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The lights were still on in the teachers' office at 8:30 PM.
Mashima was still flipping through a large English dictionary.
As the homeroom teacher for Class A, he usually appeared somewhat aloof in front of the students, accustomed to maintaining an appropriate distance from each one.
But those familiar with him knew that this seemingly distant teacher harbored genuine concern for his students deep inside.
Before taking over a new class, he always spent three days carefully studying all the students' profiles, just to quickly understand the characteristics of each child.
As for lesson preparation, to ensure the quality of every lesson, he dedicated at least three hours every day.
If they were to vote for the most competent first-year teacher, assuming there was no foul play, Mashima would undoubtedly be number one.
Mashima flipped another page of his lesson plan. He noticed his thermos was empty, so he stood up to get some hot water.
The moment he turned around, he was slightly stunned.
The teachers' office, which should have been empty, was currently full of people.
Class B's Hoshinomiya was grading papers, Class C's Sakagami was leaning back in his chair, twirling a fountain pen in his hand. Most surprisingly, even Class D's Chabashira was present at her desk, rhythmically tapping the surface with her fingertips.
Mashima subconsciously glanced at the clock on the wall.
At this time, he should've been alone in the office.
Occasionally he'd run into Sakagami, but a sight like today, with everyone present, was truly rare.
His gaze lingered on Sakagami for a few seconds.
As colleagues, they maintained superficial courtesy but were never able to form a deep friendship.
Mashima could never agree with Sakagami's protective style of ignoring right and wrong—regardless of whether his students were right or wrong, this homeroom teacher always stood by them, even resorting to using underhanded methods behind the scenes.
However, Mashima had to admit that Sakagami truly prioritized the interests of his class.
This obsessive protection might stem from a teacher's sense of mission, or perhaps he was just eyeing the substantial class promotion bonus at the end of the year.
But whatever the reason, it actually didn't matter, as long as the result was good.
As for the other two—Hoshinomiya and Chabashira—they were also old acquaintances of his.
The three of them were in the same grade in high school, just in different classes.
Now, after all these twists and turns, they were working together again at this school, which could be considered a kind of fate.
However, giving an honest assessment as a friend—Mashima truly couldn't in good conscience call them competent teachers.
Hoshinomiya's private life was arguably indulgent.
She changed boyfriends more often than the class schedule. Mashima didn't want to criticize her personal choices, but the problem was that she'd even sneak out to drink on weekdays, then walk into the classroom the next day with heavy dark circles and smelling of alcohol.
In that condition, it would be a miracle if she could teach students well.
Chabashira, on the other hand, was a complete extreme.
Her personality was cold. Aside from that high school romance that ended without result, she hadn't dated again in all these years.
Mashima guessed that perhaps the cigarette constantly in her hand deterred most suitors—after all, not every man could tolerate the lingering smell of tobacco on his partner.
As for her teaching attitude? She was even more perfunctory than Hoshinomiya.
She arrived exactly on time for class and left immediately when it ended. The classes she led had never successfully moved up.
Rather than a teacher, she was more like a workplace ghost who clocked in on schedule.
But then again, when it came to real ability, their teaching skills were actually no worse than his.
Otherwise, given Advanced Nurturing High School's strict teacher employment standards, how would they have been kept on?
Mashima still remembered that when she first joined, Chabashira was also a meticulous teacher. Her lesson plans were neatly and thoroughly written, and she never missed after-class tutoring.
However, ever since "that incident," Hoshinomiya, like a shark that smelled blood, began to target Chabashira at every turn.
The grades of the two classes continuously declined in their open and secret struggles, eventually becoming the lowest in the grade.
Meanwhile, Mashima, by a strange coincidence, reaped the benefits, steadily holding the position of Class A homeroom teacher for several consecutive years.
However, whenever he saw the names of those eliminated on the student lists of the two classes, he'd always remember—in this war without smoke, the real victims were never the teachers on the podium, but the innocent children in the classroom.
He'd actually tried to persuade them several times in private.
But Chabashira consistently ranked last in every annual assessment and was eventually assigned to Class D.
Over time, the once meticulous Chabashira was eventually worn down into her current complacent state.
And Hoshinomiya... she wasn't like this at first either.
He remembered that when she first started working, she'd diligently correct homework until late at night, but only after Chabashira completely gave up did she also start to indulge.
The unopened lesson plans in her office drawer and the increasingly strong scent of perfume silently spoke of a certain self-abandonment.
Mashima actually understood that if the old incident from back then were to be thoroughly investigated, Chabashira was indeed in the wrong.
So now, looking at the dark circles under Hoshinomiya's eyes, hidden by mascara, he couldn't even bring himself to blame her.
As long as it didn't involve class competition, these two would even drink together on weekends.
But once class rankings were involved... those deliberately forgotten old scores would suddenly become more important than final exam results.
Back to the main topic, in short, he hadn't seen the two of them so serious in a long time.
However, it was ultimately too late to start working hard now.
"Class A at the end of this month should still be my class," Mashima said very seriously. "Those children discovered the hidden rules a few days after school started, and the class points deducted so far haven't exceeded eighty points."
Among previous students, there were precedents for discovering the rules.
But the key was timing—discovering it too late was meaningless.
Even if they discovered it, if they were unwilling to share it with the entire class, it was equally useless.
Moreover, getting all classmates to strictly adhere to school rules was inherently a difficult task.
These three conditions alone were enough to filter out ninety-nine percent of students.
And his Class A had almost perfected these three conditions.
With Sakayanagi and Katsuragi as leaders.
This time, he felt confident of victory.
After so many years of teaching, it was his first time daring to make such a definitive statement in the second week of school.
"Hmph! Isn't Class A always like this? A glorious start, a miserable end. School has just begun, the real competition is still ahead!" Sakagami pushed up his glasses and snorted coldly.
"Oh dear... what a coincidence! Our class's students just discovered the hidden rules too." Hoshinomiya said with a smile.
"Wh-what... how did you guys do it?" Sakagami was truly surprised this time.
It was one thing for Class A to discover the rules, but how did even Class B...
Hoshinomiya smiled without answering, looking at Chabashira beside her with a grin. "Sae-chan, stop pretending. Your Class D must have spread the news already, right?"
Chabashira merely gave her a cold side glance. "...You talk too much."
This understated response, however, instantly made Sakagami's expression turn ugly.
Class D... knew about it too?
The most uneasy, naturally, was Class C, which was still in the dark.
Because in previous years, it was usually A and B at one table, and C and D at another.