Chapter 40: Self-Introductions

"So then... everyone here will be the members of the Supplementary Lessons Department."

Inside an unused classroom at Trinity General School, four students and one Sensei had gathered together.

"Before I explain what the Supplementary Lessons Department is about, let’s all start with a quick self-introduction! I’ll go first. I’m Hifumi Ajitani, second-year! My hobby is collecting merchandise! I still have a lot to learn, but I look forward to working with all of you!"

"Collecting merchandise...? What kind of merchandise do you collect?"

"Ah, um... mostly plushies from my favorite series, I guess...? Basically, I like collecting things!"

Ordinary. Nothing special. At first glance, it sounded like a peaceful, everyday introduction.

But in truth, it wasn’t that simple. “Collecting things” might sound innocent, but her choice of words was deliberate—it wasn’t collecting, it was hoarding. Anyone who’d seen her carrying her beloved Peloro-sama backpack could probably guess as much.

If it ended with simple collecting, that would be fine. But Hifumi would stop at nothing to obtain Peloro-sama goods.

"Then, next up, let’s hear from Azusa, who asked the question."

Completely unaware of Hifumi’s borderline-obsessive devotion to Peloro-sama, the introductions moved on to Azusa.

"...Azusa Shirasu. Second-year. Hobby... I don’t have one. Not yet. Nice to meet you."

"No hobbies, huh...? Well, is there anything you do like?"

"...If I had to say, my superior—or maybe... friend... or perhaps something like a sister?—once brought me a manga from somewhere. That was interesting."

"Something like a sister...? So she’s not actually your sister?"

"No. She’s not my sister. And I’m not her little sister."

"S-Sounds like there’s a complicated story behind that..."

If Kirihana Suou had been there, she probably would’ve complained about being referred to as "something like a sister." But before that could happen, the introductions continued.

"Then I suppose it’s my turn... I’m Hanako Urawa, second-year. As for my hobby... let’s see... I suppose it would be taking walks."

"Taking walks... that sounds quite mature of you..."

The words grandma-like almost slipped out, but Hifumi managed to bite them back.

"Oh, but they’re not just ordinary walks. I suppose you could say it’s about feeling free. The breeze against my skin feels wonderful, you know?"

"Eh!? Th-That’s, um... w-well, why don’t we move on to the next person!"

"...?"

Realizing what Hanako might have meant, Hifumi quickly tried to change the subject—

"Hey, you! What do you think you’re saying?!"

—but Koharu Shimoe, pink-haired and loud, wasn’t about to let that slide.

"Oh my? Is there something wrong with taking a walk?"

"That’s not just a walk!! You said ‘feeling free’—that sounds indecent! Not allowed! Death penalty!!"

"Feeling free is indecent...? What exactly are you imagining? Please, tell me more."

"E-Ehh... th-that’s... uh, anyway! Indecency is bad!! Next, me!!"

Completely overwhelmed, Koharu stammered as she began her own introduction.

"I’m Koharu Shimoe, first-year! I’m part of the Justice Realization Committee, and my hobby is... n-none in particular! That’s it!"

"Then I suppose I’m the last one. I’m the advisor for SCHALE, and I’ll be your supervising Sensei. My hobby... well, I suppose it’s collecting robot figures. Let’s all do our best together."

"Okay, now I’ll explain what the Supplementary Lessons Department is about."

With all introductions finished, Hifumi began her explanation.

"The purpose of this department is to improve academic performance. Starting today, we’ll all be studying together after school every day."

Even though she was only halfway through, she already felt a wave of exhaustion. Could she really handle this?

She shook off the thought and continued.

"The condition for disbanding the Supplementary Lessons Department is simple: all members must pass the special academic exam—held three times—together. If even one person fails, we’ll likely all fail the year..."

The “all together” part sounded odd, but Hifumi assumed it meant they’d have to cooperate to succeed.

The reality, however, was different.

"And during this time, our homeroom teacher will be the SCHALE Sensei you met earlier."

"Let’s all work hard together."

