Echoes of Solitude

Class C

"... Pleased to meet you, Ayanokouji-kun." The girl with silver hair, Shiina Hiyori, replied in grace with her silver-bell like voice.

She sat with an upright posture, with her hands placed on her grey thigh-high socks. She wore a gentle smile and spoke politely and with utmost respect.

"No, pleasure is mine." I replied.

She put her finger on her lips and tilted her head.

"So um... Do you have any hobbies...? Or anything you can tell me about yourself...?"

"I have no particular hobbies, but I'm interested in just about anything. I don't have many friends, but I think it would be nice to have a few. And, well, that's just about it." I said nonchalantly.

"I see..." She seemed dejected, as her upright posture shifted as she hunched over, looking towards the ground.

I thought that I introduced myself like a normal person, but it seems that if anything, it seemed as if to her, a normal introduction wasn't enough.

I sighed, and thought to myself.

I intended to act as if I were a normal person. A regular high school boy you can find anywhere. But as that entails having friends, like Matsuo-san wished for me, I should at least put a bit of effort into this.

"Shiina, what are y-"

As I was about to make a grand effort to get to know her, I was interrupted by a door slamming, and a middle-aged man with a grey suit and glasses walked into the room.

He pushed up his glasses before introducing himself.

"Good morning, everybody. I'm the homeroom instructor for Class C. My name is Sakagami Kazuma. I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years, as at this school we do not change classes for each grade. I will now distribute written materials with information on the school rules."

The students in the front seat passes the papers backwards.

It contained information, but the one that stood out to me the most was the S-System.

"I will now hand out your ID cards, which allows you to access any of our facilities, purchase goods, and so on, much like a credit card. However, pay attention to your spendings as you can use this card to buy anything. You should have all received 100,000 points already, and keep in mind that 1 point is equal to 1 yen."

The classroom erupted, but among the yelling and shock, a man with magenta-hair that goes down to his shoulder, grinning to himself and started laughing.

I started blanking out as I started thinking to myself. Despite restrictions such as no-outside contact and being forced to stay-on campus at all times, this school was extremely accommodating to its students.

A large majority of the class were filled with excitement as they had been transported to a "paradise" of sort. A paradise where your achievements are recognized, and have been awarded for it. It was like freedom to them.

On top of that, students have a near 100% placement rate for students advancing onto higher-level studies or joining the workforce.

One would assume that a school like that would be filled with prestigious and high-achieving individuals who strive for personal performance, however, they all appeared to be normal people.

I turned to my right, and Shiina was silently observing the crowd. She appeared to be deep in thought.

"Shiina, something wrong?" I asked her.

"Eh? Ah, I was just thinking to myself, the people here are a lot more different than I was expecting at first." She replied.

It appears she is not the only one who expected more of the students at a high-school like this one.