(An introductory note: This story doesn't focus on class competition or exams. Everything in it is designed to serve the plot. Also, the rules for the original story's exams are genuinely convoluted, so you can overlook minor discrepancies in exam details and point calculations.)
(I'm a die-hard socialist successor, so you can probably guess who the heroine will be.)
(This story focuses on romance, with the plot in a supporting role. Feel free to decide for yourselves whether you want to read it.)
(If you really don't like it, you can go leave a couple of angry comments. If you don't love it, please do hurt me.)
(The protagonist wants to take it easy, but still does what needs to be done. You can think of him as a tsundere if that makes him more enjoyable to read?)
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School.
It was founded by the Japanese government to cultivate the young people who would support the future. The school was said to have a one-hundred-percent employment and university admission rate, and reportedly did everything in its power to realize the future you wished for under the government's thorough guidance.
"So this is where I'll be spending the next three years..."
A young man in a red uniform, backpack slung over his shoulders, stood at the school gate. He stared blankly at the campus before him, murmuring words no one around him could understand.
One after another, students around his age, dressed in the same uniform as him, made their way into the school.
"Sure enough, seeing it in person is different from seeing it on a phone or TV," the boy remarked.
Chiba Yu was a transmigrator.
He had died in his previous life for some reason. Just when he thought he was about to end up in some place like the so-called afterlife, fate seemed to play a joke on him.
Not only had he survived, but he had also been reincarnated in this world's Japan, carrying the memories of his previous life with him.
Because of what had happened in his previous life, all Chiba Yu wanted in this one was to take it easy and coast. And just as he'd said, he had indeed managed to do what he wanted: take it easy, and then take it easy some more.
For reasons unknown, he seemed extraordinarily lucky in this life. His family wasn't especially wealthy, but they had enough to ensure he could live comfortably for the rest of his life. With that in mind, Chiba Yu had always taken things as they came.
His family seemed to have seen through his nature, too. After he graduated from middle school, they kicked him out of the house before he could settle into a life of slacking off.
"You can't keep going on like this, Yu," his father had said to him.
"How about this? As long as you graduate from this school, I won't interfere with whatever you want to do afterward." As he spoke, the man handed him a letter containing an application to the school.
"Let me make one thing clear: you don't have the right to refuse."
And so, the boy was kicked out of his home by his own father.
Remembering the inexplicable look in his father's eyes at the time, Chiba Yu felt a wave of irritation.
The moment he saw the name of the school, his pupils contracted, and an ominous premonition came over him.
"So I didn't transmigrate to some ordinary parallel world, but to the world of Classroom of the Elite... Honestly, all I wanted was to take it easy."
Looking at the application in his hands, the boy sighed helplessly.
As far as the public knew, Advanced Nurturing High School was a government-funded, nationally designated school with a one-hundred-percent university admission rate. The school also advertised that tuition was completely free for all three years.
In the public's eyes, getting into this school meant you'd already achieved half your life's success.
But Chiba Yu, who had read the original story, knew that behind the school's polished image lay a brutal struggle between classes and endless scheming.
Unfortunately, the original Classroom of the Elite hadn't finished in his previous life. Chiba Yu had only watched two episodes of the anime—and hadn't even finished them!
Never mind the direction the plot would take in the future; he could barely remember what had happened in the earlier parts.
As a result, he'd lost the one advantage a transmigrator was supposed to have: knowing what was going to happen.
To make matters worse, when Chiba Yu looked at his class assignment, he felt as though a boulder had dropped onto his chest.
Class D.
Anyone who had read the original knew that Class D was known as a gathering place for defectives. Everyone assigned to that class had some kind of shortcoming, to a greater or lesser degree. And living peacefully—coasting—in that class wouldn't be easy...
If he had a choice, he would much rather be in a more relaxed, friendlier class like Class B or Class A.
"Guess I'd better go..."
