Confession

Hoshino Kanade organized the daily necessities he had purchased at the convenience store and then threw himself onto the bed, savoring its softness.

As expected of the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the quality of this bed was quite impressive.

Hoshino Kanade was finally experiencing a normal high school life, although this school wasn't exactly "normal" to begin with.

In his previous life, he had been under pressure since childhood, forced into the rat race, grinding from a young age until he was eventually worked to death.

To relieve stress, Hoshino Kanade had inadvertently discovered the world of anime and manga, and Classroom of the Elite was a series he particularly loved; he had read the anime, light novels, and manga several times over.

It was a pity that by the time Hoshino Kanade died, even the most up-to-date light novel hadn't finished its serialization.

In this life, Hoshino Kanade had originally intended to just take an exam for a school with a high deviation score and start his new life.

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

After investigating, he discovered that the school's public introduction was indeed similar to the one in the work from his past life.

This made Hoshino Kanade somewhat excited, even setting aside the sentimental attachment from his previous life.

Accepting the admission was a great choice for Hoshino Kanade; not only was tuition fully covered, but the points earned after graduation could be converted into yen, and even if he couldn't promote to Class A, he could still work hard to get into a good university.

Having experienced the soul-crushing exam-oriented education of his past life, combined with his innate talent in this life and his struggle for scholarships during middle school, Hoshino Kanade believed that no one's academic ability was higher than his own—no one.

His only worry was the later stages, where it turned into a classroom of survival of the fittest. If he could earn enough points in the first year and then transfer, that would be perfect.

That was what he had thought at first, but Ayanokoji was a girl, and their relationship on the surface was currently quite good. If he seized the opportunity, he could rely on Kiyona to protect him in the future.

Ayanokoji's emotional expression and character design varied across the anime, manga, and novels, but the core persona remained the same: a believer in escapism, absolute rationality, and omnipotent ability.

However, he didn't know what changes a female version of Ayanokoji might have.

His current goal was to win over Kiyona and earn points; only with Kiyona would he feel a sense of security, and only with plenty of points would he feel at ease.

After today's interaction, he felt that Kiyona lacked a sense of boundaries, which he guessed was due to her lack of common sense.

She hadn't interacted with anyone else either—could she have social anxiety?

She kept talking to him; could it be that she wanted to groom him into her tool?

Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking it and Kiyona simply wanted to be friends with him.

At this stage, the best way to earn points was to sell information. In the original work, Class A had 940 points, Class B had 650, Class C had 490, and Class D was not worth mentioning.

Judging from the initial points of Class A, either they had discovered the rules in advance, or the quality of everyone in Class A was simply very high.

Hoshino Kanade leaned toward the first possibility. Every class was assigned some students with lower academic ability. Even if Class A had fewer underachievers, Class B wasn't actually that far behind. Yet, after one month, the point gap between the two classes was truly quite large.

Taking a step back, even if everyone in Class A was very self-disciplined, one couldn't rule out the possibility that Sakayanagi had discovered the rules.

When selling information, if the other party already knew that information, the deal would not only fail, but he would also be handed a handle that could be used to accuse him of "betraying the class."

He couldn't guarantee that Class A was unaware, so there was no need to trade; caution was never a mistake.

Of course, if it were now, less than half a day into the school year, going to trade with Class A didn't seem impossible.

It was just difficult to explain the source of his information; pushing it all onto upperclassmen wasn't entirely appropriate either.

He would observe first before making plans.

Class B was the best buyer, mainly because Ichinose was a little angel. He estimated that even without a contract, she wouldn't expose Hoshino Kanade. Of course, a contract was an insurance policy.

Class C was also a good buyer, but being targeted by Ryuen would be troublesome. After a transaction, it would be equivalent to having a handle in Ryuen's hands, which could be used to threaten him at any time.

If a transaction were necessary, he would have to tamper with the contract or find an intermediary, such as Shiina Hiyori.

There was no need to mention Class D; he felt he would just be working for free. It was better to just contribute academically during normal times to ensure he wouldn't be expelled during the dropout exams.

Trading with other classes was equivalent to betraying Class D, and if he were exposed...

Then Hoshino Kanade's contribution to Class D would be wiped out.

Hoshino Kanade's high school life, or even his life in Class D, would probably end there.

Planting an informant in Class D was necessary; the more information, the better.

Matsushita Chiaki was a good choice: capable, observant, and someone who wanted to play it safe while also seeking excitement.

"Miss, you wouldn't want your friends to know you've been hiding your true strength all this time, would you?"

Just kidding. He certainly wouldn't use such a method to win Matsushita over. He would think about it later; it was too early now.

Hoshino Kanade took out his terminal; the only contact on it was Ayanokoji Kiyona.

"Do you want to go eat together?"

Since things had come to this, he might as well eat first.

1204, this was Ayanokoji Kiyona's dormitory room.

After checking the condition of the room, despite her limited common sense, Ayanokoji Kiyona was still surprised by the school's luxurious environment.

