After listening to Chairman Sakayanagi's long-winded speech, the opening ceremony ended smoothly.
That wrapped up the morning of the first day. The afternoon was off.
Most students went back to their dorms. Others headed to Keyaki Mall to stock up on daily necessities, or to go blow their massive 100,000 personal points like they'd just hit the lottery.
Matsushita Chiaki invited Yuki out too. Since school had just started, everyone was in that phase of getting closer, forming groups, picking sides.
So the first hangout was especially important.
But Yuki smiled and turned her down. Once you got stamped with a "belongs to this faction" label, it became hard to fit into other circles. Otherwise, at best, you could only maintain surface-level harmony—there really was a temperature difference between people.
In all of Class D, only Hirata Yōsuke and Kushida Kikyo were exceptions. Beyond their insane social skills and good looks, they also had that "I'll get hurt if it helps the class" selfless style.
Yuki didn't want to waste too much time on the whole "reach Class A" thing, and he definitely didn't want to sacrifice his personal time for a bunch of defective products.
Still.
He did exchange contact info with most of the class, maintaining a certain level of closeness.
Now.
Keyaki Mall.
The school's facilities were ridiculously complete—cafés, karaoke, a movie theater, restaurants, a clothing center, the works. You could buy pretty much anything you needed here.
Even if you wanted something rare, you could apply for the school to purchase it for you, as long as you had enough personal points.
Inside the convenience store.
Yuki was picking out daily necessities, while Horikita Suzune silently trailed behind him, selecting what she needed.
The moment the opening ceremony ended, she'd been following him without saying a word.
Yuki knew exactly why.
She was desperate to learn information about this school—she just didn't know how to start the conversation.
Of course.
He wasn't in a hurry. She was.
So.
Yuki didn't initiate either.
"This is another annoying coincidence."
Horikita suddenly spoke flatly. Yuki turned his head—and at some point, Ayanokōji had wandered close to them.
"Don't be so on guard." Ayanokōji held a shopping bag and tilted his head toward Yuki, his voice completely even. "You two seem pretty close."
Horikita was just following behind Yuki, but they were still within that obvious "they're together" distance, so the question wasn't strange.
Even though he'd seemed kind of stiff during introductions, Ayanokōji's abilities were already rapidly adapting to the role of "high school student."
Or rather—
He'd realized high schoolers came in all types, and pretty much any way you acted could pass.
Unfortunately.
Even if he wanted a quiet life, the thought pattern built into him by the White Room made him instinctively absorb information around him—so he could always stay in the safest zone and win in the end.
But actively socializing didn't match the "I avoid trouble" persona he'd set up for himself, so he chose Horikita—someone he'd had two encounters with—as his entry point.
By his judgment, Horikita talked harshly, but she was actually a good person. Otherwise, she wouldn't have approached him first. As long as there was a decent reason, people like Horikita generally wouldn't refuse to help.
"My relationship with Suzune isn't as simple as you're imagining, Ayanokōji." Yuki spread his hands and sighed. "It's the burden of being a popular guy, you know."
"What an enviable burden."
Frivolous, self-centered… that was Ayanokōji's first impression. Was Yuki mocking him, or bragging?
But almost immediately, he rejected that conclusion.
During self-introductions, Yuki had given off a more straightforward, bright impression.
Flirty and straightforward looked similar, but the vibe was completely different. The former just annoyed girls; the latter could actually be a plus in some situations.
A strange sense of wrongness circled in Ayanokōji's mind.
Or—
Had Horikita and Yuki already gotten close enough to joke like that?
That alone showed Yuki's social ability. Building a relationship deep enough to banter like that in half a day was something Ayanokōji didn't think he could do.
But it depended on Horikita's response. Her response would reveal Yuki's true nature.
With different people,
Ayanokōji used different approaches.
Unfortunately.
Horikita didn't respond at all. She just kept picking cheap items off the shelf.
Ayanokōji quietly tagged Yuki as "uncertain."
He believed he could read Horikita at a glance—most people in this school too—but for now, he couldn't see through Yuki.
Noticing the shampoo in Horikita's hand, Ayanokōji casually glanced at the price tag and reopened the topic.
"You're buying stuff? You've got 100,000 points. Buying something nicer should be fine, right?"
"None of your business." Horikita didn't even look up, staying icy. "What are you doing here? If you've got nothing, don't bother me."
"As classmates, coming over to say hi is normal, isn't it?"
Facing her "keep out" attitude, Ayanokōji stayed calm.
Without waiting for her reply, he continued, "Earlier outside, I heard words like 'Class D,' 'defective products,' and 'hell.' I got a little uneasy."
"So you want answers from me?" Horikita instantly caught what he meant and finally looked at him. "Fine. For someone like you with no friends, this is actually a smart choice."
For a guy who couldn't form normal relationships, at least thinking to ask her for clarification was something.
Horikita brushed back the hair by her ear and analyzed coolly. "If this school evaluates students by ability, it won't just end like this. Since you follow an 'avoid trouble' philosophy, just live your life peacefully. But you should probably be frugal with your personal points."
"I see. Then I can relax." Ayanokōji nodded awkwardly in agreement.
That was probably the limit of what Horikita could analyze. And it looked like she hadn't even done basic information gathering—maybe she didn't even pay attention to what other people were saying.
Her field of vision was too narrow.
Still.
It also showed Horikita had careful thinking and was a kind person.
And no matter who you were, everyone lived wearing a mask—it was just a matter of degree. Someone as consistent inside and out as Horikita Suzune was the first Ayanokōji had ever met. He couldn't help wondering what someone like that would become after she grew.
A little curiosity formed in his mind.
But none of that was what he wanted. And he couldn't get information from other people either. Was he supposed to test Instructor Chabashira?
He instantly rejected the idea. Exposing his ability too easily was stupid.
The White Room taught them to show their power as much as possible—having power and doing nothing was the dumbest behavior.
But once Ayanokōji's knowledge reached a certain level, he developed a feeling.
Keeping your strength hidden was a superior talent.
The society ordinary people could observe was just surface-level illusion. Those "rich guys" were very likely just chess pieces pushed out front by others.
Since he hadn't gotten what he wanted from Horikita, Ayanokōji turned his gaze to Yuki.
"My shopping's done. I'll be going."
Before Ayanokōji could speak, Yuki lifted his shopping bag and walked straight out of the convenience store. Horikita hurriedly packed up and chased after him.
"No wonder he's the White Room's only successful case."
Yuki thought to himself, glancing at Ayanokōji still standing there.
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka was undeniably a true genius, raised from childhood in the White Room.
That unique way of thinking made him extremely careful with every word he chose. You couldn't find a crack in it—it had become a habit.
In simple terms—
Ayanokōji could ramble a whole paragraph that might be totally useless. Everything was vague, and you could interpret it from any direction.
Trying to find a flaw in his speech was basically impossible.
And in just one morning, Ayanokōji had already completely seen through Horikita's nature.
He guided the pace of the conversation the entire time. Without even asking direct questions, he used "uneasy" wording to leverage Horikita's kindness and make her hand over information voluntarily.
"Yeah… that's what makes this fun."
Yuki couldn't help smiling.
Ayanokōji's heart was like an iron wall—trying to control someone like that was nearly impossible.
But making Ayanokōji work for him?
That wasn't hard at all.
It just depended on who—
Was the better player.