I came, I saw, I lost! (Classroom of the Elite Fanfiction)

『』『』『』『』『』

There isn't a single student in the whole world who likes a speech at an entrance ceremony, and that includes Kumagawa himself.

He didn't even want to be here. As a free-spirited person who moved like the wind, he didn't like being tied down or forced into formalities. But here he was, standing in the gymnasium, listening to some principal or director drone on about the school's history and values.

『How long is this going to take? 』

 Just like any other school, even though this one was special, the entrance ceremony was the same as it was everywhere else. After a speech of thanks from the principal and a few other directors, the ceremony finally ended.

By then, it was noon. The students were given a brief explanation of all the buildings and facilities on campus before being set free to explore. As the group split up, the students began to form their own circles. Some headed for their dorms, while others, already forming small groups of friends, started exploring the school.

Kumagawa, however, stood alone in the school grounds, his hands stuffed in his pocket and with his usual smile.

And then it was noon. After we got an explanation of all the buildings and facilities on campus, the group split up. All the students began to go with their own cirle and friends. Most of the students started heading for their dorms, while the other, with their group of friend, started to explore the school.

『Hmmm… I think I'm starting to understand how Naruto feels.』

He chuckled softly, though there was no one around to hear him.

Back in his world, Kumagawa had always been an outcast, but it was different there. He was a Minus, a being who thrived on negativity and chaos. People avoided him not just because he was strange, but because he was dangerous.

Here, though, he was being ostracized for an entirely different reason.

『I guess being a failure is universal, no matter which world you're in.』

He glanced around at the other students, their laughter and chatter filling the air as they explored the campus together. For a moment, he felt a strange pang of something—loneliness, perhaps? But he quickly brushed it aside.

『Well, it's not like I expected anything different. 』

With a shrug, he decided to head to the convenience store. Aside from buying his daily necessities, he needed to pick up the latest issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump. After all, no matter which world he was in, two things remained universal: his fate as a failure and the timeless appeal of Shōnen Jump.

The convenience store wasn't far, and soon enough, Kumagawa found himself browsing the magazine aisle. He picked up the latest issue of Shōnen Jump, flipping through the pages with a faint smile.

After reading for a while, Kumagawa closed the magazine, and pick up several more shounen jump and other manga to add.

Satisfied with his selection, he made his way toward the cup ramen section to grab a few more.

Just as he arrived, he ran into Ayanokōji and the girl who sat beside him in class.

"Look, Ayanokōji-kun, your weird friend is here,"

Before he could even say anything, the girl was already looking down on his existence.

『Eh? Am I not welcome here?』

"That's just cruel, Horikita," Ayanokouji said.

Kumagawa in fact doesnt really bothered by her remark. For him it was daily occurance. There's a time where he received an uppercut to the chin just because he accidentaly touch a girl.

Well it was on her butt, but it's still count as an accident.

『I'm Kumagawa Misogi. Nice to meet you, Horikita-chan.』

"Chan? I didn't give you permission to call me that. And I didn't ask for your name."

『Of course you didn't. That's why I introduced myself.』

Horikita narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"You're an annoying person."

『That's a common review! But if it makes you feel better, I don't mind being ignored.』

She let out a small sigh and turned away, clearly not interested in continuing the conversation. Ayanokouji, on the other hand, watched with mild curiosity but said nothing.

Kumagawa picked up a few cups of ramen and tossed them into his cart. He glanced at their baskets—Ayanokouji's was filled with basic groceries, while Horikita's had simple, healthy foods.

『Ah, Horikita-chan, you seem like the type who eats boring meals. 』

"And you seem like the type who only eats junk food." She shot him a sharp look.

『Close! I eat cheap food, not junk food. There's a difference.』

Horikita clicked her tongue and walked away, clearly done with him. Ayanokouji gave him a glance, then followed after her. Horikita drew her attention away from the food section and started to look at the necessities section of the store.

Kumagawa, naturally, followed along.

"You're a brave person, Kumagawa," Ayanokouji remarked.

Kumagawa tilted his head slightly, as if confused by the statement.

『Brave? That's an interesting way to put it. Most people just call me annoying.』

Ayanokouji glanced at him. "You don't seem to care about how others perceive you."

『Of course not! Why should I? It's not like I'm aiming to be popular.』

Horikita, who had been browsing the shelves, gave him a sideways glance.