The male and female dormitories were shared, and the manual stated "romance inconsistent with the status of a high school student is prohibited," which meant... it supported romance between students?

It seemed that was indeed the logic.

The moment Ayanokoji Kiyona thought about how this was her first time living independently, and that she would be completely cut off from the outside world until graduation, she felt a strange sensation.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips, delicate as the edges of a finely carved ice petal. Her lips were pale, like snow-dusted cherry blossoms; when closed, they were as sharp and cold as a blade, yet when parted slightly, they released the warmth of early spring.

This was entirely different from the smile Kiyona had shown before. If Hoshino Kanade hadn't been observing her so closely, he wouldn't have even noticed the slight curve of her mouth.

This school was famous for its high employment rate, and the quality of its faculty was something other institutions could only dream of matching.

Yet, Ayanokoji Kiyona cared for none of this. Friends from middle school, parents, and even the outside world were forbidden from contacting the students without permission.

This was what Kiyona valued most.

Kiyona had gained her freedom; she even whispered to herself, translating the word "freedom" into several different languages.

"This is just... wonderful!"

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

She only needed to maintain the bare minimum of interpersonal relationships to avoid being ostracized.

Still, Kanade-kun was a strange person. His observational skills were sharp, and no matter what happened, he remained calm—completely different from the other high schoolers she had observed. He must be someone with real ability.

Although the girl with the long black hair in the seat next to her was also calm, her stoic expression never wavered.

But the feeling Kanade gave her was different from that girl. Kanade seemed as if he had anticipated everything, whereas the girl just had strong nerves? Or was it simply because of their different genders?

He remained unflappable in the face of other matters, yet his behavior when interacting with her was different.

He acted quite innocent, but through careful observation of his expressions and muscle movements, she could tell that many of his seemingly unconscious actions were actually deliberate.

Was he trying to act like a normal high schooler reacting to a member of the opposite sex?

When he shared the problems he discovered with her, was it just him venting to a friend, or was he trying to show off his strengths to attract her attention?

Although Kanade had his quirks, they weren't major issues. After all, he was her only friend, so she should be tolerant.

If Kanade wanted to take things further, that wouldn't be impossible; romance was also a part of enjoying a free life.

During today's self-introductions, he hadn't wanted to make friends. If it weren't for her, Kanade-kun would definitely have been isolated by the whole class. She really couldn't do anything about him (she shrugged and shook her head).

It was definitely not because she herself was afraid to take the initiative to talk to others and make friends.

"Hmm?"

Her terminal lit up; it was an invitation to eat from Kanade. It was time for dinner.

Her thumb slid across the cold screen, and the cursor blinked rapidly in the input box.

"Sure" (Read)

After organizing the daily necessities he had bought at the convenience store, Hoshino Kanade threw himself onto the bed, feeling its softness.

As expected of the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, the quality of the bed was quite good.

Hoshino Kanade was finally experiencing a normal high school life, although this school wasn't exactly normal either.

In his previous life, he had been pressured from a young age, forced to join the rat race, grinding away until he was eventually ground to death.

To relieve stress, Hoshino Kanade had accidentally discovered the world of anime and manga. Classroom of the Elite was a work he loved very much, and he had read the anime, light novels, and manga several times over.

Unfortunately, by the time he died, even the fastest-updating light novel hadn't finished yet.

In this life, Hoshino Kanade had originally intended to just take an exam for a school with a high deviation score and start his new life.

He hadn't expected to receive an admission notice from the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School—the same high school as in the work from his previous life.

After investigating, he found that the school's public introduction was indeed similar to the one in his previous life.

This made Hoshino Kanade somewhat excited, even setting aside the nostalgia from his past life.

Accepting the admission was a great choice for Hoshino Kanade. Not only was tuition free, but the points earned after graduation could be converted into yen. Even if he couldn't make it to Class A, he could still get into a good university through his own efforts.

Having experienced the soul-crushing exam-oriented education of his previous life, combined with his natural talent in this life and his struggle for scholarships during middle school, Hoshino Kanade believed that no one had higher academic ability than him. No one.

His only worry was the later stages, where it turned into a classroom of physical supremacy. If he could earn enough points in the first year and then transfer, that would be perfect.

That was what he had thought at first, but Ayanokoji was a girl, and his relationship with her was currently decent on the surface. If he seized the opportunity, he could rely on Kiyona to protect him in the future.

Ayanokoji's emotional expression and character design varied across the anime, manga, and novels, but her core personality remained the same: she believed in escapism, absolute rationality, and omnipotent ability.

However, he didn't know what changes a female version of Ayanokoji would have.

His current goal was to win over Kiyona and earn points. Only with Kiyona would he have a sense of security, and only with plenty of points would he feel at ease.

After today's interaction, he felt that Kiyona lacked boundaries, which he guessed was due to a lack of common sense.

She hadn't interacted with anyone else either; could she have social anxiety?

She kept talking to him—was she trying to groom him into her tool?

Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking it and Kiyona just wanted to be friends with him.

