If one was to try and describe Hakua Shirogane, it would be someone with a lot of potential.
She had a gold crest originally, marking her as elite-tier talent, but she made it to be black simply because she didn't want to be amongst her fellow upperclassmen.
Why? Because there wouldn't be as much excitement as the lower classes provided.
'And apparently, she's looking for a Knight,' Kōya thought, watching her stand on stage with that confident smile.
Or in more accurate terms, she was looking for slaves that would adhere to her every will.
Because apparently, she had an ability that allowed her to enslave people that were in love with her, binding them to her service through emotional manipulation and supernatural compulsion.
'Imagine having all that hax just to get kidnapped…'
The authors were really not doing her character justice in the manga. She was set up as this powerful, intelligent antagonist, only to become a damsel in distress during a later arc.
However, since Akari… who had been your typical nice lady in the original timeline turned into a snotty noble brat from the changes, he couldn't even dare to imagine what kind of changes Hakua had undergone.
She was already evil, or to put it in more simple terms, politically minded and ruthless.
If the baseline nice girl became worse, what did that make someone who was already morally gray?
"These will be your representatives through this year~ Tee-hee~" The purple-haired woman said, entering another pose as she looked at Hakua with obvious favoritism. "I especially like Tachibana-chan! She's pretty and has the body too, though I really doubt anyone would be able to go out with her."
The other representatives gave the woman a look of varying degrees of annoyance and disapproval.
She just chuckled in response, clearly unbothered.
Just then, maids wearing the official ALI maid uniform went around the hall, handing phones to each student with practiced efficiency.
They were all the same bland phone with a single camera and a plain black back.
It was nothing fancy…
"Since you are in ALI, the currency known as crowns cannot be used here…" The purple-haired woman explained, her tone shifting to something more serious. "You have Individual Points which you can use to buy anything from any shop within the Academy complex. They come with a monthly allowance of 50,000 Individual Points."
She paused for emphasis.
"And before you ask, no… Crowns cannot be converted to IP, and IP can't be converted to crowns as well. The two economies are completely separate."
The trio at the back received their phones, and the black-haired girl immediately turned hers on.
She looked into her balance and her eyes widened slightly.
There was a 6,000 point reduction, leaving her with 44,000 Individual Points instead of the promised 50,000.
"Huh?" Kōya looked over at her reaction.
She turned off her phone quickly, her expression darkening.
"Remember, actively breaking school rules and arriving late for classes and events can also result in a reduction of your points~" The woman said cheerful. "It's for your own good!"
She waved her hand dismissively.
"That should be everything… Your class professor will tell you the rest."
She turned around to leave, then suddenly spun back and cleared her throat.
"Right! ALI has also introduced a new rule… you only have a week to settle in, then it will be compulsory for every student to stay in their dorms."
The announcement caused immediate murmuring throughout the hall.
"There will be no more going from the dorms to the outside. The only times you are allowed to leave are on Saturdays, and on a curfew too. That is all~"
She walked off with a final wave, and somehow people were still clapping for her.
Even though she had been joking around all throughout the entire presentation, the students gave her a standing ovation.
Then the students began standing and following their class representatives, who had begun lining their respective students up in organized rows.
'A deviation from the manga, huh?' Kōya thought, his mind already racing through the implications.
It was most probably the work of the God of Novelty, but he hadn't complained about this particular change at all.
'That means less time to take care of Reona, or even see her…'
The realization hit him hard.
'I'm not going to leave her home alone.'
He guessed he would most certainly have to leave her with Nami, because there was no way he was going to let a 15-year-old girl live alone in a damn apartment while he was stuck in the Academy dorms.
He stood up and got in the Class 5 line with Renji in front of him.
Hakua had made different lines for men and women, keeping them separated for organizational purposes.
"You're really tall, dude," Renji said, glancing back at him. "You know what they say… life begins at 6 foot."
He was like five-foot-ten himself, but even then, he was better off than Kōya's past life where he'd been an unimpressive five-six.
"Don't believe that crap…" Kōya said flatly. "I'm not special at all."
Then the lines began moving, students filing out in organized rows.
They were exiting the Main Hall and heading toward their respective classroom buildings.
Class 5's building was, predictably, the furthest from the main facilities.
…
"Hm… at least they're efficient," Kōya said, looking at the textbooks already waiting on his desk.
This was like the average classroom in an anime… rows of desks, a teacher's podium up front, and large windows along one side.
He took where the protagonist sat down regularly in every anime ever made: near the window where he could look outside and brood dramatically if needed.
The view wasn't bad either, overlooking part of the Academy grounds.
"Right, I almost expected they would send us downstairs for books…" Renji muttered, sitting down next to him. "But hey, look at these girls."
He gestured subtly with his chin.
"They're looking at you… you're totally in there, Kōya-kun."
Kōya looked around the class, meeting the stares.
There was just disgust in their eyes, judgment and preconceived notions.
At the front seat, he could recognize the waiter that had served him and Akari in the VIP section of the Kumo Terrace.
