Someone came in from outside, and at the same time, the bell announcing the start of school rang.
From the impression she gave off, she looked like a composed teacher who valued discipline.
She seemed to be in that ambiguous age range where she might—or might not—be over thirty. Her hair looked fairly long, and she had tied it into a ponytail at the back of her head.
"It looks like everyone's here. Let's begin homeroom. Everyone, return to your seats."
"My name is Chabashira Sae. I'm your homeroom teacher for Class D, and I usually teach history."
She wore a black suit, and her long hair was tied in a ponytail that made you want to reach out and tug on it. Her cool expression gave her an unapproachable air. She seemed so sacred and untouchable that she felt like a proper teacher.
As she spoke, she stared sharply at the students below, putting them under a special kind of pressure—the oppressive feeling of being in a teacher's presence.
Under Chabashira-sensei's pressure, the students quickly returned to their seats. Even Yamauchi, who had wanted to ask Kushida Kikyo for her contact information, obediently retreated.
"First, congratulations on entering Advanced Nurturing High School. Unlike other schools, this school doesn't reshuffle its classes each year. So, for the next three years, I'll be your homeroom teacher as we learn and grow together."
"Also, the entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium in an hour. Be sure to attend. Before then, I'll hand out some information about this school's special rules. You were given this during the orientation before enrollment, but it's important, so I'm giving it to you again in case anyone didn't read it."
At the lectern, Chabashira-sensei passed out the handouts as she spoke.
The students had already received these handouts before enrollment.
Kageya Shinjitsu took a look as well. It was all stuff he'd read before.
They couldn't leave the school for three years, and while enrolled, they were forbidden from contacting anyone outside the school unless there were special circumstances.
Even if they wanted to contact their families, they couldn't do so without the school's permission.
Naturally, leaving the school grounds without permission was also strictly forbidden.
On the other hand, the school had plenty of facilities to make sure the students didn't have too hard a time.
There was karaoke, a movie theater, cafes, clothing stores, and more. It was practically a miniature shopping district. The school sat in the very center of a major city, and its vast grounds were said to cover more than six hundred thousand square meters.
And, of course, they needed some kind of currency to spend.
The school had another special feature: the S-System. All students received points from the school.
"Now I'll hand out your student ID cards. You can use the cards I'm giving you to access all the facilities in the school and buy things at stores. They're like credit cards, and each purchase uses up some of the points the school gives you."
"Since you'll be spending points, be careful how you use them. In this school, there's nothing you can't buy with points. If the school has it, you can buy it, no matter what it is."
Kageya Shinjitsu received his student ID card too. He just had to enter his student number into the phone issued by the school and set a password to use it.
"As for how to use it, you can either tap it against the machines in the facilities or show it to them. It's simple enough. I assume none of you will have trouble figuring it out."
"As for the points provided by the school, they'll be deposited automatically on the first of every month. Everyone should have already received an equal amount of one hundred thousand points."
"One point is worth one yen. That should be all you need to know."
As Chabashira-sensei continued to reveal the school's inner workings,
the classroom began to buzz. That many points was enough to shock anyone.
In other words, they'd just enrolled, and the school had already given them one hundred thousand yen in spending money.
That was a considerable amount for a high school student.
Even Kageya Shinjitsu found it hard to believe.
One hundred thousand? Is that really the kind of pocket money a student can have?
Wouldn't the school go bankrupt doing this?
An equal distribution of one hundred thousand points? Is there really such a thing as equality in this world?
What is this school up to?
In an instant, Kageya Shinjitsu came up with a few theories—conspiracy theories.
And Chabashira-sensei's next words only made him more certain.
"What? Surprised that the school is giving you so many points? This school judges its students by their abilities. You were admitted because you have value and potential to match. The points represent the school's assessment of you."
"Don't hold back. Spend them as you please. The school will reclaim the points after you graduate, though. They can't be converted into cash, so saving them won't do you any good. Once the points are deposited, you're free to use them however you like. Spend them according to your preferences. If you don't think you need to use them, you can also transfer them to someone else."
"However, don't threaten anyone. The school is quite sensitive about bullying."
As confusion filled the classroom, Chabashira-sensei looked around at the students.
The school judges students by their abilities, and the points represent its assessment? So, does that mean they wouldn't give us these hundred thousand points if they felt we weren't worth them? That must be it, right?
But why not explain that more clearly? What's the point of what this teacher is saying? Is she trying to make fools of us? Or is there something unusual going on?
She's trying to coax a bunch of inexperienced teenagers into spending recklessly. That's not something a good teacher would do. Is this some kind of special exam?
She even went out of her way to warn us not to use violence or threats. Does she know about me? Was that warning directed at me? Or is that just one of the school rules? Then why did they admit me?
Or is there some kind of secret? The way she's being so vague—is she saying anything goes as long as you don't get caught?
You can buy anything with school points. If someone gets caught bullying, can they use points to cancel their punishment?
