Class 1-A

It was April in Tokyo, and gentle breezes brushed against people's faces, carrying the sweet scent of cherry blossoms.

A large bus was calmly driving along the Bayshore Route, with the sea views of Tokyo Bay outside the windows before soon entering the cross-sea bridge and heading toward Advanced Nurturing High School.

The low humming sound of the engine filtered through the seats, accompanied by a slight sense of jolting.

A completely abrupt voice broke the calm, and Hoshinomiya Rinyu, a dazed, handsome boy, abruptly opened his eyes.

"Don't you think you should give up your seat?"

A female dressed in an OL-style outfit questioned him with a sharp tone.

"Didn't you see that the elderly woman is troubled?"

Sitting in the priority seat was a sturdy, blonde-haired man—oh, or rather, a high school student. He was wearing a bordeaux-colored Western-style uniform, which was the uniform of Advanced Nurturing High School.

The OL woman's voice echoed through the quiet carriage, naturally drawing gazes from all directions.

"That is truly a crazy question, lady."

"Why on earth must I give up my seat to this elderly woman? There is fundamentally no reason for it whatsoever." The blonde man smiled slightly and re-crossed his legs.

"You are sitting in the priority seat right now, so you ought to yield it to an older person."

"I fail to understand. Even for a priority seat, there are no legal requirements demanding I do so. Youth must yield their seats? Hahaha! What a truly nonsense way of thinking."

This unique way of speaking was undoubtedly Koenji.

Hoshinomiya Rinyu was now fully awake, recognizing Koenji sitting in the priority seat looking quite carefree.

"Though I don't find standing inconvenient, it is clearly more taxing than sitting. I have absolutely no intention of doing such a meaningless thing."

The OL woman seemed to want to argue further, but the elderly woman waved her hand first.

"There, there... I'm fine."

"It seems this elderly woman is more sensible than you."

"Umm~ I also think the older sister is right."

Just as the two were deadlocked, a student also wearing a bordeaux-colored uniform stepped forward. She had short, golden-brown hair, and her figure did not look like that of an ordinary high school student.

"Is this a pretty girl this time? It seems I unexpectedly have good luck with the opposite sex today."

Damn, have I transmigrated into the world of Classroom of the Elite? The short-haired girl in front of me is Kushida Kikyo, so the one in my front seat must be...

At this thought, Hoshinomiya Yurin's heart trembled.

He lifted his eyes, glancing at the two figures directly in front and diagonally in front of him.

The brown-haired boy directly in front was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the male protagonist of the Classroom of the Elite novels, a leading figure displaying his sharp edge with the ambition of leading Class D all the way up to Class A. The black-haired girl diagonally in front was Horikita Suzune, the hidden mastermind pulling the strings of the entire situation and manipulating everyone in the palm of her hand.

To actually get to see the living Ayanokoji. Hoshinomiya Rinyu suppressed the surging waves deep within his heart, his gaze sweep unostentatiously past the indifferent-looking Horikita Suzune diagonally in front of him.

Even though a storm was already raging in his heart, Hoshinomiya Rinyu's face revealed only a trace of very shallow surprise. He slowly shifted his gaze, quietly sizing up those familiar yet unfamiliar faces inside the carriage.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Horikita suddenly put down her guidebook and coldly glanced at Hoshinomiya Rinyu, who was looking around.

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment. Is there anyone willing to give up their seat to this old grandmother? Please."

Hoshinomiya Yurin withdrew his gaze awkwardly, quickly standing up to offer his seat to the elderly woman.

"Come sit here."

Everyone in the carriage aimed their gazes at him.

The short-haired girl was stunned at first, seemingly struck by Hoshinomiya Rinyu's striking looks, but she adjusted immediately and said happily, "Thank you, classmate."

Accompanied by Kushida's support, the elderly woman also repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

Koenji cast a playful and scrutinizing gaze over, mocking verbally, "Turns out not everyone here is a hypocrite, but..."

Dragging out a long tail syllable, he teased, "This cool boy, your choice made on the basis of social morals to avoid trouble is hardly any different from this group of people who turned a blind eye to this old woman."

"Thanks for the compliment, classmate Koenji." Hoshinomiya Yurin did not refute and instead replied only with this final sentence.

"Oh~ Does this cool boy even know who I am?"

Koenji finally revealed a curious and surprised expression unlike his usual self.

Hoshinomiya nodded but showed no intention of offering a reply.

"Interesting."

Seeming quite interested, Koenji closed his eyes again and immersed himself in his own world.

"Uhm, thanks for just now, classmate. What's your name?"

Kushida Kikyo walked over to my side with a smile.

"Hoshinomiya Rinyu. And you?"

Hoshinomiya Rinyu feigned ignorance and asked in return.

"Thank you very much, classmate Hoshinomiya. I'm Kushida Kikyo."

In this corner where no one noticed, everything in the front rows had already been taken in by a pair of golden-brown pupils.

Just like that, after some idle chatting, the bus finally arrived at Advanced Nurturing High School.

Hoshinomiya and Kushida got off to say goodbye, following the crowd toward the school.

