The room was a standard single, about twenty square meters by Kamio Tatsuya's estimate.
Looking around, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help thinking of a phrase: "Fully furnished, just bring your bags and move in."
To be fair, the room wasn't large, but it had everything you could need. It was equipped with all the usual furniture and appliances, such as a refrigerator, air conditioner, and washing machine, as well as a simple kitchen and bathroom.
Seeing all this, Kamio Tatsuya fell silent.
Whoa?
You're telling me this is a student dorm?
This was basically the perfect apartment for a single young man!
Back in his previous life, dorm rooms had either four beds or eight. He'd gone straight from scraping by to living in luxury!
He shut the door, tossed his key card onto the table, and flopped down on the soft bed.
So soft...
In his own private space, Kamio Tatsuya felt completely at ease.
He'd already taken a quick look around. There were no cameras in the room, so it seemed that even if the Japanese were perverts, at least they hadn't gone that far.
He was very satisfied with the situation. With an environment like this, he could easily stay for three years, or even five.
After lying sprawled on the bed for a while, Kamio Tatsuya got up and looked through the dormitory rules. They listed the days and times for taking out the trash, along with a reminder not to make noise.
They also warned residents against using too much water or wasting electricity. At the very end of the handbook, it stated that relationships inappropriate for high school students were prohibited.
Japanese high schools... shouldn't ban dating, right?
So what did a relationship inappropriate for a high school student mean?
Suspicion flickered in Kamio Tatsuya's eyes.
Also, after nine at night, boys weren't allowed on the floors above, but girls seemed to be allowed downstairs. So much for equality between men and women.
Damn it.
After checking that the gas and water in the room were working properly, Kamio Dai took his key card and left. It was nearly noon, and he'd decided to find something to eat.
Naturally, Kamio Tatsuya chose to eat in the cafeteria. It would be somewhere he'd visit regularly for a long time to come.
The cafeteria covered a large area. The hall alone had enough seats for over five hundred people, and that was just on the first floor.
On the second and third floors, he could see several more upscale restaurants.
After wandering around for a while, Kamio Tatsuya decided on the Mountain Vegetable Set for lunch. It was free.
When he saw the sign for it, he could hardly believe his eyes. They actually had free food.
How could he not try it?
When he reached the free-meal counter, Kamio Tatsuya noticed that hardly anyone was in line. There were only a handful of people, and they all seemed to be upperclassmen.
Nobody ate the free food?
The answer was obvious: it had to taste awful. If it were good, the line wouldn't be this short.
A few minutes later, Kamio Tatsuya carried a standard set meal over and sat down across from an upperclassman who'd just picked up the same thing. He remembered seeing the guy at the auditorium, standing with the third-year students.
The upperclassman frowned when he noticed Kamio Tatsuya, but said nothing.
Kamio Tatsuya, on the other hand, picked up his chopsticks as if nothing were wrong. He put a piece of vegetable in his mouth, then took a sip of miso soup. As expected, it was pretty mediocre.
After swallowing, he remarked, "As expected. No matter how many times I eat this, it's still not very good."
His words immediately struck a chord with the upperclassman across from him.
"Yeah. If people had enough Points, who'd eat this stuff?" The other guy looked rather unhappy.
"Exactly..."
Perfect. Sharing misery really was the best way to strike up a conversation, especially with someone in the same boat. There was always something to talk about. Once the other person started opening up, getting information would be easy.
Kamio Tatsuya was about to keep chatting and see what he could learn when he heard a commotion nearby. He turned his head and saw one of the only two people he knew at this school—Miyabi Nagumo.
Eighth Chapter: Senior, I'm So Glad I Ran into You
At that moment, Miyabi Nagumo was surrounded by people, looking confident and in high spirits. He naturally drew attention, so he didn't notice Kamio Tatsuya, who was sitting inconspicuously in the corner. Or perhaps he saw him but didn't care.
But, Senior Nagumo, your timing couldn't be better. It's like the heavens are on my side!
Only after Nagumo headed up to the second floor did Kamio Tatsuya deliberately sigh. "Nagumo really is confident and impossible to miss."
As soon as he said that, he saw the wariness on the other student's face disappear.
At first, the third-year student had been unsure of Kamio Tatsuya's identity and couldn't tell whether he was a first-year. But that remark immediately dispelled his doubts.
He knew almost all the third-years, even if he'd never spoken to them, so Kamio Tatsuya definitely wasn't one of them.
And since he knew Miyabi Nagumo, he probably wasn't a first-year either. The first-years had only been at school for two or three hours; they generally wouldn't have had any dealings with second-years.
It was possible that Kamio Tatsuya had known Miyabi Nagumo before enrolling, but that was unlikely. Besides, what first-year would choose this awful Mountain Vegetable Set for his very first meal after arriving at school?
What's more, Kamio Tatsuya hadn't made a single face while eating the Mountain Vegetable Set. He seemed to be used to it by now, so he had to be a second-year.
After quickly running through this reasoning, the third-year student relaxed.
The school had forbidden them from telling first-years anything about it, which was why he'd been on guard. But Kamio Tatsuya wasn't a first-year, so he could relax.
And since he'd come to eat the Mountain Vegetable Set on the first day, he was probably in Class C or Class D. They were all fellow sufferers.
