After I left the principal's office and collected my phone, I walked around campus to pass time until lunchtime.
I really didn't want to meet my classmates, especially after my false accusation.
I carefully considered what I should do when I eventually did come to class, but of course I hadn't the slightest idea of what to do.
Well, at least I wasn't expelled.
At any rate, I could peacefully survey the school campus—while I was still not in a good state of mind, the luscious plants and modern-styled buildings with a cultural aesthetic did ease my mind a bit.
I continued to walk around until I felt like using the restroom; because of the sudden urge, I hurriedly ran to the school block.
On my way there I felt a sudden vibration in my pocket. I checked my phone to see that I got a notification from an unknown app.
I paid no mind to it and hurriedly rushed to the bathroom. On reaching the corner where the restroom was, I saw a student come out of the girl's bathroom.
It was none other than Tsubasa Yui—Aiya's supposed childhood friend. I wanted to evade her and go to the restroom, but unfortunately that didn't happen.
"Nakamura?"
"Huh? Tsubasa?" I acted as if I didn't notice her.
"Don't call me that; call me Yui."
Uh, ok.
"Sure, well—"
"I heard about what you did with sweet Aiya-chan," Yui said with a soft grin. "I'm referring to you raping her."
"…"
Several thoughts ran through my head: "What the hell? Did Aiya tell her? Doubt it, but didn't the chairman say it wouldn't spread and would stay in the class? If that's true, then how does she know?"
I couldn't think of a way for her to know, so all I could do was cuss mentally.
Damn.
I started sweating as I silently considered how many people knew and what they would do about it.
"Don't be scared; no one else knows, and I won't tell anyone," she reassured me.
"Is that so?"
Of course, I didn't exactly believe her, considering she could easily go against her word.
"Yes, it is. I'm sure you're aware, considering it's you, but I'm not really dating Renjiro."
"Oh really, I didn't notice," I lied.
"If you lie again, I'll tell everyone about what you did," her voice turned cold.
I instinctively gulped—it seemed I'd been checkmated yet again today.
"…What do you want?" I asked.
"I want an alliance," her voice turned sweet.
She has an excellent voice range—she can easily go from sweet and kind to cold and scary.
"An alliance?"
"Yes, an alliance."
I silently considered what game she was playing, and then questions began to arise.
"Can I ask a question?"
"Yeah, feel free to ask whatever," she grinned in a cutesy way.
There was one question I really wanted an answer to—the most pressing and obvious question was:
"Why do you want an alliance with me?"
"Because you are undoubtedly the best person in this entire school."
While this level of exaggeration was undoubtedly way too much, I didn't say a word; instead, a certain thought came to my head, though I discarded it because I wanted to ask another question.
"… I see. Can I ask another question?"
"Sure, go ahead," she grinned.
"What class are you in?"
"I'm in class Alpha."
"Alright then, I hope we can have a good partnership," I stretched out my right hand, smiling peacefully.
She looked a bit taken aback but then grinned and shook my hand.
"But of course," she said. "Anyway, I have to take my leave. See you later, Nakaei-kun."
"Nakaei-kun?"
"It's your new nickname; you like it?"
"I love it," I lied.
"I knew you'd love it. Anyway, bye," she waved at me as she walked back to class.
Thought she said she'd tell my secret if I lied. How come she didn't say anything? Perhaps she didn't notice?
I didn't think too deeply into it as Yui walked back to class. After she left, I hurriedly went into the restroom and took a fat dump.
While taking a dump, I relished the fact that I found 3 of the other assets.
The assets I know of beside me are:
Aiya,
Satou,
And lastly, Yui.
I wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't said these words, "Because you are undoubtedly the best person in this entire school."
The moment I heard those words, I knew she was an asset because for a fact, no one would consider me the 'best student'.
That was her mistake, though I have the feeling it wasn't a mistake.
That being said, these assets might emerge as a problem to me, so they need to be handled.
But there's also the problem with my RP.
I really need to come up with a solution soon or I really might be expelled.
After I left the toilet, I heard the bell ring, signifying the beginning of break.
I waited around a bit so everyone would leave the class, then I walked over to class but saw a large crowd gathering around the front door to the class.
I walked over and saw Ito trying to hold off Inoue and someone I didn't know.
"Inoue, relax; Takagaki-kun might not be the person."
"Yeah, right, like I'd believe that. He literally went about telling everyone that he can take us down—he literally reeks of guilt."
"Guilt?" Takagaki scoffed. "I'm guilty of nothing. Well, I doubt a buffoon like you can even understand that—I'm sure everyone's guilty to you."
"That's it, I outta—"
Miyamura held him back as if saying he wasn't worth it. With everyone calmed down, the two left quietly.
Takagaki also left as he silently insulted Inoue, though I didn't pay attention to what he said and headed over to Ito.
