Ren walked out of the campus grocery store carrying a large bag of fruit. As he passed the convenience store, he heard an argument and felt a spark of curiosity.
"What are you doing here, you Class D defect? Get lost."
At the store's entrance, three burly upperclassmen were taunting a boy with short, spiky red hair. One of them even mimed spitting on the ground in disgust.
This action immediately ignited the boy, Ken Sudo. His temper flared, and he raised his fist, ready to smash it into their faces.
At that moment, Ren noticed a brown-haired boy with calm eyes watching the incident from the sidelines, just like him. It's human nature to enjoy a spectacle, so normally, Ren wouldn't have paid him any mind. But that boy's eyes... they were like still water. They piqued Ren's interest immediately. Those weren't the eyes of a normal person.
When people watch a drama unfold, they usually betray some kind of emotional reaction. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and Ren could usually glean the information he wanted just by looking into them. But this boy...
It looks like you're not the only interesting one at this school, Little Lion.
"Are you going to hit me? You defect? I'm so scared." The senior student in front of Ken Sudo wasn't intimidated in the slightest as the fist approached. He kept trash-talking, mocking him as viciously as possible.
The fist never made contact. At the last second, Ken Sudo shifted his aim slightly, and the punch merely grazed the senior's ear.
These guys were taunting him for no reason, yet they didn't flinch when he threatened violence. Something was wrong. Even though he was new and didn't know the full rules, his instincts kicked in. As much as he wanted to punch the guy, he couldn't. He didn't want to risk expulsion from a school that gave him 100,000 points a month.
"Tch."
The three seniors, seeing their plan had failed, didn't want to look like they'd lost. As they retreated, they kept up the insults. "A defect is just a defect. What a coward."
"Damn bastards!" Ken Sudo kicked over a nearby trash can, taking out his impotent rage on the object. After venting, he ignored the garbage scattered on the ground and stomped away.
Was that a meaningless provocation, just seniors trying to put a new student in his place? Or is someone from the upper grades setting bait? Or...
Seeing the anticlimactic end, Ren pondered the seniors' motive. This was a public place, and the surveillance cameras nearby had recorded the whole thing. Even if the spiky-haired kid had thrown the punch, the context might have saved him. But he chickened out. It was probably due to a lack of information.
Well, it doesn't matter.
Whatever their reason for this drama, they had dared to mess with his "territory." He would definitely prepare a "return gift" for them.
Ever since he entered the school, Ren had considered the entire first year his personal hunting ground. Now, someone had dared to reach out a paw to snatch a piece of his prey.
Then I'll just have to chop that paw off.
"Hi, Kouhai, we meet again!"
A soft, sweet female voice sounded next to Ren, pulling him back to reality. It was the senpai who had sold him the school rules earlier.
"Yes, Senpai, we meet again. Would you like to take a walk?" Ren offered, sensing a new opportunity. It seemed he could "buy" some more information. How lucky to find such a helpful senpai.
This petite senpai with a modest figure was named Nazuna Asahina.
According to her, she was a third-year student in Class A. Because she was perpetually short on points—likely due to buying expensive amulets or accessories—her daily life was a struggle. The 250,000 points Ren had transferred to her had suddenly made her rich, so she had come to the convenience store to splurge. She happened to spot Ren watching the drama and came over to say hello and thank him.
Ren took her to a campus café. He glanced at the menu and ordered a coffee from the waiter, then handed the menu to Asahina, who was sitting across from him.
"Hello, one black coffee, please. What are you having, Asahina-senpai?"
"One cappuccino and a piece of cake, please. Thank you."
It was clear she was a regular—or at least, she wished she could be. She declined the menu and ordered directly from memory.
"Certainly, please wait a moment." The waiter quickly jotted down the orders, collected the menu, and left.
A short time later, the coffee, the cappuccino, and the cake were brought to the table.
"So... Kouhai, is there something you want to ask me?" Asahina asked in her soft voice. She took a small bite of cake with a delicate silver spoon, savoring the taste she hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
Ren dropped a sugar cube into his cup. As he stirred the black coffee, he smiled slightly.
It seems this senpai isn't as simple as I thought.
"Senpai, can you tell me about the situation in each of the second and third-year classes?"
This was Ren's strategy. There was no need to slowly investigate to find the mastermind. It would be much less trouble to just target both upper grades at once.
"Kouhai..." Asahina gave Ren a meaningful look. This Kouhai's ambition is pretty big.
But what did it matter? As a third-year Class A student, she knew the lay of the land better than anyone. She might as well do this ambitious junior a favor.
...
(Transfer Complete: 100,000 points)
Nazuna Asahina watched Ren leave. She looked at the huge amount of points he had transferred to her terminal and felt reassured about her decision.
But... this Kouhai has some strange tastes.
She took a small mirror from her makeup bag. She examined her reflection—her slightly messy hair, her flushed cheeks. Then she looked down at her own childish, petite figure.
Could he be... a lolicon?
Ren reviewed the class data the senpai had provided, which he'd noted on his phone. He now had a general grasp of the power dynamics in the two upper grades. He closed his device, satisfied.
The sun had quietly set, and the moon was beginning to rise. Evening had fallen.
"How long are you going to follow me?" Ren asked, standing in the middle of a quiet, empty park. He didn't turn around.