Classroom of the Elite: Houtarou Oreki

[Main Quest: Investigate and obtain information about this school, and earn 200,000 points.]

[Time Limit: 23 hours 59 minutes]

[Quest Reward: Teleportation (can travel to places you have visited 3 times per day)]

[Additional Reward: Set home as a base; can teleport home once per day without counting against the limit]

[Quest Progress: 10% + 0%]

The mission had become much clearer.

At the same time.

"Beep!"

"Congratulations, Host. You have received a Newcomer Gift Pack."

"Additional Reward obtained: Set home as a base; can teleport home once per day without counting against the limit."

Oh.

Home.

Home?!?

He could go straight home?

Because of his sister's excellence and occasional unreliability, he handled practically all the housework.

At the same time, he was very attached to his bed.

When Homeroom Teacher Mashima said they would be boarding for all three years, he had actually felt rather uncomfortable.

After all, how could a new place compare to somewhere he had lived for more than a decade?

Wasn't a twelve-square-meter studio apartment basically a pigeonhole?

But now, he could return home whenever he wanted and sleep in his own big bed?

For Oreki, that was excellent news.

However.

[Additional Reward: As the Host has not yet obtained the Teleportation ability, it cannot be used.]

In other words, he had to complete the mission to investigate the school and earn 200,000 points.

So, he raised his hand.

"Oh?"

Everyone looked over.

Were Class A Students Really This Outstanding?

As Class A students, they were all relatively outstanding.

Even before Teacher Mashima arrived, Oreki had already noticed several exceptional students.

For example.

After arriving in their new classroom, the first thing these students did was form groups.

In other words, they created their own little circles.

Then, they shared information about themselves.

They displayed their pride and strengths.

Birds of a feather flock together, and that naturally drew others close.

For example, Katsuragi Kohei, who had served as Vice President of the Student Council throughout elementary and middle school.

Then there was Totsuka Yahiko, who had been class president six times before.

And Hashimoto Masayoshi, the handsome blond guy who was especially good at striking up conversations with people.

In other words, the class was basically made up of outstanding students from various schools.

Of course, there were one or two who did not like talking.

For instance, Masumi Kamuro, who was tall, long-legged, had long purple hair and two hairpins, or Kito Hayato, the stylish man with curly hair like black kelp.

In Oreki's view.

Masumi Kamuro's reaction was rather noteworthy.

Because while everyone discussed their previous written test scores, and everyone else seemed relaxed.

Kamuro's brows appeared to remain furrowed, and she seemed somewhat irritated.

It was as though someone had touched upon a troublesome weakness of hers.

And now.

When Oreki raised his hand, everyone looked over.

He looked at the homeroom teacher.

"Then, Teacher Mashima, is it certain that 100,000 Private Points will be deposited into everyone's accounts again next month?"

"Will it be more than 100,000, less than 100,000, or will nothing be deposited at all?"

"..." Mashima glanced at Oreki.

"I cannot answer that question at present," Teacher Mashima said.

But the surrounding students already understood that the 100,000 points on their Student ID Cards could not be spent freely.

"Then when will you be able to answer that question, Teacher?"

Katsuragi Kohei, the outstanding boy Oreki had observed earlier, stood up.

Katsuragi had no hair, was bald, and had a large, tall build.

He was a steady sort of person. Before the teacher arrived, he had mentioned his family circumstances: his parents had both died, and he depended on each other with his younger sister.

So if this school truly was as good as advertised, he wanted to secure a decent job or continue his education.

"I cannot tell you at present." Teacher Mashima was as unyielding as ever. "Also, raise your hand before speaking."

"...Sorry." Katsuragi sat down, somewhat frustrated.

However.

One person remained standing, still in the posture of asking a question.

"Then, Teacher Mashima, how many points would it take for you to tell us the truth about this school?"

"The teacher said it before, didn't he? At this school, as long as you use points, you can buy anything."

"As long as we have enough points."

"So your current inability to tell us can also be offset with points, right?" Oreki said.

That was right.

Katsuragi hurriedly looked over.

The school's various benefits and generous treatment made even someone as steady as him uneasy.

He did not believe he was worthy of being treated so well.

"If pooling points together can get us the truth, then I am willing to contribute," a pleasant voice said at that moment.

It was Sakayanagi Arisu.

This little Tyrannosaurus had found the best moment to interject.

"I imagine there are almost no students in this school who would adopt such a plan on their very first day of enrollment."

"So perhaps our class can even profit from this."

Classmate Sakayanagi's voice was exceptionally pleasant, soft yet reasonable in every word.

And because she spoke up, everyone came to their senses.

"Teacher Mashima, I'll contribute points too."

"Me too..."

"Me too—"

Very quickly, the Class A students opened their Student ID Cards.

After all.

100,000 points seemed like a lot, but if they did not know what was going on, or if there was nothing next month, then it would be meaningless.

Gathering more information might even allow them to earn more points next month.

They all knew value when they saw it.

"Two million points." Teacher Mashima rubbed his head.

That was right.

Not only had he never encountered Class A students like this in his teaching career, but this had never happened anywhere in the school either.

So after seeming to give it serious thought, he named a specific amount.

"Agreed." X40

There were forty students in Class A, each with 100,000 points. If everyone contributed 50,000 points, they could learn the truth about the school. It was well worth it.

Thus, everyone paid points to the school's public account displayed by Homeroom Teacher Mashima.

Oreki had already sat down.

Don't do what is unnecessary. Keep what must be done as simple as possible.

He wanted the reward that would let him return home whenever he wanted, so he first had to complete the mission of investigating the school and earning 200,000 Private Points.

In other words, uncovering the truth about the school had become a mission he had to complete.

But the time limit was only one day.

At the same time, he also had to earn 200,000 points.

The workload was rather heavy.

So.

Keep everything simple.

He would use the most direct method: spend points to buy information.

That was the most energy-efficient option.

After Teacher Mashima confirmed the points had arrived, he told everyone the truth.

This truly was a school where ability came first.

The school's advertised 100% advancement and employment rates were both real.

But there was also a false element to them.

For instance, by their third year, Classes B, C, and D of the same cohort would all be abandoned upon graduation and given diplomas from other high schools.

Thus, only those who graduated from Class 3-A could receive the treatment advertised by the school.

At the same time, the school's philosophy was to cultivate talent.

In order to cultivate talent, the school would constantly hold exams while using points as rewards.

There were two kinds of points.

Class Evaluation Points and Private Points.

Class Evaluation Points were exactly as their name implied: they belonged to the class as a whole.

Private Points could be used as money.

Every month, the school would deposit Private Points equal to the class's Class Evaluation Points multiplied by 100 into each student's account.

At the same time, the incoming Classes A, B, C, and D already had differences in ability.