Kamuro-san. Full name: Masumi Kamuro.
She's a girl with long purple hair and an expressionless face, seemingly uninterested in everything. She even appears to look down on her surroundings slightly. Two distinctive hair clips expose her forehead. Tall, with long, strong legs, she likely possesses great athletic talent.
Before the teacher arrived, the class conducted self-introductions. While all students participated, Kamuro-san came across as rather solitary. She speaks little but often seems lost in her own thoughts.
However, after Teacher Mashima announced free time and canceled afternoon classes, Houtarou noticed her leaving the classroom. He quickly realized she appeared to be following him and Arisu.
Initially, he thought she was following Arisu, but when the T-Rex left, Masumi remained.
Could it be that she was following him?
Houtarou considered himself ordinary, though his decent appearance had already prompted several female classmates to ask for his phone number. Yet he didn't perceive her as that type of enthusiastic girl.
"..." Masumi approached, "Oreki-kun, you're planning to sell the recorded school rules to other classes, aren't you?"
"So, do you want to come along? Or are you planning to report me?" Houtarou remained calm.
Although he could sell the rules himself, he wasn't adept at communicating with others. Perhaps this was a helper who had just arrived?
"Reporting has no value. I want a piece of the action." Masumi said, "I couldn't process everything when the teacher explained the rules, but I noticed you made a recording. I want you to share a copy with me."
This behavior was typical of a Class A student. Now that they understood the school's rules, they realized there were two paths to success.
The first was to maintain Class A's position and graduate from it. However, this wasn't guaranteed. With numerous tests over three years, could Class A always keep its edge? If they fell behind and morale dropped, wouldn't it be even harder to recover?
This path was challenging.
Teacher Mashima then revealed the second option: prioritizing Points. If a student accumulated 20 million Points, they could avoid expulsion and transfer to any class. In other words, having this amount at graduation would allow them to move to the third-year Class A. They'd be certain to graduate and receive the school's promised rewards.
While most students aimed to maintain Class A status, was Masumi — already a Class A student — choosing to accumulate Points instead? Teacher Mashima had mentioned that no student had yet amassed this amount, indicating how difficult this path was.
Given the low probability of accumulating 20 million Points, she likely wouldn't choose this option. So why did she follow him and Arisu?
Pondering this, Houtarou looked at her.
"What? You disagree?" Masumi maintained her poker face.
Keeping his composure, Houtarou asked, "Kamuro-san, do you have any weaknesses that don't meet Class A standards?"
"Hehe—" Masumi's expression subtly shifted, "That's amusing. I entered officially with all of you. I didn't use any backdoors at all."
"It seems I was right." Houtarou said, "Kamuro-san, you just revealed that you might need to use backdoors, which shows that even you think you don't measure up to Class A in some aspects."
"Heh—" Masumi maintained her disdainful attitude.
Internally, she was already regretting her decision to approach him.
Originally recommended for this school, Masumi had sensed something amiss. Her suspicions were confirmed — almost all her classmates were exceptionally capable. Worse yet, they were the type she despised most: academic overachievers.
Even someone like Masayoshi, who appeared to be a playboy, could effortlessly score 85 or 88 on tests. Masumi, however, was the type who barely scraped by with a few extra points, typically scoring around 40-45.
This meant that with monthly exams, if there were numerous written tests, she'd be in trouble. The passing score for exams was the class average, and if everyone around her excelled academically, wouldn't the average score skyrocket?
In short, a written test could spell her doom.
"Sakayanagi-san's academic ability must be exceptional." Houtarou continued, "She could likely achieve perfect scores in all subjects on written tests. If I apply myself, I too can attain perfect scores. Katsuragi-san, being such a diligent person, would probably encourage everyone to improve their grades. You can imagine how high our class's passing score would be for a written test."
As he spoke, he glanced at Masumi's long legs.
"..." She appeared unfazed.
Five minutes later, the two of them were heading towards the first-year area together.
"When I first arrived at this school, I was quite anxious." Masumi said, "So in the gymnasium, I memorized some information about the students. I can now roughly distinguish their faces."
They had just left the third-year teaching building. Masumi, her face expressionless, reported her situation while walking beside Houtarou.
She was like a natural sidekick, beginning to show loyalty to her newfound master.
Masumi admitted her poor academic ability, which was why she wanted to follow either Arisu or Houtarou. She chose him because she perceived him as smarter and more perceptive, yet awkward with girls. She reasoned that if she asked for his help, she'd be more likely to succeed.
Her assessment was based on his inability to handle Arisu's smile in class.
"I see." Houtarou reflected on this insight. He indeed lacked experience with girls (sisters didn't count; to a brother, sisters weren't "girls").
Masumi had considered following Arisu as well. Despite her physical weakness, her placement in Class A suggested exceptional strengths in other areas — likely academic prowess. Masumi thought tutoring from such an academic prodigy would be beneficial.
While her calculations were astute, her plans changed quickly. Now she found herself assisting Houtarou in selling information.
"Which class do you want to sell to?" Masumi asked, revealing some lingering Class A integrity.
The rules had cost their class 2 million Points, with Masumi contributing 50,000 herself. She felt uneasy about casually aiding potential rivals.
"Not Class B, and not Class C." Houtarou stated, "I'm a Class A student. I won't do anything that harms myself."
Masumi realized the implications. Upper-year students likely already knew these rules, so selling to them was pointless. That left only the lower years, with Classes B and C eliminated.
The target, then, was Class D — the place the rules described as being "like a garbage dump".
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