A New Floor, A New Currency

Everyone had arrived quite early today. As I settled into my dining chair, I was about to suggest we investigate the third floor. Unexpectedly, Katagiri Mimi beat me to it.

“Shall we all go and take a look at the third floor today?”

“The third floor? I thought Habara Kazuhiro and the others had already investigated it,” Habara Kazuhiro remarked.

“Yes, we did go up to the third floor, but unfortunately, all the rooms were locked except for the restrooms…” Akahira Yuusuke replied, a look of disappointment clouding his face.

“Ah… this is quite troublesome then…” Ishii Yoshimi gazed at the dining table, her brow furrowed in worry.

‘Logically speaking, after a class trial, Monokuma should automatically unlock new areas.’

‘Could it be that… it simply forgot about it? Or perhaps… this world I’ve transmigrated into has subtle differences from the game’s original settings?’

“Why don’t we try asking Monokuma to unlock them…?” Takahashi Aki suggested to the group.

“Will that… demon… actually agree to our request…?” Osakabe Nanase asked, trembling slightly.

“Hmm… it’s worth a shot, isn’t it? I think we should give it a try,” Takagi Masahiko replied after a moment of thoughtful deliberation.

“What’s this? Were you just calling for me?” Monokuma interjected, appearing silently beside them.

“Eeek! Why do you always pop out like that?! You scared the living daylights out of me…” Akino Atsushi nearly tumbled off his dining chair, startled by Monokuma’s sudden appearance.

“What a coincidence~ I actually came here to bring you some good news too~? Oh, by the way… did someone just call me a demon…?” Monokuma gazed at a certain adorable little girl with an innocent, unblemished expression.

“…No, it wasn’t me, boohoohoo… T ‸ T” Osakabe Nanase hastily covered her small head with both hands, a shimmer of tears welling in her eyes, her expression utterly pitiable.

“Don’t be scared, Nanase! A valiant hero, ready to throw themselves into danger, surely has to protect the weak, right?!” Akahira Yuusuke jumped forward, positioning himself in front of Monokuma.

“Oh my, oh my~ If you’re the hero, then I must be the Demon King, no? Yohohoho~ It’s perfectly fine, you know, I absolutely adore titles like ‘demon’ and ‘Demon King’~ I’d even love it if you called me Satan~”

“So, what exactly did you come here to tell us?” Chisaka Erin cut straight to the chase, addressing the crucial topic.

“Oh, right… the third-floor area has been unlocked, you know? You can now go and investigate the third floor.”

“By that logic… can I assume that a new area will be unlocked after every class trial?” Suzuki Minoru mused aloud, resting his chin on one hand.

“Suzuki Minoru is truly clever, isn’t he~ It’s exactly as you say!”

“Mhm, and by further extension… the more deaths there are, the greater the chance of escaping from here!” Suzuki Minoru extended a finger, pointing upwards, a dashing smile gracing his lips.

****

The air around them grew heavy. Everyone fell silent, their previous chatter extinguished.

“This lady here really wants to retort: if you don’t speak, no one will mistake you for a mute.” Amemiya Wakaba, at that moment, spoke her mind bluntly.

“Honestly… maybe we should just let this guy starve for a few days; then he won’t have the energy to speak, right?” Ishii Yoshimi said, a look of utter exasperation on her face.

“Suzuki, while I don’t know what your intentions are with those words, I want to say that after the last lesson… we will not lose anyone else!” Akahira Yuusuke looked at him with utmost seriousness.

“Oh dear? Did I say something wrong…?” Suzuki Minoru spread his hands, letting out a few dry laughs.

“It’s not ‘like’ you said something wrong; you clearly did! At least have some self-awareness…” Takagi Masahiko twitched his lips, retorting to Suzuki’s remark.

‘Well… I suppose I should get used to his way of speaking.’

“Oh! There’s one more thing to mention! Everyone who survives a class trial will be rewarded with three hundred Monokuma virtual coins!”

“Virtual… coins? What exactly can these be used for?” Kitajima Kazumitsu asked, his curiosity piqued.

“C-could it be…?”

“Chocolate coins?!” Arisumi Momoko asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling incessantly.

“Ugh… why do you only ever think about food?” Akahira Yuusuke sighed helplessly.

“They’re probably for buying items from the school store, right?” Takagi Masahiko speculated.

“Perfectly correct! They’re not just for buying things in the school store; you can also use them to buy even more thrilling items~! Though… those aren’t available yet.”

“Even… even more thrilling items?!” Akino Atsushi exclaimed excitedly, as if something had just clicked for him.

“You’re not… thinking of something vulgar and dirty, are you?!” Ishii Yoshimi’s face was etched with exasperation as she voiced her grave suspicion.

“H-how could that be? I’ve always been a perfectly proper gentleman; it couldn’t possibly be what you’re thinking, could it…? Truly!”

“Do these virtual coins… need to be paid for by scanning a QR code with our student ID cards?” I asked Monokuma, seeking clarification.

“Goodness me… how did you all figure that out so quickly…? That’s right! Payment is indeed made by scanning! And by the way, you can also transfer your Monokuma coins to other students, you know? And there’s no limit to the amount~”

“Hey! You punk! Looking all clueless… if you don’t want to get squeezed, you’d better hand over your coins obediently, otherwise… you know the consequences, don’t you?!” Akahira Yuusuke adopted the demeanor of a petty thug extorting Akino Atsushi, and with his own accessories and imposing presence, he truly looked the part…

“No, don’t! All the money’s right here! A true gentleman uses his words, not his fists, big brother!” Akino Atsushi trembled incessantly, utterly terrified once more.

“Hehe, I was just kidding around with you!” Akahira Yuusuke grinned, looking at him with a playful smile.

“? Hey! So I just got scared for nothing, is that it?!”

“Hm?! I was just about to pull down my pants and shoot you… and you were just acting?! Honestly… you’ve escaped my grasp yet again~” Monokuma calmly put away the Uzi submachine gun he had pulled from his belly, while those nearby, unbeknownst to themselves, were already drenched in cold sweat.

“Haha… bro, calm down…” Akahira Yuusuke, too, suddenly became flustered.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared~ I wouldn’t just casually shoot my students, you know. For my students to die, it has to be through mutual killing to truly satisfy my tastes~”

“Tch! There’s that disgusting smirk again!” It was the fastest I had ever seen Akahira Yuusuke’s mood change, and I found myself suppressing a smile.

“Oh, and also, you girls aren’t allowed to earn coins through any dirty dealings! Mhmhmhm~ Otherwise, I really won’t be able to control my little paws~”

“We know that without you having to tell us!” Katagiri Mimi retorted, clearly displeased.

“Well then… see you next time!”

I opened my student ID, noticing a “Monokuma Coins ×300” mark displayed in the bottom right corner. There wasn’t anything particularly appealing to buy in the school store anyway… I decided to save them for now, hoping to find some especially useful escape tools later.

“Snacks~ Hehehe, I can spend them all~” Arisumi Momoko murmured to herself, as if lost in a blissful paradise.

“Alright, alright~ Before all that, shouldn’t we go investigate the third floor first?” Takahashi Aki said with a wry smile, looking at Arisumi Momoko and the others.

“Ah… important matters first. Without further ado, let’s head out.” Akahira Yuusuke nodded.

“Yes, let’s go,” Takagi Masahiko replied.

And so, the fourteen of us made our way towards the first-floor lobby.