"Hey Ito," I grinned.
"Huh? Nakamura?! You're not expelled?"
"Seems so," I chuckled nervously.
"Wow, that's amazing. Thank goodness," he seemed relieved. "I'm really sorry about what happened."
"No, it's ok—"
"It's not, so please forgive me," he bowed.
It must have really affected him that he couldn't save me, huh?
"Dude, you're already forgiven," I held his shoulder.
"Really?" He looked up at me.
"Yeah."
"Thank you for that. Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering what's happening."
"Yeah."
"Well, our class's student records are missing."
"What?"
I was genuinely scared and surprised for a second but quickly calmed down.
I doubt the government would allow my own student records to be stored so flimsily.
So at least I'm safe.
"Or so it seems."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, this morning, as Takagaki-kun was walking to his class, he said that he knows our class's secrets."
"But that doesn't prove—"
"Since last term, classes have been trying to get one up on each other, so it wouldn't be weird that someone did steal our class records."
"And considering our classmates, they're heated on the prospect of someone stealing from us."
"Yes," Ito sighed. "I don't even know what to think, but like I said, I wouldn't be surprised if someone did steal it because there was an anonymous chat in the school's main chat room that said they stole our class records."
Chatroom?
"I'm guessing that because of what Takagaki said, Inoue is angry."
"Yeah, though I don't think he's the one. I just think he was joking around," Ito said.
"Are you sure? Inoue might be correct."
"Doubt it. What he said was just an insult."
"An insult? What kind of insult?"
"Well…"
"What did he say?"
"What Takagaki-san said was that we're so dumb that he easily knows our secrets and knows how to take us down. He said even a starfish can figure that out, that it's funny how people think of us as a threat. "
"... Oh, I see," I said with a blank expression. "So that's what he said. Does Inoue know?"
"Yes, but he doesn't care."
"Oh."
"Anyway…" Ito stared at the ground with a troubled expression and muttered some words. "Well, she'll tell him."
"Uh, Ito?"
"Yeah?" he looked up. "Anyway, I need to get to lunch. See ya."
Wonder what that's about.
After I left, I ate lunch in class; luckily no one was there. When I was done, I went to the library to read a book with Fujimoto.
"Hey Fuji," I waved as I sat beside her.
"Nakamura! You came," she beamed like the sun. "Also, what's Fuji? Do you mean the mountain?"
(I doubt you don't know this but the tallest mountain in Japan is Fuji.)
"It's a nickname. You like it?"
Seems like I got inspired by Yui.
"Well, no. It sounds stupid."
It seemed she still hadn't learnt to filter what came out of her mouth.
"I see," I said, feeling a little sad.
Noticing my expression, she apologised. "Sorry, was that too harsh? Just call me whatever you like."
"Really?"
"Really."
Since our conversation ended, we began to read the books in front of us.
We read our books silently, though I enjoyed it quite much because I wanted to ease my mind until I eventually went back to class.
Ring, Ring, Ring.
And so, it was time to go back to class. I smiled bitterly at the mere thought.
"See ya, Fuji."
"Bye, Eiya."
"Eiya?"
"I couldn't think of a nickname, so I'll just go with this for now; it's fine, right?"
"Yeah, it is. Anyway, bye."
"Bye."
On my walk to class I could feel the anxiety and nervousness building up, but nevertheless I still had to leave.
Deep breaths Eiya, deep breaths.
I walked into class and saw the shock on everyone's face, especially Aiya's.
I silently walked over to my seat, and Aiya continued her act as tears started to well up in her eyes.
Talk about top-tier acting.
"N-Nakamura?"
Someone spoke up just before I sat down, and Yoshida walked over to me.
"How?" she asked.
"…"
"I asked a question, so answer me. How are you still here?"
"…"
I mentally braced myself for Yoshida's reaction and just silently waited for it.
"…At any rate, you can't sit next to her."
"Huh?"
I expected her to scream and shout, but neither Yoshida nor Kato said a word.
Rather, Kato looked nervous; maybe she was scared that I would try something and try to get revenge since they did steer my expulsion.
Though I felt no hatred toward anyone, not even Aiya—I just felt a bit betrayed, but that was all.
"Where will you sit?"
I gave it a bit of thought and came to one answer.
"…I guess I'll just sit close to the back door," I finally answered.
No one objected, and I switched seats with the person who sat by the back door.
At any rate, the day went on silently; well, everyone was still shocked that I wasn't expelled, though no one asked me anything and just gossiped.
They said stuff like.
"Why's he still here?"
Or.
"This really sucks."
But no one really talked to me directly. I didn't miss the opportunity and hurriedly went to my dorm room when the day ended.
I silently lay on my bed and just looked at my ceiling, thinking about the weird atmosphere in class. I mean, I couldn't really do anything.
Hopefully things will change—especially with my Rp.
