Just Want to Be a Slacker

"No, since it's a long story, you don't need to tell me. I still have to go to the supermarket to buy things."

After rejecting Ayanokoji Kiyonaka's urge to confide, Kamio Tatsuya walked into the supermarket behind him.

The supermarket had a more complete selection than Kamio Tatsuya had imagined—things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, and shampoo for daily use went without saying.

Kamio Tatsuya even spotted some products labeled "made in China," and the prices didn't seem too high either.

But after browsing around, Kamio Tatsuya chose to pick what he needed from the shopping carts placed to the side marked "free."

As for the idea that cheap goods aren't good or that there might be quality issues, he wasn't worried.

Since these items were openly displayed in the supermarket, at least there was no need to worry about quality problems; at worst, they'd just be inconvenient to use.

After all, this was a school with heavy investment. If any product actually harmful to people appeared, the first to panic wouldn't be the users—it would be the school.

In his past life, he'd used shampoo that cost a few bucks for a big bottle. What was there to fear?

After selecting the necessary items, Kamio Tatsuya paid and left the supermarket.

The supermarket staff were unfazed by Kamio Tatsuya's behavior of picking out a large number of free items, which only reinforced his earlier guess.

This school had plenty of students who didn't have enough points, and those free meals and free daily necessities were prepared for them.

This wasn't a form of relief for students who had wasted too many points, but rather a kind of pity for those who had no points left.

Thinking about it this way, his earlier guess made even more sense.

When he left the supermarket, Ayanokoji Kiyonaka was already gone. Checking the time, it was already one in the afternoon.

Kamio Tatsuya planned to head back to the dormitory to rest for a bit and, in the process, share his conclusions with Nagumo or Asahina to verify whether his guess was correct.

But as soon as he got back to the dormitory, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was almost dinner time.

[Senior Nagumo, I think I've already found something off about this school.]

Not long after he sent the message, Kamio Tatsuya received a reply.

[Oh? That fast? I thought you'd need at least three days.]

Three days—you really think that highly of me.

Kamio Tatsuya curled his lips. In truth, if he hadn't been lucky enough to get information out of that third-year senior, he might not have discovered the truth about this school within three days.

But then again, maybe not.

[It was just luck.]

Shortly after he sent this message, his phone rang—it was Nagumo calling.

"Hello, Senior Nagumo."

"Nazuna is very interested in your process of figuring things out. Since you're probably free right now, come to the third floor of the school cafeteria."

Nagumo's tone carried an undeniable authority, not even asking for Kamio Tatsuya's opinion, directly ordering him to go to the third floor of the cafeteria.

Kamio Tatsuya was a bit speechless at this.

Who did this guy think he was?

Still, he didn't refuse. After all, the other party was the one who issued the task, and he needed to eat at the cafeteria anyway. Besides, letting that guy get the false impression that he was easy to deal with wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Alright, I understand. I'm at the dormitory now, I'll be there soon."

On the other end, Nagumo Miyabi put down his phone and looked at Asahina.

"You heard that."

"I did, but has he really figured out the essence of this school?"

"Who knows? Whether he has or not, we'll find out when he gets here."

Unlike Asahina Nazuna's skepticism, Nagumo Miyabi couldn't care less. Whether Kamio Tatsuya had grasped the school's essence or not didn't matter to him.

After all, he was just a fresh little underclassman.

A dozen minutes later, Kamio Tatsuya met Nagumo Miyabi and Asahina Nazuna in a private room on the third floor of the cafeteria.

"Junior Kamio, have you really discovered the true face of this school? If you're lying, big sister here will get angry, you know."

Asahina Nazuna said with a smile.

Kamio Tatsuya found it a bit off-putting. What was this "big sister" business? Did your mental age match mine? And at my standard Japanese height of 1.67 meters, what nonsense are you spouting!

"I can only say I've found some things. Whether they're correct or not, I'll leave that to Senior Asahina to judge."

Kamio Tatsuya said with a helpless expression.

"Mm, go ahead. If your conclusion is right, big sister will treat you to a lavish dinner."

Kamio Tatsuya glanced at her, thought for a moment, and then spoke: "Let's start with the reason most students apply to this school. The 100% advancement and employment rates—they don't apply to all students, do they?"

Hearing this, Nagumo Miyabi and Asahina exchanged a look, then Nagumo said, "Continue."

"Although I haven't figured out exactly how many people can enjoy that treatment yet, at least Class D can't. Or rather, Class D students don't deserve that privilege.

And based on my investigation, I infer that only Class A can enjoy that privilege. Since only Class A can, then the four classes in the same grade definitely aren't friends, right? Former Class B Senior Nagumo."

Nagumo Miyabi laughed. "I didn't expect you to know even that piece of information. Looks like I underestimated you."

Then he admitted it.

"Your guess is correct. In this school, only Class A can enjoy the freedom to advance or find employment as they wish. That's why I led Class B to defeat the Class A of our year and complete the Rank Up."

[Task complete. Reward: System Space retrieval count +1]

Chapter 10: Would You Like to Accumulate the Reward?

