Point Values Represent the School's Evaluation / Chapter 4: I Told You, Points Are Issued on the First of Every Month

"Next stop, Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. Passengers getting off..."

At the announcement over the train's speakers, many students in identical uniforms began gathering their belongings, shifting around, and moving toward the rear doors. Shuichi Kanda was no exception.

Looking at Advanced Nurturing High School in front of him, Shuichi Kanda tightened the strap of his bag on his back, then walked toward the black stone gate.

Because of his frail health, by the time Shuichi Kanda reached the classroom, most of the students had already taken their seats.

He glanced around and spotted someone familiar: the girl who had tried to make him give up his seat on the bus. She was talking with several other girls and didn't seem to have noticed him entering the classroom.

Aside from her, the students in this class had plenty of personality. There was the idiotic duo loudly making dirty jokes by the door, the cool beauty quietly reading, the poker-faced weirdo observing the entire class, and the blond guy trimming his nails...

But there were normal people, too. Take the student who clearly had a great presence about him, for example. He was the perfect image of a cheerful, sunny young man.

Following the seating chart, Shuichi Kanda made his way to his seat. After setting his schoolbag beside him, he took a tissue from it and wiped the fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

Even after such a short walk, he was already feeling tired. This body still wasn't up to much.

It looked like he'd have to find a way to exercise little by little over the coming days. He just didn't know whether the school had a gym.

Chapter 3: Point Values Represent the School's Evaluation

After taking his seat, Shuichi Kanda took out the school brochure that had been handed out with his acceptance letter.

The school advertised that students didn't need to pay tuition or living expenses. As long as they got in, their futures were guaranteed. After all, the school's selling point was its one-hundred-percent rate of advancement to higher education and employment.

Shuichi Kanda had been inclined to believe this at first, but after arriving in this class and seeing that bunch of idiots, he'd begun to have doubts. That was why he'd taken out the brochure to check it again.

Even so, he couldn't find anything suspicious in it.

"Can I have everyone's attention for a moment? I'm Hirata Yosuke. I'd like everyone to introduce themselves. I hope we can get to know one another and become friends as soon as possible."

The sunny-looking boy, who seemed to have a great presence about him, drew the class's attention with just a few words.

So his name was Hirata Yosuke.

"Then I'll go next. My name is Kushida Kikyo. My goal is to become friends with everyone here. I want to make lots of memories, so please come talk to me often."

Right, she was the one who'd forced him to give up his seat. She was no good.

The person who started the introductions and the first person to introduce themselves were always easy to remember. The people who followed left a much fainter impression.

As the introductions went on, Shuichi Kanda learned the names of some of the people he'd been watching earlier. The two idiots were Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki.

One of them had even been a nationally ranked baseball player in middle school. That was incredible—he'd been hiding his talent all along. His foolish act had to be a disguise!

Shuichi Kanda silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart. He really envied people with such strong bodies.

Obviously, Shuichi Kanda didn't know that middle schoolers couldn't compete in the National Tournament.

The introductions continued, and Shuichi Kanda soon learned the names of the two distinctive students in the back row. The handsome, expressionless one was Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, and the cool beauty was Horikita Suzune.

Soon, it was Shuichi Kanda's turn. He copied Horikita Suzune and offered a single name: "Shuichi Kanda."

Don't assume he was aloof. He was just too tired to say another word.

After that, things quieted down. Having two people in a row give such brief introductions made things a little awkward, but fortunately, the silence didn't last long.

The bell announcing the start of the school year rang, and a woman in an office suit walked into the classroom. She wore a black blazer over a white blouse, and her long legs were wrapped in black tights. She was sure to please people with... particular tastes.

The simple outfit, paired with her cool expression, gave her a distinctive air that was plain to see.

As expected of an adult. She was completely different from the usual awkwardness of students. He wondered if she was married. Maybe she'd be even more distinctive if she had an RQ attribute, too.

The cooler and more beautiful a woman was, the more you wanted to... give her a thorough makeover.

Seeing her, Shuichi Kanda thought the school wasn't bad. Not only were the students good-looking; even the teachers were attractive.

