Just Want to Be a Slacker

The room was a standard single, roughly twenty square meters based on Kamio Tatsuya's estimate.

Looking at the room, Kamio Tatsuya somehow thought of a phrase—"fully furnished, move-in ready."

But to be fair, though the room wasn't large, it had everything needed; common appliances like a fridge, air conditioner, and washing machine were all present, along with a simple kitchen and bathroom.

Seeing this, Kamio Tatsuya fell silent.

What the hell?

You're telling me this is a student dorm?

This is basically a perfect single young professional's apartment, right?

In his past life, dorms were either four-person or eight-person rooms; now he was suddenly living the high life!

Closing the door, he tossed the room card onto the table and flopped onto the soft bed.

So soft...

In his private space, Kamio Tatsuya looked completely relaxed.

He'd already checked roughly—no cameras in the room. Looked like even if Japanese people were perverts, they at least hadn't gone that far.

He was very satisfied with the current situation. With a school environment like this, staying three years was no problem, even five.

After lying on the bed for a while, Kamio Tatsuya got up and read the dormitory rulebook. It specified trash disposal days and times, along with reminders not to make noise.

There were also rules against excessive water use and wasting electricity. At the end of the manual, it noted that romantic relationships inconsistent with high school student status were prohibited.

Japanese high schools... they don't ban dating, right?

So what did "relationships inconsistent with high school student status" mean?

Kamio Tatsuya's eyes flickered with suspicion.

And after nine at night, boys weren't allowed on the upper floors, but girls could apparently come down. Where was the gender equality?

Damn it.

After checking that the gas and water in the room were fine, Kamio took his room card and left. It was nearly noon, so he decided to find food.

For eating, Kamio Tatsuya naturally chose the cafeteria—it would be his go-to spot for a long time to come.

The cafeteria was also spacious; the main hall alone had seating for over five hundred people, and that was just the first floor.

Looking up, the second and third floors had some higher-end restaurants.

After wandering around, Kamio Tatsuya decided on today's lunch: the free Mountain Vegetable Set.

When he saw this counter, he could hardly believe his eyes. There was actually free food?

How could he not give that a try?

Going to the free set meal counter, Kamio Tatsuya noticed the line was unusually short, with only a few people, and they all seemed to be upperclassmen.

Free food and no one eating it?

The problem was obvious—it must taste terrible. If it were good, it wouldn't be like this.

A few minutes later, Kamio Tatsuya carried a standard set meal and followed a senior who had just gotten the same. He'd seen this guy in the auditorium, standing in the third-year line.

Then he sat down across from him.

Noticing Kamio Tatsuya, the other furrowed his brow but didn't speak.

Kamio Tatsuya naturally picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of vegetable, and put it in his mouth, then took a sip of miso soup. The taste was indeed mediocre.

After swallowing, he remarked, "As expected, no matter how many times you eat it, this stuff isn't great."

That comment immediately struck a chord with the senior across from him.

"Yeah, if I had enough points, who would come eat this garbage?" The other's expression wasn't pleasant.

"Exactly..."

Great, sharing hardship was definitely the best way to bond, especially with someone in the same boat. They always had common ground. As long as he got the other talking, gathering intel would be easy.

Just as Kamio Tatsuya was about to keep chatting and fish for information, he heard some noise nearby. Turning his head, he saw one of the only two people he knew at this school—Nagumo Miyabi.

Chapter 8: Senior, Meeting You Is Such a Relief

Nagumo Miyabi was surrounded by followers, brimming with confidence, and very eye-catching. Naturally, he didn't notice Kamio Tatsuya in the obscure corner, or if he did, he didn't care.

But oh, Senior Nagumo, your timing couldn't be better. Even fate is helping me out here!

After Nagumo went up to the second floor, Kamio Tatsuya deliberately sighed, "Nagumo really is impressive and stands out, huh."

The moment he said that, Kamio Tatsuya immediately felt the wariness on the other's face fade.

If the third-year student had any doubts about Kamio Tatsuya's identity before, unsure if he was a first-year, that comment dispelled them completely.

Because he basically knew all the third-years, even if he hadn't spoken to them, he knew their names. So this guy definitely wasn't a third-year.

And since he knew Nagumo Miyabi, he probably wasn't a first-year either. First-years had only been enrolled for two or three hours and generally wouldn't have crossed paths with second-years.

As for the possibility that he knew Nagumo before enrollment, that was possible but unlikely. Besides, what first-year would choose to eat this awful Mountain Vegetable Set for their very first meal?

Also, when he ate the set just now, he didn't show any sign of disgust, clearly used to it. So this guy had to be a second-year.

After a quick psychological analysis, the Third Year senior immediately lowered his guard.

The school forbade them from revealing information about this place to first-years, which was why he'd been wary—but since this guy wasn't a first-year, he relaxed at once.

And coming to eat the Mountain Vegetable Set right at the start of the term meant the other party was probably a Class C or Class D student, right? Fellow sufferers in the same boat.

Thinking this way, the Third Year senior instantly felt empathy and opened up.

"After all, he's the one who led Class B to Rank Up to Class A—it's only natural he'd be at this level."

Led Class B to Rank Up to Class A?

That sentence alone was packed with information!

