After finishing the special exam, the AN students boarded buses to return to campus. The seniors' bus was quiet and subdued, with most students silently sleeping.
In contrast, the first-years' bus was lively and bustling with energy—students were singing, cracking jokes, and thoroughly enjoying themselves, releasing the mental fatigue accumulated during the exam.
As the students left, the now-quiet AN campus soon came alive again with their return. Even the Mall, which had been closed for over a month due to a lack of customers, reopened its doors.
After a full day of unwinding and fun, the students returned to their classrooms the next day, only to be greeted with what they perceived as "terrible news." In Yukio's class, their homeroom teacher Sakagami announced something that made Ishizaki clutch his head and cry out in despair:
"No way! We have to take makeup classes? That's way too harsh!"
Sakagami gave Ishizaki a look as though he were a fool, sighed, and shook his head. "Ishizaki, why on earth would you naively think that you'd go straight into winter vacation?"
"The Workplace Special Exam took a month and a half, during which you fell behind in your second-semester coursework. Naturally, you need to catch up."
"The core purpose of AN is to train exceptional talent for society. And as exceptional talent, how could you skip fundamental coursework?"
"This is the school's arrangement: club activities will be reduced by an hour, and every afternoon will include an additional class. On top of that, there will be two evening makeup classes every day until the end of this semester."
"Nooo!" Ishizaki was utterly defeated. He had thought that after the Workplace Special Exam, he could enjoy the ultimate and carefree school life.
Instead, as soon as he returned, his homeroom teacher dropped the bombshell that the next month would be filled with grueling makeup classes. His spirits were crushed—after all, the higher the hopes, the greater the disappointment.
Still unwilling to give up, Ishizaki tried to plead with his teacher. "Sakagami-sensei, can't we, like, skip the evening classes? I've already planned to use the earnings from this special exam to buy a new game and stay up all night beating it!"
Sakagami maintained his ever-smiling demeanor and calmly responded to Ishizaki's unreasonable request: "Of course you can."
"Really?!" Ishizaki's face lit up. His disappointment instantly vanished, replaced with a goofy grin. "I knew it! No way the school could be so cruel and heartless. I was saying—"
But Ishizaki was clearly celebrating too soon. Sakagami hadn't even finished speaking before Ishizaki got carried away. Sakagami then cruelly delivered the rest of his statement: "The school doesn't care about your attendance at all."
"Whether you show up late, leave early, or skip class altogether, it's entirely up to you." As he said this, Sakagami pointed at the surveillance camera overhead. It wasn't just for show—it was a live, always-on monitoring system.
"Damn!" Ishizaki suddenly remembered that AN High really didn't bother to stop students from skipping class. However, any inattentiveness, tardiness, or absence would result in class points being deducted.
Sure, their class currently had 2,000 points, but even a little recklessness would cause those points to plummet. Didn't Class D experience this? They started the term with 1,000 points but squandered them all within a month.
With this in mind, Ishizaki no longer dared to skip class. Every single class point had been earned through Yukio's careful planning and the collective effort of everyone. If his actions caused all those points to vanish, not only would his classmates have complaints, but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
Thus, Ishizaki, who had been celebrating moments earlier, now slumped over his desk like all the strength had been drained from him by some unseen force. His dejected state drew hearty laughter from his classmates. Ishizaki was, as always, Ishizaki.
Amid the laughter, Ishizaki turned his head pitifully toward Yukio in the back of the classroom. "Yukio-san, can't you figure something out? No makeup classes?"
"?" Yukio gave Ishizaki an incredulous look, unable to stop his face from twitching. Did Ishizaki think he was some kind of miracle worker? The school arranging makeup classes was perfectly reasonable—what could he possibly do about it?
Besides, calling this "hellish makeup classes" was a stretch. To Yukio, it was just a perfectly normal schedule.
To put it simply, the high schools in Japan are way too relaxed—their schedules are practically a joke. Classes end around 3 or 4 PM, leaving the rest of the day for club activities.
Back home, no high school lets out before 6 PM, followed by evening study sessions. Of course, there are some areas where schools finish slightly earlier, around 4:30 PM, with evening study starting at 6:30 PM, and some that end later, around 8 PM.
In any case, the class hours are much longer than here in Japan. As a result, Yukio couldn't exactly empathize with Ishizaki's complaints. Instead, he simply offered a suggestion: "If it's too much for you, just take a leave of absence."
AN High may be strict, but it's not devoid of humane management. If a student genuinely falls ill, it's unreasonable to force them to attend. So, taking a day or two off with a valid reason is perfectly acceptable.
"Oh, right! That's an option!" Ishizaki lit up at Yukio's words, as if they had enlightened him more than ten years of studying. The strength drained from his body seemed to return as he shot his hand up high. "Sakagami-sensei, I'm sick!"
But then Ishizaki realized that calling in sick didn't exactly work like that. Keeping his hand raised, he remained slumped over his desk, moaning theatrically. "Oh no, my head hurts so much! My stomach aches terribly! Ahhh!"
"Hahaha!" The entire class burst into laughter. Ishizaki's antics had everyone doubling over. One boy in the back row laughed so hard he tipped over, chair and all, sparking another wave of roaring laughter.
"Ugh." Sakagami's expression grew increasingly wrinkled, the furrow between his brows deepening into a "川." But years of teaching had prepared him for such tricks.
Ishizaki's little stunt was no challenge for him. "Oh? Is that so? Well, Ishizaki, you look quite healthy to me—your complexion is rosy, and I don't see any signs of illness."
"How about this? Yukio, Ryuuen, Albert, Komiya, or Nomura—any of you will do. Drag Ishizaki outside and give him a good beating until his face is bruised and swollen. Then I can approve his leave of absence as 'accidentally injured.'"
"!" Upon hearing this, Ishizaki jolted as if struck by lightning. His reaction was identical to the sensation of dreaming that you're falling off a cliff—his whole body trembled as he "woke up."
What kind of joke was this? Taking leave required getting beaten up first? And there was even a chance Yukio himself might be the one doing the beating? That was unthinkable!
Bang!
Ishizaki slammed his raised hand down onto his desk with a loud crash, drawing everyone's attention as the entire class stopped laughing and turned to look at him. They thought Ishizaki was about to explode.
Even Sakagami stiffened in surprise. What's going on? Did Ishizaki suddenly develop such a big temper that he dared to challenge the teacher by slamming his desk, especially without Yukio's approval? This wasn't a good sign at all.
But to everyone's shock, in the next second, Ishizaki raised both arms and struck a classic bodybuilder pose, flexing his biceps. "Sakagami-sensei, listen! Was that loud enough? Doesn't it prove I'm in great health?"
"Look at me! Am I not super strong? I'm not bragging, but I'm as fit as can be! I eat well, sleep well, and absolutely don't need any sick leave!"
"Looking good, Ishizaki!"
"You're killing me with laughter!"
"Hahaha, oh no, I can't stop laughing—my stomach hurts!" Ishizaki's sudden shift from defiance to self-mockery sent the entire class into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
The booming laughter filled the room, and even Sakagami couldn't help but smack his forehead with his palm. How did I let myself get swept into this nonsense? He had actually believed for a moment that Ishizaki was about to challenge him.
Note to self: never argue with a blockhead again. It's too easy to be dragged down to their level and then defeated by their superior experience in blockhead tactics…