"So... Shiranami and Kanzaki have already died once?"
"And now they're back here, purely on their own effort, after fighting their way through hell and winning the Revival Round?!"
Class C's classroom was a little noisy, buzzing under the weight of Chika Fujiwara's eager interjections.
Ichinose Honami sat at her desk, quietly watching Shiranami Chihiro and Ryūji Kanzaki, surrounded by classmates at the center of the room.
Both of them did their best to answer everyone's concern in a light, easy tone, but Ichinose could still catch a trace of exhaustion lingering in their eyes, not quite faded yet.
The weight of life itself had, in this moment, been given physical form by the Black Sphere's rules.
The thought made Ichinose's fingers tighten faintly around the hem of her uniform.
She let out a soft sigh, then noticed a pink-haired girl chattering animatedly with a cluster of nearby girls.
Chika Fujiwara... Even knowing something wasn't right, she hadn't asked Ichinose to take her to the administration office the moment class let out.
Instead, drawing on what seemed like a social-butterfly gene baked straight into her DNA, she'd already blended seamlessly into Class C, eagerly trying to mine everyone around her for useful information.
Whether that carefree, thoughtless approach would actually work — or get her flagged as a suspicious spy — in a class like Ryuuen's Class D or Sakayanagi's Class B was honestly hard to say.
But this was Ichinose Honami's class.
As the only class at Advanced Nurturing currently led by a "true saint," Class C's atmosphere was, without exaggeration, the gentlest in the entire school.
Toward someone like Chika Fujiwara — clearly an innocent bystander dragged into all this — the class naturally extended enormous tolerance.
Even if this transfer student might be harboring some unknown agenda, nobody here was particularly bothered by it.
After all, Advanced Nurturing was blanketed in surveillance, right down to the special phones the school issued to every student.
If there was truly some secret so sensitive it couldn't be allowed to leak, it would only ever circulate privately among a handful of core members.
For the vast majority of ordinary students in the class — the ones who'd never take part in a Black Sphere exam — the whole idea of "information leaks" wasn't even something worth worrying about yet.
That was precisely why Chika Fujiwara could thrive so effortlessly in Class C, even getting a front-row seat as everyone crowded around Ryūji Kanzaki and Shiranami Chihiro, curiously asking what they'd actually gone through after dying.
She listened with rapt attention, chiming in with a comment now and then, drawing more than a few sidelong glances from the group.
Watching it all unfold, a flicker of helplessness passed through Ichinose's eyes.
Faced with Chika Fujiwara's head full of questions, Ichinose had considered walking over and telling her the truth: since she was only passing through, if she could find a way to leave the school, then as long as she stayed away from training in transcendent techniques like Ripple, she'd probably be fine — the Black Sphere likely wouldn't take notice of her or drag her into an exam.
She'd wanted to say it, to soothe whatever unease might be hiding beneath that lively exterior.
But then she remembered — as far as she knew, Neon had no top-tier academy called "Shuchiin."
She'd even quietly searched for it online on her phone just now, and found nothing.
Which meant Chika Fujiwara was very likely, just like Yotsuya Miko, some unlucky soul who'd been forcibly yanked out of a parallel world.
Faced with a lost girl who couldn't even find her way home, Ichinose found herself at a loss for how to comfort her.
Should she say — it's a good thing you only showed up as a transfer student, instead of getting dropped straight into an exam ground soaked in blood and viscera as an Intruder, sparing you a brush with death?
Words like that would be far too cruel.
Just as Ichinose was still turning over how to gently break this harsh truth to Chika Fujiwara —
"Ding-ding—"
The warning bell for class rang right on cue.
Ichinose let out a quiet breath of relief, for no particular reason she could name.
Seeing her classmates still chattering away, trying to explain something to Chika Fujiwara, she stood up and gave a light cough.
"All right, everyone."
"Class is about to start. Save whatever you're talking about for after — back to your seats, please."
Thanks to the genuine goodwill Ichinose had built up day after day by trading sincerity for sincerity, her voice — quiet, gentle, without a trace of sharpness — was enough to settle the restless room almost instantly.
The students scattered back to their seats, and only Chika Fujiwara lingered, scratching her cheek and sticking out her tongue a little sheepishly.