Kamio Tatsuya ate his meal while mulling over the implications in the other's words.

First, since it was possible to go from Class B to Class A, that naturally meant the standings of Class A and Class B weren't equal.

By extension, the same applied to Class C and Class D. If moving from Class B to Class A counted as a Rank Up, then by common sense, going from D to C and C to B would also be Rank Ups.

With that, the order of the four classes became clear: A, B, C, D. Class A had the best treatment or status, while Class D had the worst.

Since status or treatment differed, and there was a means to Rank Up, it meant the four classes were in competition.

Why compete?

Kamio Tatsuya thought back to the admissions brochure: this school boasted a 100% employment and advancement rate.

So, was the competition over that 100% employment and advancement rate?

It wasn't impossible.

In fact, the more Kamio Tatsuya thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Given the quality of Class D students, most of them didn't even deserve that privilege—guys like Yamauchi and Ike, for instance.

Even handing out 100,000 points a month to those guys was a waste.

And if Kamio Tatsuya could figure that out, couldn't the school?

Unlikely—yet the school still gave 100,000 points monthly as living expenses, saying they'd be distributed on the first of each month...

Wait!

Kamio Tatsuya carefully recalled what Chabashira-sensei had said. She'd only mentioned that points would be distributed on the first of each month—she'd never guaranteed it would be 100,000 points on the first!

And since the four classes were in competition, that relationship should have been made clear from the start. But Chabashira-sensei hadn't conveyed the essence of the competition to them yet.

What did that mean? It meant it wasn't time to tell them.

So when would the time come? Kamio Tatsuya thought it would likely be next month's first, when points were distributed.

And why wait a whole month?

Was it to use that month to let the four classes pull apart?

Very possible.

Because if the four classes were to start competing, one key factor was fairness—meaning everyone's starting line was actually the same.

But after a month, that might change.

And as for what was the same across all four classes right now, Kamio Tatsuya immediately thought of one thing.

The 100,000 Private Points distributed monthly.

Combined with the fact that some upperclassmen were wealthy enough to eat at fancy restaurants while others could only afford the free Mountain Vegetable Set...

Everyone's living expenses really weren't the same.

So was the competition actually over how much living expenses you got?

Not sure—let's probe a bit more. So while eating, he casually asked, "By the way, Senior, how much living expenses do you still get each month?"

"I'm in Class C. I've got 178 Class Points right now, so that's 17,800 Private Points a month. Class D has it worse—their Class Points are in the double digits, less than 10,000 points a month for living expenses."

As he said this, the other's face wore a gloating smile.

A new term appeared—Class Points.

And the ratio between monthly Private Points and Class Points was 100:1, so 100,000 Private Points corresponded to 1,000 Class Points.

So everyone's starting line was actually 1,000 Class Points, and class rankings were determined by Class Points?

And these Class Points definitely weren't fixed—otherwise, this Third Year senior's Class C wouldn't be down to just over a hundred points.

That meant Class Points could be deducted.

Correspondingly, there should be ways to increase them. The classes likely competed over these points to vie for the four-class ranking.

And through increases or decreases in Class Points, the order of the four classes would shift accordingly—top being Class A, bottom being Class D.

This was clear from the senior's words: Class C's Class Points were higher than Class D's.

As for the first-years, though everyone started on the same line, after a month, they'd probably be sorted into different tiers.

In other words, within this month, the school would use some method to change the Class Points of the four classes, thereby revealing the true nature of class competition on the first of next month.

So, through what?

On this point, Kamio Tatsuya had no way of knowing.

Snapping back to reality, Kamio Tatsuya had already finished the terrible Mountain Vegetable Set, but because his mind had been occupied with thinking, he barely noticed the taste.

Looking up at the third-year senior still struggling with his own Mountain Vegetable Set, Kamio Tatsuya's eyes brimmed with warmth. Senior, meeting you was truly a blessing.

Chapter 9: Side Quest, Complete!

After finishing the meal and exchanging a greeting with the senior across from him, Kamio Tatsuya left first.

Next, he planned to head to the school supermarket. As a newcomer, he still needed to prepare toiletries and other essentials.

Arriving at the nearest supermarket, Kamio Tatsuya noticed a classmate tidying up trash there. He remembered hearing the name during the earlier self-introductions.

Ayanokoji Kiyonaka—that expressionless weirdo who had been secretly observing the whole class from the back row by the window.

Since they were classmates, and he'd already spotted him, he figured he might as well go say hello.

"Are you having some kind of trouble?"

The sudden approach made Ayanokoji Kiyonaka, who was cleaning up trash off the floor, pause for a moment. Then he looked up and saw Kamio Tatsuya's face.

"Uh, I remember you're Kamio from the same class?"

"That's right, Kamio Tatsuya. Looks like you've run into some trouble."

As he spoke, Kamio Tatsuya pointed at the instant noodles and soup seasoning spilled all over the floor.

"Uh, it's a long story," Ayanokoji Kiyonaka said, seeming a bit embarrassed. "Do you want to hear it?"

At that point, not only was Ayanokoji Kiyonaka embarrassed, even the air itself grew awkward.

What's up with this guy?

Kamio Tatsuya found him rather baffling.