Palette Café—the number one most popular cafe on campus.
Girls love to gather here during lunch breaks and after school.
Mikage Touji sat in his seat, peering at the pairs of fair, tender legs beneath the pleated skirts without changing his expression.
‘Truly full of vi—’
“You’re quite the uncute kouhai, aren’t you?
With such a beautiful senpai right here, you insist on looking at other girls.” A slightly teasing voice dragged him back to reality.
Mikage Touji turned his head helplessly.
A tall senpai with long silver hair was crossing her long legs—clad in black tights—leisurely sipping her coffee.
“So, Senpai, what exactly did you pull me over here for?”
Kiryuin Fuuka raised an eyebrow, rested her left arm on the chair, and let out a reckless smile.
“You’re the one who came running into our second-year territory to scout for intel, and yet you have the nerve to ask why I pulled you over?”
“Senpai, is it possible that I was just taking a stroll?” Mikage Touji picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and tested the waters cautiously.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a ‘stroll’ that involves specifically observing student classrooms.” Kiryuin Fuuka ruthlessly exposed his lie.
‘I really shouldn’t have taken that extra look at those black tights’ Mikage Touji wailed in his heart.
The plan had been going so smoothly; he had already finished scouting the third-year and first-year areas.
However, while checking out the second-year Class B, he had been captivated by those long, black-stockinged legs swaying in the air.
The next second, he was caught by the owner of said tights and forcibly dragged here.
And this senpai’s grip was incredibly strong…
Mikage Touji rubbed his reddened neck.
“Could it be that I was just attracted by Senpai’s aura?” At this point, Mikage Touji threw his pride away and argued desperately.
Hearing this, Kiryuin Fuuka rested her chin on her hand, thought seriously for a moment, and nodded as if it were a matter of fact.
“There is indeed that possibility…”
“…” Mikage Touji opened his mouth but hesitated.
“If it’s me, it wouldn’t be strange to captivate a strolling kouhai.” From her tone, it seemed she had already chosen to believe his excuse.
“Fine, fine.” Mikage Touji gave up on the charade.
“I was indeed here to scout for intelligence.”
Facing this eccentric senpai, Mikage Touji didn’t dare play the fool anymore.
Since he was exposed, he was exposed; it wasn’t a huge deal.
“What a pity.
I thought I was about to have a kouhai who admired me.”
“Senpai, do you even believe that yourself when you say it?”
“Of course.
I have quite a bit of confidence in my own charm.” Kiryuin Fuka brushed her long hair, and a wave of fragrance wafted over.
“Ahem, back to business.” Mikage Touji sat up straight, bringing the topic back to the beginning.
“Why did you pull me over here, Senpai?”
Generally speaking, with 160 students in the first year, even if someone was 100% sure he wasn’t from their grade, they wouldn’t go out of their way to ask questions and invite trouble.
This was the source of Mikage Touji’s confidence in swaggering through the various classes.
He hadn’t expected a girl would actually drag him away in front of everyone.
“No reason, really,” Kiryuin Fuuka said nonchalantly.
“I was just a bit bored, ran into an interesting kouhai, and pulled him over.”
Mikage Touji was starting to lose it.
“I hadn’t even said a word to you and you thought I was interesting?
Just because I looked at your black tights once?”
“Hoh…
so you like those.”
Kiryuin Fuuka flashed a mischievous smile, tilting her long legs slightly to make them appear even more slender.
“Ahem.” Mikage Touji felt a bit embarrassed and quickly averted his gaze.
“Because from the first moment I saw you, my intuition told me you were interesting.
It’s always been very accurate.”
“Senpai, do you happen to know a girl named Morishita Ai?”
“Morishita Ai?
Who?
Is she like me?”
“My unlucky seatmate behind me.
You’re both people I can’t handle.”
“Then I’d actually like to meet her.”
After chatting for a while, Mikage Touji felt the time was right and spoke casually.
“Someone like you, Senpai, should know the purpose of my scouting, right?”
“Investigating the school rules?” Kiryuin Fuuka said with interest.
“You could try to butter up your senpai, you know.
Maybe because you’re my ‘admirer,’ I’ll reveal some intel to you.”
Looking at Kiryuin Fuka’s indifferent expression, Mikage Touji took another sip of coffee, the bitter taste spreading through his mouth.
