Invitation

"Class 1-C, Sagara Zoya." After the Student Council President introduced himself, Sagara gave his own name. "As for how much I know, I'd say that if students at this school have a dispute, the Student Council is supposed to handle it."

That was what Sagara had just managed to find out. At an ordinary school, disputes between students were either handled by the Disciplinary Committee or by the students themselves. Only when things got serious enough would the teachers and school step in.

"Eh? Huh!" Tachibana finally realized what she had just done. She stared at Sagara in disbelief. Had this underclassman really set a trap for her right from the start?

"Are you done testing me? If you have nothing else to ask, you can leave." Manabu Horikita's expression didn't change in the slightest. Sagara didn't want to say anything, and Horikita had no intention of pressing him.

"I see. So even the upperclassmen aren't allowed to share information at this stage. The school really has gone to a lot of trouble." Sagara gleaned a few things from President Horikita's words. Sakagami's inability to tell him anything had already made it clear that the school was restricting access to information.

Getting anything out of an upperclassman by asking directly was completely unrealistic. The Student Council President surely understood that, too.

That made the president's earlier words interesting. "Are you done testing me?" meant he didn't mind being tested. "If you have nothing else to ask, you can leave" was a hint that Sagara wouldn't get any information here and shouldn't waste his time.

It seemed the Student Council President was confident in himself, and was cold on the outside but warm underneath.

"Sharing information would come with a penalty, right? And that penalty wouldn't just affect the individual. It would affect their class." Sagara continued speculating as though no one else were there, his eyes fixed on Manabu Horikita. "Let me guess: the penalty would be reflected in points. Class Points, right?"

"How did you—?" Tachibana was dumbfounded. How had this underclassman figured it out? It was only the first day, and he'd already discovered Class Points. How could someone this perceptive be in Class C?

"Just a guess. I'd already been wondering what the school called class performance. I'd considered names like Class Points, Group Points, and Shared Points. Judging from your reaction, it must be Class Points. So what we have now are called Private Points, right?" Sagara smiled at President Horikita. Even if Horikita himself didn't let anything slip, there were still people around him who did.

"Could you tell me the conversion rate between the two kinds of points?"

"The ratio of Class Points to Private Points is one to one hundred." Manabu Horikita looked at Sagara. After a moment's silence, he gave him the definitive answer.

"President!" Tachibana hurriedly tried to stop him, unable to understand why he had suddenly answered Sagara's question.

"There's no need to hide it. If he's figured out this much, he has plenty of ways to learn the ratio. This doesn't count as a violation."

Manabu Horikita explained himself. Tachibana had just let something slip, and rather than wait for Sagara to keep pressing, it was better to be upfront.

"So the initial Class Points are one thousand." Sagara nodded, without the slightest doubt. There was no reason to lie about something like that.

"I have one more question. How many points does it take to get a position on the Student Council?"

"I see. You've already figured out that points can buy anything." Manabu Horikita understood what Sagara was testing.

"Officially, that sort of thing isn't allowed... But just as you suspect, there's room to work around the rules if you use points. The Student Council President and vice president decide who gets ordinary positions on the council, so there's no set amount."

"Then how much would the president charge?" Sagara asked, intrigued.

"Zero." Manabu Horikita looked at Sagara. The light glinted off the glasses on his nose, making his eyes difficult to see.

"The president really is strict." Sagara frowned almost imperceptibly. That didn't quite fit his earlier impression. Had his earlier guess been wrong, or was there something else going on?

"Then what do you think the vice president would ask for?"

"..." Manabu Horikita fell silent for a while. "Zero as well."

"I see." From Horikita's answer, Sagara had more or less guessed the reason behind it. It seemed the vice president wasn't someone easy to get along with.

"Sorry for taking up so much of your time, seniors. I'll leave you two to enjoy some time alone." Having gotten what he wanted, Sagara thanked the two upperclassmen, then couldn't resist making a joke.

"Would you be interested in joining the Student Council?" Ignoring Sagara's teasing, Manabu Horikita asked as Sagara turned to leave.

