"Hajime, my boy, you have to hook me up with this business of yours."

"Neat, right? Tell me your honest opinion, have you ever thought of yourself bathing in pure money?"

What...

"Not gonna lie, I haven't! This is unthinkable! I'm in debt to you forever, Hajime."

"I appreciate it. Your kindness is overwhelming, King."

What is this...

"Daniel. Earth to Daniel. Yo, you there or are you daydreaming? Damn, do I need to throw something at him?"

"I'm on it!"

A small alarm clock came straight to my face with unspoken speed. Not even I could react.

"Ouch! What the... Hyunda, what's happening?!"

"What do you mean? This is free-estate now! Join in!"

I suppose it would make more sense to actually describe the scene instead of showing constant thoughts of confusion.

Right now, inside King George's massive room, inside his gigantic bathtub, which is the equivalent of a public bathtub for public baths, there are only money notes along with golden coins flowing throughout the whole bathtub.

In it, Hyunda and King George are relaxing with lazy postures as they bath in sheer money.

But...

"Wait! Wait! Why is there so much money in here?!"

It's not just the bathtub though. In every single furniture, there are big portions of money. It's as if this is a money castle!

"Why? Hm, do you remember when I told you that at the end of the month I would gather some budget? This is not it, but it was part of it. Though, this is King's money now."

"You got that right! Hey, hey! Hook me up with this! Or did you win the lottery?!"

"It's a nasty business. It's not for everyone. If you are down for it, I can talk to you about it later!"

Their casual talk is bugging me... For once, how can a supervisor be so corrupt!? Are you seriously not going to question how and where Hyunda got all this money from?!

"On a more important note, I've heard about the news, Daniel."

The real reason why I'm here is that Hyunda told me to get inside King George's room after school.

Thus, here I am. Unlike Hyunda and King George, I opted not to bath myself in money and just took a seat on the floor with my back against the wall, as I watched both of them enjoying themselves on a pool full of money.

"What news though?"

"Kuzan. You got him to join. Fantastic. Keep it up."

"Oh, that? Well, he got really gullible once I proposed him the real thing."

"That rat Takeshi just can't resist the money! He's a male whore!"

Male whore? Kuzan deserved better.

"Well, what do you need me here for, Hyunda?"

He stopped playing with the notes just to pay attention to me.

"I only have a few minutes left. 10 or so. But that will be enough. Kuzan should be here any minute now since I gave him the necessary instructions."

He really plans his actions a little bit too much.

Is he trying to achieve some sort of idealistic philosophy based on perfection alone?

"With that said, I did say that we would start the betting system at the start of the month, right? It's about time."

Huh? But...

"Wasn't the system supposed to revolve around the special exams? Why are you saying that it's about time when our special exam hasn't even been announced?"

I didn't like their reactions though. Both of them looked at each other with wide eyes and the corners of their mouths slowly rose up to full height.

"Hahahahaha!!" x2.

King George was punching himself in the abdominal area and Hyunda did the same. However, Hyunda did it more maniacally. Instead of limiting to laughs alone he kicked the air and rolled on the floor full of money.

"...What's so funny?"

It took them a while to stop laughing so much. Eventually, whipping the tears that were on his eyes due to the extreme abuse of laughs he himself created, Hyunda responded.

"O-Oh... Hahaha, it's, hahaha... Ahhh, how do I say this...? You really shouldn't ever open a business or anything of that sort, ever, Daniel."

"You're goddamn right! How the hell can you be so fucking dumb when it comes to business! It's common sense! Common sense, hahahaha!!!"

I'm starting to feel slightly offended now. They are treating me like I'm some sort of kid who can't understand something basic.

What am I missing exactly!?

"Can you just explain it already?!"

"Ahhhhh, chill man. I and the King here have a bigger sense when it comes to business. Don't feel inferior, we are just that ahead of the real thing when it comes to this."

"What real thing...?"

Once again, their dumbfounded facial expressions that resembled mockery and smiles that were the equivalent of a joker's gesture move, were seen.

Never did I imagine this interaction. Our bulky supervisor and the biggest trickster I've known thus far.

