A girl with beautiful silver hair stood there.
She had a sweet face, silver hair, and purple eyes, giving off a light and soft aura.
Her legs were also beautiful, covered by gray thigh-high socks.
It was rare to see girls wearing gray socks since they were hard to pull off, but on her, they looked perfect—almost as if she were born to wear them.
Although Shirogane didn't have much experience interacting with girls, he at least knew how to be polite.
Besides, unlike the girl with the cane—no, unlike Sakayanagi—this girl was his classmate.
He was about to spend three years in this unfamiliar place, and he didn't want to end up without a single friend.
So, he decided to greet her first.
"Hello, I'm Shirogane Miyuki."
"Huh? I'm Shiina Hiyori." The girl in gray thigh-high socks—no, Shiina Hiyori—replied.
Shiina Hiyori.
Hiyori.
That was a nice name.
[You didn't want to talk to lolis before, and now you're the one starting conversations?]
[So this is the type you like?]
As Shirogane was lost in thought, the voice in his head kept going.
"..."
Even he didn't know what type he liked, so that narrator was way out of line.
Seriously, who just pushes someone to talk to every girl they meet?
He came to this school to study, not to fall in love.
Yeah.
That should be the case.
…
"This school follows a strict meritocracy—"
The student council president was still speaking.
"In any case, welcome to our school. Now, each class from A to D will be dismissed in order. Return to your classrooms, where your homeroom teachers will hold the first class meeting shortly—"
"That concludes my speech."
As the student council president finished, the crowd stirred.
A senior standing near the exit spoke up to maintain order. "First, Class 1-A will leave… followed by B, then C, and finally D—"
And so, the students in Class A, who were seated farthest from the exit, began to move in two lines and walked out of the gym.
Class B followed right behind them.
The whole dismissal process took about three minutes.
Meanwhile, the student council president, who had just finished his speech, wore a stern expression.
"This year's first-year students seem to be of low quality," he said.
"Yeah." The secretary with short purple hair nodded in agreement.
The new students seemed a bit too relaxed. Some were even whispering to each other during the ceremony.
At an ordinary school, that wouldn't matter—most speeches from school leaders were just meaningless formalities. But what the president had just said was different. It contained important information about how this school truly worked.
If the first-years kept acting like this, they were bound to struggle soon.
Thinking this, the secretary glanced at the president and noticed that his gaze was locked on something inside the gym.
Class 1-C was currently leaving, while Class 1-D remained in place.
It seemed like the president was watching Class D.
D Class? What's over there?
The student council secretary looked over and saw that the students in D Class were all over the place, standing casually. Compared to the other classes, they had the worst posture and discipline.
That was the usual impression.
But—
"Huh?" The secretary couldn't help but let out a confused sound.
hasis.
After all, the president had said it three times in his speech.
"What is it?" The student council president had already shifted his attention elsewhere.
"N-No, it's nothing." The secretary quickly shook her head.
She was just surprised. Why did this year's first-year D Class have so many cute and pretty girls?
…
After leaving the gym, Shirogane and the others went their separate ways.
But they all had the same goal: heading to the school building.
Everyone had a phone with the campus map, so it was easy to find the right direction.
However—
"Shirogane-kun?" Shiina, who was walking beside him, noticed that he seemed a little sluggish.
"I stayed up too late reading last night. And now that the entrance ceremony is over, as soon as I relax, the drowsiness hits me." Shirogane said.
Hmm?
Reading?
Shiina seemed a bit curious.
[Shiina Hiyori, who is right beside you, seems interested. She seems to have a good impression of people who like reading.]
[You've met two silver-haired girls in one day. Your luck must be off the charts.]
"…"
But Shirogane ignored the narrator's voice.
He had something on his mind.
The students around him all looked pretty relaxed, but he felt different. Even though he was chatting with Shiina, he was still paying attention to what the student council president had said.
This school—
According to the student council president, "The school is backed and promoted by the government. The rumored 100% employment and university acceptance rate is real. No matter who you are, as long as you graduate from here, doors will open for you—"
That sounded like nonsense.
Because there's no way anyone who graduates from this school is guaranteed a successful future just like that.
Which matched what Sakayanagi had said.
Nothing in life is free.
But since the student council president said it so confidently, there must be some truth to it. After all, they wouldn't let a student council president just make things up.
The real question was how many people would actually get to enjoy those benefits.
Yeah.
Shirogane didn't believe that everyone could receive such treatment. If it were that easy, it wouldn't be special anymore—it'd be as common as dirt.
Something felt off.
But for Shirogane, if he could go to his dream university for free, that would be amazing. His family didn't have the money for tuition, and if graduation guaranteed him a job, that wouldn't be a bad deal either.
Still, he needed to figure out what this school was really about first.
He had a feeling that the student council president's words—"This school is based entirely on meritocracy"—were the key point.
While thinking about this—
Shirogane noticed that the students from D Class were coming out as well. One of the girls brushed past him and Shiina.
She was taller than Shiina.
And she definitely turned heads.
Yeah.
The students around immediately turned their attention to her.
She was a stunning girl with long, black hair draping over her shoulders. On the right side, she had a butterfly ribbon and a long braid. Her sharp, fox-like eyes were beautiful, yet she gave off a strong "don't talk to me" aura, making her seem like an ice-cold beauty.
Maybe it was because she felt too unapproachable, but as soon as she walked away quickly, the students around her went back to what they were doing.
Shirogane, however, was a bit surprised.
It was another incredibly beautiful girl, but she was a completely different type compared to Shiina and Sakayanagi. What surprised him even more was that, this time, the usual narration in his head didn't pop up.
It was as if something was being avoided.
As he thought about it—
"Move!"
Shirogane noticed that a classmate ahead of him roughly shoved another student out of the way.
That boy had slicked-back red hair, parted in the middle. Like everyone else, he was wearing the school uniform, but he had his own black shirt underneath, with the top two buttons undone.
He looked like a delinquent.
"Hey, Ryuen, this isn't your old school!" One of the students nearby seemed to be from the same place as the red-haired boy.
"Screw off! Don't make me beat the crap out of you!"
"..."
The area quickly fell silent.
The students in Class C were clearly angry but didn't dare to say anything.
It was obvious—this first-year Class C, which Shirogane had joined, was not in a great situation.