Convenience Store Dispute

After Konoe left the office, he felt a pang of hunger. It was past noon, and he hadn't had lunch yet.

The Mind Palace consumed a lot of physical and mental energy. His athletic performance was poor, and his physical condition wasn't great, so his stamina was below average.

He felt dizzy and lightheaded, desperately needing a sugar boost. He staggered to the convenience store, intending to buy something to eat and drink.

However, as soon as he reached the store entrance, he noticed a dispute.

"Don't underestimate me! Huh?!" It was a familiar red-haired boy, the one who refused to introduce himself in class. His name on the seat should have been... Sudo Ken.

"You're from Class 1-D, aren't you?" The trio arguing with Sudo were all boys.

"So what?" Sudo retorted rudely.

"Yo, such an arrogant tone. We're upperclassmen, second-years."

"Shut up, so what?" Sudo showed no fear of the numerical disadvantage and confronted them. A fight seemed imminent. Konoe frowned and hid behind a pillar.

"I'll let you off the hook today. I really can't bring myself to bully defective goods like you, hahaha." The trio left, laughing.

"Are you going to run away?"

"Bark all you want. You'll see hell soon enough anyway."

Hell? Defective goods?

The composed expressions on the trio's faces didn't seem fake.

Konoe pondered, wondering how high the students' qualities were, expecting them to be exceptional given the 100,000 points upon enrollment. He found characters like Sudo and the trio surprisingly common in the school.

"What the hell, damn it!" Sudo angrily kicked over a trash can next to the convenience store, scattering garbage on the ground. He then left with his hands in his pockets.

Just as Konoe was about to enter the convenience store, an unexpected person was on the ground, cleaning up the mess Sudo had caused.

Konoe recognized him. His name was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. He also recalled from his previous Mind Palace session that this person had taken the same bus to school as him.

Not giving up a seat where people could see, but cleaning up trash where people couldn't?

Konoe was very curious. He silently approached and began helping Ayanokoji clean up the trash. Ayanokoji didn't say anything until the garbage was all picked up.

"What a disaster. I remember you, you're Konoe-kun, right? Thanks for your help." It was the same flat, listless voice. It seemed Ayanokoji's previous self-introduction wasn't due to nervousness.

"You don't need to thank me, Ayanokoji-kun. May I ask why you were willing to help clean up the trash?" Konoe asked with a smile.

"I just felt it was wrong. I just helped out of convenience," Ayanokoji replied, his words suggesting he was a civic-minded youth.

Konoe then asked, "Are you perhaps close with that guy from earlier?"

"He seems to be in the same class as us," Ayanokoji answered.

At that moment, Konoe's stomach rumbled. He smiled sheepishly and bid farewell to Ayanokoji, "Sorry, I'm a bit hungry, so I'll be going now."

"See you," Ayanokoji said as he left with his purchases.

Konoe's shopping was quick: instant noodles for 160 points, juice for 100 points, and a few candies for 100 points, totaling 360 points. It seemed the school's prices were almost identical to the outside world.

After eating and drinking his fill at the convenience store's seating area, Konoe felt better. He rested while observing his surroundings.

"Hmm?" Konoe noticed something strange.

In a corner of the store, some food and daily necessities were displayed. At first glance, they looked no different from other products. Were they close to expiring?

Konoe approached and saw they were marked with a "free" tag. He checked the expiration dates and found they were similar to regular products. However, these items had a cheaper feel compared to the regular merchandise.

Konoe had a vague premonition. Given the school's prices, 100,000 points a month was an amount that even a normal person couldn't spend.

Could these be for students who accidentally spent all their points? The answer was no. Students who frequently ran out of money would surely borrow from classmates, and having 100,000 points surplus for a month would be enough to last until the next. If they lacked social skills and no one was willing to lend them money, then their independent nature would likely prevent them from spending all their points from the start.

"It seems the school is stricter than I imagined. Should I have agreed to Chabashira-sensei's condition..." Konoe pondered, conflicted, as he selected necessary daily items.

As he walked out of the convenience store, Konoe's pupils contracted.

He saw a surveillance camera mounted outside the store, directly facing the entrance.

"No wonder..." A guess suddenly popped into Konoe's mind.

Konoe returned to the dormitory after 2 PM.

He received the room key for 404 and the dormitory handbook from the first-floor administrator and proceeded to his room.

Water and electricity were free, with no gas fees. The handbook only mentioned trash disposal dates and reminders not to waste water and electricity.

The dormitory was co-ed, but each person had a private room, making it more like an apartment than a dormitory.

The more complete the living facilities and the better the treatment for students, the more uneasy Konoe felt. This was because there were too many suspicious points about the school.

However, things had come to this. He decided to sleep.