The Strength of Three Years

(PS: The image shows Ryuen Kakeru)

The next day during lunch break, Yuyuki came alone to the entrance of C Class. At this moment, the door to C Class was tightly shut, and occasional screams could be heard from inside.

A few scattered students in the hallway kept their distance, while a handful of others eyed the C Class door with curiosity.

He was different from Ayanokoji.

He harbored immense ambition, and thus was more proactive, possessing stronger drive.

With the premise of promoting to A Class in mind, Yuyuki also wanted to quickly grasp the information about this school.

Blindly trusting the original work.

That would only leave him more passive when facing difficulties—a kind of wishful thinking not worth adopting.

Yuyuki stepped forward and directly pulled on the C Class door. It seemed to be blocked by something, locked from the inside.

"Bang, bang."

With no other choice, Yuyuki knocked on the C Class door.

The screams inside C Class stopped instantly, followed by some commotion, then gradually faded into silence.

A moment later.

The C Class door was yanked open roughly, and a red-haired man with shoulder-length hair appeared before Yuyuki.

"Kid, what do you want?"

"Why close the door during lunch break?"

"That's C Class's business, none of yours. If you've got nothing, then scram."

The red-haired man stepped forward, exuding an overwhelming pressure, though his swollen, purplish right eye made him look somewhat ridiculous.

The leader of C Class, Ryuen Kakeru.

The tyrant who ruled C Class, but since school had just started, it would still take some time for him to fully control the class.

Just then, a blond man with glasses appeared beside Ryuen, clutching his stomach with a pale face. He glanced at Yuyuki apologetically.

"Sorry, is there something?"

Yuyuki frowned, instead showing concern. "Are you okay? Want to go to the nurse's office?"

"No..."

"What the hell are you joking about? You got a screw loose? Who'd go to a place like the nurse's office for no reason, right, Kaneda?"

The man called Kaneda hadn't finished speaking before being forcefully interrupted.

Ryuen stepped directly between them, his swollen eyes fixed on the uninvited guest like a venomous snake.

Yuyuki turned a blind eye, shifting his gaze to scan Kaneda. Kaneda frowned, his eyes darting between Ryuen and Yuyuki, before finally gritting his teeth and nodding.

"That's right."

Looking at the injury on Ryuen's eye, it was clear that C Class was in the middle of a fight. But as long as the parties involved refused to admit it, no one could do anything.

In other words.

As long as the victim could be silenced, one could do whatever they wanted in this school. The school authority would also turn a blind eye—this was an unspoken rule.

This was important!

There was no need to investigate further.

"Bang!"

Just as Yuyuki was about to leave, Ryuen slammed the door violently, stepping forward again with a sneer.

"Kid, which class are you from? You dare come to C Class's turf and throw your weight around? You ready for the consequences?"

Yuyuki gave Ryuen a deep look, then said apologetically, "Tenyo Yuyuki from D Class, Year 1. Sorry, I was just curious why you closed the door at lunch. If I made you uncomfortable, I'll leave now."

"Don't screw with me. You barge into C Class's turf and then try to leave on your own terms? You think you're that naive?"

Ryuen pressed on, his gaze still cold and sharp, with no intention of letting him go.

"Ryuen, that's about enough."

"Shiina Hiyori, you think it's better to let this guy leave now?"

"It's not that big a deal, is it?"

The girl called Shiina Hiyori appeared at the classroom door, blocking Ryuen's path.

Silver hair, a slender figure, looking quiet and pretty—it was hard to imagine how she dared to face the enraged Ryuen.

Ryuen snorted with a laugh, turned, and walked back into the classroom.

Shiina Hiyori seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, looking at Yuyuki apologetically.

"You're Tenyo, right? I'm really sorry. Our classmate Ryuen has a bad temper. Sorry for the trouble."

"No, it's my fault. I was meddling."

Yuyuki shook his head, signaling that it was fine.

"No, I still think Ryuen's methods are the problem." Shiina Hiyori murmured to herself, then chuckled. "Tenyo-kun must have come to Class C for a reason. If there's anything I can help with, I'd be happy to."

