An Elevator Encounter and Advanced Nurturing High School's Ultimate Weapon

Tatsuya Sakuya carried a large bag of free daily necessities he had swept up from the underground supermarket and entered the freshman dormitory building lobby.

The lobby seemed somewhat deserted at the moment. Most students were still enjoying their shopping spree at Keyaki Mall, while only a few freshmen carrying shopping bags were lining up at the dorm manager's desk to collect their room key cards.

Tatsuya Sakuya walked up to the dorm manager's desk and presented his student ID.

"Class 1-D, Tatsuya Sakuya, correct? Here is your key card. Your room is 217 on the second floor."

After carefully verifying the information, the receptionist handed him a blue key card bearing the Advanced Nurturing High School logo.

"Thank you."

Tatsuya Sakuya took the card and casually glanced at the floor plan mounted on the side wall.

The second through seventh floors were the boys' area, while the eighth through fourteenth floors were the girls' area. The entire building shared the lobby and elevators.

It looked like a convenient modern dormitory on the surface, but the overlap and friction in shared spaces were also part of the school's test of self-control.

Tatsuya Sakuya put away his key card and headed toward the elevators. The elevator had not yet started moving.

Ding.

The elevator doors slowly opened before him. Someone was already standing inside.

Tatsuya Sakuya entered the elevator. As he turned to press the floor button, he caught sight of a figure huddled in the innermost corner from the corner of his eye.

She was a black-haired girl wearing thick, non-prescription glasses. Her slightly oversized Class 1-D uniform could not hide her delicate, shapely figure.

She clutched her backpack tightly to her chest with both hands, practically pressing herself against the elevator wall.

The instant Tatsuya Sakuya entered, her body visibly tensed. She instinctively lowered her head even further, her glasses slipping slightly down her nose. She hurriedly pushed them back up, then quietly drew her feet half a step deeper into the corner.

Airi Sakura.

Tatsuya Sakuya recognized the classmate who had almost no presence at all, always sitting hunched over with her head lowered.

He did not strike up a conversation simply because they were classmates, nor did he keep staring at her.

Before a girl who severely lacked a sense of security and was even somewhat extremely socially anxious, any unnecessary enthusiasm or scrutiny would only trouble her. Doing nothing was the best option.

Tatsuya Sakuya deliberately shifted slightly to the left, completely avoiding direct eye contact with her. He simply pressed the button marked "2," then slipped both hands into his coat pockets, looked straight ahead, and quietly waited for the elevator to rise.

The elevator was silent, save for the faint hum of machinery.

Tatsuya Sakuya maintained an absolute sense of propriety, treating the girl beside him as nothing more than an ordinary passenger and keeping a sufficient social distance.

Under his completely non-threatening presence, Airi Sakura, huddled in the corner, gradually relaxed a little. She secretly raised her head and shyly glanced at the tall, handsome boy beside her through the elevator door's reflection.

Ding. The second floor has arrived.

The electronic announcement sounded, and the elevator doors slowly opened.

Tatsuya Sakuya did not immediately step out. Instead, he politely shifted slightly aside, facing the exit and leaving a clear path before walking out.

Airi Sakura watched his natural, composed gesture of yielding the way. Throughout the entire process, he had not even looked at her once, yet he had silently shown her the greatest respect.

Only after the elevator doors closed again and continued upward did Airi Sakura lean against the elevator wall and fully relax. She was still far too socially anxious.

Tatsuya Sakuya opened the door to Room 217 with his key card.

After casually placing the large plastic bag he had carried all the way on the table and roughly putting things away, Tatsuya Sakuya stood by the window and watched the campus gradually grow livelier outside as he began planning his next move.

At this school, where strength reigned supreme, verbal promises and class trust were the most fragile things.

Intelligence, academic ability, and combat ability were all important, but only "physical evidence" could make someone invincible.

One hundred thousand points were enough to buy quite a few good things. He had to get Advanced Nurturing High School's strongest weapon.

Having made up his mind, Tatsuya Sakuya locked his room and left the dormitory building again, heading straight for Keyaki Mall.

Third floor of Keyaki Mall, digital electronics specialty store.

Compared with the clothing stores packed with girls on the first floor and the noisy arcade on the second, the professional electronics section on the third floor was a little quieter.

Tatsuya Sakuya entered the store, passed through the dazzling rows of electronic display cases, and headed straight for the security and professional recording equipment section.

After comparing and testing the various devices, he chose a Sony PCM-A10 equipped with a high-precision noise reduction chip.

