After leaving Kinshin Lake, Sena Nagayama began strolling along the premises of the school.
Three years ago, she had been to Sakura Kyu. At that time, if it had not been for Principal Endo's accompaniment, she would never have stepped into Sakura Kyu.
During that time, Sakura Kyu was chaotic. The entire school was a filthy mess, the assigned cleaners did not even do their jobs, and teachers did not dare to force anything. The school could only hire people to come to clean up from time to time. It was also challenging to determine whether the people you met on school grounds were students of Sakura Kyu or not. At that time, many students defied school rules and simply refused to show up in school uniform. From time to time, the delinquents outside of the school would stop by for one of their unpleasant gatherings.
Though the delinquents were rampant, they didn't beat up the principal just for the fun of it, so she did not actually have to pass days with full caution. Following that, she had made up her mind to never come to Sakura Kyu again.
If it were not for her brother-in-law's persuasion and her desire to help Harunaka, she definitely would not have agreed to come.
Frankly, when she found out that her four nieces were studying at Sakura Kyu, she almost went to scream at Furuhashi Harashin right there and then. As the director of the academy, how could Furuhashi Harashin not have any ideas of what Sakura Kyu Academy was like? And he still let his four adorable daughters enroll at that school?
But now, she began to feel relief wash over her.
She probably never have been able to imagine the drastic changes Sakura Kyu had been put through if she didn't come.
It was lunch break, she saw all sorts of students on the way, interacting with each other and making small talk. Regardless of gender, all of them were neatly donned in school uniform. It was also evident that the number of female students had increased.
In the past, it would be rare for females to enroll at Sakura Kyu! But as of now, from whatever she had just observed, the ratio of males to females should be somewhere around 4:1, so it was not too bad.
Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break. Sena Nagayama arrived at the principal's office, her mood easy and light.
"So what do you think, Miss Nagayama? Any comments on how the school is now?" Endo Etomi greeted her with a genuine smile that spread to his eyes.
"Impressive! When my brother-in-law made me come here, I thought he was plotting to harm me," joked Sena Nagayama. "But I really can't believe that three years could bring so much change upon Sakura Kyu."
Endo Etomi shook his head, correcting her, "This change did not begin three years ago, but a year ago. Actually, logistically speaking, it has only been half a year."
"Is it because of Kimura Kazuki?"
"Indeed."
Although she already knew the answer deep down, after obtaining the confirmation from Principal Endo, Sena Nagayama still could not help the surprise that lingered briefly on her face.
For one student to completely change a school's atmosphere, this was basically a pie in the sky. However this had really happened, and it was proven by everything she saw on the way here.
Especially after watching the scene at Kinshin Lake, where groups of delinquents in the progress of turning over a new leaf formed study groups spontaneously. If she had not witnessed it with her own eyes, she would not have believed it.
"I'm itching to meet this Head of Department Kimura now."
"We can't speak as of now because he's in the middle of class," replied Principal Endo. But he added, "However, I can take you on tour around the teaching area."
Sena Nagayama could not refuse.
Other than longing to meet Kazuki, she also wanted to take a look at the four cuties of the Furuhashi family. Endo Etomi even knew of the relationship between Sena Nagayama and the Furuhashi girls, so he decided to lead his tour starting from the freshmen classes on the first floor.
"It looks like the change in Sakura Kyu is indeed dramatic." It was getting difficult to keep count of how many times Sena Nagayama had let out the same exact exclamation. She had walked down the same pavement with Principal Endo the last time she had been here. Back then, she was unwilling to continue walking after just a few minutes.
At that time, the noise could be heard far from the classrooms. The entire area resembled a crowded marketplace which was unpleasant. That was the reason why Sena Nagayama gave up on the tour within minutes three years ago.
But in the present, without the comparison, there was no harm. Aside from the voices of hardworking teachers, there were basically no other noises.
Hearing Sena Nagayama's relieved sighs, he felt pride creep onto his heart. Although all of this was mostly Kazuki's efforts, without his support and cooperation, Sakura Kyu could not have gone through these improvements.
Very quickly, the two arrived at Class One of the freshman year.
Class One, that's the one Akino is studying in, right? Sena Nagayama's gaze scanned the entire classroom, quickly spotting Furuhashi Akino.
After one glance, she almost passed out from anger.
The classrooms in Sakura Kyu had the students at one table each, arranged separately. Furuhashi Akino's seat was positioned in the center of the third row. This seat was right in the middle of the class and was the perfect place for people with normal vision, unlike being in the front row, where students would literally inhale chalk.
Sena Nagayama, stood and watched from the back door of the classroom. She could see Furuhashi Akino with her textbook standing on its base with her hands placed on her phone in landscape mode. She stared intently at her phone, and from time to time she touched the screen once or twice, all her attention drawn to it.
The teacher stood at the podium, gave a helpless look laced with slight annoyance spread across her face. However, she seemed to have no intention of confronting her. How is it that even the teacher didn't bother about Furuhashi Akino? But thinking about it, maybe it became a habit? As the thought hit her, she sighed, and her expression mirrored the teacher's. As opposed to the teacher, she definitely knew Furuhashi Akino better.
She had always been into games since primary school, and her addiction only grew worse in middle school, spending the majority of her allowance on in-game currency. Now, being in high school, she was too far deep to let go of her games. From time to time she would even dial Sena's number to ask for allowance.
The students in the classroom noticed the presence of Sena Nagayama and the principal outside the windows. Suddenly, the classroom listened intently to the lecture, the classroom was plunged into silence. But to Sena Nagayama's dismay, Furuhashi Akino did not notice at all, clearly immersed in her world of games. The only thing that would wake her from her stance would probably be the bell indicating the end of the schooling day.
Sena Nagayama could only shoot a glare at Furuhashi Akino before trailing after Endo Etomi to the other classrooms. She didn't bother to interfere. She knew that even if she did, Furuhashi Akino would resume being all over her phone after she turned her back.
Soon, after watching Class Two of the freshman year, they arrived at Class Three.
Class Three of the freshman year. Furuhashi Harunaka and Furuhashi Natsui were the only ones who were assigned in the same class.
After the encounter with Furuhashi Akino, Sena Nagayama did not hold high hopes for the two of them. With a glance, as expected, Furuhashi Natsui was holding her phone and attacking the screen at a higher frequency than Furuhashi Akino, giving away her action of chatting. And the most important part was that she even occasionally picked up her gel pen to carefully scribble something in her notebook. Anyhow, she was not paying attention in class.
Sena Nagayama sighed heavily and adjusted her gaze over to Furuhashi Harunaka. She jolted in surprise, but relief quickly took over her features. Furuhashi Harunaka was undoubtedly the big sister, though her results were not pleasant, she still led by example.
At this moment, Furuhashi Harunaka stared straight at the blackboard, a serious look on her face…
When the other students picked up their pens to make notes, her eyes remained fixated on the blackboard. When the other students flipped to the next page on their textbooks, she still continued staring…
Sena Nagayama finally realized that Furuhashi Harunaka, the head of the youngest generation of the Furuhashi household, was currently staring blankly at the board, without a focus point. It then hit her that she was zoning out, probably thinking of something, but anyhow she was not paying attention to class.
Sena Nagayama had completely lost hope. She did not need to observe Furuhashi Fuyuno's classroom to know that she was definitely not paying attention.
Hmm… Indeed, Sena Nagayama had not wrongly accused Furuhashi Fuyuno.
Furuhashi Fuyuno, a student of Class Four of the freshman year, was currently seated at her table, flipping through a food magazine. Her eyes were sparkling as she wondered what she should eat for her dinner tonight.
Learning, it was impossible to learn.