Enrollment

Advanced Nurturing High School boasts a 99.9% employment rate for desired careers and possesses the latest facilities.

Hairstyles are unrestricted, and students are allowed to dye or perm their hair; even if you wanted to go bald at school, it wouldn't be a problem.

Tuition is free...

On the bus, Sagara Zoya flipped through the new school's admissions guide with a sense of boredom.

Heh, I wonder how much of this is actually true.

Promotional material cannot be trusted; everything must be judged by reality.

Regarding the contents of the brochure, Sagara only believed the part about there being no tuition fees, as his father certainly hadn't paid any.

Sagara had boarded the bus quite early, and since there were few people on board, he sat in his preferred spot—the aisle seat of a two-person row near the rear door.

Sitting like this was a subtle hint that he didn't want anyone sitting next to him; whenever there were no single seats available, this was Sagara's habit.

As the bus traveled along, the number of passengers increased. Sagara watched the people boarding; many were wearing the same uniform as him, so they were likely his future classmates.

Sagara thought this to himself, but he had no intention of going up to greet anyone. The scenery outside the window interested him more, though it was a pity that the new school didn't allow mobile phones, otherwise he would have definitely taken a few photos.

"Ma'am, please take this seat." A crisp female voice made Sagara pull his gaze back into the bus, and only then did he notice such a beautiful sight within the vehicle.

Underneath rare cherry-pink long hair, the girl's youthful and vibrant smile made one's heart skip a beat, and the heaving curves beneath her uniform added a beauty that exceeded her age.

That's really quite something. Sagara estimated that she was at least a D-cup.

"Thank you, young lady."

Following the elderly woman's thanks, the girl walked toward the back of the bus.

Sagara glanced to his side and realized that, without him noticing, the only empty seat left in the bus was the one to his right. After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and moved to the window seat.

"Thank you." The girl from before walked over quickly and sat down next to Sagara.

"No, it's nothing." Sagara shook his head, indicating it was no trouble.

"Hello, my name is Ichinose Honami, Class 1-B. Please take care of me." Judging by their attire, there was no doubt they were both freshmen at the same school, and Ichinose introduced herself skillfully.

"Sagara Zoya, Class 1-C. Please take care of me." Sagara replied. Class B students really have a treat for the eyes. I wonder if there are any girls as pretty as this in Class C.

"What does Sagara-kun think of the school?" Ichinose asked with some curiosity.

"Nothing much to say. The next three years definitely won't be easy," Sagara answered with certainty.

"Eh?" Ichinose hadn't expected Sagara to say that.

"The most expensive things are the ones that are free," Sagara shrugged. "A school with no tuition and guaranteed employment—how could such good conditions exist without a price?"

"I suppose that's true." Ichinose's face became a bit troubled. "Hearing you say that, the excitement I felt about starting school has disappeared."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But Ichinose-san, you're quite strange," Sagara felt he had been too blunt.

"Eh, is there something strange about me?" Ichinose asked, puzzled.

"Of course. Just being excited about school starting is strange enough," Sagara said without hesitation. "When I remembered yesterday that school was starting today, I felt incredibly sad and had to rush to turn on the lights to finish my homework."

"Eh? We had holiday homework!" Ichinose said, looking dumbfounded.

"Isn't that obvious?" Sagara nodded affirmatively, his serious expression making Ichinose panic.

"We're graduates, how could we have holiday homework? I was just playing games all night. Pfft, you actually believed that?"

Watching Ichinose's flustered appearance, Sagara couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Eh, eh!" Seeing Sagara laughing, Ichinose finally realized that he was teasing her.

"Sagara-kun!"

"Sorry, sorry." Sagara kept apologizing, though even if it was their first meeting, there was something about Ichinose that made her seem easy to fool, which made him want to tease her.

Seeing Sagara like this, Ichinose didn't intend to pursue it further, but after the joke, the two of them quickly became familiar with each other.

"Come to think of it, did Sagara-kun give me that seat on purpose earlier?" Ichinose found a topic.

"Yeah," Sagara nodded and answered without a hint of hesitation. "I didn't want a stranger sitting next to me."

"Eh, so it's fine for me to sit here?"

"Of course."

"But we didn't know each other before, did we?"

"But you're very pretty, so I'm happy to give up the seat." Sagara said without hesitation. Just that pair of Qs is enough for me to want to get to know you.

"...Pretty, or whatever." A blush flew across Ichinose's face; being complimented on her looks by a boy to her face...

Ichinose really is not only easy to fool but unexpectedly innocent.

Soon, the bus arrived at Advanced Nurturing High School.

Sagara and Ichinose walked to the school building together, and after saying goodbye, they each went to their respective classrooms.

Sagara hadn't arrived particularly early, and quite a few people were already in the classroom.

The desks in the classroom were arranged in an 8x5 grid, and each desk had a corresponding name tag on it. Sagara quickly found his seat, the third row on the side closest to the window.

Sawahara sat down at his desk and began to size up his future classmates, three of whom left a particularly deep impression on him.

A Black student sat in the row directly in front of him, possessing a physique so far beyond that of an average high schooler that it was impossible not to notice. The other was his seatmate, who had simply offered a brief greeting upon entering the classroom before sitting down to read; of course, the reason Sawahara found this person memorable wasn't because of the reading, but rather their stunning appearance.

He had been feeling a bit disappointed earlier, as while there were some pretty girls in the class, they still fell quite short compared to Ichinose. It wasn't until his seatmate arrived that Sawahara realized with a start that the school's recruitment standards were truly top-tier.

Although she lacked the generous assets of Ichinose, her quiet, elegant, and scholarly temperament was even more impressive.

The final person sat in the very back row of the classroom, sporting long red hair with their legs propped up on the desk. They sat with eyes closed in deep concentration, looking every bit like a street thug with a ruffian air about them, and not a single person nearby dared to approach or strike up a conversation.

A rather unique group of students, Sawahara thought to himself.