Although their goal was to test whether the 100,000 points on the student ID could actually be used, Miyuki and Shiina decided to check out their dorms first.
The built-in map on their phones showed that, besides the cafeteria, the school also had a shopping district, which covered a large area.
Their teacher had said that points could be spent like real money on campus, so going shopping seemed like the most direct way to test it out.
Since everyone was a new student and would be living here for the next three years, they would definitely need to buy daily necessities.
Still, before deciding what to buy, they needed to check out the dorms first.
The dorm arrangements were quite nice.
All students boarded on campus, and each had their own 23-square-meter room.
It was small, but it had everything they needed—a tiny balcony, a private bathroom, a washing machine, and even a small kitchen.
The kitchen had a gas pipeline, meaning it used natural gas.
So that was it.
The school was clearly encouraging students to cook for themselves.
Cooking at home could help save money on meals.
Back home, Miyuki had always made his own bento, so he knew exactly how much money he could save.
But the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Because…
If every student had 100,000 points, which was equal to 100,000 yen, then why would anyone even need to cook their own meals?
Does the school want everyone to learn how to cook?
Or is it that most students need gas for cooking themselves, so the school provided the necessary equipment?
But why do so many students have to cook to save money?
Thinking about this, Shirogane took out his phone and started making a list of daily necessities to buy.
When he first came to this school, he was told not to bring anything, so he had to buy everything—from small items like toiletries to bigger things like blankets and casual clothes.
Looking at it this way, the 100,000 points he just received might end up with nearly half of it spent on settling in.
Even though these daily necessities could be used for a long time, it still felt a bit unsettling—would there be this much next month?
Yeah.
That was Shirogane's first thought.
Since everyone was a new student this month, buying essentials was unavoidable. The cheapest setup might cost around 20,000 to 30,000 points, while more expensive purchases could go up to 40,000 or even 50,000.
That would leave only around 40,000 to 50,000 points purely for food and other expenses.
As long as prices inside and outside the school didn't change, 40,000 to 50,000 points should be enough for a high school student's monthly living expenses.
And if that amount was enough, why would the school provide so many points?
Which means...
The point system would probably fluctuate. There was no doubt it would be reduced.
With that thought in mind, Shirogane left the dorm. He needed to go shopping, too.
The dorm housed both male and female students—boys on the first to fourth floors, girls on the fifth to eighth.
When Shirogane picked up his room key from the dorm supervisor on the first floor, he asked and confirmed that everyone in this building was a first-year student.
The upperclassmen's dorms were located a bit farther back.
[You have checked out the living conditions and found them quite decent.]
[You begin estimating the items you need to buy.]
[But I suggest you don't be too frugal. Money is meant to be earned, not just saved.]
Hmm.
As Shirogane was thinking, that voice appeared in his mind again, as usual.
But he didn't agree with it.
He believed saving money could add up to a considerable amount.
Still, the best approach was both making money and spending wisely.
"Have you ever lived in such a small room?" Shirogane suddenly asked.
[No, my house is huge. Wait—never mind. The weather is really nice today. It's only 11:30; if you head out now, you can still grab lunch at the shopping district.]
[There's a really good beef hotpot place, you know.]
The voice kept rambling on.
"..."
But now, Shirogane was sure.
This narration system definitely had some issues.
Even though the voice talked a lot and occasionally gave some useful information, it almost felt like it was alive. And since the owner of the voice had a big house, they were probably human.
But why was it bound to him? And what was this so-called "destiny" about?
Shirogane was confused.
For now, though, it didn't seem to be doing anything harmful, other than trying to push him into interacting with the silver-haired girl.
Shirogane closed his dorm room door and started heading downstairs.
His dorm room was 404. He could either take the stairs or use the elevator.
While Shirogane wasn't lacking in stamina, he preferred to save energy whenever he could.
*Beep!*
The elevator doors opened, revealing two girls inside.
Both were very good-looking.
One of them was a girl he hadn't seen before. She had beautiful golden short hair—normally, short hair wasn't easy to pull off, but on her, it looked effortless.
That was because she was really cute.
She had the kind of face that made people think of a little angel.
The other girl was someone he had met before—the black-haired girl with sharp, fox-like eyes.
Just like when he saw her in the gym, she still had that distant, cool aura.
"Horikita, are you heading to the shopping district later? Some of our classmates already went, and they said the points are usable. Oh, but I'm not trying to show off how many people I know—"
As the elevator doors opened, the golden-haired girl was chatting with the fox-eyed girl, who kept her expression cold.
So, the black-haired girl's last name was Horikita.
Horikita.
Shirogane had come across that name today, back in the gym.
[I am the student council president, Horikita Manabu.]
Now that he thought about it, the student council president and this fox-eyed girl had the same hair color.
Of course, it wasn't strange for siblings to have different hair colors—Shirogane himself had short golden hair, while his younger sister, Kei, had long silver hair.
Still, there was a certain resemblance between the student council president and this Horikita girl.
"..." The fox-eyed girl called Horikita remained expressionless. She stood near the elevator buttons, her right hand resting on the button that held the doors open.
"Are you coming in?"
Her voice was cold.
She was asking if he was getting on the elevator.
"Yes, please let me in." Shirogane quickly stepped inside.
"Hi there!" The golden-haired girl greeted him cheerfully, flashing a sweet smile. "I'm Kushida Kikyo from Class 1-D. Just started this year, same as you."
Her voice was cute, and her smile was so warm that it almost felt like it could float.
"Nice to meet you." Shirogane nodded. "I'm Shirogane Miyuki from Class 1-C."
As he spoke, he glanced at Horikita. Was she going to introduce herself too?
"..." The fox-eyed girl didn't seem interested in responding.
"Speaking of which, the student council president's last name is also Horikita," Shirogane said. "And you kind of look like him. Are you two siblings or something?"
"..." The fox-eyed girl.
She looked over with a blank expression. "I'm Horikita Suzune."
"..." Kushida.
!!?
"Kushida?" Shirogane noticed that her expression suddenly stiffened.
"Ah, it's nothing. It just feels like the AC is too strong and blowing right at me," Kushida said.
But there was no air conditioning in the elevator, only a fan mounted above, and it was indeed blowing in her direction.
Mistaking a fan for an AC wasn't exactly normal.
But if she said so, then fine.
Shirogane thought that while Kushida looked cute and friendly, she was definitely not in a stable mood right now.