"Nozaki—, we're thinking of heading over to kill Koro-sensei now. Care to join us?"
"Come on, I'll buy you those crunchy Umaibo snacks you like in exchange."
"... Fine. I don't mind."
These days, I had grown accustomed to hearing phrases like "going for a quick kill" as if they were everyday errands. Thus, at Isogai and Maehara's invitation, we headed toward our teacher. He was currently behind the school building, using ice to cool the afternoon air while making frozen treats.
"Oh, is Nozaki joining too?"
"That's rare."
The rest of the class hid in the nearby woods, holding their breath.
Isogai, Maehara, Nagisa, Sugino, Sugaya, Kimura, Okajima, Kayano, Kataoka, Okano, Yada, and Kurahashi. The elite group most enthusiastic about assassination had gathered here.
"This guy has high physical capabilities, so having him along increases our success rate. That's why I brought him,"
Isogai explained.
"I only came because Maehara promised to buy me Umaibo."
"You were bought for a snack?!"
"The cheese and salami flavors are irresistible, aren't they?"
"Well, that's true."
Our conversation was dry and practical. No "bonds of friendship" existed between us, only a shared desire to interact as comrades on a single mission.
We had no intention of understanding one another deeply; we exchanged words only because necessity demanded it.
I convinced myself of this before the conversation could veer off track, then turned to the main issue.
"Where's the target?"
"Koro-sensei is right there. He says he's making kakigori using ice he brought from the North Pole."
"That octopus... he visits the North Pole like he's going to a convenience store."
"Wait, is North Pole ice even edible? Could there be ancient polar bacteria or unknown viruses frozen in there?"
"Enough side-talk for now... let's go. We'll split the ten billion reward among everyone!"
"Right!"
As everyone nodded to Isogai's signal, they burst from the bushes. I followed behind.
By the way, no one had actually told me the plan. How was I supposed to move?
"Koro-sensei! Let us have some of that shaved ice with you!"
"Koro-sensei!"
"Ahahahaha!"
Were they serious? Was this really the plan? I was stunned by the sight of my classmates rushing forward with beaming smiles and friendly voices while clutching knives for the kill.
It was truly terrifying. They feigned affection and closeness, only to plunge knives into him once they drew near. Truly, the most dangerous things in this world are not ghosts or unknown monsters, but living human beings.
"Oh! My students have finally opened their hearts to me...! With such bright smiles... and such terrifying killing intent?!"
Poor Koro-sensei. His happy tone suddenly shifted into something closer to a scream as he fled instantly.
Since several students had surrounded him from behind and left no exit in front, I predicted he would head for the sky. I aimed my knife and threw it upward.
"Doyah?! Wait, Nozaki-kun! Throwing things at people is dangerous! What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?!"
"Unfortunately for you, I don't recall receiving any upbringing from my parents at all!"
As expected, he dodged it easily. I readied my airgun.
I tried to track his movement, but it was impossible to clearly see a monster moving at the speed of sound.
"Nurufufufu. Naive, so very naive, Nozaki-kun. The knife throw was good, but you hesitate too much between aiming and firing."
I heard a voice from behind and felt something strange in my hand. When I looked down, the airgun was gone. Instead, I was holding a tulip—one of the flowers we had planted in the school beds earlier that spring.
"The rest of you, too. Your smiles are completely unnatural. Put aside these dangerous knives intended to kill me and contemplate these flowers first. Learn what a sincere smile looks like."
Koro-sensei dropped everyone's anti-sensei knives, now wrapped in a white handkerchief, from between his tentacles.
"Here you go, Nozaki-kun."
"Oh, thanks."
He handed me my airgun. Was this gesture born from a concern that the gun might break if it fell?
Is it normal to return a lethal weapon to your opponent? I would never do such a thing. And since it was just an airgun, he didn't need to handle it with his bare hands; what if it had been coated with anti-sensei material?
As I pondered this, Kataoka—the class representative who matched Isogai in status—noticed the truth about the tulips in our hands.
"... Hm? Wait, Koro-sensei! Aren't these the tulips we all planted and cared for in the flower bed?!"
"Nyua?! I-Is that so?!"
Kataoka exploded with rage while Koro-sensei grew flustered. To pressure him further, the girls began to fake-cry.
"How cruel... Koro-sensei. We all cared for them so patiently until they finally bloomed...!"
Yada's performance was perfect. If I were the teacher, I might have suffered a mental breakdown and dropped to my knees in apology immediately.
I learned a new lesson today: never trust girls. It is incredibly difficult to distinguish their sincere tears from the staged ones.
"I am so sorry! I'll go buy new bulbs... immediately!"
