A Simple Life in the Classroom of the Elite

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Arisu's laugh echoed through the halls, drawing curious glances from passing students.

"Seriously, stop it. I get it, okay?" I exclaimed, rubbing the back of my neck. Unlike my visible embarrassment, though, I was actually happy. 'It's rare to see her like this.'

Arisu took a deep breath, finally calming down. "I just can't understand your thought process. How did you come to the conclusion that the most prestigious school in all of Japan…is a sham?"

I shrugged casually. "I pulled an all-nighter watching Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. Might've gotten in my head a little."

Arisu sighed. "That explains a lot. Maybe don't base your views on a show about gambling addicts."

"Noted." I gave a sheepish grin.

"Though that just goes to show how gullible you can be." She shot me a pointed glare.

"Don't worry, the only person who can trick me is myself!" I proudly declared, pointing a thumb at my chest.

Arisu gave me a flat look, clearly unconvinced.

Still, I stood by my words. 'If anything can trip me up, it's my own rashness.'

"What do you want to do now?" She asked, shifting the conversation.

"We could just stay till the ceremony begins." I suggested.

"Really? You don't want to explore? That's what everyone else seems to be doing." She raised an eyebrow.

"Nah. If you want to go somewhere, we could just wait at a café or something." I offered casually.

Arisu's expression darkened slightly. "I can walk for an hour, you know? I don't need you to tell me to rest."

"That's not what I meant! I just…" I stopped myself, realizing anything I said would only make things worse.

She turned away, continuing her walk. I simply sighed, following behind her.

…

The two of us left the school building, wandering aimlessly through the surrounding area.

"Got any place in mind? There are way too many facilities around here." I said, breaking the silence.

"I'll just wander until the entrance ceremony begins." Arisu replied with a cool tone.

"I see…" I nodded, deciding to change the subject. "How was your class?"

"Nothing special." She huffed. "Teenagers, no matter how exceptional, are still teenagers."

'You're a teen too.' I thought but wisely kept to myself.

"What about yours?" Arisu asked, though her eyes already held a knowing look—like she was pitying me before I even answered.

"Fine, I guess. Koenji's there, so that might be a minus." I chuckled.

"Is that all?"

"Well, there was a bit of a conflict." I admitted. "Some people wanted everyone to pool half their points together to make two million."

"Two million? For what?" That actually caught her interest.

"To learn the school's rules." I sighed. "I may have…blurted out a question to our teacher about whether we'd get a hundred thousand points every month. She didn't confirm or deny it—just said they aren't allowed to explain. So someone figured we could pay to find out."

Arisu was quiet for a moment, then let out a small chuckle. "How is it that even when you completely miss the point, you still manage to get the right answer?"

"…That's supposed to be a compliment, right?" I muttered, unsure if I wanted to ask for clarification.

She smiled knowingly. "From what you've said, I'm becoming certain of it now. There's no guarantee we'll receive these points next month."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself." I noted.

Arisu met my gaze with unwavering confidence. "Of course I do, the evidence will come soon enough."

"How?"

She sighed, her eyes steady on mine. "You should already know."

I shrugged, not keen to dive into it. "If you say so."

…

Our wandering led us near the mall area, where dozens of students excitedly looked around, checking out the various stores.

"This one's so beautiful!"

"I like this one more!" Girls admired jewelry, fawned over plushies, or wandered into cafes, clearly deciding what to spend their points on.

The boys weren't far behind, eyeing electronics, manga, and all sorts of other miscellaneous items.

"To think next month all this joy might just disappear…" I sighed, observing the students moving around.

"That's their fault. We saw through the school's facade, after all." Arisu's voice was cold, detached.

"Still, it doesn't seem fair. Couldn't they just tell us the rules outright?" I frowned.

"Do you really think we need to be spoon-fed such information? It's common sense not to expect anything for free in this world." Arisu raised an eyebrow.

I opened my mouth to argue but hesitated. Could I really refute that?

'If this was just common sense, how did so many students fail to notice it?'

The question struck me like a sudden revelation, and I stopped in my tracks, deep in thought.

'How did they even get into this school?'

Arisu noticed my pause. "What's on your mind?" Her eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Do you think—"

"Don't worry about it, it's just temporary."

