The opening ceremony

Not long after Sae Chabashira left, the classroom speakers crackled to life.

"All first-year students, please proceed to the gymnasium for the opening ceremony. I repeat, all first-year students, please proceed to the gymnasium for the opening ceremony."

The sudden electronic voice interrupted the students' conversations. Since they had only just arrived, no one chose to skip it.

The students of Class 1-D rose in twos and threes and filed out of the classroom.

Ken Kaneki also stood up from his seat, called to Ayanokoji and Mr. Beautiful, and headed outside.

"Come on, let's join the fun too."

The two nodded and followed Ken Kaneki.

The three walked out of the classroom side by side. The corridors were filled with the chatter of new students, covering all sorts of topics, though the most common was how to spend the hundred thousand points they had just received.

Ken Kaneki and his companions walked at a leisurely pace. Seeing their height, the students along the way had the sense to move aside.

Just like that, they soon reached the gymnasium.

The gymnasium was vast inside, with a high vaulted ceiling and vents on all four walls that hummed from time to time.

Signs already marked out the areas for the four classes. Ken Kaneki entered Class D's formation and observed the students from the other classes.

Class A's area was at the very front, with forty students standing ramrod straight.

A bald boy stood at the head of the group, his arms folded and his expression serious.

He was Katsuragi Kohei, one of Class 1-A's two leaders.

Not a single person in Class A was talking, leaving the group very quiet.

Class B's formation was much the same, with a pink-haired girl standing at the front.

She wore a smile and occasionally reminded Class B's students to stay quiet. She was Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class 1-B, also commonly known to us as Chubby Honami.

Class C was somewhat less orderly, with occasional whispers, but a single glance from the red-haired boy at the front silenced them.

The red-haired boy's name was Ryuen Kakeru, the tyrannical leader of Class 1-C.

Turning his attention back to his own class, Ken Kaneki was rather speechless at the sight of everyone talking loudly.

Compared with the other classes, this place was practically a marketplace. It was painful to watch.

The lights in the gymnasium suddenly dimmed, and several powerful spotlights shone onto the stage.

A tall, thin boy wearing black-framed glasses emerged from the darkness and walked straight toward the stage.

His expression was cold and solemn, but the petite girl accompanying him spoiled that imposing air.

The boy came to a stop and tapped the microphone a few times.

"Tap, tap."

The dull tapping echoed throughout the gymnasium through the speakers. He looked coldly down at the students without saying a word.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, half a minute.

At some point, the noisy gymnasium had quietly fallen silent, and the atmosphere suddenly grew rather still.

The students in Class A, Class B, and Class C who had been talking to one another also shut their mouths and watched the boy onstage in silence.

Only Class D continued to buzz with conversation. Some even began complaining at the solemn atmosphere.

"What's his problem? Standing up there without saying anything-is he mute?" Sudo frowned, immediately losing control of his temper.

"What's he acting so full of himself for? I'll go teach him a lesson in a minute."

Startled, Kanji Ike grabbed Sudo to stop him from doing something stupid.

He understood that the person standing there was someone of particularly high status, most likely the Student Council president. He had looked into how this school was organized before, and the Student Council president held considerable power.

Small fry like them could easily be crushed on a whim.

If Sudo had not been his kind of guy and a good friend he had just made, he would never have saved him.

"Are you crazy? That's the Student Council president. Do you want to get expelled on your first day? We haven't even spent our money yet. Don't do anything stupid."

Kanji Ike lowered his voice as he warned Sudo.

"Let go of me. What's so special about a Student Council president? Who does he think he is?"

Perhaps he really had taken the warning to heart. Ken Sudō shook off Kanji Ike's hand and kept cursing under his breath, but he did not step forward to cause trouble again.

Onstage, Horikita Manabu still said nothing. His gaze pierced the crowd and landed squarely on Class D's area, his eyes filled with disappointment.

This year's Class D was even more useless than the previous ones.

The deathly silence lasted about a minute. Even Sudo felt the invisible pressure coming from the Student Council president.

He immediately drew his neck in and fell silent like a frightened quail.

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

Once the initial commotion had completely died down, the Student Council president spoke with satisfaction.

"Welcome to this school. Here, ability reigns supreme. Whatever your past may have been, it means nothing.

At Advanced Nurturing High School, results are everything."

Horikita Manabu's speech was blunt. Rather than the cheerful atmosphere with which other high schools welcomed their students, there was a grim severity reminiscent of a military academy.

"Over these three years, the school will provide you with the finest resources. If you think you can laze around and live comfortably, you are sorely mistaken.

Resources are not distributed equally. The weak have no right to survive..."

Listening to the speech, Ken Kaneki felt that this might be an official hint from the school. Why had the students present back then failed to understand what it meant?

Just then, he caught sight of Horikita Suzune's profile ahead of him out of the corner of his eye.

The girl bit her lip, tightly clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands as she stared fixedly at the boy onstage, while he did not spare her so much as a sidelong glance.

A stranger seeing this might have mistaken her for a resentful wife pining away over unrequited love.

"You can't raise wolves in a greenhouse, only lambs waiting for slaughter. Still, this school really is extreme."

Ken Kaneki was rather struck by it. When he had read the book in his previous life, he had always complained about what a fucking stupid school this was. Now that he was seeing it for himself-well, it really was.

"That's true, but it doesn't mean much to us."

Koenji shook his head and spoke disinterestedly. Ayanokoji offered no objection either.

Although Horikita Manabu's speech was not as focused on formalities as those of high-ranking officials, it was still long-winded and tedious.

Ken Kaneki simply could not understand why he had to keep rambling on about this and that after finishing his points.

Finally, with some of the students on the verge of falling asleep, Horikita Manabu's speech ended.

He turned and stepped down from the stage with a smile, looking rather pleased, unaware that the students below were cursing him to hell and back.

After Horikita Manabu left the stage, the opening ceremony moved on to the next item on the agenda.

"Next, we will introduce the school's clubs."

This time, the announcement came from a young woman with a sweet voice. Once it ended, the club representatives took turns going onstage to recruit members.

"I'm the captain of the baseball club! We made it to the national tournament last year. Join us and enjoy a youth full of sweat and hard work!"

"The tea ceremony club welcomes everyone. You can refine your poise, and we even provide free tea and snacks."

"The karate club is recruiting! Anyone who wants to get stronger, come join us!"

The club introductions dispelled the earlier tension.

Looking at the students who remained at the venue, Ken Kaneki took Ayanokoji and Koenji along and began to act.