Sunlight streamed through the high windows of the gymnasium in bright shafts, casting luminous patches across the polished wooden floor.
Inside the spacious gymnasium, the new students stood neatly in areas divided by class, each group clearly separated from the others.
The air was filled with a silence that mingled anticipation, boredom, and a faint unease. Now and then, the soft rustle of clothing or a quiet cough broke through it.
The opening ceremony was about to begin.
An elderly man with graying hair but a still-straight posture strode steadily up onto the stage.
He wore a well-tailored dark gray suit and a deep red tie. Even from a distance, he exuded the authority of someone long accustomed to power and weathered by years of experience.
Deep wrinkles lined his face, carved by the passage of time, but his dark eyes were bright and keen, as if they could see into people's hearts.
He was Sakayanagi Narumori, chairman of Yingtai Advanced Nurturing High School.
He stopped at the center of the podium, resting both hands lightly on its edge as his gaze swept over the hundreds of young, unfamiliar faces below, slow and sharp as an eagle's.
After a brief silence, his rich, resonant voice rang through the gymnasium over the microphone:
"Good morning, new students. Welcome to Yingtai Advanced Nurturing High School. I am the chairman of this school, Sakayanagi Narumori. It is a great honor to stand here and welcome you on this important day, which marks a new beginning."
His opening remarks were solemn and formal, delivered in the distinctive tone of a school administrator.
"You have entered more than an institution of learning. This is a unique place where you can hone your will, discover your potential, and explore the limitless possibilities of the future. Here, we have gathered talented young people from across the Chongying Protectorate and even farther afield."
"Over the next three years, you will study, live, compete, and grow together here. You will meet companions who may influence the rest of your lives, and strive toward the paths of excellence each of you has chosen."
"One of the core principles of this school is 'merit above all.'"
Chairman Sakayanagi's voice took on a heavier note.
"Academic test scores are certainly an important measure of achievement, but they are not the only one. We encourage and expect you to fully demonstrate your talents and individuality in academic research, artistic creation, sports, leadership, and a wide range of other fields."
"Set lofty goals with courage, challenge your own limits, and through each breakthrough, come to know yourself, shape yourself, and ultimately surpass yourself..."
Chairman Sakayanagi's speech was fluent and impassioned, its message uplifting and encouraging.
Yet the students' reactions below the stage were sharply divided.
The students in Class A remained relatively quiet and attentive, but small clusters of whispers had already broken out among the students in Classes B and C. Some stifled yawns, while others stared off into space.
The students in Class D, meanwhile, were practically running riot. Their low chatter grew louder, some turned to joke with the students behind them, and a few bolder ones took advantage of their numbers and distance to hide the newly issued smartphones in front of themselves, fingers flying over the screens.
"So the division into Classes A, B, C, and D wasn't arbitrary after all."
Standing in the Class A formation, Mazumi Mami held himself ramrod straight, his eyes calmly surveying the neighboring classes as he took it all in.
"Just based on the most basic standards of assembly discipline and attentiveness, the difference in 'quality' between the four classes is already quite pronounced. Class A is the most disciplined, followed by Classes B and C, while Class D is the most unruly."
"Is this simply a difference in habits and character, or... has some hidden rule or evaluation system already influenced them?"
But his thoughts were soon drawn to the surname of the man onstage.
"Sakayanagi Narumori... Sakayanagi Arisu."
Mazumi Mami silently repeated the two names, his gaze instinctively shifting to the back of the silver-haired girl standing at the front of Class A.
"They share the same surname. Is it a coincidence, or are they actually related? If Sakayanagi Arisu really is the chairman's daughter or relative..."
The possibility put him on even higher alert.
"Then she may know far more about the school's internal rules, operations, and even some of its secrets than an ordinary student—or even a teacher. Watching her words and actions might offer a shortcut to understanding the school's true nature."
His gaze rested on Sakayanagi Arisu's slender figure.
The girl stood elegantly, her back straight despite leaning on a cane, and seemed to be listening intently to the speech.
But Mazumi Mami noticed the almost imperceptible movement of her head. Her gaze did not seem entirely fixed on the stage; instead, it swept discreetly toward the other classes, as though she were searching for someone.
At last, her gaze stopped, settling on a spot in Class D.
Following her line of sight, Mazumi Mami looked toward Class D as well.
His eyes passed through the crowd and quickly settled on someone.
A tall, lean boy with short brown hair stood alone in the Class D formation, not speaking to anyone around him.
He had yellow eyes, his gaze so calm it was almost vacant, yet something indescribably sharp lurked beneath the surface, as if he were observing the world through a sheet of ice.
He was about 176 centimeters tall. His stance seemed casual, but to Mazumi Mami's eyes, trained through harsh drills, it was a poised readiness—a subtle balance of muscles from which he could unleash his strength at any moment.
He gave off an aloof, gloomy, even mysterious impression.
"This person..."
Mazumi Mami's eyes instantly sharpened with focus.
He knew the aura surrounding the brown-haired boy all too well. It wasn't something an ordinary student or athlete could achieve through routine training. It was a distinctive mark left by enduring truly dangerous conditions, perhaps even by contact with the realm of life-and-death combat.
An almost instinctive awareness of another like himself warned him: this boy was no ordinary student.
"Interesting."
Mazumi Mami mused silently, his expression remaining calm.
"How could someone who's undergone special training and clearly has unconventional abilities end up in the least disciplined class, Class D? That alone is highly suspicious."
"And he has also drawn the special attention of Sakayanagi Arisu, who may be the chairman's daughter..."
That meant the brown-haired boy was either some kind of "anomaly" in the S System's assessment or had entered the school with a special identity or purpose of his own.
Either way, he was worth investigating. He might even be...
Just as Mazumi Mami was analyzing the situation, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, standing in Class D's formation, felt an inexplicable, faint chill run up his spine, as if something extremely dangerous had watched him from the shadows.
His yellow eyes contracted almost imperceptibly, but his expression did not change. He merely suppressed his presence even further, instinctively.
"Is something wrong, Ayanokouji? Why are you looking at me?"
Suzune Horikita asked.
"Nothing."
Ayanokouji replied.
"Good. If I could attract your attention just by standing here, I'd find that pretty disgusting."
Suzune Horikita said.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji: ...
He was at a loss for words.
But there was something else on his mind.
"...Someone noticed me?"
That was only to be expected. It was far too noisy.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's thoughts remained calm and undisturbed. "But the gazes are coming from... Class A? More than one..."
Onstage, Chairman Sakayanagi continued his speech, encouraging the new students to strive for excellence.
Below, an invisible web of gazes had quietly begun to intertwine. Beneath the calm surface of the school, undercurrents were picking up speed.
Several "observers" in different places, each just as extraordinary as the others, had already begun their first silent rounds of probing and assessment.
For Mazumi Mami, the opening ceremony was more than just a formality; it was the first opportunity to observe the school firsthand for his "evaluation" mission.
And by now, he had already found more than one person worth keeping a close eye on.
"Sakayanagi Arisu... Ayanokouji..."
He made a silent note of them. "Looks like this school trip won't be boring."
As Chairman Sakayanagi's speech neared its end, the atmosphere in the gymnasium shifted again. The new students began hoping the ceremony would wrap up soon so they could explore the vast, mysterious campus.
Mazumi Mami also turned his gaze back to the stage, once again looking like an ordinary new student listening attentively.