Shirogane Miyuki, 17 years old. A person who works incredibly hard, sacrificing sleep and free time just to study. He studies past midnight every day.
He basically pulls all-nighters every day.
His extreme study habits and sharp gaze come from long-term sleep deprivation. Without caffeine, he would instantly pass out.
Maybe it was because he hadn't had coffee today, or maybe it was just the exhaustion, but he had even started hearing things.
The information gathered by the cane girl ends here.
Right now, the time is 9:45.
Shirogane and the girl are on their way to the gym for the entrance ceremony.
"Sorry, I'm so slow." Walking together, the cane girl sounded a little apologetic.
She didn't feel unwell, but because of her heart condition, she had no choice but to use her cane and move little by little.
That naturally made her slower than the average person.
"There's still time before the ceremony starts at 10. I'm not in a hurry."
"Besides, you're also a new student, right?" Shirogane said. "Since we're heading to the same place, there's no reason for me to leave you behind."
"Oh." The cane girl still seemed somewhat distant.
But—
She was thinking.
She had been processing the information she had gathered on this boy named Shirogane Miyuki.
And now, she could add one more thing—though his eyes looked sharp and intimidating, he was actually quite kind.
The cane girl updated her opinion of him.
She was also a new student at this school. Because of her health, she had never attended a regular school before. Instead, she had been taught by private tutors at home.
So this was her first time officially enrolling in a school.
Since she had no prior experience, she was actually looking forward to campus life.
But excitement was always followed by disappointment.
Her father had ordered her to go to the infirmary for a check-up before anything else. Only after confirming that she was in perfect condition would she be allowed to officially participate in school life.
And so—
What should have been a slightly depressing start at the infirmary had taken an unexpected turn when she met a classmate who seemed pretty decent.
However—
"Class 1-A," the cane girl said.
"Huh?"
Shirogane had been looking at a map and didn't catch what she said.
He was distracted.
Because the voice in his head hadn't stopped, even after leaving the infirmary.
[I am your personal narrator system. Only you can hear my voice. The girl next to you can't.]
[By the way, you've got such a cute girl right beside you. Can't you pay a little more attention to her?]
[Shirogane! Stop looking at your phone and focus on the loli!]
"..." Shirogane.
Seriously, this noise in his head was making it impossible to concentrate.
Even though he spent most of his time reading, he wasn't completely oblivious to what his classmates talked about. He had heard them mention stories where the main character gets a special system.
Like a cheat code in a game.
So, was he chosen for something like that? But this system was clearly weird. Even though he had no dating experience, he could tell something was off.
This so-called narrator system seemed determined to push him into getting closer to the cane girl.
And it was downright rude, calling her a "loli."
Wasn't that basically treating her like prey?
"Class 1-A, Sakayanagi Arisu," the cane girl repeated.
"Oh." Shirogane finally put down his phone. "I'm Shirogane Miyuki from Class 1-C."
"I already knew your name."
The cane girl—no, Sakayanagi Arisu—said.
"I may be a new student, but I don't think this school is the same as an ordinary one."
"A school supported and promoted by the government, with a 100% employment and college acceptance rate, free tuition, and even a living allowance—it sounds too good to be true."
"But the most expensive things are always the ones that seem free."
"So, there must be something unusual about how this school operates."
As Sakayanagi Arisu said this, she walked into the gymnasium. Shirogane noticed her heading toward the group standing on the A-Class marker on the floor.
Meanwhile, Shirogane found the C-Class marker and joined the first-year C-Class lineup.
Before long, the time reached 10:00 AM.
...
"I am the student council president, Horikita Manabu."
"On behalf of the current students, I warmly welcome this year's new students. Our school is known for its high employment and university admission rates, which I'm sure you are all aware of..."
"Our school is supported and promoted by the government. The legendary 100% employment and admission rate is no exaggeration—no matter who you are, once you graduate, the doors will be wide open for you—"
The entrance ceremony had begun, and the person speaking on stage was the student council president.
He was a serious-looking young man wearing glasses, exuding a strong and commanding presence.
As a new student, Shirogane stood below, listening to the president's speech.
[Starting in first-year Class C… this isn't looking great.]
But the voice in his head didn't stop.
While listening to the student council president, Shirogane also began to seriously acknowledge the narration in his mind.
If it was just auditory hallucinations, he could blame it on exhaustion and mental confusion. But now, he could actually see a virtual display screen. This was clearly something supernatural.
Two buttons appeared.
[Turn Off Narration]
[System Version Update: Note—The current system version is already up to date]
Unfortunately, both buttons were grayed out, meaning they couldn't be used.
So what was the point?
Still, the narration wasn't completely useless.
Shirogane had a good memory, and he quickly recalled the first time he heard the narration system.
Back then, it had said:
[But who would have thought this school was not as it seemed? Free? Free things are always the most expensive.]
And just now, Sakayanagi had also mentioned that getting free benefits at this school was definitely unusual.
That meant this narration system actually had some useful information.
If the narration was right, being placed in Class C wasn't a good thing.
Thinking about this, Shirogane suddenly noticed a towering, muscular, dark-skinned male student standing in front of him.
The guy was wearing the same student uniform, clearly a fellow freshman.
He was also wearing sunglasses.
Rather than looking like a student, he seemed more like a professional bodyguard.
Being in the same class as a guy like this didn't seem like the best situation. The other students around him also seemed wary, instinctively keeping their distance.
However—
Shirogane didn't sense the kind of intimidating aura that bullies usually had. He seemed like someone who could be reasoned with.
"Hey there."
Just as Shirogane got lost in thought, a girl's voice came from nearby.
The students were lined up in separate rows—one for boys and one for girls. Shirogane stood in the boys' row, and less than 20 centimeters away was the first-year C-Class girls' row. The voice had come from over there.
Shirogane turned to look.