Before I could finish, something else caught my attention.

An upperclassman stood nearby, leaning against a pillar, talking to a first-year girl with short, blue hair and sharp purple eyes. I wasn't paying much attention at first, but then I saw his phone screen. He was requesting a transaction for ten thousand points.

"I'll pay you back double next month." The upperclassman said nonchalantly.

The girl crossed her arms. "If it's temporary, why not just wait until next month?"

The guy's relaxed smile faltered, his frustration peeking through. "Come on, I just need a little help, alright? It's only ten thousand."

The girl frowned, looking uncertain.

I nudged Arisu. "You seeing this?"

She glanced over and smirked. "How interesting. What will you do?"

"Why do you think I'll do something?" I questioned, only for her to shoot me a knowing look.

I sighed, walking over without giving it much thought.

"Hey." I called out, stepping closer. "What are you guys doing?"

The senior turned, his expression unreadable at first, but it quickly morphed into irritation.

"Who are you?"

"I don't think that matters. Just curious why an upperclassman is asking a first-year for money." I shrugged.

The girl shot me an annoyed look. "I don't need help."

"Probably not." I said, then returned my attention to the senior. "Why aren't you asking one of your classmates for points?"

"None of your business." The guy muttered, visibly uncomfortable. "I already said I'll pay her back double next month."

"And if you don't?" I raised an eyebrow, sensing something wasn't right.

Silence. That was all I needed to know.

The girl's eyes flickered between us, and she finally pulled back. "Yeah, I'm not giving you anything."

The guy scowled but didn't argue. He muttered something under his breath before walking off.

The girl glanced at me, looking unimpressed. "You didn't need to do that."

I nodded, unfazed. "That guy had bad intentions, and I didn't want to just stand by."

She studied me for a moment, like she was trying to figure something out. Then she huffed and turned away.

"Uh, bye." I waved hastily, not expecting her to just suddenly walk off.

The sound of Arisu's cane tapping the floor signaled her approach, and then she joined me.

"Did you expect her to be grateful? Not everyone shows appreciation just because you helped." Arisu remarked, her eyes unreadable as she studied me.

"I wasn't looking for anything in return. Just didn't like the situation." I replied, shaking my head.

Arisu seemed to soften a bit. "Normally, I'd tell you not to meddle in every conflict, but this time, you did good."

"Is it because of the upperclassman?" I asked, still processing the situation. "It was strange that he was trying to extort points from a first-year student. But who knows how he's been spending his money?"

Arisu nodded. "True. But like you said earlier, why didn't he just ask one of his classmates?"

I thought for a moment, realizing the question had led us back to the same issue. "It's because we don't know all the rules. He wanted to take advantage of that girl." I finally concluded.

Arisu gave me a small smile. "Exactly. Seems like even upperclassmen are struggling with their points, so they're exploiting first-years while they still have them."

"Even the older students…" I frowned, struggling to understand how, after being here for so long, they could be in such a predicament.

I thought back to my earlier doubts. 'Be it my classmates, the students around us, or that senior…none of them strike me as the exceptional students who would benefit from the school's promise of a hundred percent employment rate.'

It was only then that it hit me.

"Hey, Arisu, do you think your classmates are geniuses?" I asked, my gaze fixed on her.

She chuckled softly, as if amused by the question. "They're far from what I'd call geniuses. But, in the end, they do have three years of nurturing ahead of them."

"Nurturing, huh?" I picked up on the choosing of her words, wondering if there was something more to it.

"I was thinking…what if the classes held more importance than we thought?"

…

The entrance ceremony was about to begin, and the gymnasium was filled with over a hundred students, each of them seated in neat rows. I couldn't help but grumble as I glanced at the podium, where faculty members were offering their usual formalities. Nothing to really grab my attention for now.

Arisu stood beside me, an amused smile playing on her lips, clearly enjoying my reaction.

'She's probably just waiting for me to figure this out on my own.' I thought with a sigh.

'I feel like I'll have to be doing this more often from now on, huh?'

I let my mind wander as the ceremony dragged on, the endless speeches starting to blur together. That was until the one person I actually cared about came up to the podium.

"Firstly, I want to welcome all of you to the Advanced Nurturing High School." A man with white hair and glasses addressed the crowd in a formal tone.

