The next morning.
Dokuho Kouya gathered his things and left the dorm.
As he waited for the elevator, a classmate greeted him.
"Good morning." A boy with glasses and somewhat androgynous features walked over with a smile.
"Good morning to you too, Tetsuya," Dokuho replied with a smile.
Tetsuya Hamaguchi froze for a moment, then asked in surprise, "You remembered my name?"
Everyone in class had introduced themselves yesterday.
But with forty people in the class, it was incredibly difficult to make a strong impression.
An introduction was enough to make someone's face familiar.
Getting people to remember your name was much harder.
That was why Tetsuya was so surprised.
He hadn't expected anyone to remember his name based on such a brief introduction. It was quite a surprise.
"I memorized everyone's names and faces," Dokuho said with a slight laugh.
"Seriously?" Tetsuya's eyes widened, his face full of astonishment. "There are forty people in our class!"
Even though he'd tried to pay attention yesterday, he'd only managed to remember a few names.
As for everyone else, he'd barely remembered what they looked like.
And now the classmate beside him had apparently memorized everyone's names in such a short time?
It was hard to believe.
"It's nothing special." Dokuho had a pretty good memory.
As long as he made an effort, memorizing an entire class in a short time was easy. He could even memorize everyone in a whole grade.
"Speaking of which, you didn't come to karaoke with us yesterday," Tetsuya said with a helpless smile. "The girls in our class were really disappointed."
The sporty girl had said something similar yesterday.
The girls in class had taken a liking to Dokuho's face and wanted to invite her along.
But Dokuho had been focused on earning points at the time, so he'd turned them down outright.
"Then I take it you went with them yesterday?" Dokuho guessed.
"Actually, you were the only one in our class who didn't go," Tetsuya said, looking at Dokuho with sympathy.
Perhaps he was worried that the class's behavior might seem like they were ostracizing Dokuho, and that it would hurt her.
"I had something to take care of yesterday, so I didn't go out with everyone," Dokuho said.
"That's good." Tetsuya breathed a sigh of relief.
So Dokuho hadn't been excluded.
That was a relief.
The elevator arrived.
When the doors opened, a familiar girl was waiting inside.
"Good morning, Dokuho, Hamaguchi." The tall girl, Sayo Ando, waved at them.
"Good morning, Sayo."
"Good morning, Ando."
After stepping into the elevator, Tetsuya paused, then said, "Kouya seems to call everyone by their first name."
He'd called Tetsuya by his first name while they were waiting for the elevator, too.
"Exactly!" Sayo quickly nodded, placing a hand over her chest. "It really surprised me at first."
Being addressed by her first name by someone like the school's heartthrob—
Her girlish heart had nearly burst.
"I think it makes him seem approachable," Tetsuya said with a gentle smile, offering his opinion. "Besides, since Kouya remembers everyone's names, calling people by their first names doesn't feel out of place."
Oh, not bad.
He'd figured out my intentions.
Dokuho glanced at Tetsuya, a hint of approval in his eyes.
He deliberately called everyone he knew by their first names to cultivate a friendly image.
It might rub some people the wrong way, but he had no intention of changing his plan.
"You memorized everyone's names?" Sayo's mouth fell open in surprise. "I only remember a few people so far."
It was normal to remember only a few people after such brief introductions.
Dokuho just had a good memory. As long as he paid attention, he could remember them all.
"You're not joking, are you, Kouya?" Sayo asked, unconvinced.
"When we get to the classroom, you'll find out whether I'm joking." Dokuho planned to reveal the school's hidden rules to the class today.
Someone would surely raise questions, giving him the chance to prove he'd memorized everyone's names.
"But before we get to the classroom, we should eat breakfast," Tetsuya said, smoothly joining their conversation. "Want to go to the cafeteria together?"
The school cafeteria's food was quite good, and the prices were reasonable.
If he was alone, it was more convenient to grab something at the convenience store.
But when going as a group, it was better to head somewhere they could sit down as soon as they found a seat.
Dokuho thought it over. There was no need to go off on his own, so he said, "I don't mind."
"Then I'll come too." Seeing that the other two wanted to go to the cafeteria, Sayo decided to go along with the majority.
They arrived at the cafeteria.
After lining up to collect their meals, the three found an empty table, sat down, and started chatting.
"Some of the lines are really long," Sayo said, looking with mild surprise at several serving counters.
Compared to the other counters, those she'd noticed had much longer lines. It was hard not to wonder why.
You'd think that if a line was too long, people would just go to another counter for food.
"Those counters serve low-cost meals."
Tetsuya looked puzzled, too. "The teachers said the school gives us a hundred thousand points every month. Why are so many people lining up at the low-cost counters—or even the free ones?"
Clearly, they'd been misled.
It was probably a deliberate ploy by the school.
When explaining the school rules, the teachers had carefully led the students to believe they would receive a hundred thousand points every month without actually telling a lie.
Even the students in Class B had fallen into the school's trap.
Perhaps the first-years would gradually notice something was wrong as the school year went on.
But with this sort of thing, the sooner you found out, the greater your advantage.
"The reason is simple." Dokuho ate his breakfast as he spoke. "The school doesn't give us a hundred thousand points every month."
"The upperclassmen aren't eating low-cost meals because they're frugal or patient. They simply don't have any money."
"What?" Tetsuya stared at him in shock. "That's not what the teacher said."
"The teacher only said that points would be deposited on the first of every month, and that we'd get a hundred thousand points this month." Dokuho smiled faintly. "The school and the teachers misled all of you."
Sayo couldn't believe it either. Then she remembered what had happened yesterday and looked at him uneasily. "Kouya, is this the hidden rule you wanted to tell us about?"
"Hidden rule?" Tetsuya asked, confused. He had no idea what the two of them were talking about.
"This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the hidden rules." Dokuho gently clasped his hands together. "I know you have a lot of questions right now, but please, stay calm for the moment."
"When we get to the classroom, I'll tell you everything I know and answer all your questions."
Before you continue