Sakayanagi Arisu's behavior left everyone in Class A utterly bewildered.
What was that supposed to mean?
You'd already walked over there. Why not take the rest of the phones, too?
So Sakayanagi Arisu only thought about herself, huh?
Kamuro Masumi's mouth twitched slightly. Good grief, what kind of class was this? Was she surrounded by a bunch of weirdos?
Though, she probably wasn't in a position to judge anyone else...
Did the weirder people were, the stronger they became?
That left the final three people in the row in an awkward position. The three exchanged glances, then looked at Mashima, their homeroom teacher, on the stage, hoping he'd say something.
However,
Mashima simply watched the scene with an impassive expression, making no attempt to intervene.
"Take care of your own business..."
Just then, Sakayanagi Arisu's ethereal voice carried through the room:
"If you want someone to act according to your will, you need the strength to make them, don't you?"
Damn...
She was another weirdo...
Was it really so hard to pass someone a phone?
Wasn't that just basic courtesy?
Still,
the others could just about understand.
Maybe it was because she had difficulty walking and a strong sense of pride that Sakayanagi had developed this somewhat pathological belief in relying only on herself?
She really was a strong girl!
Quite a few people understood and even came up with that explanation for Sakayanagi.
The three behind them reluctantly got up. One of them walked over to Kijima Tsukur, picked up the three phones, and handed them out to his classmates. As he left, he shot Kijima a glance.
This guy was the real arrogant jerk. He was so annoying!
Of course,
quite a few perceptive people, like Sakayanagi Arisu, noticed.
Mashima, the homeroom teacher before them, hadn't said a word of criticism about what had just happened.
This really was a pretty lax school!
Almost everyone in the room was an elite, and at the very least, they were above average.
Naturally, they knew the simple truth that nothing in this world came for free.
Rather than making them excited, this leniency only made everyone in Class A more wary.
"Everyone get their phones?"
Feeling their eyes on him, Mashima explained in a low voice:
"Next, I'll explain what makes this school special: the S-System described in your admission guide. However, I'm not used to being interrupted while I'm teaching.
"I'd prefer you to save your questions until I've finished. I'll give you plenty of time to ask them afterward.
"The same goes for studying. Listening to a lesson while taking notes isn't necessarily a particularly good way to learn. In fact, it can make you less efficient."
Everyone in Class A sat up straight. Every teacher had their own way of teaching!
Mashima seemed a little paternal and concerned about his students, but he also came across as steady, conservative, and meticulous.
On the whole,
aside from being a middle-aged man, he seemed like a very good teacher.
But quite a few people also noticed
that Mashima seemed a little too accommodating.
He'd used phrases like "I'd prefer" and "I'd like you to," which sounded like he was negotiating with them. Was that really necessary when he was the teacher and they were the students?
"The phones I just handed out are also your student IDs. You can use them to access all the school's facilities and buy things at the shops."
"They're like digital currency. The school calls them points."
"On campus, there's nothing you can't buy with points. Anything the school has, you can buy..."
Someone frowned.
But because Mashima had just asked them to hold their questions, or perhaps because they were a little introverted, nobody raised a hand.
"You can pay either by scanning a code or by using a payment code. You're young, so I assume you all know how to do that?"
"Points are equivalent to money. They'll be deposited automatically on the first of every month. For now, everyone should have received an equal amount: one hundred thousand points."
"As for their purchasing power, each point is worth one yen."
At that,
the room erupted in a commotion.
Most of the noise, however, came from desks shifting as students grew excited, or from murmured reactions like "That's incredible!" Their classroom discipline remained surprisingly good.
Their excitement was only natural.
One point was worth one yen—that meant a hundred thousand yen!
The average high school student probably only got five thousand yen in allowance a month, and most had to rely on part-time jobs for anything more.
Even taking into account that they lived at school and had to cover three meals a day,
this was still worth at least two months' living expenses, wasn't it?
How could anyone not get excited at suddenly receiving such a large sum? The fact that they still managed to stay quiet said a lot about their character.
But quite a few people frowned, still unwilling to believe that anything in the world came for free.
One hundred thousand a month.
Four million for one class.
Sixteen million for an entire year group.
Forty-eight million for the whole school.
The school's annual expenses were close to six hundred million, not counting staff salaries. How could the school possibly be this generous to them?
Once everyone had calmed down, Mashima said in a low voice:
"Any questions?"
Silence.
About five seconds passed.
Then a man who seemed to shine so brightly he was almost dazzling raised his right hand with a serious expression.
"I believe your name is Katsuragi Kohei, right? Katsuragi, what's your question?"
"Mr. Mashima."
Katsuragi stood up with a serious expression.
He had a rugged appearance and a steady voice, giving the impression of someone who took his work seriously.
He was clearly a very charismatic person.
The others couldn't help but be drawn to his bald head.
"You said points could buy anything."
Katsuragi frowned and asked, "That sounds strange no matter how I look at it. Could you explain exactly what you mean? Or did you misspeak?"
"And one more thing!"
At that moment, Sakayanagi Arisu spoke without raising her hand, a delighted smile on her lips.
"Mr. Mashima, you said points would be deposited on the first of every month, and then told us we each had one hundred thousand right now. That wording is unclear about the subject and could easily be misunderstood."
"It almost sounds as though you're deliberately encouraging us to think, 'We get one hundred thousand points every month.' Will we really get one hundred thousand points every month?"
At that,
Class A erupted into another commotion.
Even though they didn't know one another yet, they exchanged glances.
She had a point!
Mashima had only said points would be deposited on the first of every month. He hadn't promised that they'd get one hundred thousand every month.
And besides,
saying that points could buy anything
really did sound like there was something he wasn't telling them.
A few people looked enlightened. They'd felt there was something strange about it, but now they understood what it was.
There was no denying it.
Both Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu were exceptionally clever. The others looked at them with a hint of admiration.
"That's exactly what it means."
Mashima remained stern and answered in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Just as you thought."
"I see."
Katsuragi and Sakayanagi Arisu understood.
That answer had told them nothing. It was just a simple bit of wordplay.
But it also proved that the school wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. They'd have to find the rest of the answers themselves.
"You can't answer? Why are you dodging the question?"
Kijima Tsukur crossed his legs and rested his right hand on his chin, scrutinizing Mashima on the stage.
"Mr. Mashima doesn't seem like an irresponsible teacher. On the contrary, he seems highly conscientious. A teacher like that normally wouldn't refuse to answer a student's question."
"In that case, the only explanation is that you're under some kind of restriction. The only ones who could restrict a teacher are the school."
Kijima didn't bother to lower his voice. The people around him couldn't help but focus on what he was saying.
Sakayanagi Arisu, behind him, still wore a smile.
If that was all, it wasn't anything special.
Both she and Katsuragi had thought of that.
They'd simply planned to discuss it with everyone after class, since it wasn't a good time to explain it during the lesson. They hadn't expected Kijima to beat them to it.
"The question is, why impose restrictions?"
Kijima paid no attention to what the people around him thought. He seemed to be speaking only to himself, muttering aloud:
"We don't have to pay tuition or living expenses, and the school has the backing of the government. The students are at an overwhelming disadvantage. Whatever the school demands, we'll have no choice but to comply. Even if we reported it to the *** authorities, it probably wouldn't do any good."
"In that case, the only reason the school would restrict its teachers is to test us. In a school setting, an exam might be a more accurate way to do that?"
For a moment, the entire class stirred again.
Class A was full of good students. They'd only just left home and entered school, and still had the air of students about them.
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