"So, you're self-aware, at least."

『Self-awareness is my greatest strength! Right after my ability to lose at everything, of course.』

Horikita let out an exhausted sigh, choosing to ignore him once more.

Unlike Kumagawa, Ayanokōji was acutely aware of how others perceived him. It was a necessity—if one wanted to blend in and make friends, self-awareness was key. By understanding how others saw him, he could adjust accordingly.

But Kumagawa didn't do that at all. He just acted however he wanted, consequences be damned.

Horikita was a difficult person to interact with, especially for someone inexperienced in socializing. With her sharp words and cold demeanor, talking to her felt like facing a final boss in a video game. Her defense was too strong. Yet, Kumagawa interacted with her so easily—one-sided as it was.

Ayanokouji found himself respecting that.

I need to do my best.

For now, he needed to melt the cold atmosphere around Horikita, to get past her defense.

"Wow, this razor has five blades! Seems like it would shave super cleanly," Ayanokouji said, holding up a razor from the shelf.

"Why in the world would I want to shave with that?"

Ayanokouji grinned smugly and pretended to shave an imaginary beard. By that point, Horikita was already looking at him like he was some kind of trash.

Then Kumagawa spoke up, making things worse.

『Isn't that the thing people use to shave the hair down there? 』

Silence.

Horikita's expression darkened, her sharp eyes narrowing as she turned to face Kumagawa. If she had looked at Ayanokōji like trash before, now she looked at the both of them like dirt. Or something even worse than dirt—something so worthless that even calling them garbage would be an insult to garbage.

"Look at me," she said. I don't have anything to shave. Not on my chin, not under my armpit, and certainly not down there."

Ayanokōji's attempt at lightening the mood had failed colossally. He glanced at Kumagawa, who was standing nearby, seemingly lost in his own world. Although Ayanokōji's expression didn't change much, there was a faint glimmer of hate in his eyes. 

 He wasn't sure if Kumagawa was truly an idiot or just pretending to be one. The guy was an enigma—everything he said felt like both the truth and a lie at the same time, and you couldn't be both.

Kumagawa, however, seemed entirely unfazed. He was too busy examining the items in the convenience store.

『Free? 』

As Kumagawa browsed the shelves, something unusual caught his eye. In the corner of the store, there was a bin labeled "Free of Charge." Inside were individual portions of food and daily necessities like toothbrushes and bandages. The bin also had the words "3 items per month" written on it, making it clear that these were different from the other goods. While not as high-quality as the paid products, the free items were at least usable.

『Huh. Guess even this school has a heart. 』

Horikita, who had been quietly observing the scene, also seemed intrigued. She picked up one of the items from the bin, examining it carefully.

 "It seems the school provides basic necessities for students who might need them. What a surprisingly lenient school."

『Hey, Horikita-chan. Think I can take all three items at once? 』

"The sign clearly says '3 items per month.' I doubt they'd let you take more than that. Also, stop calling me chan."

Horikita's voice was sharp, her patience clearly wearing thin as she addressed Kumagawa.

『Aw, that's no fun, 』

Before Horikita could respond, a loud voice interrupted the peaceful background music of the store.

"Hey, just wait a bit! I'm looking for it now!"

Interrupting the peaceful background music was a loud voice from the middle of the store.

"Hurry up! Everyone's waiting!"

"Oh, really!? Tell them to complain directly to me!"

The commotion came from the middle of the store, where two boys were glaring at each other, their voices rising as they started to quarrel. One of them, a red-haired guy with a disgruntled expression, was clutching a pack of cup noodles in one hand.

『Isn't that the red-haired guy from our class? 』

Kumagawa tilted his head as he observed the scene. Ayanokōji and Horikita glanced over and quickly recognized the boy. It was their classmate who had left the introduction section of the class earlier that morning.

"That's right," Ayanokōji said. "Maybe we should talk to him."

『Are you that desperate for a friend? 』

As a failure himself, Kumagawa could recognize another failure. Ayanokōji's body language was practically screaming 'please be my friend'.

"What do you mean?" Ayanokōji asked, clearly confused by Kumagawa's statement.

『Nothing… anyway, I'll continue my shopping. There's apparently a new kind of Jump magazine somewhere in here. Bye.』

Without wasting any time, Kumagawa left Ayanokōji and Horikita alone, wandering off into the aisles of the convenience store. 

