Classroom of the Elite, but It's a Diary Style

"Hehe." Facing the threat from Ryuen Kakeru, Asakusa Toru merely let out a giggle.

Teasing should be done in moderation, just like spoilers in a diary shouldn't be overdone; stopping at the right moment is enough.

It certainly wasn't because he would actually get beaten up if he didn't have Sakagami Kazuma protecting him right now.

"...Although I don't think there's any need to state it plainly, since you want a response, I'll tell you directly." Upon arriving at the gymnasium, Sakagami Kazuma turned his head back and said, "I'm worried."

He was the witness to the contract; he had an obligation to watch with his own eyes as Asakusa Toru spat out all the information he knew, and to confirm whether that information was equal to what Ryuen was paying.

More importantly, he was curious: just how much did this guy actually know?

And how much did he intend to tell Ryuen Kakeru?

"..."

The timing was perfect. Just as Sakagami Kazuma led the two of them into the gymnasium, the clock hanging high above pointed precisely to the start time of the Entrance Ceremony.

Without making any unnecessary noise or movements, Sakagami Kazuma knew best that at times like this, one should say nothing and do nothing, simply returning quietly to their designated spot.

As long as one didn't attract unnecessary attention, there would be no problems.

Of course, that only applied to himself.

Sakagami Kazuma had no intention of letting Asakusa Toru return to the First-Year Class B section right now; in fact, he had to keep Asakusa Toru in Class C.

This wasn't about sowing discord; after all, Asakusa Toru didn't look like someone with a sense of teamwork, nor had he established any sense of camaraderie with the people in Class B yet.

Since he hadn't entered the class from the very beginning, it wouldn't be strange at all for him to appear in Class C, would it?

"You're finally here, you scared me." Seeing them arrive, Ishizaki Daichi, who had been staring at the time and the gymnasium doors, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, without a homeroom teacher to lead them, having to guide the entire Class C to their designated spot by himself was indeed a significant challenge.

"But, why did that guy come along too?" Ryuen following Sakagami Kazuma and Ishizaki Daichi didn't feel strange, but the fact that Asakusa Toru had tagged along was very odd.

Wasn't that guy from Class B?

Yes, Asakusa Toru was from Class B.

It was just a pity that, having never shown his face in Class B, he wouldn't be recognized by anyone in that class.

Except for Ichinose Honami.

"Asakusa... classmate?"

Ichinose Honami, who had been suppressing a trace of gloom in her heart while forcing a smile to chat with her classmates while waiting for the Entrance Ceremony to begin, froze.

Asakusa Toru, who Hoshinomiya Chie had suggested might have given up on enrolling, had suddenly appeared in her line of sight.

She should have been happy—happy that he hadn't given up on enrollment.

But watching him show no intention of returning to the Class B ranks, watching him walk into the crowd of Class C as if nothing were the matter.

For some reason, Ichinose Honami's heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.

Chapter 12: Do you want me to give you a gold star?

The Entrance Ceremony ended quickly.

Even at Advanced Nurturing, the Entrance Ceremony was no different from an ordinary school.

High-ranking officials stood on stage delivering long, useless speeches, while the dense crowd of students below grew drowsy.

Fortunately, the agonizing time was short-lived, and after what felt like an eternity, the first-year students were liberated.

There were no classes today, so everyone could explore this incredibly novel school to their heart's content.

For the first-year students, this desire to explore was even more intense.

After all, every first-year student had received an unimaginable sum of 100,000 points.

Of course, except for Class C.

Just as the Entrance Ceremony ended, they were forcibly levied of half their points by Ryuen. Although they were very reluctant to hand over the money, seeing the silent Sakagami Kazuma standing beside Ryuen, they still obediently opened their wallets.

Who could blame them when even the homeroom teacher was on his side?

Even though they still had 50,000 points left after half were taken, having money that was already in their pockets snatched away was certainly a mood killer.

