April, the season when cherry blossoms fall.
On a bus headed toward Advanced Nurturing High School, Saionji Ryosuke gazed out the window, quietly sighing in admiration.
'As expected of one of Sakura Island's top schools. The scenery's really something…' he thought to himself
Advanced Nurturing High School was famous for its free tuition and the promise that graduates could freely choose their future careers — social mobility was no longer a distant dream.
Despite being a "school," it was equipped with KTV lounges, game arcades, the Keyaki Mall, cinemas, and more. In return, the school operated under a three-year, fully closed system. Except for extremely special circumstances, communication with the outside world was strictly prohibited.
As Ryosuke sat leisurely, enjoying the view, an elderly woman trembling on her feet boarded the bus. She looked as if she could fall at any moment. The other passengers, however, simply ignored her.
Ryosuke thought for a moment, then stood up and offered her his seat.
"Here, please sit here, ma'am."
"Thank you, young man."
"It's no problem. Standing or sitting doesn't make a difference to me, and you looked like you were having trouble."
The people around them didn't comment. They just silently noted that the boy with a mask covering half his face seemed like a bit of a do-gooder. But it wasn't their business, so they quickly looked away again.
As the bus stopped, they arrived at Advanced Nurturing High School.
Standing before the school gates, Ryosuke immediately sensed that this place was different. It wasn't just the closed dormitory system—it was the sheer number of surveillance cameras. A rough glance told him that there were barely any blind spots across the campus, though not zero. So many cameras, yet there were still tiny areas not fully covered.
'If this were a design flaw, it'd be too unbelievable…'
After a brief moment of thought, Ryosuke decided to first find his classroom and report in. Following the signs, he arrived at 1st Year Class A.
He scanned the room, then quietly took a seat in the back row by the window.
As it neared the hour, most of Class A had already arrived. Then, the classroom door opened to reveal a silver-haired girl with a black beret and a cane. Her silky hair caught the light, and on her face was that usual, unchanging (fake) smile.
Ryosuke immediately recognized her — Sakayanagi Arisu. He nodded slightly toward her. She noticed him at once, a flicker of surprise flashing across her face before she composed herself, returning the nod politely. She clearly hadn't expected her childhood friend to be here, and inwardly cursed her father, the school chairman, for not telling her.
'As cute as always… though her aura still doesn't match her height at all.'
As Ryosuke thought this, Arisu slowly turned her head toward him, wearing a sweet, adorable smile that felt… dangerous underneath.
'Oi oi oi… what is this, a superpower? I already knew her intuition and deduction skills were freakishly sharp, but this is next-level. Does she know what I'm thinking?'
As if in answer to his thoughts, Arisu gave him a slight nod.
Ryosuke hissed under his breath.
'So the danger begins right from day one, huh…'
After this little moment, at exactly 8:00 AM, a middle-aged man in a suit entered the classroom. With a stern face, he walked to the podium.
"Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Advanced Nurturing High School. I'm Tomonari Mashima, your homeroom teacher for 1st Year Class A. I'll be responsible for your class over the next three years."
"It's school policy that, except for extraordinary circumstances, no one is allowed to leave campus until graduation. The phones you're receiving now will serve as both your personal phones and your student IDs for the next three years. Each of your accounts currently has 100,000 points. At this school, you can buy anything with points. 1 point = 1 yen."
"On the 1st of every month, the school will deposit points into your account."
The moment he finished speaking, the classroom exploded in excitement.
"Eh, so 100,000 points every month means… we're basically getting 100,000 yen in pocket money?"
"No tuition, and they give us 100,000 yen a month? And we can choose our career after graduation? Is this really a high school?"
"These conditions are insane. It's like heaven."
As the other students chattered in excitement about the school's generous system, Ryosuke couldn't shake off a sense of unease.
'There's no such thing as a free lunch. The school budget still comes from the government. If this is really true, how do they ensure they're producing useful members of society? No one would bother studying if they could just coast along.'
Then it hit him—there was a trap hidden in the teacher's wording. He raised his hand.
Mashima noticed the masked student in the back row and clapped his hands lightly.
"You there—Saionji-kun, was it? Go ahead."
