The next second, the owner of those black stockings spotted him and dragged him all the way over here.
And this upperclassman was strong...
Mikage Touji rubbed his reddened neck.
"Couldn't it be that I was drawn in by your aura, senpai?" At this point, Mikage Touji had no shame left and was desperately trying to talk his way out of it.
Hearing this, Kiryūin Fūka rested her chin on her hand, considered it seriously, then nodded as though she'd reached a sound conclusion.
"That is a possibility..."
"..." Mikage Touji started to say something, then stopped.
"If it were me, it wouldn't be strange for me to attract a wandering underclassman." Kiryūin Fūka seemed to have convinced herself of her own explanation.
"Forget it, forget it." Mikage Touji threw in the towel. "I really was here to gather information."
Faced with such a bizarre upperclassman, Mikage Touji didn't dare keep joking around. If she'd seen through him, so be it. It wasn't a big deal.
"What a shame. I thought I'd found an underclassman who admired me."
"Do you actually believe what you're saying, senpai?"
"Of course. I'm quite confident in my own charm." Kiryūin Fūka flicked her long hair, and a delicate fragrance drifted toward him.
"Ahem, back to the point." Mikage Touji sat up straight and steered the conversation back to where it had started. "What did you bring me over here for, senpai?"
Generally speaking, there were 160 students in the first year. Even if someone was absolutely certain that another person wasn't in their year, they wouldn't go out of their way to approach them and ask.
That was what gave Mikage Touji the confidence to wander openly through every class.
He hadn't expected a girl to actually drag him away in full view of everyone.
"No, nothing in particular," Kiryūin Fūka said indifferently. "I was just a little bored, then I ran into an interesting underclassman and brought him over."
Mikage Touji could barely keep a straight face. "You thought I was interesting even though I hadn't said a single word to you? Just because I glanced at your stockings?"
"Oh... So that's what you're into."
Kiryūin Fūka gave him a mischievous smile and crossed her long legs, making them look even longer.
"Ahem." Mikage Touji felt his face burning and quickly looked away.
"From the moment I first saw you, my instincts told me you were interesting. They're usually right."
"Instincts..." Mikage Touji said in a faint, weary voice. "Senpai, do you know a girl named Morishita Ran?"
"Morishita Ran? Who's that? Is she a lot like me?"
"She's the unlucky girl who sits behind me. You're both people I can't handle."
"Now I want to meet her."
After chatting for a while, Mikage Touji felt there wasn't much time left and casually brought up the subject.
"Someone like you must know why I'm gathering information, senpai."
"You're investigating the school rules?" Kiryūin Fūka said with interest. "You could try to get on your senpai's good side. Maybe, since you're one of my admirers, I'll let something slip."
Looking at Kiryūin Fūka's unconcerned expression, Mikage Touji picked up his coffee again and took a sip. Its bitter taste spread across his tongue.
Judging by the keen observation skills and physical ability she'd shown so far, this senpai was probably one of the strongest students in the second year. In theory, she could indeed know a lot.
The problem was...
"Can you really tell me?"
"Hahaha!"
"You really are interesting..." Kiryūin Fūka laughed without restraint in the café. "That's definitely something I can't tell you."
I knew you were just messing with me! Mikage Touji's eye twitched.
As her laughter gradually died down, Kiryūin Fūka continued explaining. "The second- and third-years have all been ordered to keep quiet. We can't reveal anything voluntarily. If we do, we might even be expelled."
Expelled...? No wonder there were so many fewer students in the second and third years.
Mikage Touji gazed at the smiling senpai across from him, his thoughts drifting.
Generally speaking, Japan's high school dropout rate was around one to one and a half percent. At Kouiku, that would mean two or three students per year.
But in reality, Advanced Nurturing, which supposedly only admitted students recommended by their middle schools, had several times that number of dropouts.
There was only one possibility—the school's system had a problem, and students who broke its rules faced expulsion.
"So, are you going to keep investigating? Your senpai can give you a few leads."
Mikage Touji set down his coffee cup. "No, I think I've got enough. Given the current situation, the points our class has should keep us safe for now."
"Which class are you in?" Kiryūin Fūka asked casually.
"Class A."
"I see—"
Kiryūin Fūka froze, then narrowed her eyes. "You little brat, you actually tricked your senpai into telling you."
Mikage Touji silently pushed the menu toward her and gave an awkward smile. "I just wanted to confirm my guess. I didn't have any proof, after all."
Just as he'd thought! There were class points corresponding to private points, used to rank the classes. Otherwise, they could have just called them points.
Kiryūin Fūka didn't spare Mikage Touji's wallet a thought. She waved over a server and ordered a large strawberry cake.
"Very well." Kiryūin Fūka stirred her coffee with a spoon. "You figured that out on your own, so since you're so capable, your senpai will give you another hint. This should be fine. Your teacher has probably already told you..."
With that, she tapped the tabletop with her slender fingers. "Points can buy anything. I mean that literally."
Literally...
Mikage Touji's pupils shrank.
So that was it. No wonder Mashima-sensei's wording had been so strange at the time.
"Then..." Mikage Touji looked up. "Can I trade points with you for information?"
"You catch on fast." Kiryūin Fūka shrugged. "Unfortunately, you can't. Otherwise, upperclassmen could easily use this to get around the school's surveillance. For example, they could tell information to underclassmen they knew, teach them to trade points, then have them give the points back. If you want information, you'll have to buy it from the school."
