Chapter Summaries

Shiba Sakuya rode a bus to Advanced Nurturing University, where he used legal threats and the office worker’s company badge to end a confrontation over Kouenji Rokusuke’s priority seat. He met Ichinose Honami and arrived at the university as his new life began.

• Sakuya watched the cherry blossoms from the bus and reflected on his plans for Class 1-D at Advanced Nurturing University.
• An office worker berated Kouenji Rokusuke for refusing to give up his priority seat, while Kushida Kikyou offered her own seat to the elderly woman.
• Sakuya filmed the office worker and warned him about legal penalties and the consequences of the video reaching his employer, prompting the man to leave the bus.
• Ichinose Honami introduced herself to Sakuya and praised how he had resolved the conflict.
• Ayanokouji Kiyotaka watched the exchange in the window’s reflection as the bus reached Advanced Nurturing University, and Sakuya followed the passengers off.

Tatsuya Sakuya surveyed Class 1-D as homeroom teacher Chabashira Sae explained the school’s point system and the students introduced themselves. After an awkwardly ignored introduction, Sakuya heard the announcement for the entrance ceremony and decided to wait for the crowded stairwells to clear.

• Tatsuya Sakuya surveyed the classroom and considered Horikita Suzune a valuable ally for raising Class 1-D’s points.
• Chabashira Sae explained that students received 100,000 points each month and that points served as the school’s currency.
• Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyou led the class’s self-introductions, while Sudo Ken and Kouenji Rokusuke clashed with the friendly mood.
• Horikita Suzune criticized the introductions and said she did not want to speak with people unless it was important.
• Tatsuya Sakuya introduced himself, received no response, and heard an announcement directing students to the athletic field for the entrance ceremony.
• Tatsuya Sakuya stayed in the classroom, expecting the stairwells to be crowded at first.

At the entrance ceremony, Tatsuya Sakuya assessed the other classes and recognized Horikita Suzune’s attachment to her brother as a potential advantage. At Keyaki Mall, he collected free necessities, explained his suspicions about the school’s points system to Ichinose Honami, and exchanged contact information with her.

• Sakuya waited with Horikita Suzune for the classroom crowd to thin before they headed to the entrance ceremony.
• At the ceremony, Sakuya observed the leaders and disorderly students in the four classes as Horikita Manabu warned that the school would reward ability and eliminate the incompetent.
• After the ceremony, Sakuya avoided the shopping crowds and collected free daily necessities from the supermarket.
• Ichinose Honami asked why Sakuya chose free supplies despite having one hundred thousand points, and he said he suspected the school was testing students’ self-control.
• Ichinose exchanged contact information with Sakuya so they could discuss anything they discovered about the school.

Tatsuya Sakuya collected his dorm key and shared a quiet elevator ride with Airi Sakura before heading to Keyaki Mall to buy a recording device. He helped Airi choose a lightweight camera and exchanged Line contacts with her, leaving with his new equipment and wondering when it would prove useful.

• Tatsuya collected his key card and gave Airi space during their elevator ride to the second floor.
• Tatsuya returned to his room, decided to buy a recording device, and went to Keyaki Mall.
• Tatsuya spent 28,500 points on a Sony PCM-A10 recorder at the electronics store.
• Tatsuya intervened when a clerk pressured Airi to buy an expensive DSLR and recommended a compact camera instead.
• Airi bought the camera, thanked Tatsuya, and exchanged Line contact information with him.

On the night before school began, Tatsuya Sakuya watched his classmates celebrate their new points and exchanged messages with Ichinose Honami and Airi Sakura. After checking that his voice recorder could capture even quiet speech, he went to sleep, preparing for the first day of school.

• Tatsuya Sakuya saw classmates in the Class 1-D group chat show off their purchases and muted the conversation.
• Ichinose Honami told Tatsuya Sakuya that Class 1-B was welcoming but that the students' lavish spending made her uneasy, and he advised her to conserve points.
• Airi Sakura sent Tatsuya Sakuya a night photograph and asked for help with her camera settings, and he reassured her and offered advice.
• Tatsuya Sakuya tested his voice recorder and confirmed it clearly captured quiet speech in a quiet room.
• Tatsuya Sakuya put away the recorder and went to sleep before the first day of school.

