Guh, guh, guh...!

　The pain was intense, as if his entire body was being scraped away. A scream echoed through the small kitchen as I tried to hold it in.
　No, it's not like that. I'm being shaved all over right now. I was desperately enduring the constant pain.

　My name is Katsubushi Dashihiko.
　I'm Katsuobushi now, the former homeroom teacher for Class 4 of the second year at Kamishiro High School.

　Don't know what I'm talking about?　I'm sure you're right. I don't know what I'm talking about either. But it's true.

　Take a good look at this small kitchen. See that octopus-legged girl working at the big table?　The girl has a knife in her right hand and a bonito fist in her left, but the bonito fist in her left hand is me. The girl's name is Aya Sugiura, and she is my homeroom student. She's my homeroom student. It would be more accurate to say she was my homeroom student.
　Of course, Sugiura didn't start out with octopus legs either. She had beautiful, healthy legs that looked great in her sailor suit at Jindai High School. At the time, her looks were a bit dark and playful, but the truth was that she was a family-oriented high school girl who belonged to the cooking club. Her parents ran a modest but historic Japanese restaurant. In fact, my family runs a dry goods store and Sugiura's house was in the wholesale market, so I've known this guy since I was a kid.

　So how did I become a bonito-flavored pork belly and Sugiura become a monster octopus girl?

　We're going to talk about it and... ugh!

'Goooooooooh!　Ah, ah, ah, ah...!
'Sir, stop screaming...'

　Sugiura said, stopping his hands from scraping my body with the knife.

''It's crazy hard to do...''
I'm sorry. I'm still in a lot of pain from all this...

　Back to the story.

　We were in the middle of a fun school trip. No, it's the students that are having fun, and us teachers that are really making our stomachs hurt to make sure the cute little mischievous boys don't get into trouble on the trip. We had both delinquents and bullies in my class, but I had let the first year bullies go and we had a rather good-natured group of people to keep them out of trouble, so I felt relatively safe going into this big event.
　As it turns out, our students didn't cause any problems.

　It was the bus that caused the problem.

　Unfortunately, it had rained the day before and it was drizzling as the bus drove along the undulating mountain roads on the Sea of Japan side. The asphalt-paved road was not muddy, but visibility was poor, and the bus carrying us had fallen off. To be honest, I was ready to die. I didn't want to die, but I was hoping that at least one of my cheeky little bastards could survive.

　As it turned out, we all survived. But the figure had changed.

　One of my secret hobbies is browsing online novels. I can read them on my phone while I'm on my way to work, and it's a great way to pass the time during my lunch break. There are some novels that are written straightforwardly to the author's desires, and others that are written to make the reader feel good by eliminating all stress, so that my brain, tired from the hard work I do every day, is somehow soothed.
　There is a category called "reincarnation". You die and are reincarnated as something other than human. There are many kinds of reincarnations. There are insects, slimes, dragons, and goblins. And then there's the undead. I want to break free of this desolate world and get rid of my human body. Well, I understand. That's what I've always thought about too.

　Something close to that impersonal reincarnation happened. My pretty homeroom students, all of them.

　The leader of the class, Ryuzaki, became a dragonoid, and Inugami, the most problematic child, became a werewolf. And I am Katsuobushi.
　I'm a reborn person. It means "something that does not belong to humans". It's true that Katsuobushi is an inhuman being, so it's not hard to understand why he'd be categorized as an extrinsic reincarnation.

　No, I can't. What's a bonito bouillon? It's true that my family is a dry-goods store. It's a long-established business that has been protecting the tradition since the Edo period. But why do I have to be a bonito-flavoured pork belly myself?　I don't get it. It's too dumb. Do you think that if you make the setting a little more original, it will bite?　It's certainly interesting. It might be popular. But it's called an outing. There's no way you could reincarnate as a bonefish and tell a funny story.

　You may not know this, but boiled bonito doesn't have arms and legs. That's why he can't move.
　When I woke up, Ryuzaki was holding a roll call with all the other students. I listened, and I got a general idea of what was going on, but even though I was desperate to scream, I couldn't get this much out of my lovely classmates. I guess I was in the wrong place. And it was in the shadow of a large rock.

