A Demon's Path

As Spring Passes

The month of April continued to pass as we continued to march towards our first experience of the school's system.

"Ayanokōji-kun. The mock test will cover what has been taught until today. Since we have finished the prescribed syllabus for the midterms, what do you say? Shall we go over it once more for the rest of the week to clear any doubts you may have?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked in his usual polite voice.

"As you wish sensei." I replied nonchalantly. Not that it mattered much if he wanted to go over the material again. I already knew everything that the teachers were teaching me. Seeing my disinterested face, the chairman sighed and said:

"It seems that going over the materials wouldn't be necessary after all. But really, I must admit, we are the first class that has not only covered the syllabus for the mock test but until the midterms as well. If we go at this pace, we might be able to finish the entire course within this year."

"..." I remained silent.

"You really are one of the most brilliant students I have had the pleasure of teaching, bar my daughter. It's a shame I was not able to put both of you in the same class."

"Are you sure that you want to talk about something not related to the school curriculum with a student, sensei?"

"I don't see the harm in it, considering that we have already covered our quota and some more."

"Hmm..."

"Tell me Ayanokōji-kun, how are you finding the school yet?" Chairman Sakayanagi asked in a curious tone. I could see no hidden motive behind his words. It seems that he was really simply curious about how I was doing in this school. He was really the oddest person I have met so far. However, he was a variable to me because I couldn't fully understand what was going on in that man's mind. I didn't know if it was his natural disposition or if he had trained himself to prevent others from analysing him. But if it was the latter, then I had to give him more credit than I gave him now, as he was doing a stellar job at deflecting my probing.

Deciding not to overthink it anymore, I answered his question as neutrally as possible: "I think it is much more peaceful than the last place."

"Is that so?"

"..."

"I'm glad." He said while smiling. I didn't understand why he smiled like that from time to time while conversing with me. But for some reason, it bothered me. I wanted to make it disappear from his face. As I was thinking such things, the bell sounded which signalled the end of the homeroom. The chairman turned to see the time on the wall as he said:

"It seems like we have to finish for today. Let's meet tomorrow." And started to walk out of the classroom, when he suddenly stopped and spoke again:

"Aha! I nearly forgot about that. Are you in any clubs yet Ayanokōji-kun?"

I chose to remain silent at his question. I didn't know for what reason he was asking me this, yet it could be a crucial moment to gather more information from this man. Seeing my unresponsive face, he chuckled lightly and said:

"I'll take that as a no. However, I would suggest joining one soon, as I can definitely say it would be beneficial in the future for you. And will it not help you in your plan if you make acquaintances now?"

Saying this, he resumed his walk and went out of the room, and with that, the classes were over for the day. I remained in the room for some time, contemplating what he meant by those words. It didn't seem like a lie as well, so whatever benefit he was saying had some amount of merit as well. I sighed as I realized that this entire scenario was a mess. First of all, there was a distinct hierarchy in the class structure, of which I was placed at the bottom and was isolated from everyone else. Second, there was the issue of those points. There was no guarantee that the school would provide the same amount of points the upcoming month that they had provided this month. I was almost sure that it wasn't going to be the case. Added to the fact the there were people clearly in the board of directors who were clearly disliking towards me and wanted to get rid of me by all means possible.