"Sorry, Ichinose! I got so caught up talking, I think I held things up a bit..."
Ichinose, having already confirmed this world had no Shuchiin Academy, shook her head without any real concern, her voice gentle and reassuring instead.
"It's fine, Chika. We can go to the administration office later, whenever we have time."
"Anyway, our school usually schedules anything related to the Special Exam for after four in the afternoon. Before that, everyone's free to spend the day however they like."
Hearing this, Chika Fujiwara nodded gratefully.
"Mm-hmm! Then after this class, I'll go find a teacher with you!"
With that, she trotted back to the empty seat that had been temporarily arranged for her, laid both hands flat on the desk, and sat up perfectly straight.
Watching Chika's retreating back, Amikura Mako, seated beside her, leaned in slightly and lowered her voice with visible worry.
"Ichinose... what are you planning to do?"
"I saw it too, when you were searching for Shuchiin Academy just now — it doesn't exist at all."
"If she finds out she can't go back, she's going to fall apart, isn't she?"
A faint flicker crossed Ichinose's eyes. After a moment's thought, she answered quietly.
"Let's have Chika try the administration office first, see if she's allowed to leave the school. But the actual outcome... that's her choice to make."
"We don't have the right to decide someone else's fate for them."
"Even if the truth is cruel, she still deserves to know it."
Amikura Mako pressed her lips together, watching Ichinose return to her seat, and let out a quiet sigh.
'Deciding someone else's fate for them...'
She spun the mechanical pencil in her hand, murmuring, her gaze slightly unfocused.
"Too bad — in this school, we've never had the right to choose. Only the fate of being chosen."
Amikura Mako saw things with unusual clarity.
Given that something like this had already happened and couldn't be undone, the most rational solution, honestly, was just to tell the person the truth outright — shatter the illusion and let her accept reality sooner rather than later.
Wasting one's own precious review and training time coddling a newcomer's feelings, only to have her run into the same wall regardless, struck most people as completely unnecessary.
But Amikura Mako understood why Ichinose insisted on doing it her own way.
Besides, now that Shiranami Chihiro and Ryūji Kanzaki — both with a decent amount of combat strength — had triumphantly returned from the Revival Round, Class C wasn't exactly short on rotation candidates for exams and tests, at least in the near term.
Since the situation had eased up a little, why not let Ichinose handle it her own way?
Kindness, in the end, was simply the purest form of compassion at the bottom of one's heart.
This world had never lacked clever people who chased advantage and avoided risk, who looked out only for themselves.
But more people, standing in the middle of despair, still instinctively wanted to follow and watch someone willing to look after others even at the cost of their own interests.
In a sense —
the fact that Class C, even after several rounds of casualties and demotions, still managed to hold on to this unbroken, mutually supportive harmony — all of it, really, came down to Ichinose Honami.
...
Time slipped by, and the class period passed in a hurry.
After class.
Amikura Mako volunteered to go along with Ichinose to take Chika Fujiwara to find the school's administrative staff.
There wasn't any deep, complicated reason behind it.
Simply put, Amikura Mako wanted a closer look at Chika Fujiwara's true character.
After all, setting aside the tentacled Koro-sensei and the two new teachers said to be arriving soon, there were only two people in all of Advanced Nurturing High School confirmed to be from another world.
Well... maybe Chris, whose combat strength was terrifyingly inhuman, counted as half a point too?
But without exception, every one of these people swept into this world turned out to be a rare talent.
Yotsuya Miko had been born with Spirit Eyes, an extraordinary fit for Ripple training; Hayasaka Ai possessed top-tier reconnaissance, counter-surveillance, and combat skills...
It wasn't yet clear whether this somewhat scatterbrained Chika Fujiwara had also been marked as something special by the Black Sphere.
But going purely by the law of averages, Chika Fujiwara was almost certainly a promising stock worth investing in for the class's combat strength.
If possible, Amikura Mako would naturally love to have her become an asset to Class C.
Of course, that was on the condition she wasn't a two-faced schemer like Kushida Kikyo had turned out to be at the start.
This was the moment Amikura Mako couldn't help but reflect: sometimes, judging purely by appearances really was far too easy to be fooled by.
Yotsuya Miko looked, on the surface, like a fragile, easily-startled little animal — and yet she'd forced herself to accept reality in an incredibly short span of time, even choking down her fear to actively take part in the tests that followed.
