Rules

"My name is Mashima Tomoya. Welcome to this school." The man standing at the lectern tapped the desk. His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable seriousness. "Although this school has a 100% graduation rate and employment rate, that absolutely does not mean you can let your guard down. From now until graduation, I'll be your homeroom teacher."

He paused, then raised the Terminal in his hand and gave it a little shake. "To measure students' overall abilities more accurately, the school has introduced the S System. Its functions have already been preinstalled on the smartphone Terminal you're holding, which also serves as your student ID."

"At this school, Points are crucial. They directly determine the quality of your life in the future. Now, open your Terminal, enter your student number and initial password, and check the Points issued for this month."

Uesugi Hara followed the steps. His Terminal screen lit up, displaying a clear line of numbers:

[Private Points: 100000]

[Class: Class 1-A]

[Name: Uesugi Hara]

"One hundred thousand? Seriously?"

"One hundred thousand yen every month? Did I come to school, or am I dreaming?"

"And that 100% graduation rate and employment rate... Quick, give me a slap to wake me up!"

A sharp smack! rang out, mingled with a cry of pain, prompting a wave of quiet laughter across the classroom.

Mashima Tomoya ignored the commotion and continued explaining. "It looks like you've all received these 100,000 Private Points. One point is equivalent to one yen in purchasing power. The school will automatically issue your Points for the month on the first day of each month."

"All purchases on campus must be paid for with Points through your Terminal, and—" He emphasized his words. "At this school, as long as you have enough Points, there's almost nothing you can't buy."

"Now, it's time for questions. I'll answer as appropriate."

Uesugi Hara could easily see the trap hidden in Mashima Tomoya's words, but he had no intention of pointing it out. It was a perfect chance to see how capable the students in this class were.

While explaining the rules, he had already quietly sized up everyone in the class. The girls were generally quite attractive, but the boys were a mixed bag. Even the best-looking one was just a little below him, while the one at the bottom was downright bizarre, like he'd been drawn in a completely different style. Was he some sort of spontaneous creation by the gods?

Among the girls, the most noteworthy was the little girl leaning on a cane. She'd been glancing over here from time to time. Did she really think he hadn't noticed? Come to think of it, if he won over the Chairman's daughter, could he "stop eating beef" at this school? Uesugi Hara secretly turned the idea over in his mind.

Among the boys, the shiny bald one gave off the vibe of a thirty-eight-year-old, even though he was clearly only eighteen. Then there was the one who was just a little less attractive than Uesugi Hara. He didn't look like much of a threat, though appearances could be deceiving. Even the one with the bizarre look deserved watching—he didn't seem like a good guy.

Questions gradually began to ring out around the classroom. Uesugi Hara propped his chin on his hand, listening as he pondered.

Most of the questions were pretty pointless, little more than basic inquiries about what they could spend their Points on.

A few, however, hit the mark.

"Mr. Mashima, may I ask if we'll receive 100,000 Points every month?" The bald boy was the first to stand and ask, with a hint of wariness in his voice.

Mashima Tomoya replied blandly, "You'll find out next month."

The classroom fell silent for half a second.

"Does that mean we might not get 100,000 Points next month?" Sakayanagi Arisu immediately chimed in. "Then what rules will determine how many Points we receive after that?"

Mashima Tomoya's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, but in the end, he only gave a vague answer. "I can't answer that question directly."

Rather than a refusal, his ambiguous answer was more like an indirect hint that the Points issued were by no means fixed.

"If you can't answer directly, does that mean there's a way to find out?" Sakayanagi Arisu's lips curved into a faint smile, curiosity in her voice. "Then, Mr. Mashima, how many Points would it cost to get the answer?"

Mashima Tomoya fell silent for a moment, as if weighing something, then named a figure. "Five hundred thousand Points."

He paused, then added, "And I should warn you: I can't guarantee whether this deal will be a loss or a gain for you."

The classroom erupted in an uproar.

Five hundred thousand Points was equivalent to what five people would receive in a month. Who would gamble that much on an unknown rule?

Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue inwardly. The little girl really had the nerve to ask, and the teacher really had the nerve to name his price.

It seemed this school was more complicated than he'd imagined.

He glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu. She still wore a composed smile, as though five hundred thousand Points were an insignificant sum. That made him all the more certain that the Chairman's daughter had plenty of cards up her sleeve.

Sakayanagi Arisu's smile didn't diminish at all when she heard the figure. She merely turned her cane gently in her hand. "Five hundred thousand? That's an interesting price." She didn't accept or refuse right away, as if weighing something. Her gaze swept over the surprised or troubled faces around the classroom before settling on Mashima Tomoya. "It seems we'll have to judge the value of this answer for ourselves."

Mashima Tomoya made no comment. He simply raised his hand and checked his watch. "That's about enough time for questions. You can arrange the rest of your time yourselves, but remember that the school will hold the entrance ceremony in the Gymnasium in two hours. Don't forget."

With that, he turned and left the classroom, leaving behind a room full of chatter.

"Five hundred thousand for a rule? That's crazy!" someone exclaimed.

"But what if the rule affects how many Points we get in the future..." someone else said hesitantly.

Uesugi Hara rested his chin on his hand and watched Sakayanagi Arisu surrounded by a few classmates, discussing something in low voices. His curiosity grew. The little girl knew the risks, yet still wouldn't back down. Could she have far more than 100,000 Points? Or had she already gotten some information from the Chairman?

As he pondered this, Kamuro Masumi came over and kicked his chair. "Hey, do you think spending five hundred thousand is worth it?"

"Hard to say," Uesugi Hara replied, raising an eyebrow. "But if someone's willing to take the gamble, we can just watch." He nodded toward Sakayanagi Arisu. "Look at her. Doesn't she seem like she already knows the answer and is deliberately testing him?"

Kamuro Masumi followed his gaze. Sakayanagi Arisu was listening to a classmate's analysis, fiddling with her Terminal. The smile on her lips was enough to make anyone uneasy.

"Who cares about her?" Kamuro Masumi said with a pout. "I can't afford to risk my Points."

"Not necessarily." Uesugi Hara tapped the screen of his Terminal with a fingertip, then looked up at Kamuro Masumi. "Mr. Mashima never said one person had to pay all 500,000. If all forty of us split the cost, it'd be only 12,500 Points each. That's not much, is it? It just depends on whether everyone's willing to make that short-term investment."

Kamuro Masumi paused, clearly not having thought of that. She frowned. "You're good at calculating. But who knows if the answer is worth 12,500 Points? What if the rule doesn't matter at all? Then we'd just be suckers."

"That's why it depends on what we're willing to give up." Uesugi Hara smiled. "But most of the class seems willing to pay."