"It's Dad!" I whispered toward Arisu with a grin.

"Yes, I see him." She rolled her eyes, her voice flat. "Why the excitement? We saw him a few days ago."

"Even so, it's not like we see him every day." I replied, confused by her detached reaction.

Arisu didn't seem to share my enthusiasm, but it didn't bother me. As Dad continued his speech, he scanned the crowd and caught sight of us. A small smile formed on his face as our eyes met.

I almost waved at him, but quickly stopped myself, realizing that would just invite a bunch of unwanted attention. No need for that kind of spectacle.

"My name is Narumori Sakayanagi, the chairman of this school. Starting today, you will spend three years here, growing as individuals and shaping your future. We expect you to make the most of the opportunities provided."

And from there, his speech continued with all the usual buzzwords—excellence, discipline, perseverance. All the typical platitudes you'd expect from someone in his position.

"As you all know, each student has been provided with an allowance of a hundred thousand points. Please use them wisely."

With that, the ceremony came to a close.

…

"You think we can go see him?" I asked Arisu, looking around as we left the gymnasium.

"It's the first day. I'm sure he's busy. Besides, if he wants to see us, we'll find out." She said, her tone calm.

"I guess…" I nodded, not really expecting anything else.

"Think I'll head to the dorms now. What about you?" I asked, glancing at her.

"I'm going to the chess club." She answered without missing a beat.

*Huh? I don't think you can join yet though." I exclaimed, not wanting her to make the trip for nothing.

"That's not why I'm going." She added, noticing my confusion, but she didn't offer any more details.

"Alright then. Do you need me to–"

"No, I can handle it myself." She interrupted, her voice a bit sharper than usual.

"Got it. See you later then." I said, letting out a sigh and heading toward the dorms.

"Ryuto." Arisu's voice stopped me before I could take another step.

I turned back to see her standing there, a serious look on her face. "You realize we're not kids anymore, right?"

I blinked. "Huh? Of course, I know that."

She stared at me for a moment, as if weighing something, before she gave a small nod. Then, without saying more, she turned to walk back toward the school.

I felt the urge to say something else, but instead I called after her, trying to keep things light. "Hey, don't forget to send me a message when you get there. Otherwise, I'll just worry and come looking for you."

She paused for a second, and even though I couldn't see her face, I could swear there was a faint smile there.

"Alright, alright. But be careful yourself. I don't want you getting into trouble." Her voice softened just a bit before she disappeared around the corner.

I chuckled to myself, feeling a little less tense, and made my way toward the dorms.

…

I walked silently toward the dormitories, staring aimlessly at the blue sky above.

'Why would she ask that? I know we're not kids anymore...maybe it's because I'm trying too hard to help her?' I thought, but the question nagged at me.

Before I could think further, an angry shout broke my train of thought.

"You trying to make fun of me, huh?!"

I turned to find a familiar red-haired boy in front of a general store, arguing with three upperclassmen. He slammed a cup of noodles to the ground, splashing them everywhere.

Behind him, a brown-haired boy stood, looking indifferent.

'Sudo and Ayanokoji.' I remembered.

"You're awfully mouthy for a first-year. We already put our bags here, see?" One of the seniors said, plopping his bag down, and sitting down in front of the store.

"Now beat it." He waved Sudo off.

"You got a lot of guts, asshole." Sudo didn't back down. His anger only flared.

'Looks like a fight's about to break out.' I thought, frowning. I needed to step in.

I walked over with a friendly smile, patting Sudo's shoulder. "Sorry about my classmate. We'll just move somewhere else."

The seniors eyed me warily, but I wasn't a stranger to that look.

"Hm?" Sudo glanced at me, surprised, before shaking my hand off.

"Like hell I'm leaving! I was here first!" He shouted.

"Are you an idiot? I already told you our bags were here." One of the seniors said with a smirk, making the others laugh.

I sighed. "Sudo, this isn't worth fighting over."

I tried to reason with him, but one of the seniors only fueled the flames.

"Yeah, listen to him. You can't seem understand this on your own. Hahaha!"

"You bastards!" Sudo tried to charge, but I grabbed him, holding him in place.

"Ayanokouji, can you help me out here?" I muttered, hoping he'd hold Sudo back.

