April.
The season of cherry blossoms.
The classroom of Class D at Advanced Nurturing High School.
The moment Natsume Yu stepped into the classroom, a stuffy mixture of sweat, cheap perfume, and teenage hormones hit him.
Noisy, rowdy, utterly disorderly.
Some students sat with their legs crossed, loudly bragging about their glory days in middle school.
Others gathered in groups of three or five, discussing last night's latest anime.
And some were touching up their makeup with little mirrors, oblivious to everyone around them.
It was like a chaotic street market.
A warm yet distant smile tugged at Natsume Yu's lips.
He pushed up the plain glasses he wore as a disguise. Behind the lenses, his eyes were calm and still, like a frigid pool with no visible bottom, reflecting the ridiculousness of these "future elites."
This was exactly what he wanted.
Class D.
The school's universally acknowledged dumping ground for all its defective products.
The perfect hiding place.
The entrance exam came to mind.
The questions, which seemed like an incomprehensible foreign language to ordinary students, had been as easy as preschool arithmetic to him.
But he hadn't chosen to write down the right answers.
He had carefully kept his score in an awkward middle range—not high, but nowhere near the bottom.
At the interview, he had played the part of someone with "poor social skills, an introverted personality, and little to say" to perfection.
A slight stutter, averted eyes, fingers clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Every detail had been flawless.
Even now, he found the admissions officer's look of faint pity and disdain amusing.
"Poor social skills."
What a lovely assessment.
Those four words were his letter of introduction to the school, his ticket to blending into this "quagmire."
So far, his opening move had been perfect.
As a proper "invisible man," all he had to do was sit quietly and enjoy the show about to unfold.
"Quiet down, all of you!"
A woman's cold voice rang out, undisguised irritation in every word.
Their homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, walked in on high heels. She looked around the room as though inspecting a batch of goods to be appraised, not a class of students.
"Starting now, you'll introduce yourselves."
As soon as she finished speaking, whispers broke out among the students again.
No one took her seriously.
One red-haired boy with a fierce look even propped his feet on his desk, his face full of impatience.
Ken Sudō.
Natsume Yu silently repeated the name in his mind.
A brawny simpleton, and one of the troublemakers to come.
Just as dull as expected.
Natsume Yu's gaze wandered idly over the classroom, like a king surveying his domain.
Then his eyes settled on someone.
In a back corner of the classroom, a black-haired boy propped his cheek on his hand, staring out the window with a blank expression. His whole demeanor seemed to say, "Don't bother me. I just want to be an extra."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
The corners of Natsume Yu's mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile.
Keep pretending.
Go on.
You want an ordinary life?
That's just a top predator's camouflage—a herbivore's protective coloring to keep trouble at bay.
It might fool everyone else, but it wouldn't fool me.
This wasn't some random extra.
He was the sharpest spear and the strongest shield in the school.
A perfect tool, one Natsume Yu could put to use.
Natsume Yu turned his gaze away, then looked toward the seat beside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
Long, straight black hair; delicate features; a cool bearing. The pride and indifference in her eyes were almost enough to freeze the air.
Horikita Suzune.
An exceptionally capable yet intensely self-centered lone wolf who had no idea how to work with a team.
Natsume Yu could already see her becoming the spark for the first conflict in Class D.
Of course.
She would also make a useful chess piece.
With just a little guidance, he could make her stir up enough trouble wherever he needed it.
Amid the classroom's racket, Chabashira Sae expressionlessly wrote a line on the blackboard.
[Each student receives 100,000 Private Points per month]
Her cold voice rang out again.
"At this school, points are everything. You can use them to buy anything from any facility on campus, whether it's food, entertainment, or other services."
"As long as you have enough points, this place is paradise."
When she finished speaking.
The entire classroom fell silent for three seconds.
Then came a cheer like a volcanic eruption!
"One hundred thousand? Did I hear that right? A hundred thousand every month?!"
"We're rich! This school's so generous!"
"Karaoke tonight! My treat!"
The students erupted at once, their faces alight with the giddy joy of lottery winners, as if they could already see their luxurious school lives ahead.
The power of money was on full display.
Natsume Yu leaned back in his chair, hands in his pockets, and watched coldly as his classmates were swept up in their desires.
