After a few minutes, the bell announcing the start of school rang. Everyone returned to their seats, ready to begin their brand-new school life.
Almost at the same time, a woman wearing a teacher's uniform walked into the classroom.
She looked like a serious teacher who valued discipline. She was around thirty, with beautiful black hair tied back in a ponytail.
"Ahem... New students, I'm Sae Chabashira, Class D's homeroom teacher. I usually teach Japanese history. At this school, classes don't change every year, so I'll be studying alongside you as your homeroom teacher for the next few years, until you graduate.
"The entrance ceremony will be held in the Gymnasium in an hour. Before then, I'll hand out some information about this school's special rules. You've already received it during your admissions briefing, though."
The materials handed out were familiar. They had been given to the students when the admission results came out. Ju Ji had read them once and memorized everything, so they were no longer of any use to him.
Unlike most high schools, this one had a closed-campus policy. Students were forbidden from contacting anyone outside the school without permission, and they couldn't leave whenever they pleased.
In exchange, however, the school had plenty of facilities. There were karaoke rooms, a cinema, cafés, clothing stores, and more—in short, it was like a small shopping district.
Of course, the most special feature of this school was the introduction of the S-System.
"Your student ID card, which I'm handing out now, can be used at all the school's facilities and to purchase things in stores. It's similar to a credit card, but it uses points, so be careful how you spend them.
"In theory, there's nothing you can't buy at this school."
It was like a multipurpose meal card, except that unlike a regular meal card, students couldn't top it up themselves. The school alone issued the points. In other words, at this school, all students' spending power was brought to the same level—at least on the surface.
"You can simply tap your card against the machines in the facilities or show it when needed. It's very easy to use. Points will be deposited automatically on the first of every month. For now, everyone has been given an equal amount of one hundred thousand points. Each point is worth one yen. I don't think I need to explain any further."
The classroom immediately erupted into excited chatter. One hundred thousand yen was worth five or six thousand yuan, a huge sum for students.
"Are you surprised that the school has given you so many points? The school measures students according to their abilities. You were admitted because you have corresponding value and potential, so go ahead and use them.
"But when you graduate, the school will wipe out any points you have left. Since points can't be converted into cash, there's no benefit to saving them. Once they've been deposited, how you use them is up to you. Spend them however you like.
"Of course, you can also transfer them to other people. But don't threaten anyone, okay? The school takes bullying very seriously."
It had to be said that Sae Chabashira had chosen her words very carefully. Her speech was full of hints: "There's no benefit to saving your points, so spend them freely"; "Bullying is prohibited"; "You have value corresponding to the points you receive."
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with what she'd said. But Ju Ji already knew the truth, and to him, Chabashira had hinted that there was more to this school than met the eye. Maybe the school was trying to identify students with strong powers of observation.
Under the impact of receiving one hundred thousand points, most students probably couldn't think clearly anymore. With her hints, many of them would likely spend all their points in no time.
"Teacher Chabashira, I have a question. Do you mean that if the school decides we don't have enough value, then the number of points deposited each month won't be as high?
"And how does the school judge our value?"
Ju Ji knew the answers to these questions, but his goal was to remind his Class D classmates not to let themselves go overboard. If, as in the original story, the class had no points left after a month, it would be his interests that suffered. Naturally, he couldn't just sit by and do nothing.
"Heh. Shinomiya, I'm under no obligation to answer you. You'll have to discover these details for yourself. The school has its own standards for making judgments. As long as you fulfill your basic duties as students, there won't be a problem. Do you have any other questions?"
She seemed very pleased with the question Ju Ji had asked, and the corner of her mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile. She claimed she had no obligation to answer, but in reality, she had revealed quite a lot.
The surrounding chatter died down, too. Quite a few students had probably started wondering about the same thing.
"No, that's enough. Thank you, Teacher Chabashira."
From Teacher Chabashira's answer, it was clear that she couldn't answer any more questions unless someone paid points for the information. But he couldn't afford that kind of cost right now.
Still, Ju Ji had accomplished his goal, so there was no need to press her further. Even though it had been so long that he couldn't remember the details, he still remembered the S-System's general rules very clearly.
"It seems no one else has any questions. In that case, I hope you have a wonderful school life."
After tidying up the things on the lectern, Sae Chabashira left, leaving the students behind to chat excitedly.
"This school is pretty lenient with its students, don't you think, Horikita?"
"Please don't just start talking to me out of nowhere. But yes, it's not as strict as I expected."
Although the school required students to live on campus, prohibited them from leaving, and forbade contact with the outside world, it had given them all these points for free. There wasn't much to complain about.
The greatest appeal of this high school was its 100 percent advancement and employment rate. Most people probably expected to face a brutal school life before coming here. Though their brutal school life wouldn't begin for another month.
"Hey, hey, should we go check out all the different shops together when we get back? Let's go shopping!"
"Yeah! With all these points, we can buy whatever we want. I'm so glad I got into this school!"
After the teacher left, the students immediately started thinking about what to do with their enormous pile of points. Ju Ji's question had been nothing more than a small interlude.
"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?"
The student who quickly raised his hand had the strong air of an up-and-coming young man—in other words, he gave off a popular-kid vibe.
He hadn't even dyed his hair, and there wasn't a hint of delinquency about him. He was the very model of a well-behaved student. Even Ju Ji had dyed his hair blond, after all.
"From today onward, we'll be living together in the same class, so I'd like us to start introducing ourselves now. It'd be great if we could all become friends quickly. We still have time before the entrance ceremony, so what do you think?"
"Sounds good. We don't even know one another's names yet."
With one student taking the lead, the rest voiced their agreement. For Ju Ji, this was also a chance to make more friends. He decided to come up with a passionate, fiery self-introduction and kick off a fulfilling school life...
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