Chapter 9

, he said. "That's only because he stands out so much! After all, he's from the Koenji family..." I relaxed and smiled. "No! You definitely know him! I can feel it." Ibuki insisted, but without any evidence, she grew impatient and stamped her foot. "Wow! As expected of Lady Ibuki—your deduction is so reliable!" I clapped teasingly. "Get lost!" Ibuki waved me away impatiently. She really wasn't good at communicating with people. ╮( ??ω?? )╭ I gave up on continuing to needle Ibuki's sensitive nerves and turned to look around at the others in the classroom. At some point, a quiet girl had taken the seat in front of me. She was reading silently, completely absorbed in her own world. The big, burly guy on my left was named Ishizaki Daishi. He was discussing basketball and other things with the companion behind him. There was also a tall mixed-race student who really stood out. Even sitting in the corner of the classroom, he drew everyone's attention, though they all watched him furtively; no one dared look directly at his sunglasses. All sorts of people gathered together here. My school was kind of interesting. For now, this class more or less fit my idea of what a Japanese high school class should be like. "What do you think, Minya?" The two-faced Kaneda sidled over again. "What do I think about what? And don't call me so familiarly, you fair-weather friend!" "I made room for you to hit on her just now! Ha ha!" "You're seriously nearsighted... Who'd fall for a girl as fierce as Ibuki?" I said, despite not really meaning it. Actually, my first impression of Ibuki was pretty good. She was poised, efficient, and kind, and she didn't seem too clever. A girl being too clever was definitely a minus in my book! Not because I subscribed to that rotten idea that women should be virtuous rather than talented, but because clever girls knew how to play dumb, and whether they were genuinely dumb or just pretending, they were much easier to get along with than girls who flaunted their brilliance. Hmm, and it'd be even better if she were a little less strong. That's right. I was a complete weakling, after all! A man's standing in the family was important, too! "I think you had her completely flustered... You've got a good head on your shoulders. If we team up, we'll run this class." "Too bad. I can't be bothered with some class officer position." "Hey! This is the high school with the best college acceptance rate in all of Japan! If you become class president or something, there'll be lots of benefits later..." Kaneda seemed to have some sort of plan. "Not interested." I couldn't be bothered to manage a whole class of students, and it wasn't as if I needed to develop those skills anyway. "Don't worry, it won't take up much of your time for chasing girls." "Would you listen for once? Aren't a student's main job supposed to be studying?" "But you're probably already doing really well, right? I saw you previewing the lessons just now..." Hey! Hey! I was only pretending to study. I'd actually been looking around! "I'm not as good as you think. I'm the type who crams at the last minute." "Really? You crammed at the last minute and still got such a high score?" "All right... My entrance exam score really wasn't low... But that was a fluke..." It was because I wanted to get into this school! Dad had set me a target, so I had to at least humor him, right? "Heh, you sure have a lot of flukes..." "Believe me or not, if you want to be a class officer, I won't compete with you." Heh, I had a feeling someone would compete with you when the time came. That was how this school was, after all. "You're not going to support me?" "I'd rather take the position myself than support you..." You wimped out the moment you met Ibuki. What kind of leadership skills could you possibly have? "What did you say?" Kitazawa shook his head, ignoring Kaneda, who was lost in his grand ambitions of making a name for himself. Finally, after the last long-haired delinquent sauntered into the classroom, our homeroom teacher appeared. Volume One: Making My Mark — 3. Doubt Is the Source of Wisdom. Doubt is the source of wisdom. — Descartes. "Students of Class 1-C, please settle down. I'm your homeroom teacher, Sakagami Kazuma." This teacher looked just like Kaneda would when he grew up... Though he seemed a lot more reliable than Kaneda. "At this school, students don't change classes from year to year, so neither does their homeroom teacher. I look forward to working with you over the next three years." Teacher Sakagami began handing out information about the school. "The entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium in an hour. What I'm handing out now is information about this school's special rules, as well as your student IDs." The girl in front carefully moved her long silver hair aside and passed the papers to me. Her movements were so delicate that she looked as if she might collapse at any moment. I didn't have time to think and quickly took them, smiling and nodding at her. She shrank back like a startled rabbit and buried herself in her book again. "Pervert!" That was the judgment I got from Ibuki behind me as soon as I turned around. Apparently, in her eyes, I'd become the kind of guy who hit on any girl he saw. "You can use the student ID included with your terminal to access all the facilities on campus and buy things in shops and other places, but doing so will use your personal points. There's nothing at this school that you can't buy with points. Anything on school grounds is for sale." Teacher Sakagami made the importance of points very clear. "Teacher, how do we earn personal points?" Kaneda immediately raised his hand and asked. "They'll be deposited automatically on the first of each month. You should each have received one hundred thousand points by now. Each point is worth one yen." The teacher's words excited everyone. One hundred thousand yen in monthly pocket money really was a lot. "There's no need to be surprised. That's how this school works. Students are evaluated according to their abilities, and getting into this school is itself proof of your ability." Teacher Sakagami smiled. "You're free to use your points however you like, but remember that they'll be taken back after graduation. Also, the school prohibits all intimidation and bullying related to points." The students looked at one another, only half understanding. Teacher Sakagami glanced around, giving them plenty of time to think. "Do these points have anything to do with how we'll be evaluated in the future?" After thinking it over, Kaneda asked. "No. The school can see through the system how you use your points, but no matter how you use them, it won't affect your evaluation at school. Whether you buy books, buy food, or give them to someone else, it doesn't matter. The school won't investigate where the points go." Teacher Sakagami's smile grew even broader as he finished speaking. The few students who were still worried relaxed, and some even began planning what they would do next. "Did everyone really receive the same number of points?" Since it concerned my own interests, I didn't hold back and raised my hand to ask.