Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, cafeteria.
The cafeteria was bustling with noise. The new students, fresh from the opening ceremony, were excitedly discussing the huge 100,000 points deposited into their accounts upon enrollment.
Yet amid all the commotion of people reveling in their newfound wealth, one inconspicuous corner seemed strangely out of place.
There was a free station set up somewhat haphazardly at the edge of a shelf. Large baskets were piled high with basic instant noodles, rice balls, and some daily necessities,
Free to take.
Amasawa Reigetsu passed by with Sakayanagi Arisu's hand in his, his gaze lingering for a moment on the sign.
Most of the students nearby looked down on it. After all, who would bother with these cheap free supplies when they had a hundred thousand points to their name? But the two exchanged a knowing glance—
The existence of this free station was like a silent warning: when your points ran low, or even hit zero, how would you survive?
"So after all that, you still have to build it yourself."
For some reason, Amasawa Reigetsu thought of a joke from some witch game he'd played before.
"I thought the Sakayanagi Family was really that rich?"
Sakayanagi Arisu gave Amasawa a somewhat reproachful look, but she knew he was only joking. After all, Horikita Manabu had already reminded everyone at the opening ceremony—
This school put merit above all else.
"What are you planning to do?"
Sakayanagi Arisu looked into Amasawa Reigetsu's gray eyes.
So pretty...
"Isn't it obvious? Eat the most expensive food."
"You know that's not what I meant... Rei-kun, you're such a tease~"
"Of course, that's for the princess, our class leader, to decide."
"Let go of my hand."
"Oh."
The two took each other's hands again, continued exploring the cafeteria, then sat down at a place that looked like it served something delicious.
The fact that everyone knew points would be deducted according to their performance could wait. There was no need to interrupt their flirting.
He spent an unforgettable time with Sakayanagi, and their bond seemed to grow stronger...
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, classroom building.
After lunch, Amasawa Reigetsu parted ways with Sakayanagi Arisu and decided to drop by Class D. But since he was passing Classes B and C...
Amasawa Reigetsu was curious.
In fact, while she'd been on a date with Amasawa Arisu earlier, she'd already filled Amasawa Reigetsu in on the general situation. After all, what Amasawa would do was what she cared about most right now.
Class 1-B. The atmosphere here was just as lively as the rumors said—almost excessively so.
The students were gathered in groups around the classroom. Their voices weren't loud, but their conversation was cheerful and lively. Amasawa Reigetsu glanced inside from a little way off, and his attention was quickly drawn to the girl standing at the front of the classroom.
She had long pink hair, bright features, and a warm smile. Just standing there, she seemed to glow. She was lightly touching a finger to her lips as she spoke to a classmate beside her.
So that was Class B's leader...
How should he put it? If Amasawa Reigetsu ranked them on a scale from "based" to "lame," he'd give her an NPC rating. This was so boring. Being a leader must be exhausting, right?
After saying goodbye to Class B, I continued down the hallway and soon reached Class C.
Unlike the warmth and unity of Class B, Class C gave off an entirely different impression. What was different about it?
Class C had its curtains drawn, so I couldn't see inside. But every so often, I heard the sounds of punches and kicks landing, followed by muffled grunts.
The school banned violence, but clearly Class C's leader knew that going on a rampage and beating everyone to death while sneaking around still counted as not being seen.
Amasawa Reigetsu: 666.
This one gets an "above the rest" rating. Classes B and C seem to be at about the same level, but Class C is obviously more interesting...
I continued on and reached Class D.
Amasawa Reigetsu looked at the Class D students in the middle of a breakdown and understood. It was hard to tell just from looking at Classes A, B, and C, but these guys in Class D were beyond human...
So A, B, C, and D really did mean something. This must be the merit-ranking system.
Then wouldn't Class D's points be totally screwed next month?
Wait, Ayanokoji wasn't even in the classroom. Okay, so the transfer student was a real character too.
But in the spirit of fair competition, Class D had to have some hidden powerhouses. Amasawa Reigetsu tried to scan the room...
