Star Color was plunged into a storm of thoughts.
First, Tamiya had invited him to the library, but then he'd turned around and brought along a girl he didn't know... Wasn't that kind of rude? But the girl in front of him was so cute... If he refused, he'd seem too coldhearted. Damn it...
Star Color's wisdom told him to have both. You're both my wings!
"Uh... sure."
Blushing, he scratched his cheek and somehow found himself agreeing.
They found a quiet spot and sat down.
Tamiya had two books in her hands: Pepper Child and Fox's Windowsill. With a puzzled look, she glanced at Shiina Hiyori, who was sitting across from Star Color.
Star Color helplessly whispered,
"Um... this is Shiina from Class C. She just helped me reach some books on a high shelf... books I couldn't get. We only just met..."
Star Color was incredibly awkward at that moment. This was basically a date with three people, wasn't it? He should say something to lighten the mood... He desperately racked his brain, but couldn't think of a thing. His CPU was on the verge of overheating.
"Um, hello. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C. I've just met Otonashi. Would you mind if I sat with you?"
"Sure, no problem. I'm Tamiya Emi, and I'm in Class 1-A with Star Color. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shiina."
Star Color watched them greet each other. They had such an elegant, upper-class aura. How could a gloomy little mouse like him have met two young ladies like them? He felt positively overwhelmed.
Tamiya sat down beside Star Color.
He caught a flicker in Tamiya Emi's eyes. Was it unease? Or had his awkward actions made things uncomfortable for the girls?
Star Color resolved to find some books about social distance and how to stay friends with women.
The three of them sat in silence, while Shiina read the mystery novel Star Color had recommended, A Bellflower.
After a while, Star Color broke the silence.
"Um... Shiina, I have a question."
"Hm? What is it? Go ahead."
"Did your class also receive a hundred thousand personal points?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Star Color thought it over, took out his phone, and typed out the rules about the school's personal points that Teacher Majima had explained that morning.
"Did your homeroom teacher say something like this too?"
Star Color handed his phone to Hiyori so she could look.
After reading it carefully, Hiyori nodded.
"More or less."
"I see. Just as I thought..."
"What is it?"
Tamiya looked at Star Color and asked in confusion.
"This school is using the pleasures of money to blind the students."
Tamiya Emi and Shiina Hiyori both turned to look at Star Color.
"The store provides free essentials for students' basic needs, and the cafeteria offers free mountain vegetable set meals. But at lunch, some upperclassmen were eating those meals while looking at the new students with envy. You've probably noticed some things that don't quite add up, right?"
"What do you mean?"
Tamiya Emi was the first to ask.
"It's only early April. If they gave us a hundred thousand points every month, there'd be no reason to eat those set meals. What could explain that?"
Tamiya Emi and Shiina Hiyori caught on.
"The points we receive each month aren't fixed."
They answered in unison.
"Exactly. The teachers left out or blurred key information, leading us into a mistaken line of thought. People tend to ignore or fill in information that doesn't make sense. The students are ranked into different tiers, and every class gets a hundred thousand points. If Class C gets a hundred thousand too, then Class B and Class D must also get the same. That doesn't show any difference between individuals in the value of their points. Think carefully about that key thing the teacher said."
Points represent the evaluation of [us].
Shiina Hiyori was the first to catch on.
"Maybe our points are tied to our class."
"Exactly. The teachers probably hid the fact that they're tied to the class. Most class-based competitive education systems evaluate students based on things like academic performance and class discipline. At the beginning, we're all handed a blank test. The school assumes that every class starts with a score of 100, but the students write different answers on the test, which leads to deductions. That should make it easier to understand."
"Unlike the individual competition of elite private education, a class-based system binds everyone in the class together. When one prospers, everyone prospers; when one suffers, everyone suffers. Is that what you mean, Star Color?"
Tamiya Emi asked.
"Yeah, exactly."
Shiina Hiyori was puzzled, too.
"I follow your reasoning about the points and the education system. But what did Otonashi mean when he said the school uses money to blind the students?"
"Students normally receive a hundred thousand points and live in a free environment that simulates a small society, without supervision. That kind of outward show of luxury can easily make some people forget what students are supposed to be doing."
Shiina Hiyori looked at Star Color with a hint of admiration.
Tamiya Emi was surprised by Star Color's reasoning ability. She hadn't considered that connection. But the things he'd pointed out as strange did make sense when explained that way.
Star Color didn't notice their intense gazes and continued grumbling.
"The class competition is a grueling marathon. If you don't take it seriously, fine. But if you do, it turns into scheming and backstabbing. This school feels scary. Are they trying to raise us like poisonous insects?"
Only when he noticed both girls staring at him did he realize how much he'd said. He quickly tried to laugh it off.
"Of course, that's all just speculation—my own theory. Don't take it seriously."
Star Color's serious expression suddenly relaxed, and he gave them a calm smile.
Tamiya absorbed Star Color's reasoning.
"So each class is actually competing against the others. In a way, students from different classes are enemies, right, Star Color?"
"Huh? 'Enemies' is a bit much. It's just a theory~. For entertainment only. Don't take it seriously."
Star Color looked at Tamiya Emi, and her gaze softened a little.
"No, if anything... Otonashi's reasoning is perfectly sound."
"Maybe that really is the right answer."
Shiina Hiyori stared at Star Color, as if trying to see through him.
With both girls' eyes fixed on him, he felt restless.
"Um... why don't you read your books instead of staring at me? You're making me blush!"
After saying goodbye to Shiina, Star Color and Tamiya Emi left the library.
Star Color carried the manga Alice in Borderland that he'd borrowed from the library.
The two of them strolled along the school's shopping street.
The sun was sinking in the west, staining the sky red. The overwhelming sunset bathed the entire school in its glow, making everything seem to burn.
He was reminded of an acquaintance he'd once observed while studying the occult. In his dream, the man had softly recited a poem about a crow.
[A crow perched at the highest point in the city, cursing it.]
[No matter what, it would stay there, motionless, watching the city crumble.]
[—What a joyful, ecstatic rapture.]
"What's wrong?"
Tamiya saw the dimness in Star Color's purple irises, crowded with emotions that were hard to touch, hard to discern, and indescribable.
"Nothing..."
He replied meekly. Then his irises returned to their lovely bright purple, a color that seemed to come from the stars.
"By the way, what kind of shop is that?"
Tamiya Emi pointed toward it. Star Color turned to look and smiled.
"It's a pachinko parlor."
"A pachinko parlor? You mean one of those pinball machines?"
"Yeah."
"It went from being a children's toy to a tool for gambling and making money. It brought in unexpected tax revenue for Japanese society, so they just let it be. It's nothing but a tool for poisoning people."
Tamiya Emi looked at the place with disgust and distaste.
"Tamiya, do you hate gambling?"
"Yeah. More than anything."
The school's enrollment handbook listed plenty of prohibited activities. Students weren't allowed to buy banned items like cigarettes and alcohol. Those were only supplied to staff on campus. The pachinko parlor before them was naturally off-limits to students, too. No matter how old you were, if you used a student ID card, the staff would refuse you entry.
(In Japan, smoking and drinking are prohibited for anyone under twenty, while the minimum age for horse racing, boat racing, and pachinko is eighteen.)
The people inside wore all kinds of work uniforms. Security guards, maintenance workers, janitors. Probably no teachers, since they had to maintain their professional image~.
"Come on, let's go somewhere else."
"Okay~."
Star Color had already thought of a good way to earn points.
Before you continue