However, Ryuen Kakeru didn't care what the others in Class C thought; he only cared about the guy in front of him, and what exactly Asakusa Toru would spit out.

Under the gaze of Ryuen Kakeru and Sakagami Kazuma, Asakusa Toru finally stopped playing coy and opened the floodgates in a crisp, straightforward manner.

"Where were we?" Asakusa Toru raised a hand to his forehead, pondered for a moment, and continued: "Oh right, points."

"The points issued by the school every month are called 'Private Points'. Since Private Points exist, if you use your brain, you should know that 'Class Points', which correspond to Private Points, must also exist."

"1:100, a proportional exchange; the points issued monthly are determined by the Class Points."

"It's not hard to understand, right?" He said, "The points issued this month are 100,000, which means all classes started with 1,000 Class Points."

"In the first month, a deduction system is implemented based on student conduct, such as absences, tardiness, or leaving early—all of these will result in point deductions."

"Of course, it's not an endless deduction, so there's no need to worry too much; there will be exams later that offer bonus points." Pausing, Asakusa Toru continued: "However, since we're talking about Class Points, the one thing you have to taste is the division of the classes."

"There are four classes in the first year: A, B, C, and D, in descending order. The school's evaluation of the students assigned to the corresponding classes decreases accordingly."

"In my understanding: Class A, useful high-quality goods; Class B, versatile mediocre goods; Class C, uneven inferior goods; Class D, defective goods that stir up trouble."

Listening to Asakusa Toru, Ryuen Kakeru could not help but raise an eyebrow:

"Are you saying that I am an inferior product?"

"I never said that." Asakusa Toru shrugged: "At the end of the day, this is just my interpretation. How you choose to think about it is your business, and how the school evaluates things is the school's own business."

"At the very least, the initial division of classes was sorted from superior to inferior."

"As a side note, the 100% employment and college advancement rate mentioned in the promotional materials is something only Class A can enjoy," he said.

Ryuen Kakeru let out a scoff: "Heh, that is truly not surprising at all."

He had suspected as much for a long time.

Setting himself aside, looking at the performance of certain people when he ruled over his class, it was indeed easy to wonder what reason the school could possibly have for selecting them to guarantee employment and advancement.

If it were a right that only Class A could enjoy, then it wouldn't be strange at all.

"And then, the conditions for advancing to Class A..."

Ryuen Kakeru chuckled: "Surpassing them in Class Points, right?"

"Mm-hmm, very clever, Ryuen-kun." Asakusa Toru nodded repeatedly: "Do you want me to give you a gold star?"

"..." Ryuen Kakeru did not speak, but instead stared at him with a cold face.

Unfazed, Asakusa Toru continued: "Although reversing the situation through Class Points is indeed one method, personally speaking, there are other means, you know?"

"What means?"

"Transferring classes," he said: "Applying for a class transfer using 20 million Private Points."

"..."

Twenty million—what a terrifying number.

Even if one maintained the standard of 100,000 per month, it would take 200 months to save up that amount without spending a single point; it was simply not something that could be accumulated through normal means.

"Of course, I personally feel there is no need to be obsessed with Class A." Asakusa Toru shrugged: "In the end, the school's promise is nothing more than a recommendation. Whether you can advance to a satisfactory school or enter a preferred company is ultimately decided by the universities and the companies themselves."

"Even if they were forced to take you in due to government pressure, do you really think you'd be satisfied? Do you really think you'd be safe and sound without being expelled or optimized?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Asakusa Toru curled his lip: "Trash is trash; no matter where it goes, it's still trash."

Asakusa Toru's words seemed to be pointed, but Ryuen Kakeru could not care less about who he was trying to insult.

He only knew that these two million were well spent!

The mere fact that Private Points could be used to transfer classes was enough to decisively change his choices from here on out.

However... although he thought this, on the surface, he said nonchalantly:

"Anything else? The value of two million points should be more than just this, right?"

The more things he could dig out of this guy, the better.

