Advanced Nurturing High School.

  In this high school, meritocracy was paramount, shaping every aspect of the educational experience.

  Academic achievements, extracurricur accomplishments, and leadership qualities pyed pivotal roles in determining students' standing.

  An environment where individuals are rewarded based on their merit, encouraging a culture of hard work and excellence.

  This was not a simple school, but a miniature warzone funded by the government. Its aim was simple, to lead Japan's future with individuals who would be aware of how the real world worked the moment they graduated.

  After all, life was a century-long battle and those that ck the necessary skills to survive and thrive will simply fade into the obscurity of mediocrity.

  In this school, every css had to fight against each other. Maniputing others, discarding allies, or outsmarting the system, such skills were necessary to climb to the top.

  Those who cked the ego of ambition had two outcomes— one where they would simply never reach the top or one where they were already at the peak.

  Ayanokouji peered over his cssmates, if one were to ignore the blonde who was fixing his hair in the mirror, the air of the css was incredibly grim.

  The seat in front of him was empty but 'he' who was still not here had left such an impact on the css that most still didn't understand what to do.

  His seat wasn't the only one that was empty.

  Three more people were missing from the cssroom.

  It was the same cssroom, but nonetheless, it was distinctly different.

  The atmosphere was heavy and everyone was disheartened.

  No matter who ended up getting expelled, the situation would’ve probably still turned out like this.

  To ensure the future success of the css as a whole, who was necessary? Who was unnecessary?

  There were three more empty seats. Why they hadn't been removed was a question that probably lingered in everyone's mind.

  He did not doubt that whoever would look at these seats would be reminded how a fellow student, who was happily interacting with them just a few days ago had cut off three of their cssmates.

  The reason?

  He had deemed them worthless.

  Css D was stuck under overwhelming pressure.

  Sudo, Ike and Yamauchi simply could not resist as they were expelled. The whole threat of expulsion, to whoever thought the school wasn't serious at first was hit with harsh reality.

  It was 8:45 am and css would start at 9 am. Css D which would usually have several te students was nowhere to be seen.

  Advanced Nurturing High School.

  It was a school where meritocracy ruled and even if they could avoid expulsion by doing the bare minimum there was a ruthless dictator in the css who could decide your future.

  Or rather that seemed exclusive to Css D.

  Yamamoto Tatsuya.

  Why... Why did a first-year student have over 3 million private points?

  To the css, it made no sense, and to humans, the most terrifying thing was the unknown.

  Ayanokouji looked over to his side and studied Horikita's expression. She looked conflicted as her eyes would flicker to Tatsuya's empty seat.

  Interesting.

  He thought.

  He expected something different. He had expected Horikita to either act as usual and wear her cold look or appear disheartened.

  But her expression suggested something else.

  There were several factors to take into consideration why she was behaving so oddly making it hard to accurately predict what she could be thinking.

  His eyes slowly drifted to Hirata.

  “He’s crazier than I thought,” Horikita said, her voice low.

  The ‘he’ Horikita was referring to was, of course, none other than Hirata. He was sitting motionless at his desk, as if in a daze.

  He had been like this ever since Yamauchi, Ike and Sudo left the cssroom.

  “Hirata-kun… Uhm…”

  Mii-chan timidly called out to him, concerned about his well-being.

  However, Hirata only slightly shifted his gaze to look at her and didn’t say anything.

  How did Hirata feel about this now?

  The answer to that was something only he knew. In any case, there was no other choice for him but to keep moving forward.

  If it were any student who had faced such mental pressure they wouldn't have come to css but the very fact that Hirata would never want to harm the css made him attend css.

  Tardiness would lower the css points.

  The kind Hirata wouldn't allow himself to do that.

  It was sad.

  Probably the only person he genuinely considered a close friend had betrayed him and the css.

  The worst part wasn't that the students had been expelled, it was the ck of care Tatsuya seemed to have for the css.

  After an entire day, almost everyone understood that Tatsuya had deliberately lowered the marks just enough for them to fail and then cause the css to go bankrupt.

  No one bmed Horikita, they didn't know she was aware of Tatsuya's decision beforehand.

  Some considered it sadistic while some thought it was him trying to preserve his points.

  But thanks to Horikita, his pn had been 'revealed' and his true nature had been exposed.

  ...

  I had messaged him several times yesterday but he didn't answer me. It filled my heart with sadness.

  The reason I came to like him was not because he was handsome. It was because he was the only calm and mature individual among the male cssmates besides Hirata.

  Hirata was too indecisive for my liking and as such it didn't take me long to fall for him, the other mature individual in css.

  I admit it.

  I, Haruka Hasabe, liked him.

  When someone like Tatsuya constantly catered to my needs and paid me special attention it was hard for me to not fantasize about a retionship with him.

  Initially, I wanted to be alone, to isote myself.

  When I evaluate myself objectively, I consider myself a bad person. Everyone has at least once or twice, done the sort of thing for which people say, “You must not do that”.

  For example, ignoring a red traffic light. Even if it was done without any malicious intent, everyone at least has some experience of doing such things.

  For example, not returning the excess when you receive too much change. It doesn’t matter whether it was over by one yen or ten yen, in most cases, when the clerk makes a mistake, the majority of people wouldn’t return the excess.

  For example, spitting or littering on the side of the road. They’re all very petty and insignificant actions, but they’re still crimes, nonetheless.

  But with only experiences such as these, I wouldn’t consider myself a bad person.

  But I…

  Actually, from someone else’s perspective, it might only have been a trivial matter.

  However, I was weighed down by my past and decided that I would refrain from making any new friends in high school.

  I felt nervous when interacting with strangers.

  I wanted to enter my own little world where I’d keep my distance from those who used to be my friends and wouldn’t interact with anyone.

  That’s why, when I learned of the existence of Advanced Nurturing High School, I thought that this pce would be able to grant my wishes and hence I decided to go there.

  That was the pn, but by the time I noticed, I’d already fallen for him.

  ...Yamamoto Tatsuya.

  _________________________

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