"Hehe." Faced with Ryuen Kakeru's threat, Asakusa Toru merely chuckled.
Teasing had to be done in moderation. Just like spoilers in a diary, you couldn't overdo it. A hint was enough.
It wasn't because he'd really get beaten up without Sakagami Kazuma protecting him.
"...I don't think there's any need to spell it out, but since you want an answer, I'll tell you directly." They arrived at the gymnasium, and only then did Sakagami Kazuma turn around and say, "I don't trust you."
He was a witness to the contract, and it was his duty to watch Asakusa Toru disclose all the information he knew, and to make sure that information was worth what Ryuen was paying for it.
More importantly, he was curious just how much this guy knew.
And how much he planned to tell Ryuen Kakeru.
"..."
Their timing was perfect. Just as Sakagami Kazuma led the two of them into the gymnasium, the clock overhead struck the time for the Entrance Ceremony to begin.
Sakagami Kazuma knew better than anyone that this was the time to stay quiet and do nothing. Without making any unnecessary noise or drawing attention, he simply returned to his designated spot.
As long as he didn't attract any extra attention, there wouldn't be a problem.
Of course, that only applied to him.
Sakagami Kazuma had no intention of letting Asakusa Toru return to First-Year Class B just yet. If anything, he had to keep Asakusa Toru in Class C for now.
It wasn't about driving a wedge between them. After all, Asakusa Toru didn't look like someone with any sense of teamwork, and he hadn't formed any bonds with the students in Class B.
He hadn't been with the class from the very beginning, so it wasn't strange for him to show up in Class C, was it?
"They're finally here. You scared me half to death." Seeing them arrive, Ishizaki Daichi, who had been watching the time and the gymnasium doors, finally let out a sigh of relief.
After all, without their homeroom teacher leading the way, finding the place meant for Class C while bringing the entire class along had been a considerable challenge for him.
"But why did that guy come along too?" Ishizaki Daichi hadn't found it strange that Ryuen had come with Sakagami Kazuma, but Asakusa Toru tagging along was another matter.
Wasn't that guy from Class B?
That was right. Asakusa Toru was from Class B.
It was just a shame that, having never shown his face in Class B, none of them would recognize him.
Except for Ichinose Honami.
"Asakusa...?"
Ichinose Honami had been forcing a smile, pushing down the gloom in her heart as she chatted with her classmates while they waited for the Entrance Ceremony to begin. She froze.
Asakusa Toru, who Hoshinomiya Chie had perhaps thought had given up on enrolling, had suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
She should have been happy that he hadn't given up on enrolling.
But he didn't seem to have any intention of returning to Class B. He walked into the crowd of Class C as though nothing were amiss.
For some reason, Ichinose Honami's heartbeat suddenly slowed.
Should I give you a little gold star?
The Entrance Ceremony was over quickly.
Even at Advanced Nurturing, the Entrance Ceremony was much like one at an ordinary school.
The dignitaries onstage delivered long, pointless speeches, while the countless students below dozed off.
Fortunately, the ordeal was short-lived. After what felt like an eternity, the first-year students were finally set free.
They didn't have classes today, so they could explore this fascinating new school to their hearts' content.
For first-years, that urge to explore was even stronger.
After all, every first-year student had received the unimaginable sum of 100,000 points.
Of course, that didn't include Class C.
Right after the Entrance Ceremony ended, Ryuen forcibly collected half of their points. They were certainly unwilling to hand over the money, but when they saw Sakagami Kazuma standing silently beside Ryuen, they still obediently forked it over.
What could they do when even their homeroom teacher was on his side?
Even after losing half, they still had 50,000 points. But having money taken out of their pockets was bound to dampen their spirits.
Ryuen Kakeru didn't care what the rest of Class C thought. All he cared about was what this guy in front of him, Asakusa Toru, was going to tell them.
Under Ryuen Kakeru and Sakagami Kazuma's watchful eyes, Asakusa Toru finally stopped stringing them along and got straight to the point.
"Where was I?" Asakusa Toru raised a hand to his forehead and thought for a moment before continuing. "Oh, right. Points."
"The points the school gives out every month are called 'Private Points.' Since there are Private Points, it doesn't take much thought to realize that there must be corresponding 'Class Points.'"
"One to a hundred. The points given out each month are determined by the Class Points."
"Not hard to understand, right?" he said. "The points given out this month are 100,000, which means every class started with 1,000 Class Points."
"In the first month, the test that evaluates students' academic and behavioral standards uses a penalty system. Things like absences, tardiness, and leaving early all cost you points."
"Of course, they won't keep deducting points forever, so there's no need to worry too much. There'll be tests that award points later on, too." Asakusa Toru paused, then continued, "But since we're talking about Class Points, we can't avoid talking about how the classes are divided."
"There are four first-year classes: A, B, C, and D. In that order, the school's evaluation of the students assigned to each class gets progressively lower."
"As I see it, Class A is the high-quality, useful stock; Class B is the mediocre, versatile stock; Class C is the inferior, inconsistent stock; and Class D is the defective stock that causes trouble."
Hearing Asakusa Toru's words, Ryuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying I'm inferior stock?"
"I didn't say that." Asakusa Toru spread his hands. "This is just how I see it. What you think is up to you, and how the school evaluates you is up to the school."
"At least, when the classes were assigned at the start, they were ranked from best to worst."
"Incidentally, the 100% employment and higher-education rate they advertised is only available to Class A," he said.
Ryuen Kakeru scoffed. "Hah. That's not surprising at all."
He'd already had his suspicions.