Based on Chabashira-sensei's words, Kageya Shinjitsu became even more certain of his theory.
But he still didn't know whether this was something the teacher was doing on her own or the school's policy.
He already had so many questions that he could write a book called One Hundred Thousand Whys.
Chabashira-sensei at the lectern didn't care at all about how the students were reacting.
While the confused students still hadn't recovered,
she surveyed the classroom and continued her announcements.
"It seems no one has any questions. In that case, I hope you have a wonderful school life."
"The entrance ceremony will begin in an hour. Remember to go to the gymnasium. After the ceremony, you're free for the rest of the day, so do whatever you like."
After leaving them with those words, Chabashira-sensei simply walked out. She seemed a little irresponsible.
The students she left behind still looked somewhat dazed.
Looks like no one's recovered from the staggering number of points yet. They're already imagining their wonderful future, and probably didn't even notice what Chabashira-sensei was saying.
Or have they already sensed that something's wrong and are hiding it? Maybe they're waiting for someone else to ask.
As he watched Chabashira-sensei leave, Kageya Shinjitsu observed the students in the classroom and gave up on asking his own questions.
He'd look into the school's situation in secret. He still didn't know what role these classmates were playing.
Were they allies? Or rivals?
Kageya Shinjitsu stared blankly at his phone. It already showed one hundred thousand points, and his gaze was vacant.
His attention was already on the conversations between his classmates.
Chapter Four: School Rules, One Hundred Thousand, Enemies? Allies?
He heard his classmates whispering all around him.
The murmuring grew louder after the teacher left.
"This school doesn't seem as strict as I imagined."
"How should I put it? It's actually really laid-back."
"I was worried it'd be strict and all that, but this is great!!!"
"Awesome, we get a hundred thousand points every month."
"I heard there are lots of stores at school. I wonder if they have game consoles and stuff."
"Hey, hey, should we go check out the stores on our way back? Let's go shopping together!"
"Yeah, with all these points, we can buy whatever we want. It's great that we got into this school!"
The students were focused on their bright futures.
They didn't seem to care about being forced to live away from home, being forbidden from leaving the school grounds, or being barred from contacting the outside world. They'd already prepared themselves for that before arriving.
The school provided points and facilities free of charge, and they didn't even have to pay tuition. As far as they were concerned, they'd hit the jackpot.
The greatest appeal of Advanced Nurturing High School was its nearly one-hundred-percent rate of graduates continuing on to higher education or finding employment.
Run by the government, the school provided thorough guidance and devoted itself to supporting students as they pursued their dreams for the future.
The school had also gone to great lengths to advertise this.
Quite a few graduates had become famous because they'd graduated from this school.
Even the most famous and outstanding schools usually had only a limited number of specialized fields.
They might specialize in sports, music, or computers, but here, no matter what field you wanted to specialize in, you could make your wishes come true.
It was a school with a system like that and a reputation to match.
Listening to the classmates around him,
Kageya Shinjitsu began to doubt the reality of the school, and even the value of his classmates' existence.
Are they pretending? Or do they really think this way? Didn't they hear the teacher's warning?
Are they not suspicious of these hundred thousand points at all?
Have they never wondered whether they really deserve this kind of treatment?
Could I be the one with the problem? Does this country really have so much money that it doesn't know what to do with it?
Or do they have some special way of brainwashing these students into behaving?
Looks like I've ended up at some kind of extraordinary school.
Whether his classmates knew something and were pretending, or whether they really were clueless,
he'd know once he'd investigated them.
Until then, Kageya Shinjitsu just had to try to fit in.
After the teacher left, the conversations were pretty much all over the place.
Then, among the students, a boy who looked like a model student stood up.
"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?"
He spoke in a friendly, approachable way.
"Starting today, we're all going to live together in the same class."
"So I thought we could start by introducing ourselves. It'd be nice if we could become friends quickly. We still have time before the entrance ceremony, so what do you think?"
Every word was phrased as a question. He wasn't trying to force anyone.
He seemed like the sort of classmate who really respected other people's opinions.
He was confident, too. Most students wouldn't stand up and speak even if they had the same idea.
His communication skills were excellent. He looked like a top-tier social butterfly.
He'd be useful anywhere.
So my classmates have some capable people after all.
Is he done hiding it?
Kageya Shinjitsu watched the boy.
"I'm in."
"It'd be good to get to know each other."
"We don't even know each other's names yet. That'd be awkward."
Once someone got things started, it was unlikely anyone would refuse. One after another, the students spoke up.
Kageya Shinjitsu didn't think anyone these days would be foolish enough to turn down a chance to introduce themselves and meet their classmates.
"My name is Hirata Yosuke. In middle school, everyone usually called me Yosuke, so I hope you'll call me by my first name. I'm interested in all kinds of sports, but I especially like soccer. I plan to play soccer at this school, too. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all."
Before you continue