After leaving the office, Konoe finally realized how hungry he was. It was already past noon, and he still hadn't had lunch.
The Mind Palace took a great deal of physical and mental energy. He had poor athletic grades and wasn't in very good shape, so his stamina was naturally below average.
He was dizzy and badly needed some sugar. He staggered toward the convenience store to buy something to eat and drink.
But as soon as he reached the entrance, he noticed what seemed to be a dispute outside.
"Don't underestimate me! Huh?!" The speaker was the red-haired boy Konoe recognized—the one in their class who hadn't wanted to introduce himself. The name on his seat had been... Ken Sudō.
"You're from Class 1-D, right?" The three boys arguing with Sudō were all male.
"So what if I am?" Sudō roared back without a hint of politeness.
"Wow, you've got quite an attitude. We're your second-year seniors, you know."
"Shut up. So what?" Sudō didn't seem at all intimidated by being outnumbered and stood his ground. A fight looked imminent. Konoe frowned and ducked behind a pillar.
"We'll let you off for today. I can't bring myself to pick on defective products like you guys. Hahaha." The three boys laughed as they walked away.
"Are you running away?"
"Keep barking all you want. You'll see hell soon enough."
Hell? Defective products?
The three boys' relaxed expressions had seemed genuine.
Konoe thought it over. He'd assumed students who received 100000 Points upon enrollment would be of a high caliber, but there seemed to be plenty of characters like Sudō and that trio at this school.
"What the hell was that, damn it!" Sudō angrily kicked over the trash can beside the convenience store. He didn't bother picking up the rubbish scattered across the ground; he just shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.
Just as Konoe was about to enter the convenience store, he spotted an unexpected figure picking up the mess Sudō had left behind.
Konoe remembered him. His name was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. The Mind Palace had also revealed that he'd ridden the same bus to school as Konoe.
He wouldn't give up his seat where people could see, but he'd pick up trash where they couldn't?
Curious, Konoe silently stepped forward to help Ayanokoji clean up. Ayanokoji didn't say anything, and they continued until the mess was gone.
"What a disaster. I remember you're Konoe, right? Thanks for helping." It was the same flat, feeble voice as before. Ayanokoji's self-introduction earlier clearly hadn't been due to nerves.
"No need to thank me, Ayanokoji. Can I ask why you were willing to help clean up?" Konoe asked with a smile.
"I just felt like it wasn't right to leave it there. I was only helping out since I was nearby," Ayanokoji replied. From the way he spoke, he seemed like a young man with a sense of civic responsibility.
Then Konoe asked, "Are you close to the guy from earlier?"
"He seems to be in our class," Ayanokoji replied.
Just then, Konoe's stomach growled. He laughed awkwardly and said goodbye to Ayanokoji. "Sorry, I'm a little hungry, so I'll be going."
"See you." Ayanokoji left with his purchases.
Konoe picked out his items quickly: instant noodles for 160 points, juice for 100, and a few candies for another 100. In total, he'd spent 360 points. It seemed prices at the school were almost the same as outside.
After eating his fill at one of the seats in the convenience store, Konoe finally felt better. He rested and looked around.
"Hm?" Konoe noticed something strange.
In one corner of the store, there were some food items and daily necessities. At first glance, they didn't seem any different from the other products. Maybe they were close to their expiration dates?
Konoe walked over and took a closer look. They were marked free. He checked the expiration dates and found they were about the same as those on the regular products. The only difference was that these items looked cheaper.
Konoe had a bad feeling. Judging by the prices at the school, 100000 Points a month was more than any normal student could spend.
Could they be for students who accidentally ran out of points? No, that didn't seem likely. Students who often spent all their money would inevitably borrow from their classmates. They just had to make do until the next month, when they'd get another 100000 Points. And if they had no friends willing to lend them money, then they probably wouldn't be the sort to spend everything in the first place.
"The school seems stricter than I thought. Should I have accepted Chabashira-sensei's offer...?" Torn, Konoe picked out the necessities he needed.
As he left the convenience store, Konoe's eyes narrowed.
He saw a security camera outside, aimed right at the store entrance.
"So that's why..." A suspicion suddenly surfaced in Konoe's mind.
It was past two in the afternoon by the time Konoe returned to the dormitory.
He picked up his room key for 404 and the dormitory handbook from the first-floor administrator, then went to his room.
Water and electricity were free, and there was no gas bill. The handbook only mentioned the garbage collection schedule and reminded students not to waste water or electricity.
The dormitory housed both male and female students, but each student had a separate room. It was less like a dormitory and more like an apartment building.
The better the living facilities and the better the treatment of the students, the more uneasy Konoe felt. There were just too many suspicious things about this school.
But what was done was done. He might as well get some sleep first.
Before you continue