That resilience under pressure was genuinely impressive — far stronger, in fact, than Amikura herself had been at the start.
And then there was Kushida Kikyo...
Even Amikura, who wasn't even in her class, had long since known that Kushida — one of the original lucky few first chosen by the Black Sphere — had squandered her considerable head start entirely, out of sheer cowardice or plain self-sabotage.
It couldn't have been further from the "little angel" persona she worked so hard to maintain day to day.
Which was exactly why Amikura Mako wanted to see for herself what expression Chika Fujiwara would make once she learned she hadn't simply gotten lost — she'd genuinely crossed worlds, and might face a life-or-death game at any moment.
From there, combined with how she acted afterward, Amikura could form a tentative read on her.
Unfortunately, the world was full of unexpected turns, and plans could never quite keep pace with reality.
In fact, the three girls hadn't gotten far down the hallway at all.
They ran headlong into a group led by Arisu Sakayanagi, who'd brought along Hayasaka Ai and Kamuro Masumi and seemed to be headed for Class C.
Arisu Sakayanagi had gotten a tip from her director father and had come specifically to size up Chika Fujiwara — this suspected "otherworldly transfer student" the Black Sphere had marked.
Hayasaka Ai had tagged along because she wanted to ask Shiranami Chihiro and Ryūji Kanzaki, the two who'd personally won the Revival Round, exactly what this "ghost state" after death was all about.
After all, she didn't have a single life left to spare now — she needed some kind of fallback plan.
If, on some unlucky day, she really did die on an exam ground...
becoming an earthbound spirit might, ironically, let her exploit not being bound by physical limits anymore — maybe even sneak back to her original world for one last look at Lady Kaguya and her mother.
As for Kamuro Masumi tagging along at Sakayanagi's side...
she wasn't even sure herself why she'd come. But since Arisu Sakayanagi clearly had business to attend to, tagging along in case she could help wasn't out of the question.
And so, right as the two groups converged in the hallway —
the instant Chika Fujiwara spotted the blonde bombshell in Advanced Nurturing's signature uniform, Hayasaka Ai —
her expression, still mid-joke with Ichinose, froze, before she cried out in delighted surprise:
"...Hayasaka?!"
Hearing a familiar voice that absolutely should not have existed in another world, Hayasaka Ai — who'd still been half-lost in thought about the Revival Round's mechanics — turned toward the sound on pure instinct.
What met her eyes was that dark uniform, unmistakably belonging to Shuchiin Academy, from the world she thought about constantly, longingly.
And more importantly — the person wearing it was—
"Chika?"
Hayasaka Ai lost her composure, something rare for her, and gasped the name aloud.
Then, as if suddenly struck by some terrible realization —
Hayasaka Ai closed the distance in a few quick steps and grabbed Chika Fujiwara by both shoulders, her sky-blue eyes narrowing with tension as she demanded:
"Did Lady Kaguya come with you?!"
"How in the world did you end up in this godforsaken place?!"
Pinned under Hayasaka's sharp, intense gaze, Chika Fujiwara couldn't help but shrink her neck in fright.
Of course, it wasn't only the look in her eyes that frightened her.
A bigger part of it was that Hayasaka Ai was still wearing her Black Sphere-issued [Combat Suit] underneath her uniform.
Caught up in the moment, Hayasaka had lost control of her strength.
Grip strength ten times that of a normal person landed directly on Chika Fujiwara's delicate shoulders, and she sucked in a sharp breath of pain.
"Ha-Ha-Hayasaka... ow, ow! I think you're crushing my shoulder blades!"
Tears welled up at the corners of Chika Fujiwara's eyes as she trembled, trying weakly to squirm free.
Hayasaka Ai froze, then immediately realized she'd lost control.
She quickly let go and stepped back half a pace, forcing herself to calm down.
Seeing this, Ichinose Honami stepped forward quickly and gently rested her hand on Chika Fujiwara's now-reddened shoulder.
Holding her breath, she carefully channeled a thread of the Ripple she'd cultivated within herself.
A faint golden glow flickered.
A warm current flowed from Ichinose's palm into Chika's body, and the sharp, stabbing pain melted away as fast as ice under blazing sun.