But Koro-sensei, as usual, tried to rectify the situation at lightning speed—or perhaps he was just filling the hole he had dug himself. Seeing Yada and the others crying, he dashed off, apologized, and returned with a heap of flower bulbs cradled in his tentacles.
Yet the most surprising part wasn't Koro-sensei bringing the bulbs at Mach speed, but the florist who dealt with him. Not even three seconds had passed between the teacher's disappearance and his return.
At that moment, somewhere in Japan, I sent a silent salute of respect to that florist for providing such miraculous, supernatural customer service.
"Don't you dare plant them at Mach speed!"
"Understood!"
"Hey! Be gentler with each one!"
"As you wish!"
"... Tell me, isn't this the monster that's supposed to destroy the Earth?"
"Yeah. And yet, here he is, planting tulips."
Kataoka and Okano were scolding Koro-sensei and forcing him to plant the bulbs properly. Isogai and Maehara watched the scene in disbelief. Meanwhile, Terasaka's group—Muramatsu, Yoshida, and Hazama—walked away muttering words of resentment.
I figured there was no point in staying either and decided to follow Terasaka's group, but then I noticed Nagisa taking notes with intense focus.
Curious, I headed toward him. Kayano and Sugino joined us on the way, looking just as inquisitive.
"Nagisa, what are you writing?"
"Oh, Kayano, Nozaki. Yes, I was recording Koro-sensei's weaknesses. I thought they might help us with the assassination one day."
He held out his notebook, and the three of us examined it.
"Let's see... Height reaches 3 meters when stretched. Special skill is supersonic flight..."
"Weakness #1: Flaws and openings appear when he tries to act cool or perfect."
"... Listen, Nagisa, do you really think this note will be useful?"
".... Maybe."
Nagisa's lack of confidence was almost poetic.
●○●○●
Class 3-E was buzzing with an energy it had never seen before.
"Hey, hurry up or the 'Golden Opportunity' will end!"
"Yes, yes, I'm coming. Kayano, I'll carry those for you. Give me half."
"Thanks, please do!"
I was running alongside Okajima, who led the group, and Kayano, who was struggling with long poles. We were heading toward the old school building.
The truth was that Koro-sensei, as an apology for picking the tulips, decided to hold an event he called the "Assassination Tournament with Student Advantage."
"Hurry!"
Okajima ran at full speed. As we followed, a broad-shouldered man in a black suit stepped out of the old building's gate—an entrance usually only used by us and our teacher. This man was Mr. Karasuma.
"Oh, Mr. Karasuma. Good afternoon."
"It's been a while."
"Hello, you two. Good afternoon."
What a commanding, dignified presence. He truly is an impressive man. I wish I could become someone like him when I grow up... but that's impossible. The end of the world awaits us in a year.
"Starting tomorrow, I will be joining you as a teacher to assist in your mission. I look forward to working with you."
"Really? We'll be waiting for you then."
"Great! So from now on, you'll be 'Karasuma-sensei'!"
It was a very rare situation—someone from the Ministry of Defense coming to work directly as our teacher.
"By the way, how is the assassination going? I don't see him around..."
"Ah... actually, Koro-sensei damaged the class flower bed. As an apology..."
Kayano pointed toward the lone sawtooth oak tree standing beside the school building. Specifically, toward Koro-sensei, who was tied up with ropes and dangling from a thick branch.
"He decided to hold an assassination tournament with a handicap."
Koro-sensei—or rather, that tied-up human cocoon—moved with an agility and sensitivity that defied his restraints, excitedly taunting his students.
The taunted students were enjoying themselves in their own way. Some fired their airguns, while others attacked with primitive spears they had made by lashing knives to the ends of long poles.
"Can this even be called an 'assassination' anymore?!"
I nodded in agreement from the bottom of my heart at Karasuma-sensei's words. He was clenching his fist, trembling in disbelief.
It seemed the definition of assassination had completely veered off course in this classroom.
"What do you think, Nagisa?"
"Yeah... he's completely looking down on us."
Nagisa muttered this while staring at Koro-sensei's face, which was decorated with colored stripes signifying his mockery.
At that moment, I remembered Nagisa's note about the teacher's weaknesses.
"Nagisa, didn't your notes say his openings appear when he tries to act perfect?"
"Yes..."
I looked away from Nagisa, who nodded while checking his notebook, and focused on Koro-sensei. I observed his surroundings closely, searching for any sign of a flaw. I noticed that the branch he was hanging from had begun to crack.
"Nurufufufufu. Your attempts are futile, Class E students! My speed allows me to overcome this handicap with ease! Killing me is but a distant dream—"
Before he could finish his boastful sentence, the branch emitted a faint snapping sound.