The room fell silent. Everyone turned toward the boy sitting at the back by the window. A masked student raising his hand on the first day was already strange enough. What was he going to say?
"Yes, I have a few questions, if that's alright?"
"That depends on what you're planning to ask."
"First… does the school deposit 100,000 points into everyone's account every month?"
Hearing Ryosuke's question, the students of Class A were taken aback. They thought back carefully and realized that the teacher had only said that points would be credited every month—he had never said it would be 100,000 points each time. They had simply assumed that because of the initial 100,000 points mentioned earlier.
On the podium, Tomonari Mashima revealed a faintly satisfied smile and nodded.
"Ah, I can only say that this number is not fixed."
"Hiss…"
The students collectively gasped. So it was a verbal trap after all? If someone spent all 100,000 points in a single month, they might become penniless the next!
Their gazes toward Ryosuke were now filled with a mix of respect and gratitude. After all, if he hadn't asked that question, the teacher clearly had no intention of telling them this detail on his own.
Ryosuke wasn't surprised by the answer. In fact, it was exactly what he'd expected. Looking at the class distribution alone—four classes per year, forty students each, totaling 160 students per grade—and factoring in the other two years above them, giving every student 100,000 points monthly would be an astronomical cost.
"Then, my second question: you said points can be used to buy anything. Does that truly mean anything? For example, if I had enough points, could I change the school rule about not being allowed to leave campus?"
"Eh?!"
His classmates immediately grew excited—though more than that, they were shocked.
"C-Can you really do something like that? Sensei, is that true? Can you really buy anything?"
Mashima stared at Saionji Ryosuke in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone to pick apart the S-System to this degree right after orientation. Still, as the homeroom teacher of Class A, his professionalism was solid.
"Points can buy anything. As for changing school regulations… the number of points required would be astronomical. Realistically, it's almost impossible to accumulate that many."
"Sensei, you didn't deny that it's possible though," a tall, muscular bald student—Katsuragi Kouhei—pointed out.
The entire class noticed this too. The school's bizarre system was nothing short of shocking.
"Alright, I don't have any other questions for now."
With that, Ryosuke sat back down.
Mashima scanned the class once more and said,
"If no one else has any questions, that's all for today. Please wait for the announcement and head to the gym for the entrance ceremony."
He then walked out of the classroom.
Once class ended, the students of Class A quickly gathered into groups to discuss what they'd just heard. The information was overwhelming, and naturally, their gazes soon drifted back to Saionji Ryosuke.
At that moment, Katsuragi Kouhei, the bald student from earlier, approached him.
"Saionji, hello. I'm Katsuragi Kouhei." He extended his hand.
Ryosuke looked up. He recognized him as the one who had spoken up earlier.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Saionji Ryosuke."
He shook Katsuragi's hand firmly.
"Saionji, do you practice martial arts?"
"Ah, I've learned a bit of kendo."
"I see… you must be quite skilled." Katsuragi's eyes showed clear respect.
"Skilled? Why do you say that?"
"Just a feeling. But more than anything, I simply want to be your friend."
Ryosuke nodded slightly at the boy's straightforward attitude. There was no reason to reject a friendly hand—especially since they'd be living together for the next three years.
Katsuragi then stepped onto the podium and addressed the class.
"Hello everyone, I'm Katsuragi Kouhei. It's great to meet you all. How about we start by introducing ourselves?"
Seeing someone take the initiative, the rest of the class followed suit, each giving their introductions.
Except for two people: a cute girl in a black beret—Sakayanagi—and a purple-haired girl with a perpetually annoyed expression.
Ryosuke glanced at Sakayanagi, who exuded a presence far larger than her petite frame. Just as he considered approaching her, she suddenly spoke up
"Ara, it's getting a little stuffy in here. I wonder if someone would like to join me for some fresh air?"
It was a blatant invitation.
"Then allow me, Lady Sakayanagi."
Her lips curled into a faint smile—just like old times. Leaning on her cane, she slowly headed toward the rooftop, with Ryosuke following behind. While the rest of the class gathered to introduce themselves, the two childhood friends slipped out of the classroom ahead of everyone else.