Confession

After putting away the daily necessities he'd bought at the convenience store, Hoshino Kanade flopped straight onto the bed and savored its softness.

As expected of Advanced Nurturing High School in Tokyo. Even the beds were good quality.

At last, Hoshino Kanade was experiencing a normal high school life—though this school wasn't exactly normal, either.

In his previous life, he'd been under pressure from a young age, with no choice but to keep pushing himself. He'd spent his whole life competing, only to be crushed by it in the end.

To relieve the stress, Hoshino Kanade had stumbled across the world of anime and manga. Classroom of the Elite was one of his favorite works, and he'd watched the anime and read the novels and manga several times over.

Unfortunately, by the time he died, even the novels—which had progressed the furthest—still hadn't finished.

In this life, Hoshino Kanade had planned to casually apply to a school with a high deviation score and start a new life.

He hadn't expected to receive an acceptance letter from Advanced Nurturing High School in Tokyo, a school with the same name as the one in the work from his previous life.

After looking into it, he'd found that the school's public description really was much the same as in the work from his previous life.

That had made Hoshino Kanade a little excited, even setting aside the nostalgia of his past life.

Accepting the offer was also a very good choice for him. Not only was tuition fully covered, but he could also exchange his points for yen after graduation. And even if he failed to make it to Class A, he could still work hard and get into a good university.

After being crushed by the exam-oriented education system in his previous life, with his natural talent in this one and all the effort he'd put in during middle school to earn a scholarship, Hoshino Kanade was confident that no one could outdo him academically. No one.

His only concern was the later stages, when things might turn into a classroom where strength was everything. It would be perfect if he could earn enough points in the first year and then transfer out.

That had been his original plan, but Ayanokoji was a girl, and their relationship seemed pretty good on the surface. If he seized the opportunity, he could rely on Kiyona to protect him later.

Ayanokoji's emotional portrayal differed across the anime, manga, and novels, and even the way her character was presented varied. But her core personality wouldn't change: she believed in keeping to herself, and had absolute rationality and all-around ability.

Still, he didn't know how a female version of Ayanokoji would differ.

His current goals were to win Kiyona over and earn points. With Kiyona, he'd feel safe; with plenty of points, he'd feel at ease.

After their conversation today, Kiyona didn't seem to have much sense of personal boundaries. He guessed it was because she lacked common sense.

She also hadn't interacted with anyone else. Could she have social anxiety?

She'd kept talking to him. Was she planning to turn him into her tool?

Of course, he might just be overthinking things. Maybe Kiyona simply wanted to be friends with him.

At this stage, the best way to earn points was to sell information. In the original story, Class A had 940 points, Class B had 650, Class C had 490, and Class D... well, that went without saying.

Judging by Class A's starting points, either they'd discovered the rules early, or everyone in the class was exceptionally capable to begin with.

Hoshino Kanade leaned toward the first possibility. Every class had been assigned some students with low academic ability. Even if Class A had fewer underperformers, Class B hadn't been far behind. Yet after a month, the gap between the two classes had become quite large.

Even if everyone in Class A was highly disciplined, it was still possible that Sakayanagi had discovered the rules.

If he tried to sell them information and the other party already knew it, not only would there be no deal, but they'd also gain leverage over him by accusing him of "betraying his class."

He couldn't be sure Class A was in the dark, so there was no point in making a deal. Better safe than sorry.

Of course, if he approached Class A to make a deal now, less than half a day after the start of school, it might not be impossible.

It would just be difficult to explain where he'd gotten the information. Blaming it all on upperclassmen wouldn't be very convincing, either.

He'd watch and see before deciding what to do.

Class B was the best buyer, mainly because Ichinose was an angel. Even without a contract, she probably wouldn't expose Hoshino Kanade. Still, a contract would provide insurance.

Class C was also a good buyer, but getting Ryuen's attention would be a huge pain. After the deal, he'd have something Ryuen could use against him and threaten him whenever he wanted.

