Chapter 10

Ichinose Honami found herself in a difficult position.

If she couldn't get anything useful out of the teacher, she would have to turn to Nangong Cheng.

"Could you tell us a little about what's in this document? As the buyers, we should have a right to know what we're buying, shouldn't we?"

"...In principle, no. But I'm certain you'll agree to the deal."

Nangong Cheng nodded.

"You remember what the teacher said at yesterday's class meeting, right?"

Ichinose Honami nodded.

"Then how did you interpret 'the school will deposit points on the first of every month'? Do you really think the school will give each of us 100,000 points every month?"

Ichinose Honami fell into thought.

She was quick enough to see what he was getting at. The school was playing with words, which meant next month's deposit wouldn't be 100,000 points.

"Think about it. This school doesn't charge tuition, gives us free room and board, pays us a monthly allowance worth 100,000 Japanese yen, and promises us our choice of prestigious universities and companies after graduation. All we have to do in return is spend three years here... Didn't any of you question how lopsided that deal is?"

Ichinose Honami had no answer.

She had wondered about the 100,000 points herself at first, but she hadn't wanted to assume there was some conspiracy behind it.

Now someone had come to her classroom and laid it bare. And her homeroom teacher's ambiguous reaction seemed to confirm what he was saying. It was... well.

"How many points are you asking?"

"2 million. Nonnegotiable." Nangong Cheng even showed her the record of Class A's transfer.

Ichinose Honami was beginning to grasp how serious this was, but she couldn't make the decision alone. She turned to the rest of the class.

"What does everyone think? Should we buy it? How about a vote?"

"Let's vote."

Several Class B students close to Ichinose Honami voiced their support.

No one else objected to a vote.

The class voted to make the deal.

"You've made the right choice."

As soon as Class B completed the transfer, Chie Hoshinomiya handed the paper to Ichinose Honami so she could photograph it and post it in the Class Group Chat. Then she noticed the girl seemed distracted.

"Ichinose? Ichinose!"

"Ah... Sorry, I was thinking about something..."

Ichinose Honami really had been distracted. The reason was right in front of her, yet Hoshinomiya-sensei, who had just called out to her, apparently couldn't see it.

[Binding Perfect Life System...]

[Task issued: Exchange contact information with Nangong Cheng and invite him to lunch]

[Completing the task will earn Points, which can be exchanged for items in the Exchange Shop]

[Failure penalty: French-kiss Nangong Cheng for one minute in front of everyone]

For now, I'll aim to update around eleven in the morning, though I'd rather post at night because I really struggle to get up during the day.

Volume One: Nangong Cheng: I Am Now the Complete Dragon

What is this?

Nangong Cheng... Is that his name?

And that penalty is outrageous! Isn't it basically forcing me to do the task?!

A dozen thoughts raced through Ichinose Honami's mind, but she decided not to risk refusing.

All she had to do was invite him to a meal. It didn't say they had to eat alone, so she could treat it as making a new friend.

"Um... Nangong, we might still have questions about this document. Could we treat you both to lunch today and ask you to explain a few things?"

Nangong Cheng glanced at Horikita Suzune.

"Of course. After-sales service is part of the deal."

"But my friend has something else to take care of later. I can answer your questions on my own."

Nangong Cheng had brought Horikita Suzune along to sell the information simply so she could feel involved.

Lunch with Ichinose Honami was a separate matter. Naturally, he wouldn't bring Horikita along for that.

Ichinose Honami breathed a sigh of relief.

The task was complete.

[Task complete]

[Task reward: Host receives 100 Points]

[System Exchange Shop unlocked]

"Shall we exchange contact information first?"

"Sure."

After watching Nangong Cheng leave, Ichinose Honami photographed the document and sent it to the Class Group Chat. Before she could investigate the strange thing that had happened to her, her classmates in Class B gathered around her to discuss its contents.

Still, she managed to steal a glance at it.

"Ichinose?"

"Ah, it's nothing... I'm just shocked. I never thought the school was hiding something like this."

Ichinose Honami found a natural explanation for her odd behavior.

The document really was shocking. For instance, it said, "Only students who graduate from Class A will receive the benefits promised by the school."

