Editing Hyouka:Volume 4 To Commit A Deadly Sin (section)

===4===

After saying all that, Chitanda cleared her throat slightly. She was probably embarassed from revealing her anger.

The expert on rage, Ibara, urged Chitanda to carry on.

"What happened after that?"

"Omichi-sensei picked up the textbook. Then he checked a few pages, muttered 'Ah, I see!' and told Tamura-san to sit down. It was a normal lesson after that."

Ibara folded her arms imperiously.

"So Omichi's that kind of teacher. I'm sorry for Chii-chan and everyone else, but I'm glad I didn't get that kind of teacher!"

"Exactly! Seriously, it's thanks to him that I had to work my ass off even after the midterm exams!"

I gave a reply to Satoshi, who had raised his voice, as if he was in a play.

"Your failing marks are not Omichi's fault. You'd better do something about your final exams."

Next, I said to Ibara,

"He's not exactly a bad teacher."

"That's right, he is not a terrible teacher."

"Well, I guess he's not so bad."

Aren't these amazing people who can understand any perspective?

Chitanda looked at me.

"So, anyway, what do you think?"

By that, do you mean that the story is over? I rearranged my crossed legs.

"Was there something strange about that story?"

Chitanda looked from right to left, troubling over whether she should repeat what she had just said. Then, she spoke.

"Ah, I did not mention what I was most concerned about.

"What I find mysterious is why Omichi-sensei made that kind of mistake. From his writing on the blackboard and his exam markings, Omichi-sensei does not seem the type to make mistakes."

"Well..."

Satoshi edged into the conversation.

"There are two types of strict teachers. One is strict to himself, while the other is lenient to himself."

Isn't that also true for people in general. Well, even I know that Omichi would be the former type.

"Even so, why did he make such an obvious mistake? I really don't understand."

As usual, you're asking the impossible. I raised my eyebrows.

"So you want to know why he committed the error? That's impossible no matter how you look at it. Why don't you go to the staff room now and look inside his head?"

Chitanda shook her head.

"No, please listen. Oreki-san and Fukube-san probably know this, but Omichi-sensei always opens his textbook after the lesson, even if he did not use it at all."

Satoshi and I looked at each other and shrugged at the same time. None of us had bothered to observe his actions.

"And then he uses his pen to write some short memo. What do you think that is for?"

I see, so that's how it is. I get what she's trying to say.

"To keep track of how far in the curriculum he went in that class?"

"I think so too. Omichi-sensei would notice any mistakes by checking the textbook, and I believe that has happened a few times before. Furthermore, he most likely knows that we are class A, for he always checked the name plate before entering a classroom.

"Are you following? Omichi-sensei then looks at the memo that shows the lesson progress and then checks the classroom again. You could say that it is perfect.

"But then, why would he still be able to make a mistake?"

I'm guessing that his notes are like "1<sup>st</sup> June, Class X" on page 15 and "3<sup>rd</sup> June, Class X" on page 20 or something. If not, he wouldn't know which page he had gotten to.

I threw out a suggestion without giving much thought.

"Couldn't he have mistaken the date?"

One has to take responsibility for his words. The punishment for my careless words was dealt swiftly. With a cold gaze, Ibara retorted.

"... If that's the case, he might backtrack, but it couldn't have caused him to skip ahead. use your brain, don't just speak by spinal reflex."

Did you have to say the word "spinal"? Ibara is in perfect form today. Indeed, he could looks at a previous memo, but he definitely cannot do so for a future memo that has not been written...

Ibara, who was on top form, turned to Chitanda and cocked her head in puzzlement.

"I'm not trying to beat you at your own game, but..."

"Yes?"

"I'm a little curious about something. Mind if I ask you a question?"

"You're asking me? Yes, go ahead."

Chitanda changed her posture, which may have been a lack of judgment on her part. Instead of taking on a more serious disposition, Ibara asked the question in her usual tone.

"About Chii-chan's story, I understand why you would get angry. It seems like he said something extremely severe, and in that situation I would be angry, too. But I wouldn't want to talk back to a teacher like that. Isn't that like deliberately putting your hand into a fire?"

She said the last sentence while looking at me and Satoshi in order. Well, that's an extreme thing to say. Witticisms like that don't suit her.

Ibara may not know Omichi, but she knows that it's a huge risk to argue with him when he has lost his temper. I would obviously not do something like that, and neither would Satoshi. I doubt anyone in Kamiyama High's thousand-strong student body would do that. That's why I was surprised during the fifth period.

But Chitanda gave a careless response.

"I'm not sure why I got angry."

She got so mad she forgot herself? Is this Chitanda we're talking about here? No matter what, I just can't imagine... As I thought to myself, Chitanda continued.

"But I don't think I got angry because he was criticizing us."

After pondering for a while, Ibara asked,

"Then was it because those who could answer kept quiet?"

"No. NO one would want to answer in that situation. Also, if someone had answered, the lesson would have continued while it was too far ahead."

"Because no one else pointed out the teacher's mistake?"

"No."

Ibara thought some more.

"Was it because that Tamura person looked pitiful?"

That would be just like Chitanda.

Or too much like her. The person in question tilted her head to the side.

"I was sympathetic towards him, but I don't think I would get angry over that. I don't really understand myself, but I can understand why Omichi-sensei would scold students who did not remember anything from the previous lesson, although his words might have been too harsh.

"... But what was it that made me angry?"

Then Chitanda gave a half-smile.

"I find myself difficult to understand sometimes."

"Hmm, I see."

Ibara also smiled awkwardly.

I understand why Ibara asked her question. Anyone in Chitanda's shoes would feel pissed off. Even I would have felt uncomfortable in that position. But since we have the impression that Chitanda never loses her temper, it is strange for her to be angry even when that would be natural for others.

But the answer for that question was not given. As Chitanda mentioned, it could be because she finds it difficult to answer, or perhaps because she feels embarrassed about it, or maybe because it's troublesome... Wait, did she even mention anything about it being troublesome?

I don't know Chitanda well enough to sense her likes and dislikes. Moreover, I had more interest in finishing the paperback book in my hand.

"What do you think, Oreki-san?"

"No clue."

"I also don't know why, but..."

At that point, Chitanda paused. She quickly took a deep breath and looked at me, her huge eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"But you can figure it out if you just think about it a little!"

"Oh?" Satoshi said in a raised voice. I was taken aback. Is this what it feels like to be depended on?

And did she realize that I had not put in any thought about it?

Ibara, who was sitting on the other side of the classroom, raised her eyebrows.

"Chii-chan, you can't expect much from Oreki, even if he tries. He was a grasshopper in his previous life."

”Eh, Mayaka-san, you can see people's former incarnations?"

Just when I thought that her curiosity had been diverted,

"But right now I'm curious about Omichi-sensei."

In an instant, we're back to square one. How annoying. By the way, Satoshi's more suited to being a grasshopper than me. They die in the winter not because they save energy, but because of their principle of enjoying life to its fullest.

"Oreki-san."

Well, I won't get anywhere if I don't say anything...

I guess I'll give up on my book for a while and start thinking.