From Today On, I'm a High School Student / I'm a Fish Who Likes to Slack Off

Classroom of the Elite, Just Want to Be a Slacker — Author: Cherry Blossoms in April

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, a secluded, three-year senior high school.

Kamio Tatsuya, a transmigrator with nowhere to call home, only wanted to spend the next three years peacefully, until he turned eighteen. It was such a simple wish, so why did people keep getting in his way?

With no other choice, for the sake of a peaceful life, he would just have to make a little effort.

Sakayanagi Arisu: He's amazing. I heard his parents are gone. I wonder if he'd be willing to take the Sakayanagi name.

Ichinose Honami: Even giving it everything we've got, we can't beat him.

Ryuen Kakeru: I really like his way of doing things. Choosing him as a teammate was definitely the right call.

Horikita Suzune: But I was here first...

Chapter 1: From Today On, I'm a High School Student

"Kamio Tatsuya, you have been successfully admitted to [Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School]. Please report to the school by nine o'clock on the morning of April 2, the first day of school. Late arrivals will not be admitted.

Please bring the phone that was mailed with your admission notice. Do not forget."

After reading the words on the notice aloud, Kamio Tatsuya yawned and tossed it aside.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, commonly known as Advanced Nurturing, was said to be a school that guaranteed its students a future as soon as they enrolled. Its recruitment materials clearly stated that the school had a one-hundred-percent employment and further education rate.

As for why Kamio Tatsuya had received an admission notice, it was, of course, because he had applied to the school and passed both the written entrance exam and the interview.

But he wasn't interested in this supposed one-hundred-percent employment and further education rate. After all, when he'd gone to college in his previous life, the university's admissions brochure had also clearly stated that it had an employment rate of over ninety-five percent.

He'd only learned near graduation that they wouldn't issue a diploma unless you submitted a tripartite employment agreement.

So, of course, their employment rate was ninety-five percent.

He had no idea what kind of shady tricks this lousy high school might pull, but Kamio Tatsuya didn't believe that its one-hundred-percent employment and further education rate meant what most people thought it did.

Even so, he'd applied to the school because it was completely closed off from the outside world. Once he enrolled, he'd effectively be cut off from the rest of society.

For Kamio Tatsuya, who had only recently transmigrated, that was a very good thing.

Kamio Tatsuya was from Tokyo. A recent accident had killed his parents, and he had somehow ended up here, too.

He was now in the awkward position of having no relatives willing to take him in, while he himself didn't want to be adopted.

There was no helping it. His family wasn't well-off, and the inheritance his parents had left behind wouldn't even cover his expenses until he graduated from high school.

But it didn't matter. If he stayed at this special school for three years, he'd turn eighteen, and then he wouldn't need a relative to adopt him.

As for his future, Kamio Tatsuya glanced at the invisible screen that had floated at the edge of his vision ever since he'd woken up again, and smiled.

A transmigrator without a cheat? What kind of proper transmigrator would that be? Come to think of it, if not for this system, he'd still be lying in the hospital.

A week later, Kamio Tatsuya changed into his high school uniform and boarded the bus to school.

His outfit's upper half—a striking red blazer and tie paired with a white shirt—gave him a boyishly mature air.

As for the lower half, he wore green trousers and reddish-brown leather shoes.

The uniform's upper half was reasonable enough, but why were the trousers so eye-searing?

And for Kamio Tatsuya, who was used to wearing sneakers, the leather shoes weren't particularly comfortable, either.

He hadn't boarded especially late, but today was clearly different. Most of the passengers were students in uniforms just like Kamio Tatsuya's.

As soon as he got on, though, he spotted the only empty seat on the bus: the second seat from the left in the last row.

The girl on the far left looked like the timid sort. When Kamio Tatsuya boarded, she glanced up at him, but as soon as their eyes met, she hurriedly lowered her head again.

Kamio Tatsuya's eyes lit up. He walked over to the only empty seat and sat down beside her.

As soon as he took his seat, he started to feel drowsy. But if he fell asleep right away, he might miss his stop, so he turned to the timid-looking girl beside him.

"Hello, I'm Kamio Tatsuya, a new student at Advanced Nurturing High School this year."

The girl beside him seemed surprised that Kamio Tatsuya had suddenly spoken to her. She turned toward him, looking a little flustered.

She's easy to read, Kamio Tatsuya thought with a smile. And just as he'd guessed, she wasn't very good at socializing.

"H-Hello. I-I'm Sakura Airi. I'm a new student, too."

Was she really that nervous?

He was under the impression that Japan had a thriving culture of striking up conversations with strangers.

"Sorry, I'm a little sleepy and want to take a nap. Could you wake me when we get off?"

Kamio Tatsuya put on a friendly expression.

Sakura Airi looked a little bewildered. What kind of person asked for something like that as soon as they got on the bus?

But Kamio Tatsuya had figured out what kind of person Sakura Airi was at a glance, which was why he'd made his request so directly.

And just as he'd expected, although she looked very uncomfortable, she still nodded to show that she agreed.

After getting her confirmation, Kamio Tatsuya thanked her, then folded his arms and bowed his head, drifting into a light sleep.

