Demon Slayer: I was taken home by Shinobu Kocho at the beginning.

I wonder if this kind of plot would be popular in this world.

Looking at Kiryuin's appearance, Kamio Tatsuya thought maliciously.

What rude thing are you thinking about now?

This is definitely something I can't say out loud. Putting aside whether the story is too cliché, just telling it would risk getting me beaten up.

"No, I was just thinking about how to persuade my senior to cause some trouble for Nanon."

"Didn't I already refuse?"

"I just told you I was thinking about how to convince you."

As they were talking, Kiryuin finished his fourth small cake.

"Mmm, that was a really good meal." Kiryuin stretched. "It's about time, so I'll be going now. I won't disturb your date any longer."

You know you're interrupting our date?

"Senior Guilongyuan, if you don't mind, I can provide you with 100,000 personal points for living expenses every month."

Upon hearing this, Kiryuin's eyes lit up.

"I don't mind, of course I don't mind, but you wouldn't ask me to do anything, would you?"

"Of course not, consider it my way of thanking you. Anyway, it's only been a year since you graduated, and a little over a million points is nothing to me."

Kiryuin is very capable. In the second year, Nagumo will change the school's examination method, making it more focused on individual abilities.

Furthermore, it will weaken the barriers between grades, so there might be times when we need Kiryuin's help.

Although I'm not sure if she'll help, it's okay to show goodwill first; consider it an investment.

Moreover, as he said, the value brought by the other party's help in promoting the novel alone is already far greater than 100 million private points.

Chapter 291 Sakura Airi is troubled

The final trial of the first year brought huge benefits to Class C, and they will be promoted to the next class in April.

The students in Class C were naturally thrilled, but the students in other classes, especially Class D, felt a sense of loss.

Because this glory should rightfully belong to Class D.

However, apart from that, many more people feel lost about their future.

Before, I could dream of moving up to the next class and graduating from there, but ever since I signed a contract with Tatsuya Kamio and went through this exam, things have changed.

Most people have come to terms with reality; it's impossible for Class D to be promoted to Class 1.

Furthermore, after this exam, Class D's class points were even lower, with only 87 points left each month, which means they only had 8700 points left for their monthly living expenses.

Even so, half of it has to be used to pay off Tatsuya Kamio's debts.

Although it's not a small amount for a school where everything is free, it's pitifully small compared to the living expenses of other classes.

Oh, by the way, the students who are about to become Class C might be in an even worse situation, because their income is no longer enough to cover their debts.

But this is still not a happy thing, after all, the theme of the exam is definitely not a competition of who has the worst misery.

Therefore, the students in Class D began to find their own way out. Some simply gave up and lay low, since they wouldn't starve at this school anyway, and their accommodation was free, and they could get around almost entirely on foot.

As for clothes, you have to wear uniforms when you're in school, and casual clothes are not unaffordable if you save your living expenses.

Furthermore, in order to accommodate students who do not have living expenses, the school allows students to exchange their old uniforms for new ones if their uniforms are damaged or no longer fit due to physical growth and development.

Although the school's vegetable meal isn't very good, the school does provide fresh ingredients, and of course, seasonings are also free.

So as long as you work hard, you can still live a good life.

Therefore, basic needs such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation are truly not a problem even if you don't spend money.

However, some people are already considering what to do next.

Most people who enter this school are there for the privileges they receive after graduating from the class, but now they can say that they can hardly get those privileges anymore.

Therefore, students with even a little motivation are thinking about what to do in the future.

Japanese schools do not teach students any advanced knowledge; the knowledge taught in high school is quite simple.

This has led to a situation where, if you want to get into university, you have to attend extracurricular tutoring classes.

The questions asked by universities for independent admissions involve knowledge that is not taught in high school.

You can always hire tutors outside, but at this school, if you want to learn, you absolutely have to rely on yourself.

That's why Tatsuya Kamio so highly regards Yoshida, the senior who was able to get into the University of Tokyo through his own efforts at this school.

Now, another person has embarked on the same path, and like Yoshida, is a student in Class D.

During spring break, the Ayanokouji group from Class D gathered in the school cafe.

The Ayanokouji Group was a temporary group formed due to the previous Pper Shffle exam.

However, the friendship formed during the exam preparation period meant that the group did not disband after the exam.

Members include Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Yukimura Teruhiko, Miyake Akito, Hasebe Haruka and Sakura Airi.

Because the class's living expenses have been drastically reduced, most of the students in Class D have started to cook for themselves.

For Sakura Airi, one of the earliest firefighters in the class, it was simply a return to a familiar life.

Even under Sakura's influence, others joined in.

For students at this school, the commute is short, and gas and water are free. Rather than eating those unappetizing vegetable meals for a long time, it's better to learn to cook for themselves.

That's why they have spare money to gather at a coffee shop and order a drink.

"Hey, Sachiki, is what you just said true?"

Hasebe looked at Yukimura across from him with a look of astonishment on his face.

"Of course I wouldn't joke about something like this. Now that we've lost our chance to advance to the next class, we have no choice but to find another way out."

Yukimura adjusted his glasses and said calmly.

"I don't have any other special skills, so I will study harder and get into the university I want to go to."

In Japan, the questions asked by universities for their independent admissions process involve knowledge that is basically not covered in high school textbooks, and these schools do not offer corresponding tutoring programs.

