There Is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Afterward, Mashima Tomoya gave some advice on club sign-ups. The registration period lasts until tomorrow, at which point the school will make the necessary arrangements. Finally, there was the election of class representatives.

Electing class representatives wasn't much of a hassle. Since Katsuragi Kohei had served as student council president in middle and elementary school, it was a given that no one would receive more votes than him.

Katsuragi then took the opportunity to recommend two of his close friends, both of whom were successfully elected.

Sakayanagi Arisu also became a member of the class leadership. Beyond her excellent academic grades, her status as the daughter of the school board chairman provided a significant advantage.

After the bell rang, Sakayanagi Arisu stood up before the students could rush out of the classroom to go on a shopping spree. "Everyone! Before you leave the classroom, please listen to me for a moment."

The students who were about to get up and head out all stopped and looked at Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu continued, "I believe you are all aware that the school we are attending is one of the premier institutions in Japan.

The teacher just mentioned that we each have 100,000 private points now, but receiving them next month will require us to demonstrate the corresponding ability."

As she spoke, Sakayanagi Arisu held up the school-issued mobile phone. "I hope you understand one thing: there is no such thing as a free lunch. These private points didn't just appear out of thin air, so I hope that until we obtain more information, you will not squander them recklessly."

Those capable of making it into Class A are naturally not fools. They didn't need Sakayanagi Arisu to tell them the truth immediately; suspicion alone was enough.

In this school, anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't spend all their private points on the very first day.

Seeing that she had achieved her goal, Sakayanagi Arisu nodded and continued, "I have already grasped some preliminary information about this school. The idea that you will receive 100,000 private points every month is not entirely accurate.

Simply put, the number of private points you can obtain is tied to individual effort and class performance. You would do well to read the student handbook several times; the content within will affect the points you receive next month."

No one refuted her statement.

Sakayanagi Arisu's father is the chairman of this school.

If anyone could understand this school the fastest, it would undoubtedly be Sakayanagi Arisu.

Katsuragi Kohei stood up at this moment as well. "I support Sakayanagi Arisu. I also believe that the source of these private points isn't that simple. If they are truly precious, it would be a disaster to squander them all at once. While the situation remains unclear, we should save as much as we can."

After a pause, Katsuragi Kohei added, "However, rest assured, I have already decided to apply for the student council. Once I get into the student council, I will be able to obtain information about this school very quickly."

Hearing Katsuragi Kohei's words, those students also began to calm down and think.

The rules of this school were not that hard to guess.

The reason Class D failed to grasp this information immediately was entirely because they lacked a leader.

Some people had already guessed the rules, but they chose to remain silent, much like the mentality on a bus—as long as it doesn't concern them, they don't bother to care.

"Katsuragi," Sakayanagi Arisu smiled and said, "I don't like following other people's commands. This school isn't the small-time operation you're used to. This class needs a more capable leader."

"What do you mean?" Katsuragi Kohei was confused.

"I mean that you don't have enough ability to manage this class."

Logically, Katsuragi Kohei wouldn't care about a position like class representative, but Sakayanagi Arisu spoke as if it were of vital importance.

Isn't a class representative just a position that doesn't really matter whether it exists or not?

Anyone can manage a class, or it can even go without management.

The entity that truly influences the school should be the student council.

"Shall we make a bet?" Sakayanagi Arisu didn't want to waste any more breath on him. "Let's compete to see who can grasp the rules and information of this school the fastest.

If you don't even have the ability to acquire information, you won't be able to survive in this school, let alone lead the entire class."

"Is that really necessary?" Katsuragi Kohei still didn't grasp the importance of the class leader position.

Many others shared the same mindset as Katsuragi Kohei; although they knew private points wouldn't increase for no reason, they still didn't take it too seriously.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't waste any more words with him and walked out, limping with her cane.

Katsuragi Kohei neither agreed to the competition nor refused it; he could only try to obtain information about the school as quickly as possible. Before leaving, he added, "Although there are no classes this afternoon, I still hope everyone can gather here to exchange information. Let's say around two o'clock."

The student handbook already listed most of the rules of the school, but it didn't specify the penalties for violations, nor did it indicate the criteria for rewards.

Many rules were hidden; perhaps dyeing your hair or painting your nails would result in a deduction of points.

Or perhaps failing to maintain personal hygiene, littering, not tidying your room, or missing a button on your shirt...

Or perhaps not brushing your teeth in the morning and evening, or going days without washing your hair or bathing...

These could actually all be grounds for point deductions.

Things like being late, leaving early, skipping class, disrespecting teachers, or fighting... these were the most obvious grounds for point deductions.

Because these were all within the scope of surveillance.

Things outside the scope of surveillance were the responsibility of the student council, such as cleanliness.

The student council held the most information about this school, and obtaining points based solely on that information would be much easier than for others.

After Yagami Shizuka ate something casual at the cafeteria, he bought some items at the convenience store and returned to his dormitory.

The dormitories at this school are very large, equipped with kitchens and bathrooms, and each student has their own room. For the students, this place is practically heaven.

There are also many rules in the dormitory; some hidden rules include point deductions for exceeding certain limits on water and electricity, or for disturbing others.

Perhaps Yagami Shizuka's self-introduction had discouraged many people, as no one had come to talk to him yet.

However, quite a few people would watch him from a distance, looking as if they wanted to say something, but in the end, they said nothing.

Among them, a girl named Morishita Ai would look at him with a strange expression whenever she encountered him, as if she had something she wanted to say.

He felt that this was actually quite fine.

The most urgent priority now was to find a way to figure out the system's capabilities and gather intelligence on this school.

After a brief period of research, he discovered that there was no system panel, no storage space, and absolutely no rewards.

It would provide hints related to him at certain times, or appear whenever he felt hesitant about doing something.

For example, which lottery ticket could win the jackpot?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, a prompt appeared.

[No one can resist the temptation of money, and everyone possesses their own financial luck. If you wish to get rich overnight, you may obtain the following hints]

[1. Utilize the withdrawal rules to drop out and purchase Loto 7. The main numbers (7): 02, 03, 11, 12, 22, 35, 36. Bonus numbers (2): 30, 34. Achieve overnight wealth immediately. Without you in Class A, fate remains unchanged.]

[2. Achieve overnight wealth three years from now, reaping a harvest of wealth, beauties, and power.]

That was pretty much it; this system offered no rewards, but the hints it provided were the ultimate cheat.