It was almost 7 p.m. on April 3, approaching the last day of spring break for Advanced Nurturing High School's first year students.

Karuizawa Kei was walking alone towards the theater building that had been provided, a moment ago she and all the first year students were shocked by a message sent by the school to each of their cell phones.

The message stated that all first-year students were required to attend the theater at 7 p.m.

Of course it caused quite a stir among the students. Given their experience of the past year, the message sent by the school at an unexpected time was not a good thing.

They thought about the possibility that this was some other special exam or something.

There are various kinds of reactions experienced by students. Some are anxious, afraid, excited, happy, and some are irritated.

Karuizawa was one of the students who was irritated to hear this message. She's been in a bad mood lately, it started when she saw Ayanokouji Kiyotaka alone with a girl named Shiina Hiyori.

She knew that Ayanokouji was free with whoever he hung out with, but when she found out the boy she liked was alone with another girl, she became jealous.

Her thoughts stopped when she was in front of the theater building. She sighed and shook her head to shake off her irritation. After a while, she opened the door and went inside.

Inside the room she saw that almost all the students had already arrived. The room was similar to an ordinary theater room, only much wider, the seats reached 170 which was enough to accommodate 4 classes.

Karuizawa also saw that the class leaders had arrived, such as Sakayanagi and Ichinose who were surrounded by their class members.

As for the D class leader who will become C class back in the second year, Ryuuen doesn't even hide the fact that he's back to being the ruler of his class, he casually sits down and sticks his feet into the chair below him. The people sitting on the right and left are Ishizaki and Albert, Ibuki is sitting beside Ishizaki. That alone proved that Ryuuen was back.

For class C, Hirata and Kushida have come, but Horikita hasn't. There's still time before 7 o'clock, maybe Horikita will come in a bit.

"Karuizawa-san!!"

A girl's voice caught her attention, she turned to the source of the sound and saw several girls approaching her. They were the girls in her group.

"Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late," she said as the girls approached.

"It's fine, Karuizawa-san. By the way, do you know why we were sent here?"

"Honestly, I don't know either. I'm just as confused as you," Karuizawa replied.

"C-Could it be another special exam?" another girl said nervously.

"Isn't that unreasonable!? In a few days we will enter the second school year, you know?" replied the other girl.

They all then discussed the possibility of what made them all sent to this theater building.

"What do you think, Karuizawa-san?" asked a girl in her group.

"I still don't know, but could this be an orientation? You know, like the introduction of our activities in the second year?"

"That could be."

Neither of them knew the reason they were summoned here, that probably also applies to all the students in the room.

Their discussion was cut short when a surprised voice caught their attention, Karuizawa and her group turned to the source of the sound and found the culprit was Sudou Ken.

Sudou didn't notice the commotion he was making, his attention was now on a girl who had just entered the room. That girl is Horikita Suzune.

Sudou's surprise is natural since he's seen Horikita have long hair all this time, but now she had cut her hair short so that she caught the attention of the whole room.

"S-Suzune, you... what happened to you?" asked Sudou in a panic.

"What do you mean by what happened to me?" Horikita replied to Sudou's question with a question, she didn't understand why he was panicking so much.

Before Sudou could reply, a girl who was as surprised as Sudou approached them.

"Horikita-san, you cut your hair!? I was really surprised," said Kushida Kikyou.

"Is it weird changing my hairstyle?"

"Well, that-"

"Ku ku ku, the interesting changes you made there."

Ryuuen Kakeru approached them with his entourage behind him, cutting off Kushida's words. He was grinning as usual, his eyes amused at Horikita's new style.

"Ryueen..." Sudou muttered warily.

"What do you want, Ryuuen-kun?" Horikita asked while crossing her arms.

"Well, nothing, I'm just interested. What's the matter, are you heartbroken or something?"

"It has nothing to do with you. Go away!" Sudou snapped.

"Isn't that the same with you? Ah, I forgot that you're Suzune's lap dog," Ryuuen said, trying to provoke Sudou.

