It was break time.

I was going to go and meet a certain someone, but Chabashira-sensei discreetly pulled me away to the staff office.

It seems she knows I was the one involved in the knife attack.

Once we were inside a private booth, she gestured for me to sit down.

"I heard what happened from Hyoudou-san. How are you feeling, Takanori-san?"

It was jarring to see Chabashira-sensei seem so concerned about one of her students.

I know that she's not a horrible and sadistic lady deep down, but I still get some whiplash when I see this empathetic side of her.

"Just the usual."

"I figured as much... you didn't even so much as flinch in class this morning when I talked about the knife attack."

Chabashira-sensei looked relieved to see that I wasn't traumatised by what had happened.

"Guess I have nerves of steel."

"You really have changed since when I first met you... you're definitely more cheeky now."

Chabashira-sensei sighed listlessly at my sarcastic remark.

"In any case, you can probably guess why I brought you here."

"Yeah. You want to know more about what happened, right?"

She meekly nodded her head.

"The report you gave conflicted with your aunt's report... I was wondering whether you were hiding something or not."

It was pretty obvious that Chabashira-sensei was doing this under Juumonji's request.

If the superintendent questioned me, I would be more likely to put my guard up and lie.

However, if it's my homeroom teacher, then I'd probably be more inclined to answer truthfully.

In other words, Chabashira-sensei was trying to extract more information from me to inform Juumonji's investigation.

Regardless of what intention she had, I still couldn't tell her the complete truth. I'd just stick with the story I gave Hyoudou that night.

"No, I'm not."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Whatever story my aunt gave is probably more accurate. She was watching what was happening while I was living it in the moment. My memory is a little fuzzy since it went by so fast."

This would at least serve as an excuse as to why my story may have differed from auntie.

"I see. I'm surprised you managed to fend off your attacker."

"He was sloppy with the knife. So sloppy in fact, I got to knock his mask off and see his face."

"Ah. It did say in your aunt's report that you punched his mask and it split in half. I'm a little surprised you're that strong."

"I'm sure you probably saw my outburst at Ritaka-san back in May."

"I did, yes... but breaking a solid mask in half is definitely more strenuous than taking down another person."

"...what are you getting at?"

I narrowed my eyes, questioning the path Chabashira-sensei was leading me down on.

She hesitated briefly before putting the papers in her hand face down on the table.

"I'll be honest here. Juumonji-san asked me to question you on his behalf, since he believes you're holding back something in your testimony."

So my hunch was correct... I guess even detectives could be sneaky when they want to be.

"But I can already guess what that is."

Chabashira-sensei then looked me straight in the eye.

"It's how you survived the attack. Judging by your situation, you should've died."

"That's a grim way of putting it."

She has a point though. If I was a regular person, I wouldn't have survived. I'd be dead, simple as.

"However, you managed to live and even got the the killer to drop his knife against all odds."

Due to Nakajima fleeing in a hurry, he didn't pick up his knife. This let Hyoudou recover it as evidence they could examine to possibly determine the killer.

Though, I doubt they'll get far with it. Nakajima was wearing leather gloves, meaning there would be no trace of his fingerprints on the handle. Furthermore, they wouldn't be able to trace its origin as it's a knife from the Underworld.

I could tell from the design alone that it was a dagger made for Keepers, issued exclusively down there. It's not the type of weapon you can easily obtain on the surface.

"Those are no easy feats for a mere high school boy."

"I got lucky, that's all. Like I said, he was sloppy."

I didn't like where Chabashira-sensei was going with this.

"I don't believe that, Takanori-san."

"Then what do you believe, Chabashira-sensei?"

"I think you were forced to use the strength you gained in the Under Doctrine."

I closed my eyes and exhaled silently.

Even though I've been exposed to these words so many times by now, my heart still crumples in pain whenever I hear it.

I reopened my eyes and looked back at Chabashira-sensei, trying not to waver.

However, it was extremely difficult not to show my weakness in that moment as the shadow swayed in my mind heavier.

"...since when did you find out?"

Guilt immediately surfaced on her face.

"Your father told me."

That bastard.

Any misplaced anger I had for Chabashira-sensei finding out about my past dissipated in an instant.

All my anger was redirected at him.

"I don't feel like talking anymore."

As I got up to leave, Chabashira-sensei stopped me.

"Wait."

"...what is it?"

If I stayed in this room any longer, I felt like I was going to be sick.

"I understand why you didn't want to tell Hyoudou-san about that. And honestly, I don't want to tell Juumonji-san about it either."

"What are you getting at?"

"I want to help you."

I was surprised to hear that Chabashira-sensei was offering me help. This was certainly the last thing I expected her to propose.

"Are you sure about this? Helping to cover for me could mess up their investigation. If that happens, you might end up in hot water."

"After what you've been through... this is nothing."

So he even disclosed the events of <that> to her, huh?

"If I can't even protect one of my students from getting hurt, then what use am I as a homeroom teacher?"

Just like how she understood why I didn't want to tell the detectives this part of my story, I understood that Chabashira-sensei was someone who didn't want to see her students suffer unnecessarily.

Chabashira-sensei knew that if she told Juumonji or Hyoudou about how I used my inhuman strength to defeat Nakajima, it would only raise more questions than answers.

And eventually, Juumonji and Hyoudou might turn their investigation onto me and the Underworld.

If that were to happen, their lives would become in danger next.

"If you're willing to go so far for me... then I'll accept your help."

Chabashira-sensei nodded.

"In that case, I'll go ahead and inform them that you had nothing else to add."

I can't help but feel like some suspicion could be raised if she told them that, so it would be better if we threw Juumonji a bone so he could be satisfied with new information, rather than continue suspecting that I was hiding something.

"Actually... on Sunday, I received a strange letter."

I took out the "I'll kill you" letter from my pocket and handed it to Chabashira-sensei. She opened it up and read what was inside.

"Now they're sending threats...?"

She was just as confused as I was.

"Yeah. If you could hand that in to Juumonji-san as another piece of potential evidence, that'd be great."

While I would've liked to keep it, at the same time I don't want the police constantly pressing me for more details, since that'd be annoying. So, by throwing them a bone, hopefully they won't question me further.

"I see... are you really going to be okay, though?"

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about me."

"Even if you say that... this is a serious matter, Takanori-san. Someone is after your life."

"I know it is. But I've been through worse."

Chabashira-sensei genuinely frowned. I think it's the first time I've seen her do that.

"Please stay safe."

"I will."

"If things get worse, please tell me."

I nodded my head, getting up to leave. As I did, I pondered about what I'd do next.

Originally, I brought that letter with me today so I could confront Nakajima about it. Now that I've handed it over to Chabashira-sensei, I don't know if that's worth doing anymore.

Ah, whatever. I shouldn't be focusing so hard on this. I have other priorities I need to take care of first.