He hummed to himself as he browsed the shelves. As he turned the corner into the snack aisle, he noticed something unusual. A girl with short, dark hair was casually slipping a can of beer into her bag, her expression calm and unbothered, as if she'd done this a hundred times before.

『Hey, you know shoplifting is bad, right? 』

The girl froze for a moment, then turned to look at him. Her sharp eyes narrowed as she sized him up.

"What's it to you?" 

『I'm just saying, if you're going to steal, you should at least go for the good stuff. 』

The girl raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that response. Usually, people would tell someone to stop stealing, or they'd just ignore it entirely. But the man in front of her? He not only caught her red-handed but also suggested she aim higher.

"You're not going to rat me out?"

『I'm not exactly a model student myself. Well, if you excuse me. 』

He turned to leave, but before he could take a step—

"Wait!"

Hmm? What is it? Did you want to confess your love to me since I stopped you from doing something irredeemable? Oh, so you've got that love-at-first-sight thing going on?』

Kumagawa's tone gradually became more excited. The girl, on the other hand, looked absolutely disgusted.

"What are you, a lunatic? I'm just asking for your name."

『What are you talking about!? Love usually starts when two people meet under special circumstances, and before they know it—』

Kumagawa's words were cut short by a sigh.

"…You talk too much."

The girl crossed her arms, studying him with a bored expression. Unlike before, she no longer seemed on edge about being caught.

『Well, I like to talk. More importantly, what's your name? You already asked for mine, right? It's only fair. 』

"Kamuro. Masumi Kamuro."

『Kamuro-chan, huh? I'm Kumagwa Misogi, nice to meet ya. 』

"…You don't get to add '-chan.'"

『Eh? Why not?』

"Because we're not close."

『Then, let's get close. That solves the problem, right?』

Kamuro exhaled sharply, as if she couldn't believe the conversation she was having.

"You really don't think like a normal person, do you?"

『I hear that a lot! 』

Despite her dismissive attitude, Kamuro didn't walk away. If anything, she seemed mildly intrigued, like she had stumbled upon a strange animal she wasn't sure if she should poke with a stick.

They continued chatting, though it was mostly Kumagawa talking while Kamuro responded in short, uninterested replies.

At one point, for reasons Kumagawa wasn't entirely sure of, Kamuro ended up standing unusually close to him. Their arms nearly touched as she leaned in slightly, peering at something on the shelf.

『Oh? Kamuro-chan, if you keep this up, people might think we're dating. 』

Kamuro didn't react much. She merely glanced at him before picking up a random item.

"You talk too much."

『Aren't you embarrassed? A high school girl getting this close to a guy?』

"You don't count as a guy."

『Ouch. That one stings a little.』

Kamuro smirked ever so slightly before stepping back, putting distance between them again.

"Well, I'm done here."

『Leaving already? 』

"Yeah. Try not to get arrested for whatever stupid thing you'll do next."

With that, Kamuro walked off without looking back. Kumagawa watched her go before shrugging and heading toward the checkout counter.

The convenience of the ID card system at this school was honestly impressive. No need for cash or worrying about change—just a simple scan, and the payment was done. Everything was linked to their school account, making purchases effortless. It was a luxury that Kumagawa found amusing, given that he was used to struggling for the simplest things in life.

As he placed his items on the counter, ready to pay, a loud ringing sound suddenly echoed through the store.

The alarm.

Everyone turned their attention toward Kumagawa.

Security personnel approached him immediately.

"Sir, we need to check your uniform."

Kumagawa blinked in confusion but raised his arms without resistance. The guard patted him down, and then—

A canned beer was pulled out of his pocket.

『Oh? 』

Murmurs spread through the students in the store.

"What the hell? Did he try to shoplift alcohol?"

"Wait, isn't that guy from our class?"

"What an idiot…"

Kumagawa wasn't particularly surprised, but he did tilt his head slightly. He didn't remember picking that up.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kamuro. She was walking away, slipping past the crowd. The moment their eyes met, she raised both hands and clapped them together once—a silent, casual apology—before vanishing through the exit.

『Ahaha. So that's how it is.』

Kumagawa simply smiled.

『』『』『』『』『』

"Kumagawa."

『Yes, yes, that's me. 』

"Mind explaining why you were caught with this in your pocket?"

Kumagawa leaned forward, inspecting the can with mild curiosity, as if seeing it for the first time. The can itself wasn't the problem—it was the fact that a student had been caught shoplifting it. On the first day, no less.