Ayanokoji reluctantly grabbed Sudo by the sleeve. It wasn't much, but it was enough to stop him from charging.

Sudo glared at the seniors, still seething with anger.

I turned toward the upperclassmen, my expression hardening.

'They need to back down.' I thought, my lips tightening.

"What? You want to fight too?" One of them sneered, clearly thinking they had the advantage.

But before I could respond, another senior cut in, a smug look on his face.

"Using violence so quickly, you all must be from class D, am I right?" He exclaimed with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow. "So what?"

They exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"So you're in Class D? Yeah, we knew it. Dead giveaway."

I stared at them blankly, the implications of their words not escaping me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sudo stepped forward again, undeterred by Ayanokoji's grip.

The seniors stepped back slightly, grinning.

"Aw, you poor things. Since you're 'defective' we'll let you off just this once. Let's go, guys." One of them signaled for the others to leave.

I called out before they could walk away. "Wait."

"What now?" The senior snapped, his patience running thin.

"You called us 'defective'. Why?" I asked, glaring at him.

He blinked, surprised, then quickly recovered. "I don't need to tell you anything." He scoffed, turning to leave.

'Damn…what would Arisu do?' I furrowed my brows, looking around for anything that could put me at an advantage. That's when I spotted two cameras placed right outside the store.

'Might be a crude plan, and most likely not work, but it's worth a try!' I thought determinedly, not wanting to let these guys walk away after insulting my classmates.

"There's a hierarchy in this school, isn't there?" I said, raising my voice slightly, grinning.

The seniors froze.

"How—" One of them stammered, but was quickly silenced by the others.

"You just told me about it, didn't you?" I smirked wider.

One of them scoffed, crossing his arms. "So what? What are you trying to get at?"

I shrugged casually. "I just wanted to make sure you noticed those." I pointed toward the surveillance cameras.

They exchanged uncertain glances before one of them burst into laughter. "Hah! School cameras don't have audio, idiot."

"Does that look like a school camera to you?" I raised an eyebrow.

Their confidence wavered for a moment, but another senior quickly shook his head. "So what? Even if it's not, who cares? You can't prove anything."

"Maybe." I exclaimed, stepping forward. "But would you really risk it? The school's got strict rules, right? If a teacher decides to investigate, who do you think they'll believe? A bunch of upperclassmen picking on first-years, or me, someone who shouldn't even have this kind of knowledge in the first place?"

The seniors' faces twisted in frustration.

"Hey, let's just go. It's not worth the trouble." A senior clicked his tongue, throwing a glance at his friends.

He started walking off, but the leader hesitated, his eyes narrowing as they locked onto me. "What do you want?"

I paused for a beat, feeling the tension thicken.

"You called us out like this. So what's your price?"

That question caught me off guard, and for a moment, I just stared blankly.

'They think I'm blackmailing them?'

I only wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine, but judging by their reactions, I might've pushed things too far.

The group exchanged uneasy glances, beads of sweat forming on their brows.

"Five thousand each. That's all we can give."

'What now?' My mind raced. I hadn't planned this far ahead.

I kept my face unreadable, but their anxiety only grew.

"Say something, bastard!" One of them snapped.

"Is that not enough?!" Another barked, frustration clear in his voice.

I barely had time to react before the leader held up a hand, silencing them. His jaw clenched.

"Ten thousand. That's the limit." His voice was tight with restrained anger.

"Wha—?" One of them tried to object, but he was quickly cut off.

"Do you want to risk being punished?" The leader growled, shooting him a sharp glare.

…

I was left staring at my phone, thirty thousand points added to my account as the upperclassmen left, their hate-filled gazes staying on me until the very end.

Seeing my point balance increase, I didn't feel happy or sad. Those guys were clearly bad people, so I didn't feel bad about taking some points from them.

What truly occupied my mind, though...

'Why did I think about Arisu earlier?' A frown appeared on my face.

'Faced with a problem all on my own…why did I think about what Arisu would do?'

It was then I started to realize. The only reason I started to know so much about the school's rules, the only reason I even decided to come here…was because of her.

'Am I…relying too much on Arisu?' My eyes widened as I reached the conclusion.

Suddenly, I felt a pat on my back.

"Hahaha! That was great! We showed those morons not to mess with us!" Sudo's excited voice rang out.

