Man and Woman Living Together

After completing that significant "meeting gift" handover on the bench, Mazumi Mami and Sakayanagi Arisu didn't linger, parting naturally like two classmates who'd happened to meet and exchanged a few casual words.

Sakayanagi Arisu leaned on her cane, her figure elegant and steady as she disappeared around the corner leading to another path, without looking back.

"Judging by her departing posture, her pace seemed just slightly quicker than before..."

Mazumi Mami stood there, watching her retreating back, a faint, hunter-like smirk curling at the corner of his mouth—the kind that waits for prey to step into a trap.

"Is she eager to rush back and 'try out' this gift, or... more likely, to find a safe place immediately and use whatever means she has to conduct a preliminary analysis of this 'nutrient solution'?"

Either way, he wasn't worried.

"As long as she opens the bottle and contacts the liquid inside, even just a sniff, Chisato's magic imprint will stealthily attach. And once she actually consumes it..."

A confident gleam flashed in Mazumi Mami's eyes.

"Once you've tasted what it's like to have a truly healthy, vibrant body, Sakayanagi Arisu, you'll never return to that state bound by illness and weakness."

"That feeling of liberation from restraint will be like the sweetest poison, leaving you unable to stop."

By then, she'd realize how "fair" his condition of "don't oppose my opinions" truly was.

"But until then, I'll keep gathering intel."

Mazumi Mami withdrew his thoughts, refocusing on exploring the school.

He walked slowly toward the teaching building, organizing today's observations.

"During the opening ceremony, I noticed that all four classes—A, B, C, D—had very similar numbers... no, not similar, exactly equal."

Entering the first-year teaching block again, he slowed his pace, passing by the doors of Class A through Class D in turn.

Through the windows, he could clearly see the neatly arranged desks and chairs inside.

He counted silently.

"Class A, forty desks. Class B, forty. Class C, forty. Class D... also forty."

The number was precise, with no deviation.

"Four classes, one hundred and sixty new students. This isn't a coincidental enrollment result; it's deliberate. The school, or the S System, is strictly controlling the initial headcount of each class."

"Why? To ensure some kind of 'fair' starting point? Or does class size itself serve as a resource or calculation unit in the subsequent rules?"

He had no leads yet.

"Once Chisato, Takina, and Walnut gather more intel on the upperclassmen and the school's operational model, maybe I can piece it together."

With that thought, he pulled out his phone and sent a message in their four-person encrypted group chat, asking for progress updates.

Soon, replies came in one after another.

Walnut: "Attempting to set up a more covert data crawler. Progress is slow but steady."

Takina: "Recorded seventeen major point consumption locations and prices. Found three anomalous price points, verifying."

Chisato: "Became 'good friends' with three second-year senior sisters and two third-year senior sisters! Picked up a lot of interesting gossip and 'senior advice'! Organizing it!"

Everyone was still hard at work.

"So, where should I go now?"

Mazumi Mami muttered to himself.

Just then, Chisato Nishikigi sent another voice message, the background noise suggesting she was near some club activity room, with faint sounds of musical instruments.

"Oh, young master! I just heard from a senior that our school's dorm design is super—special! Boys and girls actually live in the same building! There seem to be floor restrictions, but still, it's amazing! Maybe there's some interesting 'secret' hidden inside? Want to check it out, young master?"

"Same building?"

Mazumi Mami raised an eyebrow. That was indeed unexpected.

In most schools, male and female dorms were usually separate buildings.

"Alright, I'll go see what the living environment is like. Maybe I'll find something."

He had just replied with a "Sure," when Chisato Nishikigi's next message popped up, this time with obvious anticipation.

"And also! The senior said dorm rooms have small kitchens and fridges, so we can cook ourselves! Young master~ How about hotpot tonight? After a busy day, let's all eat a nice, lively meal together!"

Mazumi Mami couldn't help but smile. That was just Chisato's style.

He asked in the group: "Chisato suggests hotpot in the dorm tonight. Walnut, Takina, what do you think?"

Walnut replied almost instantly: "Acceptable. Calorie intake and social interaction aid stress relief."

Takina followed: "Agreed. Everyone's expended significant energy today. A group meal aids recovery and allows for intel sharing."

"Then it's settled."

Mazumi Mami made the call.

Chisato immediately cheered: "Yay! Then leave the ingredients to me and Takina to..."

