Kamio Tatsuya smiled too, delighted as he looked at the 7.5 million Private Points in his account.
"I'm sorry, Kamio."
After Ryuen left, Shiina apologized to Kamio Tatsuya again.
"You didn't do anything that you need to apologize for, did you?"
"If it weren't for me, Kamio wouldn't have lost 3 million Private Points."
Damn, why don't you believe me either? Am I really that untrustworthy?
Shiina, believe me! I really am making money off you guys!
I just hope you don't blame me when the time comes...
Author's Note
The novel will be going up for sale tomorrow after 10:30. The update may be a little late, but it'll be up by noon at the latest. (Just in case, I'll add 2,000 words for every hour it's late.) The amount I update won't disappoint you.
I won't say any more. Please show your support, dear readers!
As for the story, if you have any concerns, feel free to bring them up. I'll consider them and make changes where I can, though I may not be able to please everyone. The author's abilities are limited, after all.
Thanks to @Incredible Passerby A @Casual Years @I'm Watching You Here @kkf @Peak of Mountains @Karekareda @Red Onsen Egg @Shang Chu @Kitty is the Cutest @Shi~Shang @asdo @Little Sheep? @Shuke24825860216 @Shuke11668515083 @Zhina Anna @Shuke32533653058 @Dora King @Dragon Slayer Will Eventually Become a Dragon @God Demon Illusion Eyes @Sinking in the Dust @Yu Chi @My Wife is Kato Megumi @Luo Quanbin @染夜丶弑 @Ethan~~~ @Zhai Hui @Shuke497757894 @Melancholy Little Orca @幻想乡-闲者 @Head Crouching Defense @Super High School Level Designer @巨鲨丨天王 @Songhua Sausage @Von Bismarck for their donations.
See you tomorrow!
Ryuen, You're Such a Good Little Kid
And so, time gradually passed, and the day of the exam soon arrived.
Kamio Tatsuya told the three Ishizaki and the others to come in for the exam as usual that day. They weren't to ask or say anything else, and they should avoid interacting with others as much as possible.
In Class C, just before the exam began, Ryuen finally saw the three Ishizaki and the others arrive at school.
His eyes narrowed at the sight. He found it hard to believe.
How had he managed that?
Had he paid the Student Council to revoke the punishment against Ishizaki and the other two?
Ryuen had considered that possibility, but it would have cost more than simply taking the make-up exam, since the ruling had already been handed down.
Ryuen was puzzled, but with the exam about to begin, he set the question aside.
In Class D, Chabashira-sensei held the exam papers in one hand and pushed open the front classroom door with the other, then walked in.
"For you, this is the first hurdle since starting school. Are you ready?"
"Everyone's been studying hard over the past few weeks. I don't think anyone in this class will fail!"
Hirata Yosuke sounded quite confident, though the people he believed in might not believe in themselves.
"Hirata, you're certainly confident."
After teasing him, Chabashira-sensei took the papers from her clipboard and handed them out.
"If no one fails this exam or the Final Exam held in July, I'll take everyone to Southern Islet for a vacation during Summer Vacation."
"A vacation?"
"That's right. I'll let you spend a week living out a dream on an island surrounded by the sea."
Meanwhile, although the people in Class C were puzzled by Ishizaki and the others' appearance, no one said anything.
Sakagami Kazuma, Class C's homeroom teacher, also found it strange to see Ishizaki and the others.
Had their punishment been revoked?
But he hadn't received any notice. Had the school just overlooked it because it was the Midterm Exam?
Never mind. That was the Student Council's business. Why should he care? As long as Ishizaki and the others were able to take the exam, that was all that mattered.
Sakagami Kazuma then began handing out the exam papers row by row.
When Ryuen opened his paper, he saw that the Midterm Exam questions weren't simply the Past Exam Papers that had been announced earlier.
As expected, the past exam questions that had been released were a trap.
He also felt pleased with himself for ordering the students in Class C to study hard.
But since the exam's key topics had been clearly laid out and the scope was limited, some classic questions had still appeared on the exam.
At the same time, several students in Class D were sweating profusely.
Although Class D had been holding study sessions, some students had gotten clever and assumed the Midterm Exam questions would be the past exam questions posted on the forum.
So they hadn't studied as hard, and when they saw that the test wasn't made up of past questions, they were stunned.
Still, they'd spent nearly twenty days studying intensively, and the questions weren't that difficult, so they gradually got to work.
When the first subject ended, Class D immediately filled with overlapping discussions.
"What's going on?"
"Why weren't the Midterm Exam questions the past exam questions?"
"I'm screwed. I don't feel confident at all."
"Damn it, it's all that Anonymous Poster's fault for misleading us."
Hearing their wails, Kamio Tatsuya sneered to himself. You fell for such an obvious trap. If you don't get screwed, who will?
At that moment, Kamio Tatsuya received a text from Ryuen.
[How did you do it?]
[Don't ask. You'll find out soon enough.]
The Five Subjects were tested consecutively, with fifty minutes allotted for each. There was a ten-minute break in between.
The five subjects ended at around one o'clock.
"The exam is over. You don't have classes this afternoon. Once you've packed up, you can go straight home."
