Just as Shuichi Kanda thought all he had to do was wait for the Entrance Ceremony to begin, a boy squeezed out of the line in front of him.
"You're Kanda, right?"
Shuichi knew him: Hirata Yosuke, a cheerful, sunny-faced boy. Not only did he look bright and sunny, but he spoke gently, and even the way he looked at Shuichi was full of warmth.
"That's right. I remember your name is Hirata Yosuke. Is there something you need?"
Kanda was perfectly willing to get along with most people. Once they'd gotten familiar with each other, he didn't mind joking around, either. He just wasn't very friendly toward people who tried to boss him around before they'd even gotten to know each other.
"Hmm... This might sound a little rude, but I just heard from Kushida that you don't seem to be in very good health."
At Hirata's words, Shuichi glanced toward Kushida Kikyo, who was already mixing in with the other students, then nodded.
Looks like this guy had some powers of observation and a good eye for things.
"It's nothing I need to hide. I was in an accident six months ago and only woke up in the hospital last week."
The news seemed to hit Hirata hard. After a moment of panic and uncertainty, he looked at Shuichi with even greater warmth.
"I see. I'm very sorry for bringing up something painful."
"No, I don't remember what happened. My past disappeared along with the accident." Shuichi seemed quite at ease about it.
"Huh?"
Hirata Yosuke's mind couldn't quite keep up. "Your past disappeared?"
"It's nothing. The Entrance Ceremony's about to start. We can talk later." As he spoke, Shuichi lifted his chin toward the stage ahead.
After turning to look, Hirata quickly ended the conversation, too.
"I'm sorry. But let me pick up your textbooks for you later."
"Sure. Thanks. It really would be a burden for me."
Shuichi didn't turn down free labor. If anything, Hirata was doing him a huge favor.
After the ceremony, Shuichi felt that the school's graduation ceremony seemed rather conventional. He couldn't tell whether that was good or bad, but judging by the expressions of the first-year students, they didn't seem particularly surprised.
Hirata Yosuke had promised to pick up Shuichi's textbooks, but he didn't come find him after the ceremony. The reason was simple: he was too busy.
As soon as the ceremony ended, a crowd surrounded him. All he could do was give Shuichi an apologetic look from amid the crowd.
Shuichi nodded and waved to him, then headed out of the auditorium.
Could timid characters really have good luck? Maybe I should keep my temper in check from now on.
Outside the auditorium, Shuichi opened GPS again to confirm the First-Year Dormitory Building's location, then put his phone away and continued at a steady pace.
Well, the important thing was, he couldn't go any faster.
Chapter 7: Room Cards and Safety Protocols
Watching people pass him one after another, Shuichi Kanda remained calm. I want to get back to the dorm and rest right away, too. Too bad I'm already going as fast as I can.
When he arrived at the First-Year Dormitory Building, the students in the lobby had already completed their check-in. Though "check-in" was really just showing their Student IDs and receiving their keys.
That alone made it clear the dorm rooms had been assigned in advance.
He'd observed the building from outside earlier. It had at least a dozen floors, with around ten rooms or more on each floor. He'd also seen girls entering the building, so it was probably co-ed.
But despite there being more than a hundred rooms, there was only one elevator. If all the students tried to get to class at the last minute, they could easily be late because of it.
After taking a quick look around the lobby, Shuichi walked over to the administrator.
"Hello. I'm here to check in."
"Certainly. Please show me your Student ID, then place it on the reader here."
The single-occupancy dorm administrator was a young woman in business attire. She was very conscientious and professional, and didn't treat Shuichi dismissively just because he was a student.
He opened his Student ID and, following her instructions, placed his phone on the reader she'd indicated.
"All right. Please wait a moment."
"Sorry for the trouble."
While she worked at the computer, Shuichi looked up and saw the row of boxes behind the administrator.
They were boxes, but they reminded Shuichi a little of the Honeycomb Parcel Lockers he'd seen in his previous life, with a row of drawers arranged neatly side by side.
Each drawer had a number on it, such as 201 or 202.
"Kanda Shuichi, here's your Room Card. Please keep it safe."
Taking the card from the administrator, Shuichi casually asked about the boxes. "May I ask what those are for?"
"Oh, these are where we keep spare Room Cards. If a student's card is damaged or lost, they can come to me to get a spare."
I see. Spare Room Cards.
"Can only the student themselves pick up one of these cards?"
"Not necessarily. As long as you explain what it's for, you can..."
Since it wasn't classified information, the administrator didn't hide anything from him.
Shuichi immediately realized the potential problem. What if other people could just enter his room whenever they wanted?
It might be all right if it were a teacher, but if some perverted creep with bad intentions showed up, Shuichi wasn't built to fend them off.
Besides, he had a feeling he'd acquire more and more advanced technology as time went on, and once he took those things out, he wouldn't be able to put them back into System Space.
It wasn't certain that they'd cause problems if they were discovered, but it would still bring unnecessary risks.
"Is there any way to prevent that? I'd like to have some privacy."
