The Class 1-B Students Are All Here / The Twenty-Million-Point Plan

First, I'll exchange for a stamina potion. What should I buy after that?

Just as Hashiba Hikaru couldn't help fantasizing about the future, he suddenly noticed Ichinose Honami leaning closer and speaking to him in a low voice. "Classmate Hashiba, are you free tonight?"

"What's up?"

"Shiranami and Ando are organizing a Freshman Liaison Meeting. They wanted me to invite you."

Hashiba Hikaru asked in confusion, "Is everyone in the class going?"

"No, a few girls came up with the idea," Ichinose Honami explained, noticing that the boy seemed interested. "There'll probably only be seven or eight of us, both boys and girls."

"Oh, I see."

Hashiba Hikaru had thought it was some kind of class-wide event. Since it turned out to be a small-group gathering, he planned to turn it down.

But then he reconsidered and asked, "Will you be going too, Ichinose?"

"Yes, I got an invitation too."

A hopeful expression appeared in Ichinose Honami's bright blue eyes. She hoped this would give her a chance to get to know Classmate Hashiba better.

After everything that had happened that day, Ichinose had already decided that Hashiba Hikaru was someone willing to work for the good of the class. She wanted to grow closer to him, and becoming friends would be even better.

Besides, the girl had plenty of questions she wanted to ask him, so she hoped he would say yes.

"Then I'll come. What time are you meeting, and where?"

"At five thirty in the afternoon, at the Family Restaurant in Keyaki Mall. Ando already booked a table." Seeing the boy nod, Ichinose Honami felt a hint of delight.

Hashiba asked curiously, "Isn't today the first day of school? How did she manage that?"

"She called. The school brochure has the contact information for all the stores. I guess it's there to help everyone save time."

"I see. I'll be there on time."

"Okay."

About half an hour later, the students of Class B finally dispersed.

Most of them planned to stop by the supermarket near the school building to buy everyday necessities, then head to their single dorm rooms using the key cards they'd received. Starting today, they would be living on this isolated Artificial Island. It was a completely new beginning.

After leaving the school building, Hashiba Hikaru followed the crowd into the school supermarket. He had only fifty thousand Private Points left, but that was more than enough.

He cared more about stock prices and changes in the system's funds. He had never paid much attention to food, clothing, or other daily necessities.

As he wandered through the supermarket with a shopping basket, his eyes suddenly landed on a separate shelf. It had a sign that read "Free."

Free meant exactly that.

Hashiba Hikaru hurried over and found ordinary-looking bottles of shampoo and body wash, as well as tissues and other consumables. It seemed that students could take whatever they wanted.

"They even have free stuff?"

After thinking it over, he quickly understood the school's reasoning. It was probably a safety net for students who had spent all their Private Points. Otherwise, they'd have no way to get by.

"But that means class competition is going to be fierce," Hashiba Hikaru mused. "The winner takes all, and the losers have to use the free stuff?"

Just then, a girl with long black hair passed by him. She carried a small shopping basket and wore an utterly indifferent expression.

[Ping! Horikita Suzune Stock is now available!]

[Current Stock Price: 100]

[Number of Shares Issued: 3000]

"?"

The initial stock price was that high?

Whose general was this?!

Hashiba Hikaru abruptly turned his head, fixing his gaze on the girl up ahead as she selected shampoo.

The Class B Students Had Arrived

The busy student supermarket was full of people coming and going. Students could be seen everywhere, heads bent as they browsed the shelves. Their faces were bright with anticipation for the life ahead of them, and they seemed relaxed and carefree.

Hashiba Hikaru stood in front of a black shelf, pretending to browse. But from the corner of his eye, he kept watching the girl who had just passed by him.

She was the person whose stock had just become available. Her name was Horikita Suzune.

She had delicate features and a slender figure, and once you saw her, she was hard to forget. Her long black hair reached her waist, and a section on the left side was braided and tied with a white ribbon.

Her purple eyes held a cold glint, and her expressionless face seemed to tell everyone around her, "Don't talk to me."

Unlike the other girls, who browsed the supermarket in groups, she stood alone in front of the shelves, choosing her items. She didn't seem to care much about the quality of the products either; everything she put in her basket was inexpensive.

The reason Hashiba Hikaru was so interested in her was that Horikita Suzune had the highest initial stock price of any girl he had come across so far. Her price was even higher than the other two combined.

