Everyone fell silent, unsure what to say. Hayama Hayato, at a loss for how to liven up the atmosphere, looked awkwardly at Gongcheng Yuandu, who was staring out the window with an expressionless face.
As the sunlight streamed across his face, Gongcheng let out a sigh for reasons unknown.
Just then, the lunch break ended, and Teacher Hiratsuka walked in carrying a stack of test papers. Seeing the heavy, oppressive atmosphere hanging over the students, she simply tapped the blackboard to signal everyone to return to their seats. Juggler also slipped back into the classroom right at the bell.
"We are going to have a pop quiz this period. Hayama, Miura, come up and hand out the test papers."
After handing the papers to the two of them, Teacher Hiratsuka sat at her desk and watched as the students took their papers and began answering the questions.
...
After handing in his test paper, Gongcheng Yuandu got up and left the classroom, though this time Juggler remained behind.
Juggler was deep in thought, wondering how on earth he had ended up in this world.
Yet he drew a complete blank.
Touching the Dark Zagi Spark hidden inside his jacket, he exchanged a few brief words with someone who had come over to chat, then closed his eyes and waited for class to begin.
Meanwhile, Gongcheng Yuandu wandered aimlessly across the school playground. Reliving that past event had filled him with a deep, crushing sorrow, but thanks to the high school knowledge provided by the System, he had managed to finish the test quickly and with very few mistakes.
"Ah?"
Feeling as though he had bumped into something, he hastily raised his head to find a boy with bright hair and a fierce glare staring straight down at him.
He shivered involuntarily, immediately bowing from the waist. "I'm sorry!"
The boy shook his head. "It's fine. Is something on your mind?"
Tilted his head, Gongcheng looked at the boy in confusion, having failed to catch what he said.
He pulled out a notebook he hadn't used in three days, jotted something down with a pen, and handed it to the boy.
*"Sorry, I'm deaf. Could you please speak a bit slower?"*
After a long silence, a trace of sympathy flickered in the boy's fierce eyes. Catching that look of pity, Gongcheng felt a wave of irritation.
The boy spoke slowly then. "My name is Shirogane Giyuki. Classmate, does something seem to be bothering you?"
Stammering for a moment, Gongcheng replied, "Shirogane-kun... thank you for your concern... I'm just not feeling well..."
"Well, would you like me to take you to the nurse's office?"
"No need... and I'm sorry about earlier..."
Apologizing once more, he walked back toward the classroom by himself.
Shirogane Giyuki shook his head as he watched the other boy's retreating figure, then turned and left.
Class was about to start.
During the second period, he stared blankly at the blackboard just like usual.
As soon as class ended, Teacher Hiratsuka appeared at the classroom door, leaning against the doorframe as she called out several names to follow her to the office.
"Juggler, Hikigaya Hachiman, Gongcheng Yuandu. The three of you, come with me to the office." With that, she turned and walked away.
Juggler let out an annoyed click of his tongue and patted Yuandu's shoulder to signal him to follow. The three of them walked side by side down the corridor.
Their contrasting temperaments and striking good looks caused quite a commotion, though none of the three paid it any mind.
Upon reaching the office, the three stood before Teacher Hiratsuka, looking down at her.
Seated at her desk, Teacher Hiratsuka pulled out each of their Chinese test essays.
"Hikigaya, tell me what the essay topic was this time," the aging bachelorette demanded, glaring menacingly at the three of them.
"The theme and topic were 'Looking Back on High School Life,'" Hikigaya muttered, casting his deadpan eyes elsewhere.
"Then why on earth did you write such a pathetic piece of garbage for me?!" She slammed a hand down on the desk, startling the other teachers in the room. Realizing what she had done, Teacher Hiratsuka quickly apologized to her colleagues.
The other teachers mumbled that it was nothing, then hurriedly gathered their lesson plans and fled the office as if running for their lives.
"And the two of you..." She turned her gaze to the remaining pair.
"Juggler... why did you hand in a blank sheet of paper?!" Teacher Hiratsuka gripped Juggler's essay sheet tightly, veins bulging on her forehead.
Gongcheng Yuandu silently gave Juggler a thumbs-up. Excellent; he had perfectly demonstrated how an alien has no use for youth.
He had simply handed in a blank page, figuring he wouldn't be able to write anything meaningful anyway.
"And Gongcheng, don't you think you're getting off easy!"