Mazumi Mami cut her off directly: "I'll handle the ingredients. You all have heavier tasks today, running around gathering info. Rest well tonight and just wait to eat."

The group chat went silent for a second, then was flooded with protests.

Chisato: "Huh?! How can I let the young master do the grocery shopping! That's a maid's failure!"

Takina: "Young master, please leave this to us. It's our duty."

Walnut: "From an efficiency standpoint, it's more reasonable for us to make the purchase on our way."

Mazumi Mami typed with a smile, but his tone brooked no argument: "Today, you all listen to me. You're far more tired than I am. Let me handle this small matter. That's an order."

The group chat finally fell silent, leaving only a pitiful rabbit emoji from Chisato Nishikigi, along with the address for fresh ingredients.

"Such worrywart little maids."

Mazumi Mami put away his phone, shaking his head with a light laugh, yet warmth filled his heart.

He oriented himself and walked toward the student dormitory area.

The dormitory zone sat in the northwest corner of the campus—a modern, fifteen-story square building in off-white, with neatly aligned windows that looked imposing under the sun.

At the entrance stood a service counter, behind which sat a stern-faced middle-aged woman in uniform, presumably the dorm supervisor.

A few new students were queued in front of the counter, checking in or asking questions.

When it was Mazumi Mami's turn, the supervisor glanced up at him and asked routinely, "New student?"

"Yes, first-year Class A. Mazumi Mami."

He replied politely.

The supervisor tapped quickly on her tablet, confirmed his information, then pulled out a room card marked with the number 601 and a thin booklet from the drawer, handing them over.

"First-year Class A, Mazumi Mami... found."

"Your room is 601. Here's your room card and the Dormitory Life Manual. Read the rules carefully, especially those regarding curfew and floor management."

"Remember, after 8 PM, male students are strictly forbidden from entering the female floors. That's an ironclad rule."

"Understood. Thank you."

Mazumi Mami took the card and manual, nodded slightly, and stepped into the dormitory building.

Inside the lobby, the atmosphere felt distinctly different from the academic buildings—lived-in.

Students bustled in and out with daily necessities, and a few waited by the elevators.

As Mazumi Mami queued for the elevator, he noticed both boys and girls inside, their expressions casual, as if the mixed-gender arrangement was already routine.

"Chisato was right—it really is co-ed," he thought.

During the elevator ride up, he flipped open the Dormitory Life Manual.

The contents were concise:

[Summary of Student Dormitory Management Regulations at Yōdai High School of Advanced Development]

Dormitory Structure: This building has 15 floors, providing single rooms. Approximately 140 rooms per floor.

Floor Allocation: Strict gender-based floor management, with the 7th floor as the boundary.

Male Student Floors: 1st to 7th floor.

Female Student Floors: 8th to 15th floor.

Curfew and Access Regulations:

From 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM the next day: Male students are strictly prohibited from entering female floors (8F-15F).

Violators will face severe penalties.

During non-curfew hours, students from different floors may freely interact in common areas.

Each room is equipped with basic furniture, a private bathroom, and simple kitchen facilities.

Rules for electricity, water usage, and internet access are detailed in the appendix...

"It only explicitly bans males from entering female floors after curfew, but says nothing about females entering male floors..."

Mazumi Mami's gaze lingered on the relevant clauses, his mind racing.

"Is this a hint? A loophole? Or some tacit rule? Is it meant to 'encourage' normal interaction between the sexes, or... to tacitly permit or even encourage certain 'special' nighttime activities or secret gatherings?"

"After all, if females can move relatively freely into male floors, many 'things' would be much easier to arrange. This school—even its dormitory rules reek of calculation."

"Ding—"

The elevator reached the sixth floor.

Mazumi Mami closed the manual and stepped out.

The sixth-floor hallway was wide and bright, carpeted with soft flooring, lined with closed doors marked with numbers. The environment was quiet and clean, with soundproofing that seemed decent.

"Whatever. Let's check out my room first."

He set aside his many speculations about the rules and followed the door numbers to Room 601, located in the middle of the hallway.

He pressed the room card against the lock, and the mechanism clicked.

"Click."

The door swung open.

The personal space belonging to Mazumi Mami in this special school was revealed before him for the first time.

And here, he would spend his first night with his three maids, beginning his true dive into the core mysteries of this school.