If he had to make a deal, he'd need to rig the contract or find a middleman, like Shiina Hiyori.

As for Class D, there was no need to say much. He had a feeling he'd end up working for nothing. Better to contribute academically when he could and make sure he didn't get expelled in the expulsion exam.

Making deals with other classes would be tantamount to betraying Class D. If someone exposed him,

Hoshino Kanade's contributions to Class D would be wiped out completely.

His high school life—and his time in Class D—would be over just like that.

It was necessary to plant an informant in Class D. The more information, the better.

Matsushita Chiaki was a good choice. She was capable and observant, wanted to play it safe, yet also craved excitement.

Miss, you wouldn't want your friends to find out you've been hiding your abilities all this time, would you?

Just kidding. He definitely wouldn't try to win Matsushita over with a method like that. He'd think about it later; it was too soon for now.

Hoshino Kanade took out his terminal. It only had one contact: Ayanokoji Kiyona.

"Want to grab something to eat?"

Well, what was done was done. He might as well eat first.

Room 1204. This was Ayanokoji Kiyona's dorm room.

After looking around the room, Ayanokoji Kiyona was amazed by the school's luxurious accommodations, despite her limited common sense.

The boys' and girls' dormitories were in the same building. The handbook said, "Romantic relationships unsuitable for high school students are prohibited." In other words... relationships between students were allowed?

That did seem to be what it meant.

Thinking of how this was her first time living independently, and that she'd be completely cut off from the outside world until graduation, the corners of Kiyona's lips lifted slightly. They were as delicate as the edges of carefully carved ice, and as pale as snow-dusted cherry blossoms. When closed, they were sharp as a blade; when parted slightly, they revealed the warmth of early spring.

This was a completely different smile from Kiyona's earlier one. If Hoshino Kanade hadn't been so observant, he wouldn't even have noticed the slight upward curve of her lips.

The school was renowned for its high employment rate, and its faculty and staff conditions were beyond the reach of other schools.

But Ayanokoji Kiyona didn't care about any of that. Her friends from middle school, her parents, and even everyone else outside the school were forbidden from contacting enrolled students without permission.

That was what mattered most to Kiyona.

Kiyona had gained her freedom. She even murmured to herself, translating the word "freedom" into several different languages.

"This is... amazing!"

From now on, she'd keep a low profile and simply enjoy her life.

She only had to maintain the bare minimum of social interaction and avoid being isolated.

Still, Kanade-kun was a strange person. He was very observant and always seemed calm no matter what happened. He was completely different from the other high school students she'd observed. He must be capable.

The black-haired girl sitting beside them was calm, too, and her poker face never changed.

But Kanade felt different from the black-haired girl. Kanade seemed like he'd anticipated everything, while the black-haired girl just seemed to have strong nerves. Or was it simply because they were different genders?

He stayed calm in the face of everything else, but acted differently when talking to her.

He seemed very innocent, but if she paid close attention to his expression and muscle movements, many of his seemingly unconscious gestures were deliberate.

Was he trying to act like a normal high school boy reacting to a girl?

When he shared the problems he'd discovered with her, was he simply confiding in a friend, or was he trying to show off his strengths and attract her attention?

Kanade had some issues, but they weren't serious. After all, he was her only friend, so she should be understanding.

If Kanade wanted to take things further, that wouldn't be a problem, either. Romance was one way to enjoy a life of freedom.

At today's self-introductions, he'd said he didn't want to make friends. If she weren't there, Kanade-kun would definitely have been isolated by the whole class. Really, there was just no helping Kanade. (She shrugged and shook her head.)

It definitely wasn't because she herself was afraid to take the initiative and strike up conversations with people to make friends.

"Hmm?"

Her terminal lit up. It was an invitation from Kanade to eat. It was mealtime.

Her thumb slid across the cool screen, and the cursor flashed urgently in the input box.

"Sure." (Read)