Enrollment in Class 1-A

"Oh my~ It seems you still haven't grasped the situation, Katsuragi-kun~"

The girl sitting not far in front of Toru Hasegawa curled her lips into a faint, elusive arc. Her high-quality silver hair brushed against her shoulders, and her violet-gray eyes revealed a level of composure far beyond her peers.

But the most eye-catching detail was the light gray cane leaning against the leg of her desk.

Although this school, known as Advanced Nurturing High School, strictly forbade students from bringing any personal items inside, this girl was already carrying a cane shortly after the start of the term, which was enough to prove just how frail her physical condition was.

Even so, she was currently competing with another classmate for the position of class leader.

Through the self-introductions earlier, Toru Hasegawa had learned that this silver-haired girl's name was Sakayanagi Arisu.

"I believe I performed quite well back in middle school. If it's alright with everyone, why don't you let me try first?"

Though phrased as a question, there was no doubt about his own abilities on the face of Katsuragi Kohei. Coupled with his tall, imposing physique and a slight touch of uniqueness, he couldn't help but attract a great deal of attention.

He and Sakayanagi Arisu shared one startling similarity; Katsuragi Kohei suffered from alopecia, and thus, his shiny, reflective bald head was the primary source of the attention he drew.

"What a pity. This school is fundamentally different from the child's play you experienced in your previous school life~ If you continue to act with that same mindset, you're going to suffer a great loss in the future~"

Silver-haired girl vs. bald powerhouse!

It should have been a thrilling, blood-pumping development, but Toru Hasegawa's gaze uncontrollably drifted upward, looking toward the tops of their heads—

There, he saw something that would never appear in ordinary daily life.

[10/100]

[60/100]

The former was the progress bar above Sakayanagi Arisu, and the latter was the one above Katsuragi Kohei.

Beneath the progress, there was also a treasure chest icon, though it was locked, as if to tell him that once the progress was filled, there would be a reward waiting.

But Toru Hasegawa was still at a loss.

He was a transmigrator.

After being hit by a truck in his previous life, he opened his eyes to find himself in this world.

He had assumed he was lucky enough to have skipped the soup of Meng Po and retained his memories, but then he discovered he couldn't quite understand the gibberish people around him were speaking—was it Japanese?

Then, he realized even the timeline was wrong. How could he be reborn and end up in the past?

Finally, after understanding what was happening, he didn't act like a genius youth; instead, he controlled himself to maintain an average level.

Does anyone actually think they can become a genius just by starting over? Really?

Toru Hasegawa, who knew his own strength very well, had expected to live a plain but happy life, but then the turning point arrived.

At the age of twelve, he became an orphan.

His father died in a car accident while on a business trip, and his mother remarried immediately. His stepfather despised him as a burden and left him to live alone in the house, with a monthly allowance so meager it was barely enough to keep him from starving.

Because of this, he began to reveal a bit of his true ability. He hadn't wasted his time over the years, so after entering middle school, he seemed like a different person. He scored first in the entire school in every subject, causing a minor stir, and he managed to secure every available scholarship for impoverished students.

After all, it was just a battle among middle schoolers; it was well within his grasp.

As he was about to graduate from middle school, the school recommended him to Advanced Nurturing High School.

With a 100% advancement rate and a 100% employment rate, plus the dream-like condition of having all tuition and other fees waived, Toru Hasegawa would have definitely considered it a scam if not for the official endorsement and the middle school's recommendation.

And after unexpectedly entering the school smoothly, he discovered that numerical progress bars had appeared above everyone's heads.

"Could this be the perk that came with my transmigration? Why did it only show up now? And what exactly do these numbers represent?"

The time was too short and the information too scarce; Toru Hasegawa didn't have time to explore before arriving at the classroom for Class 1-A and finding his seat.

The homeroom teacher for Class A, Mashima Tomoya, soon arrived at the classroom. While distributing materials, he introduced the special rules of the school: everyone was obligated to live in the school dormitories, and external contact or leaving the school grounds without permission was prohibited.

Of course, everyone had already learned this during the prior entrance orientation; Mashima-sensei was simply emphasizing it once more.

Then came the distribution of student IDs containing 100,000 private points, which could be used for consumption at various facilities within the school.

Subsequently, students asked a few trivial questions, such as "Can we really use the points however we want?" and "Are prices the same as in the outside world?" Mashima-sensei gave affirmative answers before leaving.

The class fell into a chaotic state for a moment, but at least the self-introduction phase had been completed.

And then, there was the scene Toru Hasegawa was currently facing.

The numbers above most people's heads fluctuated in the range of 40 to 70. This was the first time he had seen someone with a number as incredibly low as 10.