　But there was an angelic student who heard me and picked up my voice. That student handed me to Sugiura, and now I'm here in the kitchen. I wasn't sure whether or not I should come forward, but considering how upset the students were when they heard that their teacher had been turned into a dried bonito shavings, I couldn't summon the courage to do so.
　Instead, I offered the students some of my own dashi to them.

I'm not sure if there's enough shavings to go around, so I'll just shave them off.
'Oh, okay ... gulp!　Gahhhh!　Gahhhh!

　These screams were quite loud and apparently could be heard from outside the kitchen. That's why Sugiura made sure to kick the students out of the cafeteria after the meal was over.

　Most of the tools in the kitchen were picked up by the students from exploring this underground labyrinth. The guys from Gokugawara and Okumura are especially good at finding things in this area.
　The living area, which the students call their "base", is located on the ground floor and is reminiscent of what was originally an office or filling station-like compartment. The labyrinth itself is structured like a catacombs, which makes me wonder if this place is some kind of grave management facility.
　Hmm. Well, I don't really understand. This small kitchen is the whole world to me right now.

"You have to be a little gentler when you cut, Sugiura...
'I'm still pretty nice to you in this one, though?　That was enough for now. Thanks.

　Saying this, Sugiura throws my shavings into the pot.

"If I make the bonito broth every time, will people get bored of it...
I'm sorry. If I could get more variety in my dashi, I'd...
That's not even a pork chop.

　Sugiura muttered as he looked at the ingredients laid out in the kitchen.

　There are various monsters nesting in the labyrinth. Among them, crocodiles, rabbits, and other monsters with relatively animal-like shapes are apparently hunted as a favorite source of protein. The bones of these monsters are sometimes boiled to obtain a broth. In that case, my body is resting.
　Incidentally, the probability of bringing back the fruits of the hunt is dangling from the delinquent girl, Inugami Hibiki. Even though she is hiding in the labyrinth all by herself, can you call it a hidden talent? Or, as a wolf, has she awakened her hunting instincts? The occasional horn rabbit brought in was partly pinched.

''Besides, you don't have an infinite number of bodies either...''
Sure, yeah...

　I'm okay with that, too, if my dashi fills my students' stomachs and makes them happy.
　But there is a limit to that, too. Eventually my body will be scraped off and there won't be any pieces left. If that happens, I won't be able to provide my students with the delicious bonito dashi. That would be a tragedy.

　As I was thinking about this, a human soul wandered into the kitchen.

'That was an amazing scream...'
Ah, Hino-kun.

　Ei Hino. This guy is my student too. Before he was reincarnated, he was a handsome little boy, but he has changed a lot.

　He has a foul mouth and a bad attitude, even though he doesn't speak, but he can study. On top of that, it was this Hino who noticed me screaming and took me away. He doesn't have hands, but he can "hold" anything within an inch of his body. (To soften a hardened bonito fist, roast it over a fire.
　) Hino was holding a book in his hand, taking great care not to burn it.

'Sir, I've come to return Honno-san.
'Yeah, yeah. Let me sit in my usual spot.

　Mr. Motono is the name of the bus guide he was involved in the accident with. And the book Hino-san is holding in her hand is a book.

　The book in Hino-san's hand is Motono-san.

'Thank you, Hino-kun. Did you find it interesting?

　Honno-san spoke up while being placed in place in the kitchen. But Hino replied in a boring voice.

''It was a good way to pass the time. Well then.''

　With that, Hino leaves. He was still a guy with a bad attitude. To Honno-san, who was so young and beautiful........ Well, it's just a book now. And it's a book about tourist attractions in Japan. It's of no use in another world.
　After watching Hino leave the cafeteria, I said to Motono-san, "Excuse me, Motono-san.

'I'm sorry, Motono-san. That guy, he's that kind of guy....
'No, it's fine. It happens to young kids all the time.

