Although this school is special, the entrance ceremony was held the same as in any other. First, the director approached the podium, after which the President of the Student council, Horikita Manabu, spoke on the stage. At the end of his speech, several teachers came on stage and announced the end of the admission ceremony.

After listening to detailed explanations about all the buildings on the school grounds, the class dispersed.

On the way to the hostel, I had the idea to look into the grocery store, because the need for food has not disappeared anywhere.

– Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?

I heard someone call out to me. I wonder why anyone would want me.

– You're a first-year student, aren't you?

The person who asked me this question was a tall guy with blond hair. He didn't speak so confidently, because he could be wrong. I really noticed that he wanted to hide this fact from me.

– Yes.

– From Class D?

– That's right. Do you need something?

– Do you know a guy named Ayanokoji?

So it's me he needs. It's strange, why did a person from another class need me on the first day? It really seems like something suspicious. In fact, no one in the walls of this school should know me, unless, of course, we exclude Kushida and the chairman.

– He's standing in front of you.

– Great, it will make my job much easier. Ayanokoji, there is a person who wants to talk to you at 9 PM in the special corps.

And? The situation seems to me more and more strange.

– May I ask who this person is?

– I'm sorry, I can't say that. Just come and find out for yourself.

There are a few things that bothered me. One of them was that this guy was some kind of ambassador. This only means that there is already a person in their class who can give orders to others. It's alarming.

– Could you please introduce yourself?

– Oh, yes, I'm sorry. That's pretty rude of me. My name is Masayoshi Hashimoto, I'm from Class 1-A.

Now that I know he's from Class A, I need to be really careful with him.

– Okay, I have to go. I hope to see you again.

Having said that, Hashimoto waved lazily at me, turned around and headed towards the school.

I don't know why, but I've already attracted too much attention to myself. I wanted to delay this for as long as possible, but apparently I didn't succeed. Okay, it's not that important right now. I still haven't eaten anything.

Ten minutes later, I was at the entrance to the store. It was my first shopping trip, so I was a little excited.

Once inside, I immediately noticed what I wanted to buy. To the left of the entrance were shelves filled with different kinds of custard noodles. Is it probably very harmful? Although it's not that important. The experience that I will get from trying something new will be much more useful.

I took the package and looked at the price tag. It says here that noodles cost 156 yen. Clearly, despite the fact that we make all purchases using points, all price tags are signed in yen. I wonder if 156 yen for noodles is a lot or a little?

While I was trying to find the cash register, I noticed that in the farthest corner of the store there were portions of food and disposable packages of cosmetics. At first glance, they were the most ordinary, if not for the indication on the price tag. "For free." I took a look at one of the sets. The box contained basic necessities like toothbrushes and bandages. The label on the package read: "Three items per month!" These items were clearly of lower quality than those that could be bought with points. Apparently, they have provided for everything.

When I got up to go back to the checkout, I noticed a girl with long purple hair put something in her bag. It's more like stealing.

Then she just got up, picked up her bag and... left the store? Wait, so this is stealing. Should I inform the staff about this? Although why would I do that, I would only waste my time and get nothing in return. Yes, I don't want to waste time on this. After all, I only have three years, which is pretty short if you use a certain point of view to determine this factor.

I just went to the checkout, paid for my goods and left the store. Okay, now it's time to finally head to the dorm. There were still a lot of students around me. I saw them really discussing something enthusiastically.

To my surprise, most of the people here were clearly older than me. I've heard conversations like Damn, we won't see Araragi-senpai any time soon; I'm really glad you came out to drink soda with me on my last day here, Manabu; After all, Akio-senpai, this is your last day at school, so that I couldn't not come.

In general, nothing interesting. I just walked on down the paved stone path.

When I reached the building, I went inside, after which I went to the receptionist on duty so that he would give me the key to my school dormitory room.