Chika Fujiwara's mouth fell open in astonishment, so surprised she forgot to even wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Wait, wait, wait! Is this the Ripple Breathing Amanatsu mentioned before — the one she said she'd practice with Shiranami and the others? That's amazing!"
"I heard it can even keep you young and improve your skin — Ichinose, can I learn it too?!"
Watching Chika Fujiwara instantly toss the pain aside, her attention now entirely fixated on "staying young forever," Ichinose couldn't help but marvel at nerves apparently as vast and unshakable as a black hole.
Her heart was way too big for her own good!
Was she seriously going to be okay?
After a brief pause, Ichinose gave a helpless little laugh and, on behalf of a flustered, worried-into-silence Hayasaka Ai, asked the question everyone present actually wanted answered:
"Chika, were you and Hayasaka at the same school back home?"
Chika Fujiwara rubbed her now-fully-healed shoulder and nodded without hesitation.
"Yep! Hayasaka and I were classmates — total besties, no cap!"
"But—"
Chika Fujiwara's tone shifted, her gaze turning suspicious as it swept over Hayasaka Ai.
"Hayasaka, how do you know Kaguya, anyway? You act so close to her, so worried about her."
She pressed her palms together, looking every bit the great detective who'd just spotted the missing piece.
"Could it be... there's some secret relationship between you two that has to be hidden from everyone?"
"Just like in one of those classic Batman comic plots! One of you is the young lady of the Shinomiya family, and the other's her secret all-purpose butler who looks after her behind the scenes... and to keep the conglomerate's internal power struggles from putting her in danger, you two just pretend not to know each other at school?!"
Listening to this absurd yet uncannily accurate guess, Hayasaka Ai gave a wordless twitch of her lips.
Watching this pink-haired girl's razor-sharp intuition, Hayasaka Ai decided there really wasn't much point hiding it anymore.
After all, this was the Black Sphere's world, one soaked in constant life-and-death crisis.
Whatever rules Shuchiin had, whatever threats the Shinomiya family posed — none of it meant a thing here.
Once she got back to her own world, she'd pull off a triumphant, dominant comeback and flip the standing of the Shinomiya family and the Hayasaka family completely.
She let out a crisp sigh and admitted it plainly.
"You guessed pretty much right."
"I really am the Shinomiya family's close attendant. I've been Lady Kaguya's personal maid ever since she was very young."
"Back at school, everything was just an act — to protect the young lady."
"As for how I ended up here..."
Hayasaka Ai's eyes darkened slightly. "It was around the time school let out one day. For some reason, I suddenly found myself standing in an exam ground crawling with monsters, out of nowhere — became what they call an Intruder."
"After a whole series of events, the Black Sphere brought me to this school and made me a temporary student here."
"And if we want to get back to our original world... the only way is to take part in those deadly exams and earn enough S Points."
Listening to all this, Chika Fujiwara nodded thoughtfully.
Thanks to all the gossip she'd picked up earlier from her Class C classmates, she already had a rough grasp of terms exclusive to Advanced Nurturing like "Intruder," "Black Sphere exam," and "S Points."
So at least she wasn't completely lost.
Still, as for how dangerous Hayasaka and Ichinose kept insisting the Black Sphere exams were —
Chika Fujiwara, who'd lived her whole life in a peaceful world, honestly had no real sense of it.
After all, she hadn't even glimpsed the shadow of a single monster.
The only one she'd seen was Koro-sensei, and he just looked comical.
She stroked her chin, nodding with an earnest expression.
"I see... I see!"
"No wonder Kaguya's the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya conglomerate — she's got someone as amazing as you as her maid-slash-bodyguard."
"And even at a moment as life-threatening as this, the first thing on your mind is still her. That's some seriously moving loyalty."
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she patted her chest in relief.
"But even though I got dragged here just as randomly as you did, Hayasaka..."
"I never ended up in that scary Black Sphere exam ground you're talking about! I just blinked, and when I opened my eyes I was already at this school! It's honestly kind of amazing!"
Chika Fujiwara gestured animatedly with her hands.
"I'm telling you, Hayasaka! If I hadn't seen a yellow octopus guy walking around campus earlier, I'd have thought this was just some fancy new VR setup the school built for the culture festival!"
