The day I would be enrolled in the government-funded Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. A school established by the Japanese government to nurture young people who will support the country in the future. It boasts a 100% employment and college entry rate, and with thorough, state-directed teaching methods, it spares no effort in pursuing the nation's desired future.

Many things interested me about this school, but the sole reason for me coming to this school was that this school in particular prohibited contact with the outside world. Which means "that man" could never reach me here. Three years away from the white room, three years away from that man, three years of freedom.

...

Currently, I and Eichiiro were on the road riding a limousine heading to our newly enrolled school. Beside me, Eichiiro was currently sound asleep, it was understandable considering we were going there very early in the morning. General Midori had informed us the acting director of the school wanted to personally meet us. We were ordered to arrive early as to not attract attention as much as possible as we would be entering the acting director's office.

In any case, if students, staff, and teachers alike saw newly enrolled first years walking out from the new acting director's office, they would surely suspect something. Or even worse, it could spread unnecessary rumors amongst the school. Although peace would be the last thing I would expect from entering this school, I at least wanted a few moments of it before I would finally make my move.

As we were traveling, I could not help but stare at the view bestowed beside me. Sakura trees blooming brightly as their leaves fall slowly at a relaxing pace. Cars traveling at an average to high speed filled with either children or teenagers going to their schools or adults trying to arrive at their designated workplace on time. The blue sky filled with white clouds that could resemble figures of animals or objects.

Because of my upbringing, I was never accustomed to the outside world like any other person at the same age as I was. It wasn't the first time I had seen all this and hoping it would not be the last. I was fascinated by these little things. Was it beautiful? Was it mesmerizing? I don't know. But I could say, it was different.

As I got lost looking at the sight before me, a question pondered into my mind. It could be taken as a simple question but it was more complex than it looked. My question was...

If you were to pull out a dictionary, human beings are species of homo sapiens distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. But of course, I wasn't asking the biological definition of the word "human" but rather a philosophical one.

Generally, human beings were unique to other species. They had the mental awareness to realize their mistakes and feel regret over them. We were able to identify if what we did was evil or good, but that leads to another question.

For example, let's say a young student the same age as I was sitting in a priority seat. A seat made especially for the disabled or elderly. Let's also just say there was an old lady clearly in pain standing up as she could not find a seat compatible with her now old and aging body. Naturally, a kind-hearted person would come to the rescue to give up their seat, but in this scenario, every seat in the vehicle was occupied.

The kind-hearted person would call out to the young man sitting in the priority seat to give up his position for the struggling old lady but he refused. Naturally, society would view this student as bad-mannered or blatantly disrespectful. But, what if we ignored the morals presented in this scenario?

If you exclude basic ethics, the student would legally have no obligation to give up his seat. No one would argue because no morals were present in this scenario. This comes to my conclusion that in this world there is no absolute right or wrong.

Humans created morals. They could feel sympathy and empathy for others. It was human nature to sympathize with other people's circumstances. To be considered human was to follow the ethics and morals that society has presented to us.

Humans were also unique because they could know if they made a mistake. Many species could feel regret and sorrow but every each of them could not learn from their mistakes as well as a human being could. Humans could be considered the most superior beings out of every being on earth, but that does not mean we are perfect.

But I felt like there was more to that question. Does being human mean being capable of feeling remorse? Does being human mean you could learn to love another person as you would yourself? I didn't know the answer to those questions but that's why I came to this school.

———————————————————

As I was busy daydreaming, the limousine finally stopped at our designated destination. I looked out the window to see the entrance of where I would spend the next three years learning. I poked the person beside me to awaken him from his slumber.

"Huh...? Oh, Kiyotaka, what's up?" Eichiiro asked listlessly.

"We've arrived at the school Eichiiro," I informed him.

"Ah, I see," as he looked out the window he screamed excitedly. "HOLY SHIT THIS SCHOOL IS BIG!" Eichiiro said no longer able to hide his shock and excitement. He was looking outside as if he had stars in his eyes. He got out of the limousine quickly and I followed.

I had carried a pamphlet with me and a map given to use by Yamato as to not get lost in our newly enrolled school. We walked quietly to the entrance as we could not utter a word but rather stare at how big this place was. As we made our way exploring the school, I noticed that no other student was around us. I guess we came a little bit too early.

We made our way to our classroom with a nameplate with Class 1-D engraved in it. I opened the door for the both of us and to our surprise, no one had arrived. We quickly made our way to the seat with mine being in the cornerback with the window near it. I put my bag on my chair and was ready to leave the class but...

"Looks like you got the protagonist seat Kiyotaka. Heh, must be nice huh?"

"Protagonist... Seat?"

"Ah, I forgot you're not really knowledgeable about trivial stuff like this. Let me explain, usually, the main character in a shounen school-themed anime or manga would always sit in the cornerback of the class near the window. And you Kiyotaka-dono have been chosen as this class' protagonist I must say." Eichiiro explained while teasing me a bit.