I looked and saw my balance; I had 2000 Rp. I sighed, then continued brooding until—
I received a text from Kagura.
[Kagura-chan: Can I come over?]
[Me: Sure.]
[Kagura-chan: Okay, I'll be on my way.]
Why would she want to come over? Well, I guess she wants answers from me. Well, I want some too.
I prepared the room for her arrival by making tea and putting on my A.C.
After a while I heard a knock on the door. I opened the door for her, and she sat on a couch.
I put the tea on a tray and brought it for her. After I gave it to her, she looked at the tea—silently staring at her reflection.
"I'm sorry, Nakamura. My hands were tied so I couldn't do anything; it's not like I didn't want to help you—"
"Don't worry about it; I'm sure Suzuki's lies were just too convincing," I cut her off.
"I'm not talking about that; I'm referring to the school system."
"What do you mean?"
Of course, I knew what she was talking about, but I learnt that from the chairman and didn't want anyone to know about that, so I waited for someone to explain it to me.
I had expected Ito to do it, but it seemed he still felt too guilty to do it—well, with his savior complex, it was expected.
"Before I start my explanation, can I ask a question?"
"Uh, sure."
"What happened when you went to the principal's office?"
Kagura asked the big question—I'm sure this was one of the reasons she came over.
"Well, when I entered his office, he just said he was in a hurry and I was free to go; that was all. I walked around the school before coming to class during break."
"Huh?"
"Is that weird?"
"Yeah, that's really weird, but at any rate, you're still here, so that's good. Now let me begin my explanation—this school is a prison."
"A prison?"
"Yes, a prison—well, at least in a way."
"Could you explain more? What do you mean by prison?"
"Before I answer that, let me explain what Rp really is. Rp stands for 'reputation points', and basically, how people act towards you influences how much Rp you get. If they act hateful towards you, your Rp reduces, and if they are favorable, it increases. The exact calculations are known by the school."
"Ok."
"Also, rules matter here and are absolute."
"Huh? I thought this school chose student autonomy over anything."
"That's a lie, mostly. The thing is, the school doesn't care about basic things like attendance and the way you dress; however, if you break big rules, then you're gone."
Well, that happens in most schools.
Most schools overlooked small faults, though attendance and dressing were something not overlooked in a country such as Japan.
That being said, I was sure that there was some other semblance of autonomy, but I wasn't sure for now.
"Back to Rp, we as a class have especially low Rp, so we all dress like this. Anyway, that's it for Rp," she continued.
"I thought you did that to look cool."
Students in my class dressed a bit differently than the students in other classes—girls raised their skirts far above knee level, boys didn't wear ties, and frankly some barely wore anything that had a semblance to a school uniform.
If it was done by a few people, then it was excusable, but it was done by everyone.
This erratic behavior initially made me question the school—mentally—but I brushed it off since the school allowed us to dress however we wanted, and I also dressed like that.
Well, now I heard why everyone besides me dressed like that.
"Also, even though we're forced to dress like this, that doesn't mean we don't enjoy it," Kagura grinned.
"Yeah. Anyway, what about the school being a prison? I understand that we can't leave till graduation or expulsion, but it's not to the point of this place being a prison."
"If it was just that, it would even be a paradise," Kagura said, looking on the ground. "The problem is the conditions for graduation and expulsion. If you get expelled, you can't ever enter any educational institution for the rest of your life."
"What?"
Such an outlandish statement rightfully made me curious—even though I already knew the answer.
"That's not all. Jobs in any standardized workplace are out of the question too. I'm sure you think this is just for Japan, but the thing is your reputation will get dragged in the mud so much that it won't be able to get anywhere respectable."
"…"
"That's not all; if you manage to graduate, you get rewarded."
"What kind of reward?"
"You are guaranteed a job anywhere, financial backing for your whole life, and political backing in case you want a political position as well as diplomatic immunity."
"How? That shouldn't be possible for the government to grant."
For a fact none of the things said by Kagura—both the reward and punishment—should have been possible, it felt almost like a fairy tale, in fact. Though that wasn't the only question I had.
Well, I already got my answer before now, but there was nothing wrong with asking again.
"And let's say that was possible, what does the school gain?"
"According to them, they gain a 'perfect student,' whatever that means. To be honest, I have a hard time believing it, but that's why the classes are against each other."
"Against each other?"
"The classes want to get the reward."
"But isn't it only to one person?"
"Yes, but the school said you can't change classes till graduation—also your CRP affects your RP."
"CRP? What's that?"
"CRP, or class reputation points, are 10% of everyone's Rp divided by 100. You're lower than the highest class; you get a deduction. The deduction is increased the lower your class is in the class rankings—the difference between the highest-ranked class and the other class multiplied by 100 and divided by 50 is the amount deducted from everyone in the class. If you are the highest-ranked class and you're not above 5,000 Crp your deduction will be difference between the lowest class and you multiplied by 100 divided by 50—that is the amount deducted from everyone in the class."
