After confirming the text on the system several more times, Naruse rubbed his temples and let out a long sigh.
The task mode of this system felt a bit like a projection of his own future, which gave him a rather subtle, uneasy feeling.
So the system came twenty years early, and now it wants me to make up for my regrets?
Then could it at least tell me what those regrets are first?
Honestly.
Hikaru Naruse glanced at the Emotional Comeback Task the system had issued, and a new line of thought welled up in his mind.
For instance, the first task was the “Emotional Comeback Task” — so besides emotional comebacks, would there be other kinds of comeback tasks too?
On the other hand, the task required him to reconnect with Honami Ichinose in order to earn the reward — but how exactly would “reconnecting” be judged as a success?
Was it as simple as exchanging a few words, or did he have to swap contact information?
These were things he could only find out by trying them himself; for now there was no detailed explanation.
“Honestly.”
It was right then that Naruse suddenly heard someone calling out to him from behind.
“Um, hello there~”
Naruse turned around and saw a girl with blonde hair.
She was propping her cheek up with her elbow, watching him with a bright smile.
Her features were very pretty, her long golden hair had a lovely texture, and beneath her left eye sat a tear mole that added a touch of allure to her.
Her figure was slender yet full — even slumped over the desk, the round, mountainous curves of her body were still plainly visible.
“?”
Hikaru Naruse froze for a moment.
He quickly searched his mind for any information about this blonde girl.
COTE’s original work had quite a lot of characters who appeared in it — he’d need a moment to think…
Wait!
Was this Asuka Shiraishi?
This girl was a character who only showed up after the third year in the original.
The original unfolded from the perspective of the protagonist Ayanokōji, and before he transferred classes, only a small number of named, notable characters had appeared in Class A — which also made her a convenient way to drop in a brand-new character out of nowhere.
And she was no ordinary student, either…
The three great prodigies of Class A: Ai Morishita, Asuka Shiraishi, and Ryōko Nishikawa.
This was the very first person to strike up a conversation with him.
“Hello, I’m Hikaru Naruse.”
A friendly smile appeared on Naruse’s face.
Now that the system had descended, he naturally had to act proactively — otherwise, how could he ever compete with those prodigies?
“I’m Asuka Shiraishi.
Pleased to meet you.”
Her voice was clear and pleasant, like a brook trickling through a mountain valley.
“Where is Naruse-kun from?” Asuka Shiraishi tilted her head, her purple eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Kagoshima.”
“Kagoshima, huh~ That’s so far from Tokyo.”
Asuka Shiraishi kept resting her cheek in her hand as she let out that remark.
Her role was to play an ordinary high schooler, and the things she said all fit the profile of an active JK.
“It’s not so bad.”
Hikaru Naruse seized on the topic, intending to warm up their relationship a little first.
“And where are you from, Shiraishi-san?”
“Me?
I’m from Chiba.”
At nine o’clock sharp, a middle-aged man in a dark suit walked into the classroom.
He was of medium build, with a stern face, a black folder tucked under his arm.
He walked up to the lectern, set the folder down on the desk, then swept his gaze across the students in the room — his eyes sharp and cold.
“Good morning, everyone.”
His voice was low and forceful, carrying an unquestionable authority.
“I am the homeroom teacher of Year 1 Class A.
My name is Tomoya Mashima.
From today onward, I will be responsible for all of your instruction and administrative matters over these three years.”
The classroom fell into utter silence.
Every student sat up straight, their eyes fixed on the man standing at the lectern.
Hikaru Naruse was no exception.
He straightened his posture slightly, putting on the appearance of listening attentively — but inwardly he was rapidly recalling everything he knew about Tomoya Mashima.
In the original, Tomoya Mashima, the homeroom teacher of Class A, was actually a pretty decent person.
Compared to the homeroom teachers of the other classes, this man was upright in character and highly capable — not the kind of person who, because of some dark past of his own, would neglect his students.
Of course, he didn’t really have any dark past either.
He was an elite who had graduated from this very school as a member of Class A.
Teacher Mashima used brief remarks to introduce the basic overview of the school and its rules and regulations, then began handing out student handbooks and class schedules.
In truth, the student handbook contained nearly every rule of this school, but there were two things that mattered most — things that everyone would frequently deal with over the next three years.