Given the formidable observational skills and physical presence this senpai had displayed so far, she was likely a top performer among the second years.
Theoretically, she should indeed know a lot.
The problem was…
“Can you actually say it, Senpai?”
“Hahaha!
You really are interesting…” Kiryuin Fuuka laughed unrestrainedly in the cafe.
“That is indeed a forbidden topic.”
‘I knew you were lying!’ Mikage Touji’s eye twitched slightly.
As the laughter subsided, Kiryuin Fuuka explained: “We in the second and third years have been placed under a gag order.
We can’t take the initiative to reveal anything.
If it’s serious, we could even be expelled.”
‘Expelled, huh…’ No wonder the numbers in the second and third years had dropped so much.
Mikage Touji watched the smiling senpai across from him, his thoughts racing.
Generally, the dropout rate in Japanese high schools is about 1% to 1.5%.
In Advanced Nurturing, that should be two to three people per grade.
In reality, for a school that supposedly requires middle school recommendations, the number of expulsions was several times that figure.
There was only one possibility—the school’s system is flawed, and there are expulsion penalties.
“So, will you continue your investigation?
I can give you some directions to look in.”
Mikage Touji put down his coffee cup.
“No, I think I’ve seen enough.
Based on the current situation, our class points should keep us worry-free for the time being.”
“Which class are you in?” Kiryuin Fuuka asked casually.
“Class A.”
“I see—”
Kiryuin Fuuka froze, then narrowed her eyes.
“You little brat, you dared to bait your senpai.”
Mikage Touji silently pushed the menu toward her and smirked.
“Just confirming a hypothesis.
After all, I didn’t have evidence.”
‘As I thought!’
Corresponding to private points, the classes also have corresponding points used to rank them.
Otherwise, they would just call them “points.”
Kiryuin Fuka showed no mercy to Mikage Touji’s wallet, waving over a server to order a large strawberry cake.
“Fine then.” Kiryuin Fuuka stirred her coffee with a spoon.
This should be fine since your teacher probably mentioned it…”
She tapped her slender finger on the table.
“Points can buy anything.
I mean that literally.”
‘Literally…’
Mikage Touji’s pupils shrunk.
‘I see.
No wonder Mashima-sensei’s wording was so strange back then.’
“Then…” Mikage Touji looked up.
“Can I trade with you for specific intel, Senpai?”
“You learn fast.” Kiryuin Fuuka spread her hands.
“Unfortunately, no.
Otherwise, senpais could use that rule to bypass the school’s scrutiny—like telling a kouhai they know some info, teaching them to trade with points, and then giving the points back.
If you want it, you can only buy it from the school.”
“Exactly how many points would that require?”
“Hmm…
at least a million or so.”
Mikage Touji was speechless.
Adding his and Morishita Ai’s points together wouldn’t even reach one-fifth of that.
While he could tell his classmates and they could probably pool that much, that would be equivalent to cheating.
Morishita Ai would probably just declare victory on the spot.
Taking the strawberry cake from the waiter, Kiryuin Fuka watched the contemplative Mikage Touji with interest.
“Well?
Are you going to take the plunge?
Personally, I don’t recommend making that trade.
You’ll find that stuff out sooner or later anyway.”
“Senpai…”
“Hmm?”
“How many points for that graduation privilege?” Mikage Touji asked again.
Straight to the point!
“Not bad, kouhai.
I’m starting to see you in a new light.
How did you figure it out?”
Mikage Touji chose his words carefully.
“Without enough bait, the fish in the pond will only swim leisurely.
That’s not what the school wants.
The only thing in here that could make students compete desperately is that 100% higher education and employment privilege.”
“20 million points.” Kiryuin Fuuka dropped a terrifying number.
“…”
Did the school think it was being funny?
Anyone with the business sense to legally earn 20 million points in a school of about a thousand people wouldn’t care about a single job opportunity.
A business prodigy like that would be someone the school begs to come back for a speech.
“Whew—”
Exhaling deeply, Mikage Touji rubbed his aching temples.
With all this intel combined with his own deductions, the true face of the school was mostly pieced together.
It should be enough to beat Morishita Ai.
That girl was probably still playing “spy” in some corner right now.
In that case…
Mikage Touji curled his lips into a smile of certain victory.
‘Morishita Ai, I win!’