The convenience store inside the school allowed the sale of alcohol, but only because it wasn't just students who shopped there. Teachers, staff, and other adults working on campus also needed access to it. That's why it was strictly regulated.

And now, on his very first day, an underage student—Kumagawa Misogi—had been caught with it. It wasn't that stealing in general was uncommon; there had been cases before. But shoplifting alcohol, of all things? That was a different matter.

"Listen, I don't know what kind of stunt you were trying to pull, but possession of alcohol by a student is strictly prohibited. You're lucky we're handling this internally instead of sending you straight to the disciplinary committee."

『Ahaha, I see, I see. But, you know, Chabashira-sensei…』

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if about to share a grand revelation.

『What if I told you… this was all part of an elaborate social experiment? 』

 "What?" She stared at him.

『Think about it! A new student, falsely accused of shoplifting alcohol—what better way to observe and assess how the school reacts? How students behave? How the system determines our worth and grades us accordingly?』

Chabashira blinked. She wasn't expecting that response.

"…So you're saying you did this on purpose?"

『Oh no, of course not! That'd be insane. I'm simply adapting to the situation and making it seem like I meant to do it. Sounds way cooler than just saying I was framed, don't you think?』

She narrowed her eyes.

"So you are saying you were framed."

『Sensei, please. Do I look like the kind of person who would blame others for my own misfortune?』

"Yes."

『Ouch. That hurts, you know?』

Chabashira looked at Kumagawa quietly. Normally, anyone else would start acting nervous under such a prolonged stare. But not Kumagawa. If anything, he stared right back at her, still smiling that insufferable, carefree grin.

She let out a deep breath before speaking again.

"How much do you know?"

『About what? 』

"Act stupid one more time, and I'll have you expelled right here, right now." She narrowed her eyes

『Eh~~ how mean. You know, women with a bad attitude aren't popular with guys. But don't worry! If you ever grow old without a partner, I'll happily take you in.』

Chabashira didn't react to his nonsense, but he could tell she was assessing him carefully.

"…You figured it out, didn't you?"

『Figured what out? I'm just a harmless loser who wanted to buy some Shōnen Jump. 』

Chabashira crossed her arms, clearly unconvinced. Her sharp gaze pinned Kumagawa in place, the kind of stare that told him she wouldn't let him leave until she got the answers she wanted. Without much of a choice, Kumagawa gives up.

『Fine, fine. If you really want to hear it from me. S-System, was it? 』

Chabashira remained silent.

『You know, I always wondered. Why is there such an excessive amount of cameras in the entire school? Sure, you can say it's for security reasons, and since this is a government project, that excuse makes sense. But even for a government project, it feels a little too excessive. Cameras on nearly every corner of the island—except for a few places that seem deliberately left out. Almost like someone wants to observe us but still give us just enough breathing room to think we aren't being completely controlled.』

He leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the desk.

『Even the way the school is structured... it's weird, right? You claim this is an elite academy that fosters future leaders, but on the first day, you hand every student a digital bank account with a massive sum of money and say, "Go nuts." No. matter how you look at it, that's not education, that's an experiment.』

Chabasira remained silent.

『Now, I haven't exactly gone out of my way to study the school's system yet. I mean, it's only the first day. I'd be a real monster if I figured everything out already. But... I do have some guesses.』

"Go on."

He grinned. 『Like the fact that the points we received aren't actually ours. 』

That got a reaction. Just for a split second, the slight narrowing of her eyes, the smallest flicker of surprise. But it was more than enough for Kumagawa.

『Oh? Was that a flinch? My, my, Sensei. I'm starting to think you might be bad at keeping secrets.』

Chabashira exhaled through her nose, regaining her composure. "Continue."

『Well, I don't have much more. Not yet, at least. Like I said, I'm still just guessing. Buuut... if I had to bet, I'd say there's more than one kind of point in this school. "Private points" suggest ownership. Which means there's probably some sort of shared point system in play, too. Something that controls how much private points we get in the first place. Like class points, maybe? 』

For the first time, Chabashira visibly reacted. She flinched. Just a little. But to Kumagawa, it was the same as an outright confession.

『This school is a meritocracy, isn't it? Or at least, that's what it wants us to think. Our private points aren't fixed, they fluctuate based on something. And since I highly doubt they're being given out for free... it must be tied to performance. Probably on a class-wide scale.』

Chabashira said nothing.

