Beep!
After collecting his room key from the dorm manager, Hikigaya Hachiman swiped the card and opened the door to his assigned dorm room.
Room 304.
It wasn't particularly large—about four meters by five—but it was well-equipped.
A single bed, freshly made with crisp white bedding to assure newness and cleanliness, inviting him to settle in without hesitation.
A desk, a swivel chair, an internal phone mounted on the desk, a storage cabinet beside it, and an air conditioner installed above.
Straight ahead from the entrance was the bed. To the right, a small bathroom and shower.
Outside the bathroom wall was the wardrobe.
Between the entrance and the bed, a small kitchenette.
That was everything.
Simple, but complete.
For a student, it was undeniably a top-tier living environment.
For Hachiman, who had never shared a room with anyone before, it was... a massive relief.
"I'll just leave the books here," Hirata said.
"So, any plans next, Hikigaya-kun?" Hirata Yosuke asked, as if he were considering tagging along with Hachiman for a while longer.
"I'm planning to pick up some daily necessities at the shopping district and maybe explore the school a bit," Hachiman replied. "After all, we just enrolled—I haven't even had a proper look around yet."
"I see..." Hirata looked like he was about to come along but then shook his head. "I've got something I need to deal with, so I'll have to skip."
He glanced down at his phone as he said it.
Apparently, some students from their class had already gotten into a dispute with students from another class.
As the class's unofficial "mom," Hirata decided to step in.
In other words, he was already stepping into the role of class mediator, running around like a firefighter dousing sparks before they flared into wildfires.
Having someone like that in class was definitely reassuring.
But... the fact that so many people required Hirata's constant attention didn't inspire much confidence.
It was becoming clear—even if homeroom teacher Chabashira hadn't said it outright—next month's generous living allowance might not be guaranteed.
After Hirata left, Hachiman placed his books on the desk and took a slow walk around the dorm room, familiarizing himself with the layout.
Then he sank into the chair and leaned back.
Click.
He lifted his phone and snapped a photo.
Not that he was into that sort of thing—it was to send to his little sister, Komachi.
To let her know he was settling in... and maybe show off a bit. The living conditions weren't bad at all.
But—
[Message Not Sent]
…Huh?
Hachiman walked to the balcony and held up his phone.
[Message Not Sent]
Beep.
He stepped out into the hallway.
[Message Not Sent]
"..."
Okay.
He got the message.
So this is what full-boarding means.
Not only were students required to live on campus for three years, but communication with the outside world was also cut off.
That said, aside from the digital student ID Chabashira had mentioned, the phone came pre-installed with another app—a proprietary social network developed by the school.
The School Forum.
Managed by the student council.
Hachiman opened the forum—it prompted him to log in with his ID.
Apparently, all users were required to use real names.
But the forum itself… was a bit chaotic.
[The new students just enrolled. The shop I work at can't keep up.] – Probably a store clerk.
[Ugh, these first few days every year are the worst. I wish I had a day off, but I still have a four-year contract.] – Another clerk, it seemed.
So even the staff couldn't leave freely—and were bound by multi-year contracts.
[Please browse civilly. The internet connects you, me, and everyone. Civility and health depend on us all.] – Likely a student council announcement.
[The Art Club is recruiting. Students whose work is deemed excellent will receive point rewards.] – That one came from an upperclassman.
Not bad.
A way to earn points.
But—
As Hachiman scrolled down, one post caught his eye.
[Chess Gauntlet. Entry fee: 100,000 points. Best two out of three. Challenger only needs to win once to earn a 1,000,000 point reward.]
Posted by a regular student.
Pretty bold, that title.
A million points? What kind of rich girl is this?
Hachiman tapped in.
The forum used verified names. The poster was:
Sakayanagi Arisu
(Arisu—as in "Alice." A nice-sounding name.)
But Hachiman wasn't the type to be drawn in by voices or faces.
He thought petite girls were cute, too.
The replies on the post were mixed—some called her arrogant, saying she was just a freshman.
So, her class could be checked?
Hachiman tapped her profile—her icon was a chess piece.
[ID14520, Name Verified, First-Year Class A, Sakayanagi Arisu]
Class A, huh?
So she was a freshman too.
Maybe the starting points for Class A were different than for his own Class D?
He replied:
[Do you guys also start with 100,000 points?]
No response even after two minutes.
Meanwhile, others were starting to stir.
Some were asking for the location of the challenge—probably to knock this arrogant freshman down a peg.
The reply came back: "Go to the Chess Club." The clubroom was open for use.
Apparently, she had already beaten the club into submission.
That's some serious game.
Now Hachiman was curious.
He kept browsing.
[The mountain vegetable set from window #5 isn't as bad as I expected.] – Another student post.
Replies flooded in:
"Really? The one I had from window #9 was disgusting."
"Save me a spot, I want to try it."
"Are there any left? Grab one for me too."
Tapping their profiles:
Second-year Class D, third-year Class C, third-year Class D.
A little unsettling.
Sure, free food was free for all.
But…
It felt like people were scrambling for scraps.
Were the upperclassmen in Classes C and D really living that rough?
…
Ten minutes later, Hachiman had skimmed the first two pages of the forum.
Then sat back to analyze.
It wasn't just students—the student council and shop staff could log in too.
It was a useful tool for gathering information.
But the data was all over the place. It needed sorting.
As for verifying whether points could be used as actual currency, Hachiman didn't even need to go to the shopping district.
Someone had already tested it—students were able to make purchases with their student IDs.
Even large amounts. Someone had dropped 50,000 points on a gaming console.
Amazing… or maybe alarming.
Why spend that much, that fast?
No sense of caution or awareness?
And just a little browsing revealed D-Class seniors struggling with bad food—did no one make the connection?
Still, Hachiman had some luck.
He realized not all students had joined the class chat yet.
When Hirata invited him in, it showed only 25 members.
Only half a day into school, and already 25 people had joined—some people were seriously good at socializing.
…
After scanning the dorm again, Hachiman decided to go out shopping.
Now that he understood how the point system worked—and saw how bleak the future looked for lower classes—he figured it was best to conserve.
He also needed to start the task Chabashira had given him.
A reward of 200,000 points. Tempting.
However—
As he waited for the elevator, the doors opened—and he saw someone was already inside.
A girl.
Golden, tousled hair. Deep wine-red eyes. Smooth, porcelain skin.
And lips that shimmered slightly.
A very cute girl.
He recognized her—from the introductions organized by Hirata.
The second to speak.
Kushida Kikyo. She'd said she wanted to be friends with everyone.
If not ambition, then incredibly strong social skills.
"You're…" She seemed to find him familiar.
But Hachiman remembered—his own introduction had been cut short.
So it made sense that she wouldn't remember him.
"You're Hikigaya Hachiman, right?" she said instead. "Chabashira-sensei interrupted your introduction, but I remember you said you were from Chiba."
"Chiba, huh. I've got a friend whose family's from there. It's a beautiful place—lots of dramas shoot in Makuhari by the sea." Kushida spoke easily, casually.
Wait—
She remembered his unfinished self-introduction?
"Hey, Hikigaya-kun, could you tell me more about Chiba sometime?" she asked, those glistening eyes gazing up at him.
So cute.
It was the first time a girl had ever looked at Hachiman like that.
Ugh.
What was this?
Class D didn't just have Hirata the class mom—now it had Kushida the little angel too.