404 Divine Beast

After finishing hot pot in the sweltering heat, the three of them returned to their respective rooms to organize their luggage and the items they had purchased.

Since they had only arrived at the school that morning, most of their belongings were still unpacked, and they needed time to get settled.

As for the school's co-ed dormitory arrangement, the boys were not opposed to it and were actually quite pleased, while the girls, though reluctant, had no choice but to accept it.

However, since every student had their own private room, it didn't seem to matter much whether it was co-ed or not.

U Amakusa arrived at his room and sighed helplessly after glancing at the room number: 404.

What is this, a 404 error?

Click—

Just as U Amakusa reached for his room key card, a clicking sound reached his ears—the door had opened.

Of course, it wasn't the door to U Amakusa's room.

A tall boy stepped out from room 405.

He wore glasses, with half of his bangs swept to the side and the other half slicked back as if styled with hair gel.

Judging by his appearance, this boy was the type of bespectacled student who looked gentle and sharp-witted.

Unsurprisingly, the bespectacled boy smiled and greeted U Amakusa, though his gaze lingered on U Amakusa's eyepatch for a moment.

That was only natural; anyone would be curious.

"Hello, Amakusa-kun."

Another person who knew his name—likely from Class A. U Amakusa tried to recall if he had been there during the self-introductions.

"Hello... -kun."

He couldn't remember, no matter how hard he tried, so U Amakusa simply responded.

The bespectacled boy noticed U Amakusa didn't recognize him, but he didn't mind, continuing with a smile: "I'm Kosei Sanada. It looks like we're neighbors. Please take care of me, Amakusa-kun."

"Please take care of me, Sanada-kun."

He was exactly the character his appearance suggested; for those with little screen time in the original work, one could basically judge them by their looks.

Then again, people actually listened during self-introductions?

U Amakusa felt a slight blow to his ego. He hadn't expected those introductions to be useful, yet everyone he'd met from Class A so far knew who he was.

After a brief chat with his neighbor, U Amakusa entered his room to organize his things, making the bed and arranging his belongings.

U Amakusa didn't have much, so it only took a few minutes. As for checking the room for defects?

There was no need. This wasn't a rental apartment; U Amakusa didn't believe the school-issued rooms would have clogged drains, faulty faucets, or collapsing beds.

He rummaged through the snacks he'd bought at the supermarket and placed them all in a drawer. U Amakusa had a small habit.

Late at night, he would often feel like his mouth lacked flavor—or rather, he just wanted something to eat.

However, U Amakusa saw that bar of chocolate and picked it up.

Back in the snack aisle, there had been a popular chocolate bar selling like hotcakes, likely due to a very effective advertisement.

U Amakusa had noticed there was exactly one left. Out of curiosity, he reached for it, but someone else reached for it at the same time.

It was a girl with fire-red hair, hunched over and wearing glasses. She had muttered "Sorry, sorry" and scurried away like a hamster.

U Amakusa had been teased by Naoki Shimizu and Satoshi Satonaka for staring at the girl's retreating back for so long.

Still, there would be a next time, and U Amakusa wasn't in a rush.

"What a pleasant day."

U Amakusa couldn't help but exclaim, looking toward the curtains, pulling them open, and sliding back the balcony door.

He had extorted points from Kamuro in the morning, parted ways after lunch, and then met Naoki Shimizu and Satoshi Satonaka at the mall after a short nap.

U Amakusa smiled faintly, closed the window, drew the curtains, and pulled his phone from his pocket to make a call.

"I'm really looking forward to life at this school."

Beep—

The call connected.

"Hello?"

"Amakusa-kun, is something the matter?"

"Of course there is, Majima-sensei."

"What is it? You can speak freely, Amakusa-kun."

"Majima-sensei, I want to hide my shopping history so that others can't investigate it."

U Amakusa was thinking about preventing hackers or perhaps having the school set up a firewall for him.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, though the school might be able to. What are you trying to buy? Perhaps I can help you purchase it."

Hearing this, U Amakusa sighed inwardly.

Class A really is different from Class D. Majima must think I'm a talent worth cultivating.

After giving the hint, he added that he could help, fearing I wouldn't notice it.

"That won't be necessary, Majima-sensei. I'll just buy it myself."

Majima was sincere, but unfortunately, U Amakusa didn't want Majima to know what he was planning to buy, even though Majima could likely find out if he investigated.

"Is that so?"

The tone on the other end of the line became noticeably disappointed; Majima felt that U Amakusa might not have caught the hint he dropped.

The conversation took a turn.

"Majima-sensei, just tell me how many points it costs to have the school hide my shopping history. After all, isn't the school's motto that points can buy anything?"

On the other end of the line, the corners of Majima's mouth curled back—if he could, he would have stretched them all the way to his ears.

"Hmm, that is indeed possible. Let me think... let's say 10,000 points."

"Eh? Really? Isn't that too cheap?"

"I'm not entirely sure of the exact cost myself. This is the first time a student has made such a request to me, so I'll need to consult with those above."

On the other end of the phone, Majima tapped his fingers against the desk. The smile hadn't left his face since a moment ago, and his delight was clearly audible in his voice.

"Oh, and one more thing: how about setting up a technical feature on my phone that allows me to change the displayed point balance—not the actual balance, just the display?"

"Hm? That's an interesting request."

"How many tens of thousands of points will that take?"

"Still 10,000 points."

"Eh? Then I'll pay the rest to Majima-sensei later."

"No need, just 10,000 points."

"...Is this considered a teacher sponsoring a student?"

"Hahaha, you can think of it that way."

Since a teacher was sponsoring him, U Amakusa didn't intend to be polite; he might as well show off a bit more, as it wouldn't hurt.

After all, Majima was not Chabashira.

"Although I don't think our Class A will be short on points, since Majima-sensei has said so, I will respectfully accept."

These words undoubtedly took Majima's level of shock to another degree.

"...It seems Amakusa-kun has a very deep understanding of our school, despite only one day having passed."

"...Who knows? Maybe it's because I'm handsome."

After the chaotic conversation ended, Majima, sitting in his dormitory, picked up a student's file and examined it carefully.

"Aside from teamwork being a D-, everything else is an A+?"

Majima took a sharp drag from his cigarette, placed the student's file on the desk, and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.

"U Amakusa..."