🐱 A New Teacher
It was during the break before the third class started. Shin-ichi overheard two bespectacled students whispering about the Akashic Seminar. One of them was Kuroki Kazuma, a quiet boy but quite intelligent. The other was a student named Ito Hiroshi, who didn't usually stand out much, so Shin-ichi didn't know much about him.
Shin-ichi had never seen these two talking before. That's why their conversation surprised him so much. In order not to be noticed, he pretended to be reading a textbook and listened in on what they were saying.
"They told me to invite a friend, even if it was just one..."
Ito squinted, pushing up the rim of his glasses with the back of his index finger. He looked like a snowy owl with its eyes closed.
"Just ignore it. I'm the one paying the tuition."
Meanwhile, Kuroki continued without changing his expression, his gaze fixed on the corner of the chalkboard with the mathematical formulas written on it.
"But they said there would be punishment if you didn't recruit."
"That's nonsense."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. You can't solve a physical phenomenon like Ether with recruiting or donations, right? It makes sense if you think about it for a moment."
Kuroki doesn't seem to pay Ito any attention at all. His conversation with Ito seems to go in one ear and out the other.
"...They said the first sign would be a ghost cat appearing a week later."
Ito's eyes narrowed even more, and his voice became high-pitched and nasal, almost like a girl's. He seemed even more like a cat when he talked about the ghost cat.
------Eh, wait a minute, didn't he just say ghost cat?
Shin-ichi lifted his eyes from his book and reflexively stared at the two of them.
------King dong, clang dong.
Suddenly, the school bell rang, and Ito and Kuroki stopped talking. Unfortunately, the conversation came to a halt, and Shin-ichi bit his lip in frustration.
Soon after, the bald principal, Amano, walked in accompanied by a teacher never seen before. The principal was tall for an old man, and his voice sounded youthful, but he had a dignified presence, and the students immediately became quiet. Shin-ichi don't know where this story came from, but there was a rumor that the principal lived in the school. He really did seem like the boss of the school, so such rumors probably spread.
The teacher the principal brought in was said to be replacing the science teacher who was on parental leave. He continued to give pointless introductions about the students, such as their alma mater and university, and although the students were well behaved, they were doing all sorts of things to escape the boredom, like spreading out manga on their desks or using their textbooks as doodle pads, and very few of them were listening seriously.
However, as expected, everyone seemed curious about what kind of person their new teacher was, and many eyes were constantly fixed on him. The teacher was a man, his age unknown, but he was certainly not very old. He was wearing a black jacket, which was unusual for early summer. His glasses were black-rimmed, and his hair was very black, and it was hard to tell if it was permed or natural, but it was wavy and curly. His eyes, nose, and every other feature of his face was large. He made a strong impression.
Once the principal had left, the new teacher began to speak with a cynical smile on his lips. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he reminded Shin-ichi of his homeroom teacher, Shimamura. Shin-ichi felt uncomfortable.
"Hello everyone. I'm Mineyama Susumu, taking over from my predecessor as science teacher. I'll also be the advisor for the Earth Science Club."
Hearing this, Shin-ichi exchanged glances with Haruka.
"Before we begin the lesson in earnest, I'd like to conduct a little science experiment with you all today. Education isn't fun if it's just a one-way transmission of knowledge, after all."
"???"
The students were taken aback. The teacher spread out the attendance book, aimed at it randomly, and placed his index finger on it. Perhaps his name was there, and the teacher said,
"Is Okada here?"
"Yes."
Came a lively reply. Shota has a jutting jaw and a face that makes him look like he's a talkative person, and that was indeed the case. He's a member of the sports committee, but he's also actually another member of the Earth Science Club. In reality, though, his main activity is the tennis club, and he's only a member of the Earth Science Club out of obligation, having been invited by a senior student. Naturally, he rarely shows up to Earth Science Club activities.
"Do you believe in superstitions?"
"No, I don't."
Shota's answer was clear: he was a very practical person and hated superstition and irrationality.
"That's a good thing. Because the experiment we're about to do will make us think about the relationship between science and superstition. Humans have a kind of sixth sense, a precognitive ability that cannot be explained by science. We also have the ability to read other people's minds and send out thoughts, like premonitions."
Shin-ichi was startled.
"Okay, Okada, please relax and release all tension from your body. Then look at my fingertips."
Saying this, the teacher raised his right hand in front of his face and moved it slowly from side to side. It began to move slowly, then quickly, then slowly again, in a regular rhythm. After a while, Shota's eyes became glassy and he looked lifeless. For some reason, people with realistic ways of thinking seem to be more susceptible to hypnosis.
"You're a dog. You can now smell the surroundings tens of thousands of times better than humans."
At that moment, Shota suddenly turned his face toward Haruka and began to speak furiously. Or rather, it would be better to say he started barking. Then he stood up from his chair and ran toward Haruka.
"Wait!"
Ignoring the teacher's warnings to stop him, Shota jumped at Haruka. But Haruka's reaction was also quick. Without screaming, she leapt backwards, opened her mouth, and glared at Shota with a stern expression. She looked more like a cat than a girl. By this time, some boys had noticed something was wrong and grabbed Shota from behind, and then Haruka was picked up by some girls.
"This is a problem, Okada. Come back to your seat."
The teacher seemed surprised by this unexpected turn of events, but the situation was somehow resolved. Urged by the students, Shota slowly returned to his seat.
"Okay. From now on, you'll only do what I tell you."
Shota nodded slightly.
"Okay, first I'll blindfold you."
With this, the teacher took out a white towel and covered Shota's eyes.
"Now, does anyone have a handkerchief?"