The classroom of the merit-based system was so much fun. Class D's hidden powerhouses weren't even half as strong as Katsuragi Kohei. They were all defective products with flaws you could spot at a glance.
Wait, could Ayanokoji be the hidden powerhouse? And then Ayanokoji found out Sakayanagi Narimori thought she was one, so she immediately started farming skulls and giving it her all.
Ayanokoji Kiyoko, so you were on the third level all along! You're really powerful now!
As his gaze casually swept across the crowd, a petite figure suddenly broke away from a small group and walked straight toward him.
"Um... excuse me!"
A clear, sweet voice rang out beside him. Amasawa Reigetsu lowered his gaze slightly and saw a very friendly smile. The girl before him had smooth, chestnut-brown hair and delicate features. She radiated a sunny warmth that made her hard to refuse.
It couldn't have been any faker.
As a user of the mental Induction ability, Amasawa Reigetsu was naturally sensitive to people's mental states. Everything the girl in front of him was displaying was an act—
What an interesting woman.
Kushida Kikyo stood before Amasawa with her hands clasped in front of her. She blinked, her eyes showing just the right amount of delight and curiosity.
"You're Amasawa-kun from Class A, right? I noticed you over there earlier. Your posture and presence are completely different from everyone else's."
Amasawa Reigetsu didn't answer right away. He simply looked at her, his gray eyes unfathomably deep.
Faced with his somewhat cool gaze, Kushida's smile didn't stiffen in the slightest. If anything, it grew even brighter. She took half a step forward, closing the distance between them, and spoke in a cheerful tone.
"I'm Kushida Kikyo from Class D. This might sound a little forward, but I've always thought making friends was wonderful. Someone as impressive as you, Amasawa-kun... I'd like to be your friend!"
Her voice was full of sincere excitement, as if she'd approached him purely out of admiration.
"Kushida-san, you're very outgoing."
"Well, we're all going to be spending three years together, after all," Kushida said, tilting her head and lightly twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Her gesture was natural and cute.
The corner of Amasawa Reigetsu's mouth curled slightly. That meant—mischief in progress!
"Induction" activated!
The instant their eyes met, the perfect smile on Kushida Kikyo's face abruptly froze. In their unguarded eye contact, the bright eyes that were always full of warmth and friendliness quickly lost focus.
The light seemed to drain from Kushida Kikyo's eyes, leaving them suddenly unfocused and hollow, like a still pond with no ripples, reflecting not a glimmer of emotion.
But the brief daze lasted only an instant. Her lashes fluttered violently, and the haze in her eyes scattered as if swept away by a sudden gust of wind. Her pupils quickly refocused, contracted, and regained their former clarity.
"Besides, I feel like you and I are a little alike, Amasawa-kun. We're both the sort of people who... Tch, what a poser."
Kushida Kikyo's expression suddenly turned dark. She spat on the ground, as if she were disgusted by Amasawa Reigetsu.
That was actually true. Amasawa had only coaxed out a tiny sliver of Kikyo-chan's true nature~
"Huh? What did you just say? Kushida-san, I don't think I heard you."
Amasawa Reigetsu maintained a perfectly amiable expression, but seeing Kushida Kikyo's face suddenly turn confused made him secretly feel great.
Wait, am I a masochist? What the heck is wrong with me, getting off on someone insulting me?
"Waaah! Y-you, Amasawa-kun, you must've heard wrong! I didn't say anything!" Kushida Kikyo waved her hands frantically. Her lightly made-up face suddenly turned bright red.
"So, could we exchange contact information? If you're free after school, would you like to go sit at a café together? It's more fun to have someone to talk to than to sit around alone, isn't it?"
Looking at the girl who was trying her hardest to be friendly and cover up the nature she'd just let slip, Amasawa Reigetsu had already silently placed her in the "pet" category.
"Since you put it that way, Kushida-san," Amasawa Reigetsu said calmly, taking out his phone and handing it to her, "I look forward to getting along with you, Kikyo-chan~"