The key was to room 401st. Together with him, I was given a flyer with the necessary information. I headed for the elevator. The booklet indicated the time and days of garbage collection, as well as a warning not to make noise.

So there are no strict restrictions on the use of electricity and gas? I assumed that points would be automatically deducted, including for energy consumption. The school has gone quite far in taking care of its students. Does this mean that there is something more behind it?

There was another thing that surprised me - the dormitory shared by boys and girls. This is quite strange for a school where sexual relations between students are prohibited. It's pretty hard to believe that in such a relaxed atmosphere, students make excellent leaders.

When I entered my new home, I immediately went to boil water.

To be honest, I was a little nervous, because I had never lived alone before. Can this be considered freedom?

I was also somewhat surprised by how nice the room was. No wonder this school is actively funded by the Japanese government. My bed didn't feel super soft, but it was comfortable enough to relax and unwind after a hard day.

The small kitchen did not cause discomfort, as it had everything you needed. You could use a gas stove, refrigerator, or microwave as you wished. There were also several drawers and bedside tables designed to store dishes, cutlery, spices and anything you want.

The bathroom was even smaller than the kitchen, but at the same time there was a shower, sink, toilet, walls, floor and ceiling cleaned to a shine.

It feels like no one has ever lived here. It would be the perfect place for my worry-free life. Unfortunately, I will not be able to achieve the so-called freedom.

It was 20:45 on the clock. If I leave now, I'll arrive at the meeting just in time. Well, we should hurry up and find out who wants to meet me today. I hope this is not some kind of messenger from ithat person/i from ithat very place/i.

After leaving the dorm, I immediately headed towards the special corps. Other students occasionally crossed my path, but it was clear that most people had already returned to the dormitories one way or another.

Going inside and walking a little further along the corridor, I noticed three human figures standing in the middle of the corridor. They were waiting for me. Looking at them, I realized that I was already familiar with two of them. Hashimoto-kun and the thief-chan.

– Oh, he really came. You did a great job, Hashimoto-kun.

Was this little girl with silver hair and a cane their leader? Perhaps she found some way of putting pressure on them, because I couldn't so easily believe that on the very first day, even before school started, two people of different genders would follow a miniature invalid.

– You can go now. That's all for today.

After her words, they walked towards me without saying a word. A blond guy walked by on my right and finally winked at me, thereby making the situation a little strange. On the left, there was a girl who I had noticed earlier in a convenience store for something illegal.

– What does it taste like?

– Hm?

When I asked her quietly, she stopped and looked me straight in the eye. She clearly didn't understand what I was talking about. Even though her mouth did not open, this look best conveyed the atmosphere of confusion in the girl's soul.

– I mean beer. It was a can of beer you stole from store today, wasn't it?

At that time, I checked what had disappeared among those goods. It was a can of beer. I'm really wondering what it should taste like. They say beer is addictive, but is it because of the taste or not?..

– How did you..?!

– Kamuro-san.

When this girl, who apparently is called Kamuro, was called by that little girl with a cane, my interlocutor abruptly stopped talking. Her gaze still spoke better than any words and expressed not only extreme confusion, but also rapidly growing irritation. In the end, she just walked on after that blond guy.

Interesting. No, it's rather amazing that she kept them quiet so easily. Perhaps this girl knows martial arts? Can she use her cane as a weapon? I need to be on the lookout.

After they left, our silence dragged on. In the end, I felt a little uncomfortable. Moreover, it's already nine o'clock in the evening. Apparently, this school has quite strict rules for staying in the dormitory at a late hour. That's why I decided to get down to business as soon as possible.

– May I ask who you are and what you want from me? Were you the one who wanted to meet me?

After my words, the girl did not change her expression a bit. This smirk of hers, or even, it should be said, a haughty smile, could not but cause nothing but slight anxiety in my soul.

