Classroom of the Elite: Amarantos

Vol 1. Prologue - Behind the Scenes

It was the twentieth of February.

It was a date that would be commonly seen as ordinary or irrelevant for the vast majority of people. Winter was far from finished and Spring was nowhere in sight. It was so ridiculously mundane that some wouldn't bat an eye at it; a few people might have remembered and even got a small piece of joy from the date but most would have forgotten about it days later.

And for that very reason, it was the perfect date to scheme.

An unnerving silence shrouded a dimly lit room. Once a meeting space for the elite of Japan's leaders in education to come and discuss future reforms, it now belonged to someone who didn't have such noble ambitions.

White light flashed every so often. There was a little jingle, and then it dimmed again before returning to the muted atmosphere. The information of all 156 first-year students flashed via a widescreen at the end of the meeting room. Every several seconds or so, it would flip from student to student in alphabetical order. Everything from their names, date of birth, homeroom teacher notes, current year evaluations as well as junior high were relayed in rapid succession through the widescreen.

A man in his mid-forties sat quietly as he manned the monitor, ensuring everything was in place as he took a sip of water to maintain his hydration. The rate at which he clicked away at the mouse was monstrous, soon becoming unbelievable that someone else was in the room and consciously taking in and memorizing the details.

However, the White Room was an institution that turned impossibilities into reality.

A teenager was quietly watching the screen from the center of the meeting room, standing and absorbing every trace of detail displayed. They were 15 years old and were set to enroll in Advanced Nurturing High School by April as a First Year.

Needless to say, they were from the White Room. Impassively, they methodically scanned the widescreen, taking note of the profiles until the last slide to which the man behind the monitor stood up, finishing his bottle of water before throwing it into the trash bin with impeccable accuracy.

"That's the entire data," he spoke up, addressing the young teen who maintained equanimity throughout the whole meeting. "With this, we've now gone over the data for Ayanokōji Kiyotaka and the other 156 incumbent second-year students. Have you committed everything to memory?"

"Yes, Tsukishiro-sensei."

"As expected. Anything less would be an insult to the institution you came from."

"Of course." The student answered robotically.

Tsukishiro Tokinari was showing this teenager all of the data that Advanced Nurturing High School had collected on the students over the last year. Not only did it have standard information such as their full names, date of birth, and former schools, but it even had information on their parents and siblings, grades and accomplishments since early childhood, and even who they typically interacted with. It was a top-secret meeting with detailed information that even the school's homeroom teachers weren't allowed to see.

He continued to address the teenager.

"I believe you're already aware of this, but it's incredibly crucial that Ayaonkoji is expelled and forcibly sent back to the White Room by the end of April in the best case. We cannot afford to prolong our plans any longer. Things will get rather tense as the Sakayanagi Faction will try to dig its claws into me. My hands are rather tied as we speak now." Despite revealing such disturbing information, Tsukishiro's signature smile was on full display. "That is why in parallel to the objective of expelling Ayanokoji, you must be able to conceal your steps and ensure that the public learns nothing of this mission. We cannot allow his — Ayanokōji-sensei's — name to be dragged through the mud by the government." The image of Prime Minister Kijima ran through his head.