Sae Chabashira.
She appeared to be under thirty, currently at that somewhat delicate age where she possessed both the beauty of a young woman and the capable demeanor of a mature adult.
Like the students, she wore a white shirt underneath, paired with a black business suit.
The tight-fitting outfit accentuated her graceful curves, while her black stockings and pointed high heels made her even more captivating than the still somewhat immature girls around her.
She possessed a unique charm that came with being a mature woman.
Having read the original novel, Ryouma naturally knew this teacher extremely well.
Sae had once been a student of Class D at Advanced Nurturing High School herself.
However, during her generation, the differences between the classes hadn't been particularly large.
In fact, Class D had been less than a hundred class points behind Class A.
Simply put, as long as Class D performed well, they had every possibility of defeating the other classes and graduating as Class A.
Unfortunately, because of Sae's own naivety, she made a mistake that caused her entire class's plans to collapse.
Ultimately, they missed their opportunity to claim Class A's position.
Sae had blamed herself ever since.
As a result, she developed an obsession with bringing Class D up to Class A, even if she had to accomplish it as a homeroom teacher.
However, at this school, competition wasn't limited to students.
The teachers competed against one another as well.
And the homeroom teacher of Class B was none other than Chie Hoshinomiya, who had attended the school during the same year as Sae.
Therefore, unless she saw a genuine opportunity for promotion, Sae would never reveal her ambitions.
Otherwise, she would likely become the target of Chie's relentless interference.
For Sae, there could only be one opportunity to rise to Class A!
Therefore...
If she couldn't see any hope of promotion, she would simply maintain her indifferent attitude and watch Class D struggle on its own.
She would continue presenting herself as harmless while waiting for her next opportunity.
Unfortunately, every generation of Class D was filled with defective students.
There was practically no possibility of them ever reaching Class A.
And this year...
A new glimmer of hope had finally appeared!
Sae discreetly glanced toward Kiyotaka, who was sitting in the corner of the classroom.
This was a student whom Chairman Sakayanagi had personally asked her to pay attention to and look after.
There had to be something special about him.
However, looking at his utterly ordinary appearance and those lifeless, dead-fish eyes, she couldn't see anything remarkable.
Withdrawing her gaze, Sae tapped the stack of booklets that had already been prepared on the podium.
She spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Students will not be reassigned to different classes at this school. Therefore, I'll be serving as your homeroom teacher for the next three years. I look forward to working with you."
"Also, the entrance ceremony will be held in the gymnasium in one hour. Until then, please read through the materials explaining this school's special regulations."
Ryouma received two familiar-looking booklets from Chiaki.
All the students had received similar materials before enrollment.
Unlike ordinary high schools, this institution was rather special.
Choosing to enroll here meant accepting the obligation to live in the school dormitories.
Furthermore, without the school's permission, all contact with the outside world was prohibited.
That even included contacting family members.
In exchange...
The school provided numerous facilities, including karaoke lounges, movie theaters, cafés, clothing stores, and much more.
It was practically a miniature shopping district.
However, unlike the booklets they had received previously, the one in his hands was noticeably thicker.
When Ryouma opened it, he discovered a device resembling a smartphone inside.
"These are your student IDs. You can use them to access all the facilities on campus and purchase any products sold here. You can think of them as credit cards."
"However, using them consumes personal points, so keep that in mind. There's nothing you can't purchase with points. As long as you have enough, you can buy absolutely anything."
However...
Suzune, who was sitting behind him, was still somewhat dumbfounded.
Passing materials to the person sitting behind you was basic classroom etiquette.
Yet the guy sitting in front of her had actually confiscated her student ID!
'How am I supposed to gather information quickly like this?!'
The classroom was completely silent.
Suzune frowned and poked Ryouma's back with her pen.
A moment later, a small piece of paper appeared from beneath Ryouma's arm.
Suzune accepted it without thinking.
【Write your name and draw a picture that I think is cute while you're at it.】
Click!
Suzune instantly pulled a compass out of her pencil case.
She was practically trembling with anger!
Everyone's nameplates had been sitting on their desks from the very beginning.
There was absolutely no way she believed Ryouma didn't know her name!
'He's obviously making fun of me!'
'How childish!'
Suzune tightened her grip around the compass, silently cursing him.
She raised her head and glanced toward Sae, who was standing at the podium.
Eventually, she slowly put the compass down again.
Picking up the paper, Suzune wrote her name.
As for reporting him to the teacher?
That option hadn't even crossed her mind.
There were far too many ways he could explain away his actions.
Besides, reporting such a trivial matter didn't suit her personality.
She didn't believe there was any need to interact with these classmates in the first place.