"You!!" growled Sudou, he clenched his fists tightly, but he didn't go to attack Ryuuen. If Sudou had been him one year ago, he would have directly attacked Ryuuen. It proved Sudou's self-improvement which was rapidly increasing.

"Not attacking? Looks like you have tamed him, Suzune."

"...!!"

"Relax, Sudou-kun. Don't be fooled by cheap provocations like that," said Horikita, before Sudou's patience ran out. She then turned to Ryuuen. "And to answer your question, you could say it is my determination to be strong."

The real reason Horikita cut her hair was because she had let go of her past of always following her brother and turned to try to find her own way, also she started a good relationship with her older brother Horikita Manabu who just graduated.

"Hoo. Looks like dropping back to class D doesn't break you," Ryuuen said.

"Of course. Even though our class has dropped doesn't mean we're weak," Horikita said firmly, making several of her classmates widen their eyes.

"Ku ku, interesting."

"Putting aside about me, you seem more alive than the last time I saw you," said Horikita. She had been wary of Ryuuen ever since his enduring the In-Class Voting special exam, and suspected that Ryuuen wasn't finished yet. Her suspicions were right when Ryuuen won against class B in the year-end exam.

"Ha, I always look alive," Ryuuen argued.

"Last time you said you had no more purpose in going to school here," Horikita said, her tone demanding the truth. "What brought you back?"

Ryuuen looked deeply into Horikita's eyes, he felt that there was a big change in Horikita, as if she had found her own way. Maybe that's why she cut her hair. Therefore, Ryuuen gave an honest answer.

"You could say I've found a more interesting destination in this school," Ryuuen said, then he turned and left. He had rediscovered his goal of continuing to survive in this school, which led him to return and become the class leader. His only goal is to hold a rematch with a student named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

"Hah? What do you mean?" asked a surprised Horikita when Ryuuen answered honestly.

"Let's enjoy our second year, Suzune." With that farewell, Ryuuen and his party returned to their seats.

"Come and go as he pleases, that bastard really is an asshole.." Sudou grumbled.

"Don't think about it, let's better sit down. It's almost time," Horikita said.

"Horikita-saan!"

Just as Horikita was about to make a move, someone called out to her. This time it was Ichinose Honami who approached her.

"What is it, Ichinose-san?" Horikita asked.

"Well, nothing. It is just.... Well, I really didn't expect you to cut your hair," Ichinose replies.

"I asked this earlier, but is it really that weird if I cut my hair?" Horikita asked with a sigh.

"No, nothing strange. But I don't think you're that kind of person before. Right, Kushida-san?"

"Eh? A-Ah yeah," said Kushida who had been pondering in surprise at Ichinose's question.

Horikita who heard Ichinose's words found something she didn't like about Ichinose's words.

"Ichinose-san, what do you mean by 'not that kind of person'? Are you saying I'm not one to pay attention to her appearance?" Horikita asked sharply.

"Eh?"

Ichinose's body stiffened, she felt like she had just stepped on a minefield. Then she realized her mistake from her words earlier.

"Aaah, n-no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that....well....th-that..." Whatever Ichinose wanted to say caught in her throat, she frantically apologized to Horikita. "Forgive me!!"

Horikita just closed her eyes and sighed. Actually she knew what Ichinose meant, her serious and stern demeanor might make people think that she wasn't someone who thought about something like beauty treatments. So she understood why Ichinose said that.

"Never mind forget it. I don't really blame that much," Horikita said. "Since childhood, I liked short hair more than long hair. Since my hair was already long before, so I thought about cutting it."

"I see, it looks like it suits you," said Ichinose with a smile.

"Thank you," Horikita replied.

"I see. Then... I think I'll try to grow my hair out," Kushida muttered quietly, but Horikita could hear it.

Even though Kushida said that in an innocent tone. But Horikita knew what Kushida's true intentions were.

Kushida Kikyou hated her. That's because Horikita used to go to the same school as Kushida, where Kushida used to have a very serious incident in middle school. Kushida hated Horikita for knowing about the incident, even though it was just a one-sided claim from Kushida but Horikita could no longer use that excuse, because Kushida had already told her and Ayanokouji the full details of her past. Making the two of them the absolute target of Kushida's hatred.