It wasn't just this teacher. The students in the class were also quite beautiful. Some of them looked rather ordinary, but on closer inspection, there wasn't anyone who was particularly hard on the eyes.

Could looks be one of the school's admission criteria, too? (An aside: Shuichi Kanda seemed to have a very high tolerance for appearances.)

She walked up to the podium and looked over the students, who still hadn't quieted down. A trace of disappointment flickered in her eyes, too subtle to notice, before she introduced herself.

"Hmm? Welcome, new students. I'm Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher for Class D. Here's my contact information. You can save it on your phones."

As she spoke, Chabashira Sae turned around and wrote her phone number on the blackboard behind her. At the same time, she went over the school's basic rules.

"The classes won't be reshuffled, and you won't get a different homeroom teacher. That means I'll be your teacher for the next three years."

So these people were going to be his classmates for the next three years?

Shuichi Kanda couldn't help feeling a little worried about this second high school life of his.

"This school is fully residential. All students are required to live on campus until graduation. During the school year, you're also prohibited from contacting the outside world unless there are special circumstances..."

Chabashira Sae continued reciting the information in the school brochure. Most of the class had been prepared for this, though a few students were still muttering complaints. Those people probably hadn't even looked through the school information booklet that came with their acceptance letters.

Shuichi Kanda was fine with this—or rather, he welcomed it. He didn't want to deal with the Kanda Family on weekends or during holidays, either.

They didn't seem like bad people, but it was better to have as little contact with them as possible.

Listening to the rest of Chabashira Sae's introduction, Shuichi Kanda realized that the school grounds were practically a small city.

With an area of six hundred thousand square meters, the school had all sorts of facilities, including karaoke rooms, a movie theater, cafes, clothing stores, supermarkets, and dining halls.

"Now, turn on your phones and open the built-in app called Student ID. You can check your basic information there."

At Chabashira's instruction, most of the students, including Shuichi Kanda, quietly turned on their phones and opened the Student ID app. There, they saw their personal information.

Student ID number: S01T004815

Name: Shuichi Kanda

Birthday: February 1

Affiliation: Advanced Nurturing High School

That was basic, all right.

Below the student information was a line that read "Private Points: 100,000 ppt."

"You can check the Private Points section. Those points are the currency used at this school. You need them to buy things, and one Private Point has the same purchasing power as one yen."

One hundred thousand Private Points was one hundred thousand yen. Shuichi Kanda didn't know much about prices in Japan, so he couldn't tell whether that was a lot or a little. But judging by the excited expressions on most of his classmates' faces, it had to be a considerable sum.

After briefly explaining how the points worked, Chabashira Sae dropped another bombshell: points would be deposited automatically on the first of every month.

"Are you surprised by the huge number of points? This school measures students by their abilities. Getting into this school means you're valuable. Your points represent the school's evaluation of you. Don't hold back—spend them as you please. At this school, there's nothing you can't buy with points."

For some reason, Shuichi Kanda felt a hint of malice in Chabashira Sae's last two sentences. He also had a vague feeling that her words contained an important piece of information.

Chapter 4: I Told You, Points Are Issued on the First of Every Month

After waiting for the students to calm down a little, Chabashira Sae put away her phone.

"That's all for now. A few students can come with me later to pick up your first-year textbooks. As for housing, you can get your room keys from the dorm supervisor in the first-year apartment building.

"If you don't know where the apartment building is, there's a GPS on your phones. You can use it to check the school map and your current location at any time."

Your points represent the school's evaluation of you.

At this school, there's nothing you can't buy with points.

She'd thought she'd made the hint obvious enough. Had none of these students noticed it? She'd even waited a while.

As Chabashira Sae left, disappointment showed in her eyes. Would she have to wait for the next batch of students?

Shuichi Kanda didn't notice Chabashira Sae's disappointment. He wasn't a god, and he hadn't even looked her way.

Ever since she'd finished speaking, Shuichi Kanda had been exploring the phone the school had given him. Besides the student ID, it also had a platform where students could communicate: the Campus Forum.

Seeing that gave him a strong sense of déjà vu. It reminded him of browsing forums in college in his previous life.

Unlike those, however, this forum required everyone to verify their real identities, and its members seemed to be limited to people within the school.

