Using the seating chart at the podium, Dokuho Kouya quickly found his seat.
Sitting beside him was a tall girl with somewhat boyish features.
Noticing her new deskmate, the girl greeted him warmly. "Hi, I'm Sayo Ando. I hope we get along!"
Sayo Ando...
The name didn't ring a bell.
Dokuho Kouya had been in this world for over a decade, but he only remembered the names of the original story's key characters.
In Class B, for instance, he only remembered Ichinose, Kanzaki, and a few others. At most, he could add Chihiro Shiranami, the cherry blossom of the class who had once confessed to Ichinose.
Beyond that, he didn't remember many of the other students in Class B.
"I'm Dokuho Kouya." After politely giving his name, Kouya began looking around the classroom.
Many Class B students had already arrived.
Even though it was only their first day meeting each other, a crowd of students had gathered around a pink-haired girl, chatting and laughing with her.
"That girl's amazing." Sayo Ando's gaze also settled on the pink-haired girl at the center of the crowd. She spoke admiringly. "I've never seen anyone make friends with everyone so quickly on the first day of school."
Whether it was kindergarten, elementary school, or middle school, most people were bound to feel awkward at first in a room full of strangers. They would just sit in their seats, spacing out.
It was rare to see someone like the pink-haired girl chatting happily with so many people.
"Is that Ichinose?" Dokuho Kouya studied the pink-haired girl.
She was gentle and generous, cheerful, pretty, and had social skills maxed out.
She hadn't been in the classroom long, yet she was already chatting happily with classmates she'd just met.
No wonder she'd managed to unite Class B through her own charm in the original story.
"Too bad. The role I'm about to play is that of a lone wolf."
Once he confirmed that he was in Class B, Dokuho Kouya had decided on the persona he would cultivate at Advanced Nurturing.
Kind, mysterious, powerful, aloof, and friendly.
In close-knit Class B, his aloofness and how out of place he seemed would surely leave a deep impression on the audience.
At the same time, so he wouldn't overlap with the lone wolves in Class D, like Koenji and Yukimura, he also had to cultivate a friendly persona.
Aloof, but kind to others; friendly with just about everyone.
If he pulled off that contrast, it would make his persona more compelling. If he failed, it would just seem contradictory.
Either way, he was sure to be popular.
"Sayo, don't you want to go talk with them?" Dokuho Kouya turned toward the tall girl beside him and smiled.
"Wouldn't it be rude to just join in?" Sayo Ando asked hesitantly. Then she paused, looking surprised. "Kouya, did you just call me by my first name?"
In this country, unless people were related by blood, only those who were close could call each other by their first names. Otherwise, they had to use each other's surnames.
Friends of the same sex could call each other by their first names.
For a boy and a girl, they had to be childhood friends or a couple.
Dokuho Kouya had just called Sayo Ando by her first name, which had caught her completely off guard.
"I was calling you Sayo." Kouya smiled gently at the surprise in her eyes. "Or would you rather I call you little Sayo?"
This was one of the ways he'd come up with to cultivate a friendly persona.
He would call everyone by their first names.
Whether they were classmates he'd just met or teachers already out in the working world, he would address them warmly by their first names.
"That's not the point." Having a boy she'd just met call her by her first name made Sayo Ando feel a little awkward. She scratched her cheek. "I just think things are moving a little too fast."
As far as she was concerned, Kouya shouldn't call her by her first name until they'd become good friends.
Calling her by her first name right after they'd met felt much too fast.
Dokuho Kouya had expected the girl to feel uncomfortable, so he'd already prepared what to say.
Just as he was about to give his explanation, a cheerful voice rang out from the classroom door.
"Everyone, hurry back to your seats!"
"I'm your homeroom teacher, Chie Hoshinomiya. Before the opening ceremony, I'm going to explain the school's special rules, so make sure you listen carefully!"
When the teacher arrived, the students returned to their seats.
On their first day of school, they still wanted to make a good impression on their teacher.
"Sayo, looks like we'll have to talk about this another time." Dokuho Kouya smiled at the girl, then returned to his seat.
"All right." Sayo Ando knew it wasn't the right time to talk about that, so she sat down and listened to the teacher explain the school's special rules.
The school had actually sent the special rules to the students in a notice before the start of term.
After all, once they entered the school, they wouldn't be allowed to leave or contact the outside world.
If the school didn't explain this in advance, many students would surely get upset when they first arrived.
That was why the school had informed them ahead of time.
"There are plenty of recreational facilities near the school. If you're feeling cooped up, you can go there to relax."
"To make purchases at school, you'll need to use electronic currency called 'points.' Just scan the special device with the Student Terminal the school gave you, and you can pay."
"Each point is worth one yen."
"The school has already given you 100,000 points for this month. From now on, you'll receive more on the first of every month!"
As homeroom teacher Chie Hoshinomiya finished speaking, the students began buzzing with excitement.
"Kouya, did I hear that right?" Sayo Ando turned toward the boy beside her, speaking excitedly. "We've actually been given spending money worth a hundred thousand yen!"
"You heard right, Sayo." Dokuho Kouya pulled up his account on his phone and showed it to her. "I really have received 100,000 points."
"This school is so good to us!" Sayo Ando's face lit up with excitement. She probably wasn't used to having that much money at her disposal.
For working adults, 100,000 yen wasn't much—not even half a month's pay.
But for students who had just graduated middle school, most of whom had no work experience, 100,000 yen was a fortune.
There was a good chance that a whole year's worth of pocket money and New Year's gifts wouldn't add up to that much.
"The school really is treating us well."
Looking at the 100,000 points displayed on his Student Terminal, Dokuho Kouya had a thought.
With all these points, he now had the means to compete with the upperclassmen.
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