　Mr. Motono's page was flipped open to reveal the calm, archaic smile of Hōkaku Maitreya of the Kōryū-ji Reihōden. Apparently books are richer in emotional expression than katsuobushi.
　But Sugiura didn't seem to care about it and continued to prepare the dinner. Well, it's a big deal.

''But it's okay?　The "teacher
What?
'Students, I think you must be feeling a bit fragile. It would be better for the teacher to get them together...
'I've thought about that too. I'm not a teacher anymore. I'm just a katsuobushi.

　The only thing you can do with bonito flakes is to make the broth.

　It's not that he's worried about the students. Ryuzaki has enough qualities to be a class committee member, but his leadership in these extreme situations still leaves me worried. From what I've heard, I've heard that the plating is already peeling off.
　And I'm worried about Koganei, too. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with your money. Well, I think the bullies were scared off by Gourin's gattiness.
　That Koganei had rapidly gained power since he came to this world. Gradually, I also hear that it's increasing. There was a scent of a dangerous bomb in the air.

　But even in the human era, teachers were never able to solve the quarrels between students.

　What can I do now?

　It's just a matter of getting the broth out.

　I tried to sigh, but it was a bonito fist so I didn't sigh.




　A few more days had passed since then, and the circumstances surrounding the class had changed dramatically. Gourin disappeared, Ryuzaki was ousted from his position as leader, and Koganei formed the largest faction. The thing they had feared had happened. Just listening to the exchange echoing from the cafeteria to the kitchen made my heart ache.
　There was no change in the kitchen. If I had to say, it would be that my body has shrunk further.

　Whenever something happened in class, I told Sugiura to cut me down. I wanted to soothe the students' troubled minds with the bonito dashi I was making. Lately, the number of incidents has been increasing at an accelerated rate, and my volume has been decreasing at an accelerated rate.

'Sensei, you've gotten a lot smaller...'

　One day, Sugiura blurts out, "Yeah, well....

"Yeah, well...
I tried a few times to ask Utsurogi-kun to make the soup stock, but it didn't work.
Well..... I'm sure Utsurogi can produce a dashi that will make anyone feel better.

　But I can't do something devilish like forcing the disliked Soreki to settle down in a pot. Besides, Kuki is a human bone (skeleton). I can understand if the broth is made from alligator or rabbit bones, but I don't think the human bone broth is good enough for me.

　For the past few days, I've been taking the broth from my body every day, and I've been shrinking as fast as I can. Sugiura told me that I already had no more than the size of a cigarette case left, and that it was indeed impossible to cut down my body any further.
　I'm helpless. Not only as a teacher, but as a katsuobushi, I can't do anything about it.

"No, I mean, if you're a teacher, there's still something you can do...

　Ms. Motono starts to stall.

'Isn't that so, Mrs. Motono? Being able to reform people with words is something that only happens in dramas. I became a teacher because I admired Takeda Tetsuya, but people don't become Sakamoto Kinpachi that easily...
But words can encourage people.
Doctor, don't get too wet! You'll get damp!

　With that, Sugiura grabbed me by the octopus legs and lightly roasted me over the fire.
　I'm glad you feel that way, Sugiura, but I don't have enough body left to make dashi. I don't have enough body left to make dashi. Even if you roast me, I can't help you guys. When I thought about it, I felt unmercifully miserable.

　Just then, I heard some kind of argument coming from the cafeteria. Sugiura turned to look at them.

　I was disappointed to hear that they were fighting again, but this time the situation was a little different.
　I clear my ears. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

　Benii was an extremely mature-looking girl in my class. If she hadn't been wearing a school uniform, she might have looked like a college student. I had heard rumors that she was working as a reader model for a magazine called something or other. It's a bitter look on the school's face, but I was inclined to accept it as an option that would expand Benii's future possibilities. There were even rumors that the entire group was involved in assisted dating, but I didn't believe that one.
　That Beni has consistently remained in the upper tier of the class caste even after his reincarnation. What kind of conversation is he having with Ryuzaki, who has wilted from the top tier?

''Then what do you say I can do...!

　I could hear Ryuzaki's mournful cries. I felt a sobering feeling. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what I'm feeling right now.

