Just then, a conspicuous red-haired boy caught his attention.
The boy had long, flamboyant hair. He walked up to the free food counter, stopped in front of two upperclassmen, and pointed toward the upscale restaurant upstairs as he said something.
(I remember him. He's from Class C.)
At the entrance ceremony, the boy had been standing at the very front of Class C's line, so Shimizu Akira recognized him instantly.
He glanced around again and spotted a familiar face from Class B.
Like the red-haired boy, she had been standing at the very front of her class's line.
The pink-haired beauty was chatting with several upperclassmen.
Though she wore the same uniform as everyone else, there was something subtly alluring about her. Perhaps it was the delicate collarbones revealed by her slightly open collar, or the glimpse of her legs beneath her skirt.
Shimizu Akira narrowed his eyes slightly and watched without drawing attention to himself.
(Are students from Classes C and B also probing upperclassmen for information?)
(It seems the other classes have no shortage of people who think ahead...)
015 Today's intel has been refreshed: Karuizawa Kei is looking for a "fake boyfriend"
After lunch, Shimizu Akira went to the supermarket again.
He had noticed it on the bus that morning: like him, the students around him were all traveling light, carrying at most a single shoulder bag. Nobody was dragging around a heavy suitcase.
The school's notice had said that everyday necessities could be purchased at the supermarket, but the students had plenty of other things to think about.
So that afternoon, he went on a major shopping spree at the supermarket.
From slippers, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to sheets and bedding; from a water heater and power strip to toilet paper, and more.
As Shimizu Akira wandered between the shelves, he was surprised to find that the supermarket stocked quite a few expensive items. The latest handheld game consoles and high-spec laptops were displayed in a dedicated section, a dazzling selection.
But the strings of digits on the price tags were staggering. Even the cheapest items started at fifty thousand points.
He rubbed the phone in his pocket, but ultimately decided not to scan the code and buy anything.
Though his account held a considerable number of points, there was no telling whether reckless spending on the first day of school would leave him broke by the end of the month.
What's more, his status as a D-Class student hung over him like the Sword of Damocles. Who knew whether he'd still receive any points next month?
If luck was against him, he might have to scrape by for all three years.
Even though he carefully chose a variety of affordable goods, the costs added up.
When he paid, the amount displayed on the terminal made Shimizu Akira wince: a full five thousand points. Add the thousand he'd spent on lunch, and his balance had plummeted from 235,000 to 229,000.
Nothing happened that night.
The next day.
At 5:30 a.m., Shimizu Akira opened his eyes right on time.
He swung his legs out of bed without the slightest hesitation. After changing into loose-fitting workout clothes, he began his usual morning exercise.
First came fifteen minutes of system-guided stretching. Every movement was precise, and his joints cracked softly.
Once he'd warmed up, the real training began.
One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats. This basic routine had long since become as natural to him as breathing.
By the time sweat dripped from his jaw onto the floor, he'd completed three full sets.
At 6:30, Shimizu Akira stepped outside and headed to the school track.
After regulating his breathing, he began running at a steady pace.
He kept his speed consistent for the first eight laps, his breathing perfectly controlled.
On the ninth lap, he suddenly accelerated, then gave it everything he had for the final lap.
His time for today's ten-kilometer run was 39 minutes and 34 seconds.
Just as Shimizu Akira reached his seat, the familiar notification sounded in his mind right on time.
[Ping~ Today's intel has been updated]
[Intel 1: Yamamura xx of Class 2-D urgently needs a large number of Private Points. She is willing to trade some of the S System's rules to freshmen for 30,000 points (her absolute minimum is 10,000 points.)]
[Intel 2: Ichinose Honami of Class 1-B has already broken into three digits in the number of friends in her contacts, after only one day of school. Her contacts include quite a few upperclassmen.]
[Intel 3: Karuizawa Kei of Class 1-D is looking for a "fake boyfriend" to serve as a shield.]
Shimizu Akira was briefly taken aback. The classroom clock had just reached eight o'clock.
This intel system is even more punctual than an alarm clock.
The first piece of intel concerned him the most.
An upperclassman from Class 2-D was actually willing to trade "the rules of the S System" for points?
There was something fascinating about the deal itself.
On the second day of school, Shimizu Akira had already figured out the class-ranking system and the uneven distribution of monthly points. But the most crucial question—the standards by which the S System evaluated students—was still shrouded in mystery.
It was like playing a game of chess without being able to see the opponent's moves.
(The evaluation criteria... For students, test scores should be the most obvious measure.)
(If I'm not mistaken, Horikita's grades should be quite good.)
His gaze shifted unconsciously to Horikita Suzune, seated beside him.
As usual, the girl was absorbed in Crime and Punishment, her long black hair draped across the pages.
"Stop staring at me so much... Raskolnikov."
The sudden sound of the book closing brought Shimizu Akira back to his senses.
Horikita was watching him with her cool, clear eyes.
Raskolnikov?
Shimizu Akira's pupils widened slightly. The unexpected literary reference had caught him off guard. Wasn't Raskolnikov the protagonist of Crime and Punishment, the man struggling with a moral dilemma?
The memories of cramming classic literature in college to impress girls in the literature department came back to haunt him.
The nights he'd stayed up reading Dostoevsky had finally come in handy in the most unexpected situation.
"I haven't committed a murder yet, have I?" he replied casually.