He wasn't about to judge himself, but judging from how certain people acted under his rule, it was easy to wonder why the school had chosen them as students whose futures it would secure.
If that privilege was only available to Class A, then it made sense.
"And then, the condition for moving up to Class A..."
Ryuen Kakeru chuckled. "Get more Class Points than they do. Right?"
"Mm-hmm, you're so smart, Ryuen." Asakusa Toru nodded emphatically. "Would you like a little gold star?"
"..." Ryuen Kakeru said nothing. He just stared at him coldly.
As though nothing had happened, Asakusa Toru continued, "Beating them with Class Points is one way to do it, but personally, I think there are other methods too."
"What methods?"
"Transferring classes," he said. "You can apply to transfer classes with 20 million Private Points."
"..."
Twenty million. That was a terrifying amount.
Even at the rate of 100,000 a month, saving up that much without spending a single point would take 200 months. It was practically impossible to accumulate through normal means.
"Of course, I don't think there's any need to obsess over Class A." Asakusa Toru shrugged. "After all, the school's promise amounts to nothing more than a recommendation. Whether you get into a university you like or a company you want to work for is ultimately up to the university and the company."
"Even if they let you in because they're under pressure from the government, do you really think you'd be satisfied? Do you think you'd be able to rest easy, safe from being expelled when they decide to trim the dead weight?"
"Come on." Asakusa Toru curled his lip. "A useless person is useless wherever they go."
There seemed to be a barb hidden in Asakusa Toru's words, but Ryuen Kakeru couldn't care less who he was trying to insult.
All he knew was that the two million points had been well spent!
Just knowing that Private Points could be used to transfer classes was enough to completely change his choices from here on out.
But... though that was what he thought, he kept his expression neutral as he said, "Anything else? Two million points should be worth more than just that, right?"
The more information he could pry out of this guy, the better.
"That's it." Asakusa Toru spread his hands. "That's all two million points gets you. The real value is knowing this on the first day of school. With each passing day, the information loses some of its worth, until it becomes outdated after the first month."
"Whether you resell the information to recoup your money or keep it to gain an early advantage is up to you. Our contract doesn't restrict that."
"But consider this a bonus." Asakusa Toru smiled. "In the first month's tests, the lowest score they can deduct you down to is zero."
It can't go any lower.
"Alright, Sakagami, you overprotective old man. That's all from me." Asakusa Toru waved and turned to leave. "Thanks to Class C for contributing to my wallet. See you around."
He still had to go shopping.
After all, Advanced Nurturing was a fully residential school that didn't allow students to bring their belongings from home.
Well, even if they did, he couldn't be bothered to bring anything.
"...Good. Asakusa Toru, was it? I'll remember you." Watching Asakusa Toru walk away, Ryuen Kakeru grinned. "Looks like the next three years won't be boring."
Class Points, penalty-based tests, class competition, transfers.
The information itself was interesting enough, and it gave him a clear sense of the attitude the school wanted to convey.
But what interested Ryuen even more was Asakusa Toru.
It was the first day of school. How on earth did he know so much?
[Today's Diary Plot Index: A]
He toyed with his Personal Terminal and occasionally checked the balance of Private Points in his account. Seeing the two million points there, Asakusa Toru couldn't help smiling.
The money came too easily. That was the one downside.
There was no sense of accomplishment.
The kind of money that would take endless hard work and tens of thousands of books sold to earn—after all sorts of miscellaneous expenses had been deducted—could be made at this school with nothing more than a little talking.
Honestly, it was easy to lose all sense of what money was worth.
But now that he thought about it, perhaps that was exactly what the school wanted.
By turning money into points, then handing out huge amounts of points with reckless abandon in all sorts of ways, it blurred the students' sense of money.
Then, upon graduation, the school could send out a flood of quality consumers accustomed to spending lavishly.
As for how students could maintain their accustomed high-consumption lifestyle after graduation...that wasn't the school's problem.
Class A graduates could work hard to land corporate jobs through the school's connections, while those who didn't graduate from Class A would probably have to rely on loans.
Either way, it would stimulate consumption.
And give GDP a huge boost!
He'd finished shopping and returned to his dorm early, settling into his own single room.
Everything else was a mess, but this part really was great. Every student at Advanced Nurturing had a room of their own. They didn't have to cram into a dorm room with someone else, and they could enjoy some privacy.
"Let's review things a little." After stretching, Asakusa Toru fell into thought.
On his first day of school, he hadn't followed the usual routine and spent it in Class B. Instead, he'd spent it by the entrance to Class C, traded information to Ryuen for two million Private Points, and got himself added to Ryuen's whitelist.
He'd already told Ryuen why he'd chosen to hand over the information. The information he'd sold was constantly losing value. With each passing day, it became a little less valuable, until it was worthless.
The sooner he sold it, the more he could get out of it.
Though his reason for enrolling at Advanced Nurturing was simply to make keeping a diary easier, having enough Private Points was still essential.
Whether he wanted to get the 20 million points needed to avoid a forced expulsion, or use a large enough stash to improve his life over the next three years, he needed money.
The reasons he'd chosen Class C and Ryuen weren't hard to understand, either.
Class A didn't need this information. Selling it to them in person would only expose him, and there was no point.
Class B was his own class. He couldn't charge them, and it'd be hard to explain where he'd gotten the information. There was no need to bother.
Class D was even less of an option. They couldn't get themselves organized, and they didn't have much money to pay him.
So, after thinking it over, Class C was the best choice.
With a leader like Ryuen, who had complete control over the class and could decide its direction, there was no need for extra discussion or arguments. It was easy to get a good price.
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