"Well, I gotta stop with the jokes, my time is running short. He should be here any second now... One, two and th---"

".....Is this it....?"

From the outside of the bathroom's door, Kuzan's face could be seen.

His eyes were fully consuming the rich scenery that could be seen by just about anyone that came across King George's room and...

Why the hell are you taking the money, Kuzan?!

"Rat! Leave that money and come here! Simmer down!"

"Eeeeek!!! Yes, sir!"

"Here, take my place, I'll get to the center."

Hyunda suggested that by getting up from the bathtub that only had money in it. Kuzan did not hesitate, however.

Thus, Hyunda sat on the edge of the second bathtub that was in my horizontal right.

Kuzan was close to King George himself but scared as hell in the process.

"Daniel, you asked what the 'real thing' was, and I'll answer that now. By 'real thing' I was referring to the true meaning of every action and how every person in business has to think in general. Also, I gave our system a new name. It will 'King's Den.' The suggestion was made by the King himself."

Obviously.

"Every event that happens is an opportunity. Why should we limit ourselves and wait around for the special exam only when we can make just about everything a betting contest? Wasn't the lack of budget the problem? That's not the problem anymore. We can safely start making bets now."

Is he insinuating that there's something outside of the special exams? Weren't the special exams what we would be betting in? To see who were the winners and who were the losers...?

"Hyunda, you said that we could start safely making bets now, but what does that mean exactly?"

Kuzan's question was something that I was also curious about too. Amidst this, King George was just smirking confidently as if he had supreme confidence in what Hyunda was about to say.

"I shouldn't have to say this but there has to be a keeper. What do I mean by keeper? I mean someone that holds the bets personally and delivers the results respectively. Someone completely outside of the class. Obvious as it may be, the King was my choice."

I would question how he got that favor from him but just by seeing all this money, I held my breath immediately.

"Good choice, Hajime! You can count on me to keep the bets with me. No one will get them. Anyone who does will get tortured personally. Yes! I mean you, rat!"

"N-N-N-No, sir! I'm just a young silly boy! Spare me!"

"Then don't fucking steal from my kitchen ever again!"

On his knees, Kuzan kneeled down repeatedly to the obscure figure of King George, which was honestly, quite visible.

He is naked, but his parts are covered with money.

I suppose this is by all means right.

"And there you have it. This is what I mean by 'safety'. The bets. Speaking of bets, Daniel, your mindset is incredibly wrong."

"And how exactly?"

"You think that we should only make bets on special exams, but wasn't the main criteria the 'winner and loser' one? Do you really think that only applies to the upcoming special exam?"

"Oh, I see. You mean to say that there are other events happening that can meet the same criteria?"

He already implied such, but I just want to confirm the events. Though, I think I've already grasped what Hyunda has been trying to insinuate all this time.

"Yes. And I'll just say it out loud now. One, Ikkiri's case and two, the spring festival. The third option is the special exam. I will use all these events to make use of the current members. Which are only you two."

I and Kuzan instinctively traded glances with one another as soon as Hyunda said that.

"Or, you can just gather more members in the meantime. Yet, given how short our time is, and since the event will most likely get conducted thoroughly tomorrow, the time is now. That is why you two will write down who you think will be the culprit. Not who your group thinks, but what you, as an individual, think, will be the actual choice here. Don't get it confused."

"Ummmm, I didn't get it."

Kuzan, still unaware of the true meaning of what Hyunda had just said, asked that, like a complete child. Hyunda, on the other hand, was somewhat busy looking at his phone for some reason.

"Scenario: You, Lus, Kanawari, and Daniel vote for a person in the class because that's the group's decision. Bets are up to the individuals completely. Therefore, Kuzan, you will bet on who you think will come out as the person who will receive all the blame. Ultimately, who will be given responsibility for what happened to Ikkiri. Really simple."

"Wait a second. This is so confusing. We are from the same group. Should we really be betting here?"

"Daniel, what does it matter? I'm sure you both have individual opinions or do you not? There have been 4 different opinions thus far. It's up to you both to choose who will be the supposed culprit. Also, we are starting off with some charity. I'll be giving the charity, of course."