He had several bandages on his face now, white medical tape covering what looked like significant injuries.
'Is he the one that Akari said I fought…?' Kōya thought, the pieces clicking into place.
That would completely make sense as a planted witness to support her narrative.
Regardless of the implications, he sucked the textbooks on his table into his storage ring with a casual gesture making the books disappear in a flash of light.
Hakua, who was sitting not too far from them, glanced at Kōya with calculating eyes.
'It's already the first day and he's ostracized by almost the entire class?' she thought, a small smile on her lips. 'Yes, he will fit into my plans very nicely.'
He was isolated… desperate for allies and with nowhere else to turn.
Perfect knight material.
Just then, the door opened with a bang and the purple-haired woman staggered inside like she'd just woken up from a nap.
She was wearing a lab coat this time, white and crisp, and her hair was all in bangs that framed her face.
She looked beautiful but at the same time, she looked quite crazy like a mad scientist from some horror anime.
"Aha~ it seems like I ended up being your class teacher!" She said cheerfully as she spun behind the teacher's desk.
Behind her was a Holo-board, a piece of advanced technology that served as an interactive whiteboard.
She grabbed the Holo-cane, which was basically a stylus, and tapped on the board.
Her name appeared written in beautiful kanji characters that seemed to glow with light.
The English version popped up underneath a moment later.
"Yes, my name is Higurashi Saki," she said, showing the name proudly. "I am a Blue-liner and my attribute is…"
She paused dramatically, putting a finger to her lips.
"It's a secret, tee-hee~"
She winked at the class.
"Before we begin classes, I want everyone to introduce themselves and their goals. Let's start from the front row, ne?"
Kōya immediately averted his attention to the store, mentally checking out. He really didn't care about the names of people that weren't important to the plot.
The only heroine in this class was Hakua, though she was probably under an alias right now to hide her true identity.
'Store.'
「System Store has been opened」
A colorful screen appeared in front of him, and it was like a damn website… complete with banner ads and everything.
There were many items on display throughout the interface: black market sales of skills, weapons, artifacts, and other items too.
'What the fuck?' he thought, genuine shock coloring his mental voice.
There was a banner on top that caught his attention immediately.
「User: HeroGod has bought Ultimate Skill: World Destruction for 1,000,000 F.P.」
「User: HeroGod has bought Ultimate Skill: World Creation for 3,000,000 F.P.」
'So there are others using the store…?'
「Yes, that is correct. This is the official System store network for all reincarnators, transmigrators, and even a few regressors, though they don't exist in the same world.」
He looked at the top of the interface where his balance was displayed.
He had 0 F.P.
How was this guy, HeroGod, blowing 4 million F.P. in one go like it was pocket change?!
Suddenly there was a notification on the banner, new text appearing in real-time.
「User: PoppedOutLikeAPhantom has joined the Shopverse」
「User: HeroGod has gifted User: PoppedOutLikeAPhantom 100,000 F.P.」
「User: HeroGod has sent you a friend request」
'What the fuck…?'
This HeroGod guy was generous as fuck, like seriously generous to the point of being suspicious. Who just gave away 100,000 FP to a complete stranger?
As he was about to accept the friend request, Renji tapped his arm urgently.
"Kōya-kun, oi!"
He dismissed the screen immediately, blinking back to reality.
Everyone was looking at him with varying expressions of annoyance and curiosity.
"Are you not going to introduce yourself, Amagi-kun?" Professor Saki asked with her hands folded, that weird smile still on her face.
Kōya stood up slowly, meeting her gaze.
"My name is Amagi Kōya…" he said clearly. "And I'm a student of Class 5. As for any goals I have… I have none."
He sat back down immediately, not bothering to elaborate. Saki looked at him with that weird smile growing wider.
"Of course, Kōya-kun… you're such a handsome man." She said. "Are you going to address the rumors spreading about you?"
"Whatever I say won't be acknowledged, so I won't," he said simply, his voice carrying a finality that surprised even himself then he sat down.
"It's such a shame but this is a lesson that nobles can easily ruin the dynamics of a whole class with some rumors, ne?" Saki said as her face turned thoughtful. "Nobles usually spread rumors like these to—"
The student with bandages on his face rose his hand and stood up, interrupting her.
He could still remember that Akari had promised him that one thing he wanted the most if he played his part well.
"Professor-sensei, if I may."
Saki looked at him, her expression carefully neutral.
"I was there…" the student said, his voice carrying false righteous indignation. "He not only went against Akari-sama's wishes, but he beat me up when I tried to intervene. Not only that, but he also tried to violate her respect and kindness as well."
He gestured dramatically.
"I don't think scum like that deserves to be amongst the class, sensei. You cannot simply come out and state that the words of a noble are rumors…"
A lot of people in class agreed with his words, nodding and murmuring their support. Saki's smile turned to a frown and her playful demeanor evaporated instantly.
'A plant… in my class?' she thought. 'This simply won't do.'