Clear-eyed, Yet Foolish

(Brain storage area)

(Don't ask. Everyone involved is of age.)

April.

Cherry blossoms danced in the breeze.

Advanced Nurturing High School,

a closed-off school backed by the government.

Tuition and living expenses were fully covered.

It had everything, from shopping malls and pedestrian streets to movie theaters and a host of other entertainment facilities.

And the school had a liberal atmosphere.

The administration didn't interfere if students came to class with tattoos, pierced ears, or dressed in cosplay outfits.

More importantly,

the school was renowned for its 100% employment rate.

That didn't mean graduates were sent to electronics factories to meet KPIs. It meant every single one of them landed a key position at a major company.

Even in fields ordinary people could barely reach—such as show business, sports, diplomacy, law, medicine, and politics—the school could help students achieve their dreams.

Simply put,

if you got in,

you already had one foot in the winners' circle!

At that moment,

in Class 1-C,

at the front of the classroom,

homeroom teacher Kazuma Sakagami was explaining a few things the new students needed to know,

giving them a rundown of how the school worked.

Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom,

in the window seat,

a student in a burgundy uniform had a book covering his face. His legs were propped up on the desk, his body leaned back, and his chair was tilted so far that only two legs remained on the floor.

The name on his desk plaque was—

Prince Ganlongdao!

He was nearly two meters tall, with his legs practically reaching over the head of the student in front.

Yet,

homeroom teacher Kazuma Sakagami made no move to stop him.

The boy in front of him, whose plaque read Hidetoshi Suzuki, wanted to say something. But when he saw Prince Ganlongdao's silver hair and open collar, revealing a slightly bulging chest, he hesitated.

The guy clearly worked out regularly—the kind who looked slim in clothes but was all muscle underneath.

Besides, the teacher was still speaking at the front. Interrupting him out of the blue wouldn't be polite, so Hidetoshi Suzuki decided to let it go.

On second thought,

it was probably for the best.

He was still a little annoyed, though.

This was such a great school, and it even had the government backing it!

So why were there so many brats and thugs in his class?

He could spot several at a glance.

There was the red-haired guy in the middle of the room, staring like a snake; the fierce-looking guy sitting beside him; the smirking creep behind him; and even a foreign Black student.

No need to guess.

They were all delinquents who couldn't study and knew nothing but fighting.

Once the morning orientation was over,

he'd find a way to ask the teacher to change his seat.

Behind him,

bored, Prince Ganlongdao covered his face with a book and leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.

Ganlongdao!

Hokkaido's most famous yakuza organization, second only to the Yamaguchi-gumi in Japan.

But

that didn't mean Ganlongdao was inferior to the Yamaguchi-gumi.

It was just that Ganlongdao's main area of operation was in war-torn regions overseas, where it focused on mercenary warfare, assassinations, arms dealing, human trafficking, organ trafficking, and high-end services on Lolita Island, among other things.

The yakuza among yakuza.

From a young age,

Prince Ganlongdao had been sent to the war-torn Middle East to toughen up.

When he'd finally made it through and returned home,

his family's elders told him he had to conquer Advanced Nurturing High School before he'd be allowed to inherit the family business.

"So they want me to take over Suzuran—no, Advanced Nurturing?"

Prince Ganlongdao was a little speechless.

Those useless old men were clearly out of touch with the world. Still using this kind of test? It was laughable.

To the students at Advanced Nurturing,

he was like a dragon king returning from the Middle East, where he'd survived a war zone.

It was no different from bullying children!

Whatever.

As long as the result was fine, there was nothing wrong with it.

After all, it was fate that had brought him here, and Prince Ganlongdao was more than happy to help his classmates open their eyes to the world.

With that thought,

Prince Ganlongdao glanced at Kazuma Sakagami at the front. Through the gap between the book and his face, he could adjust his angle and see everyone clearly.

After listening to a bunch of nonsense, he'd finally heard something interesting.

"Use the student ID phones you've just been given to access all the school's facilities. I'm sure I don't need to teach you how to scan and pay."

