A Liar's Truth [UNDER FINAL REVISION]

Ch 29: Building pressure points

Third-person point of view 

"I believe all of you already know, but let me introduce the transfer student." Karasuma's voice was flat as he gestured at the large machine box looming in the back of the room. "This is Autonomously Thinking Fixed Artillery-san. She came here from Norway."

["Please treat me well."] The mechanical voice rang out, monotone and lifeless, before the interface switched off again with a soft click.

Collective silence. 

"You better not laugh. You're the same sort of sideshow act." Karasuma grunted, shooting a look at Korosensei, who was already wheezing behind a tentacle. "I'll say this to start. She is an AI with a face, who has been registered as a full fledged student." He gestured at her ominously still frame. "Though she will be pointing her guns at you from back there, you cannot counterattack against her because you made a contract as a teacher that inflicting injury on students is not allowed." 

"I see." Korosensei nods, "Using my own contract against me. So I am to treat that machine as a student, despite its appearance.." He raises a tentacle, formally welcoming her. "Very well, Autonomously Thinking Fixed Artillery-san. Welcome to Class E!" 

A strained laugh escaped someone in the back.

Ginka's lips twitched, the corners of her perfectly crafted smile holding under pressure. "Oh, no." She lowered her voice into a sugar-smooth whisper that barely reached Karma beside her. "I have a very, very bad feeling about this."

And it wasn't even 15 minutes in first period. 

BOOM.

A blast of compressed air thundered from the back, shaking the floor tiles. The chalkboard jumped slightly. Smoke curled up near the window.

"...Sick," Sugino muttered with wide eyes.

Ginka's bangs fluttered slightly. She blinked once. Twice. Then smiled. Sweetly. Dangerously. "What a... lively start."

"You know, I was worried things were getting boring around here." Karma, lounging like a cat mid-stretch, let out a low whistle. He then glanced over her, eyes not leaving the their open textbook. "You okay?" 

"Totally. Just loving the ambiance of incoming artillery fire while trying to do trigonometry~" She inhaled slowly, flipping the next page. "Silly me. Thinking math class was only for math."

Karma gave a low whistle, "You wear stress well. Almost had me thinking you were into it."

Ginka turned her head, just enough to meet his gaze. Her smile never wavered.
But her fingers—clenched subtly in her skirt—told a different story. "Pressure makes diamonds," she answered breezily. "Or breaks them. But hey. Let's not test which~"

Karma raised a brow, but said nothing. She was keeping it together—for now.