Chapter 10

"Classmate, I believe I already said that everyone received one hundred thousand points..." Mr. Sakagami replied, somewhat surprised.

"Sorry, Mr. Sakagami... I meant to ask whether the upperclassmen received one hundred thousand points too. And will that amount stay the same from now on?" I pressed.

"Upperclassmen?" My classmates around me looked at me in confusion.

"Exactly. It seems strange to me that everyone would receive the same number of points! Especially since Mr. Sakagami just mentioned something about ability..." After I said that, the classroom gradually fell quiet.

Come to think of it, one hundred thousand points in monthly allowance was far too much. If students were judged by their abilities, wouldn't the number of points each person received vary accordingly?

Mr. Sakagami nodded approvingly and picked up the conversation. "You'll have to ask the upperclassmen yourself how many points they received. They may not answer you, though! As for whether that amount will change in the future, I can't say for sure either. Kitazawa, are you satisfied with that answer?"

"You can't say for sure? I see... Thank you, Mr. Sakagami."

So it wasn't that he didn't know, but that he couldn't say for sure? In other words, it might change, or it might not... Mr. Sakagami had made himself very clear.

And judging by his satisfied expression, asking the question in front of the whole class had been the right choice. If this had been a test, shouldn't Mr. Sakagami have been upset that he'd failed to keep the secret? If I were a teacher and one of my students saw through the situation at a glance, I certainly wouldn't be smiling so approvingly.

So the plan was to let the whole class learn some of the details? Could the total number of points held by the class affect Mr. Sakagami's evaluation?

There was still too little information to go on. I could only be sure that these points, which could buy anything, would be very useful.

Anything? I see. So that's how it is! If someone got expelled, could points overturn the decision? Then, for my own safety and Koenji's, I'd have to start saving points.

Come to think of it, points were basically money. A grand strategy suddenly came to me!

"Kitazawa, what are you thinking about? Mr. Sakagami's already left. Why don't you give me a hand?" Kaneda nudged me.

"I've got something to do..."

"Going after girls on the first day of school? No way. You should at least get to know everyone in class!"

Kaneda grabbed me before I could object, then called out to the whole class, "Could everyone stay for a few minutes? It's the first day of school. We should at least get to know our classmates, right?"

"We've got three whole years for that. Do we really need to introduce ourselves like little kids?" Ishizaki Daishi, sitting to my left, cut in grumpily.

"I think it's worth doing! You all heard Kitazawa's question just now. This school's point system isn't as simple as we thought. If we work together and help each other as a class, we'll definitely benefit."

"That doesn't mean we have to share points, does it? Even if points are assigned according to ability, students with good grades aren't necessarily going to help those with bad grades." Ishizaki clearly spoke from experience. He sounded as if he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"But there's no harm in making friends and getting to know each other, right? I may not get grades as good as Kitazawa's, but I can help you with your studies for free! I'm always happy to make more friends in high school."

"Fine..."

After winning over the class's troublemaker, Kaneda managed to keep things under control, and everyone began introducing themselves one by one. Of course, a few people simply left as they pleased. One of them was a delinquent-looking guy named Ryuen. Ishizaki said he was a tough guy, so Kaneda didn't dare stop him. A mixed-race student who hadn't said a word also skipped the introductions.

Still, I did get something out of listening to everyone introduce themselves. At the very least, I learned that the cute literature-loving girl sitting in front of me was named Shiina Hiyori, and that she liked detective stories. But, like Ibuki, she wasn't very popular because she was so quiet.

The other students had also formed all kinds of groups, big and small. There was a group of sporty muscleheads like Ishizaki Daishi, a typical girls' clique led by a forceful girl like Manabe Shiho, and a group of honor students like Oda Takumi, who was trying to recruit me.

It was all Kaneda's fault for telling everyone I was the top student in Class C. I had no intention of becoming anyone's leader. And taking care of a bunch of useless teammates? No thanks. Having the young master Koenji around was already more than enough for me.

Kaneda seemed to be starting with the boys. He'd not only tried to recruit me, the unofficial center of the honor-student group, but also wasn't about to leave Ishizaki and the others alone. He really did look like someone preparing to run for class representative.

Whatever. Let him pour all his youthful energy into class affairs!

"Kitazawa, want to go eat in the cafeteria together?" Oda invited me.

From the introductions earlier, I'd learned that Sonoda Masashi and Suzuki Hidetoshi were with him. Those three were among the boys in Class C with the best grades, so naturally, they weren't going to hang around with muscleheads like Ishizaki.

"Sure. But it's still early. Why don't we go buy some necessities first?"

There was no need to rush my grand strategy. It was the first day of school, after all, and the upperclassmen were bound to be busy. Besides, word hadn't yet reached the upper grades that the young master Koenji had enrolled here, had it? Though with his legendary ability to pick up girls, it would probably get around in a couple of days. Handsome, rich, and fit—he was practically built to attract admirers.

"Yeah, yeah! I was just thinking the same thing." Suzuki was the talkative sort. "We have Kitazawa to thank for the reminder. We're rich now!"

"Rich is an exaggeration, isn't it? He said the points might change." Sonoda was the cautious type. He usually kept his brow furrowed and didn't say much.

"However much they change, we'll be fine as long as our grades are good, right? Easy... And we'll get a hundred thousand every month without our families keeping tabs on us. This is awesome!"

"What do you think, Kitazawa? Do students with good grades really have a huge advantage?" Oda asked, seizing the opportunity.

"Just call me Minya. Eijun has a point, but there's one thing he's overlooked." I used their first names to bring the four of us closer together. I didn't plan to make friends with everyone, but I thought having a little group of my own would be nice.

"Overlooked?" Suzuki tilted his head, confused.

"Mr. Sakagami said ability. He never said that ability meant grades, did he?"

"That's true, but aren't grades what determine a student's ability?"

"No. I noticed that there are quite a few students in our class whose grades are just average. If grades were the only thing that mattered, why would the school admit them? As far as I know, plenty of top students failed to get into this school. There was someone like that in my middle school, too." I patiently explained.

"That makes sense. These days, the country's education system is promoting all-round development and things like that..." Sonoda agreed with me.

"Easy to say, but these vague, insubstantial..."