She slammed Yuandu's essay onto the desk with a sharp smack.
"What is the meaning of this 'Declaration of Independence' you wrote?!"
The "Declaration of Independence" was his attempt to isolate himself from the collective and alienate the entire class, though mostly he had just written it for fun.
Teacher Hiratsuka, however, saw it differently.
Hikigaya Hachiman and Juggler instantly whipped their heads around to stare at Gongcheng, their faces plastered with shock.
Gongcheng awkwardly covered his face.
"Sigh... you three..."
"I... I properly looked back on my high school life. Isn't this what everyone's doing lately?"
Hikigaya had originally wanted to say *we*, but the moment he remembered Juggler's blank paper, he silently swallowed the rest of the word.
"Don't try to sophist your way out of this, you brat!"
Throwing a punch right past Hikigaya's ear, Teacher Hiratsuka finally reached her breaking point.
What kind of problem children were these three?
"We'll rewrite them," Gongcheng hastily offered.
With a sigh, Teacher Hiratsuka said helplessly, "You three, come with me for a moment."
...
Gazing at the sign on the door that read "Service Club," the three of them cast strange looks at Teacher Hiratsuka.
"Teacher, just asking out of curiosity, is this club legitimate?" Juggler asked coldly after a long silence.
Mostly because... any normal person looking at that name would inevitably let their mind wander into the gutter, right?
"You'll find out in a moment." She apparently had no intention of answering directly.
Pushing open the classroom door, Teacher Hiratsuka led the three inside.
The spacious classroom was empty, the windows thrown wide open with the breeze making the curtains dance. In one corner, desks, chairs, wooden boards, and various odds and ends were neatly piled. A girl sat in a chair facing the sunlight, her back turned to the four of them.
She sat with her head lowered, reading a book in her hands.
Gongcheng looked around the classroom, Juggler gazed calmly at the girl, and Hikigaya finally stopped rolling his DNA-laden deadpan eyes, fixing his gaze on the girl's back instead.
Sensing their presence, the girl turned her head to lock eyes with the four of them.
"Teacher Hiratsuka."
"I believe I've asked you to knock before entering, haven't I?"
The cold, detached voice rang in their ears, leaving Juggler and the others with quite different impressions of the girl.
"Even if I had knocked, you had no intention of answering, did you?" Teacher Hiratsuka crossed her arms, staring straight at Yukinoshita Yukino bathed in the sunlight.
"That's because Teacher wouldn't have waited for my reply anyway."
She had absolutely no intention of giving the teacher any face.
That was what Gongcheng was thinking.
"Who are those three creeps over there?" The girl abruptly shifted the topic, turning her sights onto the three standing behind Teacher Hiratsuka.
Cre... creeps?
Instantly, all three suffered varying degrees of emotional damage.
What a venomous tongue!
Gongcheng's assessment of the girl shifted once more; not only was she disrespectful to teachers, but she was entirely lacking in friendliness.
Juggler, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized her with an unfriendly gaze.
After all... under normal circumstances, Juggler was graceful, dashing, and possessed the manners of a gentleman.
Even if he had only enrolled at the school today...
Still, a good many students held an unexpectedly favorable opinion of him.
Hikigaya frowned as he stared at Yukinoshita.
"The three of them want to apply to join the club," Teacher Hiratsuka replied calmly, gesturing toward the trio.
"No, Gongcheng Yuandu and I already belong to a club!"
Juggler began refuting Teacher Hiratsuka's outrageous claim.
?
Gongcheng looked at Juggler in utter confusion.
He had only enrolled today—when on earth had he joined a club?
The boy who had spoken offered no explanation to him, wearing instead an expression that clearly said, *"Just follow my lead."*
Frowning, Teacher Hiratsuka said coldly, "Lying is not a good habit, Juggler-kun."
Without a word of reply, the boy reached into his trouser pocket, pulled out a folded sheet of paper, unfolded it, and handed it to Teacher Hiratsuka.
Curious, Gongcheng Yuandu and Hikigaya Hachiman leaned in closer.
At the top of the paper were clearly written six bold characters: *Club Establishment Application*.
And the name listed as the founder... was none of other than Gongcheng Yuandu!
???
Huh?
Yuandu stared blankly at Juggler.
Was he actually serious?!
"The Armory Club..."
Teacher Hiratsuka's face darkened as she read the club's name.
Why didn't you just establish a military arsenal?!