The Dean of Students, Chabashira Sae

The class bell rang, and a beautiful, mature woman with a sophisticated air walked into the classroom.

She wore a black business suit, and her alluring legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings.

Her beautiful black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She had at least a C-cup chest and a fantastic figure—slim where she should be, slender where she should be, and curvy where she should be...

She seemed like the type of woman every guy would like. She could be either a sadist or a masochist...

"Hm?"

"Am I imagining things? Why do I feel like she's looking at me?"

In an instant, I remembered Horikita Suzune's mind-reading-like telepathy from earlier. I immediately straightened my posture, and the teacher's gaze shifted away. I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, what's with you women and your telepathy? How do you keep sensing whatever I'm thinking?"

The teacher looked away from Akasaka and swept her gaze across everyone in the room.

Soon, the teacher's stern gaze had passed over everyone, and the chatter died down.

Only then did I realize she hadn't been targeting me. It was everyone.

Her stern gaze made the students tense up, and the once-noisy classroom fell completely silent.

Everyone quieted down at once. The teacher nodded in satisfaction and began her introduction.

"I'm your homeroom teacher. My name is Chabashira Sae."

Her voice held no emotion, but it was full of the dignity of a teacher. She paused deliberately to make everyone focus on her, then continued.

"This school won't change your class assignments. In other words, I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years.

"Our school is quite special. We've waived all your tuition and fees, but in exchange, you'll have to live on campus for the next three years, and you won't be allowed to contact the outside world."

"Of course, to support your physical and mental well-being and make your lives more convenient, we've also opened a large shopping center on campus.

"You can buy nearly all your daily necessities and entertainment items there. There are also plenty of entertainment facilities, including karaoke, a movie theater, and cafés."

After explaining all that, Chabashira Sae paused again to draw everyone's attention before continuing with the school's rules.

Of course, she hoped the students would notice the problem, but she wasn't going to point it out to them.

Perhaps after trying and failing for three years, she'd simply given up.

She didn't care at all whether the students in her class realized what was wrong.

She continued to recite the school's rules like a machine.

"Using the student ID cards you've just been given, you can use all the facilities on campus and make purchases. But keep in mind, they work like credit cards, so using them will consume something called 'Personal Points.'"

"You can buy anything on campus, no matter what it is. Using the cards is very simple, and you can figure it out for yourselves later.

"Points are automatically deposited on the first of each month. You should each have received one hundred thousand points already, which is equivalent to one hundred thousand yen."

As soon as Chabashira Sae finished speaking, the classroom erupted.

But you couldn't blame the students. They were only high schoolers, after all. Who wouldn't be thrilled to suddenly come into that much money?

With all the entertainment facilities and shops on campus, they were probably already imagining how they'd spend it.

But no one had considered that money never fell from the sky. There had to be a price to pay for the money they'd been given.

As the saying went, you had to give something to get something. That rule held true everywhere—well, everywhere except for fools...

After all, in every world, there were always a few oddballs who defied common sense...

Chabashira Sae saw the students sitting below her looking excited, and felt a little disappointed. She hadn't allowed herself to hope for much, but she'd still wished for a class capable of climbing the ranks.

Chabashira Sae felt conflicted. She wanted to move up a class, but didn't want to help the students. Left with no choice, she stopped dwelling on it and resumed her duties as a teacher, explaining the rules.

"Surprised that the school has given you so many points? This school evaluates you based on your abilities. That means each of you must have some value if you were admitted.

"Your points represent the school's assessment of you, so feel free to use them."

"If anyone wants to transfer points to someone else, they can. But don't threaten or intimidate anyone. The school deals very harshly with bullying."

"By the way, the new student ceremony will be held in the gymnasium in an hour."

With that, Chabashira Sae left the classroom without looking back.

After their homeroom teacher left, the class grew noisy again. It was clear they'd already made plans to go on a shopping spree.

Just then, a boy who seemed to shine like the sun stood up. His golden hair gleamed brilliantly, as if sunlight had fallen upon the earth, dazzling everyone around him.