"...How did you know so much?"

『Well, I may be a loser, but I'm not stupid. 』

Chabashira looked at Kumagawa incredulously. It wasn't a matter of whether he was stupid or not. In less than a day, he had managed to strip bare the S-System. How could a normal person do that?

To anyone else, Kumagawa's deductions might have seemed like the result of some kind of genius intellect or supernatural intuition. But the truth was far simpler.

Kumagawa Misogi was a loser.

Not just any loser, but a natural born loser. Someone who had spent his entire life failing at everything he did. And in that failure, he had learned one crucial lesson: the world was never as simple as it seemed.

People liked to believe in fairness, in systems that rewarded hard work and talent. But Kumagawa knew better. He had seen firsthand how systems could be manipulated, how rules could be twisted to serve the interests of those elites in power.

So, when he arrived at Advanced Nurturing High School, he didn't take anything at face value. The excessive cameras, the lavish facilities, the seemingly generous point system—it all felt too good to be true. And if there was one thing Kumagawa had learned, it was that anything that seemed too good to be true usually was.

He didn't need to be a genius to figure out the S-System. He just needed to think like a loser.

The cameras were a dead giveaway. If the school truly wanted to protect its students, it wouldn't need to monitor every corner of the island. No, the cameras were there to observe, to collect data. And if the school was collecting data, it meant they were testing something.

The points were another clue. Handing out a massive sum of money to teenagers on their first day? That wasn't education; it was a social experiment.

And if the points weren't fixed, if they could fluctuate based on performance, then it stood to reason that the school was using them to measure something.

Class points were the logical conclusion. If the school wanted to foster competition, what better way than to pit classes against each other? It was a classic divide-and-conquer strategy, one that Kumagawa had seen before.

"Then, what are you going to do with this information?"

She wondered what kind of chaos Kumagawa would cause with this knowledge. A person as unpredictable as him probably had one or two things up his sleeve. But the response she got would make her think twice.

『Eh? Nothing, to be honest.』

"What?"

Chabashira blinked, clearly caught off guard.

『I don't have anything to do with this information? 』

Why are there question marks at the end!?

"Don't you want to tell your classmates about this? Hirata or Horikita, for example."

『Eh~ why should I do that? I think you misunderstand something here, Sae-chan Sensei. I joined this school not because I'm interested in the 100% employment rate after graduation. I just want to graduate, that's all. Besides, do you really think any of my classmates would believe a word coming out of the mouth of a shoplifter? Be realistic.』

Chabashira listened to his completely valid argument, but for some reason, the way Kumagawa phrased it made it seem like he was looking down on her.

"And here I thought Ayanokōji would be my biggest headache," Chabashira sighed, rubbing her temples.

"You can leave now."

『With pleasure. Ah by the way, what about the punishment?』

Well, you know how it is."

『Is that so.... 』

Kumagawa turned toward the door but paused

『Oh, and Sensei? Be careful with your expressions. If you keep reacting like that, even the dumbest student might start figuring things out.』

"…Get out."

Kumagawa chuckled, finally stepping out of the room and closing the door behind him.

『』『』『』『』『』

Around one in the afternoon, Kumagawa made his way back to the dormitory. He wasn't in a rush, strolling casually as he took in the surroundings. The campus was lively, filled with students chatting and laughing as they explored their new environment.

But something felt off. The moment he passed by a group of students, their conversations seemed to change. Whispers. Quick glances. Some subtle, others not so much. At first, he ignored it, but it kept happening. More and more students either turned to look at him or whispered something as he walked by.

『Huh? Am I popular now?』

By the time he reached the dormitory entrance, the pattern continued. People looked at him, some amused, some exasperated, and some outright concerned. One way or another, Kumagawa had already become infamous.

When he arrived at the reception desk, even the lady at the counter seemed to recognize him

"You… you're that shoplifter student, aren't you?"

『Oh? Have I left such a strong impression?』

She let out another sigh and handed him a keycard along with a handbook.

"Here. This contains the dormitory rules. Read it properly and try not to cause any more problems."

『I make no promises! But I'll try my best.』

The receptionist handed Kumagawa the dormitory handbook, her expression a mix of caution and mild concern, as if she had just handed a match to someone standing next to a pile of fireworks. Kumagawa, of course, didn't seem to notice—or care. He took the handbook and headed toward the elevator.