There was no changing what had been decided. With that resigned thought, Chiba Yu sighed, adjusted his backpack, and headed for the security gate at the school entrance.
To ensure that students didn't bring in dangerous items or anything of the sort, the school required everyone to pass through security before entering.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
The moment Chiba Yu walked through the security gate, the machine suddenly sounded an alarm, its red warning lights flashing rapidly.
The teacher in charge of the inspection came over, glanced at Chiba Yu, and asked as a matter of routine, "You haven't brought any prohibited items banned by the school, have you?"
Chiba Yu raised his hands above his head and replied expressionlessly, "I think it's the zipper on my uniform. If you don't believe me, feel free to check."
The teacher obviously didn't completely believe him. Instead, he searched Chiba Yu's belongings and checked him all over. Once he'd confirmed everything was in order, he stared at him doubtfully for a moment before saying, "Go on in."
After passing through the security gate, Chiba Yu walked into the school with his backpack, acting as though nothing had happened. As he walked, he discreetly touched the zipper on his uniform.
If anyone had looked closely, they would have noticed a faint white glimmer on either side of the zipper. But it lasted only for an instant.
They were a miniature listening device and a miniature surveillance camera. They weren't the common pinhole cameras sold on the market, but truly miniature devices, each smaller than a fingernail clipping. Unless you looked closely, you wouldn't notice them at all.
Chiba Yu had stuck them to his uniform zipper and used a loophole in the search to bring them inside.
As for why he'd bring these things to school... Wasn't it perfectly normal for a high school student to carry a listening device around? Just like how a fruit seller might carry a wrench. Totally normal, right?
"Phew~"
The moment he stepped onto campus, Chiba Yu knew that his new life had begun.
He took a deep breath. The air was filled with the scent of the greenery. As the fresh air filled his lungs, his whole body seemed to come alive.
"All right, so what's next..."
"Looks like we're supposed to gather in the classroom first, right?"
After asking for directions along the way and following the signs, Chiba Yu finally reached the classroom.
Looking inside from the doorway, he saw that quite a few students had already arrived. Most of them were sitting at their desks, playing on their phones, while one or two had gathered together to introduce themselves.
That was only natural. It was the first day of school, and most of the students didn't know one another yet. It would be unrealistic to expect them to gather in close-knit groups like old friends right away.
A nameplate was placed on every desk in the classroom, each displaying a student's name. Chiba Yu scanned them one by one until he finally found his seat.
It was the last desk in the middle row. He went over, put down his backpack, and looked around.
It was a decent spot. It wasn't a back-row seat by the window or anything, but for someone as committed to conserving energy as he was, it was good enough.
After all, he had no intention of being the protagonist, and he didn't want to get too involved in class affairs. He could just hide in the back and be a nobody.
Right, he was coasting—no, conserving energy!
Chiba Yu firmly reaffirmed his resolve in his mind. Then his eyes darted to the desks around him.
He frowned slightly at what he saw, as if he'd come across something unpleasant.
It was because the name on the desk to his left was none other than the one he least wanted to see: Horikita Suzune!
"If that's the case..." Chiba Yu awkwardly shifted his gaze to the desk one seat beyond Horikita Suzune.
"Just as I thought." The name Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately caught his eye.
He'd been a little surprised to learn he was seated beside the protagonists, but in its place, his mind gradually began to calm.
"It's fine. As long as I don't do anything out of line, they shouldn't notice me... Probably."
"Ugh (￣_￣|||), what an annoying coincidence. At this rate, my energy-conservation plan's going to take a serious hit."
As he thought about it, Chiba Yu turned his attention to something else: the self-introductions coming up. How could he get through his without giving anyone anything to talk about?
As he pondered, without even realizing it, someone tapped on his desk several times.
His awareness slowly returned, and Chiba Yu opened his eyes.
Nearly everyone in class had arrived. A young woman in a black uniform stood sternly at the lectern, while his classmates were all looking at him.
