Ayanokouji transfers from class - beginning of the third year - COTE

Class Response

Part Four: Class Response

A surprising silence enveloped the classroom, the kind of silence where you can almost hear hearts beating. Hoshinomiya-sensei gave me a quiet signal to enter, and I moved slowly toward the podium, standing beside the teacher and looking at the students.

Their eyes were wide and filled with astonishment. The students who had been chatting and laughing freely just moments ago suddenly shifted into a state of anticipation and confusion.

"Ayanokouji-kun..." Ichinose Honami was the first to break the silence that had fallen over the room. I could sense the amazement in her eyes, even if I wasn’t looking directly at her.

"Uh~ Well, starting today, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is a student in Class D. Please treat him kindly," Hoshinomiya-sensei spoke in a hesitant and flustered tone, as if she were trying to comprehend what she was saying herself. Her words flowed slowly, and her gaze drifted to the side, as if searching for confirmation of what she was saying. I felt a gap of silence spreading in the class, amplifying the tension of the moment.

I could have prepared for this situation beforehand, but I chose to take this approach. Now it was time to see how well the players I had prepared had developed, and how they would handle this situation.

"Hello, I’m Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. There's nothing special about me. Uh, I’ll do my best to communicate with everyone. Nice to meet you." I gave my greeting, which hadn’t changed much, aiming to give Ichinose some time to process the situation.

Ichinose responded immediately, as if she had been waiting for these words. With a kind smile, she calmly stepped forward and approached me.

The girl who possessed the absolute confidence of the class.

Even though Ichinose was facing this situation, she would prioritize the best outcome for the class as a whole.

In the current situation, even without being told, she clearly understood her role.

"Welcome to our class, Ayanokouji-kun," Ichinose spoke in a calm tone.

She was calm and self-assured, and there was nothing to indicate she was nervous or flustered.

"Why did Ayanokouji-kun transfer to our class?" the first to ask was a girl named Shiranami, her tone one of astonishment.

"Listen up, everyone. I’m the person who has the answers to your questions."

"... What do you mean?" spoke Kobashi, Ichinose’s classmate.

Since she used a deliberately confusing expression, Ichinose was able to capture the attention of all the other students with just one sentence.

As Ichinose spoke, she moved away from me toward the class.

This was aimed at redirecting the focus of all the students. She must have done this to distract attention away from me.

I thought she would help me, but the way she did it exceeded my expectations.

"Ah~ I’m sorry, everyone. I wanted to make this news a surprise for you." She didn’t leave time for questions and continued.

"I spoke with Ayanokouji-kun and successfully convinced him to join our class through a compelling offer. I was waiting for Ayanokouji to join us, and now is the right time to tell you about my strategy for fighting in the third year." She smiled slightly and continued.

"My strategy revolves around requesting support. I planned to bring a prominent figure to join the class. I presented the offer to a group of students, but Ayanokouji was the only one who agreed to join."