Invitation

"Class C, first year, Sagara Zoya." Seeing the student council president introduce himself, Sagara also stated his own name. "As for how much I understand, it's basically that if there's a conflict between students at this school, it should be handled by the student council, right?"

This was the information Sagara had just probed for. In a typical school, conflicts between students are managed either by the disciplinary committee or by the student council; only when the situation becomes serious enough do teachers and the school step in.

"Eh, eh!" Tachibana finally reacted to what she had just done. She looked at Sagara with utter disbelief. Had this underclassman set a trap for her the moment he arrived?

"Is your probing finished here? If there's nothing else, you may leave." The expression on Manabu Horikita's face didn't change in the slightest. Sagara didn't want to talk, and he had no intention of pressing further.

"I see. So, even the upperclassmen aren't allowed to leak information at this stage? The school has really put in a lot of effort." From the words of this president, Sagara gleaned something. The situation with Sakagami, who couldn't say anything, had already made it clear to Sagara that the school was strictly controlling information.

It was completely unrealistic to expect to get anything directly from the upperclassmen, and this student council president surely understood that as well.

In that case, the president's previous words were interesting. Is your probing finished here? This meant the president didn't mind his probing. If there's nothing else, you may leave was a hint that he wouldn't get any information here and shouldn't waste his time.

It seemed this student council president was very confident in himself, and his personality was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

"There must be a penalty for leaking information, right? And this penalty shouldn't just reflect on the individual, but on the class as well." Sagara continued his deduction as if no one else were there, his eyes fixed intently on Manabu Horikita. "Let me guess, the content of this reaction should be points. Class Points, right?"

"How could you!" Tachibana was stunned. How exactly did this underclassman manage to do that? He discovered the existence of Class Points on the very first day, and with that level of insight, how could he be a student in Class C?

"It was just a guess, of course. I had thought about what the school might call class performance—Class Points, Collective Points, Shared Points, and so on. Looking at your reaction, Senior, it must be Class Points. Then, what we currently have in our possession must be called Private Points, right?" Sagara looked at the president with a smile. Even if you don't reveal any flaws yourself, there are still people around you who will.

"Can you tell me the exchange rate between the points?"

"The ratio between Class Points and Private Points is 1:100." Manabu Horikita looked at Sagara, paused for a moment, and gave the final answer.

"Hey, President!" Tachibana didn't understand why the president would suddenly answer Sagara's question and hurriedly tried to intervene.

"There's no need to hide it. Since he has seen through to this point, there are too many ways for the other party to find out this ratio. This doesn't count as a violation."

Manabu Horikita explained. Tachibana had just revealed a flaw, and rather than waiting for the other party to press the issue further, it was better to just lay it out in the open.

"The initial Class Points are 1,000, right?" Sagara nodded, not doubting it for a second. There was no need to lie about such things.

"I have one more question. May I ask how many points are required for a position in the student council?"

"I see. You have already understood to this extent that 'points can buy everything'." Manabu Horikita understood exactly what Sagara was probing for.

"On the surface, this is not allowed... but as you suspect, if you use points, there is room for maneuvering. Regular positions in the student council are decided by the student council president and the vice president, so there is no specific amount."

"Then, for the president, what is that amount?" Sagara asked with a hint of amusement.

"Zero." Manabu Horikita looked at Sagara, the lenses of his glasses catching the light, making it difficult to read his eyes.

"The president is truly strict." Sagara frowned imperceptibly. This didn't quite match his previous feeling. Was his earlier guess wrong, or was there some hidden story behind it?

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

"..." Manabu Horikita was silent for a long time. "Also zero."

"I see." Hearing Manabu Horikita's words, Sagara guessed the reason behind it. It seemed this vice president wasn't someone easy to get along with.

"Sorry for bothering you both for so long. I won't disturb your time together anymore." Having obtained what he wanted, Sagara thanked the two seniors, not forgetting to crack a joke.

"Are you interested in joining the student council?" Ignoring Sagara's teasing, Manabu Horikita spoke as he saw him turn to leave.

"Oh my, I don't think I meet the president's requirements yet." Sagara shook his head. At this stage, he had no intention of getting involved in the conflicts of the student council.