Mr. Mineyama looked around the classroom, but there was no reaction from the timid students. For a few seconds, an awkward silence spread throughout the classroom. Shin-ichi hated these moments. Unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, he stood up and placed his handkerchief on the desk.
"Thank you. I'll borrow it for a bit."
The teacher accepted it lightly and turned back to the students.
"Everyone except Okada, please stand up and sit somewhere else."
Hearing this, the students all muttered things like "What does that mean?" and "No way!", but still, they did as they were told and rearranged their seats. Once everyone was finished, the teacher placed a handkerchief in front of Shota.
"Okada, your nose is as sharp as a police dog's. Smell this handkerchief and memorize its scent. Then, search the entire classroom for the owner of this handkerchief, and when you find him, bark in his presence."
The experiment began. Blindfolded, Shota sniffed the desks and floor around him for a while, but eventually he came to the spot that had originally been Shin-ichi's desk and began vigorously moving his nose up and down and side to side. The students watched with bated breath.
A female student was sitting in Shin-ichi's chair, so Shota shook his head and left. He then twisted his head at Shin-ichi's locker at the back of the classroom, and looked like he was about to cry in front of the trash can. Several of the boys in the classroom burst out in laughter at Shota's inhuman behavior. In situations like this, Tsuchida, the class representative, instead of trying to stop them, took the lead in mocking him.
Afterwards, the dog began to walk suspiciously around the otherwise docile Ito, and surprisingly tried to bark at him several times. Perhaps it mistook Ito for a cat? As a result, Ito's face turned pale, his white teeth bared, and he began trembling violently.
"Don't make any noise. He'll know who you are."
After being warned like that by Mineyama, Ito didn't know what to do, so he looked around at the other students for help. But no one was willing to lend a hand, especially since he was normally so difficult to socialize with. Even Kuroki, who he'd spoken to earlier, turned his back on him, pretending it had nothing to do with him. It was truly pitiful.
Shota finally left Ito and began to walk around the classroom again. After two or three minutes, or maybe four or five, he had walked all over the classroom, and finally came near Shin-ichi, who was sitting in his seat at the back of the classroom. The whole classroom fell silent. Not even Tsuchida said a word. Everyone's biggest concern was the outcome of this unusual lesson. Something incredible was sure to happen... Perhaps the students were hoping for something like that.
However, truth is stranger than fiction, and Shota immediately and without hesitation barked, and that was the end of it.
The teacher came down from the podium with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for your hard work. Okada, please return to being human."
The students immediately began moving away, chattering noisily.
Once the classroom quieted, Mineyama began to speak slowly.
"I don't know what you all felt, but I think two things became clear from this experiment.
The first is a phenomenon described as 'superhuman strength in an emergency.' Humans have unexpected abilities that are usually hidden, but they actually lie deep in their subconscious. I feel very sorry for Okada, who turned into a dog, but I hope you now understand that humans also have an incredible, hidden sense of smell.
In fact, one more thing has become clear. This one is more complicated than the first one, so some people may not understand it. Science is a discipline that forms hypotheses and proves their correctness through theories and experiments. You may think that science is absolute, and that all truths are written in textbooks, but unfortunately, that is not the case.
In modern times, we are still far from mastering the truths of nature. There are countless facts in this world that currently seem irrational and unbelievable, but are in fact true. Before we label something as superstition or unscientific, we need to humbly reflect on whether it is true or whether a new truth might be hidden within it."
Shin-ichi was startled again.
--- Did the teacher know he had precognitive dreams?
"I have a question."
Shin-ichi had unconsciously raised his hand and asked.
"Well, tell me."
The voice was calm, and it seemed as if he had no idea what Shin-ichi was thinking. Shin-ichi hesitated for a moment. He felt that there was no way he could tell anyone that he had precognitive dreams. The next moment, he blurted out something completely different, something that even he hadn't expected.
"Teacher, do you think Ether is a bigger problem than the issue of inequality?"
For a moment, Mineyama seemed extremely surprised. It could have been even said he turned pale. It was an extremely strange reaction. However, the next moment, he stared at Shin-ichi, smiled faintly at his innocent face, and then he was back to his usual calm self.
"The Ether problem, you say. It's something that is currently being seriously investigated by various research institutes on Earth. We can't say anything definitive until we wait for the results."
The students suddenly became excited by the teacher's reaction. A mysterious Ether problem, the strange reactions of the two teachers, and two different answers...
At that moment, a boy suddenly stood up, like a train speeding through a railroad crossing crowded with pedestrians. His name was Okada Shota. He spoke briefly and loudly.
"What's your personal opinion, Teacher?"
"Is that just my personal opinion?"
Mineyama answered with a stiff expression.
"Yes."
"You're asking a difficult question. That's fine. Since I'm in a position to teach you all, I'll answer honestly."
After saying this, the teacher was silent for a while. The classroom was silent again. The words their homeroom teacher had said the other day came back to the students' minds. These were his words:
------The Ether problem is thousands of times more important than the inequality problem.
How on earth would Mineyama, the new science teacher, respond? The classroom was silent, everyone trying not to miss the answer. In the midst of this, Mineyama began to speak quietly.
"The ether problem is a more serious issue for humanity than is being portrayed in the media. As a science teacher, I understand this very well.
However, I cannot see it as anything more than an issue of inequality. Because inequality is an issue that concerns the dignity of humanity.
The Ether problem is merely a scientific and technological problem, and no matter how difficult it may be, I believe that humanity is not so foolish as to be unable to overcome this challenge.
This is my answer. Is that okay?"
It was the exact opposite answer to that of the homeroom teacher, Shimamura. The bell rang to signal the end of class.
