Although it was called a prestigious school, the entrance ceremony followed the typical routine of school administrators droning on about their educational philosophy.
After enduring the ceremony while suppressing my yawns, I listened to Chabashira-sensei explain the school's facilities.
It seemed that even a prestigious school had basically the same facilities as any other.
"Orientation is now over. Classes officially begin tomorrow, so please be prepared."
After saying that, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom.
This teacher seemed to keep her interactions with students to the bare minimum,
which suited me just fine.
After all, a certain "violent woman" used violence to "communicate."
Speaking of which, ever since the second half of my third year of middle school, I'd been secretly recording her violent behavior. I uploaded the footage online before starting high school, and I wondered how it was doing now.
Never mind that for now.
My immediate priority was to return to the dorm and check what daily necessities I needed to buy.
I had to save money, but I didn't want to live like a caveman, either. I still needed to buy the basics.
"Excuse me?"
Hm? That voice...
A familiar voice came from ahead. I looked up and saw the silver-haired girl, Shiina Hiyori, standing at the classroom entrance.
She gave off a gentle air that brought to mind something fluffy.
"Oh? Who are you looking for? Did you come to see me?"
A male student spoke to her in a tone that was clearly up to no good, drawing scornful looks from the girls.
I could even hear whispers of "Ike is such a creep." This guy named Ike was being universally despised on the very first day of school. In a way, that was impressive.
But why was Shiina here...? A bad feeling began to creep over me.
"Shiina Hiyori from Class C is here to visit. Is Hikigaya Hachiman here?"
—My bad feeling had come true.
The classroom erupted into a commotion.
Since I hadn't introduced myself earlier, I supposed the name was unfamiliar to everyone.
"Hikigaya? There's no one by that name in our class, is there?"
"No, he said what class he was in... Oh, there he is!"
The moment my eyes met Shiina's, the entire class turned to look at me.
There was no escaping now.
"...What is it?"
Suppressing the urge to sigh, I walked toward the front door.
The guy named Ike looked utterly incredulous. Honestly, I was pretty shocked, too.
"Um, I'm going to buy some daily necessities. Would you like to come with me?"
Shiina invited me in her usual tone.
At the same time, the girls in particular began to stir. I realized my peaceful school life was about to come to an end.
Even at a school full of beautiful girls, Shiina ranked among the cutest.
A beautiful girl like her inviting a boy from another class—me, in other words—to go out with her on the first day of school was sure to become the talk of the school in no time.
That meant my peace and quiet would be shattered for good.
I wanted to lament my fate, but considering Shiina's airheaded nature—I'd already experienced it on the bus—I knew turning her down now would only invite criticism.
Just as I was trying to think of a polite way to refuse while suppressing my dismay, Ike came over again.
"Wait! Hiyori wants to go on a date with this dead fish-eyes guy?"
He pointed at me and asked in a flippant tone.
His attitude was pretty rude, but after being bullied in middle school, something like this couldn't shake me.
Shiina nodded gently. "It's not a date. I'm going shopping. If you have time, Hikigaya, would you like to come with me?"
The commotion in the classroom grew even louder.
They'd completely misunderstood and thought it was a date... Why did I have to attract attention on the first day of school?
But how should I handle this? Honestly, I wanted to turn her down, but coming up with an excuse was tricky:
If I said I already had plans with a classmate, it would immediately fall apart since I had no friends.
If I just said, "Go by yourself," everyone would decide I was a scumbag and glare at me for the next three years.
It seemed the only option was...
"Why not ask someone from your own class? It's the first day of school, so wouldn't it be better to go with someone from your class?"
That was probably the most reasonable response.
It made sense and would keep me from attracting any more hostility.
"My classmates in Class C... don't really get along with me. So I wanted to go with you, Hikigaya. We have similar interests."
But Shiina's explosively airheaded remark made the gaze of more than half the boys in the class turn sharp in an instant.
Ike, who was sitting nearby, glared at me so fiercely that he looked ready to shed blood and tears.
The girls made no effort to hide their curiosity, staring straight at Shiina and me.
A few girls muttered things like, "She has terrible taste in men," but since they were stating facts, I couldn't be bothered to care.
But now that she'd said that in front of everyone, refusing would definitely earn me a chorus of boos.
Could it be... that I was just naturally prone to getting caught up in trouble?
Still...
"...Fine. I'll go with you."
There was no way I could refuse now.
Having suffered through the malice of others in middle school, I'd learned to tell at a glance whether someone meant me harm. I couldn't sense any malice from Shiina at all.
If she were deliberately trying to mess with me, I'd run even if I got booed. But since she didn't mean any harm, going along with her was the sensible choice.
Amid the girls' squeals, Shiina thanked me.
"Thanks. Shall we go?"
She started off, and I hurried to follow.
As I closed the door, I heard Ike wail, "Why does a cute girl have to go on a date with that rotten dead-fish-eyes guy?! Let me go instead!" Honestly, if I could switch places, I'd want to, too.
If refusing hadn't caused trouble, I never would've agreed.
Come to think of it, Shiina probably wasn't doing this on purpose... Airheads are terrifying...
"Let's buy soap and shampoo first."
"Okay. The handbook says we have to pay for these ourselves."
Shiina and I headed straight for the daily necessities section after arriving at the convenience store.
At the very least, I needed to get the essentials first.
I'd put off buying everything else for now. I absolutely wasn't going to spend money on games or manga.
The library had most books, so I'd consider buying new releases after checking how many points I had left.
The daily necessities section was stocked with all kinds of soap and shampoo.
For a convenience store to have such a wide selection—it was no wonder this school received so much support from the government.
That was when I noticed something strange.
A sign on a promotional cart in the corner read, "Free, limit of 3 items per person each month."
The cart held older daily necessities and food nearing its expiration date.
"Free? Is this some kind of relief measure for people who've spent too much?"
Shiina guessed, but...
"That's not wrong, but it's not that simple."
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the shelves. Nearly half the promotional cart is empty, and the items are scattered around. That means a lot of people have been taking them."
If everything had been stacked together, it could have been unwanted stock. But the scattered items clearly showed that people had been picking through them.
The cart, which had originally been full, was now only half-stocked. That meant the students had taken nearly half of the items.
"But today is the entrance ceremony, and it's only early April. The second- and third-years should have just received their points, too..."
Hearing that, Shiina suddenly caught on.
"But lots of people have been taking the free items... That doesn't make sense!"
Exactly.
The older students should have been saving their points.
Even if some people were wasteful, most would save at least a few points for the future.
It would be one thing if it were the end of the month, but taking free items at the start of the month was unusual.
Judging by the cart's capacity, at least fifty items had been taken.
At three per person, that meant sixteen or seventeen people had already come by.
It was understandable if the new students had spent all their points in their excitement, but the students who'd been here for a year shouldn't be that reckless.
Unless...
"Looks like there's a system for adding and deducting points..."
That was the only explanation.
I guessed that grades and everyday conduct affected how many points students received each month.
As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"A system for adding and deducting points? Getting a hundred thousand points each month already sounded suspicious..."
It seemed Shiina had suspected there was something fishy about the benefits system, too.
Was I just naturally suspicious, while she was smart?
"Probably... Wow, more customers are coming. Let's buy our things first!"
After the new-student orientation, we'd headed straight for the convenience store. But we'd stood around talking for too long, and now the new students were pouring in by the group.
We'd only be in the way if we kept blocking the aisle.
Shiina nodded in agreement and began picking out items quickly.
Surprisingly, she picked up some free items, too.
I'd grab some older shampoo and soap as well. The ones you had to pay for were way too expensive.
Before you continue