Even though Hyunda said that he left the bathroom with haste.

Without explaining what this charity was all about, he was gone.

Now that he was gone, I could openly ask something to a certain individual who was bathing in his own money happily.

"King, what exactly happened? How is this fine?"

"That runt, Hajime got all this! Who cares how he got it? He's the one that's going to receive the blame if he's caught! But, this is paradise! I might just upgrade this dorm at last!"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Putting aside the fact that King George is essentially giving no fucks about how Hyunda got the money in here, he did say something that greatly triggered my interest.

"A-Are you serious?! Will we finally get some bare minimum conditions to live?! Air conditioner?! Proper chairs?! Stable doors?!"

"That's amazing, Aniki! We are not that far from achieving it!"

And furthermore, our dorm could finally compete against the girls' dorm. This is really important, honestly.

I bet that bitch would lose the smug look on her face once she saw our dorm as the superior one.

However, my hopes were quickly destroyed once the King spoke his honest and cruel mind.

"Hahaha, that would be great, wouldn't it?! Well, fucking think again! It's my money! Why the fuck should I give a fuck about what you rats think?!"

As expected...

Our high hopes were for naught. It's still a mystery to me how Hyunda got all this money, but it happened.

Speaking of Hyunda, he returned faster than expected. Still on his uniform clothes, Hyunda started talking in our direction.

"Usually, the bets would go accordingly, but since you two have absolutely no money at all, as the CEO of the King's Den, it's my responsibility to see that the members can at least participate. The winner of this bet will win the combined money that was deposited. I have here with me money equivalent of 5568,98 yen in total."

............

"Hyunda, I still really haven't gotten used to this..."

"Riggghhhttt, you're from the United States of America. Therefore, US dollars, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"50 dollars."

That's a lot...

"With that said, I'll split it between you two. This is the starting budget that every member gets. However, I'm being extremely generous right now. I'm allowing you two to not stay in debt with me."

In the process of speaking, Hyunda additionally gave both me and Kuzan the respective halves.

Yet, what exactly would this come down to?

"There are currently two events that you two can place your bets on. Of course, I'm talking about Ikkiri's case and the spring festival. However, just how will it work? You see, whoever bets has the complete freedom of depositing as much money as the member wants."

"Then, are you telling us to bet all of this money right now?"

"You could, Kuzan. Just a piece of advice though... You shouldn't do it. I'll give a scenario of how it's most likely going to happen. The winner's reward will be money, yet that money will be the grand total that was betted by all the participants. Scenario... You bet 1114,00 yen, which stands for 10 dollars, Daniel, and Daniel does the same. What do you think will happen?"

I'm frankly embarrassed about the fact that I haven't nailed the yen factor yet.

"Ummm, won't the winner receive the total that was betted?!"

"That's correct. Essentially, the prizes will be the total money every punter deposited. All in all, there will only be one winner. In case of a draw, it's equally split. Same with additional ones. But, this was just an example. It's completely up to you two the amount of money you two choose to bet on."

I see. It's fairly simple to understand.

Or so I thought until Hyunda said his next words.

"The scenario where every person will be able to bet equally will only apply to this event. This is just because we only have two members. I'm excluding myself, obviously. As soon as we get more than 5, I will attribute the respective mandatory quota that every punter has to deposit by making a bet. Otherwise, this wouldn't profit at all. Think of this as a trial."

"Trial...?"

"Yeah, Kuzan. A trial. Also, I just want to briefly mention that even if you don't have any money, you can still bet. Direct yourself to the King over here and ask the respective money."

H-Hold on...

"Wait, are you serious now? We can just ask all the money we want as long as it involves the bets...?"

That's crazy...

But... Why is King George smiling so maliciously?! Why is Hyunda also smiling as well?!

"Of course! You can always just ask! Sharing is caring, isn't that right, King?"

"Correct, Hajime! Don't be afraid of stepping out of the boundaries, you two!"

....................

There's a catch here, without a doubt...

