You Don't Understand / Capitalism, You Win

No matter whether he was actually in the wrong, it never hurt to blame someone else first.

"Because it's an 'exam.'" Just then, a light voice came from outside the classroom.

A moment later, a delicate silver-haired princess who looked as though she had come from a wondrous land appeared in the doorway.

Class 1-A's Sakayanagi Arisu.

You Don't Understand

The bell signaling the end of class had rung a while ago.

Silence, contemplation, confrontation, mutual accusations—time ticked by amid all sorts of different moods.

As the teacher for this lesson, Chabashira Sae wasn't in a hurry to start. She didn't mind spending the entire class letting Class D think things over. As long as they managed to reach a firm "conclusion," that would count as a success.

So even when the brief break arrived, she had no intention of letting her students off the hook. Instead, she continued to take up their break time, explaining the "Special Exam" they'd paid 200,000 points for.

But what she hadn't expected was that, on their third day before they'd even built up any connections, a visitor from another class would show up during the short breaks when students rarely had time to socialize...

"Why, aren't I welcome?" The silver-haired princess stood smiling in the doorway to Class D, leaning on her cane.

Behind Sakayanagi Arisu stood a purple-haired girl with a cold expression, quiet as a guard.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself." As if it had just occurred to her that no one in Class D might know who she was, Sakayanagi Arisu surveyed the room before speaking softly. "I'm Sakayanagi Arisu from Class 1-A."

"Good afternoon, defective products."

"..."

"...Huh?" Horikita Suzune frowned.

"Eh..." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained expressionless.

"Hey, hey, isn't she super cute?!" Kanji Ike's eyes widened.

"You're all high school students, so surely none of you are unfamiliar with the word 'exam,' right?" Seeing that no one had outright refused to let her in, Sakayanagi Arisu took it as Class D's silent consent. Leaning on her cane, she strolled around the room.

As she wandered, she continued explaining what she meant. "An exam defines a scope and assesses your aptitude. It tests your grasp of knowledge and measures your ability."

"Before an exam, the teacher answers all your questions about the material. But once the test begins, are you still allowed to ask the teacher questions?"

As she finished speaking, Sakayanagi Arisu's footsteps came to a slow stop.

She stood in front of the desk of a dark-blue-haired girl with twin tails.

"Wang Meiyu."

The only Chinese student in the first year.

She had pretty eyes and long, dark-blue twin tails, but she always seemed unable to stop lowering her head. Her youthful-looking face carried a faintly timid air that made her seem like someone who might be easy to bully.

A perfect target for bullying.

But she didn't look as though she'd ever been bullied.

Was it because she hadn't gone to middle school in Japan?

"Hello." Sakayanagi Arisu lightly rested her hand on the desk. "Would you like to shake hands?"

"Eh?" Stiffly, Wang Meiyu lifted her head.

S-she's so cute...

But... a handshake?

Why was she coming to her?

Though she didn't quite understand, Wang Meiyu looked at Sakayanagi Arisu's smiling face and cautiously reached out her hand, gently taking the other girl's much softer hand in hers.

"Is... is that all?" Wang Meiyu blinked and met Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze, then asked in a small voice.

"..." A flash of surprise passed through Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes, but she didn't dwell on it. She simply smiled and nodded. "That's right. That's all."

Did she not want to let the class find out?

Or was she deliberately pretending I hadn't noticed her?

But your evasive gaze gave away who you were the moment I walked in.

Everyone was looking at me, the visitor. You were the only one who didn't look over and instead avoided my gaze.

Still, it's surprising. The person who wrote all those nonsensical rumors about me in her diary seems like such an easy target in real life.

Is this what they mean by a gap between appearances?

In any case, the Hide and Seek Game is over.

As a way to pass the time, it was pretty interesting.

After letting go of Wang Meiyu's hand, Sakayanagi Arisu turned around and walked out of Class D.

Only after she disappeared through the doorway without a second thought did the students of Class D belatedly realize that someone from Class A had just visited.

"...So, what exactly did she come here for?"

Someone suddenly asked.

Outside Class D, in the hallway.

Sakayanagi Arisu leisurely leaned on her cane as she made her way back to Class A. The girl behind her, Kamuro Masumi, couldn't help walking closer.

"...What exactly did you come here for?" she asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind in Class D.

Sakayanagi Arisu's lips curved upward. "Didn't I say from the beginning? I came to meet someone."

"That girl just now? She didn't seem all that special." Kamuro Masumi was puzzled. "I can't help thinking you picked the wrong person."

"And there was no need to come all the way to Class D just to shake her hand. Couldn't you have asked someone to tell her to come over?"

