There's... Something Wrong with This School

"If someone doesn't think they need to use their Points, they can transfer them to someone else. However, please don't threaten anyone. The school is very sensitive about bullying."

When she mentioned that, many students secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Kamio Tatsuya also glanced around the class.

Apart from the red-haired guy sitting beside him, who looked pretty scary, no one seemed likely to bully anyone openly.

"Be sure to attend the opening ceremony later. Afterward, return to the classroom to pick up the books you'll need for your first year of classes.

"For the rest of the day, you're free to explore the school grounds. If you're worried about getting lost, your phones have GPS, so you can check the school map and your current location at any time.

"Classes officially start tomorrow, so for today, take some time to familiarize yourselves with the school."

After saying all that, Chabashira Sae looked around the classroom.

"It seems no one has any questions. In that case, I hope you have a wonderful school life."

"Um..."

Hearing someone raise their hand in the classroom, Chabashira Sae looked a little surprised. She glanced at the seating chart before speaking.

"You're Kamio, right? What is it?"

Kamio Tatsuya's action immediately drew the attention of the other students. Under so many watchful eyes, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Uh... Chabashira-sensei, aren't you going to leave us a way to contact you? I thought we might need it."

As soon as he said that, he felt like the other students were hissing at him.

Chabashira Sae thought for a moment, then wrote her phone number on the blackboard.

"This is my phone number. Save it if you think you might need it."

So most of the students opened their phones and saved the number, whether they thought they'd need it or not. Better safe than sorry.

"Is there anything else, Kamio?"

Seeing that Kamio still hadn't sat down, Chabashira Sae continued.

"Um, what you just said—is it all true? About the Points." Afraid she might not understand, Kamio Tatsuya took care to clarify what he meant.

Before Chabashira Sae could respond, someone else jumped in.

"Didn't the teacher just explain it clearly? Points are issued on the first of every month. You were staring at your phone the whole time and weren't listening at all, were you?"

Looking toward the voice, he saw one of the two idiots who'd been telling dirty jokes earlier. During introductions, he thought the guy had said his name was Kanji Ike.

What a bastard. Was he trying to make himself feel superior by putting someone else down?

How childish.

Kamio Tatsuya could have said a hundred things to leave him speechless, but he didn't want to stand out too much. Knowing when to hold back was a skill, too.

"Ahaha, I was just a little excited, so I wanted to make sure I'd heard right."

Kamio Tatsuya forced a laugh and put on a harmless expression.

Seeing him like that, most of the students in the class looked understanding. So everyone was the same after all.

As for Chabashira-sensei at the podium, she looked a little disappointed, though no one noticed.

"As a teacher, I can't lie to or deceive my students."

Chabashira Sae's words indirectly answered Kamio's question: what she'd said earlier was true.

Many students who'd been doubtful immediately relaxed, unable to hide their excitement and delight.

After getting his answer, Kamio thanked her and sat down.

Chabashira Sae then left the classroom. The click-clack of her high heels on the floor grew fainter until it finally disappeared.

Then...

"That's amazing!"

"One hundred thousand Points every month? This is incredible!"

"This place is paradise!"

"I've already figured out how I'm going to spend those hundred thousand Points!"

"Want to go check out the shops together later?"

"Sure. With all these Points, we can buy whatever we want. I'm so glad I got into this school!"

Listening to the class erupt in cheers, Kamio Tatsuya's mouth twitched. They really were high school students, after all.

After the cheering, most of the students got up and headed outside without thinking twice. Just as they'd said, they couldn't wait to see if they could use their Points.

After leaving the classroom, Kamio Tatsuya made a point of checking the other classes. He noticed that apart from Class D, no one seemed to have come out of the other three classes.

What was going on?

The teachers in each class should have taken about the same amount of time to explain the school. Why hadn't anyone come out yet?

Kamio Tatsuya thought it over, then decided to walk past the other classes and take a look inside.

It wasn't like he hadn't done this before.

Back when he was in school, students who got out early would deliberately walk past classes that were still in session. That moment when they saw the envious expressions on the faces of the students still stuck in class...

It felt even better than drinking a glass of ice-cold cola on a scorching summer day!

That's right, he just wanted to see the envious looks on the other students' faces. It definitely had nothing to do with checking whether there were any cute girls in the other classes!

The first class he passed was Class 1-C, then Class 1-B, then Class 1-A. After passing Class 1-A, Kamio Tatsuya keenly sensed that something was off.

He deliberately walked slowly so the students inside would notice him. Quite a few of them did, and he even made eye contact with some.

But why? Why weren't they looking envious?

Could Japanese students really not feel envy?

Damn it, now he just looked like a clown!

Still, he hadn't come away empty-handed. The other classes had plenty of cute girls, and all sorts of types, too.

He'd heard that people in Japan were pretty open-minded. Maybe he'd get a chance...

Ahem, he was getting off track.