I realized the branch had reached its limit. I raised my pistol, gauged the trajectory of his fall, and fired a single test shot.
"Ah..."
The branch snapped a mere fraction of a second before I fired.
The moment it broke, the bullet traveled in a straight line, unaffected by the wind and...
"... Nyua?!"
The bullet hit one of his tentacles. The sound of the tentacle exploding was clear in our ears, coinciding with him hitting the ground and falling from the tree.
"No way..."
"Did we actually land a hit on Koro-sensei?"
All eyes turned toward me.
Koro-sensei was visibly sweating as he scrambled to escape the embarrassing situation. After a moment's thought, instead of standing there stunned like the others, I pointed at the teacher and shouted to urge them to attack.
"Now! Finish him!"
"Go! Follow Keiichi!"
Isogai snapped out of his daze at my shout and began directing everyone to attack the yellow octopus sprawled on the ground.
"Nyua?! Good heavens!! I've made a terrible mistake!!"
"Die, you bastard!"
"Heeeelp!! Save me!!"
As I watched everyone shouting and attacking from a distance, I patted the shoulder of the still-stunned Nagisa.
"It seems that weakness notebook will be quite useful after all."
"Y... Yeah! I'll write down everything I find immediately!"
Thus, it was decided that new observations would be added daily to Koro-sensei's weakness journal. At that moment, Weakness #2 was added: 『He panics and loses his cool surprisingly fast.』
"And so, Karasuma-sensei, that is what assassination looks like for us."
I told Karasuma-sensei that the current situation consisted of flawed plans met by the naive mistakes Koro-sensei regularly made, causing him to fall into traps of his own making.
"... It seems there is more hope than I imagined. I didn't expect a student with only minimal training to destroy one of his tentacles..."
"Oh, I thought about that too. Isn't this the first time a tentacle of his has been destroyed since he proved the effectiveness of the plastic pellets when he first arrived?"
"Yes. This is the first time Koro-sensei has taken clear, physical damage."
"Does that mean I've achieved something great?"
I asked with a hint of pride. In truth, I had destroyed the tentacle by chance while everyone was busy, but Karasuma-sensei's words made me feel a spark of accomplishment.
"Yes. Considering that the strongest special forces haven't even been able to touch him, what you just did is a remarkable feat by any measure."
Really? Since Karasuma-sensei confirmed it with a serious face, perhaps I had the right to be a little extra proud of myself.
Well, if we were to phrase what happened formally: 『A middle school student destroys a tentacle of a supernatural being threatening the Earth, who possesses speeds up to Mach 20.』
When you read those words, it really feels like you've done something grand.
"No one has been able to destroy a single tentacle until now. Hope is beginning to appear on the horizon."
── Something in Karasuma-sensei's words gave me pause.
What did he mean by "no one has been able to destroy a single tentacle until now"?
I had wondered before: how were these specialized knives and pellets developed?
They were given to us because they were deemed effective against him, but how was that effectiveness determined in the first place?
Did they conduct experiments on his cells? Did Koro-sensei provide those cells himself? I doubt he allowed them to use him as a lab rat during the development stages...
"... Hmm."
I looked toward the severed tentacle that had stopped moving. I watched it gradually shrink until it vanished completely as if it had evaporated, leaving no trace behind.
This meant that cells separated from his body—or those that died—could not maintain their form.
Even if Koro-sensei had given them his cells, how could they preserve the cells of an unknown monster long enough to finish developing and testing the weapons?
I suspect it would be difficult, if not impossible...
Regardless, I had no way to verify it. I could ask Karasuma-sensei, but I feared these might be state secrets or information I wasn't permitted to know, and the consequences could be dire.
And I didn't know if Koro-sensei would answer me either.
Fine, I'll keep these questions to myself.
It's better for my peace of mind to settle for the idea that I'm the first person to destroy one of Koro-sensei's tentacles during an assassination attempt.
"Enough of this! Take this! Lethal Weekly Shonen Jump!"
"Oh, he escaped?!"
"Dammit! We were so close!"
It seemed Koro-sensei, who had been struggling as the ropes tangled with his tentacles, had managed to slip away by a miracle. He waved his tentacles—which had regenerated in the blink of an eye—and screamed desperately from the school roof.
"You'll never reach me up here! The gap in our basic abilities is too vast! You fools! Nurufufufufu!"
"His way of taunting is completely immature!"
Yes, as Maehara said, he was acting like a total child.
After he finished taunting us from the roof to his heart's content, he caught his ragged breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spoke in a sharp tone.