"You don't understand." Sakayanagi Arisu gently shook her head.

From the beginning, the other person had said that this was a game of Hide and Seek.

And if it was a game of Hide and Seek, there had to be two roles: the hunter who searched for people, and the person in hiding.

Sakayanagi Arisu had never thought of herself as someone who needed to hide.

So she was the hunter.

And if she was the hunter, why should she skulk around?

She would find the person she'd identified as her target, go up to them, confirm it, and declare her victory.

It was as simple as that.

Though she'd apparently only shaken Wang Meiyu's hand, things couldn't be judged by appearances alone.

It was a declaration of victory. It was a statement that she'd seen through the timid facade to the person beneath. It was also a threat.

She didn't mind Wang Meiyu continuing to write in her diary. The nonsensical things she wrote could add a little amusement to Sakayanagi Arisu's dull life.

But she mustn't make up any more rumors about her.

That was what the look they'd exchanged while shaking hands had conveyed.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't understand. You understand everything." Kamuro Masumi shrugged.

First-Year Class B.

"...I heard Classmate Sakayanagi from Class A went to Class D today."

"Apparently... she just shook hands with Wang from Class D?"

"Is she... trying to make friends with her?"

"She's already making friends with people in other classes. That's impressive."

The students chatted during the break. Though he wasn't actively trying to listen, their voices kept finding their way into his ears.

The more he heard, the more something felt off to Asakusa Toru.

Asakusa Toru: "...?"

What did they mean, Sakayanagi Arisu went to Class D and shook hands with Wang Meiyu?

Capital, You Win

Last night, after spending a little time in the White Room doing some exercise to help digest his food, and then doing a simple training session with the Voice Recorder as a makeshift weapon, Asakusa Toru had settled into a peaceful sleep.

Once he'd pushed his body's fatigue to the limit, he could fall asleep quickly without needing to do anything else.

And with the Membership Card converting the energy he gained from eating into physical ability, he was able to wake up in peak condition after a good night's sleep.

He didn't need to stay up late or rush to use up every last second on the Membership Card. He only needed to feel his body changing bit by bit and greet each day feeling refreshed.

When all was said and done, he was still a high school student.

A high school student ought to act like one.

...Besides, there wasn't much else to do at Advanced Nurturing, with its tightly controlled campus.

He still hadn't beaten Amazawa today. Once again, she'd pinned him beneath her little foot.

One of these days, he'd pin her beneath his foot instead.

Still, there was no need to rush.

If he kept improving at his current rate, Asakusa Toru figured he'd be able to crush Amazawa in less than a year, after spending two or three months in the Membership Card.

The Membership Card's boost was surprisingly powerful. Even while he was getting beaten up in the White Room, his thoughts had become much clearer.

It really was worthy of an S rating.

The Room Key Card he'd gotten yesterday couldn't compare at all.

After his usual energy replenishment, Asakusa Toru once again headed to the Class B classroom.

Almost as soon as he entered, he felt the gazes of his classmates turn toward him, and heard their voices drop.

The little gestures and nudges between them soon stopped. Right before class, a boy with a bright, cheerful smile approached him. His gender was a little hard to make out, but he still seemed to be male.

"Good morning, Asakusa."

Shibata Hayate was a fair-skinned boy with a lot of potential. He seemed to be in the Soccer Club and had excellent athletic ability. He was the kind of person who didn't look muscular, but turned out to be surprisingly strong.

"I want to be friends with you," he said.

Ichinose Honami had taken the initiative to talk to Asakusa Toru, but that didn't mean the others had given up on approaching him.

They could imagine how isolating it would feel to be unable to fit in with the class from the very beginning, even if they'd never experienced it themselves.

Ichinose Honami's kindness couldn't stay focused on him forever. Besides, none of them wanted Ichinose to spend all her time with Asakusa.

—Honami is everyone's!

So...

[You became friends with "Shibata Hayate"]

[You became friends with "Shiranami Chihiro"]

[You exchanged contact information with your classmates]

Asakusa Toru had little desire to socialize, but that didn't mean he was averse to interacting with others.

They said you couldn't hit someone who came to you with a smile. And that was even more true of his classmates, who'd taken the initiative to approach him and say they wanted to be friends because they were concerned about his social life.

Friends could sometimes be surprisingly useful.

For example, you could sacrifice them when you were in danger... no, you could shamelessly go up to them when you were broke and guilt-trip them with, "Aren't we friends?"

...Sorry. Both of those seem a bit much.

In any case, there was no harm in building connections.

Asakusa Toru wasn't worried that his new friends would find all sorts of excuses to take up his free time. He wasn't worried about them turning around and using emotional blackmail to get money out of him, either.