　As I listened to the conversation, I got a rough idea of the situation. Benai is blaming Ryuzaki for the way he has fallen over the past few days. I thought that was a cruel thing to say, but I didn't think that Benii, who seemed to have no interest in class politics at all, would direct such words at Ryuzaki.
　Words can encourage people?　Is it really so?

　Sugiura put the food that Benii had prepared for Sakuma, the female student now hiding in her room, on a plate and walked out to the cafeteria as if to interrupt the argument.

''Benii-san, dinner is ready!

　It seems that Beni took the meal as it was and left the dining room. Sugiura comes back. I was thinking.

"Honno-san.
'Oh, yes. What is it?
'Words can encourage people. You said that.
Yes, sir.

　I can't leave Ryuzaki alone right now.
　What can I do to help? I don't have an answer for myself, but as a senior in my life and as a homeroom teacher, I believe there is a way I can show students who have the same problem.

"Sugiura, call Ryuzaki to the kitchen.
Yes, but...
It's okay. Just call me.
Uh, yeah... Okay.

　With that, Sugiura went out to the dining room and returned with Ryuzaki, who was probably still troubled outside. Tatsuzaki, who probably had no idea what he was called for, was scurrying around the kitchen with a puzzled look on his face.
　I made up my mind and called out to Ryuzaki.

Yo, Ryuzaki.
What...?

　Ryuzaki's eyes widened in surprise and he scurried around again. Finally, he found me and shouted

''Se-Sensei...!
Yeah, it's me. We've all changed, haven't we?
You're okay...!
"Is this the kind of thing you call safe...

　I briefly explained my situation to Ryuzaki. The only circumstance is that when I was reincarnated, I became a katsuobushi.

''Sensei, I'm........''
Yeah?
I don't know what to do...

　I know.

　It's ideal. But I don't know what to do about it. I don't feel like I'm going to be accepted, no matter what I do. I figured as much, and that's why I waited so long to get in front of the students. I'm not a good teacher. But even so, in front of the students who rely on me, I can't help but act like a dignified adult.

''Ryuzaki........''

　When I said this to him, Honno-san said, 'Go for it!　Good luck! He opened a page that said. What's that?

'Ryuzaki, you're probably thinking that you're not good enough or something anyway.
.........
'I know. And so does your teacher.
You're going to...?

　Ryuzaki looked up with a huff. The only thing that doesn't change is the beauty of his eyes, even if his face looks like a lizard.

I'm sure you'll find yourself in the same boat as I did. It's impossible to teach the students with this kind of appearance. Because of this, the class is in trouble and I couldn't do anything about it...
Sir....
Sure, it might be comical for you to try and do something when you're down to your current position. But you know what?　You're the one who.......... Well, that's the point, isn't it? You're the.....

　Yes, I'm not a good talker. I don't know why I'm teaching when I'm such a bad talker, but that's because I like girls in high school and I can't help it.
　I decided to do one last thing.

'Sugiura!　Scrape me!
What?
'I can still get enough soup stock for one person!　Now, scrape!
Uh, yeah...

　Slightly hesitantly, Sugiura took me in his hand and held the knife that had become completely dedicated to me sharpening.

　It's not a good idea.

''Guaaaaaahhhh!

　The pain was so intense that it scraped through my entire body. Ryuzaki shrugged, but Sugiura scraped me down with a cold-hearted workman's face.

"Se-Sensei........!
Hey, look!　Ryuzaki!　Watch and learn!　This is 'what I can do'!　It's the best I can do for you and your students!　Gahhhh!

　Sugiura threw my shavings into the pot and put it on the fire. Soon, the mellow aroma of the bonito broth spreads throughout the kitchen.

　Sugiura scooped some of the broth into a bowl and served it to Ryuzaki.

"Drink, Mr. Chairman. This is your dashi.
This is....

　The bowl is covered with crystal clear dashi-jiru without making a single wave. There is no other flavoring at all. But this was fine. Sugiura understood my intentions without missing a beat. What I wanted to make Ryuzaki drink now was the unmixed taste of the broth that came from me.

