Chapter 11

"How should we evaluate something so elusive?" Suzuki asked rhetorically. "Good question! Eijun, you've just given me an idea." I spun around and started searching the room. "Huh!?" "Minya, what are you looking for?" "Found it!" I pointed to the security camera in the corner. "So it's the cameras... What's so special about them?" "Don't you think there are a lot of cameras at our school? Just in the Class C classroom, there are four cameras in total. Two watch the entrance, and two watch us," I recalled. "That's true. Is security so tight because the students are rich?" "Maybe, but perhaps there's another reason... Like watching our every move?" I smiled. "Brr... That's terrifying when you think about it! Could this school really be that creepy? Watching every single student..." "That's Minya for you. Good thing we figured this out early!" Oda sounded relieved that he'd brought me into the group. "I only realized it thanks to Eijun and Masashi's conversation," I said modestly. "We didn't really do anything..." Sonoda waved his hand bashfully. "Haha! As long as we keep this secret, we'll be the school's bourgeoisie from now on!" Suzuki excitedly slung an arm around my shoulders. "No, we should quietly spread the secret to the rest of the class," I said calmly. "Huh!? No need to be so self-righteous! What do we care what happens to them?" Suzuki asked, confused. "It can't be that simple. There are a few things I need to confirm with the upperclassmen. Once we get the answers, I'll tell you my theory." "Minya, that's not fair! We're friends, aren't we? Let's split up and look for upperclassmen we can talk to. We'll contact you once we find some!" "You're willing to help? That'd be great. Let's make a group chat so we can discuss it!" "Sure! Let's call it the Kitazawa Detective Agency!" Suzuki suggested, eager to stir things up. "Hahaha! Great name. Minya looks like a famous detective whenever he's thinking something through." Oda and Sonoda agreed. "Give me a break..." I was the son of a petty capitalist. Why would I be a detective? I shook my head with a laugh and added them to the group chat. Making friends—this was youth!

Volume 1: Making a Name for Myself: 4. Choosing Opportunities Saves Time

Choosing opportunities saves time. —Francis Bacon

"Minya, we found something interesting!" At the convenience store, Suzuki and the others had split up to shop, and it seemed they'd found some free samples. "Hmm... That makes sense. It's hard to imagine that even 100,000 points wouldn't be enough... Based on our class, there should be around 160 students in this year's intake, so the school probably has about 480 students. That alone would cost 48 million a month, or 560 million a year... And that's all taxpayers' money!" I murmured, but my gaze was drawn to someone familiar on the other side of the shelves. It was the young man and woman who'd sat across the aisle from us on the bus. The girl was staring at the gloomy-looking guy trying to sell her a razor, clearly annoyed. "Do you know them?" Suzuki joined me in watching them. "No. But you don't see many guys trying to make their move on the first day of school..." "True. That girl seems to be in Class D next door, right? She's really pretty, so no wonder he's after her... Are you going to play the hero and save the beauty, Minya?" "I think I'll pass. I have a feeling barging in would get us into serious trouble..." "But we're at school. That gloomy guy wouldn't dare do anything, would he?" "It's not him I'm worried about. Can't you feel the murderous aura coming off that girl?" "Murderous aura?" "Yeah. The moment she showed her displeasure at what he said, she let off a murderous aura... She must be a formidable girl! If that gloomy guy keeps pestering her, he's going to regret it." "I don't really get it, but you're good at reading people, right, Minya? I trust your judgment." "I'm probably not far off... Unless someone's a really good actor. I used to go to an aristocratic school, where lots of people put on an act. I know a thing or two about it." "I see. My family wanted me to go to a school like that too, but I refused, haha!" "Minya, Eijun, let's go!" Oda called to us from a little way off. "Yeah, let's go. There's no point wasting any more time watching that gloomy guy." But things didn't go as planned, and we ran into him again at the checkout. Apparently, one of his delinquent friends had forgotten his phone, so they couldn't pay. "Instant noodles on the first day of school... What kind of people are these..." Oda muttered as he watched the redhead shouting near the front of the line. "Let's not get into trouble. We should wait patiently," I told him, gesturing for him not to make a fuss. The upperclassmen ahead of us hadn't reacted, either. To our surprise, the gloomy guy left the pretty girl he was with—well, the girl he was trying to win over—and paid for the redhead. He even helpfully poured hot water into the instant noodles for him. Just as expected, the pretty girl got angry at once. After exchanging a few words with the redhead, she stormed off. "Was her name Horikita? I didn't catch exactly what they were arguing about, but treating such a pretty girl like that is pretty rude," Suzuki commented. "Ayanokoji?" I'd heard the gloomy guy's name. "What is it, Minya? We should stay away from people like him," Sonoda suggested. "I just think he's strange. Why bother with that redhead while talking to a pretty girl? From the way they introduced themselves, he didn't seem to know the redhead..." I scratched my head, puzzled. "Detective, some people just don't make sense. Don't waste your brain cells on him." Once the troublesome people had left, it was finally our turn to pay. "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe we'll notice something if we put ourselves in his shoes..." "Put yourself in the redheaded gorilla's shoes? He looked like he wanted to hit a woman just now! Hahahaha!" Suzuki made a ridiculous chest-thumping gesture. "People like that usually have bad parents. They might even have domestic violence at home," Oda joked. "Why would someone like that get into this school? Isn't this the high school with the highest college acceptance rate in Japan?" Sonoda's question seemed to shake the upperclasswoman standing behind us. I noticed right away and picked up the thread. "Who knows? It'd be nice if we could ask the upperclassmen about it. We still don't know enough..." "Yeah..." I deliberately slowed down as we left, but the upperclasswoman, though clearly tempted, never came over to talk to us. Or perhaps upperclassmen weren't allowed to reveal certain information unprompted? Well, there was no need to rush.