Chapter 10 10: At the Cafeteria

The next morning.

Takada Hikaru tidied his belongings and walked out of the dormitory.

While waiting for the elevator, a classmate greeted him.

"Good morning." A somewhat neutral-looking boy with glasses walked over, smiling.

"Good morning, Tetsuya-san." Takada Hikaru returned the smile.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya was stunned for a moment, then said with a hint of surprise, "You remembered my name?"

Yesterday, everyone in the class had introduced themselves. But with 40 people in the class, it was very difficult to leave a deep impression. Self-introductions, at most, made them vaguely familiar. Wanting others to remember one's name was quite difficult.

Therefore, Hamaguchi Tetsuya was somewhat surprised. He didn't expect someone to remember his name based solely on his brief self-introduction, it was unexpected.

"I've memorized everyone in Class 1-B's names and faces." Takada Hikaru said with a light chuckle.

"Really?" Hamaguchi Tetsuya's eyes widened slightly, a look of astonishment on his face. "There are 40 people in the class, you know?"

Even if he had tried hard to remember yesterday, he only managed to recall a few names. For the others, he only vaguely remembered their faces at most.

Now, this classmate next to him was saying he had actually memorized everyone's names in such a short time?

It was hard to believe.

"It's nothing special."

Takada Hikaru's memory was quite good. As long as he focused, let alone memorizing a class in a short time, even an entire grade wouldn't be a problem.

Hamaguchi Tetsuya said with a hint of helplessness, "Speaking of which, you didn't come to karaoke yesterday. The girls in class were quite disappointed."

Yesterday, Andō Sayo had said something similar. The girls in class were attracted to Takada Hikaru's face and wanted to invite him to hang out. However, Takada Hikaru was only thinking about earning points at the time, so he declined their invitation.

"So, you must have gone with them yesterday, right?" Takada Hikaru guessed.

"Actually, Takada-san, you were the only one in class who didn't participate." Hamaguchi Tetsuya looked over with some sympathy.

He might have been worried that the class's actions seemed like ostracism, fearing it would hurt Takada Hikaru.

"I had something to do yesterday, so I didn't go out with everyone." Takada Hikaru said.

"That's good." Hamaguchi Tetsuya breathed a sigh of relief.

So Takada Hikaru wasn't being ostracized. He felt relieved then.

When the elevator doors opened, a familiar girl was inside.

"Good morning, Takada-san, Hamaguchi-kun." Andō Sayo waved in greeting.

"Good morning, Sayo-san."

"Good morning, Andō-san."

After entering the elevator, Hamaguchi Tetsuya paused, then said, "Takada-san seems to call everyone by their first name."

He had also called him by his first name while waiting for the elevator earlier.

"Yes." Andō Sayo nodded quickly, placing her hand on her chest. "I was quite startled at first."

Being called by her first name by someone like the school's heartthrob, her girlish heart was almost bursting.

"I actually think it's very approachable." Hamaguchi Tetsuya smiled gently, sharing his opinion. "Besides, Takada-san remembers everyone's names in class, so calling them by their first names doesn't seem abrupt."

Oh, not bad. He could actually figure out my intention.

Takada Hikaru's gaze lightly swept over Hamaguchi Tetsuya, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

He deliberately called everyone he knew by their first names to create an approachable image. Although this might provoke resentment in some people, he would still not change his plan.

"Memorized everyone's names?" Andō Sayo gasped, her mouth agape in surprise. "I only remember a few people even now."

It was normal to only remember a few people from a brief self-introduction. Only Takada Hikaru had such a good memory that he could remember them all if he tried.

"Takada-san, you're not joking, are you?" Andō Sayo was a little disbelieving.

"You'll know if it's a joke once we get to the classroom."

Takada Hikaru planned to announce the school's hidden rules to everyone in class today. At that time, someone in the class would surely raise questions, and he would naturally have the opportunity to prove that he had memorized everyone's names.

"But before we go to the classroom, we should probably eat breakfast first."

Hamaguchi Tetsuya smoothly joined their conversation. "Want to go to the cafeteria together?"

The school cafeteria's food tasted great, and the prices were fair.

If it was just one person, buying something random at a convenience store would be more convenient. But if multiple people were going, they would naturally prefer the cafeteria where they could find a seat.

Hikaru thought for a moment and decided there was no need to act independently here, so he said, "I have no objection."

"Then I'll go too."

Seeing that the two around her wanted to go to the cafeteria, Andō Sayo complied with the majority opinion.

...

They arrived at the cafeteria.

After queuing and receiving their meals, the three found an empty table, sat down, and began chatting.

"Some queues are especially long." Andō Sayo looked at several windows with a hint of surprise.

Compared to other windows, the ones that caught her attention had very long queues in front of them, which was quite intriguing. Logically speaking, if the queue was too long, one should just go to other windows to get food.

"Those windows offer free meals."

Hamaguchi Tetsuya was somewhat puzzled. "Didn't Hoshinomiya-sensei say that the school would give us 100,000 points every month? Why are so many people still queuing at the free meal section?"

Clearly, they had been misled.

Perhaps it was the school's malicious requirement. When explaining the school rules, the teacher deliberately guided students to believe that they would receive 100,000 points every month, without actually lying. Even the students in Class B still fell into the school's trap.

Perhaps in the upcoming school life, the first-year students would slowly discover what was amiss. But this kind of thing, the sooner one knew, the more advantageous it was.

"The reason is simple." Takada Hikaru said while eating his breakfast. "The school doesn't give us 100,000 points every month."

"Those upperclassmen eating low-priced meals aren't doing it to save points nor because they're patient, they simply don't have any points."

"What?" Hamaguchi Tetsuya's face showed surprise. "That's not what Hoshinomiya-sensei said."

Takada Hikaru smiled slightly. "Hoshinomiya-sensei only said that points would be deposited on the 1st of every month, and that there are 100,000 points this month. You've all been misled by the school and her."

Andō Sayo was equally incredulous, then remembered what had happened yesterday, and looked over with an uneasy expression.

"Takada-san, is this the hidden rule you were going to talk about?"

"Hidden rule?" Hamaguchi Tetsuya was slightly startled, not understanding what the two were talking about.

Takada Hikaru gently clasped his hands. "This is just the tip of the iceberg of the hidden rules. I know you have many questions now, but please be quiet for a moment. Once we get to the classroom, I will tell you everything I know and answer all your questions."

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