"… That's a lot of info. Could you explain it a bit simpler?"
I understood it and even got an explanation from the chairman, though I supposed it would be weird for me to grasp it at once, so I pretended that I didn't get it.
"I had a feeling you'd say that. Luckily, I wrote down a better explanation so you could understand it a bit."
I looked at the paper and received a better explanation. It read:
Class Reputation Points (Crp) are calculated using the Reputation Points (Rp) of all students in a class.
Basic Calculation: Each class's Crp is 10% of the total Rp of everyone in that class, then divided by 100. So the formula is:
Crp = (Total Rp of the class × 10%) ÷ 100Class Ranking Penalty: If your class is not the highest-ranked, you'll receive a deduction in Crp.The lower your class is in the rankings, the greater the deduction.
The penalty is calculated as:
(Crp difference between your class and the top class) × 2
(This is because multiplying by 100 then dividing by 50 = multiplying by 2)
Top-Ranked Class Exception: If your class is the highest-ranked, but your Crp is below 5,000, you still get a deduction. In this case, the penalty is based on how far ahead you are from the lowest-ranked class:
(Crp difference between your class and the lowest class) × 2
Important Notes:Everyone in a class receives the same Crp deduction.This system motivates classes to not only be top-ranked but also maintain a high Crp.
"So basically, you're forced to join forces with your class. Also, what are the present Crps of everyone, and where do you view them?" I asked.
"Uh, let's see," she scratched her head. "If I remember correctly, the present Crps are as follows.
Class Alpha with 5,200 Crp.
Class Beta with 5,000 Crp.
Class Gamma with 3,000 Crp.
Class Delta with 2,960 Crp.
Class Epsilon with 1900 Crp.
These scores are told by the homeroom teacher whenever there is a change."
"Quick question: what's the difference between the classes? I mean, before entering this school, I saw a rumor on the internet that said your class is based on how valuable you are to society."
"Uh, yeah, in a way. Basically, they test your academic ability, problem-solving, cooperation, and physical ability. The people in Class Alpha are basically perfect powerhouses, Class Beta are just powerhouses, Class Gamma are just your average top-of-the-class students, Class Delta are just average students, and we're like the worst of the worst."
"Worst of the worst?"
"We've barely passed the four criteria I mentioned before, and so some of us are only good at one thing."
"In that case, isn't it a given that we'll lose?"
"Huh?"
"We in Class Epsilon are the worst students, and we are supposed to win. Are there even such opportunities for us?"
"There are."
"What kind of opportunities?"
"Special tests—these are tests that are different from normal tests that schools have—we had 3 of them last term: the midterm exam, special exam, and end-of-term exam. We have the midterm exam coming up—the information should be on the class group. I'll add you on it later."
"I see. I'm guessing that's how Kobayashi Shin got expelled, right?"
Kagura stiffened at my words but still answered. "Yes, that's correct."
"…I've been meaning to ask this: why didn't I get this information before?"
"The school president made a deal with us to not tell you until Monday, so—"
"Wait a minute, what?" I glared at her.
"It's not like that; we–
"So, you all willingly abandoned me?"
"No, that's not we—"
"Could you just leave me for a while? I need to process this a bit," I cut her off.
"… Sure, I'll send you the original school rules so you can get up to speed. Also, remember that I'm an ally and not your enemy."
After she left, I let out a sigh of relief. I told her to leave because that conversation was getting too long.
Moreover, this would be the correct response to this knowledge, I guess.
I sat on my couch and looked at the ceiling. I was thinking about everything she said; it was identical to what the chairman told me, so there was no real shock to anything.
The only thing really bothering me was the special test—while I didn't allow her to finish explaining it, I understood it because of the chairman.
The main issue was that my class would have a special test soon, and I didn't know when—the chairman didn't tell me.
Because of that, I had an inkling that it was close.
Damn, I should have let her finish; maybe she knew when. This really is turning into a hassle.
I was thinking about calling her when I received a message that said I was added to a class group, and I saw something interesting.
[Ito: Guys, we need to prepare for the special test on Monday. Let's assemble in class by 5 PM; please do well to dress in your uniforms.]
Interesting.
***
Author's Note:
Yes, interesting indeed. This volume is going to be strategy-heavy and requires a lot of thinking, so please put on your thinking caps.
Now, for the big reveal—well, it wasn't really a shock considering my book was based on Cote, but yeah. I mean, at least the point system is different, right?
Also, I hope everyone understood the point system. If you didn't, go and reread it—I literally made Eiya say he was confused just so you guys could understand.
Anyway, remember to comment, share, and leave a review. Thanks for reading the chapter, and see you in the next one.