Class 1-D began its first university lesson, and the students quickly took advantage of Chabashira Sae’s lax discipline. After the chaotic class ended without intervention, Tatsuya Sakuya and Horikita Suzune were left questioning the school’s unusual freedom and generosity.

• Tatsuya Sakuya greeted Horikita Suzune before Chabashira Sae began the history lesson at 8:30.
• Yamauchi Haruki arrived late, but Chabashira Sae ignored him and continued teaching.
• Ike Kanji played on his Switch 2, Yamauchi Haruki fell asleep, and Kouenji Rokusuke left class to visit a hair salon without permission.
• Horikita Suzune called the class’s behavior unbelievable, while Tatsuya Sakuya wondered whether the school’s benefits came with risks.
• After the bell, Chabashira Sae briefly met eyes with Tatsuya Sakuya and left, and the class celebrated its freedom.

Class 1-D took its fitness tests, where Tatsuya Sakuya noticed Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was deliberately limiting his sprint time. That evening, Sakuya challenged Ayanokouji to a five-thousand-point bet on whose overall fitness score would be higher, and Ayanokouji accepted.

• Sudo Ken ran the fifty-meter sprint in 6.14 seconds, while Kouenji Rokusuke finished in 6.30 seconds.
• Ayanokouji asked Sudo Ken about average sprint times, then ran 6.71 seconds beside Tatsuya Sakuya, who finished in 6.45 seconds.
• Class 1-D students started betting in the group chat on who would win the overall fitness test, and Ayanokouji bet one thousand points on Sudo Ken.
• Tatsuya Sakuya offered five thousand points on his overall score beating Ayanokouji's, and Ayanokouji accepted the challenge.
• Horikita Suzune dismissed the wager as childish, while Sakuya Siba watched and claimed the five thousand points for himself.

Tatsuya Sakuya narrowly beat Ayanokouji in Class 1-D’s physical test while concealing much of his ability, winning their points bet. After Horikita questioned his performance, a new notice announced a schoolwide swimming test with 10,000 Private Points for the overall winner.

• Sudo Ken impressed the class with an 82.4-kilogram grip result, while Ike Kanji managed 45 kilograms and Koenji refused to participate.
• Ayanokoji scored 60.6 kilograms in the grip test, and Tatsuya Sakuya carefully recorded 62 kilograms.
• During the 1,000-meter run, Tatsuya caught a falling classmate with remarkable speed and finished one second behind Ayanokouji.
• The posted results showed Tatsuya had beaten Ayanokouji by three points, costing Ayanokouji five thousand points in their bet.
• Horikita confronted Tatsuya about holding back, and he said he might take tests seriously if they offered a points reward.
• The school posted notice of a swimming test the following week, offering 10,000 Private Points to the overall winner.

After Airi Sakura asked Tatsuya Sakuya to help Hasebe Haruka, who had avoided swimming class after hearing boys make crude remarks about her body, he spoke with her about her options. Hasebe agreed to take the swimming test, leaving Tatsuya to tell Sakura that it was settled.

• Tatsuya received Airi Sakura's message explaining why Hasebe Haruka was avoiding the swimming test and agreed to help.
• Tatsuya found Hasebe Haruka behind the school and listened as she explained how much the boys' comments had upset her.
• Tatsuya told Hasebe she could report the boys and offered a plan to make the test less stressful by waiting in the stands until her group was called.
• Hasebe agreed to take the test and asked Tatsuya to keep his promise if anyone troubled her.
• Tatsuya messaged Airi Sakura that the matter was settled.

At the swimming test, Tatsuya Sakuya stopped Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki from harassing Hasebe Haruka by revealing Horikita Suzune’s connection to the Student Council president. Horikita then confronted Sakuya, demanding to know how he learned her secret.

• Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki made vulgar remarks about Hasebe Haruka and placed bets on her body while she sat with Airi Sakura.
• Horikita Suzune confronted Ike and Yamauchi and threatened to report their harassment to Chabashira, but they mocked her warning.
• Tatsuya Sakuya interrupted the confrontation and reminded Ike and Yamauchi that Horikita shared a surname with the Student Council president.
• Ike and Yamauchi apologized to Horikita and the girls, believing her brother could retaliate against them.
• Horikita stopped Sakuya as he returned to the line and demanded to know how he had learned about her brother.

