The three of them returned to their rooms after eating hotpot in the sweltering heat and began sorting out their luggage and purchases.
They had only arrived at school that morning, after all, and hadn't unpacked most of their things yet. They needed some time to get organized.
The boys didn't mind that the school's dormitories housed male and female students together; in fact, they were quite happy about it. The girls didn't want to accept it, but there was nothing they could do.
But every student had a private room, so whether they were housed together didn't seem to matter much.
U Amakasa arrived at his room and glanced at the number on the door, then let out a helpless sigh. His room number was 404.
What the heck? Was this some kind of 404 divine beast?
Click—
U Amakasa had just reached for his key card when he heard a click beside him. A door had opened.
Of course, it wasn't the door to his room.
A tall boy stepped out of Room 405.
He wore glasses, with bangs covering one side of his forehead while the hair on the other side was slicked back as if he'd used hair gel.
Judging by his looks, he was clearly the gentle, smart, bespectacled type.
Sure enough, the boy smiled and greeted U Amakasa, though his gaze lingered on U Amakasa's eyepatch for a moment.
That was only natural. Anyone would be curious.
"Hello, Amakasa."
Another person who knew his name. He was probably from Class A, too. U Amakasa tried to remember if he'd seen him during the introductions.
"Hello, ...classmate."
He couldn't remember no matter how hard he tried, so U Amakasa simply returned the greeting.
The bespectacled boy could tell U Amakasa didn't recognize him, but he didn't mind. Still smiling, he said, "My name is Kosei Sanada. Looks like we're neighbors. I look forward to getting along with you, Amakasa."
"I look forward to it, Sanada."
Sure enough, he was just the kind of character you'd expect from his appearance. In the original work, characters with little screen time could usually be judged by their looks.
Speaking of which, people really did listen during introductions.
U Amakasa felt a little dejected. He hadn't expected introductions to be useful, but so far, every Class A student he'd met recognized him.
After chatting with his neighbor for a bit, U Amakasa went into his room and started putting his things away, making his bed and arranging his belongings.
U Amakasa didn't have much, so he was done in just a few minutes. As for testing whether anything in the room was faulty—
There was no need. This wasn't a place he'd rented on his own, and U Amakasa didn't think a room assigned by the school would have problems like a clogged drain, a weak shower, or a collapsing bed.
He looked through the snacks he'd bought at the supermarket and put them all in a drawer. U Amakasa had a little habit.
In the middle of the night, his mouth would often feel empty. Basically, he just wanted something to eat.
Then U Amakasa spotted a chocolate bar and picked it up.
In the snack aisle, one popular chocolate had been selling like hotcakes. The advertising must have been pretty effective.
U Amakasa noticed there was just one left. Curious, he reached for it—but someone else reached for it at the same time.
It was a red-haired girl wearing glasses, bent over as she reached for the chocolate. She kept muttering, "Sorry, sorry," then hurried away from the scene like a little hamster.
U Amakasa had watched her retreating figure for quite a while, and Kiyomizu Naoki and Satoshi Satonaka had teased him about it.
But he'd see her again eventually. U Amakasa wasn't in a hurry.
"What a pleasant day."
U Amakasa couldn't help sighing. He looked at the curtains beside him, drew them open, and opened the floor-to-ceiling window.
He'd spent the morning squeezing points out of Kamuro, then parted ways with her after lunch. After a brief nap, he'd run into Kiyomizu Naoki and Satoshi Satonaka at the mall.
U Amakasa smiled faintly, shut the window, and drew the curtains. Then he took out his phone and made a call.
"I'm really looking forward to campus life."
Brr—
The call connected.
"Hello?"
"Amakasa, what do you need?"
"Of course I need something, Mr. Majima."
"What is it? You can just tell me, Amakasa."
"Mr. Majima, I want to hide my purchase history so other people can't investigate it."
U Amakasa was thinking of something like protection against hackers—or, in other words, asking the school to set up a firewall for him.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. The school might be able to, though. What are you planning to buy? Maybe I can buy it for you."
Hearing that, U Amakasa thought to himself:
Class A really is different from Class D. Majima probably thinks I've got potential.
He'd given him a hint, and, worried U Amakasa might not catch on, had added that he could help him out.
"I don't want to trouble you, Mr. Majima. I'll buy it myself."
Majima was being sincere, but U Amakasa didn't want him to know what he planned to buy—even if Majima might be able to find out anyway.
"Is that so?"
The disappointment was clear in Majima's voice. He thought U Amakasa might not have picked up on the hint.
Then U Amakasa changed the subject.
"Mr. Majima, just tell me how many points it'll take to get the school to hide my purchase history. The school's motto is that points can buy anything, isn't it?"
On the other end of the call, Majima's grin widened until it nearly reached his ears. If he could, he would have grinned all the way to the back of his head.
"Well, that's true. Let me think... Ten thousand points."
"Huh? Really? Isn't that too cheap?"
"I'm not sure exactly how many points it'll take. This is the first time a student has asked me for something like this, so I'll have to check with my superiors."
On the other end of the call, Majima tapped his fingers on the desk. He hadn't stopped grinning since the conversation began, and the delight in his voice was unmistakable.
"Oh, and could you also install something on my phone that lets me change the number of points it displays—not my actual points, just the displayed amount. What do you think?"
"Hmm? That's an interesting request."
"It'd probably cost tens of thousands of points."
"Still ten thousand."
"Huh? Then I'll make it up to you later, Mr. Majima."
"No need. Ten thousand points."
"...Is this a teacher sponsoring a student?"
"Hahaha, you can think of it that way."
Since a teacher was sponsoring him, U Amakasa saw no reason to stand on ceremony. He might as well show off a little more; it wouldn't hurt.
After all, Majima wasn't Chabashira.
"I don't think Class A will ever be short on points, but if you say so, Mr. Majima, I'll gladly accept."
Those words shocked Majima even more.
"...It seems you know a lot about this school, Amakasa, even though you've only been here for a day."
"...Who knows? Maybe it's because I'm handsome."
After their rambling conversation ended, Majima picked up a student's file in his office and examined it carefully.
"Everything else is A+, except for teamwork, which is D-?"
Majima took a long drag on his cigarette, set the student's file on the desk, and blew out a large cloud of smoke.
"U Amakasa..."
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