Watching the conversation drift further and further off track, Ichinose gave a light cough to pull everyone back to the point.
"Since you showed up suddenly at our school, Chika, without going through an exam ground's arrival..."
"Then it seems... you're probably the only person from your school who got dragged in. No one else came with you."
Arisu Sakayanagi, who'd been standing off to the side the whole time with her chin propped on one hand, watching the show, finally spoke up.
"That's right. I already went and checked the roster with the administration staff this morning."
"Among the recent batch of new transfer students, aside from Chika, everyone else — people like Utomiya Riku — has an actual academic history and record of transfer."
"Chika is the only one who was inserted into this world out of nowhere, with no student file whatsoever."
At this, Kamuro Masumi, standing nearby, scratched her hair and floated a tentative theory.
"So... does that mean Chika basically got forcibly designated an official student of our school directly by the Black Sphere?"
"But she's the first one who got placed here by the Black Sphere's own initiative, without going through the whole Intruder-exam-ground screening process, right?"
Kamuro Masumi turned to Sakayanagi. "Could this special treatment be connected somehow to those 'new teachers' Shiranami and the others mentioned earlier?"
The moment she heard that, Chika Fujiwara shook her head furiously, like a rattle drum.
"I'm not! I'm not involved! Don't make things up!"
"I'm just an ordinary high school girl — the only thing I'm good at is board games. I genuinely don't know any alien octopus people! Hayasaka can totally vouch for me on that!"
"Our world back home was the most everyday, ordinary romantic comedy world you could imagine!"
"There's absolutely no superpowers or monsters there!"
Watching how eagerly Chika was trying to distance herself, Amikura Mako stepped in at just the right moment to smooth things over.
"If Chika really were connected to the new teachers, she wouldn't be acting this clueless about everything."
"That said, whether she's carrying some kind of unknown special trait — that's still up in the air."
Amikura Mako suggested, "Maybe we should just go ask Koro-sensei? From what Chris described about him in the group chat, he sounds like a tsundere type who's genuinely trying to become a 'good teacher.'"
"There shouldn't be any harm in just asking him a bit about our transfer student, right?"
Ichinose pressed her lips together and made a decisive call.
"Even if Koro-sensei isn't at school right now, we can catch him at the faculty meet-and-greet this afternoon. We can try feeling him out then."
Hearing this, Chika Fujiwara weakly raised her hand, tilting her head.
"So, Ichinose, are we still going to the admissions office about leaving?"
Arisu Sakayanagi gave a light chuckle, looking at her with the kind of pitying gaze one might give a small animal.
"No need, Chika. If the Black Sphere managed to slip you in without a trace, it's already handled your enrollment paperwork in advance, quietly."
"You're already a fully legitimate, properly enrolled member of this school."
Chika Fujiwara gave a small nod.
Then, her brain finally finished processing everything.
"Nooooo..."
Her face turned instantly pale. "So — if I'm already a student here, then... doesn't that mean I'm going to have to take part in those Black Sphere exams that keep killing people, just like the rest of you? The ones Amanatsu and Shiranami were talking about?!"
Amikura Mako glanced at her and shook her head with a helpless explanation.
"If the current setup for the advance test and the official exam stays the same, each test needs four people, and the main exam only needs one."
"Now that Class C has Shiranami and Kanzaki back, we're actually not short on people at the moment — we don't need a newcomer like you to fill a gap by force."
"But... if the Black Sphere really does start taking an interest in your 'special trait,' and keeps locking onto you in the exam ground, choosing you as a forced Intruder—"
"Then there's... nothing we can do about that."
Hearing this verdict, Chika Fujiwara clutched her head in despair and sank down in pain.
"Ow... it hurts so much!"
Could it be — because I secretly peeked at cards while cheating in that card-flip game at club yesterday — that the gods are punishing me cruelly for it, unable to stand by and watch?!
No, no, please!
I'm sorry, gods, I was wrong!
Can I just surrender right now?!
Could the punishment maybe only be half as bad?!
Nobody in the hallway found Chika Fujiwara's somewhat exaggerated, comical reaction worth criticizing.
After all, she was just an ordinary high schooler who'd lived through peaceful times.
Looking back, the fear they themselves had felt the first time they learned they'd have to take part in a Black Sphere exam crawling with monsters hadn't been much better than hers.