He slowly stepped forward, a warm smile as gentle as a spring breeze on his lips. It seemed to have some kind of magic, instantly captivating the girls around him.

Watching this, I couldn't help feeling jealous, as though I'd swallowed a jar of aged vinegar.

"So what if he's handsome? What's so great about that?"

Before long, the blond boy rose gracefully from his seat, like a noble prince, and began his elegant self-introduction.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Hirata Yosuke, and I like soccer. Since we've all just joined this class, why don't we introduce ourselves? That way, we can get to know each other better!"

Watching this, I sighed. I really was jealous of handsome guys...

The girls' eyes were practically turning into strings...

Those girls were clearly smitten with the handsome guy. I couldn't help envying him...

I quietly stood up, ready to leave the noisy classroom. Horikita Suzune stood up at the same time, and she looked at me in surprise.

Our eyes met. Of course, don't get the wrong idea—this wasn't love at first sight. We were just surprised to see each other standing up.

Seeing how in sync the two of us were, Ayanokoji thought for a moment and stood up too. Horikita and I looked at him in confusion. The scene grew awkward for a moment.

Should I not have stood up? After our conversation earlier, we're ordinary friends who can talk to each other, right? Did I mess things up again?

At that, Horikita Suzune picked up her bag, passed by me, and left without hesitation.

She clearly had no interest in the introductions that were about to take place in class.

I hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ayanokoji, who seemed lonely and unsure what to do. After a brief silence, I decided to invite him to the supermarket with me.

After all, I'd need someone this capable to help me later...

I walked over and spoke softly. "You're Ayanokoji, right? Let's go to the supermarket together."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expression didn't change, but a glint seemed to flash in his eyes. He nodded at once and replied in an even tone.

"Sure, let's go together."

In an instant, Ayanokoji grabbed his bag as swiftly as the wind and looked at me.

Seeing how quickly Ayanokoji had moved, I fell silent...

After a moment's thought, I picked up my bag too, ready to go shopping for supplies with Ayanokoji.

Just as Ayanokoji and I were about to leave the classroom, a voice called out to us. The girl who approached had shoulder-length brown hair, reddish-purple eyes, and a sweet, friendly appearance. It was Kushida.

In a pleasant, gentle voice, she spoke to us.

"Hello, Ayanokoji and Akasaka. I'm Kushida Kikyo."

She blinked her beautiful eyes and spoke about herself in a coy, almost pleading tone.

"I don't have any middle school classmates who came to this school with me, so I'm all alone. I want to learn everyone's faces and names as soon as possible and become friends with them."

"So, Ayanokoji and Akasaka, would you be my friends? Kushida blinked her lively eyes, looking so cute."

A normal guy would definitely have said yes. Unfortunately, neither Ayanokoji nor I was normal...

"Hello, Kushida. I'm Akasaka Ryunosuke. I hope we get along over the next three years. I have some important business to take care of—I need to go to the convenience store to buy daily necessities. I'll be off, then." With that, I darted past Kushida like a gust of wind.

Kushida froze in place. She'd never expected me to reject her so decisively. Instinctively, she reached out to stop me, but forced herself to hold back. Her lowered eyes only held a faint, unreadable glimmer.

Kushida turned and looked at Ayanokoji, who hadn't moved at all. Ayanokoji felt a little restless. After all, he might have the chance to make another close friend.

"He raised his head and watched Akasaka walk farther away, feeling a little hesitant."

"If I don't catch up, I might lose this friend. But there doesn't seem to be any harm in gaining another friend, either..."

Just as Ayanokoji stood there, at a loss and unsure what to do, Akasaka Ryunosuke's voice rang out from farther away.

"Ayanokoji, stay here and get to know everyone. Don't worry about it—we're already friends. There's no need to fret over little things like this."

Hearing Akasaka Ryunosuke's words, Ayanokoji felt relieved. That meant he didn't have to make a difficult choice between two friends.

Kushida Kikyo watched Akasaka Ryunosuke walk farther away, like a sly fox quietly weighing whether she should follow him.

For some reason, she was especially interested in that boy, as if he were a mirror that could reveal her true self. He always managed to avoid her, which only made her more curious.