"Then---"

"Hold on, Kuzan. Don't say something incredibly stupid. There's surely a catch here. Hyunda, what happens if I just ask some money right now? Will there be no consequences?"

Kuzan was literally about to fall into their obvious trap.

There's no way there isn't a catch here.

Nonetheless, instead of Hyunda, the one who answered was the stoic and confident supervisor and self-proclaimed King George himself.

"If you ask me money, then I will give it to you. Just don't be surprised if I ask the same amount a month later, kid!"

Oh, I see...

Only someone with a death wish would actually subject himself to this situation.

"Allow me to put the King's words into a retrospective. You can ask any money you want, as long as you return it a month later."

"....What happens if I don't?"

It was a silly and meaningless question, to be fair, yet I still asked.

"You will return it."

King George said that in the most possible cold toned voice ever. All the possible consequences suddenly flew all over my mind.

I seriously think that King George can simply just grab my head with a single hand and plum it to the ground and my brain will stop working.

"Um... I still don't get it..."

Kuzan, the dumbest motherfucker on this planet seems to be quite tactless to the reality of the situation.

"Kuzan... Don't you ever ask them money... Do this for your own safety..."

"Eh? But what if I need it, Aniki?"

"Don't you dare disobey your Aniki!"

"Yes, Aniki!"

While this was happening, King George was feeling immensely majestic midst of all this expensive and unrealistic amount of money. Furthermore, Hyunda was ignoring the current scenario and was texting someone from the looks of it.

His monochrome look on his face remains the same as ever.

Although, he stopped texting as he shut down his phone for good.

"God, how annoying... Well, regarding the whole money debt thing, just be careful. Don't choose irresponsible amounts that you can't pay back. And use that respective amount to bet. This borrowed money is supposed to be used for bets alone, for obvious reasons. But if you are feeling confident enough that you'll be able to pay all of it back, then be my guess."

What did Hyunda mean by 'how annoying'? We were excessively annoying or was he referring to something outside of the current scenery?

Is that why he shut his phone down?

Weird...

"The time limit for the bets to be made is until midnight. Seek either me or the King himself when you are ready to deposit the respective money and ultimately when you are ready to bet. I'm leaving."

Adjusting his uniform tie, Hyunda left the enormous bathroom which was overflowing with money to somewhere unknown.

...I was slightly curious about something so I decided to accompany him.

Kuzan didn't come and just went to his room.

And just as we were about to exit the dorm...

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm curious about something..."

Hyunda said earlier that he and King George had a far greater sense when it came to business itself, which made me wonder about something.

I knew that the chances were slim, but I wonder just how much... And besides, if it's Hyunda, then...

He's the type of person who would do it.

"Can't this come later? I have somewhere to be right now."

"Bro, where? What, you got a girlfriend?"

"No. It's just inconvenient for you to come along. Actually, it's not you. It's every classmate of ours in general, except the person who I'm going to meet. Plus, this person is already waiting. Not that I care about the time I make that person wait, but abusing it might have its consequences."

I have no idea what he's talking about. He's speaking in such an indirect manner that it's making me wonder why he's being so secretive about this.

Well... Truth to be told, I've been meaning to talk to Hyunda for a while.

There is just something that won't come out of my head.

"Actually... I changed my mind. Wanna come along?"

"Eh? Is that fine? Weren't you the one who said that it would be inconvenient?"

What exactly changed his mind?

His actions to be are like the depth of a cerulean infinite ocean; you can't see the end depth superficially.

"Forget that. Follow me."

Without knowing which destination Hyunda would take me to, I could only wonder.

We ventured the school grounds in this pleasant and rich afternoon while observing how every single student that was from outside of our class gave us the looks.

It's the usual.

Yet the scandalous scouring sun lying on the horizon of the east made me subtly forget that for short transience. Spring was almost around the corner, so the weather was still somewhat chilly. The winter is slowly but surely drifting away.

Yet, the person who walks in front of me seems to not care about it.

"Don't you find it weird?"

Venturing the open public gardens that contained a grand variety of plants, Hyunda and I sat on a metallic bench that was all the way at the end of this lonesome yet beautiful botanical garden.

