Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

Standing before the heavy wooden door, Kaoru Hanayama calmly knocked twice.

"Please come in."

A calm, adult voice came from inside.

Huashan turned the doorknob and stepped inside, where there was a spacious chairman's office.

The high-quality furniture was arranged in an orderly manner. Behind the mahogany desk at the back of the room, the man standing at the pinnacle of this advanced education high school—Chairman Sakayanagi Shigemori—was waiting with a smile on his face.

He pushed the documents in his hand aside as if he had known Huashan would come.

"If I remember correctly, you're Kaoru Hanayama from Class 1-C. It's not very polite to talk standing up, so please sit on that sofa over there. Would you like me to make you a cup of black tea?"

"No, don't bother. I don't plan to stay long."

Instead of sitting on the recommended sofa, Huashan stood in front of the desk, looking directly into Cheng Shou's eyes.

Beneath that politeness lay an unyielding, rock-like stance that allowed no compromise.

"I'll get straight to the point. I'm here to get permission to leave campus in three days."

Sakayanagi Shigemori's expression showed not a trace of surprise at these words.

He placed his hands on the desk, maintaining a gentle expression as he slowly began to speak.

"Three days from now...that should be your mother's birthday, right?"

Hua Shan's eyebrows twitched slightly.

This man already knows everything about my personal life; that fact is right in front of me.

"As an educator, I have the utmost respect for your filial piety in cherishing your mother. It's rare to see a student your age who values ​​their mother's birthday so much."

Sakayanagi Shigemori paused there, lowering his voice slightly.

"However, as you probably know, this Advanced Educational High School is a special facility with extremely restricted contact with the outside world. In principle, it is not allowed to go out just to celebrate a family member's birthday."

However, Huashan showed no sign of backing down.

"...I'm going no matter what."

It was a subtle yet absolutely powerful declaration.

The voice wasn't raised, but the instant the words were uttered, the air in the room felt tense under an invisible pressure.

Sakayanagi Shigemori's forehead was slightly damp with cold sweat.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, an extraordinary turmoil was churning within him.

(Anyway...)

The highly confidential background information he had reviewed before enrolling in Hanayama flashed vividly into Sakayanagi's mind.

Kaoru Hanayama. At the tender age of 15, he became the second leader of the Hanayama-gumi, one of Japan's most prominent yakuza groups.

But it wasn't just the title that terrified him.

(...I heard that there were times when his mother celebrated her birthday before. I remember what he did then.)

Huashan was imprisoned in a juvenile prison at the time for resisting hostile organizations.

Just to deliver flowers to his mother on her birthday, he tore through the thick iron bars with his bare hands, single-handedly crushed the armed prison guards from the front, and physically dismantled the prison's defenses to get outside.

(...I simply don't think that this highly sophisticated electronic lock and state-of-the-art security system can be more robust than the thick walls of that national prison.)

If you were to forcefully refuse here and say absolutely not, Huashan would undoubtedly bend the gate of the school with his bare hands, send all the guards to the hospital, and then walk out leisurely.

That would damage the school's reputation and make the news as a riot involving the police.

This is a situation that the person in charge of school operations absolutely must avoid.

Furthermore, Kaoru Hanayama was not on the enrollment list from the beginning.

After all, even if this school advocates a model that simulates the operation of society, it would not actually send an invitation to a real yakuza leader.

The one who arranged for him to enroll was none other than the absolute ruler of the place where the light could not reach.

Engaging in pointless hostility with Kaoru Hanayama here would be entirely detrimental, both politically and physically.

Sakayanagi Shigemori lowered his gaze for only a few seconds before raising his face and letting out a soft laugh.

That smile was meant to ease the tension in the air.

"Hahaha... Oh dear, looking into your straightforward eyes, I feel like it would be incredibly stupid to say anything more polite."

He opened his desk drawer and took out a blank pass.

"I'll treat this as a special case within a special case and handle it for you. After all, as the leader of the Hanayama Group, I couldn't possibly do something so insensitive and barbaric."

However, the negotiations did not end there.

"Perhaps 'in exchange' is a bit inappropriate... May I make a presumptuous request?"

Huashan urged him to continue with his silence.

"Hanayama-kun. There must be a powerful figure behind your enrollment in this school, right? ...Lord Tokugawa Mitsunari, a man who holds the highest positions in the political and business worlds and even wields influence that surpasses the power of the state."

Sakayanagi's words made the air in the room tense again.

"This advanced high school may seem prestigious to the world, but in reality, it is just one of dozens of government-led educational experimental projects. In terms of obtaining funding and the future survival of the school, we are always under the scrutiny of national political evaluation."

Sakayanagi crossed his hands on the desk, his eyes filled with ambition as he looked at Hanayama.

"If... if possible, in front of Lord Tokugawa, who has a much stronger voice than the Prime Minister of Japan, could you say a few good words about this Advanced Nurturing High School? Tell me how meaningful the experience you gained here was."

This is definitely not content that should be asked of a high school student.

However, since the man in front of them is a top figure in the underworld who can rival national-level monsters, this is already a perfectly reasonable suggestion of equivalent exchange.

"...I don't have that kind of close relationship with that old man Tokugawa."

Huashan folded the pass in half and casually stuffed it into his pants pocket.

"However, since you've said it's your request, I'll still pass on those words for you."

"Thank you very much. Please give my regards to your mother. I wish you a pleasant time on this auspicious day in three days."

Seeing Sakayanagi Shigemori bow his head deeply, Hanayama also gave a brief bow and left the chairman's office.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, and the room returned to complete silence, Sakayanagi Narumori leaned back in his chair and finally let out a long, relieved sigh.