So he'd accidentally fallen asleep. He hadn't realized so much time had passed. Still, being stared at by everyone didn't feel great.
When the others looked away, Chiba Yu thanked the girl who had just been sitting in front of him. "Thanks."
But she merely gave him a cool, "Mm."
Looks like she already disliked him.
Karuizawa Kei—that was the name Chiba Yu had seen on the seating chart just now. She was the girl sitting in front of him.
As Chiba Yu was thinking, the teacher at the lectern began to speak.
"Since everyone's here, I'll get started. I'm Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher for Class D. You'll stay in the same class for all three years until graduation, and I'll be your homeroom teacher throughout that time." Chabashira Sae's face showed no emotion, as though she were reading out something that didn't matter.
"First, I'll hand out the school materials. Pass them back from the front."
As she spoke, the materials were passed back one by one, starting from the first row. When they reached Chiba Yu's desk, Chabashira Sae spoke again:
"There are a few things I need to emphasize first. This is a boarding school. While you're here, you'll be restricted from going out and from all outside communication. But there's no need to worry; there are all kinds of facilities on campus, and you can buy everything you need for daily life."
Then Chabashira Sae took out a terminal. "You'll need to use the points on your student ID terminal to buy things on campus. You can buy anything at this school with points."
As Chabashira Sae explained, Chiba Yu picked up the terminal he'd received when he entered the school. He looked at the information displayed on it—and at the one hundred thousand points that had already been deposited into everyone's account.
At the sight of this, everyone in class was stunned.
"R-Really?!"
"One hundred thousand! That's a whole hundred thousand!"
Even Karuizawa Kei, who was sitting in front of Chiba Yu, couldn't help letting out an astonished, "Huh..."
But while everyone else was surprised and excited, Chiba Yu began thinking about something else.
He knew Chabashira Sae's words had carried a hidden meaning. And her statement that points could buy anything at school was completely true. But that was precisely where the biggest catch lay.
Most of the plot had already grown hazy in Chiba Yu's mind, but he still remembered the points being wiped out the following month.
In other words, if he did nothing despite knowing what was coming, just like Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in the original, then once the next month arrived, he would have to endure the difficult days without any points being credited to his account.
However, for someone committed to conserving energy like him, coming forward now would inevitably set off a whole chain of events. By then, his laid-back life would probably be a thing of the past.
"Forget it. I'll take things as they come."
Next, Chiba Yu began checking his stats and evaluations.
Student Name: Chiba Yu
Class: D
Academic Ability: C Physical Ability: B
Intelligence: C Cooperation: D
Judgment: C
Points Held: 100000
As expected, not a single rating stood out as good. His physical ability barely scraped by, but the rest of his stats were downright miserable.
Just then, Chiba Yu looked up and happened to catch a glimpse of the terminal in front of Karuizawa Kei. She wasn't very far away, so he could easily make out the stats displayed on it.
Student Name: Karuizawa Kei
Class: D
Academic Ability: D Physical Ability: D
Intelligence: D- Cooperation: E+
Judgment: C
Well... how should he put it? It matched the few impressions he had of her from the original. But when he realized that the only stat in which he had even a slight advantage over Karuizawa Kei was physical ability, Chiba Yu leaned his head on his desk, almost sulking.
"All right. You have half an hour of free time. After that, everyone is to gather in the auditorium for the new student entrance ceremony. That's all."
After explaining a few essential rules, Chabashira Sae didn't bother asking whether anyone had questions. She simply gave those instructions, picked up the materials, and left the classroom, leaving everyone behind to stare at their terminals and marvel at the school's generosity.
While Chiba Yu was still leaning on his desk, spacing out, a gentle-looking, handsome boy stood up.
"Everyone, could I have a moment? Starting today, we're classmates, so I thought we could all introduce ourselves. That might help us get to know one another sooner. What do you think?"
Ugh~ The most troublesome part really had arrived...