Of course, my heart wasn't racing, my lungs weren't contracting at an astonishing rate, and my blood pressure hadn't risen a bit. No, it's just that I had a strange feeling about this girl. First Kushida, then that brunette neighbor-chan, and now this one. Should I say that the girls at this school are a source of problems and troubles? It looks like it's going to be a very difficult three years, considering that half of my class is made up of representatives of the female part of humanity.

– I'm glad to see you, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka-kun. It's been so many years since we last met.

Wait, do we know each other? No, it can't be, it's obviously the first time I've seen her. This girl was definitely never among those whom I met in that place. Although it is possible that she could have been there once and dropped out of the course at the very beginning, this would explain why I did not remember her. But still, I have never heard that those who did not pass the standard program survived.

– Sorry, I don't really understand what you're talking about.

– No, don't apologize. Still our relationship is purely one-sided.

All the time I was talking to her, she still had that smug, manic smile on her face. Or do I just think she's so sinister? Perhaps I just don't understand enough how people smile in modern society?

– One-sided. Can you tell me who you are and how you found out about me?

After my words, the smile on her face grew even wider.

– I'm Sakayanagi Arisu from Class 1-A. Our first meeting took place in the White Room.

Everything was fine until I heard that phrase. Now I feel extremely uncomfortable. This girl… Does she know about ithat place/i? No... does she know about the White Room?

But if you think about it, you can see that her last name is the same as that of the person who holds the post of chairman of this school. So his daughter came here too.… Had he told her about the White Room?

Of course, he and that person probably know each other well, but I doubt that such an influential person would allow such important information to leak at least somewhere. Moreover, no loving husband and father would allow his family to find out about such a thing, because it would put them all in danger.

– Like you...

Before I could ask her a direct question, she interrupted me, maintaining that strange smile full of self-satisfaction.

– To be honest, you can't imagine how glad I am to have met you again. When my father told me that you were going to study at this school, I couldn't sleep all night playing chess and imagining our future meeting. I am really looking forward to these three years that we will spend here. Tell me, you're not going to hide all your powers in this school, are you?

She shared her sincere feelings with me, which really could have put me in an awkward position.

– Did your father tell you who I am?

I ignored her question, simultaneously asking about what I was really interested in. In response to my words, Sakayanagi giggled slightly.

– Of course he told me about you. It was my father who told me your name. But still, our first and only meeting up to this point was quite a long time ago. About 8 years and 46 days have passed since that moment. I still remember how you beat all those professional chess instructors. This sight was truly mesmerizing.

Really? Had she seen me back in the White Room? So she was there as a guest, not a guinea pig? It turns out that she happened to be on the other side of that mirrored glass in which I always saw my reflection.

– Don't worry, my father already told me to hide the existence of the White Room. After all, society would hardly appreciate a place where any human rights are violated with unprecedented ease.

This girl… While my thoughts were in a mess, she began to slowly approach me, partially leaning on her cane. Those clicking sounds made by her cane in such a quiet place could really start to annoy me if I heard them all the time.

– But you still haven't answered my question. Will you hold back?

Whoever she is, she knows about my past in that place, so I can't just ignore her. Moreover, she seems to be an important figure in Class A. There is a serious possibility that she already has much more than two obedient puppets.

– I won't hold back…

But what she meant by that?

– Great, then I can play with you openly.

Is it just me, or did I just hear something like My class is going to fight yours? Or did she say play? In any case, this is clearly not the time when we will be playing. After all, people like her are nothing more than small obstacles in my way.

– I will not give up just like that.

If an obstacle arises in front of you, all you have to do is destroy it without leaving a trace of it.

– Great, that's exactly what I wanted to hear from you.

Right now, an internal conflict was flaring up in my head. I knew perfectly well that I could not lose to her, because my loss would lead to the defeat of this person. Then, in his eyes, the masterpiece will not be crowned with success.

But on the other hand, I want to lose so that I can finally understand what it's like to be defeated by an opponent who is stronger than you.

I hope you won't let me down, Sakayanagi Arisu.