"Heh."
A cold laugh came from beside him.
Ayanokoji glanced over. The girl, who had looked so serious a moment ago, seemed to be in a much better mood now. She was no longer furrowing her fair brow.
It seemed his introduction had done the trick, turning hostility into goodwill.
Not that he'd expected his fake ex-girlfriend to be nice to him or anything.
But the other students' reactions seemed a little off...
"What a weirdo."
"Something's seriously wrong with that guy..."
Their comments reached his ears, and Hirata's smile turned awkward. Still, he politely said to Ayanokoji, "Welcome, Ayanokoji. I hope we get along well."
After he spoke, quite a few students thought better of Hirata.
"What a nice guy Hirata is..."
Indeed, at first glance, Hirata seemed like a simple, good-natured guy. But Ayanokoji felt there was more to him beneath that friendly exterior.
He couldn't say what, exactly.
All he knew was that his instincts told him Hirata Yosuke wasn't as simple as he appeared. He wasn't like Kanji Ike, Yamauchi Haruki, or that red-haired guy named Sudo, whose types were obvious at a glance and whose growth trajectories were easy to predict.
He was more like Horikita, Kushida, and Karuizawa—people who seemed to have some kind of fixation or something they wanted to hide. Ayanokoji couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
But sooner or later, it would come to light.
As he was lost in thought, a tall female teacher with a curvy figure, dressed in a suit and wearing her hair in a high ponytail, walked into the classroom.
"Quiet! Get back to your seats."
The teacher's sharp command silenced the chattering crowd.
She was beautiful, but her voice was somewhat husky and masculine. She sounded like a female drill instructor.
"Starting today, I'll be your homeroom teacher. My name is Chabashira Sae."
"There are no class transfers at this school, so we'll be in the same class for pretty much the next three years. Now, as for this school's special rules..."
Chabashira didn't waste a word and got straight to the point.
"First, this is a boarding school. You may not contact anyone outside the school, including your family, without permission, and all outings are restricted. Of course, you don't need to worry about your living conditions. The school has all kinds of facilities and stores you'll need in your daily lives. You should already know that from the student handbook."
"Second, each month the school will deposit points into your student ID terminal. Points are the school's currency, and you can use them to buy anything on campus. This month's 100,000 points have already been deposited..."
"Hey, seriously?"
"That's insane! I got them too..."
"Wait, you guys got them too? This is awesome!"
The students started checking their phones. Each of them had received 100,000 points from the school, and they gasped in amazement.
"Heh."
Seeing their astonished faces, Chabashira gave a faint smile at the front of the classroom and continued,
"No need to be surprised. Being admitted to this school means you have value to offer. This school measures students' value by their abilities. So, show me what you're worth."
After that, Chabashira began the regular lesson.
As he listened, Ayanokoji mulled over what she'd just said.
It was obvious. Way too obvious!
"This school measures students' value by their abilities. You received a huge number of points because you have corresponding value." That...
Wasn't that practically giving away the answer?
Was there really anyone who couldn't catch the hidden meaning?
And if "points could buy anything," then did that mean...
Heh heh heh.
Time flew by, and the bell rang. Chabashira didn't go a second over; in fact, she'd gathered up her lecture notes before the bell even rang.
Did she have absolutely no expectations for this class?
Watching Chabashira Sae walk away, Ayanokoji wondered as he remained in his seat.
If what she'd told them before class was both an objective rule and a test, and she'd practically given them the answer, why hadn't she spelled it out even more clearly?
Even then, some people still wouldn't get it, come on.
Look, those idiots were already planning where to go on a spending spree.
The conversation between two groups nearby reached Ayanokoji's ears. They were talking about where to go and blow all their money.
Ayanokoji shook his head. There was no point trying to stop them, and he didn't know whether their actions would drag him down with them. If the whole class got punished together, he'd be pretty unlucky!
Damn, after thinking it over, maybe he should go warn them.
"Yamauchi, I've been wanting to buy this new game for ages. I never had the money before, but now I can get it in a heartbeat. Haha!"
"Right? This school's paradise. I've been wanting to buy a few manga volumes, too."
"Hey, Ike, did you watch that show last week? I heard that idol's putting out new merch again. I'm planning to buy the whole set!"
The boys were excitedly discussing where to go to buy the things they'd been wanting. Ayanokoji walked over, but couldn't figure out how to join in.
It wasn't that he was worried about ruining the mood. He was simply too well-mannered to butt into someone else's conversation.
Kushida, who was with the girls' group on the other side of the classroom, happened to notice.
She walked over too and, seeing Ayanokoji struggling to join the conversation, deliberately raised her voice a little. "Ayanokoji-kun, what are you planning to buy with your points?"
Damn, where'd that come from?
Ayanokoji had been watching for a chance to join the conversation, so he hadn't noticed Kushida approaching. Her sudden question caught him off guard, though his expression remained calm.
Still, this worked out...
"I don't plan to spend much. I just want to buy some everyday necessities."
"Until we've figured out this school's special rules, I think it's better to be frugal."
"Dude, did you come here to experience what it's like to live on a budget or something?"
Ike wasn't pleased. Ayanokoji's words hadn't been aimed at anyone in particular, but why did they sound so pointed?
And in his introduction, he'd said he was rich. Was he really here to experience how poor people lived...?
"Hey, are you humblebragging, or did you come over here just to rub it in our faces?"
Yamauchi Haruki took the opportunity to stir things up. He'd disliked Ayanokoji ever since that arrogant introduction, and to top it off, the guy was rich. His resentment of the wealthy flared up at once!
"Uh... Well..."
"Forget it. Do whatever you want."
After dropping a baffling remark, Ayanokoji didn't linger. He returned to his seat, as calm as ever.
There was no saving them. Not even a god could do it!
Back in his seat, Ayanokoji sighed softly. All he could do was pray that the punishment wouldn't affect the whole class.
"How pitiful."
A teasing voice came from the seat beside him again.
You really never miss a chance to make a snide remark, do you?
Ayanokoji grumbled to himself.
The group in the distance was still trying to figure out what Ayanokoji had meant by "do whatever you want." Based on the context, they guessed it might be some kind of insulting dialect, and their dislike of him deepened.
Kushida Kikyo wasn't planning to be too frugal, but she still thought Ayanokoji had a point. Money didn't just fall from the sky very often.
Another thing that made her curious about him was that he seemed to get along well with his seatmate, Horikita Suzune...
Before you continue