Real teaching, hypocritical gray life

After asking her the reason, I heard this from her.

It's really hard for a literary girl who is not good at talking to stay in Class C where most of the students are militant. It might be a good choice to let her come to Class A.

After a conversation, we gradually became familiar with each other.

She recommended me quite a few mystery novels, such as those by Cornell Woolridge, Ellery Queen, Lawrence Block, and Isaac Asimov.

After reading many design techniques, she recommended to me the book "The Devotion of Suspect X" by Keigo Higashino.

"It seems that the ending and the unveiling of the mystery are quite appealing to Shiina."

"It's very exciting, isn't it? But what interests me most is the conversation between Ishigami and Yukawa by the river."

“Well, I was also quite impressed by that.”

[You and I cannot escape the constraints of the clock. We have become the gears of the clock of "society". Once a gear is missing, the clock will go wrong. Even if we want to act according to our own will, the surroundings will not allow us to do so. Although we have gained stability, it is an indisputable fact that we have lost our freedom. Among the vagrants, there must be many who do not want to return to their original lives.]

[There are no useless gears in this world. Only the gears themselves can determine their own use.]

This conversation left a very deep impression on me in the book, and it is also something I keep trying to understand.

Although it is used as a code word in the book, the thought it brings up from another perspective is no less than the reason why absolute rationality is fragile in the face of love.

What kind of gear am I, what kind of society constrains me, and what role do I play?

Give up freedom for the sake of freedom.

These are conclusions that I cannot easily come to at the moment.

The [Clock] that I had always been firm with was undoubtedly in [chaos].

"If this book left a deep impression on you, I highly recommend Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The story of lynching and revenge under the imperfect rule of law, and the many contradictions between human justice and legal disputes are also excellent."

Shiina recommended books to me as usual and quickly pulled out the corresponding books from the bookshelf.

Although I really wanted to admire her precise control of the location of the books, this time her understanding of the facts was deviated from mine.

There is nothing we can do about this. After all, few people would easily experience the split that I am facing now.

"I'm sorry. Although I would like to continue borrowing books, I can't spare the time in the short term."

Shiina looked confused at what I said, but she soon understood.

"Come to think of it, I rarely see Luo-kun coming to the library after school. Is it because of this final exam that you have decided to review for a month?"

Shiina seems to spend her spare time in the library. Every time I come here, I can basically see her. But as she said, I only show up on my days off.

"Rather than being determined, should we say we had no choice?..."

I scratched my cheek and told the truth aloud with some embarrassment.

“What on earth is…?”

"Because my academic performance was not outstanding, I was forced to take tutoring."

"Eh, is that really the case? Luo Jun probably just didn't work hard enough. I think students who like mystery novels generally don't have bad grades."

"I'm sorry, it seems that I have brought shame to the group of people who like mystery novels............"

"No, Luo Jun left a very good impression on me. At least I didn't think he was bad."

"But the fact is that the results are like that, and I am also troubled by it."

"Then I can only cheer you on."

A slightly cute expression appeared on Shiina's cold face. Should we say that his confidence has increased? In any case, he has some motivation for the next study session.

"Speaking of which, does Shiina usually stay in the library after school?"

"Well, not every day. I come back five or six times a week."

This can be said to be every day............

"Besides, today's situation is a little special, just like Luo Jun."

"Did Class C also hold a study session......?"

"Yes. To be honest, the students in this class are not good at studying. This special exam is also a test of academic ability. If you don't make up your mind to study, you may fail miserably in the end."

"I see. Everyone seems to be working surprisingly hard... Shiina should be the one who teaches, right?"

"Yes, I was asked by several girls in the class."

At this point, Shiina's expression became a little troubled.

Maybe he realized that he was not very good at handling this matter.

But she quickly straightened her expression, and the atmosphere softened again.

"However, since there is a study session, am I disturbing Luo Jun?"

"Shouldn't............"

After Shiina said this, I suddenly felt that I was being stared at by another pair of eyes.

I turned my head to look in the direction where the class had decided to hold the study session, and Ichinose was looking at me curiously with her hands on her hips.

"Well, maybe... excuse me..."

"......"

Chapter 194: Temptation Valley

"That's... Ichinose-san, right? I heard that you two have a very good relationship."

Shiina followed my gaze, but because her hanging hair slightly blocked her view, she reached out and tucked it behind her ear.

"Well, should I say hello to her?"

"No, no need to specially............"

Before he could finish his words, Ichinose took the initiative to wave over here.

"............I'm a little troubled."