"You didn't really do anything, though." Ayanokoji mumbled.

"What are you talking about? I made them scared!" Sudo shot back with a glare.

"Again, I don't know about that." Ayanokoji continued, his eyes flickering between me and Sudo.

'Does he not know when to stop?' I sighed inwardly, worrying that Sudo might get angry again.

Sudo grumbled but didn't continue the banter. Instead, he turned to me, looking a bit awkward. "Thanks for the assist, though. I owe you one."

"No problem." I said, smiling casually. "Since you owe me, how about cleaning this up?" I pointed at the noodles on the ground. "You did make this mess, after all."

"Right…" Sudo sighed, his head lowering.

"I'll help. Don't worry." I chuckled at his reaction. 'He might be quick to anger, but he doesn't seem like a bad guy.'

As the two of us crouched to clean up, I noticed Ayanokouji trying to sneak away.

"Hey, Ayanokoji, where are you going? You're an accomplice, you know?" I shot him a playful smirk.

Hearing me, Ayanokoji's lips twitched, and he reluctantly returned, joining in the cleanup.

…

After finishing up at the store, the three of us went our separate ways…only to find we were all heading toward the dormitories.

"Basketball, huh? That's pretty cool." I said as Sudo talked about his love for sports. "Planning to take it professionally?"

"Yeah, I'm aiming for Tokai University." Sudo proudly nodded. "I was pretty anxious about how to get there, but the school's hundred percent enrollment rate really helped me out." He sighed in relief.

"Yeah…it's pretty good, huh?" I glanced around, suddenly feeling bad for him, now that I began to know the truth.

"What about you? I'm sure you'd be pretty good at basketball." He said, eyeing my slightly taller frame.

"I play a little, but for me, sports are more of a hobby." I shrugged casually.

We continued walking, until I remembered there was another person with us.

I turned to Ayanokoji, only to find him staring at the ground, deep in thought.

"You good?" I asked, curious.

"Huh? Uh, yeah." He responded, surprised that I was talking to him. "Just thinking about earlier."

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well…why did they seem so scared?" Ayanokoji voiced his thoughts.

"I told you already, it's because of me." Sudo chimed in.

I let out a small laugh. "That, and because exposing the rules of the school to first-years is prohibited, no matter who you are."

"How did you know that?" Ayanokoji asked, intrigued.

"I met another senior earlier, asking for points. He was just as tight-lipped as those guys. Plus, if the staff were the only ones unable to tell us, what would be the point if any upperclassman could reveal the rules?" I explained my reasoning.

"I see…that's why you kept quiet?" Ayanokoji mused. "Even if they tried to blame you for blackmailing them, their evidence would be too weak, since they just gave you the points without you even asking."

He analyzed it for a moment, then blinked and scratched the back of his head. "Or, uh, at least that's what I think."

"Something like that." I said with a wry smile, though my silence earlier was mostly from being too bewildered to act.

"Huh? So you had them in your palm from the start!" Sudo looked at me with slight admiration.

'I didn't.'

"From the way they looked at you, though, I don't think they'll just let this go." Ayanokoji warned.

"I'll deal with that when it comes." I shrugged, not thinking too much about it.

…

Now, I stood in front of my dorm room, the key in my hand with the number 403 written on it.

Coincidentally, Ayanokoji was my neighbor, with Sudo's room right beside his.

"See you later!" I waved at them before entering my room. Each of them returned the greeting before going to their own rooms.

I looked around. The room wasn't much—a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a bed. That was about it.

'I guess we don't need much else anyway.' I thought, slumping onto the bed.

I pulled out my phone and saw a message from Arisu sent a few minutes ago.

"Seems like she's alright." I muttered to myself before replying briefly.

I set the phone down and stared at the ceiling in silence.

'Talking to those two was actually pretty refreshing.' My thoughts drifted back to my conversation with Sudo and Ayanokoji.

Despite my concerns about Arisu's social relationships, I wasn't exactly in a better position myself. So being able to talk to someone my age who wasn't my sister wasn't something I got to do often.

'We're not kids anymore, huh…?' I sighed, a hint of melancholy settling in. For the first time, I started to realize—I couldn't just cling to the past. I had to start living for myself.