As soon as the arm by her bedside rang for the first time, Horikita Suzune promptly sat up from her dormitory bed without a moment's hesitation.

  She proceeded to get dressed, wash up, and prepare herself for the day.

  Standing before the mirror, she tidied her long bck hair. Her exquisitely beautiful face remained expressionless. This marked the first week of her stay at Advanurturing High School, where she had been assigo Css 1-D.

  The past few days had left her feeling displeased.

  This school was far too x.

  On the first day, the students had been generously granted 100,000 Private Points as their initial allowance. Moreover, the instructors exhibited a plete ck of for discipline. Whether students passed notes or pyed on their phones during lessons, the teacher showed no i in intervening.

  The moment the bell rang, she would leave the without lingering a sed longer.

  For someone who held herself to strict standards, Suzune found this utterly uable. Given that this was the institution where her brother had oudied—a school boasting an impeccable graduation and employment rate—how could it permit such rampant leniency among students?

  heless, despite witnessing her cssmates' bition, she remained indifferent. Suzune had no iion of meddling in matters that did not her.

  Upoering the that m, the atmosphere was no different from before. Her cssmates showed no ination toward academics. The girls eagerly discussed fashion and pop culture, while the boys either chatted about games hed loudly at crude jokes.

  Suzuiced that a few students turheir gazes toward her upon her arrival, but she paid them no mind. She quietly took her seat and pulled out a book she had borrowed the day before.

  Seated o her was a young man with delicate features—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

  She remembered entering him on the bus ride to school, where they had exged a few words. However, that versation had long since faded from her memory.

  Suzune had no i in f es with anyone. She had enrolled in this school for one purpose alone—and nothing else mattered.

  After csses ended, she walked to the cafeteria aloo have dinner. Just as she picked up her meal and was about to eat, she felt a gaze on her.

  But when she subtly gnced around, she found nothing unusual. The students around her were either seated aing or waiting in line for their meals.

  "Was it just my imagination?"

  Dismissing the thought, Suzune chose a retively secluded er and begaing.

  It was then that she overheard a hushed versation from two male students seated diagonally in front of her.

  Although they were eating, one of them was jotting things down in a notebook, as though keeping records of something.

  "How's the progress, Tsube?"

  "Got it all down. Sotomura from Css 1-D has spent 2,000 Private Points on his meals daily for the past few days. Also, he seems to enjoy luxury brands—he bought a designer wallet yesterday."

  "Wow, this guy sure knows how to indulge himself."

  "Wait—look over there. Yamauchi just walked in."

  "Him?"

  "Yeah, that guy's got a loose tongue. I've chatted with him a few times, and he practically spills everything."

  "You didn't do anything suspicious, did you?" The student called Tsube spoke with a hint of warning in his tone. "Did you fet Hikaru-kun's instrus? We 't risk drawing unnecessary attention."

  "Rex, rex." Ninomiya waved his hand casually. "That guy's just a Css D student. No way he's sharp enough to cat. I just casually talked to him about games, and soon enough, he was bbbering all sorts of info."

  "...Fine. But don't a your own again. If we mess this up, it could affect Hikaru-kun's pn."

  "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

  Ninomiya shoveled a few more bites of food into his mouth, but his gaze never left Yamauchi.

  Meanwhile, Suzune—who had overheard everything—narrowed her eyes in suspi.

  "What exactly are these two doing? Are they… watg other students?"

  She reized the names mentioned.

  Yamauchi Haruki and Sotomura Hideo were both students of Css 1-D.

  "They have clear roles—one records, the other observes. Even while eating, they're fixated oargets."

  Suzune's expression grew serious.

  "And… they keep mentioning someone named Hikaru. Judging from their words, they seem to be meticulously following his pn."

  "Strange…"

  As she this, Ninomiya suddenly stiffened.

  "Hey, Tsube—look at what Yamauchi's holding in his hands."

  "...The test gaming sole?"

  "Yeah. That thing costs at least 30,000 Private Points!"

  "..."

  Tsube's face immediately darkened. He spoke in a grave tone.

  "This is bad. We o inform Hikaru about this immediately. If Css D students keep spending their Private Points recklessly, his pn will be in jeopardy."

  "That bastard! It's only been a few days since school started, and they're already burning through their points like this?"

  "Exactly. If they run out of points too soon, it'll ruihing."

  The two exged a meaningful look, then quickly left the cafeteria.

  Watg them go, Suzune's expression turned ice-cold.

  From their versation, she had gleaned several key pieces of information:

  1. They were monit how Css D students spent their Private Points.

  2. They saw Css D as "garbage."

  3. They were rep everything to someone named Hikaru.

  The implications of these facts made Horikita uneasy.

  "Who exactly is this Hikaru?"

  And why was he so ed about Css D's spending habits?

  She instinctively recalled her observations over the past few days.

  Could this expin why the school had given them so many Private Points at the start?

  A theory formed in her mind, but without proof, she couldn't act just yet.

  Ohing was certain, though—

  If these students were watg others in Css D…

  Then someone might be watg her as well.

  Perhaps that strange gaze she had felt earlier had not been her imagination after all.

  Suzune ched her fists.

  "I refuse to be beled as garbage."

  "I have to find out the truth—no matter what it takes."

  ~~~

  30 chapters ahead

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