Entrance Ceremony

The broadcast for the entrance ceremony echoed through the corridors. Coupled with the massive shock of receiving one hundred thousand points, Class 1-D's classroom instantly erupted into celebration.

"Hey, after the ceremony, wanna go to Keyaki Mall? I heard they're even selling the latest Nintendo Switch there!" Led by Ike Kanji, the boys openly displayed their desire to spend.

"I'm going to buy that cosmetics set I've wanted for ages. We're going as soon as the ceremony ends." The girls around Karuizawa Kei were equally eager to shop.

Although Class 1-D's destination was the athletic field, most of their minds had already flown to the mall's display counters.

Tatsuya Sakuya did not move.

He sat leisurely in his seat, even idly twirling the fountain pen in his hand.

The stairways would definitely be packed at first. No one would be able to move for a while, and they would only be crammed together. Going now would be nothing but a waste of time.

When most of the people in the classroom had left, Sakuya turned his head toward Horikita Suzune, who was still seated beside him and had not moved at all.

Horikita Suzune was quietly reading Crime and Punishment in her hands, seemingly undisturbed—or rather, she simply did not care.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who dislikes this kind of meaningless gathering."

Sakuya was the first to break the silence between them.

Horikita Suzune paused, snapped her book shut, and casually placed it on her desk.

"I simply believe that waiting here until the crowd thins out before moving is the more efficient choice."

Her voice carried a coldness that kept others at arm's length.

"Also, please do not arbitrarily classify me as your kind."

"Is that so?"

Sakuya did not continue along her line of thought, and the quiet indifference between them returned.

After establishing this perfectly measured sense of distance, Sakuya left the classroom at the very last moment for the entrance ceremony assembly.

On the athletic field of Advanced Nurturing University, the formations of new students from all four classes had already lined up neatly.

Sakuya stood near the back of Class 1-D's formation, silently sweeping his gaze across the field.

At the very front of Class 1-B stood Ichinose Honami. Wearing a gentle smile, she spoke softly with the students around her. Her natural warmth had already made her the unquestioned core of the class on the first day of school.

His gaze shifted to Class 1-A's formation. There stood the stern, bald-headed Katsuragi Kohei, and beside him was the silver-haired girl Sakayanagi Arisu, leaning on a cane.

Class 1-C's formation, meanwhile, had an entirely different atmosphere.

A boy with long dark-red hair had somehow acquired a chair and sat upright at the very front of the formation.

Ryuen Kakeru.

He propped his cheek up with one hand, arrogance practically radiating from him.

Around him, no one from Class 1-C dared to say a word.

He sat there on his "throne," because to him, a king only needed to sit upon his throne and quietly wait for prey to deliver itself.

Finally, Sakuya turned his gaze toward his own class's formation.

Ike Kanji was tugging Yamauchi Haruki along as they pointed at girls in the distance and snickered. Sudo Ken stood with his arms crossed, yawning, while several girls in the back row were even taking out mirrors to touch up their makeup. The entire formation leaned every which way, a complete mess.

"Silence, everyone. Next, the Student Council president will deliver a speech."

The noise on the athletic field vanished instantly.

A boy wearing gold-rimmed glasses walked onto the podium with practiced ease.

Horikita Manabu.

The absolute ruler of Class 3-A, the most imposing Student Council president in Advanced Nurturing University's history.

"I am the Student Council president, Horikita Manabu."

There was no fluctuation in his voice.

"Advanced Nurturing University is the nation's foremost institution of higher learning, established to provide society with outstanding talent. Here, ability is everything. Excellent resources will only be allocated to those of value, while the incompetent... will be ruthlessly eliminated."

It was a brief speech, yet it carried immense impact.

Sakuya paid no attention to the speech onstage. Instead, his gaze settled on Horikita Suzune, standing not far away.

The girl who was always cold and aloof had subtly straightened her back, her eyes fixed tightly on the stage.

As long as he grasped this bond called her older brother, using this seatmate however he wished in the future would become effortless.

After the entrance ceremony ended, a large number of new students flooded into Keyaki Mall in the school's central district.

Sakuya strolled through the mall's spacious, brightly lit corridors, taking everything around him in.

The café was packed with girls drinking expensive afternoon tea. In front of the electronics store, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki danced with joy after getting their hands on the latest handheld consoles. The clothing section was filled with new students swiping their cards without hesitation.

Sakuya did not join the crowds in any of the high-end areas. Instead, he headed straight for the underground daily necessities supermarket in the mall's farthest corner.

The rows of largely ignored shelves held toothbrushes, towels, shampoo, and other personal care products without any fancy packaging, along with all kinds of daily necessities.

On the price tags of these goods was a striking number: [0 points].

Sakuya calmly picked up a shopping basket and began selecting those free necessities in an orderly manner.

Looking completely unruffled, Sakuya tossed another bottle of shampoo into the basket.

How could an elite school that advocated ability above all else possibly hand students one hundred thousand points every month without conditions?

If students truly did not need to worry about survival, then this area of free supplies would have no meaning whatsoever.

The answer was obvious: the one hundred thousand points were startup funds meant to test the new students' self-control.

Only when those fools who squandered all their points would they realize how precious these free supplies were.

After checking out and packing an entire basket of free goods, Sakuya carried the plastic bag in one hand and turned toward the supermarket exit.

The moment he reached the corridor outside, a familiar figure approached him head-on.

Ichinose Honami.

The instant they saw each other, both of them froze slightly.

"Ah, you're the student from the bus. If I remember correctly, you're Tatsuya Sakuya, right?"

Ichinose was the first to recover.

"What a coincidence. Are you here to buy things too? Do you remember me? I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B."

Sakuya nodded slightly. "It is quite a coincidence, Ichinose. I remember you."

Ichinose's gaze finally fell on the huge, bulging plastic bag in his hand, printed with the logo of a cheap supermarket. A hint of curiosity appeared in her eyes.

After all, the new students throughout the mall were spending points like mad. At a time like this, there were not many people carrying a huge bag of free zero-point supplies.

"Tatsuya..."

Ichinose's tone carried unconcealed probing.

"These things you bought seem to all be from that free shelf. The school gave us one hundred thousand points, so why did you specifically come here to take these?"

If it had been an ordinary boy, being directly called out by a gorgeous, campus-idol-level beauty for taking "free junk" would probably have made him so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

But Sakuya's expression did not change in the slightest.

Rather than deliberately being mysterious, he spoke in the rational tone of someone discussing an objective rule.

"I don't think there's such a thing as a free lunch. For ordinary college students, one hundred thousand points a month is a little too much."

Sakuya looked toward the new students in the distance who were still squandering their points. "Since the school has set up this kind of minimum guarantee, I believe there must be a deeper purpose behind it. Besides, I think points should be spent where they matter most."

"Tatsuya, just how far can those eyes of yours see?"

She took out her smartphone from her pocket and proactively held the screen out before Sakuya. "If either of us discovers anything new in the future, we can discuss it with each other."

Looking into the girl's clear eyes, Sakuya did not refuse. He calmly scanned the code.

"Ding."

Looking at the adorable pink kitten avatar that had appeared in his contact list, Sakuya added the note: Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose waved, then walked briskly toward the supermarket.

"Make sure to keep in touch, Tatsuya."