It cost him a full 28,500 points, more than a quarter of his total points. Yet Sakuya did not hesitate in the slightest and paid with points on the spot, because this was the strongest weapon. Perhaps it could help him obtain even more points in the future.

Just as the clerk was packaging the device for Tatsuya Sakuya, a commotion came from the camera counter next door.

"Um... excuse me, this camera..."

"Oh, you have excellent taste!"

A tall male clerk spoke loudly, his enthusiasm a little excessive. He patted the packaging of an expensive DSLR on the counter with both hands and took a large step forward, forcing the girl to retreat again and again.

"This is our store's flagship DSLR, paired with a full-frame lens. It has more than fifty million pixels and even supports 4K video recording. It costs 180,000 points, but its performance is absolutely top-tier! If you don't have enough points, you can buy it in installments!"

Her voice was very quiet. "N-No... I just wanted to see if there was... something smaller..."

"How could a small camera compare to this? If you're getting into photography, you should do it properly from the start!"

The clerk continued his exaggerated sales pitch and even stepped forward again, making the girl even more flustered.

Tatsuya Sakuya turned his head and glanced over.

Clearly, she wanted to buy a lightweight camera to indulge her interest in photography, but her overly introverted personality had left her at a loss under the aggressive attention of a clerk eager to meet his KPI.

Tatsuya Sakuya took the packaged recorder from the clerk and walked over.

He stopped two steps away from Airi Sakura. He neither reached out to touch her nor displayed any sort of hero-rescuing-a-damsel emotion as he calmly spoke.

"A full-frame DSLR with a lens weighs over two kilograms. That's too heavy for a girl to carry around every day. And without professional photo-editing software, high resolution only takes up a huge amount of storage space."

The sudden voice made the sales clerk pause in surprise.

Airi Sakura looked up in a fluster. The person speaking was Tatsuya Sakuya, the classmate who had made room for her in the elevator earlier.

Tatsuya Sakuya pointed to a black portable digital camera in the corner of the display case and said to the clerk,

"If she just wants to record daily life or scenery, the one beside it weighs only three hundred grams, has optical image stabilization and a silent shutter, and costs only 30,000 points. The price is reasonable, and it suits her well."

The clerk looked embarrassed by Tatsuya Sakuya's professional analysis, but did not know how to refute him.

"Well... that's true, but expensive products have their reasons for being expensive. You get what you pay for."

"As consumers, we have the right to choose the equipment we like. Please bring that one over. If you refuse to cooperate, we'll have no choice but to complain to the store manager."

Tatsuya Sakuya's presence made the clerk instinctively feel pressured.

"Ah... okay, I'll get it right away!"

If he got a complaint, this month's performance bonus would be deducted again. That would be a huge loss.

Feeling the pressure, the clerk quickly dropped his excessive sales pitch and obediently took the lightweight digital camera from the cabinet.

Airi Sakura held the lightweight camera the clerk had brought out, then turned toward Tatsuya Sakuya standing nearby.

"Um... Sakuya... thank you..."

She spoke in an extremely soft voice, a blush spreading across her cheeks from nervousness.

Tatsuya Sakuya nodded slightly, his tone calm as he maintained an appropriate distance. "No need to thank me. Just choose the equipment you like."

Just as Tatsuya Sakuya was about to leave with his bag, Airi Sakura behind him gathered her courage. Somewhat clumsily pulling her phone from her pocket, she called out to stop him.

"P-Please wait, Sakuya!"

Holding her phone in both hands, Sakura's small face was bright red. She lowered her head, not daring to look directly into his eyes. Her voice trembled, but she was incredibly earnest.

"Um... we're both in Class 1-D... if you don't mind... could we exchange Line contact information? Later... if there's anything about cameras or class matters... that I don't understand... could I ask you for advice?"

Tatsuya Sakuya looked at the girl, who had mustered all her courage yet still seemed terrified of being rejected.

"Of course. It's perfectly normal for classmates to exchange contact information."

Ding.

As the scan confirmation sounded, Airi Sakura, who loved photography, appeared on his contact list.

"All set."

Tatsuya Sakuya put away his phone and nodded at Sakura.

"We can keep in touch when there's something to talk about."

"Mm... mm, thank you, Sakuya!"

Airi Sakura held her phone tightly against herself.

Tatsuya Sakuya carried his bag out of the electronics store, where the setting sun was dyeing the corridor golden.

When would this strongest weapon come in handy?