At this stage, the best way to earn points was to sell information. In the original work, Class A had 940 points, Class B had 650, Class C had 490, and Class D wasn't even worth mentioning.

Looking at the initial points of Class A, either they had discovered the rules in advance, or the quality of everyone in Class A was inherently very high.

Hoshino Kanade leaned toward the former. Every class was assigned some students with lower academic ability. Even if Class A had fewer underachievers, Class B wasn't actually that far behind. Yet, after a month, the point gap between the two classes was quite significant.

Taking a step back, even if everyone in Class A was very self-disciplined, one couldn't rule out the possibility that Sakayanagi had discovered the rules.

When selling information, if the other party already knew that information, the transaction would not only fail, but he would also be handed a handle that could be used to label him with the crime of "betraying the class."

There is no guarantee that Class A is unaware, so there is no need to trade; it is better to be safe than sorry.

Of course, if it were now, less than half a day into the start of the school year, going to Class A to trade might not be impossible.

It is just difficult to explain the source of the information, and pushing it all onto upperclassmen is not entirely appropriate.

I will observe first before making any plans.

Class B is the best buyer, mainly because Ichinose is a little angel; I estimate that even without a contract, she would not expose Hoshino Kanade. Of course, a contract is an insurance policy.

Class C is also a good buyer, but being targeted by Ryuen would be troublesome. After a trade, it would be equivalent to handing him leverage, allowing him to threaten me at any time.

If a trade is necessary, I must tamper with the contract or find an intermediary, such as Shiina Hiyori.

As for Class D, it goes without saying; I feel like I would be working for free. It is enough to just contribute in terms of academics and ensure I am not expelled during the dropout exams.

Trading with other classes is equivalent to betraying Class D, and if it were exposed by someone.

Then Hoshino Kanade's contribution to Class D would be wiped clean.

Hoshino Kanade's high school life, or even his life in Class D, would come to an end there.

Planting an informant in Class D is necessary; the more information, the better.

Matsushita Chiaki is a good choice; she is capable, observant, and seeks both stability and excitement.

"Miss, you wouldn't want your friends to know you've been hiding your true strength, would you?"

Just kidding. I certainly wouldn't use such a method to win her over. I will think about it later; it is too early for now.

Hoshino Kanade took out his terminal; the only contact on it was Ayanokoji Kiyona.

"Do you want to go eat together?"

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

1204, this is Ayanokoji Kiyona's room.

After checking the room, despite her limited common sense, Ayanokoji Kiyona was surprised by the school's luxurious environment.

The dorms for men and women are shared, and the manual states "relationships inappropriate for high school students are prohibited," which means... it supports relationships between students?

That seems to be the logic.

Thinking that this is her first time living independently and that all contact with the outside world will be completely severed until graduation, Ayanokoji Kiyona could not help but lift the corners of her lips. They were like the edges of meticulously carved ice, the color of her lips as pale as snow-covered cherry petals; when closed, they were as sharp as blades, but when slightly parted, they leaked the warmth of early spring.

This was completely different from Kiyona's previous smile. If Hoshino Kanade hadn't been observing carefully, he wouldn't have even noticed the slight curve of her lips.

This school is famous for its high employment rate, and its faculty benefits are unmatched by other schools.

But Ayanokoji Kiyona does not care about any of this. Friends from middle school, parents, and even everyone in the outside world are not allowed to contact students without permission.

This is what Kiyona values most.

Kiyona has gained freedom; she even muttered to herself, translating "freedom" into several languages.

"This is simply... wonderful!"

Next, I need to keep a low profile and just enjoy life simply.

It is enough to ensure minimal interpersonal interaction and avoid being isolated.

However, Kanade-kun is a strange person. His observation skills are sharp, and no matter what happens, he appears very calm, completely different from other high school students I have observed. He must be someone with real ability.

Although the girl with long black hair in the seat next to me is also very calm, her expression has never changed.

But the feeling Kanade gives me is different from her. Does Kanade give the impression that he anticipated everything? Or is the girl just mentally resilient? Or is it simply because of the difference in gender?

He remains unflustered when facing other things, but his behavior when communicating with me is different.

He acts very innocent, but through careful observation of his expressions, muscle changes, and many seemingly unconscious movements, they are actually intentional.

Is he trying to act like a normal high school student reacting to the opposite sex?

Is he sharing the problems he discovered with me just to confide in a friend, or is he trying to show off his strengths to attract my attention?

Although Kanade has some issues, they are not major. After all, he is my only friend, so I should be tolerant.

If Kanade wants to take it a step further, that wouldn't be impossible. Romance is also a part of enjoying a free life.

During today's self-introduction, he didn't want to make friends. If it weren't for me, Kanade-kun would definitely have been isolated by the whole class. I really can't do anything about Kanade (shrugs and shakes head).

It is definitely not because I am afraid to take the initiative to talk to others and make friends myself.

"Hmm?"

The terminal lit up; it was Kanade's invitation to eat. It is time for a meal.

Her thumb slid across the cold screen, and the cursor flickered rapidly in the input box.

"Sure." (Read)