His face held a warm smile, but inwardly, he sneered.
Paradise?
No.
This was the most expensive trap in the world, and a bunch of fools like you were rushing to jump in.
He saw the golden-haired, handsome Hirata Yosuke, surrounded by girls like a prince, gently smiling as he calmed everyone down.
He also saw the adorable Kushida Kikyo, the center of attention among the boys, sweetly saying, "Let's all get along from now on!"
What a wonderful performance.
Natsume Yu let his gaze linger on them for a moment, already sketching out their future spending habits and potential weaknesses.
Spend away.
Go ahead and spend to your hearts' content.
Every point you spend now will become a noose around your neck later.
And I'll be the one to tighten it.
At lunchtime, the cafeteria was packed.
Natsume Yu carried his tray and made his way through the crowd without hurrying.
His eyes settled precisely on a target.
A petite girl with short pink hair and thick glasses.
Sakura Airi.
She carried her tray carefully, looking nervous, like a startled rabbit trying to find a safe corner in the crush of people.
Natsume Yu's mouth curled as he adjusted his path.
Just as he drew near, a tall boy shoved past Sakura Airi carelessly.
"Ah!"
Sakura Airi cried out. She stumbled, and the tray in her hands lurched violently. The soup in her bowl was about to spill.
Now.
Natsume Yu seemed to be merely passing by, and just happened to appear at her side.
He reached out and steadied the tilting tray.
The movement was smooth and clean, without a hint of wasted motion.
"Careful."
He kept his voice low, gentle, with just the right touch of concern.
Still shaken, Sakura Airi looked up and saw a warmly smiling face through her thick lenses.
"Ah... th-thank you."
Her voice was barely more than a whisper, and her cheeks flushed bright red.
Natsume Yu simply gave her a small nod, withdrew his hand, and turned to leave. He didn't give his name or look back at her.
A perfect encounter.
The impression of a "kind stranger" had been quietly planted.
That was the first step.
The perfect setup for the "hero saving the beauty" he had planned for the near future.
Night fell.
Natsume Yu returned to his single dorm room and shut the door.
All the noise outside was shut away.
The warm mask vanished from his face, replaced by a deep, cold indifference.
He walked to his desk and opened a brand-new notebook.
His pen scratched across the paper.
The power structure within Class D gradually took shape under his hand.
Hirata Yosuke, the public face of the class, maintaining its fragile peace.
Kushida Kikyo, the hidden social hub, with an enormous network of information—but also the most dangerous ticking time bomb.
Sudō, Ike, and Yamauchi, three pure liabilities, but excellent tools for stirring things up.
Horikita Suzune, a solitary blade in need of someone to wield her.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka...
Natsume Yu circled the name, then drew a heavy question mark beside it.
At last, his pen stopped over the name "Kushida Kikyo."
An angel's appearance, a devil's heart.
He knew better than anyone what a repulsive darkness lay behind that seemingly harmless "class idol."
"Your little secret won't stay secret for long."
He murmured to himself, a calculating gleam in his eyes.
He'd find her weakness and control her, making her his most loyal dog. Of course, he wouldn't stop there.
Spend three years peacefully in Class D?
That was just a smokescreen he had tossed out for everyone else.
His real goal had never changed, not since the day he stepped into this school.
Class A.
That was his ultimate destination, and the stage where he would announce his existence to the world.
There were top-tier resources and the finest companions.
And the most worthy challenge to conquer.
He wanted more than just to graduate.
He wanted control.
Control of the rules, control of people's hearts, control of everything that belonged to him.
He would make everyone who had once looked down on him and thought he was nothing but a "socially inept" loser grovel at his feet.
With his abilities, he would tear away the school's hypocritical mask.
Then, with his carefully selected "harem," he would live a luxurious, carefree life at the very top.
That was the ultimate reason Natsume Yu had come here.
His fingertips brushed the names in the notebook, his gaze deep as an abyss.
This school, these people.
They would all become stepping stones on his way to the top.
Natsume Yu gazed calmly out the window. The noise below the dormitory and the chaos of Class D were like childish games to him.
He knew.
The game had only just begun.
And he...
was the only player.
Before you continue