Although he didn't know the specific meaning of the numbers, this girl, Sakayanagi Arisu... was clearly abnormal!

"Alright, alright, school has only just begun, why dwell on the position of class representative? We don't really know each other that well yet, so why not wait a while, how about that?"

A boy stood up at this moment to smooth things over.

He had an exceptionally handsome appearance, and one could tell at a glance that he was the type who would attract girls to circle around him.

But Sakayanagi Arisu didn't seem attracted by his appearance at all; she just chuckled:

"It isn't a position like class representative that I'm looking to obtain, but... I suppose I'll let it go for now."

"I have the same intention."

After Satoshi Satonaka stepped forward, the two of them simultaneously reined in their aggressive posture and began to interact with the surrounding students.

However, in this regard, Arisu Sakayanagi was far inferior to Kohei Katsuragi, as she remained seated at her desk and could not move around like the latter, her range of motion severely restricted.

Sigh, I really feel like the peaceful school life I envisioned was shattered from the very beginning.

Toru Hasegawa couldn't help but sigh in his heart, feeling anxious about his future school life.

It wasn't just the scene of the two clashing in class that made him feel uneasy; it was the fact that the teacher had mentioned the school would provide 100,000 personal points worth of value every month, which felt utterly absurd.

What kind of decent school just gives students that much money to spend every month? Aren't they afraid of going bankrupt?

As for the restrictions on personal freedom and the prohibition of communication with the outside world...

Toru Hasegawa's take was: is that it?

In any case, the school didn't require room and board, and he had no one to communicate with in the outside world, so these restrictions were effectively non-existent to him.

"You've been staring at Classmate Sakayanagi since just now. Don't tell me you have a crush on her?"

Just as Toru Hasegawa was lost in his thoughts, drifting away, the girl beside him suddenly threw a question his way.

He turned his head to the right, and what came into view was a girl with purple hair so long it was exaggerated; even though she was sitting up straight, the ends of her hair still trailed onto the floor beneath her chair.

"No, I was just spacing out."

Toru Hasegawa shook his head, flatly denying the absurd conjecture she had proposed, while his gaze shifted slightly upward to the space above her head, which should have been empty.

[50/100]

A standard, mediocre progress bar.

Masumi Kamuro clearly didn't notice his strange gaze, but instead smirked and continued:

"Spacing out while looking at her? Tsk tsk..."

She looked exactly like someone who assumed Toru Hasegawa had been imagining something inappropriate while looking at Arisu Sakayanagi, which was why he had been spacing out.

"You can question my character, but you cannot question my taste! I would absolutely never like that type of flat-chested character!"

Having been misunderstood by the classmate sitting next to him—whom he would have to spend the next three years with—on the very first day of school, Toru Hasegawa would never allow such a situation to persist, so he stated what he considered an impeccable reason.

He was definitely not a lolicon.

"...Are you serious?"

"As serious as I can be."

After his gaze left the strange progress bar he hadn't yet grown accustomed to, Toru Hasegawa's eyes gradually drifted downward, lingering for a brief moment on Masumi Kamuro's chest.

Well, clearly, just looking at the external armor, it was a complete victory for the girl in front of him compared to Arisu Sakayanagi.

Then, his gaze moved further down as if nothing had happened; the smooth skin of her thighs, extending from her black knee-high socks, formed a striking contrast that was exceptionally eye-catching.

The calf muscles, slightly bulging under the pressure of the socks, looked very healthy and formed a beautiful curve.

Despite Toru Hasegawa having made his movements very quick, girls in this country seemed naturally sensitive to such gazes.

Even though she had ignored him looking at the air above her head just a moment ago, she still caught Toru Hasegawa's well-practiced, scrutinizing gaze.

"Fine, fine, I believe you."

Masumi Kamuro, having fully caught Toru Hasegawa's gaze, showed an obvious look of disgust and turned her head to the other side, though she didn't strike up a conversation with anyone else, even though there were other girls around.

Seeing the disgust in her eyes before she turned away, the corner of Toru Hasegawa's mouth twitched.

No, he really had just looked out of an instinctive reaction; he really didn't mean anything else by it!

Also, why did she just believe him like that! You're supposed to refute it!

Realizing he had messed up, Toru Hasegawa sighed silently, hoping that his standing in her heart wouldn't drop to the level of scum because of this.

"...Wait, what is going on?"

Toru Hasegawa, who had intended to turn and build relationships with the surrounding students, suddenly noticed that the number above Masumi Kamuro's head had changed for the first time!

[45/100]

This was the first time the number had fluctuated, even if it was in the negative direction.

But change was a good thing!

"Could it be that the number displayed here is how much people like me? Why would that guy have one too?!"