Opening Ceremony

Kitagawa Kai was about to stand up and head for the podium. He cleared his throat, planning to use a simple "Honami, let me out for a moment" to get past his desk mate blocking the way.

Thus beginning his showtime.

But no sooner had Hoshinomiya Chie left than a crowd of girls swarmed around.

Shiranami Chihiro naturally pressed herself against Ichinose's side, almost hugging her.

"Right, right! Let's go buy all the limited-edition snacks from the school store!"

"I want to see the latest movie!"

"Let's sign up for all the popular club activities first! They look so cool!"

They launched into a lively discussion about how to spend their wonderful campus life from now on.

Kitagawa Kai circled around the back of Ichinose's encirclement, raised his voice, stood up, and faced the whole class, speaking clearly:

"Now, could everyone please return to your seats?"

Within a few seconds, the previously noisy classroom fell miraculously silent.

Ichinose's voice rang out, puzzled yet endearing.

"Kitagawa-kun, did you notice something?"

"Honami, that's exactly what I'm about to say." He turned to her with a confident smile.

Now, I'm going to give you all a little shock.

Kitagawa Kai slowly walked up to the podium.

"I'll say a few words behind closed doors."

The student by the door immediately caught on and quickly shut it.

"First, I want everyone to temporarily forget about that hundred-thousand-point number just now. Think about it—in a normal new semester, during the first homeroom class, what does the teacher do?"

He answered his own question, guiding their thoughts.

"She introduces herself, explains the school rules, hands out textbooks, and then announces the upcoming schedule."

"Everything should be clear and definite. We need to know what exams are, what grades are, and the basic rules this school operates on."

"But today?"

"Miss Hoshinomiya didn't clearly explain the rules for distributing points. She only said points are given on the 1st of each month, but the specific amount was vague."

"There must be something wrong here."

"Imagine you're the school administration. Each class needs four million points a month. Counting the upperclassmen, that's twelve classes total."

"That means the school spends nearly fifty million points one-way every month."

Fifty million.

That number slammed hard into everyone's hearts.

Fifty million! That was no small sum—it was enough to make any company's finance department take notice.

"That's almost impossible. Just now, Miss Hoshinomiya also said this is a reward based on our abilities."

"A person's ability isn't fixed, and the same goes for a class's ability."

"So a reward based on ability really means that point distribution is directly tied to the evaluation results of each class's ability."

"Therefore, I believe the points distributed next month probably won't exceed a hundred thousand."

Dead silence filled the classroom, leaving only his voice echoing.

"Then... then what do we do?" one random classmate couldn't help asking the most practical question. "Can we still spend these points freely now?"

If the points weren't fixed, could they blow this huge sum carelessly?

"I suggest everyone spend normally, but don't use too many points. Wait a few days and observe the other students at school first."

He of course knew all the rules, but on the surface, he had to give this most logical deduction.

Otherwise, it would seem too outrageous.

"Also," Kitagawa Kai added with a serious expression, "my speculation just now is limited to Class B's internal knowledge. Remember, don't tell anyone from other classes."

"In the next few days, everyone keep an eye on the campus for any signs of movement, and see if we can gather more useful information."

Class B were all good kids, and not a single person raised an objection.

"At the same time, pay attention to students from other classes, especially any abnormalities around you."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Kai's gaze precisely locked onto Ichinose, and he raised an eyebrow.

Ichinose Honami snapped back to reality in an instant, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She nodded firmly, with a hint of eager anticipation:

"Okay! Leave it to me!"

"Trust me, Kitagawa-kun!"

The other students were also infected by this positive atmosphere, nodding in agreement and chiming in: "Yeah!"

"You can count on us too!"

The school bell rang, and Class B students filed out of the classroom in groups.

A swarm of girls clustered around Ichinose, chattering noisily.

Shibata Sō naturally fell into step beside Kitagawa Kai, his demeanor warm and outgoing.

"Kitagawa-kun, want to hit the supermarket together after this?"

"I'd rather look around on my own first. It's where I'll be spending the next three years, after all."

"I see," Shibata said with a slight nod.

So Kitagawa-kun is the more solitary type...

I'll have to find a chance to help him blend in somewhere else later.

At that moment.

The gymnasium was already packed. Judging by the ties on their uniforms, upperclassmen had shown up too.

Each class was assigned to a different zone.

The atmosphere between classes was starkly distinct.

Kitagawa Kai's gaze swept over the other classes without lingering.

Class A was the elite group.

Katsuragi Kohei effortlessly consolidated Class A into a disciplined formation.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood poised and quiet at the front, like an elegant, adorable princess.

But she occasionally turned her head toward Class B, as if searching for someone.

When her eyes briefly met Kitagawa Kai's in midair, she flashed a dangerous smile.

Class C, on the other hand, was a low-pressure zone.

A tall, red-haired man with a defiant look wore an expression of pure impatience.

Ryuen Kakeru.

His face was bruised purple and blue, and the students around him kept their distance, whether intentionally or not.

On the other side of Class C, a black exchange student drew attention. His height far exceeded his peers, and his frame was abnormally large.

An overwhelming sense of pressure.

Yamada Albert.

Kitagawa Kai turned his gaze to the last class. Sure enough, it was a chaotic mess.

If Class C was a gathered social group, then Class D was a collection of defective goods.

Most of them were gods among gods.

They clustered in small groups, with no sense of organization or collective pride. The scene was pure disorder.

At the very front stood a blond young man, Hirata Yosuke.

He seemed to want to say something to boost morale, but looking at the unresponsive classmates before him, a helpless expression crept onto his face.

Class D's other core figure, Kushida Kikyo, had a cute appearance. The standard school uniform bulged on her figure—one look and you knew she belonged to Class D.

In the most inconspicuous corner, a boy stood expressionless, watching it all as if the surrounding noise had nothing to do with him.

The fake human, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Just then, the chairman's voice came from the podium.

"New students, welcome to Advanced Nurturing University. I am the school's chairman, Sakayanagi Narimori. Here, you will spend three enjoyable years—a memory I believe will stay with you for a lifetime."

The leader droned on and on from the stage, while the students below dozed off.

That long, tedious welcome speech was nothing short of a merciless assault on the limits of one's mental endurance.

The content was nothing but clichés like "cultivating talent," "free development," and "meritocracy," mixed in with the usual disciplinary requirements.

No matter where you go, it's always the same routine.

I should have found an excuse to leave.