The System's Stock Interface now had three different stocks: [Ichinose Honami Stock], [Chabashira Sae Stock], and the newly available [Horikita Suzune Stock].

Hashiba Hikaru had already raised the price of [Ichinose Honami Stock] to 70, while [Chabashira Sae Stock] had started at 50. But Horikita Suzune's stock had doubled right from the start, with an initial price of 100.

Wasn't that a little too expensive?

Hashiba Hikaru clicked his tongue. After buying [Ichinose Honami Stock], he had only 49,000 funds left. He wanted to develop more stocks, but he didn't want to approach Chabashira-sensei, who looked like a handful.

Now that a new stock had become available, it belonged to another hard-to-approach girl with black hair. She was nothing like Ichinose, who could chat with anyone.

"Forget it. I'll leave her alone for now and keep raising Ichinose's stock price."

Hashiba Hikaru studied Horikita Suzune's back and thought it over carefully, but in the end, he decided to put her on the back burner. Not only was she in another class, but her initial stock price alone was enough to make him hesitate.

He'd consider it once he had more funds. Besides, this was a fully enclosed school, so he'd probably have more chances to see her in the future.

After choosing all the everyday consumables he needed, Hashiba Hikaru quickly paid and left. He still wanted to see what his future dorm room was like.

When he arrived at his dorm, it didn't disappoint. The room wasn't particularly large, but there was more than enough space for one person.

Hashiba Hikaru's room number was 301. It looked to be about twenty square meters and had a classic apartment layout. Just inside the entrance, a row of upright cabinets lined the wall on the right. Beneath them were a basic counter, a sink, and a gas stove.

The washing machine and refrigerator, both essential appliances, were set close together. With a separate bathroom and toilet, the room had pretty much everything he needed.

Past the entrance was the bedroom. A single bed sat against the wall, with a desk and television nearby. Everything looked brand new.

"Seriously, rent for a place like this in Tokyo would be expensive. The school's really extravagant."

Hashiba Hikaru dropped all the things he'd bought on the floor, then flopped onto his bed. As he felt the softness of the mattress, his expression grew a little dazed.

"Am I really going to be here for three years? It still doesn't feel real."

Thinking back on everything he'd seen and heard that first day, he realized he was more exhausted than he'd been on any other first day of school.

"Class competition, Private Points, and Special Exams that every class has to take. Those things will probably become what students care about most from now on."

"But..."

Hashiba Hikaru quietly examined the System Panel before him. Text flowed across its pale-blue screen.

After a long while, he murmured, "Maybe the future will be even more interesting, don't you think?"

The only stock he'd acquired so far was Ichinose Honami. She was his desk mate and a companion who would walk alongside him in the future. As long as he did the right things, raising her affection for him shouldn't be difficult. The System Bar's prompt proved it.

[Ichinose Honami Stock]

[Current Stock Price: 70]

[Current Shares Held: 5000]

Hashiba Hikaru had already made up his mind. Once he raised [Ichinose Honami Stock] to 100, he'd cash out some of it to buy items. Improving his stamina couldn't wait. The sooner he raised it, the better prepared he'd be for the class competition ahead.

"By the way, what time did Ichinose say they were meeting? Four? Or five?"

After playing on his phone in his dorm for a while, Hashiba Hikaru saw that it was almost time and got up to open the door. Since this was the first group gathering, it wouldn't do for a boy to be late. It was safer to arrive early.

The student dormitory was enormous, with boys and girls living on different floors. The only place they could run into each other was by the elevators, where students would gather.

After leaving his room, Hashiba Hikaru took the school brochure and quickly found the place Ichinose had mentioned: the Family Restaurant in Keyaki Mall.

To make it easier for students to eat, the school had opened many restaurants in the shopping district in addition to its enormous cafeteria. The Family Restaurant was especially popular with students.

Its layout was designed for family gatherings, so it had many rows of connected seats. When a large group wanted to eat together, this was the only place where everyone could sit together.

When he reached the restaurant, Hashiba Hikaru found that it was surprisingly crowded. Students stood in groups of three or five, chatting as they waited in line for a table.

"No wonder they had to make a reservation. This place is popular."

Then again, even if all three years of students were included, there were only about three or four hundred people at the school. That was nothing compared to the school streets he'd visited in his previous life, where people were packed together in every direction.

