After completing the momentous exchange of "greeting gifts" on the bench, Mazumi Mami and Sakayanagi Arisu didn't linger. They parted naturally, as if they were simply classmates who had happened to meet and chat briefly.
Sakayanagi Arisu leaned on her cane and disappeared gracefully around the corner leading to another path, her steps steady. She didn't look back.
"Judging by the way she left, her pace seemed to have quickened just a little..."
Mazumi Mami stood where he was, watching her retreating figure. The corner of his mouth curved into the faintest smile, like a hunter waiting for his prey to walk into a trap.
"Is she eager to go back and 'try out' this gift, or... more likely, does she want to find somewhere safe right away and conduct a preliminary analysis of this 'nutrient solution' using whatever methods she might have at her disposal?"
Either way, he wasn't worried.
"As long as she opens the bottle and comes into contact with the liquid inside, even if she only smells it, Chisato's magic imprint will silently attach itself to her. And if she actually drinks it..."
A confident gleam flashed in Mazumi Mami's eyes.
"Once you've experienced how wonderful it is to have a truly healthy, vigorous body, Sakayanagi Arisu, you'll never be able to return to the frail, pain-ridden state that held you back before."
"The feeling of being freed from those shackles will be like the sweetest poison, leaving you unable to resist."
By then, she would understand just how "fair" the condition he'd offered—"Don't oppose my opinions"—really was.
"But until then, I should keep gathering information."
Mazumi Mami collected his thoughts and turned his attention back to exploring the school.
As he walked slowly toward the classroom building, he sorted through what he'd observed that day.
"I noticed during the opening ceremony that the four classes, A, B, C, and D, seemed to have roughly the same number of students... No, not roughly. Exactly the same."
Back in the first-year classroom area, he slowed his pace and passed the classrooms from Class A to Class D in turn.
Through the windows, he could clearly see the desks and chairs arranged neatly inside.
He counted silently.
"Class A, forty sets of desks and chairs. Class B, forty. Class C, forty. Class D... also forty."
The number was precise to an unusual degree, without the slightest discrepancy.
"One hundred and sixty freshmen across four classes. That can't be a coincidence. The school—or rather, the S System—is deliberately controlling the starting number of students in each class."
"Why? To ensure some kind of 'fair' starting point? Or are class sizes themselves a resource or unit of calculation under the rules that come later?"
For now, he had no answers.
"Once Chisato, Takina, and Walnut gather more information about the upper years and how the school operates, maybe we'll be able to piece together the answer."
Thinking of this, he took out his phone and sent a progress check to their encrypted group chat.
Replies came in one after another.
Walnut: "Trying to set up a more covert data scraper. Progress is slow but steady."
Takina: "Recorded seventeen major locations where points are spent and their prices. Found three cases of unusual pricing. Verifying them now."
Chisato: "I've made 'friends' with three Second Year senpais and two Third Year senpais! I've heard all sorts of interesting rumors and 'advice from the upperclassmen.' Sorting through everything now!"
It seemed everyone was still hard at work.
"Then where should I go now?"
Mazumi Mami muttered to himself.
Just then, Chisato Nishikigi sent another voice message. The background sounded as if she were near a clubroom, and faint music could be heard.
"Oh, right, young master! I just heard a senpai mention that the dorm design at our school is super special! Boys and girls actually live in the same building! There seem to be rules separating the floors, but I still think it's amazing! Maybe there's some interesting 'secret' hidden in there. Do you want to go take a look?"
"The same building?"
Mazumi Mami raised an eyebrow. That was indeed unexpected.
At most schools, boys' and girls' dormitories were usually in separate buildings.
"Sure. I'll go see what the living conditions are like. Maybe I'll find something."
He'd just replied with "Okay" when another message from Chisato Nishikigi popped up, this one brimming with anticipation.
"And one more thing! The senpai said the dorm rooms all have little kitchens and refrigerators, so we can cook for ourselves! Young master~ How about hot pot tonight? We've been busy all day. It'd be nice for everyone to have a good meal together!"
Mazumi Mami couldn't help smiling. That was just like Chisato.
He typed in the group chat: "Chisato suggested hot pot in the dorm tonight. What do you think, Walnut, Takina?"
Walnut replied almost instantly: "Agreed. Replenishing calories and socializing will help relieve stress."
Takina chimed in right after: "Agreed. Everyone has expended a lot of energy today. Eating together will help us recover, and we can share information."
"Then it's settled."
Mazumi Mami made the decision.
Chisato immediately cheered: "Yay! Then Takina and I will take care of the ingredients..."
