Advanced Nurturing High School.

In this high school, meritocracy was paramount, shaping every aspect of the educational experience.

Academic achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and leadership qualities played pivotal roles in determining students' standing.

An environment where individuals are rewarded based on their merit, encouraging a culture of hard work and excellence. 

This was not a simple school, but a miniature warzone funded by the government. Its aim was simple, to lead Japan's future with individuals who would be aware of how the real world worked the moment they graduated.

After all, life was a century-long battle and those that lack the necessary skills to survive and thrive will simply fade into the obscurity of mediocrity.

In this school, every class had to fight against each other. Manipulating others, discarding allies, or outsmarting the system, such skills were necessary to climb to the top.

Those who lacked the ego of ambition had two outcomes— one where they would simply never reach the top or one where they were already at the peak.

Ayanokouji peered over his classmates, if one were to ignore the blonde who was fixing his hair in the mirror, the air of the class was incredibly grim.

The seat in front of him was empty but 'he' who was still not here had left such an impact on the class that most still didn't understand what to do.

His seat wasn't the only one that was empty.

Three more people were missing from the classroom.

It was the same classroom, but nonetheless, it was distinctly different.

The atmosphere was heavy and everyone was disheartened.

No matter who ended up getting expelled, the situation would’ve probably still turned out like this.

To ensure the future success of the class as a whole, who was necessary? Who was unnecessary?

There were three more empty seats. Why they hadn't been removed was a question that probably lingered in everyone's mind.

He did not doubt that whoever would look at these seats would be reminded how a fellow student, who was happily interacting with them just a few days ago had cut off three of their classmates.

The reason?

He had deemed them worthless.

Class D was stuck under overwhelming pressure. 

Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi simply could not resist as they were expelled. The whole threat of expulsion, to whoever thought the school wasn't serious at first was hit with harsh reality.

It was 8:45 am and class would start at 9 am. Class D which would usually have several late students was nowhere to be seen.

Advanced Nurturing High School.

It was a school where meritocracy ruled and even if they could avoid expulsion by doing the bare minimum there was a ruthless dictator in the class who could decide your future. 

Or rather that seemed exclusive to Class D.

Yamamoto Tatsuya.

Why... Why did a first-year student have over 3 million private points? 

To the class, it made no sense, and to humans, the most terrifying thing was the unknown.

Ayanokouji looked over to his side and studied Horikita's expression. She looked conflicted as her eyes would flicker to Tatsuya's empty seat.

Interesting.

He thought.

He expected something different. He had expected Horikita to either act as usual and wear her cold look or appear disheartened.

But her expression suggested something else.

There were several factors to take into consideration why she was behaving so oddly making it hard to accurately predict what she could be thinking.

His eyes slowly drifted to Hirata.

“He’s crazier than I thought,” Horikita said, her voice low.

The ‘he’ Horikita was referring to was, of course, none other than Hirata. He was sitting motionless at his desk, as if in a daze.

He had been like this ever since Yamauchi, Ike and Sudo left the classroom.

“Hirata-kun… Uhm…”

Mii-chan timidly called out to him, concerned about his well-being.

However, Hirata only slightly shifted his gaze to look at her and didn’t say anything.

How did Hirata feel about this now?

The answer to that was something only he knew. In any case, there was no other choice for him but to keep moving forward.

If it were any student who had faced such mental pressure they wouldn't have come to class but the very fact that Hirata would never want to harm the class made him attend class.

Tardiness would lower the class points.

The kind Hirata wouldn't allow himself to do that.

It was sad.

Probably the only person he genuinely considered a close friend had betrayed him and the class.

The worst part wasn't that the students had been expelled, it was the lack of care Tatsuya seemed to have for the class.

After an entire day, almost everyone understood that Tatsuya had deliberately lowered the marks just enough for them to fail and then cause the class to go bankrupt.

No one blamed Horikita, they didn't know she was aware of Tatsuya's decision beforehand.

Some considered it sadistic while some thought it was him trying to preserve his points.

But thanks to Horikita, his plan had been 'revealed' and his true nature had been exposed.

...

I had messaged him several times yesterday but he didn't answer me. It filled my heart with sadness.

The reason I came to like him was not because he was handsome. It was because he was the only calm and mature individual among the male classmates besides Hirata.

Hirata was too indecisive for my liking and as such it didn't take me long to fall for him, the other mature individual in class.

I admit it.

I, Haruka Hasabe, liked him.

When someone like Tatsuya constantly catered to my needs and paid me special attention it was hard for me to not fantasize about a relationship with him.

Initially, I wanted to be alone, to isolate myself.

When I evaluate myself objectively, I consider myself a bad person. Everyone has at least once or twice, done the sort of thing for which people say, “You must not do that”.

For example, ignoring a red traffic light. Even if it was done without any malicious intent, everyone at least has some experience of doing such things.

For example, not returning the excess when you receive too much change. It doesn’t matter whether it was over by one yen or ten yen, in most cases, when the clerk makes a mistake, the majority of people wouldn’t return the excess.

For example, spitting or littering on the side of the road. They’re all very petty and insignificant actions, but they’re still crimes, nonetheless.

But with only experiences such as these, I wouldn’t consider myself a bad person.

But I…

Actually, from someone else’s perspective, it might only have been a trivial matter.

However, I was weighed down by my past and decided that I would refrain from making any new friends in high school.

I felt nervous when interacting with strangers.

I wanted to enter my own little world where I’d keep my distance from those who used to be my friends and wouldn’t interact with anyone.

That’s why, when I learned of the existence of Advanced Nurturing High School, I thought that this place would be able to grant my wishes and hence I decided to go there.

That was the plan, but by the time I noticed, I’d already fallen for him.

...Yamamoto Tatsuya.

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