He'd thought it was a rather unreasonable request, but the administrator immediately nodded and began working on the computer in front of her.
"I understand. I'll add a Safety Protocol for you. Apart from you, the Student Council President, and your homeroom teacher, no one else will be able to obtain a Room Card for your room without permission."
The homeroom teacher made sense, but why include the Student Council President?
Just as Shuichi was about to fish for more information, a voice came from behind him.
"Kanda, what a coincidence. Are you checking in?"
Hirata Yosuke's voice came from behind him. He was holding a box in his arms, with another male student following him.
So fast!
You're moving way too fast!
I'd only gone back to the classroom and then come to the dorm. You've already picked up your books, gone back to the classroom, and come here?
I'm jealous again!
"Yeah, I've already checked in. Go ahead."
As he spoke, Shuichi stepped aside. Then he noticed the boy behind Hirata. Apart from the bag slung over each of his shoulders, there didn't seem to be anything special about him.
Still, Shuichi remembered him. He'd heard his name during introductions earlier: Akito Miyake, who was good at Kyudo.
"Thanks, Miyake."
Shuichi's sudden thanks made Akito Miyake pause. He didn't seem to understand why the boy in front of him was thanking him.
"The textbooks Hirata's holding are mine."
I see.
"No, I was just helping Hirata."
"But I'm the reason he had to carry them, so please accept my thanks."
"Well..."
Watching the conversation between Shuichi Kanda and Akito Miyake, Hirata wore a smile like a kindly mother's.
"To thank you for carrying my textbooks, I'll share some information with you."
Shuichi smiled and told them about the Room Card rules.
"I see. Thanks for letting us know." Akito Miyake nodded. "I'd be troubled if some random stranger could just walk into my room, too."
"You're welcome. I said it was to thank you."
And so, the three of them seemed to grow a little closer.
While Hirata and Miyake checked in, Shuichi put all the textbooks Hirata had brought into his backpack.
Then he took out his Room Card and looked at the number printed on it.
404. Room four on the fourth floor. Not bad. At least it wasn't 502.
"I'm in Room 409. What about you two?" Hirata took out his Room Card and got his backpack from Akito Miyake.
"I'm in 404."
"I'm on the fourth floor, too. Room 408."
"Then let's go up together. Want to get lunch afterward?"
Just as he'd made the invitation, Hirata's phone rang.
"Sorry."
Hirata took out his phone and glanced at it, immediately looking apologetic.
"Sorry, I might have something to take care of later."
As the class's social butterfly, he'd managed to organize introductions and earn the trust of most of the students in just two or three hours. He really was impressive.
"No problem. I'll go with Miyake. As long as Miyake doesn't mind me walking slowly."
"I don't mind."
"Yeah, but let's add each other as friends first."
And so, thanks to Hirata Yosuke, Shuichi got the contact information of a classmate for the first time and successfully joined the class group chat.
After joining, Shuichi was once again amazed by Hirata Yosuke's social skills.
In just a few hours, he'd gotten more than thirty of the forty students in the class to join. That wasn't just ordinary sociability!
Chapter 8: The Joy of Getting Things for Free—Who Gets It?
As the reader activated, Shuichi Kanda pushed open the door to Room 404.
The room was less than twenty square meters, but it didn't feel cramped.
On one side just inside the entrance was a row of cupboards. Farther in was a simple kitchen—or rather, it was only a sink, a gas stove, and a small section of counter.
An extractor hood was installed above the stove, and a fully automatic washing machine sat below it. There was also a small refrigerator beside it, which should be enough to store vegetables for cooking.
Across from the kitchen was a bathroom separated by a glass door.
Half a meter farther in, he was out of the entryway and officially in the bedroom. At the very end of the room was a bed placed lengthwise, a standard single bed.
On the other side of the bed was a computer desk with a chair beneath it. Above the desk was a bookshelf bolted firmly to the wall, and to the right of the desk was a television on a floor cabinet.
What Shuichi liked most was that there was even a simple balcony beyond the bed, completely separated from the bedroom by a glass door.
This is where I'll be living for the next three years? Not bad!
He tossed his backpack onto the wooden floor and flopped straight onto the soft bed. Judging by the fragrance coming from the bedding, everything must have been brand new.
That made sense. A wealthy school like this wouldn't care about such a small expense.
After lying on the bed for a while, Shuichi rolled halfway over and took out his phone to check the school forum.
Forums could save a lot of time when you wanted to learn about an unfamiliar place.
But after opening it, he saw that nearly all the top posts were about clubs recruiting new members. There were also some posts about everyday matters made by individual students.
He wasn't planning to join a club for now, but if there was a place like the Chinese Cooking Club, he wouldn't mind stopping by.
According to what he'd learned from Chabashira-sensei, there was a good chance he wouldn't get 100,000 Private Points next month. So Shuichi planned for the worst: treating those 100,000 personal points as his only savings.
Speaking of points, Shuichi remembered the advanced technology the system had suddenly issued today: Value-Added Bank: One Day.
Item Name: Value-Added Bank
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