A Confession

After putting away the daily necessities she'd bought at the Convenience Store, Hoshino Kanade flopped onto the bed and savored its softness.

As expected of Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Cultivation—even the beds were excellent quality.

At last, Hoshino Kanade was experiencing a normal high school life, though this school wasn't exactly normal either.

In her previous life, she'd been under pressure from a young age, with no choice but to keep pushing herself. She'd pushed herself all the way through childhood and finally been pushed to death.

To relieve the pressure, Hoshino Kanade had stumbled upon the 2D world. Classroom of the Elite was one of her favorite works, and she'd watched the anime and read the novels and manga several times over.

Unfortunately, even by the time she died, the novel—which had progressed the furthest—still hadn't finished updating.

In this life, Hoshino Kanade had planned to casually take the entrance exam for a school with a high deviation score and start a new life.

She hadn't expected to receive an acceptance letter from Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Cultivation, a high school with the same name as the one in the work from her previous life.

After looking into it, she'd discovered that the school's public description was indeed much the same as in the work from her previous life.

That excited Hoshino Kanade a little, even setting aside the nostalgia from her previous life.

Accepting the offer was also a great choice for her. Not only was tuition fully covered, but she could exchange the points she earned after graduation for yen. Even if she couldn't make it to Class A, she could still get into a good university through her own efforts.

After being crushed to death by the exam-oriented education system in her previous life, she now had natural talent in this life, along with all the hard work she'd put in during middle school to earn a scholarship. Hoshino Kanade was sure no one had better Academic Ability than her. No one.

Her only concern was what would happen later, when the school turned into a place where strength reigned supreme. It would be perfect if she could earn enough points in her first year and then transfer out.

That had been her original plan, but Ayanokoji was a girl, and things seemed to be going well between them on the surface. If she seized the opportunity, she could rely on Kiyona to protect her in the future.

Ayanokoji's emotional portrayal differed between the anime, manga, and novels, as did some aspects of her characterization, but her core personality stayed the same: she believed in staying out of the world's affairs, and possessed absolute rationality and all-around ability.

Still, she didn't know how a female Ayanokoji might be different.

Her current goals were to win Kiyona over and earn points. Only with Kiyona could she feel safe, and only with plenty of points could she put her mind at ease.

From their conversation today, Kiyona didn't seem to have much of a sense of personal boundaries. Maybe that was because she lacked common sense.

She also hadn't interacted with anyone else. Could she have social anxiety?

The fact that she kept talking to her made it seem like she wanted to turn her into a tool.

Of course, maybe she was overthinking it. Kiyona might simply want to be friends with her.

At this stage, the best way to earn points was to sell information. In the original story, Class A had 940 points, Class B had 650, Class C had 490, and there was no need to mention Class D.

Judging by Class A's starting points, either they'd discovered the rules early, or every student in Class A had been exceptionally capable to begin with.

Hoshino Kanade leaned toward the first explanation. Every class had students with low Academic Ability. Even if Class A had fewer underachievers, Class B hadn't fallen far behind. Yet after a month, the gap between the two classes' scores had become quite large.

Then again, even if everyone in Class A was disciplined, it was still possible Sakayanagi had discovered the rules.

If she tried to sell information and the other party already knew it, not only would the deal fall through, but they'd also have grounds to accuse her of "betraying her class."

She couldn't be sure Class A was unaware, so there was no point in making a deal with them. Better safe than sorry.

Of course, at this point—less than half a day into the school year—she could probably approach Class A about a deal.

It just wouldn't be easy to explain where she'd gotten her information. Blaming it all on the upperclassmen wouldn't be very convincing either.

She'd observe first, then decide what to do.

Class B was the best buyer, mainly because Ichinose was an absolute angel. She probably wouldn't expose Hoshino Kanade even without a contract, though a contract would be a good safeguard.

Class C was also a good buyer, but getting Ryuen's attention would be a huge hassle. After the deal, she'd have leverage over her that Ryuen could use to threaten her at any time.

If she needed to make a deal, she'd have to tamper with the contract or find an intermediary, such as Shiina Hiyori.

There was no need to say much about Class D. She felt she'd end up working for free. It was better to contribute through Academic Ability in her usual way and just make sure she didn't get expelled in an expulsion exam.

A deal with another class would amount to betraying Class D. If anyone exposed her—

Then Hoshino Kanade's contributions to Class D would be worth nothing.

Her high school life—and her life in Class D—would be over.

It was essential to place informants in Class D. The more information, the better.

Matsushita Chiaki was a good choice: capable, observant, cautious yet always looking for a thrill.

"Miss, you wouldn't want your friends to find out you've been hiding your abilities all this time, would you?"

Just kidding. She definitely wasn't going to use that sort of tactic to bring Matsushita over. She'd think about it later; it was too soon now.

Hoshino Kanade took out her terminal. The only contact listed was Ayanokoji Kina.

"Want to go get something to eat?"

Well, what was done was done. She might as well eat first.

This was Ayanokoji Kina's dorm room, 1204.

After looking around the room, Ayanokoji Kina was surprised by the school's luxurious facilities, despite her limited common sense.

The boys' and girls' dormitories were in the same building. The handbook said, "Romantic relationships that are inappropriate for high school students are prohibited." So that meant... student romances were allowed?

That did seem to be the case.

When Ayanokoji Kina thought about how this was her first time living independently, and how she'd be completely cut off from the outside world until graduation, a rare hint of a smile finally rose to her lips.

It was faint, her lips still sharply defined, but a trace of warm softness showed between them, an odd contrast with her usual icy expression.

This was completely different from before.

Until now, her "smile" had been no more than an almost imperceptible change at the corner of her mouth, something only Hoshino Kanade could notice.

But now, this genuine anticipation was finally clear to see.

This school was famous for its high employment rate, and its faculty and staff benefits were beyond the reach of other schools.

But Ayanokoji Kina didn't care about any of that. Her middle school friends, her parents, even everyone else outside the school were forbidden from contacting the students without permission.

That was what mattered most to Kiyona.

Kiyona had gained her freedom. She even murmured to herself, translating the word "freedom" into several languages.

"This is just... amazing!"

From now on, she'd keep a low profile and simply enjoy life.

All she had to do was maintain the bare minimum of social interaction so she wouldn't be isolated.

But Sou was a strange person. He was very observant and always seemed composed, no matter what happened. He was completely different from the other high school students she'd observed. He must be capable.

The long-haired girl sitting beside her was calm too, though she'd had the same deadpan expression the whole time.

But Sou gave her a different impression. He seemed to have expected everything, while the other girl seemed to have strong nerves. Or was it simply because they were different genders?

He stayed calm in the face of everything else, but acted differently when talking with her.

He seemed innocent, but by carefully watching his expressions and muscle movements, she could tell that many actions that looked unconscious were deliberate.

Was he trying to act the way a normal high school boy would when faced with a girl?

Was he sharing the problems he'd discovered because he simply wanted to confide in a friend, or was he trying to show off his strengths and draw her attention?

Sou had some issues, but they weren't a big deal. After all, he was her only friend, so she should be understanding.

And if Sou wanted to take things further, that would be fine too. Romance was one way to enjoy a free life.

During introductions today, he hadn't wanted to make friends. Without her, Sou would definitely have been ostracized by the whole class. He really was hopeless, wasn't he? (She shrugged and shook her head.)

It definitely wasn't because she herself was too scared to approach anyone and make friends.

"Hmm?"

Her terminal lit up. Sou had invited her to eat. It was time for a meal.

Her thumb brushed across the cold screen as the cursor flashed urgently in the text field.

"Sure." (Read)