Fortunately, the school's library has a collection of entrance exam questions from various prestigious universities each year. Students can use these questions to identify the focus of each university and then study accordingly.

It sounds simple, but only those who have done it know how difficult it is.

Therefore, Hasebe Haruka was so surprised when she heard that Yukimura was going to start working hard for Tokyo University right now.

For her, this was an impossible task.

She would never have considered taking the entrance exam for Tokyo University.

In fact, even if she graduated from her class, she wouldn't choose to go to Tokyo University. She knows herself very well.

She was simply not cut out for studying, but that didn't stop her from understanding how difficult this matter was.

Yukimura's declaration that he wanted to get into the University of Tokyo made the others wonder what they would do after graduation.

The first to have an answer was Ayanokouji, or rather, it wasn't an answer that only came to him now, but rather a destiny he had always known.

Once these three years are over, he will return to the White Room, either to continue his studies in conjunction with experiments or to begin taking over the affairs of the White Room.

In short, his future will not deviate from the white room; his fate has already been arranged.

That's why he seized the opportunity to come to this school and enjoy this brief and limited freedom.

"I really can't think of what to do in the future." Hasebe rested his chin on his hand, looking troubled. "By the way, what are you guys planning to do?"

"As for me... I'll probably go home and take over the family's dojo."

Seeing that Miyake looked like a delinquent, he scratched his head and was the first to give an answer.

"A dojo?"

Everyone else was completely baffled.

"Uh, didn't I mention that my family runs a kyudo dojo? Most of the children in that area are introduced to kyudo through my family."

Wow, this guy's a rich kid.

“I’ve never heard you say anything like that before,” Hasebe complained. “That’s why you like playing archery.”

“I’m not kidding.” Miyake said helplessly to Hasebe, “Besides, my archery skills aren’t very good. Although I’m a full member of the archery team, as my father said, I don’t have any talent.”

"That's true. He's been practicing archery since he was little, but he actually lost to that guy from Class C, Ji... Ji something again?"

“Yoshimoto Kosetsu,” Miyake reminded him, “Actually, he and I are old acquaintances. We met in a competition in middle school, but I won that time.”

Clearly, no one cared about Miyake's explanation, and of course, they wouldn't really blame Miyake for losing the match.

Where is Qing'er?

"Qing'er" is Hasebe's nickname for Ayanokouji.

"As for me, I'll probably be like Akihito, going back to inherit the family business."

Ayanokouji didn't hide anything about this, but she couldn't say for sure what her family did. If Hasebe pressed her for details, she could only say that it was a training institution.

After all, if you really want to categorize it, the white room could be considered a training institution.

"That's great, you don't have to worry about the future."

Hasebe sighed, then slumped onto the table, his once full breasts collapsing instantly.

"What about Airi? You're not going home to inherit the family business too, are you?"

"I?"

Sakura Airi hesitated, her expression changing several times as she struggled to find the right words. In fact, she had been in this state ever since Yukimura said he wanted to apply to the University of Tokyo.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Actually, I'm a bit troubled about this."

Sakura hung her head, her hands placed between her legs, which were rubbing back and forth restlessly.

"Troubled? Tell us, everyone's here today, maybe we can give you some advice."

Hearing Hasebe's encouragement and noticing the concerned looks in her friends' eyes, Sakura finally mustered up her courage after a long struggle.

"Well, actually... actually, before I enrolled in school, I was working as a print idol."

"An idol? That's amazing!" Hasebe's eyes lit up as he looked at Sakura, then he grabbed Sakura's hand. "Please shake my hand!"

Not many people know that Sakura is an idol. Kamio Tatsuya and Kushida are well aware of it, but they certainly won't tell anyone unless it's absolutely necessary.

The Ayanokouji group doesn't delve into the backstories of each individual, so not many people know that Sakura is an idol.

"Don't do that, Jiajia."

Seeing Hasebe's expression, Sakura was both amused and exasperated.

"So, is Airi planning to resume idol activities after graduation?"

Being an idol is a profession that is neither common nor uncommon in Japan.

Every year, a large number of idols emerge, but very few can truly become popular and maintain their popularity.

The underground idols at the bottom of society often don't even have enough to eat, and their living conditions are extremely harsh.

Making a name for yourself in this field is no easier than getting into the University of Tokyo, given how many people get into the University of Tokyo every year.

But how many people actually manage to break through in the idol industry each year?

Even if they become popular, they will face the problem of transitioning to a new career path, because young and cute girls are the idols, and those over 20 years old will basically automatically retire from the industry.

Therefore, if Sakura's goal is to resume idol activities, then her future will definitely be very difficult.

However, Sakura is Hirata's gravure idol, so she can develop in the direction of gravure modeling in the future, which is not the same track as ordinary idols.

Moreover, she managed to encounter sasaeng fans in this school with fewer than a thousand students. I don't know if it's good luck or bad luck.

"I have this idea."

"But you haven't done any idol activities for a year, have you? The market is really brutal these days."

That's right. Because idols are replaced very quickly, new idols who don't perform for a year are likely to face fans' fickle tastes.

Restarting idol activities is not an easy task.

Sakura understands this very well; no one understands the true nature of fans better than her—fans need to be protected.