Chapter 9: The True Face of the School
"On the first of every month, points will be transferred to your accounts. One point equals one yen…"
"This month's 100,000 points should already be in your accounts."
"Wow…"
Hearing that they'd receive such a huge amount of points every month, the class erupted. In Japan, most young people struggle to find a job paying 100,000 yen a month, yet at this school, they get 100,000 points monthly without doing anything.
Even Hikigaya's lips twitched uncontrollably at this shocking news.
This was a full 100,000 points. Growing up, Hikigaya had never handled so much money.
And now, he was given 100,000 points for doing nothing.
"100,000!"
"Is that for real…?"
[Watching this once-familiar scene, the students of Class 1-D couldn't bear to look back. They had been completely unaware of the school's harsh reality. The so-called 100,000 points were just a facade.]
[Kushida Kikyo: "Ugh, if we hadn't skipped classes back then, we wouldn't have ended up with zero class points. The following months wouldn't have been so tough."]
[Kushida maintained her charming demeanor, speaking with regret but still wearing her approachable smile.]
[Her words prompted many boys to nod in agreement. If they had been more aware and the class had been smarter, they wouldn't have ended up with zero class points in the first month.]
[Ike: "It's all because of this school's stupid system. They didn't even tell us something so important. Isn't that just setting us up for a fall?!"]
[Ike's excuse resonated with the class, who nodded in agreement. Unable to accept their failure, they needed a convenient justification.]
[Ayanokōji Kiyotaka hadn't said a word from start to finish. Though he had noticed something off about the school's system back then, he didn't fully understand it and thus didn't act to change anything. Now, what would this boy do?]
"You're shocked by how much is given, right? This school evaluates students based on merit. Since you've been admitted here, your basic merit is worth that much."
Chabashira Sae didn't elaborate like others might. She only briefly mentioned the school's system and the S-Point evaluation system before moving on.
But in truth, Hikigaya was still somewhat confused about what the S-Point evaluation system actually was.
Snapping out of his initial excitement, Hikigaya looked at the points in his hand, still finding it unbelievable. Back at Sobu High, his parents gave him a monthly allowance of 5,000 yen. He rode a bike to school, ate at home, and his only expenses were occasional MAX coffees. Over time, he could even afford a game or two. But now, they were generously handing him 100,000 points. Even at a public school, Hikigaya couldn't believe it.
There had to be something wrong.
By his earlier calculations, a class had about 25 students. If every class was like this, with four classes per grade and three grades, that made 12 classes. With each student receiving 100,000 points monthly, that totaled 360 million points—or yen—per year. Even with government support, such expenditure was impossible.
Moreover, from his observations, this school wasn't filled with geniuses. He was his own reference point. He couldn't believe that just by coming to this school, his science grades would suddenly improve. That was unrealistic. Even with his strong literature scores, his poor science performance capped his overall potential. And even excluding himself, the red-haired hedgehog was his second reference point.
He had a feeling that guy's grades weren't great either.
Was it worth spending so much money to nurture students like him?
Hikigaya couldn't help but ask himself.
The answer was obviously no. He still couldn't believe his life was worth 100,000 points a month. As Chabashira Sae said, if the S-Point evaluation system judged based on personal value, he was just a zero-point loser.
[Hikigaya's self-deprecating thoughts were constantly relayed to all the students in the school.]
[Ryūen: "Oh? How come I have never seen this guy before. This guy is pretty sharp, he actually figured out the school's trick in such a short time."]
[Ichinose looked at the boy with concern. This kind-hearted girl still remembered the bus incident, where his actions had surprised her. Though they weren't in the same class, she felt sympathy for him.]
[Class A was always far ahead, with only minor internal conflicts, relying on Sakayanagi's brilliant mind to handle all exams. But watching this boy, Sakayanagi seemed to take an interest in a boy for the second time.]
["How interesting. He's practically… an overly self-aware monster."]
[Sakayanagi's meaningful smile lingered as she focused back on the video.]
[Meanwhile, Class D was utterly stunned. Most of them had been completely unaware of the rules, only regretting it after Chabashira Sae revealed them. Yet this boy, through brief observation, had already pinpointed what was wrong.]
[Shinohara Satsuki: "This is… unbelievable. How can someone be so smart?"]
[Hirata Yosuke: "If I had known back then, I would've warned everyone. I wasn't just that smart."]
[Kushida Kikyo put on a regretful expression, echoing: "Me too…"]
[Sudo: "He actually figured out the school's trap…"]
[Chabashira Sae crossed her arms, watching like it was a show: "Oh? You actually figured it out."]
[Ayanokōji: "So… what will you do?"]
( End of this chapter)