"My name is Chabashira Sae, and I'm the homeroom teacher for Class D."
Without asking what had just happened, Chabashira Sae introduced herself.
Then she had the students pass a school handbook and something called a Student ID Terminal from the front of the classroom to the back.
Standing in the center of the lectern, she began explaining:
"Next, I'll tell you some of the rules at this school."
"First, you won't be reassigned to different classes. In other words, you'll be together for the next three years."
"Also, this is a boarding school, and leaving the campus and all outside communication are restricted. You were told this before enrolling."
"But don't worry. The school has excellent facilities. There's a supermarket where you can buy daily necessities, as well as entertainment facilities."
"Next..."
Chabashira Sae held up her phone for everyone to see.
"You'll need points to make purchases at this school. One point has the same purchasing power as one yen."
"You can buy anything the school offers with points, and they'll be deposited automatically on the first of every month."
"The 100,000 points for this month have already been credited to your personal accounts. You can check your balance using the Student ID Terminals in your hands."
As soon as Chabashira Sae finished speaking, everyone looked at their Student ID Terminals, and a commotion broke out in the classroom.
Kanji Ike: "Seriously?"
Yamauchi Haruki: "It really is 100,000! Haha, coming here was the best decision ever!"
"This school is so generous!"
With the solid figure of 100,000 right in front of them, almost everyone was surprised.
According to the teacher, wasn't that the equivalent of 100,000 yen?!
Most students probably only got a few thousand yen in allowance each month.
And 100,000 was enough for them to live quite comfortably at school.
Since the teacher had said it herself, the vast majority of Class D students instinctively assumed she wouldn't lie.
By now, quite a few of them were already so caught up in the excitement that they were whispering about what they planned to buy.
Did no one think something was off?
Even those who did had no intention of standing up and raising an objection.
Chihaya Rei watched the scene with curiosity.
Was it really okay to just assume the school would give them 100,000 yen for free every month?
That couldn't be better.
For Chihaya Rei, it meant he could interrogate everyone without the slightest guilt.
Automatically filtering out the noise around him, Chihaya Rei also took a curious look at his Student ID Terminal.
Apart from an exclusive app that recorded students' personal information and points, its other functions were much like those of a smartphone.
It also had a built-in SIM card linked to the phone, but it couldn't contact the outside world. Any attempt to do so would be blocked and trigger a warning.
Of course, browsing the web and using various other browser functions worked just fine.
"Surprised by the huge number of points?"
Looking at the class, Chabashira Sae continued,
"This school judges students by their abilities. The fact that you've made it here means you have value to match."
"That's all. Any questions?"
When she finished speaking, Chabashira Sae swept her gaze around the classroom, clearly hoping someone would ask a question.
But no one seemed interested in asking anything.
They were too caught up in the happy atmosphere.
Seeing this, Chabashira Sae felt a little disappointed.
Another year, same as always. Is this really all there is to this class?
"I've told you everything you need to know. The entrance ceremony will be held in Gymnasium 1 in half an hour, and everyone is required to attend. Organize yourselves."
Leaving them with those words, Chabashira Sae strode out of the classroom in her heels, which clicked against the floor.
She just wanted to get to the Rooftop as soon as possible and smoke a cigarette to ease the frustration weighing on her.
One class after another, three years after three years...
Chihaya Rei casually glanced at Chabashira Sae's retreating figure as she hurried away.
Although he knew plenty of information, he had no intention of standing up and giving Class D a heads-up.
First, he didn't want to babysit Class D.
More importantly, he had no intention of leading Class D up to the next class.
A, B, C, D—he didn't care one bit which class he graduated from!
He already had the Interrogation System. All he needed was a steady supply of people to interrogate.
With the teacher gone and the entrance ceremony still some time away, many of the students started chatting excitedly again.
A few even left the classroom.
Horikita Suzune was the first to go.
"Ch-Chihaya, could I add you as a contact?"
The voice beside him made Chihaya Rei tilt his head and look at the girl to his right, who had kept her head down the whole time, trying to make herself less noticeable.
She had beautiful dark red hair tied into two low pigtails with a ribbon, and wore square-framed glasses that seemed to hide her good looks.