If there was any real difference, it was only that Amikura Mako felt a faint pang of disappointment deep down.
But thinking it over, it didn't really matter that much.
As she'd just said, with Shiranami Chihiro and Ryūji Kanzaki — both with real combat strength and a full understanding of the stakes — back in the fold, plus Amanatsu Kazuha and Yotsuya Miko already there, Class C wasn't lacking volunteers to fill exam rotations, at least for the time being.
Even if Chika Fujiwara suddenly changed her mind and wanted to join in, they'd probably struggle to carve out a safe enough slot for her anyway.
So it was for the best to just let Chika Fujiwara stay quietly at school.
If, on some unlucky day, she really did become an Intruder, protecting one extra person, given their current setup, would be effortless.
They could even treat her as a free bonus point for keeping everyone alive — a sure win, no losses.
Right.
In Amikura Mako's eyes, even though the Black Sphere exams still carried a certain awe-inspiring mystique...
after personally witnessing an entire planet get casually destroyed by monsters during the Revival Round, and realizing ordinary people like themselves were utterly powerless against it...
something inside her had quietly, imperceptibly begun to shift.
Like a drowning person's final struggle before sinking beneath the surface, Amikura Mako wanted to do something too.
Even if it was only within the limits of her own ability and understanding — gathering one more companion who could contribute strength or points, adding one more chip toward surviving the future.
Afterward.
Because of the small detour caused by the Chika Fujiwara incident, the break between classes had been used up almost entirely.
That left nowhere near enough time for Arisu Sakayanagi and the others to go through with the original plan of heading to Class C to ask Shiranami and Kanzaki about the detailed rules of the Revival Round.
So, acting as something of a local host, Ichinose Honami took the initiative, inviting Sakayanagi and Hayasaka Ai along.
She also suggested pinging Chris, Ryuuen, and the other core members of their respective classes on Line, proposing they all find somewhere to have a short meeting together during the lunch break.
Beyond giving everyone a chance to clear up their questions about the new teachers and the Revival Round, a big part of the reason was that Ichinose wanted to discuss something else with the group.
Specifically, how they should handle it — what attitude and plan to adopt — if they ran into former classmates in an exam ground again, ones who'd died and become earthbound spirits out of lingering attachment.
Naturally, no one present objected.
Given the current limits on communication channels and perspective, nobody at Advanced Nurturing besides Chris could confidently claim to know every piece of hidden intel out there.
Gathering together to properly share information and fill in the blind spots was an absolutely necessary step for facing the high-pressure environment ahead.
However.
By the time noon's lunch break rolled around...
the whole group filed into the school's largest lecture-style classroom and took their seats.
Before Ichinose or Chris could even open their mouths to bring up the main topic —
"Swish—"
The lecture hall's half-open door was suddenly pulled open from outside.
A slick yellow tentacle slithered in right after, deftly lifting the black academic cap perched atop that oversized round head.
Then Koro-sensei gave a small bow toward the room full of elite students.
"Nu-ru-fu-fu-fu~ Good afternoon, everyone!"
"This morning, your dear Koro-sensei here managed to learn about every single one of your hobbies and interests~"
"So, in exchange! Would anyone be interested, before afternoon classes officially start, in learning a bit more about Koro-sensei's own hobbies and interests?"
"Now, let me be upfront about this!"
Two pink blushes bloomed on his cheeks as he squirmed bashfully. "Koro-sensei here is an absolute sweet-tooth fanatic! So if any of you were planning to bribe me with sweets..."
"No wait, what I mean is — if you were planning to slip a special anti-monster poison into delicious treats like pudding or macarons to try and take me down, I'd be more than happy to fall for it, willingly!"
"So? Doesn't that sound like a fun challenge?"
Hearing this — watching this self-directing, self-performing yellow octopus up on the podium voluntarily spilling his own weaknesses —
everyone in the lecture hall exchanged silent glances.
They'd all crawled out of piles of corpses at this point, and yet somehow, none of them had quite adjusted to this level of pure, unfiltered goofiness.
In the end, it was Chris, sitting up front, who couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence first.
"Koro-sensei, you rushed in here in such a hurry... are you planning to start your class right now?"