Thinking that, the third-year student felt a sense of kinship and launched into conversation.
"Considering he led Class B to Class A, it's only natural he'd be that impressive."
Led Class B to Class A?
That sentence was packed with information!
As he ate, Kamio Tatsuya thought about what the other student had said.
First of all, the fact that a class could move from B to A showed that Class A and Class B weren't equal in standing.
By the same logic, the same applied to Class C and Class D. If moving from B to A was a promotion, then by extension, D to C and C to B were promotions too.
That made the order of the four classes clear: A, B, C, D. Class A had the best treatment or status, while Class D had the worst.
If the classes had different status or benefits and there was a way to rank up, then the four classes had to be in competition with each other.
What were they competing for?
Kamio Tatsuya recalled what the enrollment handbook said: the school had a one-hundred-percent employment and college admission rate.
So were they competing for that one-hundred-percent employment and college admission rate?
It was certainly possible.
The more Kamio Tatsuya thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Given the quality of the students in Class D, most of them probably weren't even qualified to enjoy that privilege. Yamauchi and Ike were good examples.
Even handing those guys one hundred thousand Points a month would be a waste.
And if Kamio Tatsuya could think of that, surely the school could too.
It seemed unlikely that they couldn't. Yet the school still gave them one hundred thousand Points every month and said they'd be issued on the first of each month...
Wait!
Kamio Tatsuya carefully recalled what Chabashira-sensei had said. She'd only said the Points would be issued on the first of each month. She'd never promised that they'd get one hundred thousand Points on the first!
And if the four classes were competing, the school would surely make that clear. Yet Chabashira-sensei hadn't told them what the competition was really about.
What did that mean? It meant they weren't ready to be told yet.
So when would they be ready? Kamio Tatsuya thought it would most likely be on the first of next month, when the Points were issued.
But why wait a whole month?
Was the school using that month to create a gap between the four classes?
Very likely.
If the four classes were going to compete, one thing was essential: fairness. In other words, they all had to start from the same line.
But things might be different a month from now.
So far, Kamio Tatsuya could think of only one thing the four classes had in common.
The one hundred thousand Private Points issued each month.
And judging by the fact that some upperclassmen could afford to eat at upscale restaurants while others had to make do with the free Mountain Vegetable Set, their living expenses might not actually be the same.
So were they competing for the amount of money they received?
He wasn't sure. He'd have to probe a little more. While eating, he casually asked, "By the way, how many living expenses do you still get each month, Senior?"
"I'm in Class C. We've got 178 Class Points left, so that means 17,800 Private Points a month. Class D has it even worse. They've only got two digits' worth of Class Points, so their monthly allowance is less than ten thousand." The other student wore a smug grin as he said it.
A new term had appeared: Class Points.
And the monthly Private Points were issued at a ratio of 100 to 1 against the Class Points. So one hundred thousand Private Points corresponded to one thousand Class Points.
So each class started with one thousand Class Points, and the class rankings were determined by Class Points?
Those Class Points definitely weren't fixed. Otherwise, the third-year student's Class 3-C wouldn't have been left with only a little over a hundred.
In other words, Class Points could be deducted.
There had to be ways to earn them too. The classes were probably competing over these Points for a higher ranking.
As Class Points increased or decreased, the rankings of the four classes would change accordingly. Class A was at the top, and Class D was at the bottom.
The senior's words showed that much: Class C had more Class Points than Class D.
As for the first-years, although they all started from the same line, they'd probably be separated into different ranks after a month.
In other words, during this month, the school would use some method to change the Class Points of the four classes, revealing the true nature of the competition on the first of next month.
But how?
Kamio Tatsuya had no idea.
When he came back to himself, he'd already finished the awful Mountain Vegetable Set. Since he'd been busy thinking, he'd barely noticed the taste.
He looked up at the third-year student, who was still struggling with his own Mountain Vegetable Set. A smile filled Kamio Tatsuya's eyes. Senior, I'm so glad I ran into you.
Ninth Chapter: Side Quest Complete!
After eating, Kamio Tatsuya said goodbye to the senior across from him and left first.
Next, he planned to stop by the school's Supermarket. Since he'd just arrived, he still needed to get toiletries and other necessities.
When Kamio Tatsuya reached the nearest Supermarket, he spotted a classmate picking up trash. He remembered hearing the guy's name during the introductions earlier.
Ayanokoji Kiyonaka—the poker-faced weirdo who'd sat near the back by the window and secretly watched the whole class.
Since they were classmates, he might as well go say hello.
"Are you having some kind of trouble?"
The sudden voice made Ayanokoji Kiyonaka pause as he picked up trash from the floor. He looked up and saw Kamio Tatsuya.
"Uh, you're Kamio, my classmate, right?"
"That's right. Kamio Tatsuya. You seem to be having some trouble."
As he spoke, Kamio Tatsuya pointed at the instant noodles and seasoning that had spilled all over the floor.
"Uh, it's a long story." Ayanokoji Kiyonaka seemed a little embarrassed. "Do you want to hear it?"
Now not only Ayanokoji Kiyonaka but even the air itself was awkward.
What was with this guy?
Kamio Tatsuya thought he was acting pretty strangely.
Before you continue