Almost at the same time, a woman in a business suit walked into the classroom.
She looked to be around thirty. Her simple ponytail gave her a capable, elegant air. Her ochre-brown eyes held intelligence and resolve, as if she could see right through people at a glance.
Her figure had graceful curves, 86/59/84... Ahem... She was undoubtedly an angel-faced professional with a devilish figure, impossible to ignore.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Sae Chabashira, the new teacher for Class 1-D. Under normal circumstances, I'll be your Japanese History teacher for the next three years, as well as your homeroom teacher." Her clear voice echoed through every corner of the classroom.
"Now that we've established that, I look forward to working with you over the next three years. The opening ceremony will be held in the gymnasium in an hour. In the meantime, I'll introduce you to the school."
With that, she began handing out a stack of materials to all the students present.
Onizuka Tsukasa took the materials and flipped through them. He'd already learned this information during the search at the entrance, so nothing stood out.
He only listened as Chabashira-sensei focused on explaining the points system used within the school and the special S System.
"Nothing is impossible to buy." And, "Anything at all within the school can be bought."
She repeated that almost twice, making Onizuka Tsukasa frown. It seemed she hadn't misspoken.
Those points seem even more important than I thought, Onizuka Tsukasa thought.
However, Chabashira-sensei's next words sent Onizuka Tsukasa into deep self-doubt.
"On the first of every month, points will be deposited into your student cards. Everyone should have received 100,000 points by now, right? By the way, points have the same purchasing power as yen within the school, at a one-to-one ratio. That's all."
No, no, no... Something had to be wrong...
Everyone could effortlessly receive 100,000 points each month without doing anything. Such generous conditions would absolutely encourage idleness.
Wasn't this system paving the way for laziness and indulgence?
Using this to test people's nature was absolutely foolish!
The free fruit-and-vegetable meal in the cafeteria quickly came to mind!
If everything was exactly as Chabashira-sensei had said, then why did that exist? Any explanation would sound far-fetched.
!!!!
Onizuka Tsukasa suddenly realized something extremely important: Chabashira-sensei had never explicitly said that 100,000 points would be issued every month!
In what she'd said, "points will be issued every month" and "the points given to you now" were two completely different things.
He'd simply been confused by her particular phrasing and manner.
The points issued by this school had to vary according to something, perhaps the S System she'd mentioned only in passing.
Thinking back to what that person in the cafeteria had said, Class D-free meal-trash. If he connected those things, then perhaps the entire class shared a common fate.
Everyone in the class would share a score determined by some kind of system, and points would be issued according to that score!
In other words, I'll be dragged down by this trash!
After realizing this, Onizuka Tsukasa made up his mind.
To have a wonderful three years, and to get the job he wanted after graduation, he had to get out of this class.
"Nothing is impossible to buy."
Chabashira-sensei's words suddenly came to Onizuka Tsukasa's mind. Perhaps... that could be bought too?
By the time Onizuka Tsukasa had sorted out his thoughts, Chabashira-sensei had finished speaking and left the classroom, leaving behind a group of noisy students.
Watching his classmates excitedly discuss how they'd spend their 100,000 points, Onizuka Tsukasa couldn't help sneering. He thought to himself, I really hope they'll still be able to laugh next month.
Just then, a handsome boy radiating an "I'm a good person" air stood up, briefly quieting the classroom.
"Everyone, we're going to be together for three years starting today, but we don't know one another's names yet. How about we introduce ourselves?"
"My name is Yosuke Hirata. I hope you'll all just call me Yosuke. I like soccer, and I plan to keep playing. I look forward to getting along with everyone."
His voice was clear and engaging. As he spoke, he wore a sunny smile, as if he naturally gave off a warm aura.
The classroom immediately rang with agreement. Many people nodded, clearly feeling favorably toward the boy.
Then someone else stood up to speak, and the atmosphere gradually grew livelier.
As the introductions went on, Onizuka Tsukasa also learned the name of the girl he'd noticed earlier: Kikyo Kushida, a girl determined to be friends with everyone.
Of course, things often didn't go the way people hoped.
Just as the atmosphere was heating up, a boy with bright red hair, who looked as if he might as well have "delinquent" written across his face, suddenly sprang up.
"Who wants to keep playing this childish make-believe game with you? Don't take yourself so seriously!"
As he spoke, he shoved his desk aside and left.
Several other students followed him out of the classroom. To everyone's surprise, Horikita Suzune also stood up and headed out.
Is she still acting like a child after all? I guess my first impression of her on the bus wasn't wrong at all.
As these students left one after another, those who remained seemed even more relaxed and started talking.
"Honestly, there are all kinds of people."
"Don't take it to heart, Yosuke. Just let people like that leave!"
The introductions continued as before, one after another.
Soon, it was the turn of the blond boy Onizuka Tsukasa had met on the bus.
He was holding a mirror and fixing his appearance, oblivious to those around him. No, rather than fixing it, he seemed to be admiring himself.
He didn't react at all when his turn came.
Yosuke Hirata reminded him, "Excuse me, it's your turn to introduce yourself."
The blond boy didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. Without even changing his pose, he crossed his legs and spoke as if to himself:
"All right, Boy. My name is Koenji Rokusuke, the only son of the Koenji Conglomerate. I'm destined to lead all of you someday, so I look forward to your cooperation."
"Oh, one more thing. Please don't let me see anything 'ugly,' okay? After all, I'm so beautiful. Hahaha!"
After saying that, he flipped his bangs up.
What a strange person. Almost everyone thought so, but no one dared say it aloud. Perhaps they were wary of his background, or perhaps his muscles.
Next was the unremarkable self-introduction from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the boy sitting in front of me. It had no highlights at all, just plain and ordinary.
Soon, it was my turn.
"Onizuka Tsukasa. That's all."
The students who'd already been deemed inferior didn't need to have any meaningful interactions, did they?