"Ryuzaki, that's the least I can do. But what do you think!　My broth is!
Oh, it's delicious.
'Of course!　Now, I'm sure some kind of excitement is brewing inside you!　It may just be that I drank the delicious broth, but I scraped that 'delicious' impression out of my body!　You could do the same thing!

　So I take a breath and continue.

'Ryuzaki, Gourin isn't the only one who knows your good points. It's something that everyone in the class knows, little by little. You don't have to be afraid of anything, you don't have to be afraid to cut yourself. A new stage will surely open up for you.
Sir....

　Ryuzaki put down the empty vessel and stood up.

'Do you understand, Ryuzaki?'
I'm not really sure what I'm talking about, to be honest.
Okay.
I'm just going to have to make some more decisions.

　A little bit, Ryuzaki smiled. It was a powerless smile, but I saw the light, just a little bit. I got vitality. It was such a smile. Ryuzaki bowed his head and walked out of the kitchen and then the cafeteria.
　So this is how it is. When I scrape myself and exhaust my words, Ryuzaki regains a little bit of energy. That's the extent of the effect. But I was quite satisfied with it. He got a little bit of energy. Isn't that enough?

　Even if there was only an eraser-sized piece of wood left.

"Sir...
Yeah, I know.

　I smile. I don't have a face, but I feel like I'm smiling anyway.

'There's nothing more to cut.... But I don't regret it. I'm sure Ryuzaki will breathe new strength into the class. I'm glad that the last dashi was able to help with that.
'Yeah...'
You don't have any more thoughts... hmm...?

　That's when I realized something was heating up all over my body. I've never felt anything like this before. Hot as a flame. But it wasn't the superficial heat of being roasted by a fire. It was more of an inner, flaming sensation, like a fire burning from within my soul.

　The body of the bonito fist that should have been motionless began to shake with a clatter. Sugiura makes a jittery face.

'Sensei!'
'Goooooooooooh!　What's that feeling!

　Zilch!

　The next moment, my whole body was engulfed in light and something grew with a raw sound. Sugiura's eyes widened once again.

'Se-the teacher...!　It's getting bigger!
What...?　Ho, it's true!

　I exclaimed, looking at the mirror Sugiura had brought me.

　My volume had returned to its traditional size. This was astonishing. What kind of miracle had happened? There was a big, magnificent, wooden bonito-fist, just like a wooden sword. Sugiura and I looked at each other without thinking.

　It looks like we are going to have udon for dinner.




"Is it an inherent ability?

　Later, when he visited the kitchen, Hino said something like that.

''Inherent ability?''
'Kyousuke also has the ability to amplify the power of the monsters he comes in contact with. I couldn't see this kind of effect in other skeletons, so it must be a unique ability that Kyousuke has. Probably, during this transition, another ability was given to him besides changing into a monster.

　So that ability was infinite regeneration for me. Since then, Sugiura has been grinding me every day, but my volume is back to normal the next day. I had literally become an infinite bonefish. It's safe to say that this class will no longer have any trouble with seafood broth.
　However, if that statement was true, then the majority of the students in the class had not activated such inherent abilities. No, or is there some condition that must be met for that to happen? I, too, awakened to this ability after I made Ryuzaki drink the dashi.

''Maybe there's a stage (phase).

　With that much said, Hino returns Honno-san and leaves the kitchen.

　Phases. Does that mean we're getting stronger with every step we take? No, I don't even know if I, being a katsuobushi, will get stronger, and since Hino is quite fond of cool phrases like this in the first place, it's possible that he's saying something rather random.

　But oh well. I've got a new power. As long as I have this, I can supply my students with dashi forever.
　It seems that Ryuzaki is planning to get back on his feet and bring the class together as the new leader. It's safe to say that my turn is unlikely to be for the time being. At the moment, all I have to do is make the blinkered guys like Koganei and Washio and others in class drink my dashi and take care of them.

''Sensei - I'm going to cut down again.

　Sugiura comes up to me with a knife in hand.

"Yeah, I don't care!　Keep chipping away!

　My screams echo through the kitchen.

　The battle for the Dry Food Teacher Katsuribushi has only just begun.