Noticing the task completion prompt, Kamio Tatsuya could barely suppress the corners of his mouth, but now wasn't the time to retrieve the reward.

"Since you've seen through the nature of the school, solved the problem I gave you, and did it in a short time, I'll give you a little reward."

Nagumo was very satisfied with Kamio Tatsuya's analytical ability. As the current Vice President of the Student Council, he needed to develop his own faction.

He had high hopes for Kamio Tatsuya's ability and attitude.

"A reward?"

Kamio Tatsuya asked curiously. Was there an unexpected bonus after completing the task?

"Now that you've seen through the need for competition between classes, you must be curious about the methods of that competition."

Hearing this, Kamio Tatsuya nodded.

Generally speaking, competition between students or classes was based on grades, but since this school was special, it should be different.

"Please teach me, Senior Nagumo."

"It's simple. Since it's competition between classes, the method of competition is naturally exams."

"Exams?"

Kamio Tatsuya looked skeptical. Was it really that simple?

So in the end, it all came down to grades?

"Exams aren't necessarily written tests. Take your first exam after enrollment, for example..."

"Miyabi! Can you really say that?"

Just as Nagumo was about to explain, Asahina Nazuna interrupted him.

"It's fine. I said it's a reward for Junior Kamio."

Nagumo Miyabi smiled dismissively, but Asahina clearly didn't want to get involved, so she stood up.

"Alright, you two talk. Junior, what do you want to eat? I'll treat you today."

"Uh, I'm not familiar with this place. I'll leave it to Senior Asahina to decide."

"Fine."

With that, Asahina Nazuna left the private room, leaving only Kamio Tatsuya and Nagumo Miyabi. Nagumo continued the topic.

"Junior Kamio, you probably haven't realized it yet, but your first exam after enrollment has already begun."

Kamio Tatsuya was stunned, because he truly hadn't noticed that the exam had started.

"The Behavioral Ethics Exam. In the first month of enrollment, the school evaluates your behavior as students and deducts points accordingly."

"Mm, for example?"

"For instance, as a student, you should listen attentively in class. Sleeping, whispering, playing with your phone, or other violations of classroom discipline are all deductions."

After hearing this, Kamio Tatsuya felt numb.

He didn't think the motley crew in his class today would be diligent students.

"Senior Nagumo, the deductions you mentioned—are they Class Points?"

"Oh? You even know about that." Nagumo Miyabi nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. Each first-year class starts with 1000 Class Points at enrollment, corresponding to a monthly distribution of 100,000 Private Points.

Special exams affect these Class Points. Your monthly living expenses are tied to them.

And class rankings are determined by Class Points."

Kamio Tatsuya nodded after hearing this. This aligned with his own deductions.

But soon, his expression turned pained, because this Behavioral Ethics Exam was really troublesome.

If too many points were deducted, he might be eating dirt next month.

And even if he spread the word, the idiots in Class D probably wouldn't believe him. They'd keep doing whatever they wanted.

Seeing the look on Kamio Tatsuya's face, Nagumo Miyabi's lips curled into a smile.

The Behavioral Ethics Exam was kept secret from new students every year in the first month, and the results were almost always the same: the four classes' Class Points matched their class numbers.

Class A had the fewest deductions, while Class D had the most.

Overall quality was determined from the start, so Nagumo could easily imagine what kind of riffraff made up this year's Class D.

Even if there were anomalies like Kamio Tatsuya with his sharp insight and action, the majority were bound to be hopelessly foolish idiots.

Honestly, Nagumo couldn't even understand why Kamio Tatsuya was placed in Class D.

With his abilities, he should at least be a seed candidate for Class B, if not an elite in Class A. But he ended up in Class D.

What on earth did this guy do in middle school for the school to put him in Class D?

It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to ask around.

Just then, Asahina returned as well, carrying a tray in her hands.

"This is the Lobster Rice my senior sister invited you to eat—don't thank me."

Kamio Tatsuya was flattered beyond measure. Not only was he being treated to a meal by a senior, but she had even brought it in for him. What had he done to deserve this?

"Thank you, Asahina-senpai. Sorry for the trouble."

Then Nagumo also stood up: "Alright, I won't disturb your meal, Junior Kamio. I'm looking forward to seeing your performance."

After Nagumo left, Kamio Tatsuya let out a long breath, then picked up his chopsticks and began eating the very luxurious Lobster Rice.

Just before entering the private room, he had seen it—this was a lavish meal worth 2000 Points.

After finishing the meal, Kamio Tatsuya strolled alone along the school's forest path, pondering what to do next.

But before thinking about what to do, he felt he needed to clarify his own objective.

What was his Main Quest?

To survive in this school.

And this school provided free lodging, free utilities, even free meals and daily necessities, along with school-issued uniforms.

Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—all were met at the bare minimum.

So what needed to be done was to improve his quality of life on this foundation—in other words, to make money, or rather, to earn Private Points.

Private Points were tied to Class Points; as long as Class Points were sufficient, Private Points would naturally not be lacking.

So should he find a way to help Class D survive the first month?

Once the rules were revealed after a month, Class D's Class Points would surely retain at least some.

But the moment he thought about that bunch of idiots in Class D, his head began to ache.