As Hashiba Hikaru stood by the entrance, idly playing on his phone, a familiar voice finally sounded behind him.

"Classmate Hashiba, you're already here!"

He turned around and saw the group behind him. Besides Ichinose, there were three girls he didn't recognize, as well as two boys.

As it happened, Hashiba Hikaru knew both boys. They had each spoken that morning when he came up with the plan to collect Points. One, with short hair and the look of an athletic boy, was Shibata Sou. The other had purple hair and was named Kanzaki Ryuji. He looked just as capable.

Well, it looks like Class B's star players are all here. What an honor.

Hashiba Hikaru chuckled to himself and said, "I just got here. There are quite a lot of people."

"That's why Ando booked a table in advance. She had the right idea, didn't she?"

Ichinose Honami sidled up beside Hashiba Hikaru with a cheerful smile. After patting him on the shoulder, she struck a leader-like pose and headed into the restaurant.

"Let's go! Class B's first Freshman Liaison Meeting starts now!"

The Two Million Point Plan

Led by Ichinose Honami, the group stormed into the Family Restaurant. Ando, whom she had mentioned earlier, immediately went to the front counter to explain her reservation. A staff member soon came over.

"I'll show you to your table," said the young employee, who wore a headband. He looked over the boys and girls, counted them, then smiled. "There are seven of you, right?"

There were three girls besides Ichinose, along with Hashiba Hikaru, Shibata Sou, and Kanzaki Ryuji. Seven in all.

"That's right. Sorry for the trouble."

Ando seemed quite used to this sort of thing. After all, she was the sort of person who could call ahead to reserve a table on the very first day. She must have done this plenty of times in middle school.

When the staff member led them to a spacious long table, everyone hesitated, unsure where to sit.

Ichinose Honami immediately took charge, waving everyone over. "Um, the girls can sit at the far end, and Classmate Hashiba can sit next to me."

"Kanzaki and Shibata can sit across from us. How does that sound?"

"Let's do as Ichinose says." Shibata was an athletic type with an outgoing personality. He quickly steered Kanzaki Ryuji toward the seats on the outside, while the girls followed Ichinose to the far end.

Hashiba Hikaru looked at the girls sitting in a row and hesitated. But when he met the pink-haired girl's expectant gaze, he did as she'd asked and sat down beside them.

"Hehehe, I have lots of questions for you, Classmate Hashiba, so you'll have to sit next to me." As soon as Hashiba Hikaru sat down, Ichinose Honami shifted closer to him.

Feeling her sweet scent drift around the tip of his nose, Hashiba Hikaru grew a little uncomfortable. He had spent the first decade or so of his life studying hard and hadn't had many opportunities to be close to girls.

"You can ask me whatever you like. We're desk mates, after all."

Hashiba Hikaru decided to distract himself by changing the subject. He turned to Ichinose Honami beside him and said, "I promise I'll tell you everything I know. Besides, I came to this gathering with something I wanted to talk about."

"Really?"

Shibata Sou, sitting across from him, immediately looked excited. "Does Classmate Hashiba have another plan? Can I join?"

"It's only an idea..." Hashiba Hikaru sighed helplessly. Thinking things through that morning had already exhausted him, so he didn't feel like coming up with another plan today.

"That's fine too. Whatever Classmate Hashiba says, we'll join in."

This time, it was Ando, the girl who had booked the table, who spoke. She was a pretty girl with delicate features. It looked like she'd put on makeup before going out, which made her look especially charming.

"That's right. After we wrapped up today, a lot of people in the class were talking about you, Classmate Hashiba. Everyone's happy to have someone like you in our class."

"And you're so handsome, too. I'm so lucky to have been assigned to Class B! Lucky, lucky!"

The three girls had suddenly started talking about him right in front of him. Ichinose was sitting beside them, looking like she was enjoying the show. Hashiba Hikaru couldn't help rubbing his brow. This was exactly why he disliked socializing: somehow, it always wasted his time on unimportant things.

"The boys have been talking about you too," Kanzaki Ryuji said from across the table, apparently teasing him after seeing his helpless expression. He added fuel to the fire. "Classmate Hashiba got this much attention in a single morning. That's impressive."

"I'd be happy if you paid attention to Ichinose instead. She's the leader of our class."

"No, no. I may be the class leader, but I trust Classmate Hashiba too."

"Um, why don't we order first?"