Cote: Retelling

Chapter 2: Buying Things Peacefully is Surprisingly Difficult

The entrance ceremony was boring, but it gave me time reassess my evaluations. While I was disappointed no one bothered to question sensei, I now realize it's not that simple. Sure, I was suspicious of the way she phrased herself, as well as the rules, but that's from wariness and perception built into me from the white room, where common sense dictates you always keep your guard up. The students, however, are from normal society and normal schools. Their common sense doesn't entail any of that. Rather, their common sense would tell them "There's no reason for the school to lie to us" or "there's no reason to be wary of the school." That's just what they're used to. Even if there's some doubt, the possibility of a paradise school and their inflated ego keeps them from noticing.

With that logic, it's not surprising no one, even the more intelligent few, didn't notice. As I walk back from the entrance ceremony, I decide the class deserved more credit. Besides, socially most of them are leagues above me. They just don't realize they have to be wary and cautious, simply because their environment has never called for such. In fact, by that interpretation I might be being overcautious. This isn't the white room, after all. There's no concrete proof that Chabashira-sensei's speech was purposefully ambiguous. It could have been a natural part of her speech, and I could be reading too much into everything. Of course, that doesn't change the suspicious amount of money, or the suspicious rule of "student-arranged agreements can be guaranteed by the school if you provide sufficient evidence." However, I should at least reassess my suspicions.

After the ceremony we heard some general information about the school and was then let loose. Looking at the map, there are a few places of note I want to check out, but today I'll just look around Keyaki mall. In the school handbook, it was advertised as the "BIGGEST and BEST all-purpose location for all your shopping needs!!!!" I think the fourth exclamation was a bit excessive. Clothing, technology, food, games, books, so on. It seems to have everything a high schooler would want and more. After arriving and getting a general idea of the layout, I head into a hardware store.

Desktops, laptops, speakers, headphones. Everything you'd typically see in a hardware store is here. The price tags are in Yen and appear to follow expected market prices. I thought the prices might have been amped so the value of a point would be lesser then one Yen, but it seems not. I'll check the price of food and such later, but I think they'll be much the same.

I don't need a computer or laptop just yet, but I look around the sound section. If we truly can buy anything with private points, then that means student agreements are equally important, alongside the "evidence," since you're essentially playing with money. Additionally, all student-agreements can be guaranteed, which further compounds the importance of evidence. A written agreement, if not done in front of a camera, should still have some deniability. You could say "That wasn't me. He copied my handwriting," or "that wasn't the agreement I signed. He added extra conditions later," so on, so on. Voice recordings and videos will be the best evidence, but cameras are too conspicuous so you can use your phone instead. Audio recordings can be done more secretively with audio bugs and recorders, so there's more flexibility. Unfortunately, it seems there's none here. I'll check every store in this school soon enough, but I can take it slower. Part of the reason I came here is to try living a high school life: I won't break my back just yet.

The day's fading quickly, so I head for the dormitories while stopping by a convenience store on the way. As I look through the shelves, I suddenly lock eyes with Horikita.

"My, what an unpleasant coincidence."

"There's no need to be so hostile. Besides, aren't you almost done?" I say, pointing at her half-filled basket. "I'll be out of your sight soon." I might value this chance with other students, but Horikita is my seatmate. We'll have plenty of chances to talk, so I focus on being likeable -or at least acceptable- instead of capitalizing on the conversation.