Students, teachers, Shopping Street employees, and so on.

As he browsed old posts, Shuichi Kanda soon noticed that the times people posted were heavily concentrated.

When he plotted the times on a graph, he found that most posts were made on weekends or after school and before classes on weekdays. Very few people seemed to chat on the forum during class.

Were they all good students who didn't play with their phones during class? Shuichi Kanda didn't think so. Some people had their stupidity written all over their faces. There was no way they'd obediently follow the rules and pay attention in class.

He certainly hadn't been able to do that in his previous life. Throughout his three years of high school, he'd practically never put his phone down—unless the battery died.

After browsing the forum for a while, Shuichi Kanda found what he'd been looking for: the gym in Keyaki Mall.

No matter what, he felt that his top priority was getting his body back in shape. If he really got a hundred thousand points every month, it should be enough.

But would he really get a hundred thousand Private Points every month? What if he suddenly stopped getting them next month? No, he had to get to the bottom of this!

The question surfaced in Shuichi Kanda's mind. Seeing that Chabashira Sae was about to leave the classroom, he called out loudly.

"Chabashira-sensei, wait a moment! Is it true that we'll get 100,000 Private Points on the first of every month?"

As for why he didn't run after her, it was simple: with his current physique, he might not be able to catch up.

Chabashira had already been on her way out when Shuichi Kanda's question made her stop in spite of herself. She turned to look at him, surprise on her face.

"Wasn't I clear just now? Points are issued on the first of every month. You were staring at your phone the whole time, weren't you? You weren't listening to me at all, were you?"

But before Chabashira Sae could say anything, Kanji Ike immediately jumped in, as if reprimanding Shuichi Kanda.

Who the hell was this useless teammate? Shuichi Kanda felt a burst of irritation.

"Did I ask you? Can't you just sit quietly and listen? Or are you trying to make yourself stand out and get first pick in the class dating pool?" Shuichi Kanda glanced at him and tossed out a casual insult. Kanji Ike immediately lost his composure.

"Just what are you saying?"

"Quiet!"

Seeing that something unpleasant was about to happen, Chabashira Sae immediately ordered them to stop.

It turned out that even a homeroom teacher they'd met for the first time that day had some authority over the new students.

"I already told you that points are issued on the first of every month," Chabashira Sae repeated casually.

"So what I'm asking is, will we get 100,000 Private Points on the first of every month?"

Shuichi Kanda didn't back down. Even though he didn't know much about prices, he could tell that 100,000 points wouldn't be nearly enough to cover long-term access to exercise equipment and a personal trainer.

If they got the usual hundred thousand Private Points next month, there wouldn't be a problem.

But if he didn't get a hundred thousand points then, and he'd already spent all the points he had, that would be a different story.

At the very least, until he knew for sure, he absolutely couldn't spend this month's hundred thousand Private Points frivolously.

If his worry came true, he'd have to rethink his plan to get his body back in shape.

The exchange between teacher and student might have sounded similar, but they were talking about different things. Chabashira Sae had emphasized that points would be issued on the first, but Shuichi Kanda wanted to know whether he'd get a hundred thousand points.

One was stressing when; the other, how many. Most people wouldn't hear a difference, but the clever ones had already spotted the problem.

Looking at the pale boy who was staring at her, Chabashira Sae felt a faint stir of excitement. Could this be the turning point?

Even so, Chabashira Sae had no intention of telling him the truth. Or rather, she couldn't.

"What's your name?"

After a moment of speechless disbelief, Shuichi Kanda gave another brief introduction. "Shuichi Kanda."

Shuichi Kanda was pale and thin. Based on Chabashira Sae's years of experience judging people, if he put on some weight and dressed himself up a little, he wouldn't lose out to any of the famous hosts in Ginza.

However, the boy probably had some kind of illness. His body looked as though a gust of wind could knock him over. Still, none of that could conceal the brightness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't answer your question."

So she couldn't guarantee it?

But Shuichi Kanda had no intention of letting her off the hook.

"Why not? You're a teacher, and I'm a student. If you can't answer a student's question, is your position as a teacher just for show?"

"If I can't do it, then I can't do it. Those are the rules. If you want to know the answer, there is a way..."