B Class Gathering

At five in the afternoon, inside a karaoke room at Birch Shopping Center.

An Xiao sat in a seat, but he looked rather uncomfortable.

The reason?

Perhaps it was because so many people had come. Everyone was sitting close together, and from his seat beside Honami Ichinose, An Xiao could clearly smell her fragrance.

But that wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was...

An Xiao rested both hands on his thighs, but out of the corner of his eye, he looked past Ichinose, who was sitting beside him, toward the girl on her other side, Chihiro Shiranami.

It was just that although the girl occasionally talked to others, her gaze kept drifting toward An Xiao. Her eyes held something... hard to describe, something complicated—maybe even hostile.

I don't think I've... done anything to offend her, have I?

An Xiao wondered, then gradually drifted off.

Time passed, and the rest of the class arrived one after another.

Honami Ichinose clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention, then said, "I'm glad everyone could make it to this gathering. I'm also glad you took what I said on my phone seriously."

"An Xiao and I will explain everything properly."

An Xiao, still lost in thought, jolted when Ichinose suddenly called on him. He noticed everyone in the class looking his way and felt his whole body tense up. Stiffly, he turned to Honami Ichinose beside him.

"An Xiao, why don't you explain first? After all, you were the one who discovered these rules," Honami Ichinose said.

"Either of us could explain. We could just play the recording... But fine, I'll do it."

An Xiao sighed. He knew why Ichinose was doing this, but... what a hassle!

They'd played this short audio clip so many times over the past couple of days that they must have listened to it at least ten times by now.

An Xiao sighed, took out his phone, and deftly brought up the recording. He set the phone down in the middle so everyone could hear.

If that upperclassman knew he'd become known to so many underclassmen this way, would he die of embarrassment on the spot?

An Xiao wondered as he played the recording. Whenever it reached a part that mentioned the rules, he replayed it several times to make sure everyone understood them.

As a result, even though the recording was short, it took a long time to get through. Not a single person spoke during the playback.

When the recording finally ended, the karaoke room was still silent. Everyone was in a state of shock.

"An Xiao, do you think we came to the wrong school?"

Soh Shibata sat on An Xiao's other side, his voice dry as he draped an arm over An Xiao's shoulder.

After all, what the recording had revealed was enough to shake his entire worldview.

Was this really a normal school?

The same thought surfaced in everyone's mind.

"Even if we did, what could you do about it? Drop out?" An Xiao gave him a dead-eyed look, patted the hand on his shoulder, and replied irritably.

"Although a lot of this school's rules are pretty inhuman, overall, it still follows the rules of a normal school."

"Daily life here isn't really all that different."

"Unless the other classes come looking for trouble."

Recalling his conversation with Hoshinomiya-sensei in the office, An Xiao added that last part.

It was only the second day of school, and their homeroom teacher had already called him in to target another class. The other classes might start doing the same in a few days, so it was best to prepare everyone in advance.

With that in mind, An Xiao continued, "This recording doesn't show much of it, but we'll definitely have to deal with plenty of scheming between our class and the others."

"If you can, keep a voice recorder or something on you, in case someone tries to set you up."

As he spoke, An Xiao lightly tapped his phone with a finger.

"Just like that upperclassman."

"That really does sound necessary."

Seeing his classmates nod in agreement and offer no further questions, An Xiao turned to Honami Ichinose, who was busy taking notes, and signaled that it was her turn.

Honami Ichinose didn't waste time. She stood up and shared an idea of her own.

"I'm not sure if any of you noticed, but I wanted to talk about what we could do with twenty million points."

"You mean using them to transfer classes or prevent someone from being expelled, right?" Ryuji Kanzaki said, pushing up his glasses.

"There's no way we can earn that much," Yuki Himeno said, unable to hold back from the corner where she'd been sitting in silence.

"That's only true for an individual," Honami Ichinose said with a smile. "If we work together as a class, we can manage it."

"There are forty of us. If everyone puts aside fifty thousand points each month, we can save up enough in less than a year."

As she spoke, Honami Ichinose pulled up a photo on her phone. She'd taken it when she had a free moment, and it showed the number of students in each class, as listed on the upperclassmen's activity board.

"Judging by what Class B managed last year, we'd have more than enough points."

"So it's basically like buying insurance." An Xiao nodded, summing up the idea before voicing his approval. "It does seem pretty necessary."

"Exactly," Ryuji Kanzaki said, picking up where An Xiao had left off. "It's not just insurance, either. The class will definitely need these points for some of our plans down the line."

As he spoke, Ryuji Kanzaki opened his phone and promptly transferred the points to Ichinose.

When the notification chime sounded on Ichinose's phone, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. A string of vibrations followed.

Watching from the side, An Xiao couldn't help but marvel.

As expected of Ichinose. She'd earned so many people's trust in just a few days.

Once everyone gave up fifty thousand points, they'd have less than half of what they'd started with. It would still be enough for daily expenses, but they'd surely feel the difference.

Yet they were willing to hand it over to her, without hesitation and with complete trust.

She really was amazing. If he were in her place, he definitely couldn't have done it.

As An Xiao transferred his points to Ichinose, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, a chilly sensation spread across his cheek.

"Brr!"

"It's just a drink!"

Ichinose rubbed a cold can against An Xiao's cheek, just as she had that morning.

Watching him shiver beside her, she couldn't help smiling.

"Now that we've taken care of the serious stuff..."

"Let's toast!"

"To a brighter tomorrow!"

"Cheers!" everyone chorused.

Hearing toast after toast and laughter all around him, An Xiao couldn't help getting caught up in the mood.

This school... did have its good points.

He took the drink from Ichinose, then lightly clinked it against hers with a smile.

"Then cheers, Ichinose."

"Cheers, An Xiao."

Looking at the boy in front of her, now relaxed and a little languid, Ichinose couldn't help smiling. She copied An Xiao's gesture and lightly clinked her drink against his.

Year One, Class B—officially established.