His priority now was to figure out what was going on at this school. That would determine whether he could make it to adulthood here. It was the main survival quest, and he absolutely couldn't afford to mess it up.

Finding a girlfriend and all that was just a side quest. He could think about that later.

Whatever else you could say about Kamio Tatsuya, he wasn't an idiot who let his little head control his big head.

What?

You're asking why he hadn't been more enthusiastic about Kushida Kikyo earlier?

Heh. Could someone who wanted to be friends with everyone really be normal?

Chapter 5: There's Something Wrong with This School

After coming downstairs, Kamio Tatsuya didn't immediately follow the GPS on his phone to the school auditorium to wait for the opening ceremony. Instead, he turned into a café on the first floor.

The café even had a name: Palette.

When he entered, one of the staff members looked over at him, seeming a little surprised.

Kamio Tatsuya noticed, but didn't pay it any mind. Instead, he looked at the decorations above the counter, where the price list was displayed.

A medium latte... 320 Points. The price seemed reasonable.

And judging by the prices, it seemed Chabashira-sensei had been telling the truth: this school really did accept Points.

"May I help you?"

A young, cute female server asked Kamio Tatsuya what he wanted. She wore a standard commercial smile, the sort that clearly came from training.

Kamio Tatsuya smiled back. "A medium latte, room temperature, with milk and sugar, please."

"Certainly. Please wait a moment."

After their brief exchange, the server got busy. Kamio Tatsuya continued looking around the café.

He concluded that both the atmosphere and layout were quite nice. The café served more than just coffee, too; they also had all kinds of cakes and desserts.

There were plenty of tables and chairs, so it seemed customers could dine in as well...

While he was lost in thought, a staff member spoke again.

"Here's your medium latte, room temperature with milk and sugar."

"Thank you."

Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and opened the tab showing his Points. Then, following the server's instructions, he tapped it against the machine and paid 450 Points.

Balance: 99,550 ppt

So it worked after all.

Kamio Tatsuya smiled, nodded to the staff member, and picked up the coffee that had been placed on the table.

Kamio Tatsuya headed toward the door with his coffee. Behind him, he heard the staff members quietly discussing him.

"He doesn't seem like an ordinary high school student."

"Right? He has this mature air about him, unlike students who are so loud and excitable. And he's handsome, too."

"Mhm. He must be one of the elites from Class A!"

"Probably. Even if he's not from Class A, he has to be from Class B. There's no way he's from Class D, right?" Her voice was clearly amused at the end.

Hearing that, Kamio Tatsuya stopped and turned back to look at her in surprise.

But the moment she noticed him, she shut her mouth. The girl who'd made his coffee, though, secretly winked at him.

Well, look at you. You're pretty cheeky.

When a problem came up, Kamio Tatsuya liked to deal with it. He was just about to go back and ask what they'd meant when...

The café door behind him opened, and two people walked in. Kamio Tatsuya instinctively turned around.

A boy and a girl, both wearing the school uniform. They were easy to recognize.

The boy was tall, even taller than Kamio Tatsuya. His most striking feature was that he had no hair—not even eyebrows. His expression was stern, and he looked very steady.

The girl was much shorter and petite. Her silver hair stood out, and she wore a white beret and white thigh-high socks. A faint smile played on her face, and the most distinctive thing about her was the cane in her hand.

Students from another class?

With the newcomers there, Kamio Tatsuya abandoned the idea of asking about the earlier conversation. He turned and headed for the café door.

After Kamio Tatsuya left, the tall boy spoke at once.

"That student who just left—isn't he the one who walked past our classroom earlier? Sakayanagi, you must have noticed him too."

"That's right, Katsuragi. I did notice him. That's the same person. But what does it matter?"

The white-haired girl replied casually, then headed to the counter, leaning on her cane.

Katsuragi had been given the cold shoulder, and it left him in a rather sour mood.

After leaving the café, Kamio Tatsuya sipped his coffee and thought about what the two staff members had inadvertently revealed.

An elite from Class A. At worst, a student from Class B. There was no way he was from Class D...

Honestly, it was a little strange.

They made it sound as if Class A and Class B students were supposed to be mature and composed, while Class D students were supposed to be lazy and carefree. Weren't they all just first-year students?

Besides, I'd only been a little reserved and polite, and they'd already called me steady. Those café workers were making a big deal out of nothing.

As for being steady, Class D had steady people, too. That Leading Sheep seemed pretty level-headed.

And when it came to being polite, Kushida Kikyo, who wanted to be friends with everyone, wasn't far behind.

Before long, Kamio Tatsuya reached the auditorium. He tossed his now-empty coffee cup into a trash can and went inside.

There were about twenty minutes left before the opening ceremony began, and quite a few people had already gathered. Most of them wore the same uniform.

Judging by the number of people, this wasn't just the first-years. It looked like the second- and third-years had come as well.

After finding his homeroom teacher, Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and opened the map, beginning to familiarize himself with the various facilities around the school.