But the real reason she had lost focus was the system's Exchange Shop.

She had spotted something there—

[Note: Cash will not appear in your account out of nowhere. It will be given to you in a manner that is entirely reasonable and aboveboard]

For a moment, she remembered her mother working several jobs from dawn until late at night to raise her and her younger sister. And what had happened back then...

Ichinose Honami quickly took a deep breath.

Watch out for new kinds of scams!

Having grown up in a single-parent household, she had always been more mature than her peers.

Her mother had forbidden her from working part-time so she could focus on school, but she still knew a few basic facts about life.

Nothing in this world is free!

If something's free, it's because they want something more from you!

[Hello, host Ichinose Honami]

[I am the Perfect Life System's AI assistant. If you have any questions, simply think them, and I will answer.]

What is the Perfect Life System? Why did it bind to me?

Ichinose Honami snapped out of her thoughts and asked the questions in her mind.

[The Perfect Life System is a product designed and created by an extraterrestrial civilization. Its purpose is to help people with imperfect lives achieve fulfillment.]

[The system has conducted a comprehensive scan of this world's data and confirmed that the host is one of the candidates who meet the binding requirements.]

One of them?

Does that mean there's more than one system?

The thought had barely occurred to Ichinose Honami before the cold, mechanical voice answered.

[This system was distributed by an extraterrestrial civilization to countless lower worlds. It is the only copy in this world. The host was selected at random by the program.]

"I'm one of the lucky ones, huh... That's ironic."

Ichinose Honami gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Lucky" had never described her life... No, getting into Advanced Nurturing barely counted as luck.

But the line in the document Nangong Cheng had sold Class B—"Admissions were decided in advance from the very beginning"—stung her eyes now.

"Then what's the price?"

The cold, mechanical voice answered without emotion—

[Make your Fated Partner fall in love with you]

Meanwhile.

On the way to Class C, Nangong Cheng exchanged for a Gene-Enhancement Potion and used a trip to the bathroom as an excuse to take it.

Power surged through him.

"The White Room's greatest athlete in history versus the strongest champion of pure love alive today. You know what that means?"

Ayanokoji, the sole of my shoe is itching for a fight.

All right, he was joking.

Nangong Cheng ran a quick test. He didn't suffer any of the problems he'd expected, such as a sudden surge of strength he couldn't control. It felt as though he had always been this strong.

In reality, he was still only around the level of an amateur Combat enthusiast. He couldn't beat Ayanokoji.

But that didn't stop him from reveling in it.

"I am now the complete dragon."

Horikita Suzune glanced at Nangong Cheng but said nothing. She chalked it up to a bout of adolescent grandiosity.

The two soon reached their final stop of the day.

Class 1-C, the tyrant's domain.

Unlike his visits to Class A and Class B, Nangong Cheng walked in with the air of someone looking for a fight.

"I'm from the Campus Forum. Which one of you is Ryuuen?"

The classroom, as noisy as a marketplace moments before, fell into an eerie silence. Then a boy who looked like trouble stood up.

Class C's homeroom teacher didn't look pleased, either.

"State your name."

Ryuuen didn't consider himself a mindless brute.

Watching this man come in so aggressively, he was already considering why Nangong Cheng had come and how to handle him.

"I never change my name. I'm Kiyotaka Ayanokoji of Class 1-D."

When you were out in the world, you could be whoever you said you were.

Don't call him a bastard. He simply wanted Ayanokoji to learn early how treacherous people could be—and become the ordinary person he wanted to be.

"Let's skip the nonsense."

"I came to Class C to do three things: make a deal, make a deal, and make a damn deal!"

Nangong Cheng signaled to Horikita Suzune with his eyes. This time, she didn't need to take out the paper.

He addressed Class C's homeroom teacher directly.

"Classes A and B have already made the deal with me. If Class C doesn't want to fall behind right out of the gate, you'd better convince them to hand over the full 2 million points."

Kazuma Sakagami's face darkened.

Like Chie Hoshinomiya, he was a homeroom teacher, so he understood exactly what Nangong Cheng was implying.

But he couldn't fathom how a student from Class 1-D had managed to do all this in a single day.

Did he have eyes everywhere?!