"How many points would it take?"
"Hmm... At least a million."
Mikage Touji was speechless. Even if he added his points to Morishita Ran's, they wouldn't reach a fifth of that.
He could tell everyone in class about this, and they could probably pool together enough points. But that would basically amount to cheating.
Morishita Ran would probably declare herself the winner right away.
The server brought over the strawberry cake, and Kiryūin Fūka watched Mikage Touji think it over with interest.
"Well? Are you going to go for it? Personally, I wouldn't recommend making that deal. You'll find out eventually anyway."
"Senpai..."
"Hmm?"
"How many points would it take to buy the Graduation Privilege?" Mikage Touji asked again.
Right on the mark!
"Not bad, underclassman. Your senpai's starting to see you in a new light. How did you think of that?"
Mikage Touji considered his words, then said, "If there's no bait, the fish in the pond will just swim around at their leisure. That's not what the school wants. The only thing here that could make students compete with everything they have is that privilege—the one promising a hundred percent graduation and employment rate."
"Twenty million points." Kiryūin Fūka dropped a figure that could knock anyone dead.
"..."
Did the school think it was hilarious? Anyone who could legally earn twenty million points in a school of roughly a thousand students wouldn't care about a single job opportunity.
If a business genius like that didn't get begged to come back to the school and give a speech someday, the school would have no pride at all.
"Phew—"
Mikage Touji let out a long breath and rubbed his aching temples.
With all this information, plus what he'd deduced himself, he'd more or less pieced together the school's true nature. It should be enough to beat Morishita Ran.
She was probably still hiding somewhere, playing spy.
With that...
Mikage Touji raised the corners of his mouth, a confident smile spreading across his face.
Morishita Ran, I win!
Give It Everything You've Got, and Still Lose
The dismissal bell rang melodiously through the school building. An hour later, the students in Class A began filing out.
The dusky evening sunlight fell into the classroom, bathing it in a pale yellow glow.
Mikage Touji stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his expression calm as he watched the various clubs on the distant sports field sweat away their youth.
The distant sound of indoor shoes against the floor drew nearer at an unhurried pace, though there was something... excited about it?
A standard villainous smirk appeared at the corners of Mikage Touji's mouth.
You insignificant Morishita. Today, I'll shatter your childish fantasy about selling toys for good!
The classroom door slid open. Sunlight fell across Morishita Ran's unruffled face, casting a long shadow behind her.
"You shouldn't have come."
Mikage Touji pretended not to turn around. His voice drifted through the room, as though he were Ximen Chuixue awaiting a duel with Ye Gucheng.
Morishita Ran glanced at Mikage Touji, who was trying his best to strike a pose, then turned to leave. "Then I'll go. Mikage Touji admits defeat. Ultraman isn't real."
Mikage Touji dropped his act in an instant and hurriedly raised a hand to call Morishita Ran back.
"Hey, hey, wait! Who knew you wouldn't get my joke?"
"Who knows? It's so old-fashioned," Morishita Ran muttered.
Mikage Touji regrouped and said solemnly, "Well, Morishita Ran, are you ready to accept defeat?"
"You're the one who should be ready to accept defeat!" Morishita Ran shot back.
The air in the Class A classroom froze in an instant. Bolts of lightning flashed and clashed between their eyes.
Once their gazes locked, the duel began!
A crow flapped its wings and flew away in the distance, leaving behind a string of caws.
The moment the sound reached them, Mikage Touji struck first. He slapped both hands on the desk and stared at Morishita Ran. "The rules are simple. Whoever shares more information wins. We'll decide who goes first with rock-paper-scissors."
"Just what I wanted. Bring it on!" Morishita Ran replied confidently.
"Three—"
"Two—"
"One—"
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
Mikage Touji: Rock
Morishita Ran: Scissors
Mikage Touji burst into laughter, struck a battle pose, and shouted, "My turn! I'll go first. Advanced Nurturing ranks students into Classes A, B, C, and D according to their value. Class A is worth the most, and Class D the least."
Mikage Touji formed a hand seal and opened with Domain Expansion: Plasma Spark, charging straight at Morishita Ran. It was an ordinary move, but the core of every battle. Without an equal technique to counter it, she could only stay where she was and let her opponent cut her down.
"You're too naive, Mikage Touji. Morishita already knew information at this level on the first day." Morishita Ran's expression didn't change as she commented with complete confidence.
"Besides, your information doesn't seem complete..."
Her eyes narrowed. She slapped both hands on the desk as well. "Only graduates of Class A receive the school's promise of everything—that is, a hundred percent graduation and employment rate!"
Facing the fierce attack, Morishita Ran refused to back down. She formed a hand seal and unleashed Domain Expansion: Dimensional Card Storm to counter it.
The two domains unfolded in the classroom, clashing, pressing, and grinding against each other with a teeth-grinding roar. Their powerful energy surged through the room as desks scattered from the center toward the walls, shattering and falling apart! (All of it was just the wild imaginings of two overdramatic high schoolers.)
"Not bad, Morishita Ran. You actually figured that much out."
Mikage Touji had expected as much. He'd deliberately left that opening. If she couldn't manage even that, she didn't deserve to be his opponent!
"Points are the school's measure of each student's value. The school uses surveillance cameras scattered throughout the campus to evaluate students. Academic ability, morality, physical ability, social skills, and thinking ability are all factors."
Before you continue