Regardless of being a lonesome garden, some students remained and they would avoid crossing us at all costs.

"What exactly?"

His question might've not been what I think it was, therefore, I asked this question of confirmation.

"Shouldn't we just be normal students to the outside world? If you come across someone with this uniform, then you are a student of this school. That goes without saying. But, it's different for us. Why is that?"

"It can't be helped, man. We get biased treatment just because we did immoral actions."

"Yes. But, they don't know that, theoretically. I have a theory regarding that. Want to hear it?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

This was rare. He isn't this talkative. Something did change his mind.

Yet I can't possibly form a single assumption onto what triggered this reaction.

"Not every single one of us gets treated like this. Only a selected portion of us do. Which means that there was a selection here. Out of the thousand students here, why would we be a problem? They supposedly don't know what we did. Or, maybe they do."

"No way, dude. Are you insinuating that the rest of the students simply know that? Isn't that like confidential information?"

"What do you think are the odds of the principal holding onto this valuable information? It wouldn't be strange to assume that certain information got leaked. Information that would alert every single student about certain peculiar existences. Hey, look at them. They are trying not to look as if they are going to wet their vaginas. What the fuck is this? Don't you just find this treatment weird? Have you ever experienced this?"

Hyunda was viciously looking at a group of girls who were several meters away while fleeing from the scene, now that we are here.

They were already here, but as soon as we invaded their territory, the girls, along with many other students, just left the scene.

"No... This is a first. I've experienced a variety of treatment, but being restricted from general interaction and getting viewed with disgust, fear, paranoia, and anxiety all at the same time by just about every student except our class, is definitely a first."

And besides, isn't our program something done by the government alone?

I don't get this... What happened to being confidential?

"Kawahara, Arkalee, Sagasuga, Hinagiku, and Ikkiri. Do you know what these five have that we don't?"

"Let me guess... They don't get treated like this...?"

"That's right. Yet, we do. I'm not arguing that it's unfair, because that's not my point. My point, however, is that there is a strict reason as to why we are. Everywhere you go, people probably distance themselves a few meters from you. Is it everyone or does the school staff apply as well?"

If I recall correctly, back when I and Yulia were having our fair share of discussions, no school staff showed a behavior like the students.

"Now that you mention it... The school staff does not possess the same behavior as the students do. How weird..."

"No, it's actually not weird. We were probably exposed."

"How can that be...?"

"Think about what I'm about to tell you... The one that supposedly must've agreed with this program was the responsible force of this school, which is undoubtedly the principal himself. Therefore, since he has accepted this, he knows about the fact that we are criminals. Yet, why would he allow that?"

Where exactly is he going with this...?

Sure, it's strange that he accepted this ridiculous program, but the principal must have got a reason to do this.

"Maybe the government proposed something ridiculous in return. Like a really good amount of money?"

"I highly doubt it. This school is already top tier. Prestigious. Appealing. Well-constructed. It doesn't justify accepting this opportunity just for the sake of a reward. I could entirely be wrong here but... In case I'm not... we... are against a powerful force."

His palm was covering his face mostly when he said that, but I could tell that he was dead-serious just now. Usually, he has a far more relaxed voice tone, but now... That was an imperial tone.

Yet, what did he mean by all of this...?

"You mean the principal...?"

"Mhm. Things might get heated. Also... Isn't it about time?"

"For what?"

Is he talking about his meeting? That surely must be.

"Oh, you know. It's March now, yet there are some of our classmates that already have three supply exams accumulated. Isn't this perfect?"

What the hell is he...

"Perfect for what? You're not making any sense..."

"You're right. I'm not, am I? Therefore, what I meant to say was..."

He showed a medium degree of reluctance here and there, but eventually, after wrapping a portion of his silver hair that was covering his forehead with both of his hands, taking it all the way to the back of his head, Hyunda spoke words that alerted me to the utter maximum.

"It's time to start expelling the unnecessary existences in our class."

Feeling slightly shocked, I couldn't react immediately. I was still having trouble processing those words of his.

"Hyunda... Do you... Are you serious?"

"Don't worry. This is just for fun. Relax already."