Horikita gave a sour expression, she wondered what other way she had to do to earn Kushida's trust. It's not like she wants to be friends with her or anything, but it really isn't nice to have a classmate who has such deep hatred for you. She couldn't even have a calm discussion in class about the special exam without risking being betrayed.

She shook her head, driving away the thought of Kushida. She then turned to Ichinose, she could see a big difference between the Ichinose she saw a few days ago and the current Ichinose.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Horikita-san?" Ichinose asked who sensed Horikita's gaze.

"Nothing, it's just that you look a lot more cheerful than the last time we met."

"Ah, that... ha ha, how should I put it. Well, I got some help," said Ichinose shyly.

"I see. It's good that you're back to normal, but you still remember what we talked about back then?"

A few days ago Ichinose and Horikita had a meeting to discuss about their class relationship, Horikita took the decision to break their cooperative relationship, which Ichinose accepted. But at that time Ichinose was in a depressed state after losing to Ryuuen, so Horikita didn't know whether what Ichinose said was serious or not, so now she asks again to confirm Ichinose's decision.

"I understand, Horikita-san. And I accept your decision to cut off our relationship. My friends and I will continue to advance and achieve class A together, even if we have to fight Sakayanagi-san, Ryuuen-kun, and you," Ichinose said seriously, this time there was firmness in her words.

Horikita watched Ichinose slightly surprised at her determination, then her expression returned to normal.

"I see, it looks like you've really made up your mind. Then, I look forward to the day we will fight," Horikita said.

"Me too," Ichinose replied.

After that exchange, they dispersed and took their respective seats. The time showed five minutes to 7, the students had filled the theater room.

After a while, 4 adults entered the room, they were the homeroom teachers of the students in the room. They were Mashima-sensei, Hoshinomiya-sensei, Sakagami-sensei, and Chabashira-sensei.

The students expected that whatever brought them here would be explained by the teachers, but they didn't expect that they would see the shocked face of their homeroom teacher.

"All of you, what are you doing here?" Mashima asked.

Mashima's question caused confusion among the students. They thought that the teachers knew the reason they were summoned here, but from Mashima's question, it seemed like the teachers didn't know.

"Um, sensei? Didn't the school send us here?" Ichinose asked.

"School? No, it shouldn't. During spring break, you don't have any schedule until the school year starts," Mashima replied.

"What!? Then what is the meaning of this message sensei?" shouted Ike in disbelief.

Mashima then asked Ike to show the contents of the message they got, Ike gave his cellphone to Mashima and Mashima checked it, after a while he also showed the contents of the message to another teacher.

"There is no mistake, this is indeed a message from the school," said Sakagami.

"But why didn't they tell us? As long as it concerns the students, it should be coordinated with the homeroom teacher," said Hoshinomiya.

It's true, whatever concerns the students such as special exams or other announcements, the school must coordinate with the teachers first.

"Mashima..." Chabashira said looking at Mashima.

Mashima looked back at Chabashira, he knew the meaning of that look and he was also thinking the same thing as Chabashira.

It was possible that Acting Director Tsukishiro was involved in this.

A few days ago, he had been informed that Acting Director Tsukishiro had directly intervened to interfere with the final year exams, which caused a huge loss to Chabashira's class.

While the teachers were discussing, a student approached them. It was Sakayanagi.

"Sorry to interrupt your discussion, sensei. But I want to ask you something, if the teachers weren't informed of the message we got, then why did you come here?" Sakayanagi spoke up.

"The same way as all of you, we also got a message that said there would be a meeting being held here," answered Mashima.

"So the school gathered us here, but for a different reason. What are their goals?" mused Sakayanagi.

Even though Mashima suspected Tsukishiro, there was one thing that made him doubtful, why do this in such a flashy and twisted manner? He could have used ordinary means like special exams.

Such thoughts confused him so much that he could not immediately conclude that this was Tsukishiro's doing.

While they were discussing, the clock finally hit 7pm and that's when something happened.

