Ryuen's Up to Something Again

After that, the rooftop fell silent for a moment. In the end, Sakayanagi Arisu was the first to speak up.

"Won't you ask me about Ayanokoji?"

"If you want to tell me, you'll tell me. What's the point of asking if you don't?" Kamio Tatsuya shot her a contemptuous look. "Besides, that guy gives me a bad feeling. If I can help it, I don't want to get involved with him."

In fact, Kamio Tatsuya thought it would be better to get that guy expelled, if possible.

"That's good. Please keep avoiding him from now on, too."

Huh?

That left Kamio Tatsuya at a loss.

What did she mean by that?

Kamio Tatsuya wasn't sure what Sakayanagi Arisu was getting at. Don't get involved with him...

Was she worried Ayanokoji might do something to me?

No, we weren't that close. There was no need for you to worry about me. Besides, if that was the case, it would be more effective to send Kamuro instead of coming here yourself.

Then was she worried I might do something to Ayanokoji?

Tsk. And she says they aren't in love.

So... what kind of person was Ayanokoji, anyway?

Kamio Tatsuya was starting to get curious...

No, no, no. I can't get curious!

Haven't you heard that curiosity killed the cat!?

"So you went to all this trouble to find me just to say that?"

"What seems like a trivial matter to you is very important to me."

That was true. Though he didn't understand, Kamio Tatsuya chose to respect her feelings.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Kamio Tatsuya picked up the trash he'd made and stood up.

"So you agree?"

"I'm not going to do anything to him... That's what you want to hear, right?"

When he saw Sakayanagi nod, Kamio Tatsuya understood. "As long as he doesn't provoke me, I won't do anything to him."

"Of course."

Sakayanagi Arisu nodded, then let out a small sigh of relief.

To be honest, Kamio Tatsuya found the whole conversation pointless. The promise he'd made was no different from making no promise at all.

He'd still do whatever he planned to do.

Watching Kamio Tatsuya's indifferent expression, Sakayanagi sighed to herself.

Kamio, I'm only trying to help you. You have no idea how terrifying Ayanokoji is.

If Kamio Tatsuya had heard that, he would probably have laughed his head off.

I don't know how terrifying Ayanokoji is?

Heh. You're the one who has no idea how powerful a system owner can be!

Even if I haven't grown stronger yet, there'll come a day when I do!

And all I've done lately is act on a whim, yet things have turned out perfectly. You still dare to underestimate me?

Besides, didn't I successfully prank you, too?

A genius?

Not so impressive after all!

Though, the request she made didn't seem all that unreasonable...

Uh, now that I think about it, I might be the one who went too far...

I kind of feel bad for Sakayanagi.

Ahem. Better get out of here before my guilt catches up with me.

Chapter 69: Ryuen's Up to Something Again

It had been two days since Kamio Tatsuya last saw Sakayanagi, and he was still living life his own way.

If anything had changed, it was that whenever he happened to see Sakayanagi Arisu in class, he quietly kept his distance.

He didn't think she'd deliberately try to stage an accident with him, but if he were in her shoes, he'd definitely take advantage of being in poor health.

Let me say it again: don't mean others harm, but always be on your guard.

After school on Thursday, Kamio Tatsuya did as usual and headed to the library.

He'd neglected his studies for several days. Today, he was going to buckle down.

Perhaps because they'd just taken the Midterm Exam and the Final Exam was still more than a month away, the library was nearly empty.

For once, Kamio Tatsuya got to enjoy a peaceful reading environment.

Ah, the breeze coming in through the window feels so nice.

"Long time no see, Kamio."

A familiar voice came from ahead. Kamio Tatsuya looked up and froze.

Shiina Hiyori stood by the window, the breeze tossing her silver hair as her face beamed with innocent cheer.

The sight made Kamio Tatsuya feel a little guilty.

"I thought you'd stop talking to me."

"Why?"

Shiina tilted her head, looking puzzled.

"Because my suggestion cost Class C another two hundred Class Points, and I took 4.5 Million Private Points from your class."

To help Ishizaki and the others from Class C make it to the Midterm Exam, Kamio Tatsuya had made a bet with Ryuen. Then, to test the school's limits, he'd had Ishizaki and the others ignore the school's punishment and take the exam anyway.

The result was that Class C's already meager Class Points had been wiped out.

He didn't feel bad about Ryuen, but he did feel a little sorry toward Shiina.

