Rules

"My name is Mashima Tomoya, and I welcome you all to this school." The man standing at the podium tapped the desk, his tone flat yet carrying an unquestionable gravity. "Although this school boasts a 100% graduation and employment rate, this by no means implies that you can slack off. From now until graduation, I will be your homeroom teacher."

He paused, lifting the terminal in his hand and giving it a shake: "To more accurately measure the comprehensive level of students, the school has specially introduced the S System. Relevant functions have been pre-installed on the smartphone terminal integrated with your student ID that you are holding."

"In this school, 'points' are of the utmost importance; they directly determine the quality of your future life. Now, please open your terminals, enter your student ID and initial password, and check the points issued for this month."

Uesugi Hara followed the steps, and the terminal screen lit up in response, a line of numbers clearly displayed:

[Private Points: 100,000]

[Class: Class 1-A]

[Name: Uesugi Hara]

"One hundred thousand? Are you kidding me?"

"One hundred thousand yen every month? Am I here to go to school or am I dreaming?"

"And that 100% graduation and employment rate... quick, someone slap me so I can wake up!"

"Smack!" A crisp sound mixed with a cry of pain, drawing a burst of low laughter in the classroom.

Mashima Tomoya ignored the commotion and continued his explanation: "It seems you have all received these 100,000 Private Points. I should make a special note: 1 Private Point is equivalent to the purchasing power of 1 yen, and the school will automatically issue the current month's points on the 1st of every month."

"All consumption within the school must be paid for with points via your terminal, and furthermore—" he emphasized his tone, "in this school, as long as you have enough points, there is almost nothing you cannot buy."

"Next is the question-and-answer session. I will answer as I see fit."

Uesugi Hara could naturally see through the linguistic traps hidden in Mashima Tomoya's words at a glance, but he had no intention of pointing them out—it was a perfect opportunity to see the caliber of the students in this class.

While the rules were being explained, he had already calmly scanned everyone in the room. The girls were quite impressive in terms of overall appearance, while the boys were a mixed bag: the top-tier ones were only slightly inferior to himself, while the bottom-tier ones were truly abstract; their art style was different from everyone else's—was this some kind of impromptu creation by the Creator?

Among the girls, the one most worth noting was the little girl leaning on a cane. She had been glancing over here from time to time just now; did she really think he hadn't noticed? But then again, if he managed to win over the daughter of the Chairman, would he be able to "live like a king" in this school? Uesugi Hara was secretly calculating in his heart.

On the boys' side, that shiny bald head radiated an aura of a 38-year-old, even though he was clearly only 18; there was another whose looks were a notch below his own, who seemed harmless but was hard to judge; even that abstract-looking one had to be watched—he didn't look like a pushover.

Questions gradually began to arise in the classroom, and Uesugi Hara rested his chin on his hand, listening while pondering.

Most of the questions were of little substance, being nothing more than basic inquiries about the scope of point consumption.

However, a few questions did hit the mark.

"Mashima-sensei, may I ask if 100,000 points will be issued every month?" The bald boy was the first to stand up and ask, his tone carrying a hint of vigilance.

Mashima Tomoya replied in a lukewarm manner: "You will find out about that next month."

As soon as these words were spoken, the classroom fell silent for half a second.

"Does that mean the points next month might not be 100,000?" Sakayanagi Arisu immediately followed up. "Then, based on what rules will the subsequent points be issued?"

Mashima Tomoya's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, but he ultimately replied vaguely: "Regarding this question, I cannot answer you directly."

This ambiguous answer was less of a refusal and more of a disguised hint—the issuance of points was by no means set in stone.

"If you cannot answer directly, does that mean there is a way to obtain the answer?" Sakayanagi Arisu's lips curled slightly, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry. "Then, Mashima-sensei, how many points would it cost to exchange for this answer?"

Mashima Tomoya was silent for a moment, as if weighing something, and then reported a number: "500,000 points."

He paused, then added: "And I must warn you, I cannot guarantee whether this transaction will be a loss or a gain for you."

The classroom was suddenly in an uproar.

500,000 points was equivalent to the monthly allowance of five people; who would gamble such a large sum on an unknown rule?

Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue in his heart—this little girl really dared to ask, and the teacher actually dared to name such a price.

It seemed the waters of this school were even deeper than he had imagined.

He glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu, who still wore a composed smile as if 500,000 points were merely an insignificant number, which made him feel even more that this Chairman's daughter likely held quite a few trump cards.

After hearing the number, the smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face did not diminish in the slightest; she merely turned her cane gently: "500,000? An interesting price, indeed." She did not agree immediately, nor did she refuse, as if she were calculating something. Her gaze swept over the surprised or solemn faces in the classroom and finally landed on Mashima Tomoya. "It seems the value of this answer must be judged by us ourselves."

Mashima Tomoya did not commit, merely raising his hand to check his watch: "The question time is almost over. You may arrange your own time for the remainder, but remember that the school will hold the entrance ceremony in the Gymnasium in two hours. Do not forget."

As his words fell, he turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving behind a room full of discussion.

"500,000 for a rule? Are they crazy!" someone gasped.

"But what if this rule is related to future point distributions..." others looked hesitant.

Uesugi Hara rested his chin on his hand, watching Sakayanagi Arisu being surrounded by several classmates for a low-voiced discussion, his curiosity growing even more. This little girl knew the risks and still wouldn't let go; could it be that the points in her hand far exceeded 100,000? Or had she already gotten some inside information from the Chairman?

Just as he was pondering, Kamuro Masumi leaned over and kicked his chair: "Hey, do you think those 500,000 are worth spending?"

"Hard to say if it's worth it," Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow, "but someone dares to gamble, so we'll just watch." He gestured toward Sakayanagi Arisu's direction with his chin. "Look at her; doesn't she look like she already knows the answer and is deliberately testing the waters?"

Kamuro Masumi looked over and saw Sakayanagi Arisu listening to her classmates' analysis while fiddling with her terminal, the smile on the corner of her mouth making one's heart crawl.

"Forget her," Kamuro Masumi pouted, "anyway, my points can't afford such a toss."

"That's not necessarily true," Uesugi Hara tapped his fingertips on the terminal screen and looked up at Kamuro Masumi. "Mashima-sensei didn't say that one person has to pay the full 500,000. If the whole class of 40 people splits it, that's only 12,500 points per person, which isn't much, right? It just depends on whether everyone is willing to make this short-term investment."

Kamuro Masumi was stunned for a moment, clearly not having thought in that direction, and frowned: "You're quite the accountant. But who knows if this answer is worth 12,500? What if the rule is completely trivial? Wouldn't that make us suckers?"

"That's why I said it's about trade-offs," Uesugi Hara smiled. "However, most people in the class seem quite willing to pay."