"That's it." Asakusa Toru spread his hands: "That's the value of two million. The greatest value is knowing this information on the first day of school. With each passing day, the information will depreciate, until the first month passes and it becomes obsolete."

"Whether you want to resell the information to recoup your losses or keep it to yourself to gain a first-mover advantage is your freedom. Our contract does not restrict that."

"However, consider it a bonus." Asakusa Toru smiled: "In this first-month exam, the limit for point deductions is 'zero'."

It won't go any lower.

"Alright, Sakagami-chan who protects his own, that's all for now." Asakusa Toru waved his hand and turned to leave: "Thanks to Class C for the contribution to my wallet. See you if we're fated to meet again."

He still had to go shopping.

After all, the fully enclosed Advanced Nurturing High School did not allow students to bring luggage from home.

Well, that said, even if he could, he would be too lazy to bring any anyway.

"...Very well, Asakusa Toru, is it? I've remembered you." Watching Asakusa Toru's departing back, Ryuen Kakeru curled the corners of his mouth: "It seems the next three years won't be boring."

Class Points, deduction exams, class competition, class transfers.

The information itself was interesting enough, and one could clearly feel the attitude the school wanted to convey through it.

But what interested Ryuen even more was Asakusa Toru.

It was also the first day of school; how on earth did he know so much?

Chapter 13 [Today's Diary Plot Index: A]

Playing with his Personal Terminal in his hand, while checking the balance of his Private Points from time to time, Asakusa Toru could not help but smile as he looked at the two million points.

This money, it's just a bit bad that it came too easily.

There is no sense of accomplishment.

The amount that would take selling tens of thousands of copies outside, only to have it split into various miscellaneous fees, was obtained in this school just by moving his lips.

Honestly, it is very easy to lose one's concept of money.

However, thinking about it carefully, perhaps this is exactly the goal of this school.

Alienating money into points, then recklessly distributing large amounts of points in various ways, blurring the students' concept of money.

And then, upon graduation, sending out a large number of high-quality consumers who are accustomed to spending money lavishly.

As for how students might maintain their accustomed high-consumption lifestyle after graduation... that is none of the school's business.

Students who graduate from Class A will likely work hard as corporate slaves in major companies thanks to the school's connections, while those who don't graduate from Class A will probably have to rely on loans.

Regardless, it all counts as boosting consumption.

Giving the GDP a massive lift!

The shopping was finished, and he returned to the dormitory early, back to his own private single room.

Everything else is a mess, but this one point is truly excellent: every student at Advanced Nurturing gets their own room, so there is no need to squeeze into a dormitory with others, allowing for one's own private time.

"Let's summarize and review a bit." Stretching his back, Asakusa Toru fell into deep thought.

On the first day of school, he didn't spend his time following the rules in Class B, but instead spent it at the door of Class C, choosing to trade information to Ryuen in exchange for two million Private Points, while simultaneously getting added to Ryuen's whitelist.

The reason for choosing to hand over the information was something he had already explained to Ryuen: the information used for the trade was depreciating at every moment, losing a bit of value with each passing day until it became worthless.

Selling it off as early as possible allowed him to reap the most benefits.

Although his purpose for enrolling in Advanced Nurturing was simply to write his diary more easily and conveniently, having enough Private Points was still, as expected, necessary.

Whether it is to obtain the twenty million points needed to avoid potential forced expulsion, or to use a sufficient amount of points to improve his life over the next three years, money is required.

And the reason for choosing Class C and Ryuen is not hard to understand.

Class A has no need for such information; trying to sell it to their faces would only create a vulnerability and would be meaningless.

Class B is the class he belongs to; he couldn't collect money from them, and it would be difficult to explain the source of the information, so there was no need for that.

Class D goes without saying; they couldn't be organized at all and couldn't scrape together much money.

Therefore, after thinking it over, the most suitable choice was actually Class C.

With a leader like Ryuen who possesses absolute dominance, he can completely dictate the direction of the class without the need for unnecessary discussion or dispute, making it very easy to sell at a good price.