Tatsuya Sakuya won the grade-wide men’s fifty-meter freestyle with a time of 21.91 seconds, stunning the other students. After the swimming test, he joined Horikita Suzune, Airi Sakura, and Hasebe Haruka in a playful pool fight, then agreed to teach Hasebe how to swim.

• Tatsuya Sakuya confirmed that Horikita Manabu was Horikita Suzune’s older brother, and she asked him not to use her brother’s name to defend her.
• Tatsuya Sakuya told Airi Sakura and Hasebe Haruka that he expected to win the swimming test.
• Tatsuya Sakuya won the men’s fifty-meter freestyle in 21.91 seconds, ahead of Kouenji Rokusuke, Sudo Ken, Hirata Yousuke, and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
• After the events ended, Tatsuya Sakuya pushed Horikita Suzune into the pool, and she pulled him in after her as the students began splashing one another.
• Hasebe Haruka asked Tatsuya Sakuya to teach her swimming, and he agreed on the condition that she follow his training requirements.

Tatsuya Sakuya went to Keyaki Mall to buy ingredients for cooking and to make Flammable Oolong Tea, where he caught Kamuro Masumi stealing a beer. He used the recording to make her help carry his groceries back to the dorm, leaving her wary of what he might ask next.

• Tatsuya Sakuya went to Keyaki Mall to buy chicken legs, seasonings, eggs, bok choy, vodka, and whisky.
• Tatsuya Sakuya recorded Kamuro Masumi stealing a beer and followed her out of the mall.
• Kamuro Masumi confronted Tatsuya Sakuya, who revealed that he had filmed her theft.
• Tatsuya Sakuya threatened to expose the theft unless Kamuro Masumi helped him carry his groceries back to the dorm.
• Kamuro Masumi carried Tatsuya Sakuya's shopping while keeping a hand in her pocket in case he tried anything inappropriate.

Tatsuya Sakuya cooked Shaxian-style snacks for Kamuro Masumi and deleted the video she had asked him to remove. After learning why she stole and that she did not want to be expelled, he proposed that she become his girlfriend as a safer way to seek excitement, leaving her wary but considering his offer.

• Tatsuya Sakuya invited Kamuro Masumi into his dorm room, deleted the video, and served her homemade Shaxian-style snacks.
• Kamuro Masumi introduced herself as a first-year in Class 1-A and admitted she stole for excitement, though she did not want to be expelled.
• Tatsuya Sakuya prepared Flammable Oolong Tea, but Doubao warned that the dangerous drink should not be consumed.
• Tatsuya Sakuya asked about Kamuro Masumi's class and learned that Katsuragi Kohei and Sakayanagi Arisu led rival factions in Class 1-A.
• Tatsuya Sakuya proposed that Kamuro Masumi become his girlfriend so she could seek excitement without risking expulsion, and she questioned his intentions.

After Tatsuya Sakuya’s swimming-test victory made him influential in Class 1-D, Karuizawa Kei approached him because she wanted someone strong enough to protect her from bullying. She hired him as her pretend boyfriend for ten thousand points a month, beginning their rented relationship.

• Karuizawa Kei reflected on her history of bullying and decided that Tatsuya Sakuya’s strength made him a suitable protector.
• Karuizawa Kei stopped Tatsuya Sakuya in the hallway and arranged to meet him at Keyaki Mall’s café.
• At the café, Karuizawa Kei asked Tatsuya Sakuya to pretend to be her boyfriend and protect her.
• Karuizawa Kei offered Tatsuya Sakuya ten thousand points each month, and he agreed after she transferred the first payment.

Tatsuya Sakuya arranged a date with Karuizawa Kei, overslept and arrived late, then spent the afternoon shopping with her. As they returned to the dorms, Karuizawa gave him ten points for making the date fun.

• Tatsuya Sakuya persuaded Karuizawa Kei to meet him at Keyaki Mall for a date and messaged Kamuro Masumi, who claimed his red packet and rejected his earlier request.
• Tatsuya Sakuya overslept and arrived at the fountain plaza half an hour late, apologizing and offering to pay for everything.
• Tatsuya Sakuya helped Karuizawa Kei choose a beige cardigan and plaid skirt, praised how they looked on her, and bought her clothes and a heart-pendant hair accessory.
• Karuizawa Kei told Tatsuya Sakuya he had earned ten points, explaining that she had deducted points for his lateness but added ten because she had enjoyed the date.