Sakura Airi.
He naturally knew who she was.
During a unanimous-vote exam in the original story's second year, she'd even been sacrificed to keep Kushida Kikyo from being expelled.
But now that he was here, he certainly wouldn't let that happen.
As he recalled, she was a shy, introverted girl.
And yet she'd taken the initiative to ask for his contact information?
"Sure."
Chihaya Rei took out his phone, and they exchanged contact information.
Hearing him agree, Sakura Airi smiled, her bright blue eyes shining faintly behind her lenses.
After adding each other, Chihaya Rei thought of a possibility and asked curiously,
"Did you know me even before you came here, Sakura?"
"Eh!"
A cute, surprised sound escaped Sakura Airi.
Her cheeks flushed slightly. She peeked up at Chihaya Rei and said timidly,
"Um... Chihaya, actually, I'm your fan."
"A fan? You mean a fan of my band?"
Chihaya Rei was a little surprised.
"Y-Yes."
Sakura Airi nodded lightly and explained softly, "I've watched your live performances online. I thought they were amazing, and I really liked them..."
As an introverted girl who wasn't good at interacting with people, Sakura Airi barely had any friends.
She didn't really dare to look people in the eye.
Other people's gazes made her feel uneasy, too.
That was why she thought someone like Chihaya Rei, who could start a band with a group of good friends,
then stand together with them in the center of a high stage, unfazed by the audience's eyes as they performed and showed their true selves, was dazzling...
She envied him and admired him.
Chihaya Rei immediately understood.
That explained it. He had, after all, formed a band and performed live.
His bands had a bit of a following.
The band even had an account, run by a sixteen-year-old, pure-hearted high school girl with flaxen hair and a voluptuous figure that gave her a widow-like air.
She uploaded videos of every live performance.
So it wasn't surprising that Sakura Airi had seen them.
So this is a small change in the timeline?
"Then I'll have to test you. Which of our band's songs do you like best?"
"Kasumikage..."
Chihaya Rei's lips curled into a slight smile. "I recognize your dedication, Sakura."
At his words, a delighted smile spread across Sakura Airi's face.
"Chihaya, I look forward to getting along with you."
"Yeah."
Chihaya Rei responded, then suddenly added earnestly,
"But Sakura, it's more polite to look people in the eyes when you're speaking to them."
"Other people's gazes aren't as frightening as you think."
[Interrogated Sakura Airi, received 450 Torture Points]
"Ah... y-yes!"
Sakura Airi's voice grew a little more nervous.
But when she realized Chihaya Rei had meant it kindly, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
As expected, Chihaya is a good person...
"Thank you, Chihaya."
Sakura Airi thanked him again.
This time, she mustered the courage to lift her head. The moment she met Chihaya Rei's eyes, her cheeks turned crimson, and her gaze grew bashful.
I bet Chihaya would look really good in photos... she thought.
"Also, if you ever have trouble with anything, you can ask me for help. After all, we sit next to each other, and you're a fan of our band."
Chihaya Rei said it with a hint of meaning.
"Okay..."
As for why he'd said that to Sakura Airi,
it wasn't just a polite offer.
Chihaya Rei could honestly say that this wasn't a case of his little head controlling his big head.
Right now, all he had was the ambition to become an interrogation god.
Although Sakura Airi's figure ranked among the best in the whole year, the only girl in the class who could rival her was Hasebe Haruka.
From that perspective, it made sense that they'd both been placed in Class D.
It made you wonder whether the girls' cup sizes had also been taken into account when assigning classes.
But back to the point. The main reason was that Sakura Airi was involved in an important part of the story later on.
Sakura Airi also had a hidden identity.
She was an online idol and a fashion model, and fairly popular online.
But one time, when she went to buy a camera at an electronics store in the school's shopping center, an obsessive fan recognized her.
After that, the deranged fan kept leaving harassing comments on Sakura Airi's blog.
In the end, he even tried to assault her.
Chihaya Rei certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to interrogate a potential criminal like that.
He was even prepared to use force.
Besides, if he could catch a criminal like that inside Advanced Nurturing High School, shouldn't he squeeze the school for a hefty sum?
Before you continue