So she decided to follow him quietly, like a leopard lying in wait, and look for a chance to find out what he was really like.

Ayanokoji watched Kushida sneak after Akasaka and rubbed his chin, pondering. "Is this what they call playing hard to get? Hmm, I've certainly learned a lot..."

Before long, Hirata and the others took the lead, and the introductions began.

Seeing this, Ayanokoji joined in too, hoping to make a few more friends at this school.

I walked slowly toward my dorm. The school dormitory had six floors in total, with the top three floors for girls and the bottom three for boys. My room was on the third floor.

It was right between the girls' and boys' dormitories—a wonderful spot with excellent feng shui.

I scanned my room card and opened my dorm room.

The room was spotlessly clean. It was obvious that someone had cleaned it in advance.

Thinking about how messy my dorm room at my old school had been, I couldn't help sighing. Living alone really was better.

As for sharing a room, one of my old college roommates liked eating luosifen and stinky tofu. The smell was so strong it filled the whole dormitory. It was simply indescribable.

Lost in thought, I walked into my room.

The room was about forty square meters. It had a single bed, a desk, a computer, and a television, as well as a shower, a bathtub, and a kitchen. Seeing how well-equipped it was, I couldn't help thinking how nice it was to attend a government-funded school. They were willing to spend money.

I looked carefully around my room. Aside from the bedding, there were none of the necessities I needed. It looked like I'd have to go shopping.

With that, I set down my bag and decided to go buy some daily necessities.

I soon reached the supermarket entrance and ran into Horikita Suzune again. Looking at the girl in front of me, my mouth twitched. Why have we run into each other again?

Horikita Suzune folded her arms across her chest, warily took two steps back, and looked at me with her beautiful reddish-purple eyes.

"Are you following me, pervert?"

I fell silent. Fate was truly hard to explain. Once or twice was one thing, but this was the third time...

Seeing that Horikita was wary of me, I hurried to explain before things got even more awkward.

"I'm here to buy daily necessities. I just happened to pass by..."

Horikita and I stood silently. In the end, Horikita sighed and walked straight into the supermarket. I let out a sigh of relief and followed her in.

Horikita subconsciously moved farther away from Akasaka. I took ten thousand points of damage. Does she really have to be this wary of me?

I looked around the supermarket for the things I needed to buy. At last, I spotted a secluded corner labeled "Zero Yuan Purchase."

My eyes lit up. The instincts in my Great Huaxia blood had awakened.

"If it's free, you'd be a fool not to take it!"

"Who would pay for something they could get for free?"

I hurried excitedly toward the free-products section.

Just as I reached for the free toothpaste, Horikita reached for it too.

Then our hands accidentally touched.

We both pulled our hands back at the same time and looked at each other.

I calmly asked, "I didn't expect our Horikita to be so frugal. You already have a hundred thousand points, yet you're still being so thrifty."

Horikita snorted and spoke quietly.

"Have you really not noticed that something's off about this school?"

"Oh? What's off about it?"

Horikita continued calmly. "The school gave all the students a hundred thousand points, but there's still a free-products section."

"There's even a free area where we can get food. Everything about this school feels off."

Akasaka heard what Horikita had to say and couldn't help admiring her. She really is sharp and definitely has potential. But she'd be even better if she dropped that icy demeanor and stopped keeping everyone at arm's length.

Still, no one's perfect. What kind of person has no flaws?

Just as Akasaka was lost in thought, Horikita continued speaking.

"I didn't come to this school to have fun. I have a goal. I'm going to prove myself by standing at the top among all the students here.

"I didn't come here to play school with the rest of you."

Horikita looked at me with a serious expression. I shrugged.

"Is that so? Then good luck. You're not the only capable person at this school."

"Hmph. You don't need to remind me."

Before long, Horikita and I had picked out the free items and were about to go our separate ways when we heard a commotion near the entrance.

It turned out Xu Teng had gotten into an argument with some upperclassmen.

"Anyway, none of this matters." Akasaka was the first to leave. He planned to put all the things he'd bought in his room, then go to the student ceremony.