"Oh, I don't think I'm quite up to your standards yet, President." Sagara shook his head. For now, he had no intention of getting involved in the Student Council's disputes.

"No. I fully recognize your powers of observation." Manabu Horikita looked at the younger student in front of him. There was no doubt that Sagara had already grasped the Student Council's general situation based on just their brief conversation. His powers of observation were frighteningly sharp.

"If you agree to join the Student Council, I'll gladly accept you."

"President!" Tachibana stared at Manabu Horikita in astonishment. They'd only met once, and already the president thought so highly of this Class 1-C student?

Sagara paused and looked back. There was no surprise on his face. He simply smiled and said, "I'll think about it."

After leaving the Student Council room, it was nearly dinnertime, so Sagara headed straight to the school cafeteria.

The cafeteria was decent. There were plenty of options, and the prices were reasonable.

"So the cafeteria has a free meal, too." Sagara looked at the conspicuous zero beside the vegetable meal on the price list, unsurprised.

He was a little curious about how the vegetable meal tasted, but didn't try it. Instead, he planned to find someone in class tomorrow and ask them to try it and tell him what they thought.

After dinner, Sagara didn't head straight back to his dorm. He'd only bought toiletries, after all; there was nothing else in his room, and nothing there worth lingering for.

Rather than waste time sleeping in his dorm, he decided to do something else and made his way to the school library.

As expected, hardly anyone was there. Sagara wouldn't have been surprised if he were the only first-year in the whole place.

Well, that made sense. It was their first day at a new school, with plenty of new things to do. The library was sure to be low on the list—especially after they'd received such a huge number of points...

Sagara went over to the psychology section, picked out a book about how people think, and planned to read it at one of the empty seats.

"Sagara?" A girl's voice came from behind him. Sagara turned around and recognized his seatmate at once.

The girl looked at him in surprise, unaware that he was just as astonished to see someone from his class there at this time.

"..." Although he recognized her, there was a more pressing problem: he didn't know her name.

He couldn't exactly say, "Hello, nameless girl from my class." Should he just pretend not to know her?

Perhaps noticing Sagara's awkwardness, Hiyori Shiina smiled and introduced herself. "My name is Hiyori Shiina. I look forward to getting along with you, Sagara."

"Likewise, Shiina." Sagara returned the greeting, then prepared to leave.

Although she was beautiful, Sagara had no intention of chatting with her.

"Do you like reading, Sagara?" Sagara didn't seem interested in talking, but she clearly did.

On her first day at a new school, she'd run into someone from her class in the library, and he seemed to like reading, too... A glimmer lit Shiina's eyes, and a feeling of joy and longing rose in her heart.

Maybe we could become friends...

"No, I don't particularly like reading. I was just a little bored." Sagara's matter-of-fact reply shattered Shiina's hopes. He went straight over and took a seat.

"Is that so?" Shiina couldn't hide her disappointment, but could only compose herself and sit beside Sagara.

Sagara could tell what Shiina was thinking at a glance.

Perhaps all he had to do was say he liked reading. They could become friends, grow closer, and then it would be easy to become something more.

It's like I've entered the route of a heroine in some game, Sagara thought. Too bad I'm no protagonist. Friends, romance...

Feeling his emotions begin to stir, Sagara closed his eyes and focused, quickly casting those thoughts aside.

After a long while, he let out a breath and spoke again.

"But if you have any thoughts about books you'd like to share, I'd be happy to listen."

Shiina, whose thoughts had been in disarray, looked up at him, surprise and joy in her eyes.

"Okay." She nodded lightly, her mind filling with questions.

Why had Sagara suddenly changed his mind?

Did this mean she'd made a friend?

Sagara Zoya

Academic Ability: A

Intelligence: B+

Judgment: A

Athletic Ability: A

Cooperation: C

Evaluation: Outstanding beyond expectations. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be the most talented student in this year. However, there is very little information about him, and the only records available are from his three years of junior high school. This is highly concerning. The investigation also suggests he may suffer from a psychological disorder. It is therefore recommended that he be placed in Class C or Class D for observation.