As for why he hadn't asked those three people over there—heh, none of them were pretty girls. Why would he ask them?

Did they really think he'd ask just anyone?

"Wake up, Kamio. Wake up."

Kamio?

Who was that?

Oh, that's me.

Kamio Tatsuya woke to Sakura Airi's quiet calls.

"Have we arrived?"

"The next stop is ours."

"Thanks, Sakura."

"N-No problem." Sakura shook her head.

Kamio Tatsuya smiled and explained.

Two minutes later, the bus came to a stop. The students in matching uniforms filed out, and Kamio Tatsuya and Sakura Airi also stood up one after the other and headed for the door.

Looking at Advanced Nurturing High School ahead of him, Kamio Tatsuya hoisted his bag onto his back, tightened the straps, and walked toward the black stone gate.

"So this is where we'll be spending the next three years."

As they walked, he tried to start a conversation with Sakura.

But Sakura Airi didn't respond. She just kept her head down and silently followed behind him.

Seeing that, Kamio Tatsuya fell silent, too, and quietly took in the scenery around them.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School was situated entirely on an artificial island in the sea, connected to the mainland by a single straight bridge, several hundred meters long.

Once they passed through the black stone gate, they had effectively set foot on school grounds. Looking to either side, they could see the blue sea.

Following the route signs, they walked all the way to the school. Only then did Kamio Tatsuya speak again. "By the way, Sakura, which class are you in? I'm in Class D."

"I-I'm in D-D Class, too."

"Then we really are lucky to be in the same class."

"..."

Kamio Tatsuya was at a loss for words again. Just how shy was this girl?

When they reached Class D by following the school's signs, there weren't many students in the classroom yet.

After looking at the seating chart on the blackboard, Kamio Tatsuya headed to his seat. Sakura Airi wasn't helpless, after all, so he didn't need to look after her.

Hmm, three seats from the front on the right-hand side. That's pretty close.

Chapter 2: I'm a Fish Who Likes to Slack Off

Once he sat down, Kamio Tatsuya took the school's recruitment brochure out of his bag, opened it, and started reading it again.

It wasn't long before the classroom grew lively. From what Kamio Tatsuya could see, the class was full of oddballs.

For example, there was the idiot duo beside him, loudly telling dirty jokes; the cool beauty quietly reading on his left; the expressionless weirdo in the back by the window, secretly watching the whole class; and the narcissistic blond trimming his nails in the middle of the classroom...

There was also the blonde girl who'd changed conversation partners more than ten times in just a few minutes...

Oh, she was coming over.

"Hello, I'm Kushida Kikyo." She glanced at the nameplate on Kamio Tatsuya's desk. "Kamio, could we exchange contact information?"

"Of course."

Faced with the sweet smile of a pretty girl, Kamio Tatsuya took out the phone the school had issued him and exchanged contact information with her.

While they were exchanging contact information, the two boys beside him, who'd been telling dirty jokes, also turned to look.

Their eyes were full of envy, jealousy, and the desire to snatch Kamio Tatsuya's phone and take his place!

Was it really that serious? How long had it been since they'd spoken to a girl?

But their expressions quickly changed, because after adding Kamio Tatsuya's contact information, the beautiful girl named Kushida Kikyo approached the two of them in just the same way.

"Hello, I'm Kushida Kikyo. Could we exchange contact information?"

"Of course!"

"I'd love to."

Those two were quick to change their tune.

Then Kamio Tatsuya turned to look in Sakura Airi's direction and saw that she was doing exactly what she'd done on the bus.

Head bowed, she seemed to be trying to hide inside the ample curves that were far too mature for her age.

Kamio Tatsuya turned away and glanced around the room, bored. Then he saw two stupid-looking faces.

Those two idiots were looking at Kamio Tatsuya with smug, challenging expressions, as if to say, "So what if you got a pretty girl's contact information? We did, too."

What was that supposed to be? So childish.

I'm the kind of guy a pretty girl will wake up, and do you see me bragging about it?

You losers!

Looking away, Kamio Tatsuya turned his attention back to the recruitment brochure in his hands.

He was beginning to doubt whether the thing was genuine.

A one-hundred-percent rate of further education and employment just for enrolling?

What a load of nonsense.

How were these people supposed to get into college or find jobs? Based on how weird they were?

Well, that didn't matter. What mattered was that the free room and board better not be a lie. He was genuinely running low on money!

He didn't want to start the school year eating dirt!

Wait, was a bunch of armed people going to burst in any moment and put them through some kind of radical life makeover? Or make them team up to play Squid Game?

Well, that didn't seem very likely.

A society governed by law, a society governed by law. Students were definitely supposed to study!

But Kamio Tatsuya still wasn't very confident about studying. In his previous life, he'd been something of a top student, but that had only been back when he was in school. As for this life...

It was better not to mention it.

Besides, this school didn't seem like a normal school at all. What normal school would put cameras in all four corners of its classrooms?

While his mind wandered through all kinds of nonsense, someone in the classroom began to make a move.

It was a male student with blond hair and an East Asian face. He was pretty handsome, and in Kamio Tatsuya's opinion, he seemed like the cheerful, sunny type.