After collecting the Final Exam Paper, Chabashira-sensei explained what would happen next and left.
Kamio Tatsuya had packed up and was about to go eat, but as soon as he stepped outside the Teaching Building, Ryuen and the three Ishizaki—who were supposed to be suspended—blocked his way.
"Hey, what did you do?"
"What did I do about what?"
Seeing Ryuen's confusion, Kamio Tatsuya smiled.
Ryuen was furious at the way Kamio was pretending not to know, but he couldn't do a damn thing about it.
Given the scheming Kamio Tatsuya had shown so far, Ryuen Kakeru didn't want to admit it, but he had to acknowledge that the other guy was impressive.
If Ryuen acted rashly, he might fall into another one of Kamio's traps.
Besides, even after thinking about it for ages, he still couldn't figure out how Kamio Tatsuya had gotten Ishizaki and the others into school.
He'd already asked them, but got nowhere. They only knew that Kamio Tatsuya had told them to come take the exam as usual and not ask questions. Shiina had been even less forthcoming.
"Don't rush. You'll find out soon enough."
As if to prove Kamio Tatsuya's words, Ryuen's phone rang just then.
Ryuen glanced at Kamio Tatsuya before answering.
"What is it, Sakagami?"
"Are Ishizaki and the others with you? Get them off school grounds right now!"
"What happened?"
"Ishizaki and the others' punishment hasn't ended! And since they came to school while suspended, they've defied the school's punishment!
"The Student Council is treating it as their first offense, so they're only adding two days to their suspension. But because of this, Class C has been docked another 200 Class Points!"
Sakagami Kazuma was nearly beside himself with anger. He'd considered all kinds of possibilities, but this was the one he'd never imagined.
They'd actually dared to defy the school's punishment. What kind of people were they? How could they be so bold?
To put it bluntly, this was damn near escaping prison!
When Ryuen heard Sakagami's words, his pupils immediately contracted as he looked at Kamio Tatsuya.
Kamio Tatsuya had guessed what he'd heard over the phone and burst out laughing.
"Ryuen, Ryuen. You've been blatantly breaking the rules yourself, yet you've made them dutifully follow the school's punishment.
"So which is it? Do you not care about the school, or do you care about it? I really want to know."
Everything a person did came with a price. For example, Ryuen used violence against Kamio Tatsuya, and the price of getting caught was a week's suspension for Ishizaki and the others.
So what price should they pay for defying the Student Council's ruling and coming to school while suspended?
Kamio Tatsuya hadn't known before, but now it seemed they wouldn't be expelled—or rather, they hadn't made a big enough mess to get expelled.
And if the three Ishizaki and the others really had been expelled for defying the school's punishment, what then?
So they'd be expelled. At most, Shiina would dislike him...
As for Ryuen's revenge later, Kamio Tatsuya didn't care. If he could get three people expelled this time, he could get three more expelled next time.
If Ryuen wasn't afraid, he could give it a try.
He'd already made an enemy of him anyway. He might as well make things even worse.
But the outcome was not what Kamio Tatsuya had expected. The school had only docked Class C more Class Points.
Another 200 points gone.
Class C had had 490 Class Points before, if he remembered correctly. Now it was down to just 90—only 90 more than Class D.
The Results of the Midterm Exam
After calculating the Class Points Class C had left, Kamio Tatsuya felt a little rueful.
This is bad. I only wanted to be a slacker, but I've accidentally narrowed the gap between Class D and Class C.
Damn you, Dog Ryuen. This is all your fault for picking a fight with me when you were out of your depth. Happy now!?
Ryuen, meanwhile, was nearly sick of Kamio Tatsuya's taunting.
But he couldn't argue back. He was the loser, after all. That was just how it went.
"Did you do this because I got in the way of you and Hiyori?"
"No. Even without Shiina, you would've found some other way to come after me, right?
"So I just hit back. I'm not the sort of person who takes a loss and quietly shuts up.
"I saw right through your intentions and what you'd do next. You're just too easy to read."
Kamio Tatsuya said with a grin, "But don't worry. I'm not interested in the competition between classes. I just want to spend three peaceful years at this school. As long as you don't bother me again, I won't mess with you anymore."
Although Kamio Tatsuya made it sound casual, Ryuen felt a chill run through him.
Just a counterattack, and he'd nearly driven me into a corner?
Just a counterattack, and he'd taken 4.5 Million Private Points and 400 Class Points from me?
At that moment, Ryuen realized just how terrifying the guy in front of him was.
He also reflected on his own mistakes, but no matter how much he thought about it, it all came down to underestimating Kamio Tatsuya and not showing up himself that day.
If he'd been there, maybe all this trouble could have been avoided.
He regretted it bitterly!
But Ryuen didn't dwell on it for long and soon recovered.
This probe hadn't been entirely useless. At least he'd learned that this guy wasn't to be trifled with. So until he came up with a foolproof plan, it was best not to make another move against him.
Of course, that didn't mean Ryuen was afraid of Kamio Tatsuya. He was just holding back until he had a sure chance.
If an opportunity arose, Ryuen would attack without hesitation.
Before you continue