Why are you so stubborn!"
"The stubborn one is you, Chabashira-sensei, isn't it?"
Facing a Hikigaya who was completely impenetrable, Chabashira Sae was at her wit's end for a moment.
"Hikigaya, just consider it helping your sensei out, okay?" Chabashira Sae struck a pitiful pose.
"I cannot."
Hikigaya responded like a Sigma male.
"Speaking of which, why are you so obsessed with class rankings, Sensei? Is it because the class order is linked to a sensei's salary and benefits?"
"Yes." Chabashira Sae nodded.
"Liar. Your family shouldn't be short on money, Sensei. Even your stockings are Balenciaga." Hikigaya pierced through her lie in one go.
"Are you a foot fetishist? To observe that closely..." Chabashira Sae was rendered speechless.
"In short, I believe your obsession with the class is irrational." Hikigaya performed a tactical lean-back, resting against his chair.
"Fine, I admit it. That is my personal obsession. The story begins back in my student days..."
'Why are we starting a story? Can I choose not to listen?'
Hikigaya wanted to get up and leave immediately. However, he was once again pinned down by Chabashira Sae's leg, which she had extended from under the table to rest on his thigh, preventing him from standing.
"Listen to me!"
Left with no choice, Hikigaya had to honestly act as a "tree hollow" to receive the secrets of Chabashira Sae's past.
The story was roughly that Chabashira Sae was also a student at Advanced Nurturing in the past, and she had started in Class D. Refusing to accept that she was a "defective product," she led her class forward. In just one semester, they rose to Class B, but they lost in the final special exam of the term and fell back to Class D.
But the stubborn Chabashira Sae refused to give up. Through hard work, she quickly fought back to Class B, only to be schemed against by Classes C and D together, falling yet again.
Despite repeated defeats, she continued to fight, always leading her class tenaciously forward. It wasn't until the final semester of her third year that her Class B was only a step away from Class A's score.
In the final important exam, because she was unwilling to let a close friend be expelled, she proactively gave up on the exam, ultimately missing her chance to reach Class A forever...
"So, ever since graduating high school, you've been brooding over this, unable to let it go to this day?" Hikigaya furrowed his brows.
"Yeah... it's boring, isn't it? Heh~ even though I'm almost thirty, I can't move past an obsession from my high school days."
Chabashira Sae laughed self-deprecatingly. She picked up her coffee intending to drain it, only to find the bitterness was already gone. With a glance, she reached out and snatched Hikigaya's coffee off his table, pouring it into her mouth.
"Tch~ this is way too sweet!"
'Then don't drink it!'
"It is quite uninteresting." Hikigaya truly could not find any empathy for her. "I have a question. Between the current Class D and the Class D you were in back then, which one is more 'abstract'?"
"Uh... although my Class D back then had a lot of problems, it wasn't as... as the current Class D." Chabashira Sae's expression was slightly awkward; clearly, she knew how difficult it would be to lead such a bizarre class.
"I have another question. Among all the graduates of this school, has there ever been one who wasn't from the original Class A or B?"
"No... but I believe that even if someone is labeled as a defective product at the start, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a chance for a 'revolt from below'!"
Chabashira Sae's eyes flickered as she tried to find reasons to convince him. "If you look closely, your year's Class D and Class C are not simple. For example, a semester has passed and Class D is still at full capacity; not a single student has been expelled. That's a first! As for Class C, their score is very close to Class B and A; they could overtake them in a single exam!"
"So, you believe that as long as defective products work hard, they can defeat geniuses, right?" Hikigaya summarized her central theme.
"Is that not the case?" Chabashira Sae's gaze was firm.
"Chabashira-sensei, you are so naive."
Hikigaya looked at her with a gaze full of pity.
"Since when did you fall under the illusion that Class D could counterattack Class A?"
"What do you mean by that?" Chabashira Sae's face changed, her voice lowering. "Although the school's S-System has many unreasonable rules, it is fair to all four classes!"
"Advanced Nurturing is a school resulting from government-enterprise cooperation with the purpose of a social experiment. That is the correct understanding, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Since it's an experiment, it must output results regularly. Students graduating from Class A are the 'masterpieces' that Advanced Nurturing displays to society."
"That is also correct."
"Then let's assume Class D rises to Class A through a series of exams. This would mean Advanced Nurturing's 'masterpieces' are Yamauchi Haruki, Ike Kanji, Shinohara Satsuki... they obtain a direct ticket to Tokyo University and become the elite class of society from then on.
Do you really think that would be fair?"
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