Once inside, he quickly flipped through the pages, skimming the rules. The handbook detailed the most basic guidelines for daily life in the dorms. Unsurprisingly, the dormitories were separated by gender: the first seven floors above the ground floor were for male students, while the upper seven floors were reserved for female students. There was even a rule explicitly stating that boys were not allowed to enter the girls' living area after 8 p.m.

『What a shame. 』

The next section caught his attention. It detailed the utilities: electricity, gas, and water. According to the handbook, students had unrestricted access to all three. No limits, no restrictions—just free rein to use as much as they wanted.

『Oh? Unrestricted access to electricity and gas usage? The Japanese government really goes all out on this experiment.』

He paused for a moment, his mind racing with calculations. Kumagawa tried to count how much the goverment spend on this school.

『Let's see… 40 students per class, four classes per year, and three years… That's 12 classes with 40 students each. So, 12 times 40 is 480 students. And if each student gets 100,000 yen…』

He whistled softly, impressed by the sheer scale of the operation.

『That's 48 million yen per month. And that's just for the students' allowances. Add in the cost of running the school, paying the staff, and maintaining the facilities… Wow, as expected of the elites. The government must really believe in this experiment. 』

The elevator dinged, signaling his arrival at his floor. Kumagawa stepped out, still flipping through the handbook as he made his way to his room.

『Unrestricted utilities, huh? I wonder how long it'll take for someone to abuse that. 』

On his way, he ran into Ayanokōji, who was about to enter his own room.

『What a good coincidence, Ayanokōji-kun. 』

"More like unfortunate."

Kumagawa chuckled, 『You sound just like horikita just now. 』

Hearing that, Ayanokōji's expression changed slightly a faint flicker of surprise crossing his face. It's only been a day, and he's already been infected with the "Horikita syndrome." How did that happen?

"And what about you? I heard you caused some trouble on the first day of school."

『Trouble? Me? Never. I'm just a harmless loser, you know?』

"Harmless, huh? That's not what I heard."

『Well, you know how rumors are. They tend to exaggerate. But hey, if you're that interested in me, we should hang out sometime. I'll even teach you how to lose gracefully.』

"I'll pass."

Kumagawa shrugged and continued walking, eventually arriving in front of his assigned room. He glanced at the door number and tilted his head.

He had heard that there was some kind of accident that broke the original door, and in the rush to replace it, a mistake had been made with the numbering.

『But isn't this just a bit too much? 』

The number on his door read 4-2-1 instead of the intended 4-1-2.

『All they had to do was add a nine, and they practically telling me to go and die. 』

[Note: If you rearrange 4-2-1 and add 9 which can be read as "shi-ni-iku" —meaning "go and die" or "heading towards death" in Japanese.]

Kumagawa, being who he is, naturally sees the irony in this mistake and jokes about it. Letting out a small chuckle at the unfortunate implication, he swiped his keycard and stepped inside.

『Oh? This is pretty nice.』

His room was simple—minimalist, even. A bed, a small kitchen, a shower, and a desk. Nothing extravagant, but nothing lacking either.

『So, this is where I'll be spending the next three years of my life in another world. 』

Kumagawa let the thought settle in as he looked around. It wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter—Anshin'in-san had seen to that. If she hadn't sent him here, what would he be doing right now? Wandering aimlessly? Probably. Becoming a sage? Unlikely. Kumagawa was a healthy young man, after all. There was no way he'd stay a virgin forever.

This school was different from the ones he had attended before. Though not as chaotic or fascinating as Hakoniwa Academy, it had its own charm.

Especially the S-System.

The rules that governed this school were unique—an entire system designed around competition, points, and meritocracy. It was a far cry from Hakoniwa. Here, things were structured, controlled, almost artificial in how they decided a student's worth.

『Well, if I'm here, I might as well use the S-System to live as comfortably as possible. 』

That, of course, required money.

But knowing his luck, it wasn't going to be easy. No matter what approach he took, the result would likely be the same. He could succeed but fail midway, succeed but fail at the very end, or—most likely—fail before he even began. No matter how he looked at it, all paths led to failure.

『Well, there's really nothing I can do about that. 』

But that was the way of the Minus. No matter how dire the circumstances, how extreme the odds, or even if there was absolutely no chance of winning at all—Minuses always laughed.

『END』

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