Points Represent Evaluation

The girl before him knew of the existence of the White Room.

Now, Yuto finally understood where the powerful aura she projected in the animation came from.

Given this, it wouldn't be strange if she had seen him and Yuki through the glass at some point in the past.

Although the White Room was already a thing of the past, and although Yuto's memories from his previous life suggested that Arisu Sakayanagi held no malice toward the White Room, one could not afford to be careless around someone who knew his past. It was necessary to pay close attention to this girl, Arisu Sakayanagi, and analyze her thoroughly.

"I look forward to working with you, Arisu Sakayanagi."

"Likewise, Amasawa... Yuto-kun." Arisu Sakayanagi smiled.

Arisu Sakayanagi could definitely be called a beautiful girl. She had soft, slightly wavy, silver-white short hair, and her delicate face was highlighted by striking purple eyes, which always carried a faint, elusive smile.

She was petite and slender with fair skin, and she leaned on an exquisite cane in her left hand, looking elegant and composed.

"Would it be possible to disturb you for a moment during lunch, Amasawa-kun?"

Just as Yuto was about to answer, a middle-aged man with a stern face, dressed in a sharp suit, strode into the classroom.

"Hey, the teacher is here, the teacher is here~ Everyone, hurry and sit down—"

Unable to hear his answer, Arisu Sakayanagi smiled and held a finger to her lips, signaling that they could talk later.

"Students, quiet down, please. Hello everyone, I am Tomoya Mashima, the homeroom teacher for Class A. I will be teaching English. This school does not reshuffle classes; for the next three years until graduation, I will be your homeroom teacher. I believe you are all excellent students. I look forward to working with you!"

After finishing his introduction, Mashima-sensei bowed to the class. He seemed like a serious and responsible teacher.

"Everyone must hand in their personal mobile phones. We will now distribute the school-issued phones. The phone and your student ID are integrated; you will use it to access school facilities and purchase goods. It functions like a credit card, but since it consumes points, you must be careful with how you use them. Within the school, there is nothing that cannot be bought with points. As long as it is something available within the school, you can buy anything.

Simply tap or present it to the sensors in the facilities. The usage is very simple. Furthermore, points will be automatically deposited on the first of every month. Everyone should have already received an equal distribution of 100,000 points. Each point has the same purchasing power as one yen."

The students began to whisper among themselves. Their reactions weren't particularly intense, but one could see the shock on their faces.

100,000 points, which meant 100,000 yen. Just the points for the students alone amounted to 16 million yen per month. As expected of a behemoth funded by the government, they were certainly generous.

No wonder they only recruited 160 students a year; it was truly a significant financial burden.

As Yuto thought this, he noticed the white-haired girl beside him had been watching him the entire time.

Her gaze was blatant; in fact, she wasn't even trying to hide it.

He shifted his gaze and met Arisu Sakayanagi's purple eyes.

Oh my, I've been caught peeking.

But then again, doing it so openly can hardly be called peeking.

Am I acting like a shy little girl seeing her crush for the first time?

Just kidding. Arisu Sakayanagi doesn't believe she would ever fall in love. This feeling is more akin to the mutual appreciation between rivals—no, perhaps "a sense of destiny" is more fitting.

Geniuses and powerhouses like them have no need for such vulgar romantic entanglements.

Amasawa-kun didn't show the slightest surprise at the sum of one hundred thousand yen. Having grown up in the White Room, he likely has no concept of how much pocket money an ordinary high school student receives in a month.

Even for Arisu herself, the allowance her father gives her is only twenty thousand yen.

This is likely Amasawa-kun's first experience attending school.

Arisu Sakayanagi has her own principles; she prides herself on never taking advantage of someone when they are vulnerable.

Until he becomes accustomed to school life, she will be the one to protect him.

If only she could play a game of chess with him—that has been her dream ever since that day.

Even after defeating countless opponents and even winning the world championship in chess, Arisu Sakayanagi still cannot forget him.

In the days when she cannot see him, only by picking up a chess piece does she feel as though she is with him.

Mashima-sensei scanned the room, and finding that the students weren't particularly restless, he continued, "It seems you aren't particularly surprised. From that alone, I can see you are already sufficiently excellent students."

"The student council president mentioned it at the entrance ceremony: this school measures students by their ability. Since you were admitted to this school, it means you possess the qualities of capable individuals. These points represent the school's evaluation of you."

"Points can be transferred, but please do not engage in intimidation. The school is very sensitive regarding campus violence."

"Teacher, I have a question." As soon as Mashima-sensei finished speaking, a bald student raised his hand.

"Katsuragi-kun, please go ahead."

Katsuragi Kohei stood up from his seat. He was a tall man who rarely smiled. "You just said that points represent the school's evaluation of us. Does that mean if the school's evaluation of us drops, the points we receive will also decrease?"

Mashima-sensei cast an appreciative look at him, and the surrounding students also wore expressions of sudden realization at his words.

"That is correct. We teachers were instructed to convey the information that 'points represent evaluation,' and nothing more. I can answer further if students have questions, but that is all I can tell you. Thank you for your question, Katsuragi-kun."

The surrounding students cast looks of admiration toward Katsuragi.

"A few students, please come help distribute the textbooks. Afterward, you may head to the dormitories. Remember, there is a club orientation in the gymnasium at two o'clock this afternoon; you can go and choose the clubs you are interested in."

After the textbooks were distributed, Mashima-sensei left the classroom.

Katsuragi Kohei, who had already drawn everyone's attention just a moment ago, stood up once again and faced the entire class.

"Everyone, listen to me. Since our points represent our evaluation, if the school is dissatisfied with our attitude, it might affect the points we receive next month. It would be best for us to be cautious."

The students nodded one after another. It seemed that Katsuragi had already left an impression of being shrewd and capable; he would surely become a central figure in the class from here on out.

"From now on, we are all classmates in the same class. I hope we can all introduce ourselves to get to know one another."

As Katsuragi said this, he immediately gained the support of a portion of the students.

"I'll start with myself. My name is Katsuragi Kohei. I have a younger sister, and I hope to lead everyone through these three years of high school together. I have won first prize in math competitions and essay contests, and I served as student council president for two and a half years in junior high. I plan to join the student council here as well. If anyone has any questions, you are welcome to come to me."

Katsuragi had set a good example.

Afterward, everyone began to introduce themselves one by one. Some were as eloquent as Katsuragi, while others were so shy and introverted that they only stated their names. However, everyone was friendly and introduced themselves earnestly, which at least showed that everyone hoped to integrate into this class.