Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

At the same time, in the faculty and staff room.

The lunch break is a time for teachers to catch their breath.

Class A's homeroom teacher, Tomoya Majima, continued the conversation about the students in his deep voice.

"Ms. Chazhu, I was in charge of the fourth period English class for the first grade D class just now."

"I've heard enough reports about the appalling state of our class; they're just a bunch of guys who'll be doomed in a month anyway."

Chazhu's hands didn't stop typing on the keyboard; he answered in a flat, monotone voice.

Majima frowned slightly. From his perspective as a teacher, he could not condone such complete laissez-faire.

"This year's Class D seems to be even more chaotic than in previous years. But that student named Kaoru Hanayama is quite memorable."

Majima took a sip of coffee. His words were tinged with pure admiration as an educator.

"What? Are they talking about Class D? Majima-sensei actually praised him. Does Sae-chan's class have some incredible secret weapon?"

Suddenly, a voice interrupted from the side. It was Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher of Class B.

Chabashira cast a cold gaze at Hoshinomiya, who was trying to close the distance with her sweet voice.

"How naive, Hoshinomiya. Do you really think he's a top student? You should know his entrance exam scores, right?"

Chazhu's lips twisted in a sarcastic manner.

"An academic grade below E is utterly disastrous. They even failed basic calculations. That's a D class, nothing more than a hopeless collection of flawed individuals."

Hearing Chabashira's direct denial of others' words, Mashima let out a short sigh.

"Some things can't be measured by grades alone. It wouldn't be bad to trust students a little more."

"That's right, Majima-sensei is right! Sae-chan is always so cold-hearted—"

As Hoshinomiya spoke, she wrapped her arms around Chabashira's neck from behind, as if she wanted to press her face against hers.

However, behind that sweet tone, hidden in his pupils, was a cold and dark light.

"But if that flawed item suddenly started shining brightly and became something that could threaten Class A, Sae-chan would probably be super happy, right?"

The moment those words were spoken, Chashu's body tensed slightly.

However, she did not roughly shake off Hoshinomiya's arm, but simply stared at the screen quietly.

"Nonsense, get back to work, Star Palace."

......

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

Amidst the throngs of people heading towards the First Gymnasium, Huashan swayed his enormous body, which was more than a head taller than those around him.

Because of his intense aura, the surrounding students instinctively made way for him.

Right next to Huashan, there was a girl walking side by side at a certain distance; that was Horikita Suzune.

"...Let me make this clear first, so you don't misunderstand."

Even though no one asked, Horikita threw a sentence at Hanayama in a cold voice.

"I'm not going with you. I was planning to attend the club information session anyway, just to find out what are called the hidden rules of the school."

Looking at her sharply angled profile as she turned away, Huashan didn't stop walking, but simply cast his gaze over her.

Beneath the guise of intelligence gathering lies a subtle anxiety and tension.

Although she pretended to walk calmly, she was clearly being urged on by something.

(What a hypocrite!)

Huashan thought this to himself, but he didn't say it out loud to mock her.

Such shallow actions are not something someone at the pinnacle of power should do.

"Ah. I know."

He simply expressed his agreement in a brief and gruff voice.

Faced with such a mature and composed response, Horikita fell silent, as if her rhythm had been disrupted.

Passing through the gates of the First Gymnasium, one finds it already packed with first-year students and upperclassmen representing various clubs.

"Hey, how's the tennis club going!"

"I wonder if there are any cute seniors here?"

A cacophony of whispers filled the air. Inside the stadium, the noise was like that of a bustling marketplace.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Huashan stood quietly, like a deeply rooted tree, watching everything unfold.

Soon, a man walked onto the podium, and in that instant, the air became heavy.

The man standing on the stage neither held a microphone nor loudly ordered silence.

He simply stood there, looking down at the students with his sharp eyes.

That alone, the noise that had dominated the stadium vanished without a trace, as if the tide had receded.

"I am Horikita Manabu, the student council president."

The man's voice was not loud, but in that tense space, its calm echo reached every corner.

"That's really great."

Hua Shan crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath.

It's easy to pin someone down with your wrist strength.

However, the man completely controlled the air around this huge crowd simply by virtue of his aura.

(Even within the Hanayama Group, with a few years of honing his skills, he possesses the qualities to be a strategist or even a wakatoku.)

For a high school student, this is the highest praise Huashan could possibly give.

On stage, Horikita Manabu was calmly discussing club recruitment and the recruitment of student council officers.

Just then, at the edge of Huashan's field of vision, there was a slight movement.

Horikita Suzune, standing diagonally in front of her, was staring intently at the man on the podium who shared the same surname as her, Horikita.

Her fair hands gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, so hard that her knuckles turned white.

It was a tension, a kind of vulnerability, that was unimaginable in her usual calm and aloof demeanor.

(...Brother and sister? It seems their relationship is more than just a simple kinship.)

Huashan noticed it immediately.

It's not just about sharing the same surname; since they can expose their feelings to that extent, there must be something deep-rooted there that outsiders can't fathom.

"..."

But Huashan didn't say a word.

Everyone has a soft spot in their heart that they don't want to be trampled on by someone wearing shoes.

No one has the right to reveal what the other person doesn't want to talk about or the pain they're carrying; that's a matter for them to resolve themselves.

No matter how tragic or heartbreaking something may seem, no one should touch upon it unless the person involved speaks about it.

That is the chivalrous way that Kaoru Hanayama upheld, and it is also his sense of restraint.

Finally, Horikita Manabu's speech ended, and the presentation of various club activities began.

The tense atmosphere eased, and the students' energy returned to the gymnasium.

Perhaps the string broke from nervousness, Horikita Suzune let out a soft breath and quietly loosened her grip.

"So."

Huashan pretended not to notice at all, twisting his thick neck and making a "crackling" sound.

"Let me see which senior student is most likely to speak up."

He left Horikita Suzune behind and slowly walked towards the bustling group of club booths that had resumed their lively activity.