"But it's fitting for someone like you, after all, you are a genius, and not only that, your also an athletic dude! The girls in our class- no, the whole year will probably have a crush on you. Who knows, you might even get a girlfriend or even better a harem!"

"Although I would like a girlfriend, I think a harem is a bit too much. I don't wanna attract too much attention than I already will anyways." I replied in a tired tone with a sigh.

"Well, I guess it's expected of someone like you. Well c'mon now, we don't wanna be late for the meeting with the acting director." Eichiiro said while signaling me to follow him.

We exited the classroom and walked across the hallway. Outside the classroom, a young woman with long brown hair that is tied in a ponytail with bangs swept to the left, brown eyes, a well-endowed voluptuous body was waiting outside for us. She didn't seem to be wearing a uniform so she's probably our homeroom teacher or maybe one of the school's staff.

"Ah, you two must be the students the acting director has ordered me to fetch. I'm Chabashira Sae. since classes don't change, I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. It's a pleasure to meet both of you." The brown-haired lady introduced

"Ah, so you're our teacher? Where are my manners, I'm Matsuo Eichiiro, please take care of me for the next three years." Eichiiro bowed.

"I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I would say I'm an average student but knowing the government you must know of my abilities don't you?" She just nodded in response.

"Well, it'll be my first time studying in a school full of teachers and students, so please take care of me as well for the next three years." I also slightly bowed.

"The acting director has told me a lot about you two. Well, no point in wasting time now. Please follow me as the acting director has been waiting for both of your presence." She gestured for us to follow her.

We walked at an average pace through the silent but peaceful hallways. From walking, I could see the nameplates of each class. Class 1-C, Class 1-B, and Class 1-A.

From an open door, I saw Arisu reading a book sitting on the front desk near the windows. Although I would like to greet her, I have somewhere else I needed to be. So what can I deduce from this?

Arisu was placed in Class 1-A, although it could be a coincidence I'd think otherwise. In general, the alphabetical order of A to D has A being a superior letter. Mrs. Aki did say that I would be put at a disadvantage because of my capabilities.

Arisu was someone who was more than capable. Even if she had a physical weakness, her intelligence made up for all of it. I concluded that the disadvantage I would have is to lead a class full of inferior people to the ones in the upper class. Although I wasn't 100℅ sure, It was the only conclusion I could think of for the limited information I've obtained.

Secondly, if my previous deduction proved to be true, what was the point of implementing a hierarchy? The school informed its students that anyone who graduated from this school would receive any job or any college they would enter with a guarantee. Why would anyone deliberately want to aim to be Class A when they've already had their future set on? Besides hating being looked down upon, I could see no reason to even want to be in Class A.

..

Or perhaps... The government wasn't truthful about the guarantees and advantages of being enrolled in this school. What if to receive the full rewards on coming to this school, you had to graduate from Class A. If you think about it, there's no other answer that could be deduced but my previous statement. From this, I could confirm that there were gonna be competitions in this school which would decide our ranks.

But how does the school determine which student belongs to Class A, Class B, Class C, or Class D? Was it by academic and physical ability? I don't think it's that simple. Also, if all the superior students were put in Class A wouldn't that just be unfair? How would the lower classes be able to rise up the ranks knowing they are against students the school has judged to be superior to them?

This is just a theory, but what if there were superior people placed in lower classes on purpose to increase the competition in this school? The school might have acknowledged their abilities but maybe there was a reason they were up in the lower classes and I don't think it's only because of competition.

If the school were to put superior people into lower classes solely because of competition, that would be unfair or better yet it would be unequal. With this, we can confirm that the school not only judges by someone's academic or physical capabilities. Perhaps, they had a problem in behavior? A troubling past? Or a . I needed more information and evidence because all of these are nothing more than theories.

While I was lost in thought, Eichiiro poked me a few times and it made me regain my consciousness. Before I could ask, he just pointed at a corner and put his index finger in front of his mouth signaling me to keep quiet and Chabashira-sensei was in front of us. At the corner, although they were barely noticeable, Eichiiro seems to have spotted some cameras.

This was very strange. Usually, a school would want to purposely make the cameras visible to either alarm the students to behave properly. But these cameras, if you didn't have a good eye you wouldn't even notice them. Normally, there would be cameras in the hallways and classrooms so perhaps there were more of these cameras in our classroom.

But why keep the cameras hidden? Any school would want the students to be aware that even if there were no teachers around, the school was keeping an eye on them. Or maybe... They didn't want us to know. Maybe they wanted to test us, to see how we would behave in public and in class if we were made to believe that the school didn't have their eyes on us.

But what was the value in hiding them? Was it a trap by the school to catch students who were breaking the rules? No that didn't make sense, a school's priority should rather be to prevent the breaking of rules not letting one does what it wants and punishing them for it.