"That’s the end of my explanation. Um, if anyone has any questions or concerns..."

"It’s fine. It just means that in addition to regular training, we’ll also have after-school study sessions every day, right? I’ve done that before."

That was something Kirihana Suou had arranged regularly—study sessions on top of normal combat training. Azusa wasn’t a stranger to it.

"Well, I’m not sure ‘training’ is the right word for studying, but yes, that’s correct. And if we can all pass the special exam together, the Supplementary Lessons Department will be disbanded. The Sensei will be helping us too, so let’s do our best to avoid repeating the year...!"

If they failed, they’d have to redo the entire year—and that was something none of them wanted.

Though, failing the special exam could result in something even worse than repeating the year.

"As long as we can all pass one of the three exams together, the department will end there! The Sensei will mainly help with scheduling and extra tutoring."

"Of course. Leave it to me."

"Got it. So, out of the three missions, we just need to succeed once as a team. For that, we’ll meet here every day to study. Not a difficult assignment. In short, this is to adjust our academic performance. I have no reason—or desire—to slack off."

Easier said than done. In truth, everyone, including Azusa, would soon find out just how difficult that would be—but for now, they had no idea.

"Y-Yes, that’s right! Let’s all do our best! Um, Azusa, you haven’t been at this school long since your transfer, right?"

"..."

"I’m sure you’re still getting used to things here, but if we all work together, I’m confident we’ll manage just fine!"

At the moment, Azusa’s official record listed her as a transfer student. Misono Mika had falsified the documents to make it look that way.

But in truth, Azusa had infiltrated Trinity General School as a spy.

Which meant—she couldn’t afford to let anyone dig too deeply into her “transfer.”

"Oh? So Miss Shirasu transferred here recently?"

Because of that, Azusa tried to change the subject—but Hanako ended up interrupting her instead.

"Transferring to Trinity, that’s quite rare, isn’t it?"

"..."

Now, how to dodge this one?

If she remembered correctly, Kirihana Suou had told her exactly what to say if she ever got cornered about her transfer.

"...Yeah. Something... happened at my previous school."

"I see. My apologies, that was insensitive of me."

Feeling a faint pang of guilt for deceiving her, Azusa let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"I-I’m sorry, too... I didn’t mean to pry..."

"Don’t worry about it. It’s not like anything bad happened. I just... had my reasons for having to transfer, that’s all."

"I see..."

Hanako Urawa pondered quietly to herself.

Reasons that force a person to transfer.

If it wasn’t because she couldn’t fit in with the school environment, then the possibilities were limited.

For example, maybe she caused some trouble at her previous school—or perhaps she found something new she wanted to pursue.

In any case, since the person in question didn’t seem eager to discuss it, there was no point in pushing further.

If so, the best course of action here would be...

"Then, may I call you Azusa-chan as well?"

"...? I don’t mind."

Yes—closing the distance would help her adjust to the school more quickly.

Hanako herself didn’t intend to stay at this school for much longer. Still, she knew well the pain of being isolated and treated unkindly.

If Shirasu Azusa was in that position, then surely she needed a new place to belong.

"Then, Azusa-chan, Hifumi-chan, and Koharu-chan... fufu, that has such a nice ring to it. From now on, we’re all comrades in the Supplementary Lessons Department."

Hanako never thought of herself as anything special—but maybe, just maybe, she could be the small start Azusa needed to connect with others.

"Azusa-chan may seem a little cold at first, but she’s quite adorable, isn’t she? Fufufu."

"...?"

Azusa, unaware of Hanako’s gentle intentions, could only wonder why this girl seemed so... overly familiar.

"..."

At that moment, Hanako noticed someone glaring at her as if trying to burn a hole straight through her skull.

"My, Koharu-chan, why are you looking at me with such hatred in your eyes?"

"Just so you know—I don’t approve of this!"

"Eh...?"

"Oh my, whatever do you mean?"

"I-I’m an elite member of the Justice Realization Committee! And just because I’m younger doesn’t mean I’m gonna call you upperclassmen or anything!"