Mazumi Mami cut her off: "I'll get the ingredients. You have the heavier workload today, running around and collecting information. Get some proper rest tonight and just wait for dinner."
The group fell silent for a second, then the protests flooded in.
Chisato: "Huh?! How can we let you go grocery shopping, young master? That's a failure on our part as maids!"
Takina: "Young master, please leave it to us. It's our duty."
Walnut: "From an efficiency standpoint, it makes more sense for us to pick things up on the way."
Mazumi Mami typed with a smile, though his tone left no room for argument: "You're all listening to me today. You're much more tired than I am. Leave this little task to me. That's an order."
The group finally fell silent, leaving only a dejected bunny sticker from Chisato Nishikigi and the address of a shop selling fresh ingredients.
"What a bunch of maids who just can't help worrying about everything."
Mazumi Mami put away his phone and shook his head with a quiet laugh, though warmth filled his heart.
He got his bearings and headed toward the student dormitory area.
The dorms stood in the northwest corner of the campus. The building was a modern, fifteen-story square structure, its exterior a uniform ivory white and its windows arranged in neat rows. It looked rather imposing in the sunlight.
A service desk stood near the entrance. A stern-looking middle-aged woman in uniform sat behind it, apparently the dorm supervisor.
Several freshmen were lined up in front of the desk, checking in or asking questions.
When it was Mazumi Mami's turn, the dorm supervisor looked up at him and asked routinely, "Freshman?"
"Yes. Class 1-A, Mazumi Mami."
He answered politely.
The dorm supervisor tapped quickly on the tablet in front of her. After confirming his information, she took a key card marked 601 and a thin booklet from a drawer and handed them to him.
"Class 1-A, Mazumi Mami... Found you."
"Your room is Room 601. Here's your key card and your Dormitory Life Manual. Be sure to read the rules carefully, especially those about schedules and floor management."
"Remember, after eight at night, boys are forbidden from entering the girls' floors. That's an absolute rule."
"Understood. Thank you."
Mazumi Mami took the key card and manual, gave a slight nod, and entered the dormitory building.
As soon as he stepped into the lobby, he felt a lively atmosphere quite different from that of the classroom building.
Students came and went carrying their belongings, and people were waiting by the elevators.
As Mazumi Mami queued to enter an elevator, he noticed that there were indeed both boys and girls inside. Everyone looked relaxed, apparently already accustomed to the coed arrangement.
"Chisato was right. Boys and girls really do live in the same building."
He thought to himself.
As the elevator rose, he opened the Dormitory Life Manual.
The manual's contents were concise and clear:
[Summary of Dormitory Regulations for Students of Ying Tai Advanced Nurturing High School] Dormitory structure: This dormitory building has 15 floors and provides single rooms. There are approximately 140 rooms per floor. Floor assignments: The building is strictly divided by gender, with the division at the 7th floor. Boys' floors: 1st through 7th floors. Girls' floors: 8th through 15th floors. Curfew and visitor regulations: From 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the following day: Boys are strictly forbidden from entering the girls' floors (8th–15th floors). Violators will be severely punished. Outside curfew hours, students may freely socialize in common areas regardless of their assigned floors. Rooms are equipped with basic furniture, private bathrooms, and simple kitchen facilities. See the appendix for rules on electricity and water usage and network access...
"The rules explicitly forbid boys from entering the girls' floors after curfew, but don't mention girls entering the boys' floors at all..."
Mazumi Mami's gaze lingered on the relevant clauses as his mind raced.
"Is that a hint? A loophole? Or some kind of tacit permission? Is it meant to 'encourage' normal interactions between boys and girls, or... does it tacitly allow—or even encourage—certain 'special' nighttime activities or secret meetings?"
"After all, if girls can enter the boys' floors relatively freely, a lot of 'things' would be much easier to arrange. Even the dormitory rules in this school reek of scheming."
"Ding—"
The elevator reached the sixth floor.
Mazumi Mami closed the manual and stepped out.
The sixth-floor hallway was wide and bright, with a soft carpet underfoot and a row of closed, numbered doors on either side.
It was quiet and tidy, and the soundproofing seemed good too.
"Never mind. I'll take a look at my room first."
He set aside his many suspicions about the rules for now and followed the room numbers to Room 601 in the middle of the hallway.
He held his key card near the lock. The mechanism clicked as it turned.
"Click."
The door opened.
For the first time, Mazumi Mami's personal space in this unusual school lay before him.
And here, he would spend his first night with his three maids—and begin to delve into the central mysteries of the school.