"But logically, it's still lunch break. It's way too early for afternoon classes. And the school hasn't even opened enrollment for your course in the administrative system yet — you shouldn't be dragging people in for a mandatory class already, should you?"
Koro-sensei grinned, flashing a set of neat, white teeth.
"Nu-fu-fu-fu~"
"Koro-sensei here is nothing more than an employee working for the school, after all — a lowly staff member, not a rule-maker. Naturally, I'll wait for the official scheduled time before clocking in properly!"
"But!"
Koro-sensei suddenly raised a tentacle, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.
"To become a dedicated, beloved good teacher, one has to think ahead, take the long view!"
"Beyond teaching lessons and answering questions, building good rapport with everyone in advance, maintaining a friendly atmosphere between teachers and students — that's naturally part of education too!"
"For example, playing matchmaker for a new colleague~"
"A new colleague?"
Chris raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion.
Beside him, Arisu Sakayanagi propped her chin on one hand and immediately jumped in with a guess.
"You mean another new teacher has arrived at the school?"
"Bingo!" Koro-sensei struck two tentacles together, producing a crisp snapping sound.
"That's right! No wonder you're Class B's representative — such a sharp kid~"
"Well then..."
Koro-sensei stepped aside, clearing the doorway, and pointed a tentacle toward it.
"Right now, please welcome the instructor for our soon-to-open Jujutsu Class — Teacher Gojo — up here to give everyone a quick introduction of himself!"
"Clap clap clap..."
Hearing that a teacher was about to make an entrance, and not fully grasping the situation, Chika Fujiwara instinctively raised both hands and started clapping enthusiastically, following pure habit from her old school's spirit-rallying instincts.
But after only two claps —
she sharply noticed that everyone around her — Ryuuen, Ayanokōji, and the rest — had all turned strangely pointed looks in her direction.
Chika Fujiwara's face flushed red, and she hastily yanked her hands back, embarrassed.
She cleared her throat twice, sat up ramrod straight, and loudly announced to cover herself:
"First-year transfer student, Chika Fujiwara, reporting for duty!"
"Awaiting the teacher's evaluation!"
Hearing this, Amikura Mako and the others sitting near her nearly lost it.
The whole group, Koro-sensei up on the podium included, couldn't hold back their laughter.
The atmosphere, which had been a little tense before, lightened up considerably.
And right in the middle of this lighthearted, slightly ridiculous mood —
a tall, slender figure, hands tucked into the pockets of his black uniform pants, sauntered in through the doorway at an unhurried pace.
The newcomer had a striking head of silver-white spiky hair, and wore a solid black blindfold across his face, covering most of it completely.
But even so, the sheer confidence radiating from every fiber of his being filled the entire classroom without reservation.
Gojo Satoru lifted his head, glancing over the room full of students braced and ready through the blindfold, and smiled.
"Yo, looks like everyone's in good spirits~"
"Nice atmosphere."
"So, you little brats with decent enough eyes — you're going to be my students from now on?"
Koro-sensei arched an eyebrow he didn't technically have, crossing his tentacles over his chest, and objected with a perfectly serious expression.
"Teacher Gojo, I think you might be mistaken."
"Unless I'm wrong, our classes are actually scheduled at the same time slot in the administrative system. Which means..."
Before Koro-sensei could finish, Gojo Satoru waved a hand dismissively, cutting him off outright.
"Which means the adorable kids sitting down there are going to be the prize the two of us teachers have to earn through our own skill, right?"
"Ooh~ having to compete for students before class even starts, huh? Now that's got some flavor. I like it!"
Gojo Satoru paused.
He turned to face the students in the lecture seats, their expressions ranging all over the map.
Resting one hand against his sharply angled jaw, he leaned in slightly and drew out his introduction with a slow, deliberate cadence.
"All right~ everyone, perk up your ears and listen close."
"Let's get properly acquainted."
"I'm Gojo Satoru — the teacher who'll be in charge of the Jujutsu Class, teaching you all how to survive in front of monsters from here on out."
"As for why you should pick my class..."
"Well, obviously, it's because your teacher here..."
He curved his lips into a faint smile, revealing a flash of white teeth:
"—is simply the strongest."
____
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🔥 New history: DanMachi: Inheriting the Legacy of Alternate Versions — posted on The_Mikudayo