"Please don't say that. If it weren't for you, Ishizaki and the others might have been expelled." Shiina spoke with a serious expression. "Even though we lost some Points, I'm actually very grateful to you, Kamio."

Damn, now I feel even worse!

The guilt that Sakayanagi hadn't managed to stir up earlier was starting to get to him now.

If Shiina knew that Kamio Tatsuya had planned it all, would she still say that?

"By the way, Ryuen seems to have gone quiet lately."

At the mention of that, Shiina's face immediately clouded over.

Shit.

Did I just bring up something I shouldn't have?

"I'm not trying to pry for information. I just noticed the students in Class C have been behaving themselves lately."

Ever since May, Ryuen had been sending Class C students to test the school's limits in all sorts of ways, causing plenty of trouble for the other classes.

He hadn't targeted students from Class D, but just watching what he did was enough to annoy Kamio Tatsuya.

And while this month's score hadn't been tallied yet, Kamio Tatsuya figured Class C must have lost a lot of points. At this rate, even the 90 they had left would soon be gone.

"Class C doesn't have many Class Points left, so even Ryuen has had to hold back."

After Shiina answered, Kamio Tatsuya tactfully stopped keeping the conversation focused on Class C.

Judging by Shiina's reaction just now, Ryuen was probably plotting something.

It probably had nothing to do with Kamio Tatsuya, but it wasn't something Shiina could tell him about, either. If she did, it might count as betraying her class.

Thinking about it, Ryuen must be planning to stir up trouble.

Kamio Tatsuya couldn't guess who Ryuen planned to target, but it definitely wouldn't be him.

Otherwise, given Shiina's personality, she wouldn't have approached him now.

As for the idea that Ryuen was holding back because his class had few Class Points left, that might fool other people, but Kamio Tatsuya absolutely didn't believe it.

That simply wasn't Ryuen's style.

If anything, having few Points left would make Ryuen even more reckless, just like Class D provoking the other classes.

So for him to suddenly hold back now was practically the same as saying, "I'm about to make trouble."

Still, the guy had some talent. He'd even managed to fool his own people.

As he thought about it, Kamio Tatsuya glanced at Shiina, who had gone back to quietly reading.

But who was Ryuen's target?

Class A?

Or Class B?

Surely not Class D, with its meager handful of students?

Well, whatever. It had nothing to do with me. As long as you don't cause me trouble, I can't be bothered to get involved.

Of course, don't mess with those people I'm using as scapegoats, either. If you get them expelled early, won't I be losing a life?

The last few days of May passed quickly, and before he knew it, June 1 had arrived.

The system promptly sent him another chance to draw a prize. Unsurprisingly, Kamio Tatsuya drew another piece of junk. Last time, he'd pulled toilet paper from the first-tier pool. This time, he got a bath scrubber.

What the hell? Does it have to be this ridiculous?

Kamio Tatsuya even began to suspect there was nothing good in the first-tier pool.

Still, he wasn't all that upset. It was fine—he figured Memory Bread Lv. 2 would be in the next prize pool.

In the morning, as soon as Kamio Tatsuya stepped into the classroom, he found everyone making a racket. He hadn't seen the class this lively in ages.

"Did you receive any Points?"

As soon as he sat down, Horikita Suzune, on his left, turned to ask him.

Hmm. Why did this scene feel so familiar?

She'd asked him the same thing last month.

Kamio Tatsuya hurriedly took out his phone. Only after seeing that his balance was over six million did he relax.

I thought it was May 1 again. That scared me.

He couldn't help glaring at Horikita Suzune.

"Why are you glaring at me?"

"Nothing. You scared me."

I scared you?

Horikita Suzune was baffled, but she still wanted to ask her original question.

"You still haven't answered me. Did you receive any Points today?"

At that, Kamio Tatsuya shook his head.

"You didn't receive any either?" Horikita relaxed.

"I mean I don't know. I have so many Points that a mere few thousand wouldn't even catch my attention."

You really can't help showing off, can you?

Horikita Suzune was furious, but she didn't know how to argue back.

Before long, the class bell rang, and Chabashira-sensei walked in with it.

She had barely stepped up to the lectern when Ike, one of the Three Fools, raised his hand and asked, "Sae-chan, why haven't we received our Points this month? Didn't you say we'd get a corresponding number of Class Points based on our average score on the Midterm Exam?"