After Akira finished his meal, Ichinose also happened to hand the beer to her homeroom teacher, and the two met unexpectedly in the hallway.
On their way to the second-year classrooms, one after the other.
Ichinose suddenly spoke. "Shimizu-san... if I remember correctly, you're the student who almost got into a fight with a classmate during the entrance ceremony, right?"
"That's me," Akira admitted frankly, though he was somewhat surprised internally.
He hadn't expected that incident to be noticed by students from other classes.
"Is that so?!" Ichinose's voice suddenly became cheerful. "After all, that Yamauchi-san said something very offensive to the girls in the class. I think your stance was completely correct! It's just..." She tilted her head slightly, showing a kind smile. "As high school students, perhaps it's better to consider solutions other than resorting to physical action?"
Akira couldn't help but be secretly astonished.
It was only the first day of school, and Ichinose from Class B already had a comprehensive understanding of Class D's specific situation.
Was it accidental hearsay, or part of a plan?
He couldn't help but reassess the brightly smiling girl in front of him.
Unlike Horikita's aloofness that kept people at a distance, Ichinose seemed to be naturally adept at weaving social networks, managing every detail perfectly.
This innate social talent was truly admirable.
Her way of speaking was also very clever. She didn't directly criticize his impulsiveness but first affirmed his position, then subtly offered advice.
It neither offended nor failed to convey her thoughts skillfully.
She perfectly embodied the meaning of "high emotional intelligence."
"Yes, you're right," Akira nodded in agreement.
"Really?" Ichinose said cheerfully. "Shimizu-san, why don't we exchange contact information? We might need to get in touch in the future."
She proposed this naturally, as if it were a casual suggestion.
And just like that, Akira acquired the contact information of his third classmate.
The two slowly arrived at the entrance of second-year Class D.
Akira had told Ichinose the name of the upperclassman he was looking for along the way.
It was lunchtime, and there were only a few scattered students in the classroom.
"Oh, isn't this Ichinose-kohai?" A girl greeted them with a smile.
"Senpai!" Ichinose responded warmly. "Actually, I came to your class to look for someone named..."
Before Akira could react, the girl, referred to as "Yamamura-senpai," was already standing in front of them. She was the person he was looking for.
"Yamamura-senpai, could I have a word with you?" Ichinose smiled, leading the other person to a quiet corner of the hallway, her actions as natural as if they'd been planned long ago.
"Well then, Shimizu-san, I'll leave the rest to you." She nodded slightly to Akira, and without waiting for his thanks, she turned and left, her back neat and decisive.
Akira looked at his phone.
From meeting Ichinose until now, it had been only twenty minutes.
Subtracting the time she spent dealing with the beer, it actually took less than ten minutes to help him find the right person.
This terrifying social efficiency made him click his tongue in amazement.
Her smooth handling of things was completely unlike a high school student.
She didn't even need him to hint at needing space for a private conversation. She'd already gracefully withdrawn, both helping and not making one feel she was overly involved.
'It's almost as if she can read minds.'
Akira looked in the direction she'd left, experiencing for the first time what it meant to have the social art of "nurturing without a sound."
However, the main business was more important.
Akira's gaze subtly swept over the upperclassman, lingering for a moment on the somewhat meager lunch in her hand.
"Senpai, the points allocated to your class this month aren't quite enough, are they? Interested in making a deal?"
Yamamura's fingers stiffened slightly, and she suddenly looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "You... you're just a freshman, aren't you? You've already figured out the point rules on the second day... Are you from Class A?"
Her voice was mixed with surprise and wariness, and her gaze unconsciously scanned the surroundings, confirming that no one else was paying attention to their conversation.
Akira keenly noticed the upperclassman's tense gaze and softly reassured her. "Senpai, are you worried about being seen? Please rest assured, there's no one else nearby."
"It's not just that..." Yamamura lowered her voice. "The school's monitoring system is everywhere. If we're caught making this kind of transaction, class points will be directly deducted."
"Class points?" Akira showed a perfectly timed expression of confusion.
The upperclassman suddenly lifted her chin. "If you want to know the details, transfer thirty thousand private points first."
"Ten thousand," Akira countered without changing his expression.
"I'm taking a risk!" She lowered her voice excitedly. "At least twenty thousand!"
"Ten thousand," Akira maintained his calm tone.
"You freshman..." Yamamura gritted her teeth, glaring at him, then finally slumped her shoulders in defeat. "Deal. Transfer the money first, and I'll tell you everything I know."
Ultimately, Akira successfully obtained key information from Yamamura.
Aside from the basic class division system and point distribution mechanism, he organized five core rules:
First, the school implements a "class point" ranking system, with dynamic promotion and demotion relationships between classes. For example, if Class D's points surpass Class C, the two classes will automatically swap ranks.
Second, class points are directly linked to students' private interests. The school authorities convert class points into private points at a 1:100 exchange rate, distributed on the first day of each month.
Third, each class initially receives 1,000 class points at the start of the school year. The first month will involve daily behavioral norms—tardiness, absenteeism, classroom misconduct, and other behaviors, once caught by surveillance, will serve as grounds for deductions at the end of the month.
Fourth, although the punishment mechanism is strict, avenues for improvement also exist. The school regularly holds exams and activities, and those who perform exceptionally well can earn additional points for their class. However, when mentioning this, Yamamura's tone clearly became bitter. For Class D, these opportunities often amounted to merely running alongside others.
Fifth: Revealing the S-System to newly enrolled freshmen is strictly prohibited on the surface. If discovered by surveillance, the party who disclosed the information will have a certain amount of class points deducted.
Therefore, students from Classes A, B, and C usually keep quiet about this.
But the situation in Class D is completely different. When individual survival is at stake, the collective seems less important.
A small number of Class D students would even take risks, secretly selling information.
If the school authorities hadn't explicitly forbidden it, given the plight of Class D students, they would have probably cornered all the new students and sold every piece of information they knew.
After all, the school authorities want students to discover the rules through independent exploration, and direct selling of information would disrupt this cultivation process.
As long as small transactions in hidden corners avoid surveillance, the school authorities often turn a blind eye.