Tatsuya Sakuya defeated the Chess Club’s senior and president to claim the promised points. Sakayanagi Arisu then challenged him, and he asked whether she could bury him.

• Horikita Suzune watched her older brother Manabu recruit students at the Student Council booth.
• Tatsuya Sakuya joined the Chess Club’s arena challenge and checkmated a senior in fewer than twenty moves.
• Tatsuya defeated the Chess Club president by breaking his King-side Fortress with a knight move, then collected his points.
• Sakayanagi Arisu arrived with Kamuro Masumi, praised Tatsuya, and threatened to destroy him.
• Tatsuya asked Sakayanagi, “Can you bury me?”

Tatsuya Sakuya and Sakayanagi Arisu played a fiercely contested chess match that ended in a draw after Sakuya avoided a winning attack. Sakayanagi recognized that he had spared her defeat and arranged to join him and Kamuro Masumi for lunch to discuss the game.

• Kamuro Masumi defended Sakayanagi Arisu and was challenged by Tatsuya Sakuya, but Sakayanagi stepped in to play him herself.
• Sakayanagi opened with a King's Pawn move, and Tatsuya answered with the Sicilian Defense as the crowd watched their rapid, complex game.
• At move forty, Sakayanagi attacked Sakuya's kingside, but he defended and used a black knight to put her king in check.
• Sakuya chose a safe knight move instead of a winning attack, and the game ended with only the two kings and scattered pawns remaining.
• Sakayanagi told Sakuya he had gone easy on her and asked to join him for lunch with Kamuro; Sakuya agreed after Sakayanagi offered to pay.

Tatsuya Sakuya joined Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi for lunch, trading jokes and food-related threats with Kamuro. Sakayanagi outlined the state of all four first-year classes and invited Sakuya to lead Class 1-D toward Class 1-A, but he declined and chose to stay uninvolved for now.

• Sakuya ordered an expensive pork cutlet rice bowl on Sakayanagi's student card and pressured Kamuro into buying him a drink by hinting that he had evidence against her.
• Kamuro shook Sakuya's Coke as revenge, but confessed when he tried to have Sakayanagi open the bottle.
• Sakayanagi asked why Sakuya was in Class 1-D, and he claimed the school's standards had placed him there while praising his classmates.
• Sakayanagi described Class 1-A's order under her and Katsuragi, Class 1-B's trust-based system under Ichinose Honami, Class 1-C's dictatorship under Ryuen Kakeru, and Class 1-D's disorder.
• Sakayanagi urged Sakuya to lead Class 1-D toward Class 1-A, but he said it was too troublesome and that he intended to stay out of class affairs.

After lunch with Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi, Tatsuya Sakuya returned to Class 1-D and told Horikita Suzune how Class 1-A judged their class. Horikita could not refute his assessment and attacked him, then pulled out a compass in anger.

• Sakayanagi Arisu proposed a personal wager in which Tatsuya would become her exclusive toy if he lost, and Tatsuya jokingly asked her to do his homework for three years if he won.
• Tatsuya returned to the noisy Class 1-D classroom, where Horikita questioned him about eating lunch with students from Class 1-A.
• Tatsuya described how Sakayanagi assessed the four first-year classes and called Class 1-D the Gathering Place of Defective Products.
• Horikita grew furious at the assessment but could not refute Tatsuya's description of the class's bad habits.
• Horikita chopped Tatsuya on the neck, then pulled out a compass as he warned her it could kill someone.

During advanced mathematics, Tatsuya Sakuya answered an integral problem correctly after Yamauchi Haruki mistook the integral symbol for a crowbar. Later, Tatsuya and Horikita Suzune were summoned by Chabashira Sae and began a psychological assessment that appeared to evaluate their values and social adaptability.

• The advanced mathematics teacher called on the sleeping Yamauchi Haruki, who called the integral symbol a crowbar and made Class 1-D laugh.
• Tatsuya Sakuya correctly solved both indefinite integral problems, earning applause from the class.
• During break, Horikita Suzune questioned Tatsuya about paying attention, and Kushida Kikyou asked whether he liked making friends.
• Chabashira Sae summoned Tatsuya Sakuya and Horikita Suzune to the faculty office and gave them QR codes for a timed psychological assessment.
• Tatsuya and Horikita began answering questions about their choices, personal values, and priorities between themselves and the class.