"No, I fully recognize your level of insight." Manabu Horikita looked at the underclassman before him. There was no doubt that, based solely on the brief conversation they just had, the other party had basically grasped the current state of the student council. This level of insight was terrifyingly strong.

"If you agree to join the student council, I can fully approve it."

"President!" Tachibana looked at Manabu Horikita in astonishment. They had only met once, and the president already recognized this student from Class C of the first year to this extent?

Sagara's footsteps paused. He turned back, his face showing no surprise, and he just smiled casually. "I will consider it."

Leaving the student council, it was almost time for dinner, so Sagara went straight to the school cafeteria.

The school cafeteria was quite good; there were many options, and the prices were reasonable.

"As expected, the cafeteria also has a free set meal." Sagara looked at the conspicuous '0' next to the vegetable set meal on the price list and was not surprised at all.

Although he was a bit curious about the taste of the vegetable set meal, he didn't try it. Instead, he planned to find someone in his class tomorrow to try it and ask for their opinion.

After dinner, Sagara didn't go straight back to his dormitory. After all, he had only purchased toiletries, and other than that, the room was completely empty—there was nothing to be attached to.

Rather than sleeping in the room out of boredom, he decided to do something else. With that thought in mind, Sagara went to the school library.

As expected, there was basically no one here, and Sagara didn't even doubt that he was the only first-year student inside.

Well, that made sense. Having just arrived at a new school, there were many new things to do, so a place like the library would undoubtedly be low on the priority list, especially after receiving such a large sum of points...

Sagara walked to the psychology section, found a book about human thinking patterns, and planned to read it slowly at an empty seat nearby.

"Sagara-kun?" A girl's voice came from behind. Sagara turned his head and recognized her immediately as his desk mate.

The girl looked at Sagara with surprise in her eyes, unaware that Sagara was equally surprised that someone from his class would appear at this time.

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

He couldn't just say, "Hello, unknown female classmate from my class," could he? Or should he just pretend not to know her?

Perhaps sensing Sagara's awkwardness, Hiyori Shiina smiled and introduced herself. "My name is Hiyori Shiina. Nice to meet you, Sagara-kun."

"Nice to meet you, Shiina-san." Sagara took the opportunity to greet her and then prepared to leave.

Even though she was very beautiful, Sagara had no intention of chatting further.

"Do you like reading, Sagara-kun?" Even though Sagara had no intention of engaging in conversation, the other party felt otherwise.

On his first day at the new school, he had run into a classmate in the library who also seemed to enjoy reading... Shiina's eyes flickered, and a sense of joy and longing welled up within her.

Perhaps we could be friends...

"No, I don't particularly like reading; I was just bored," Sagara's flat words shattered Shiina's fantasy, and he walked straight over to find a seat nearby.

"Is that so?" Shiina couldn't hide her disappointment, but she had no choice but to compose herself and sit down next to Sagara.

Sagara could see right through what Shiina was thinking.

Perhaps if he had just said he liked reading, they could have easily become friends, closed the distance between them, and eventually developed an even more intimate relationship.

It's almost like entering a heroine's route in some game, Sagara thought to himself. Too bad, I'm no protagonist, and things like friendship or romance...

Sensing his emotions beginning to fluctuate, Sagara closed his eyes and focused, quickly casting those thoughts aside entirely.

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

"However, if you have any insights on the books you're reading that you'd like to share, I'd be happy to listen."

Shiina, whose mind had been wandering, looked up at these words, her eyes filled with shock and delight.

"Mm." She nodded gently, though her heart was filled with confusion.

Why the sudden change in Sagara-kun?

Does this count as having made a friend?

Sagara Zoya

Academic Ability: A

Intelligence: B+

Judgment: A

Physical Ability: A

Teamwork: C

Evaluation: Unexpectedly excellent. If nothing goes wrong, he should be the most talented student in this year's cohort. However, his personal records are severely lacking, with only data from his three years of junior high school available, which is quite concerning. Furthermore, investigations suggest he may suffer from a certain psychological condition, so it is recommended to place him in Class C or Class D for observation.