Class 1-B.
"Looks like everyone's here…"
Walking lazily into the classroom, Class 1-B's horoom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, was about to begin with her usual opening—introducing herself and going over information about Advanced Nurturing High School.
But her words stopped halfway.
Because a lively, well-endowed girl with very pretty strawberry-blonde long hair suddenly raised her hand high.
"Teacher… Asakusa Tōru hasn't arrived yet," she said.
"Eh? Eh? Soone's already late on the first day of school?" Hoshinomiya Chie looked genuinely surprised. "But there's nothing we can do about it. I'll have to trouble everyone to pass things along to the late student afterward."
After all, the entrance ceremony would be starting in about an hour. Considering that ti might also be needed later for questions, she really couldn't have everyone wait for a single late student.
"Anyway, let's get started~"
Hoshinomiya Chie clapped her hands together and flashed an exceedingly sweet smile.
...
"This school doesn't reshuffle classes every year, which ans Little Chie here will be spending the next three years together with all of you~"
"Unless there are special circumstances, any contact with the outside world is prohibited, and leaving school grounds without permission is also forbidden~"
"Everyone's received their personal terminals, right? You can check your personal points on them. Basically, within the school, one point equals one yen. Points are credited punctually on the first of every month. You should've all received 100,000 points by now, yes?"
"Within the school, there's nothing you can't buy with points. As long as it's sothing that exists on school grounds, anything can be purchased~"
In her very distinctive personal style, Hoshinomiya Chie went over both the information that had already been included in the pre-admission materials and so that hadn't.
"Alright~ If there's anything else you'd like to ask, feel free to ask your teacher," she said cheerfully, her gaze sweeping naturally across everyone in Class B.
Everyone looked… pretty normal.
Hopefully, they'd stay normal.
"Um, teacher…"
The first person to raise her hand again was the sa strawberry-blonde girl.
If Hoshinomiya Chie rembered correctly, this child's na was Ichinose Honami.
"If Asakusa-kun doesn't co today…"
Sothing unexpected was asked.
She was asking about the absent student.
Without dragging it out, Hoshinomiya Chie answered cleanly, "Then the school will consider it a forfeiture of enrollnt."
"Wow, that really is unexpected." She leaned forward onto the lectern, propping her cheek up with one hand. "This is actually the first ti in all these years that I've seen a student miss the very first day."
"To think soone would really give up enrollnt."
After all, although only Class A actually enjoyed the privilege of a 100% advancent and employnt rate, students before enrollnt shouldn't know that. Logically speaking, no one in this country should be able to refuse such treatnt.
And yet, it had happened.
A Class B student, absent on the very first day.
"Give up enrollnt…"
Ichinose Honami lowered her raised hand, her eyes filling with an emotion difficult to read.
Eh—was it soone she knew?
Seeing Ichinose Honami's reaction, a trace of surprise surfaced in Hoshinomiya Chie's heart.
Or was she simply saddened by the loss of a classmate on the very first day of school?
"Any other questions?"
Putting aside her extra thoughts, Hoshinomiya Chie straightened up. "If not, we'll end things here."
"I wish you all a wonderful school life ahead~"
...
While the students of Class 1-B received their horoom teacher's blessing, the sole absent student—already regarded by the teacher as having abandoned enrollnt—Asakusa Tōru was currently eavesdropping.
In truth, the soundproofing of Advanced Nurturing's classrooms wasn't bad. At the very least, it wasn't the sort where every sentence would casually leak outside.
But unfortunately, the recording quality of the recorder in Asakusa Tōru's hand was simply too good. Even though Ryūen Kakeru had closed both the front and back doors in advance, the recorder still captured every sound inside the classroom with perfect clarity.
Violence.
Intimidation.
And rule.
Under the watchful eye of horoom teacher Sakagami Kazuma, Ryūen Kakeru had decisively taken control of Class 1-C.
Well… maybe not that decisively.
But in any case, aside from a small handful who couldn't be easily beaten into submission in a short ti and would require "training," everyone else had chosen to submit to Ryūen Kakeru.
As for why he chose to establish violent rule on the very first day of school…
There were countless possible reasons.
Perhaps it was because he keenly sensed the hidden issues within the rules introduced by the horoom teacher. Or perhaps his middle school experiences led him to choose domination within this completely closed-off school.
Either way—
Ryūen Kakeru did it.
Not only did he do it, he imdiately began issuing orders.
"Hey, Ishizaki. Go invite the 'guest' outside to co in."
That voice rang out from inside the Class 1-C classroom.
"Hah? Why should I listen to you?"
A dissatisfied voice followed. The man Ryūen called Ishizaki clearly wasn't so easily tad.
"I told you to go. So go."
An unquestionable tone accompanied by faint pressure and the gazes of the rest of the class. Unwilling though he was, Ishizaki still had no choice but to walk out of the Class C doorway—where he ca face to face with Asakusa Tōru.
His eyes darted around, and he almost imdiately spotted Asakusa Tōru, who clearly had no intention of going far.
"Whoa, there really is soone here." Ishizaki Daichi clicked his tongue.
Shaking his head, he waved. "Co on in."
And so, under the gaze of everyone in Class 1-C, Asakusa Tōru once again walked into the Class 1-C classroom.
Almost the instant he stepped through the door, a black shadow flew toward him like a hidden weapon—thrown from Ryūen Kakeru's hand not far away.
"Don't stuff your things into other people's drawers."
Catching the recorder Ryūen had thrown with perfect accuracy, Asakusa Tōru glanced down at the device—at the records that seed to have been completely wiped—then smiled, before casually tossing it back in Ryūen's direction.
"Now it's yours," he said.
"You can take it as my greeting. Accept it—or throw it away."
"Either way, nice to et you. I'm Asakusa Tōru, Class 1-B."
Watching Ryūen Kakeru grip the recorder tightly in his hand, a shadowy glint flashing in his eyes, the curve of Asakusa Tōru's smile lifted even higher.
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