The moment Hakuto heard the name Hoshino Academy, he felt a wave of unease wash over him as he stood across from Hiratsuka.
Know it? Not just know—it would be more accurate to say he was extremely familiar with it.
Just yesterday… no, the day before, he had even gotten into a fight with Hoshino Academy's student council president.
Because of that incident, Hakuto doubted that Hiratsuka was bringing up this topic just for casual conversation.
"I've heard of it..."
Hiratsuka extinguished her cigarette, her expression serious.
"From what I know, this school has an exceptionally high transfer rate. Many students from various schools have transferred there at some point."
"So?"
Of course, the transfer rate was high. After all, supernatural abilities often manifested without warning.
And when it came to Hoshino Academy, as long as someone showed even the slightest signs of an ability awakening, they would be pulled in immediately.
Not only that—if an older sibling awakened abilities, their younger siblings would also be enrolled into Hoshino's affiliated middle school.
"The day before yesterday, representatives from Hoshino Academy's student council came to conduct an on-site evaluation at our school. One of them specifically asked about you."
"I originally thought it was just a routine assessment..."
As she spoke, Hiratsuka pulled out a stack of documents from her desk drawer. Hakuto already had a bad feeling about what was written inside.
Though he didn't know what tricks Nao had pulled behind the scenes, things had escalated from an individual matter to an official school affair.
But one thing was certain—Hakuto had absolutely no desire to transfer to Hoshino Academy.
He knew that with his abilities, once he got there, Nao would definitely rope him into the student council as unpaid labor.
And if there was one thing Hakuto despised the most in life, it was working for free!
Of course, when he was the one getting things for free, that was a different story.
Wait, no!
Regardless, he refused to be exploited. He would rather die than give in!
So the moment Hiratsuka pulled out the documents, Hakuto immediately dropped to his knees and clung to her leg.
"Please, no! Sensei, I don't want to transfer to Hoshino Academy!"
"I have deep feelings for Toyosaki. It's like a friend to me!"
"And besides, I can't bear to leave you, Sensei! Boohoo~"
As a professional, Hakuto could summon tears on demand. The waterworks flowed instantly.
Seeing him nearly sobbing his heart out, Hiratsuka couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic. She hadn't expected him to figure out what the documents were about so quickly.
"You really are... not cute at all."
She reached down and ruffled Hakuto's hair as he clung to her leg. She had to admit—his long hair felt surprisingly nice to the touch.
"Forget whether I'm cute or not! Sensei, I don't want to go!"
I refuse to be exploited! No way!
"Alright, alright. If you really don't want to transfer, I'll talk to the principal."
"Really? Sensei, you're the best!"
Hakuto hadn't expected Hiratsuka to actually stand up to the school administration for him.
Why was he suddenly feeling touched?
"By the way, Sensei, what kind of conditions did Hoshino Academy offer to convince them to transfer someone like me—the top student in the entire grade?"
Toyosaki Academy was a school that heavily valued its academic rankings. A student like Hakuto, who consistently ranked first, enjoyed a lot of privileges.
On top of that, Toyosaki rarely allowed high-performing students to transfer out.
To be brutally honest, despite Hakuto's long history of breaking school rules since childhood, he had never once been expelled—or even had a formal disciplinary mark on his record.
In other words, his student record was completely spotless.
Of course, if someone deliberately investigated, they could still dig up the embarrassing things Hakuto had done.
"Hm? Transfer? Who told you that this was about transferring?"
"It's not a transfer?"
What?! If it's not a transfer, then why was I clinging to your leg and crying like my life depended on it?!
Hearing that, Hakuto quickly got up from the floor, grabbed the documents from Hiratsuka's desk, and began reading them carefully.
"Exchange… exchange student? For three months? Promoting school culture? Learning from each other?"
Wait, what? Hakuto was starting to doubt his literacy skills. Why would they need him to promote school culture?
He knew this was just an excuse, but wasn't it a bit too obvious? Anyone could tell it was a cover-up.
"Hoshino Academy specifically requested you as an exchange student. According to the principal, one of Hoshino's shareholders personally spoke to him about it."
"I don't know their exact motives, but maybe they want to throw a crocodile into the pond to discipline the other fish."
First-year student, just one month into school, troublemaker—none of these qualifications made him fit to be an exchange student.
Hakuto frowned at the document and muttered, "Aren't they worried that this crocodile will eat all the fish in their pond?"
Then again, he felt relieved. After all, Hiratsuka said she could reject the request on his behalf.
"Normally, for something like this, the school lets the student decide. If you don't want to go, we can just decline."
"Oh!?"
Hakuto was surprised. He had expected Nao to use more forceful tactics to drag him into Hoshino Academy.
But in the end, it was still up to him?
In his heart, Hakuto silently raised an internationally recognized gesture of goodwill toward Nao, two middle finger.
"By the way… Hoshino Academy also mentioned that if you agree, you'll receive a 2 million yen scholarship. But since you don't want to go—"
Before Hiratsuka could even finish her sentence, Hakuto had already dashed in front of her, gripping her shoulders with an expression of utter disbelief.
"How much? Sensei, did you say how much? 2 million? Not 200?"
"If I remember correctly, yes, it's 2 million…"
Getting confirmation, Hakuto immediately took back all the disrespect he had just sent Nao's way.
I have never, not even once, spoken ill of Hoshino Academy and certainly never insulted Tomori Nao.
"Sensei… let's talk about how exactly this 2 million will be given to me."
"It's a scholarship, directly deposited into your account."
"This is amazing!! When do I leave? Right now?!"
Seeing Hakuto's overjoyed reaction, Hiratsuka clenched her fists almost instinctively, rage bubbling up inside her.
"Didn't you say you couldn't bear to leave me? That you had deep feelings for this school? That it was like a friend to you? That you didn't want to go?"
"Ahhh! Ahhh! Wait, wait, Sensei! Stop hitting me!"
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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]
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