Even though he rode the elevator with two beautiful girls, they left as soon as they reached the first floor.
That more or less confirmed it—they, like him, were probably heading back to the dorm first before going to the shopping district to buy daily necessities.
But—
What Kushida said earlier was still worth thinking about.
First, since the school had accepted so many students and promised free tuition and living expenses, there was no reason for them to hold back on funds. That meant the 100,000 private points in the student ID app were meant to be used as actual money.
And Kushida was able to confirm this quickly because her classmates had already gone to verify it in person.
So—
Shirogane realized something.
Their class didn't have a group chat yet.
Normally, every class would have a group chat, but no one in his class had taken the initiative to create one.
Then again, this was only the first day, and students had been bombarded with so much information that it was understandable if they hadn't thought about it yet.
Still, the fact that Kushida's classmates had already gone to check things out so quickly—didn't that mean she had a really strong network?
As Shirogane pondered this, he noticed something strange—his mind was completely silent.
Clearly—
Just like back at the gym, the narrator system in his head had gone quiet as soon as Horikita appeared.
That was definitely suspicious.
As he was thinking about this and was about to step out of the lounge on the first floor, he suddenly noticed a girl sitting on a bench to the side.
She had her feet together, hands resting on her knees.
And when she saw Shirogane come out, she stood up.
Then, she walked straight toward him.
"I think after checking out the dorms, Shirogane will probably head to the shopping street."
So she had been waiting here on purpose?
"Also, I still think it's a bit too much for the school to give us 100,000 points. With 40 students per class and four classes, that's 160 students, meaning a total payout of 16 million points. And that's just for this month. If they give the same amount next month, the cost will be crazy. It could cause problems with their budget."
The girl speaking was Shirogane's classmate who sat in front of him.
Shiina Hiyori.
She had beautiful long silver hair and a sweet appearance, completely different from the cold and distant Horikita Suzune or the angelic Kushida Kikyo he had met in the elevator.
But Shirogane wasn't focused on her looks—he was more interested in what she was saying.
It seemed like Shiina was the type of person who liked to think things through.
And she also seemed to enjoy reading.
Shirogane had brought back all 17 books in total, while Shiina had also brought back 8 books covering 4 different subjects.
Those 4 subjects were scheduled for tomorrow, meaning she had brought the books back to study ahead of time.
People who love studying and take it seriously are definitely good people.
Shirogane's impression of Shiina improved. At first, he saw her as someone who might get in the way of his studying, but now, she seemed more like someone who could guide him.
And right now, she was being quite rational.
"That's pretty much what I think too," Shirogane decided to share some information. "I don't think we'll get the same amount of points next month. But if they just cut the amount suddenly, people would be upset. So, they'll probably come up with a way to reduce it that people will accept."
"Mhm." Shiina nodded.
"But before that," she took out her phone, "let's add each other as friends. While I was waiting here, I noticed that after some students added each other, they could use the school's map app to locate each other with GPS."
In other words, while she was waiting in the first-floor lobby, she had also been listening in on other students.
"By the way, did you see a super cute silver-haired girl pass by? She has health issues and walks with a cane," Shirogane asked.
"Hm?" Shiina blinked.
From what she had seen, most of the students assigned to Class C didn't seem to be in great shape. A lot of them looked like troublemakers.
For example, there was Ryuen. She had heard about him before—he was a well-known delinquent back in middle school. One of her classmates had apparently been beaten up by him.
Today, everyone's desks had name tags, so students sat according to their assigned spots.
She had actually been worried that Ryuen might refuse to follow the seating arrangement and cause a scene in class.
Luckily, nothing happened.
Still, in a class full of people like this, someone like Shiina—who didn't like getting into fights and hadn't made many friends before—immediately felt out of place.
And in this situation, she noticed someone unusual in Class C: Shirogane.
His eyes had a sharp look to them, but to Shiina, it seemed like he was just sleep-deprived.
He had really dark circles under his eyes.
But if the dark circles were from lack of sleep, what was he staying up for?
Some guys would stay up all night writing or gaming.
But Shirogane seemed different. The middle finger on his right hand had a thick callus.
That was a sign of someone who wrote a lot by hand.
If he had been gaming, the callus wouldn't be there.
So.
Shirogane probably stayed up late studying. He seemed like someone who really cared about his studies.
So when Shiina saw him in the gym, she decided to greet him first.
She figured he was the kind of person she could get along with in class.
"That was a student I met at school. She didn't seem very healthy," Shirogane continued. "So I was thinking… carrying books back to the dorm or even just going shopping might not be easy for her."
So, was Shirogane actually worried about someone else?
Looking at him like this, Shirogane really did seem scary at first, but he was actually a kind person.
"If you mean the girl who walks with a cane, I haven't seen her," Shiina said.
"I see."
Shirogane nodded, then walked out of the dorm with Shiina, heading toward the shopping district.
…
It took about seven to eight minutes to walk from the dorm to the school building, but getting to the shopping district took around 12 to 15 minutes.
Walking this far really made them realize how big this school was.
The shopping district itself was also quite impressive.
It had karaoke bars, convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants, bookstores, a movie theater, a shopping mall—everything you could need.
It was basically a small self-contained city.
Since students from all three grade levels lived here in a completely closed-off environment, having good facilities was necessary.
Without them, people would probably start feeling frustrated. But with everything provided, students wouldn't have much to complain about.
Shirogane and Shiina decided to go straight to the nearest supermarket.
As new students, they had a lot of things to buy, and the supermarket had everything they needed, making it the best choice.
Once inside, they even found proof that points could be used as money.
The price tags on the shelves listed everything in points instead of regular currency, confirming that points were indeed a valid form of payment.
*Beep!*
"Your total is 2,300 points. Deducting 2,300 private points."
At the register, a student was already paying by scanning their student ID.
"You can actually spend points like real money? This weird school is kinda interesting!" the student said, holding their phone up to the scanner.
Shirogane was pushing a shopping cart, picking out necessities, when he suddenly turned his head.
Because…
He recognized that voice. He had heard it before in the gym.