Part 3 — The Value of a Kurei
Professor Tanaka's announcement resonated more than expected:
"Each of you will receive 100,000 Kurei this month. Use them wisely."
One hundred thousand. A generous amount, enough to make most people lower their guard.
While some applauded and others murmured excitedly, I kept thinking about the obvious:
no one gives something like that without an intention behind it.
That afternoon, Kaori and I walked through Kurohana Inner City.
A modern complex, full of shops, cafes, and even a small movie theater.
It looked like a normal town, except for one detail:
there was no real money. Only Kurei.
"I guess they want us to learn how to behave like adults," Kaori commented, looking at the prices in a bakery window. "But this is... too elaborate for a school."
"It's not an educational exercise," I replied without taking my eyes off the digital menu. It's an experiment.
Kaori looked at me with mild bewilderment, but didn't ask any more questions.
She had good instincts: she knew when not to insist.
Inside, the students were spending recklessly.
Desserts, coffee, new clothes... the euphoria of easy money was blinding them.
I saw Tsubasa Inoue at a table, surrounded by people. She was laughing, maneuvering conversations effortlessly.
Further away, Akari Fujita was gathering a group, proposing to create a "cooperation network."
"Exchanging favors," she said. In other words: social control.
Kaori approached the counter.
"Two coffees?" she asked.
I nodded. I wasn't hungry, but accepting was a way to maintain a minimum of harmony between us.
While we were waiting, an argument caught my attention.
A dark-haired boy—Ren Takahashi—was arguing with the cashier.
Apparently, he had spent almost all of his credit without realizing it.
"This is absurd!" he protested. "I had 100,000 yesterday! How did it go so quickly?"
The clerk simply replied calmly:
"Your transactions are recorded, Mr. Ren. The system is automatic."
Kaori frowned.
"It hasn't even been 24 hours since they gave it to us..."
"Exactly," I said quietly. "And already someone owes us."
I took a sip of coffee.
The taste was artificial, too perfect. Like everything in that place.
Every smile, every rule, every "freedom" had a purpose.
And I just needed time to understand what it was.
Kaori looked at me out of the corner of her eye.
"You already knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"No," I lied. "I just imagined it."
Because yes, I had foreseen it.
And if my intuition wasn't wrong, Kurei's system wouldn't just measure our finances.
It would test our morale, our alliances, and what we were willing to sacrifice.
As we walked back to the dorm, I saw several roommates buying useless things.
Designer clothes, decorations, expensive food.
Their faces were filled with satisfaction... and naive trust.
It wouldn't last long.
And deep down, I admit, a part of me wanted to see how quickly that illusion would crumble.