The light that lit up the room suddenly went out, but it was only for a moment because after that the lights lit up the room again. But that was enough to make a fuss. Some students were panicked and scared, but some were relaxed as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone, calm down," Mashima said in a loud voice, silencing the crowd. "I'll try to contact the school about all this."

Mashima then took out his cell phone and called the school, but no matter how many times he called, it was never connected.

"Not connected," said Mashima.

"Mashima, the door is also locked!" said Sakagami who was trying to open the entrance.

"What!? No way!!" Hoshinomiya shouted, then she tried to open the door herself and as Sakagami said, it couldn't be opened.

Sakagami tried to break down but the door didn't budge at all.

"Mashima..." Chabashira called out in a worried tone.

"What happened..." Mashima muttered.

Panic began to reach the teachers, making the students in the room start to be filled with worry.

But before the panic exploded, a voice came from the speakers in the theater building.

"Hey, Hey!! Hello everyone!!

A cheerful voice came out of the speaker, heard from the voice it seemed that the owner was a female.

Everyone couldn't help but feel suspicious at this cheerful voice. They had experienced mysterious events in a very short time. A mysterious message was sent to students and teachers, locked in the theater room, and now a mysterious voice is coming out of nowhere.

"Hmm? What's with this tense atmosphere?" The voice asked, not feeling the vigilance of the occupants of the room.

Mashima decided to come forward, representing everyone. He then looked at the speaker because he didn't know where to look when the other person wasn't around.

"I'm sorry, but who are you? Was it you who sent us that message?" Mashima said. He deduced that the mysterious message they received was from someone who possessed this voice.

"As expected of Mashima-sensei, take the immediate initiative to make a move," the voice replied.

"As far as the safety of my students is concerned, I will do anything," Mashima said without hesitation. Many students were amazed after hearing him say that.

"How honourable. To answer your question, yes, I was the one who sent the message and gathered you here."

"What for? And who are you really?"

"Hmm, I guess we should start with introductions. Have you ever thought that your daily life, where you study, shop, exercise, and other things is being watched by someone? Like a martial master watching his students train?"

"Hah!? You mean like a supervisor?" asked Sudou who decided to ask.

"Yep, like that. I am the entity whose role is to oversee every living being, an Overseer. You can call me Eve."

The answer was given but no one reacted, they all froze when they heard the absurd answer of the person who called herself Eve.

"Oversee of every life? Overseer? What nonsense are you talking about, this isn't a fantasy!!" shouted Ishizaki after a moment of silence.

"And that fantasy is now a reality."

"..."

They fell silent again. They were all wary of Eve's direct answer, because it didn't make any sense to them.

But that's not to say they all took it as a bullshit, there were some sharp-minded people who found the truth in Eve's words. Sakayanagi, Ryuuen, Horikita, and Kouenji could conclude that what Eve said was the truth.

But even so, they still need proof.

"Alright then, Eve-san. You're saying that you are an entity that oversees every living being's life, by the word entity does that mean you're not human?" said Sakayanagi, trying to extract information and evidence from Eve's words.

"That's right, I'm not human. I am an entity that is higher than humans," Eve replied.

"Hoo, so you're saying there are still entities higher than perfect humans like myself. Interesting. And how do you keep an eye on these living beings?" said Kouenji. He knew that Sakayanagi was trying to extract information and he had no intention of doing anything, but that all changed when he heard that Eve was an entity higher than humans.

"Of course with my power."

"And what do you mean by your power? Are you saying it's a supernatural power or something, because it doesn't make any sense," Horikita said. She tries to take the opportunity that Sakayanagi and Kouenji have created, by forcing Eve to show evidence.

"Hmm, I've sent you a message via school email that an outsider shouldn't be able to do, and now you're locked up and can't get out. Does that still not convince you?"

"Ku ku, a hacker could hack into the school's data and use the school's email to message us, and you might have someone block it from the outside door. Your evidence is still unconvincing," Ryuuen said, becoming the last executioner.

Many had no idea what was going on, but some people could feel the tension.

What's with this sudden combination!? They managed to corner that person in an instant. Thought Matsushita who was observing their conversation.

Oi