Cameras are also used to monitor how one's behavior is when nobody's looking but why go such length to hide it. Did they want us to do whatever as we please? What benefit would it give them? Was this related to my previous theories?

Sigh...

There I go again over-analyzing things when I've just arrived at my new school. I should just focus on the meeting we're about to have and how I would make friends later on in class.

———————————————————

We finally arrived at the director's office. The person sitting there would surprise us a bit. It was a woman with short blonde hair and with ocean blue eyes. She had some bangs covering part of her forehead while wearing a tuxedo.

"Mrs... Aki?" Eichiiro asked dumbfounded.

"That's director or more precisely acting director Aki to you."

"So you're gonna be the one watching after us for the next three years?" I asked.

"Why of course, anyway let's not waste time, we have something to discuss about." She quickly changed the topic.

"As you know, you two will be spending the next three years of your life in this school. Tell me, what do both of you think of this school so far?" She asked us.

Should I tell her the theories I've thought of in my head? Or should I tell her something along the lines of "I think this school is enjoyable" or anything complimenting the school?

I decided to give her a vague answer. "Although I'm a bit suspicious of certain things in this school, I can confidently admit I'm enjoying my time here." Eichiiro just nodded agreeing with me.

"I see... Well, that's all I wanted to talk about. You may take your leave now." She said while pointing her index finger at the door behind us.

"Eh? That's all you wanted to ask us?" Eichiiro asked reasonably

"While there could be more topics we could discuss, I feel like you kids would want to get used to your new environment better, especially Ayanokouji." Well, she wasn't wrong considering I had been isolated my whole life.

"Chabashira and I still have some stuff to discuss, so try not to get lost going back to class ok?" She spoke in a soft tone. Now that I think about it, she always had the impression of a strict and serious person but right now she felt like a completely different person. Like a mother advising her kids, not that I knew how that felt of course.

"Alright then director Aki, we'll see you later!" Eichiiro stood up and bowed while I followed. We exited the office expecting another peaceful walk but surprisingly, two people were currently walking their way to where we just left.

One of them was a girl of average height with purple hair that was tied in two buns with bangs hanging over her eyebrows and peach-brown eyes. The person accompanying her seemed to be a well-built young man of average height with short gray hair that is swept to the left, violet eyes, and square-rimmed glasses. The girl seemed to be holding a clipboard while they were conversing with each other.

They stopped their conversation as they noticed both of us walking away from the direction of the director's office. Their faces were one of confusion and a bit of shock but they quickly regained their composure.

"I've never seen both of you before so you must be first years. Tell me, what business did both of you have to go into the director's office? Or were you perhaps lost?" The man asked.

I wanted to lie as to not draw suspicion but Eichiiro said something before I could speak, "Sorry but the director has asked us to keep what we discussed private, I hope both of you understand." Eichiiro said while bowing.

An awkward silence enveloped us as we just stared at each other for a few seconds. Me and Eichiiro were just about to walk past them when the gray-haired man spoke.

"Can I know your names and what class you both belong to?" The gray-haired men asked looking at us with interest. The purple-haired girl also looked at us with interest.

"I'm Matsuo Eichiiro. Student of class 1-D, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Eichiiro introduced himself. Although as soon as he mentioned class 1-D I could see the purple-haired girl instantly lose her interest in him and for a second saw her change expressions. I raised an eyebrow at her behavior and it seems the gray-haired man beside her seemed to notice me raising one of my eyebrows.

Ah, it was my turn to introduce myself, "I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka of class 1-D. It's nice to meet both of you." I followed with my Introduction.

"My name is Horikita Manabu. Student of class 3-A and the current student council president of this school." The man introduced himself.

"I'm Tachibana Akane, also a student of class 3-A and secretary of the student council." The girl followed.

At what I thought was the end of our conversation, president Horikita suddenly asked a question, "Ayanokouji, what do you think of this school so far?" He looked at me directly in the eyes. It seems he was testing my observational skills. Well, there's no use lying to him now as he already knew we newly enrolled first years had met with the director and he noticed my subtle body language when the girl beside him had a disinterested look when Eichiiro said he was from class 1-D.

"It certainly is an interesting school. It's probably the most advanced school I've ever entered in. However, there are very suspicious things about this school like the fact the school appears to be purposely hiding cameras around the hallways and classes." This statement made both of them widen their eyes a bit, probably impressed that I even noticed any of this.

"I see... You've piqued my interest Ayanokouji. I'll be watching over you in my last year of this school. With someone as observant as you around, things might just get interesting." President Horikita complimented me. This seemed to shock Tachibana-senpai as she wasn't even trying to hide her surprised face.

All of us walked past each other as we bid farewell. On the way to class, it was silent for a while when Eichiiro decided to start a conversation.

"Dude! How were you so calm during all of that? I swear when Horikita-senpai stared at us, I felt like peeing my pants from fear." Eichiiro exclaimed.