Does he not realize what his words can potentially mean...?

"If you expel someone from this program then..."

"I'm aware. For the record, it's real. Don't think of it as something absurd. The death sentences aren't forbidden here in Japan. Normal citizens and citizens that contribute to society are partial to this rule. We definitely aren't viewed as individuals that contribute to society. Therefore, we are disposable trash, in their eyes. To them, we are stepping stones made to use and receive the philosophical idea of justice that every authority in law has. Just look around you. These people don't know you yet they are acting like they've known you ever since you were born."

Society will view us like trash. Yet that's because we don't strive to be better.

No...

Even if we strive to be better, our mistakes and actions will surely always be used as an excuse against us.

"They are not part of something greater though. They will live ordinary lives and will die ordinarily. What we have and what they don't is something they will never know. Do you know what it is?"

I simply kept looking at him while glancing inside his glacious white eyes.

"We have crossed the line. They didn't. Their existence is limited by what they perceive. Ours isn't. Can you get the difference here? Think about it."

The difference...

Does Hyunda truly believe that our existence has gone beyond the mediocre ones just by acting out of the ordinary?

"We've lost enough time though. Let's get going."

With that said, we resumed and walked to the supposed destination.

In the middle of this, while we were walking around the school grounds once more, I made a short conversation with him, since I needed to clear a certain doubt of mine.

This was regarding something that had already taken place.

"Was the whole spring festival team thing staged?"

"You noticed? I'm impressed."

Frankly, I wouldn't notice this in any circumstance, but I took Hyunda's character into consideration and figured that this was something that he would do, for his own amusement.

Yet, what if there was more than just his amusement?

"That's right. It was staged. But only I and the King knew. I had informed the King preemptively about this and proposed the scenario. Taking the way Kawahara is, he is the type of person who would not miss out on something like this. Plus, I caught a glimpse of him stealing the Spring Festival's poster. His interest was there. He just needed a situation to use his interest for his own personal reasons. The outcome is certainly troublesome since it contains far too much responsibility yet it was all for the sake of creating the situation. The situation would give birth to the opportunity of a betting event."

"Are you sure you can tell me all of this?"

"Yes, why not? It already happened. Even if you tell anyone that it was staged, they won't believe me. My image is incredibly feeble. I'm just a random human being who has failed two special exams in a row."

If only that was the case...

By the way, we were arriving at an open plaza.

Around it, there was a group of male students attempting to talk to a certain girl.

A girl, whose beauty has not left my mind. Seemingly, that was impossible.

"Are you free now?"

"Can you give me your number?"

"Hey, you've been quiet for a while! You shy?"

These dorks don't know that she can't speak to them. It's only natural for them to assume such.

Their loud voices could be heard, even though we were a bit far away from the table that this certain girl was in.

Hyunda, however, despite this, accelerated his step and stepped into the scene.

Crossing through their path, he faced the girl that was being swarmed by an odd number of male students.

"Kept you waiting. Hope you didn't wait long."

And of course, as soon as the male students saw the very figure of Hyunda, they fleed in multiple directions.

What the fuck...

"N-No! Not at all! I... just arrived here myself! I was worried that I might be late, but thankfully that was not the case!"

How weird...

Was she always this enthusiastic...?

I've never exactly noticed her existence in particular since I initially judged her to be an introvert, but this is just weird...

"I'm glad that's the case, Arkalee. I brought someone along with me. I hope you don't mind."

Hyunda was already on his seat in front of Arkalee, who was drinking ice tea from a pink straw.

With that in mind, I introduced myself. Even though this would be our second supposed talk.

"Hi there. I hope you don't mind. Hyunda said I could come along."

Yet, as soon as Arkalee viewed my existence as a whole, she stopped drinking from her straw and looked at me with the deadliest eyes of all.

That changed quickly since she regained her posture.

"Y-You brought someone along, Hyunda!? How nice! Super nice! Great idea! Hi there, Daniel! What a pleasant surprise!"

..............

"Thanks..."

I silently thereafter took my seat next to Hyunda.

...

Why do I feel like someone is cursing at me right now?