"So don't force it............"

Once again, Shiina was unable to finish her words and was not good at interacting with others. She smiled gently and waved her little hand in response to Ichinose's greeting.

"Lord Luo, what were you going to say just now?"

"No, nothing.............I'm sorry, I seem to have been [missing] for a while, and the students in the class have started looking for me."

"Well, it looks like that's all we can do for today. I should almost go back."

"Excuse me."

"See you next time, Luo Jun."

Shiina said goodbye to me with a hint of regret, but I simply nodded and turned away.

The feeling was right, as Ichinose's eyes remained on me throughout the return trip.

Because the location we chose was in the corner of the first-year student area, which inexplicably matched the line of the bookshelf where books were returned, I had no way to go around it and could only move forward under the pressure. The feeling of oppression gradually faded away until I arrived in front of Ichinose.

"I'm back............"

I greeted everyone as if nothing had happened, but the effect was not as good as expected, or rather there was no change at all.

"Welcome back. Okabe-san just told me that Luo-kun went to process the book return procedure... Has the matter been handled?"

"Well, it has been processed......"

I subconsciously glanced at where Okabe was, and he gave me a look before lowering his head and immersing himself in the sea of ​​liberal arts questions.

Take care of yourself............do you mean?

Is the current situation worse than we imagined?

However, I am not going to judge whether my current situation is dangerous or not. The most important thing at the moment is to find a topic to distract attention, which requires a little attention.

If the execution goes well, subsequent development will also become easy.

I looked around at everyone present. The boys who were attending the study session arrived with me, and the girls also followed Ichinose to confirm their presence. The rest............

In short, care about each other first.

"When did Ichinose arrive?"

"Hmm, it was probably when Luo Jun and that kid just started chatting."

That is to say, shortly after completing the book return procedures, the girls arrived at the library.

It’s really fast.

"Isn't Himeno with Ichinose?"

"Xiaoxue was delayed due to something, but she should be here soon."

"I see... the students from Class D haven't come yet?"

"Who knows."

Ichinose glanced nonchalantly at the entrance of the library, then tucked her hanging hair behind her ears. Perhaps because the atmosphere in the library was rather stuffy, her ears looked a little red.

"......"

Do you feel like Ichinose's way of speaking is a little naughty today?

I thought the conversation would end here, but when I was about to return to my messenger bag, Ichinose asked something I was trying to avoid.

"I remember that the kid who just talked to Luo Jun was a student in Class C, right?"

The topic change failed......

"Well, Ichinose, do you remember that Kaneda-san mentioned to us earlier about another student in Class C who has strong learning ability?"

"............the special test for survival on an uninhabited island?"

I nodded.

"Shiina is the one Kaneda-san was talking about. Shiina Hiyori."

"Uhuhuhu, [Shiina] ah............"

Ichinose recalled the previous information and looked up at me with a smile.

"Raku-kun and Shiina-san seem to have a good relationship?"

"I just happened to meet a fellow book lover who is also interested in mystery novels in the library...does it look like we have a good relationship?"

"Yes, because when you two were chatting just now, the other person was laughing happily. Was he talking about some interesting topic?"

"We were just discussing a character in a book. It's not an interesting topic. As for being happy... it's probably because the other person really likes mystery novels."

My current impression of Shiina is limited to the previous exchanges in the library. I still have no idea what kind of student she is, or what position she holds in Class C.

Having said that, our current relationship is quite twisted.

No one mentioned the differences in their class. They just communicated as "mystery novel fans", and the topic of discussion was limited to the plot related to the mystery novels.

"Hmm, I see. So when did you first meet?"

"When did you meet? Is this a question that needs to be answered?"

"Did you forget?"

"To be honest, I can't quite remember, but we met on a weekend around the sports festival... probably. Is that important?"

"No, I was just asking casually. Although not every student in Class C is like Ryuen-san, Luo-kun had better be careful."

I nodded and agreed to Ichinose's request.

"I have been paying attention to this even without Ichinose reminding me, but Shiina doesn't seem like a student who would be ordered around by Ryuen-san. She also doesn't seem to be wary of me because I am a student from another class."

The communication with Shiina is probably what a normal high school student should have.

"Yes, that's right... However, if you are harassed by students from Class C, please tell me immediately."

Only then did I see the usual hint of worry on Ichinose's face. I guess she was genuinely worried that I would fall into a trap that I couldn't escape.

This is inevitable.

"I see... If it weren't for the class competition system in this school, we two might become good friends."

I made the usual high school student sigh.