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me after class, or ask the students around you."

"All purchases at school must be paid for with points. There's nothing you can't buy with points while you're here. If the school has it, you can buy it, no matter what it is."

"Points are deposited automatically on the first of every month. Each of you should already have received an equal share of 100,000 points on your student ID. One point is worth the same as one yen."

"I don't think I need to explain any further, do I?"

The moment he said that,

the students were stunned.

"Wait, how many? 100,000 points?"

"That's the equivalent of 100,000 yen? Seriously? How's that possible?"

"Tuition and living expenses are covered, and they give us money, too? No wonder this school has government backing. This is amazing!"

"If my dad heard this, he'd think I was lying, wouldn't he?"

After hearing the news,

even the students who'd barely spoken to one another began sharing their excitement.

An ordinary high school student got about 5,000 yen in spending money a month, and had to work part-time to cover most other expenses.

100,000 yen.

That was almost two years' worth of pocket money for them.

How could they not be excited?

Hidetoshi Suzuki picked up Prince Ganlongdao's student ID from the desk, then eagerly turned around to check its points, just like everyone else.

Prince Ganlongdao watched it all through the gap.

Most of the students in the classroom were buzzing with excitement.

Even the few who remained calm couldn't hide their upturned lips.

Only two were truly composed.

One was the red-haired boy in the middle of the room. Anyone could tell he was a delinquent, and the name on his desk plaque read Ryuen Kakeru.

The other

was the short-haired blond boy seated at the very front in the middle.

Prince Ganlongdao remembered that the plaque on his desk had read Kaneda Satoru when he first came in.

Only two of them might be worth something.

Prince Ganlongdao observed them quietly.

His experiences in war zones had taught him this:

the truly frightening people were the ones who could remain calm no matter what difficulties they faced.

Keeping your composure even when Mount Tai collapsed before you—that was the first key to success.

Seeing this,

Kazuma Sakagami simply pushed up his glasses and waited for everyone to quiet down before asking in a low voice:

"If no one has any questions, that concludes the orientation. The rest of the time is yours. Just remember to attend the entrance ceremony afterward."

At that, Kazuma Sakagami deliberately paused, then added:

"Any questions?"

"None~"

Hidetoshi Suzuki helpfully chimed in.

It would've been awkward if the teacher had asked and nobody answered, right?

Prince Ganlongdao nearly laughed out loud behind him.

Damn.

He'd been in the Middle East for too long.

Seeing these high schoolers, so clear-eyed yet foolish, made him want to laugh.

There were two important points in what Kazuma Sakagami had just told them.

First, points could buy anything.

Second, points were automatically deposited on the first of every month. That didn't mean 100,000 points would be deposited every month.

Kazuma Sakagami had deliberately paused.

The point was clearly to emphasize his follow-up: "Any questions?"

That led to a third point.

Perhaps because of the rules of the so-called S System, Kazuma Sakagami couldn't explain things outright and needed the students to ask first.

That led to a fourth point.

Even homeroom teachers were under the S System's control and had to act within its rules.

From this, it was clear

that Kazuma Sakagami was probably a teacher who looked out for his students. He was willing to take a risk to give them a helping hand.

Of course,

it was possible that Kazuma Sakagami was simply a good teacher with a strong sense of professional ethics. But the guy didn't look the part, and helping his own side already had little to do with professional ethics.

Prince Ganlongdao wasn't that naive.

That led to a fifth point.

All the world bustled for profit; all the world hurried for gain.

There had to be competition between the students, the teachers, or both.

Otherwise,

Kazuma Sakagami wouldn't have needed to take such a risk to help them.

Hidetoshi Suzuki's thoughtfulness had been downright disruptive.

The proof was

the twitch at the corner of Kazuma Sakagami's mouth. It was so obvious that he was clearly at a loss for words.

If there was competition,

then survival of the fittest was inevitable.

That led to a sixth point: the school's 100% employment rate had to come with a catch.

Just then.

[Ding~]

[Detected successful enrollment at Advanced Nurturing High School.]

[Conqueror System activated successfully!]