(As everyone knows, Tomato doesn't have any underage major characters, so unless stated otherwise, all the characters in this book are adults.)
"My name is Shiraishi Makoto. Nice to meet you."
After introducing himself, the boy returned to his seat. No one noticed that his back was already drenched in a cold sweat.
"That was close... Thank goodness my name was on the phone they just handed out."
Shiraishi Makoto gripped his Student Terminal tightly in his right hand, staring fixedly at the information on the screen:
Student ID: xxxxxx. Name: Shiraishi Makoto. Birthday: May 20. Class: First-Year Class B. School: Advanced Nurturing High School. Points: 100,000.
Shiraishi Makoto absently rubbed the phone, realizing that he had transmigrated into the world of Classroom of the Elite—and that he'd taken over someone's body without inheriting any of the original owner's memories.
For a transmigrator, this was probably the worst possible start. His mind was a blank, while the students in front of him took turns standing up to introduce themselves. The only thing he could be grateful for was that, even without his memories, he had somehow automatically acquired the ability to speak Japanese. He could understand it, read it, and speak it.
There was no time to think it all through, so Shiraishi put away his phone and quietly observed the class. The 2D anime characters looked a little different in real life, and he was momentarily dazed by the colorful array of hair around the classroom. Before long, though, he spotted the central figure of First-Year Class B.
Standing at the front of the room was the unmistakable pink-haired girl known as "Chubby Wave": Ichinose Honami.
Based on the introductions, Shiraishi had already figured out that today was the first day of school. Comparing it with the plot he remembered, this was the part where Hoshinomiya Chie had finished explaining the basic rules and handing out the first month's 100,000 points, and Ichinose was having everyone introduce themselves.
The timing couldn't have been better.
Any earlier, and he would have had to deal with questions from his "family." Any later, and his classmates would already have gotten familiar with "his" habits. Right now, everyone was still a stranger to one another, so he didn't have to pretend to be someone else.
Advanced Nurturing High School was also an ideal environment for him. Contact with the outside world was impossible except under special circumstances, which meant he wouldn't have to deal with his "family" for three whole years. By the time those three years were over, it would be perfectly reasonable for his personality to have changed a little.
As Shiraishi quietly sorted through these concerns, he kept an eye on the students taking turns introducing themselves at the front.
After the introductions came the school's opening ceremony. The proceedings were much like those at any ordinary school: a few prominent figures from business, politics, and education delivered a string of empty pleasantries, the school gave a few remarks about the future, and then everyone was dismissed.
It was already noon, leaving the first-year students the entire afternoon to get acquainted with the school.
"Shiraishi, want to go check out the shopping district together?"
Shiraishi was about to leave on his own when he heard a voice behind him.
He turned around and saw Hamaguchi Tetsuya and a few other boys from the class. It was Hamaguchi who had asked; he sat behind Shiraishi.
"I'm going to head back to the dorm and get settled in first. Maybe next time." Shiraishi shook his head gently.
"Sure." Hamaguchi wasn't surprised. Most people would probably go back to their dorms first. He had only asked because he'd noticed Shiraishi keeping to himself since he'd entered the classroom, and seeming nervous during his introduction. He'd invited him on impulse.
After leaving the crowd of classmates, Shiraishi headed straight for the convenience store.
He needed to buy some basic necessities, of course, but more importantly, he had to lay the groundwork for explaining the school's rules later.
He did know the school's "hidden rules" well. But if he wanted to talk about them openly, he needed a reasonable basis for his deductions. The school never stated the rules outright and forbade upperclassmen from leaking them to underclassmen, yet secretly encouraged students to discover the truth for themselves.
For example, there were free meals at the convenience store and cafeteria, differences in points between the upperclassmen's classes, and the way older students treated students from different first-year classes.
So Shiraishi planned to follow the process from beginning to end, making sure to leave a complete record of his investigation on the security cameras.
Once inside the convenience store, he first went to the personal-care section. Since he knew nothing about the brands in this world or country, he grabbed a few things at random based on their prices. Only then did he "accidentally" notice the free-goods section. He hesitated in front of it for a short while before replacing some of the items in his basket.
"Hey, what's going on here?"
A puzzled mutter came from nearby. The convenience store was crowded, but the speaker was clearly asking about something in his direction. Shiraishi instinctively turned to look.
The speaker was a brown-haired boy, with a long-haired girl standing beside him.
That looked like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune, didn't it?
Shiraishi's gaze lingered on them for an instant. Realizing at once that he'd made a mistake, he quickly turned back and continued replacing items in his basket before turning to put the discarded ones back where they belonged.
Ayanokoji remained silent. His gaze rested on Shiraishi briefly, then shifted away as Horikita's voice caught his attention.
"Free...?"
"It's probably a relief measure for students who've overspent their points. The school really is considerate," Ayanokoji replied calmly.
Carrying his basket, Shiraishi headed for the register, not daring to look back and check on the two of them.
He had a feeling that the glance he'd given them had been too deliberate. With Ayanokoji's sharp eye, he'd probably noticed that something was off about it.
Damn, I let my guard down. I actually forgot Ayanokoji was here today.
Still, Shiraishi didn't blame himself or regret it too much. He'd been prepared for this. Before transmigrating, he'd been an ordinary third-year university student, with nothing particularly remarkable about him. Like everyone his age, he'd gone to school, lived an ordinary life, and made ordinary preparations for further study and work.
He'd been here for less than a day, but he'd already settled on his ultimate goal at this school: graduating as a member of Class A. Even with the plot in hand, though, he couldn't be completely certain of victory at a school that brought together the most talented people in the country in his age group.
Especially against a monster like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"A lot's happened today. I should go back to the dorm and sort out my thoughts."
After paying, Shiraishi happened to see the red-haired Ken Sudō shouting in the store. He left as soon as he'd seen enough. If he stayed longer, he could witness the famous scene where Sudō got into a conflict with some upperclassmen, which would give him a chance to learn about the discrimination against Class D. But he hadn't acted naturally in front of Ayanokoji just now, and Ayanokoji would be watching from the sidelines, too. Better to slip away for now.
Before you continue