"Huff... I will double tomorrow's homework. As for Nozaki-kun, his homework will be tripled."
"You petty jerk!!!!"
"Furthermore, that's clearly based on a personal grudge!"
"See you tomorrow then!"
"Oh, he's bolted."
In the end, that immature teacher fled. Since we had no way to pursue him or attack him while he flew at Mach 20, the "Assassination Tournament with Student Advantage" came to an end.
"He escaped, but that was the closest we've ever come to succeeding, wasn't it?!"
"Yeah! At this rate, an opportunity to kill him will definitely come one day!!"
"Oh man, if we kill him, what should I spend the ten billion yen on?!"
Despite the eventual failure, everyone felt hopeful. They began talking about their future plans or the dreams they wanted to achieve upon success.
Karasuma-sensei watched them from a distance with a complex expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"... No, I was just thinking that the students of this building are full of life. I was just at the main building to pay my respects to the Chairman, and the students I met on my way seemed to be in a state of extreme tension and seriousness."
"Mm, well, except for a few people in this class, this isolated building is considered hell by the main building students. They exert grueling efforts because they don't want to fall into this hell. What you saw, Karasuma-sensei, is part of that reality."
"When you say 'except for a few,' does that mean some people find this class comfortable?"
"Those who realized their efforts were futile find comfort here. Most students here have experienced failure and being crushed. For example, someone who hates discrimination but finds relief in not needing to achieve brilliant results. I think Terasaka, for instance, feels at ease here."
The truth is, some people do find this building comfortable, and it isn't just Terasaka.
Most who fell into Class E faced failure the moment they arrived, and many couldn't get back up.
These broken students suffer great pressure from those around them. Since they failed to meet high expectations and fell here, it's natural for them to feel defeated.
But somewhere inside, they think: 『Since I'm in Class E, it's only natural for me to be inferior to others.』
Without this thinking, we wouldn't hear phrases like "Because I'm in the End Class." Those who truly want to escape this isolated building don't have the luxury of self-mockery.
Despite their talk of being at the "end," the laughter of most is the greatest proof of their despair over leaving this class.
"You..."
"My name is Nozaki. Nozaki Keiichi."
Since I hadn't introduced myself directly before, I took the opportunity to do so.
He rested his hand on his chin as if remembering something, then spoke slowly.
"Nozaki... are you the son of Dr. Nozaki Shinichi?"
"Yes, I'm his son."
"I see. So you're the one..."
"Your reaction implies something. Am I being monitored by the Ministry of Defense, for example?"
"No, it's not that. But before we asked the students to carry out the assassination, we researched the backgrounds of the Class 3-E students and those around them. The name of Dr. Nozaki, a prestigious authority in genetic engineering, stood out to me as your father."
I swallowed the words that almost escaped my mouth: "Do you mean you felt disappointed that the son of such a genius is nothing but a failure like us?".
Karasuma-sensei didn't say it, but I was on the verge of snapping at him. My father represented that kind of pressure for me.
Since childhood, I had always been compared to my successful father.
I was often told: 『Since you're Dr. Nozaki's son, it's only natural for you to do at least this much』, 『You must become a great man like your father—』, 『Unlike your distinguished father, you—』 and other words I grew tired of hearing.
To me, my father is nothing but a weight sitting on my chest.
And he himself doesn't care about me, whether I'm brilliant or a failure.
"And what do you think? About this isolated building."
"It's comfortable. No one is watching us here. We're all treated equally as just failures. There are no excessive expectations, and that's a relief. To be more precise, the word 'easy' describes the situation better than 'comfortable.'"
"... I see."
That complex expression appeared on Karasuma-sensei's face again.
He must be worried about having students with such a lack of enthusiasm facing a threat to the Earth.
Even though the state and world leaders requested the assassination, he was the one who delivered the request to us directly.
To us, he is essentially the employer. It's natural that he wouldn't be pleased by the presence of people lacking motivation.
"But I'll do my best with the assassination in my own way. If I get ten billion yen, I'll be able to live in peace without any trouble."
"Yes, do that. Starting tomorrow, I'll be in charge of PE classes. I look forward to your efforts."
Even though I was glad Karasuma-sensei would oversee PE, I didn't feel enough enthusiasm or interest. Even if I gained strength, who would acknowledge me? Strength dedicated to killing—a capability that will be discarded after a year and have no other use; what is the point of developing it? Though the idea of "assassination lessons" intrigued me slightly.
But it is very hard to spark interest in a broken person.
As I thought about that, I looked from a distance at my classmates talking excitedly about "what they would do if they succeeded in the kill," and I let out a silent sigh in my heart.
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