COTE : Oh No, I've Become the Substitute

In the afternoon, the melodious chime of the Big Ben bell slowly reverberated through the entire teaching building, penetrating the walls and leaving lingering echoes in the empty corridors.

The original class period had been replaced with a two-hour homeroom session.

About two minutes after the bell rang, Mashima Tomonari's figure appeared punctually outside the classroom door. A folder in hand and a poster tucked under his arm, his steady footsteps produced solid, measured taps against the floor. As always, he was dressed in a crisp, perfectly pressed suit.

"Everyone, a new semester begins."

The folder in his hand landed on the desk with a sharp clap. Mashima swept his gaze across the entire class, his eyes pausing for a brief moment on a certain daydreaming figure in the lower left corner of the classroom before continuing with an unchanged expression.

"First, as your homeroom teacher, I am very pleased that you maintained your position as Class A through last semester's exams. For this, I offer my heartfelt admiration for the outstanding results and formidable execution you demonstrated in both special exams."

As his words fell, a few rather embarrassed responses sounded sporadically from various corners of the classroom.

"Oh, no, no—it was all thanks to Fuyuji-kun."

"Katsuragi-kun put in tremendous effort as well."

"We're not that good, really."

...

No one had expected that Mashima, usually as rigid and humorless as a robot, would offer Class A such unsparing praise.

"No, the results you've achieved these past few times are there for all to see." Mashima inclined his head slightly, his tone as flat as ever. "This is indeed worthy of praise. It is the fruit of your hard work last semester. As your homeroom teacher, I will not deny that."

"However—"

Suddenly, Mashima's voice dropped sharply. His tone pivoted as he addressed the entire class with added gravity:

"While victory in one stage is certainly cause for joy, it is far more important to review and summarize what came before, and to identify your own shortcomings. Only then can you face the increasingly fierce class competition that lies ahead."

Fuyuji Mikage, seated at his desk with his cheek propped against his hand: "..."

He knew this sadistic instructor would pull something like this. Every single time, right at this moment, he'd jump in and deliver a cutting blow, warning the Class A students against arrogance and complacency.

Poke... poke... poke...

A familiar sensation came from behind him. After a few more pokes, a deliberately lowered voice followed.

"Boyfriend-kun, how exactly did Mashima Tomonari get hired as Class A's homeroom teacher? He's been using the same spiel for an entire semester without even updating it. Could it be that this model of robot has already been discontinued?"

Tilting his chair back slightly, Fuyuji didn't turn his head. He continued facing Mashima and replied in a hollow, drifting tone, "Has it ever occurred to you... that this sadistic robot teacher is already the one who most resembles an actual homeroom teacher out of all four classes?" This was a conclusion he had reached after a full semester of observation.

"Otherwise, overfill leads to overflow. One misstep, and the class will plunge into the abyss, fracturing and falling apart." Mashima continued.

Yes, yes, Mashima-sensei. Please, by all means, don't stop. Keep jinxing us.

Casting a satisfied glance at the majority of the students—who had now straightened their postures, reined in their smiles, and were quietly seated and listening—Mashima gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"That's enough for brief admonitions. Next, I will announce the rules for this year's Advanced Nurturing High School Sports Festival. I'm sure, given your capabilities, you've more or less gathered some related information already. Since it involves the increase and decrease of class points, there's no harm in treating it as a special exam."

Yes, the Sports Festival was actually an annual fixture at Advanced Nurturing High School. In other words, students from other classes could seek out upperclassmen ahead of time to gather relevant intelligence, which would likewise allow them to learn about the Sports Festival.

With that, Mashima efficiently opened the folder he had brought with him and pulled out a thick stack of documents. While the students in the front rows passed the materials backward, he began his explanation.

"After today's homeroom session ends, the second semester's classes will officially commence. Moreover, from tomorrow until the opening of the Sports Festival, additional physical education classes will be added to the schedule in order to give students adequate preparation time."

Before long, the materials had been passed from the front rows into Fuyuji's hands. He quickly scanned the two types of documents—one was the new semester's class schedule, and the other was the detailed rules for the Sports Festival. He casually handed the remaining copies back to Morishita Ai behind him.

In response, Morishita first poked her head forward curiously to glance at the densely packed fine print covering the stack of papers, then looked at the copy already in Fuyuji's hand. She instantly decided the latter was far more pleasing to the eye.

After firmly declaring her refusal, she stretched out both hands and yanked Fuyuji—who had been just about to lower his head and read—back toward her. Her head settled against his shoulder, a few strands of her hair brushing against his neck.

"Boyfriend-kun, your copy looks better."

"..." Fuyuji rolled his eyes and raised the document slightly to a position easier for Morishita to read. With a tone of mild exasperation, he said, "Everything of mine is just better, isn't it?"

"Correct." Morishita nodded as if stating a fundamental truth of the universe. "Whatever belongs to boyfriend-kun is better than everything else."

Once every student in the class had a copy of the materials in hand, Mashima cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Although I personally believe there is not a single student in this class who would be incapable of understanding these rules, just in case, I think it best to briefly go over them."

With that, he unfurled the poster he had brought and pasted it onto the blackboard.

"To put it simply, this Sports Festival will divide the entire grade into two groups—Red and White. The two groups will compete directly against each other. The two classes belonging to the losing group will each have 100 class points deducted."

Oh, oh, naruhodo. That is indeed simple and easy to understand.

The Class A students held their materials, expressions of comprehension surfacing on their faces.

Two against two competition. We'll cooperate with another class. The losing side will have class points deducted...

Wait!

The Class A students seemed to have discovered a blind spot.

In an instant, the entire Class A fell into a deathly silence. Like robots, they mechanically lowered their heads and stared at the documents in their hands with utter disbelief.

Hashimoto Masayoshi's face twisted into a mask of agony. "In other words..."

"The class we're cooperating with is..." Even Kito Hayato, usually so reticent, couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Yes." Mashima nodded, confirming it with absolute composure. "Considering the need for two-against-two competition, the two classes with the highest class points will naturally be split apart. Your cooperation partner this time is, without question..." He paused for a moment, then stated without joy or sorrow:

"Class D."

The deathly silence lasted less than half a second.

"EHHHHHH—!!"

Immediately after—as if some switch had been flipped—a shriek mixing agony, disbelief, absurdity, and even a trace of sheer horror exploded from the Class A classroom like a tsunami, startling two blackbirds that had been nesting in the trees outside into flight...

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