Class Points and Private Points.
These were among the most core systems of this school.
“You can look up all the various school rules in the handbook.
Everyone can commit them to memory at your own pace.”
Tomoya Mashima stood at the lectern, speaking in an unhurried tone.
“Next is another matter.
Everyone, open the phones you’ve already received, then log into your student accounts.
Today each of you will be credited with 100,000 Private Points.
Go ahead and check.”
“Private Points?”
“What are those?”
Although the students didn’t quite understand, the students of Class A were people who had already passed a round of screening, and their overall comprehension was decent.
Before long, they all saw that row of numbers on their phones.
Naruse was no exception; he opened his own phone.
[Name: Hikaru Naruse]
[Student ID: S01T000512]
[Sex: Male]
[Class: Year 1 Class A]
[Private Points: 100000 pr]
Up on the lectern, Tomoya Mashima began to explain this most important rule of the school.
“Private Points are the most important credential in your school life.
In terms of purchasing power, 1 Private Point is roughly equivalent to 1 yen, so as an equal exchange that comes to one hundred thousand yen.
Anything you buy at any shop within the school can be paid for with Private Points.”
“Private Points are deposited into each of your student accounts on the 1st of every month.
There will be no exceptions to this whatsoever.”
“In principle, Private Points can buy anything in this school.”
Once this rule was fully explained, Naruse could clearly feel the students around him growing a bit restless.
Handing out 100,000 Private Points on the very first day of school — in other words, giving every student 100,000 yen in pocket money.
That was a full 100,000 yen.
The Class A students with strong mental arithmetic had already, in an instant, connected the dots to something else.
They were going to study here for three whole years.
There were 160 students in a single grade, each receiving 100,000 a month — over three years, how much money would the school have to pay out in total?
It was practically an astronomical figure!
“Alright, that’s about all the explanation regarding school affairs for now.
It’s now time for questions.”
Tomoya Mashima’s gaze swept over everyone in the classroom.
“If anyone has any questions, you may raise your hand and ask now.”
That was what he said, but after those words left his mouth, Naruse noticed several students looking eager to give it a try — yet no one directly volunteered to be the one to stick their neck out.
As for Arisu Sakayanagi and Kohei Katsuragi.
Naruse’s gaze swept over the two of them and found that the silver-haired girl had no intention of asking anything at all — she merely watched the lectern with a smile — while Katsuragi had his arms crossed and seemingly had no plans to raise his hand either.
Heh, you two sure can sit still.
Naruse, who knew the original work, understood that these two had actually already picked up on the catch on the very first day of school — but they had no intention of speaking up to share that intelligence.
Honestly…
then I won’t be modest about it.
“Teacher, I have a question!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Hikaru Naruse raised his hand straightaway.
“Very well, Naruse-kun, go ahead.”
Before coming to the classroom, Tomoya Mashima had memorized the faces and names of all his students — that was a basic skill of being a teacher.
“What I’d like to ask is…
does the school have any system for class officers to manage the class?”
The moment those words came out, Hikaru Naruse could clearly feel two gazes land on him — but he feigned complete obliviousness, simply watching Teacher Mashima with a smile.
“As for that, each subject will elect a corresponding subject representative to assist the instructor with handing out assignments and materials, and so on.”
As he said this, Tomoya Mashima’s expression remained stern, but the way he looked at Hikaru Naruse had changed somewhat.
“However…
the school does not directly establish a position such as class president.”
“If the class is to be managed, then a student with sufficient prestige must become the class leader.
The teachers will not interfere in this matter — it’s left entirely to a vote among all of you.”
“Teacher, wouldn’t the class leader be quite important?”
Naruse smiled faintly and spoke in a coaxing, guiding manner.
“I think we ought to choose one sooner rather than later, don’t you?
After all, ‘class leader’ certainly sounds like a very important role.”
As he finished the last sentence, Naruse lowered his arm and silently waited for the fish to take the bait.
Sure enough.
Just seconds after his statement ended, he heard a male student stand up at the back of the classroom and declare loudly:
“Everyone, I nominate Katsuragi-kun to be the class leader!”
PS: The signing process is already underway, so everyone can follow along and keep reading without worry — please, I’m counting on you all!!!