Koharu’s blunt declaration was so abrupt that the air in the room seemed to freeze.

"And anyway, I’m quitting this club as soon as I can! So don’t get all buddy-buddy with me, got it?!"

Hanako paused, considering her words.

What to do with this one? Personally, she didn’t mind at all.

After all, this would only last a few weeks at most. Even if the atmosphere soured, she’d be leaving soon enough.

No need to waste energy on it.

"...I see. Indeed, there’s no need to treat each other as seniors and juniors within the Supplementary Lessons Department. I have no issue with that."

But not everyone in the room seemed quite as indifferent. In that case, perhaps it was best to handle things peacefully.

"I don’t mind either. I’m not used to that kind of culture anyway—"

—Because this isn’t a group that gathered for friendship in the first place.

That’s what she was about to say, before Suou’s words suddenly came to mind.

"First, make plenty of friends. Among them, you’ll surely find someone important to you."

"..."

It had already been a few weeks since she’d “transferred” to Trinity.

Did she have anyone she could truly call a friend?

If she had to name one, perhaps Asiri—but they only met occasionally, and it wasn’t exactly friendship.

Of course, she didn’t need to get along with everyone. But they were here to work toward a shared goal.

At the very least, they’d be involved with one another for some time.

Maybe… they really could become friends.

"…Well, since we’ll be working together anyway, I think we should at least try to get along a little."

"Y-Yes! I think that’s a good idea too!"

"I’m not here to make friends! And for the record, the only reason I failed the exam was because I took the one for second-years—since I’m advanced enough to skip a grade!"

Her words, meant as a simple observation, were immediately shot down by Koharu. Feeling a faint pang of disappointment, Azusa couldn’t help but focus on that one phrase.

"Skip a grade?"

"My, why would you do something like that?"

"W-Why, you ask…?! Because I’m destined to lead the Justice Realization Committee, obviously!"

"But you failed because of that, didn’t you? I could understand trying it once as a challenge, but... why keep repeating it?"

"Ugh, shut up, shut up! That’s not the point—I’m saying I’ve been holding back my true power all this time!!!"

That was a lie. What everyone had already seen was her true ability, plain and simple.

"This time, I’ll take the proper first-year exam! Then I’ll ace it, get perfect marks, and that’s that! You get it?!"

Her loud declaration left everyone staring in awkward silence.

"And then, I’ll quit this whole Supplementary Lessons Department right away!"

"Um, even if you score well on your own, that doesn’t mean you can graduate from this department…"

"I see, so you’ve been hiding your credentials," Hanako said calmly.

Swallowing the urge to add just like me, Azusa instead said:

"For the record, I’m taking the first-year exam too. The curriculum here is really different from my previous school. If there’s something I don’t understand, I’d appreciate your help."

"W-What? Handle it yourself! It’s not like it matters anyway! Our time together’s short, and clearly, you guys just aren’t that smart! Bye! Good luck with your studying!"

"Ah, wait—"

But before Azusa could stop her, Koharu had already stormed off.

What a shame, she thought, lowering the hand she’d half raised toward empty air.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Fufu, Koharu-chan’s mood swings are quite something. She’s a funny one. In contrast, Azusa-chan, you’re so steady and composed…"

"So, um, what should we do now…?"

"‘I’ll do my best too. Let’s all work hard together.’"

"I’m looking forward to it. Fufufu."

As Hanako spoke in her curiously cheerful tone, Azusa recalled something Suou had once told her.

───Well, just try not to get too close to any weird people, okay?

…Maybe she’d walked straight into the very den of “weird people” Suou had been warning her about.

But then again, Suou had also told her to make friends.

"…"

After all, she was here as a spy. Which meant that someday, she might end up betraying the very people standing beside her now.

Suou had assured her there was nothing to worry about—so perhaps there was a plan in place.
But still... what should she do?

"L-Let’s start by reviewing the material that’ll be on the test!"

And just like that, before Azusa could dwell on her worries, the activities of the Supplementary Lessons Department had begun.