"What did you mean by looking at me just now?"

It was Horikita Suzune.

"Nothing, I just subconsciously appreciate beautiful things."

"Who knows what goes on inside your slick head?"

"I'm deeply sorry."

Looking at the handsome boy who bowed ninety degrees in front of her, a trace of imperceptible blush crossed Horikita Suzune's cheek. She didn't soften her tone at all, ignored him, and walked straight around him.

"Sigh~ where'd they go?" Hoshinomiya Yurin wondered.

Without looking much longer, he then entered the campus.

Finding his name on the 1-A roster, Hoshinomiya Rinyu briefly listened to a few check-in instructions, then turned and walked toward the teaching building.

Pushing open the classroom door, there was no conversation with each other as imagined; the scene in Class A was quite unusual.

The classroom was roughly divided into two factions.

The first thing that caught the eye in the front row was a petite girl with a black beret and an exquisitely beautiful, slightly purplish-silver-white hair. A cane as tall as a desk leaned obliquely against the edge of the desk.

It was Sayanagi Arisu.

The seats around her were almost fully occupied, and quite a few classmates gathered around her, quietly forming a small circle with her at the core, except for the empty seat by the window on the left.

Shifting the gaze to the back of the classroom, the leader was a bald boy with a serious expression, and some people had gathered around him too.

Katsuragi Kohei.

Hoshinomiya Yurin didn't linger at the classroom door, walking straight toward the front-left seat.

My seat is unsurprisingly next to Sayanagi.

He also saw the name on the corner of the desk at that moment.

"Hello, classmate, could you tell me your name?"

"Classmate, shouldn't you state your own name first before asking someone else's?"

The white-haired girl's lips curved into a shrewd smile, looking at him with the corners of her eyes curved in an expression that was a smile yet not a smile.

Hoshinomiya Rinyu was stunned, then smiled frankly: "That's right. I'm Hoshinomiya Rinyu. Can you tell me now?"

"Oh my, oh my, since you want to know so badly, classmate, then I will generously tell you. Sayanagi Arisu is my name."

"Nice to meet you, Sayanagi-san." Hoshinomiya Rinyu proactively extended his hand.

"How nice is it...?"

Before they could chat for long, the classroom door creaked open again.

The newcomer was a stout man with a serious face, none other than the Class 1-A homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya.

An indisputable pressure emanated from all around him.

He gently placed the documents in his hand onto the podium, making a "clack" sound, which instantly concentrated everyone's vision in the classroom.

"Hello, new students. I am the homeroom teacher of Class A, your teacher, Mashima Tomoya. The subject I teach is English. Your ability to enter this school proves that you all possess certain strengths or special traits, and you can truly be proud of that."

Hoshinomiya Rinyu didn't feel a trace of pride like everyone else, and his mind was still replaying the conversation he just had with Sayanagi.

"However, this school is different from the vast majority of schools outside. In Advanced Nurturing High School, points represent everything, and your food, clothing, housing, and transportation all require points. Here, points are equivalent to Japanese yen; 1 point = 1 yen. Neither banknotes nor credit cards can be used, and points can buy everything."

"The student terminals on your desks contain the one hundred thousand points just issued..."

Before he could continue, an uproar broke out below.

"What? One hundred thousand points? That's more than I earn working part-time!"

"O-one hundred thousand points? Do we get them every month?"

"Doesn't that mean we can buy whatever we want?"

Hoshinomiya Rinyu lowered his eyes, his fingertips gently tapping the tabletop. Although this amount was indeed a huge sum for ordinary students, it was actually understandable. After all, the students coming here weren't all from prestigious families.

"Quiet, I haven't finished speaking yet."

"An hour from now, the entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium. I will first distribute the materials regarding the school's special rules, although you already understood them when you enrolled. If there's nothing else, we'll see each other later..."

"Wait a moment, Mashima-sensei."

Hoshinomiya Rinyu stood up without hesitation.

"Is there something you need, Hoshinomiya-san?"

Mashima Tomoya looked at the standing student with some surprise.

Hoshinomiya Rinyu's tone was steady, his gaze calmly meeting the other person's: "I'd like to confirm whether the one hundred thousand points distributed each month can be spent without limit and freely, without any restrictions on their use?"

Mashima Tomoya's expression froze slightly, and he replied seriously: "Points can be used in the vast majority of facilities and shops on campus, and the specific details will be written in the information handbook."

"Then will the amount of one hundred thousand points distributed each month fluctuate?"

Hearing this, Mashima Tomoya trembled slightly, adjusted himself a little, and said, "Forgive your teacher for not being at liberty to say. Everyone, pack up and get ready to attend the entrance ceremony." With that, he quickly turned and left the classroom.

Hoshinomiya Rinyu watched the other person's receding figure, his expression without the slightest ripple, and simply withdrew his gaze calmly. The surrounding classmates were still immersed in the joy of the points, and most didn't take the possibility of the points fluctuating to heart.

"Oh my, Hoshinomiya-san is unexpectedly quite shrewd."