Questions

"Hey, hey, do you want to check out some shops on the way back? Let's go shopping together!"

"Sure. With all these points, we can buy whatever we want. I'm so glad I got into this school."

As soon as Chabashira Sae left, the students in Class D began cheering excitedly. They had a fortune of 100,000 points to spend, and started discussing how to use it.

"Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?" A loud male voice rang out. The class quieted down a little, and everyone looked toward the speaker.

"Starting today, we'll be living together in the same class. So I thought we could introduce ourselves of our own accord. It'd be great if we could all become friends quickly. There's still time before the entrance ceremony, so what do you think?"

"Sounds good!"

Many people chimed in, and voices of agreement filled the room.

"My name is Yosuke Hirata. Back in middle school, everyone usually called me Yosuke, so I'd like you to call me by my first name. I'm interested in all kinds of sports, but I especially love soccer. I plan to play soccer at this school, too. I look forward to getting to know you all."

You've changed a lot, Yosuke. Trying to become the center of attention? That doesn't seem like you.

"I'll go next and introduce myself."

"My name is Kushida Kikyo. None of my friends from middle school came to this school with me, so I'm all alone. I hope I can quickly learn everyone's faces and names and become friends with you. My first goal is to get along with everyone here. Once we've finished introducing ourselves, please be sure to exchange contact information with me. Also, I'd love to have fun with all kinds of people after school and on holidays, and make lots of memories, so please feel free to invite me. That was a little long, but that's the end of my introduction."

"I'll be the third. My name is Watanabe Hayabara. I like a little bit of everything, but I'm not very persistent. My wish is to find something I can stick with."

"You said your name is Watanabe Hayabara?!"

"What's wrong, Hirata?" Watanabe Hayabara smiled at Yosuke Hirata.

The students around them also looked at Yosuke Hirata in confusion, wondering why he was so surprised.

"It's nothing. I just had a good friend with the same name before. Sorry, I got carried away, everyone."

"Then I'll call you Yosuke from now on, Hirata. It seems we have a special connection."

"You can all call me Yosuke."

Ayanokoji's eyes shifted slightly. Was it a coincidence?

After the brief interruption, the introductions continued. "All right, who's next?" Hirata said.

"Do you think we're a bunch of kids? We don't need introductions. Anyone who wants to do one can do it themselves." A tall, red-haired young man stood up and shouted, glaring at Yosuke Hirata.

"I can't force you. But I don't think there's anything wrong with getting along with our classmates. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable."

Yosuke Hirata lowered his head to show his apology. At that, most of the girls in the class glared angrily at the red-haired student, clearly standing up for Hirata. He was obviously held in high regard by the girls and had already become something like a class leader.

After all, what girl could resist a handsome, sunny soccer player who cared about others? Yosuke Hirata was the complete opposite of the delinquent redhead in front of him.

"It's not like anything bad will happen if we introduce ourselves."

"Yeah! Exactly!"

The girls in the class began criticizing the red-haired delinquent.

But their words seemed to stoke the near-jealous anger of the red-haired boy and the other male students.

"Shut up. I didn't come here to play some friendship game."

The red-haired boy stood up and kicked over a desk. Several students followed him, leaving the classroom one after another. They seemed to have decided there was no point in building relationships with their classmates. Horikita, who had been sitting next to him, also slowly stood up.

Horikita turned her face slightly toward me, but when she saw I wasn't moving, she promptly left. Hirata watched Horikita and the others go, looking a little dejected.

"It's not their fault. I was wrong to take it upon myself to ask everyone to introduce themselves."

"How could that be? You didn't do anything wrong, Hirata! Don't mind them. Shall we keep going?"

Some students left the classroom rather than take part in the introductions, while those who remained carried on. In the end, most people went along with the majority. That was only human nature.

Watanabe Hayabara went with the crowd and left the classroom. There was no need to keep wasting time in there.

Before leaving, he glanced back at Koenji. Koenji was still grooming himself, holding a mirror in one hand and a comb in the other as he fixed his hair.

Watanabe Hayabara shook his head.

Once he left the classroom, Watanabe Hayabara headed straight for the staff room.

"Knock, knock."

"Come in," replied a stern male voice.

Watanabe Hayabara pushed open the door. Inside, four desks stood apart from one another, with four teachers seated behind them.

One was tall and stern-faced, another was a lecherous-looking, square-faced bald man with glasses, and there was also a cute woman with dark circles under her eyes.

Looks like my homeroom teacher is pretty high-quality.

"What is it, young man?" the stern man asked.

"I'd like to ask Chabashira-sensei something."

"Go ahead, Watanabe Hayabara. What would you like to ask?" Chabashira Sae stood up and gestured for him to speak.

"The school isn't going to give us 100,000 points every month, is it?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you a definite answer right now."

"So it's not 100,000 every month. Let me guess—is there some sort of assessment? Or will next month's points be tied to our evaluation?" Watanabe Hayabara adjusted his glasses.

Before Chabashira Sae could answer, the cute teacher beside them stood up and hugged her from behind.

"Little Sae, this is so unfair! A student this excellent ended up in your Class D. Give him to me, won't you, Little Sae?"

"Once classes have been assigned, students can't be switched easily. Hoshinomiya Chie, don't even think about poaching Watanabe Hayabara."

"Thanks for the little tip, teacher. So we can switch classes after all. Goodbye, teachers." Watanabe Hayabara waved as he started to leave.

"Wait," the stern man said.

"What is it, sir?" Watanabe Hayabara asked with a smile.

"I'm Mashima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher for Class A. Although you were assigned to Class D, there's no denying you're an excellent student. You're right: the first month's assessment does concern your points. However, that information is confidential. Since you've already uncovered the secret, the school will award you a certain number of points, in accordance with the rules. You'll also need to sign a confidentiality agreement."

"May I ask what an agreement is, Mr. Mashima?"

Mashima Tomoya smiled slightly and explained, "An agreement is similar to a contract, except this one is recognized by the school. And there needs to be at least one witness present."

"I see." Watanabe Hayabara nodded thoughtfully.

Seeing that he seemed to understand, Mashima Tomoya continued, "If you have no other questions, please sign this agreement." As he spoke, he took a document from his pocket.

Curious, Watanabe Hayabara took the agreement and read it carefully. It stated that Party A had to keep all details regarding the first month's Class Points assessment confidential and could not reveal them under any circumstances. In exchange, Party B would award Party A 3,000,000 points.

In the space for Party A's signature, Watanabe Hayabara carefully wrote his name. Then he returned the agreement to Mashima Tomoya.

Mashima Tomoya signed his name in the witness section.

Mashima Tomoya nodded in satisfaction and put the agreement away. Then he took out an identical copy and handed it to Watanabe Hayabara. "This copy is for you. Keep it safe."

Watanabe Hayabara took the copy and checked its contents once more. After confirming everything was in order, he slipped it into his pocket.