Horikita's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
That tiny change in her expression assured Shimizu Akira that he'd successfully answered her sudden literary challenge.
"...Not yet! I'd say Yamauchi Haruki is the most likely victim." Horikita cut in coldly.
Shimizu Akira suddenly understood. She was referring to the time he'd laid hands on Yamauchi Haruki during the entrance ceremony.
Calling a classmate a "victim" was downright merciless. This girl's sharp tongue really pulled no punches.
"He said you were scrawny," Shimizu Akira added offhandedly, as if something had just occurred to him.
Horikita Suzune's body went rigid. Her fair cheeks flushed before his eyes, and the gaze that was usually so calm and composed now burned with embarrassment and fury.
She sprang to her feet, strode over to Yamauchi Haruki, and looked down at him. Her voice was so cold it seemed to freeze the air.
"Yamauchi, watch what you say from now on. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to use physical force to punish you."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she enunciated each word.
"If there's a next time, I'll make sure you can't pick up chopsticks with your left hand for three months."
Yamauchi Haruki stiffened. His lips parted as if he wanted to defend himself, but when he looked up and met the girl's icy gaze, every word caught in his throat.
In the end, he could only lower his head dejectedly and hunch his shoulders like a beaten dog caught in the rain.
Shimizu Akira blinked from nearby, a strange expression crossing his face. Wait, wasn't that the exact same line he'd used at the entrance ceremony yesterday?
They were surprisingly in sync. When faced with obnoxious provocateurs, neither of them bothered wasting words. They just used their fists to shut them up.
"Horikita, if Yamauchi Haruki ever really dies, you'll definitely be the prime suspect."
"Wrong. Based on your 'wonderful performance' at the entrance ceremony yesterday, the police would suspect you first."
016 Horikita Suzune Still Knows Nothing About the Rules
"Horikita, how did you do on the entrance test?" Shimizu Akira changed the subject and got straight to the point.
Horikita Suzune lifted her chin slightly, her voice filled with unshakable confidence. "I'm conservatively in the top five in the year."
"Oh?" Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow.
Horikita Suzune was unlikely to lie.
Her answer made him even more certain that academic performance alone couldn't be the basis for class assignment.
If so, then by the same logic, the school's system for awarding points was probably far more complicated than it appeared.
"What do you make of this class-assignment system?" Shimizu Akira suddenly asked, as if the question were casual.
Horikita Suzune paused for a moment, lightly tapping her fingers on the desk. "...It's probably just random assignment."
Her gaze unconsciously swept across the classroom. Given Shimizu Akira's intelligence, his grades were clearly no worse than hers. And then there was Hirata Yosuke, an outstanding student by any measure.
In Horikita's eyes, Class D was actually quite strong.
"Horikita," Shimizu Akira asked suddenly, "aside from me and Ayanokoji over there, have you really spoken to anyone else these past two days? Students from Class B, Class C... even Class A?"
His gaze swept meaningfully around the classroom before finally settling on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
To his surprise, the reserved boy awkwardly nodded in their direction.
Shimizu Akira raised an eyebrow. In his impression, this classmate wasn't the type to get embarrassed so easily.
Still, out of courtesy, he returned the friendly nod.
Ayanokoji spoke with a hint of subtle distance. "Apart from that question she asked me yesterday, Horikita and I have barely spoken..."
Horikita Suzune's reply was crisp and immediate. "...I'm not interested in making friends."
Shimizu Akira almost blurted out the rest of the line for her: "If any of you are aliens, time travelers, or espers, come find me!" The thought amused him. The icy girl before him seemed to have nothing in common with the lively Suzumiya Haruhi.
(Then again...)
No matter how much someone disliked socializing, an ordinary high school student should have at least one or two friends they could talk to.
Being completely on her own like this was a little too...
"Does that mean you've only spoken to me these past two days?" Shimizu Akira suddenly realized, a hint of surprise creeping into his voice.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's gaze shifted between the two of them. "Horikita seems to enjoy talking to you, Shimizu."
Horikita Suzune immediately frowned and retorted coldly, "Enjoy it? Don't get the wrong idea. We just happen to be classmates and desk mates. We only talk when necessary."
Shimizu Akira finally recognized one fatal flaw in Horikita Suzune: her almost pathological social awkwardness had seriously impaired her judgment.
(So that's it...)
Horikita Suzune really did have exceptional intelligence. But by shutting herself away in her own world, she'd made it impossible even to establish the most basic school information network.
Just like now, she still believed class assignment was "random." Her conclusion was based entirely on speculation, because she'd cut herself off from everyone else.
(She's only spoken to me these past two days... No wonder.)
Shimizu Akira couldn't help recalling how he'd pried the truth about class assignment out of their homeroom teacher.
No matter how smart someone was, they couldn't obtain all the crucial information while completely isolated.
Horikita Suzune was like an island. It might have abundant resources, but cut off from the mainland, it would gradually fall into difficulty.
Shimizu Akira shook his head slightly. His tone was calm but firm. "You're mistaken. It wasn't random."
"What makes you—" Horikita Suzune began to object, but stopped as soon as she saw his expression.
There was no hint of mockery in his eyes, only the certainty of someone stating a fact.
Silence spread between them.
Shimizu Akira watched Horikita fall into thought. He admired the girl's beauty and stubbornness, but information was never a free lunch.
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