"Just a bit curious, that's all. I'll take my leave now."

Hearing Shiina's hint that it was time to go, Yuyuki turned and headed straight for Class D.

As for information about the S System, Class C's advisor had already made it clear to the class.

Or rather—

Ryuen had caught wind of the intel and gained widespread recognition from the students. Inappropriate actions would affect Class Points, which was why Kaneda chose to compromise.

Ryuen could also tell that he was being led on, and even tried to extract information in return.

If that was the case, there was no need to keep probing Classes A and B.

The leaders of A, B, and C Classes were indeed remarkably capable.

Even though it was lunch break, no one in Class C had left.

The main reason was that Ryuen had been using extremely underhanded tactics—spitting, violence, and the like—to cause chaos for everyone, making it impossible for them to eat.

"Ryuen, what was that supposed to mean?"

Kaneda confronted Ryuen directly. Though he lacked key information, he believed Ryuen would understand.

And sure enough.

"Idiot." Ryuen sneered, legs propped up on the desk, his voice cold. "That guy was leading you on. Whether you answered 'I need to go to the infirmary' or 'No need,' it would spark speculation about why you were injured, forcing the school to investigate."

"Even if admitting nothing means no loss, it would expose the fact that 'you useless lot actually resisted,' which would hurt my authority. And until I know this school's bottom line, I don't want them thinking Class C is a problem class."

Long accustomed to Ryuen's rambling, Kaneda said with some displeasure, "We're all classmates. Does it have to be like this?"

"Ryuen, this is all just your speculation!"

A girl with short blue hair slammed her hand on the table, glaring at Ryuen. "If you dare mess with the class again, I won't let you off."

"Ibuki Mio... You can try." Ryuen smirked disdainfully, then added with disgust, "Why is my class full of idiots?"

"Listen up, you morons." Ryuen stood, his snake-like cold gaze sweeping over everyone. "That guy named Tenyo Yuyuki was clearly here to gather intel. He knows something about the school. Class D has probably already produced a leader."

There was one more thing Ryuen didn't mention. Based on Kaneda's earlier compromise, he was confident he'd planted the impression in Yuyuki's mind that 'Ryuen is Class C's leader.' At the very least, he'd be suspicious. Once the rumors spread, it would make controlling Class C even easier.

"No way." Kaneda clearly didn't believe it. "You mean that guy just now is Class D's leader?"

"Probably not." Ryuen analyzed coldly. "How could a waste like that unify a class so quickly? If that were the case, Class D wouldn't be worth worrying about."

In his exchange with Yuyuki, Ryuen considered it his victory. If not for Shiina's interference, he could have made Class D's leader come to him to retrieve his classmate—or even extort them.

He was already carrying injuries anyway. If it came to blows, faking an accident would be too easy.

As for face, as long as he won, Ryuen didn't care.

Besides, information about the leader was something that would come out sooner or later, so Ryuen wasn't too concerned.

Shiina was arguably the only smart person in Class C, though she rarely interacted with others. Ryuen was willing to give her some face.

"Don't try to bluff us. This is just an excuse for you to become Class C's leader, isn't it?"

Ishizaki Daichi blocked Ryuen's path.

"An excuse? I'd need to use Class D for an excuse?" Ryuen sneered, scanning the crowd. "A bunch of trash. Class B already has a class rep named Ichinose Honami, and you don't even know that?"

"Impossible. This school doesn't have class reps. And how do you know?"

"While you wastes were huddling together licking your wounds, I wasn't wasting any time."

Hearing Ryuen's words, Ibuki Mio and the others found it hard to believe.

Not only did Ryuen cause trouble during the day and beat them up during breaks, but he also found time to gather intel on the other classes.

"And—"

Without warning, Ryuen slammed his foot into Ishizaki's chest, knocking him to the ground. "Who gave you the right to question me? All I need is obedience. Got it?"

"You..."

Ishizaki lay on the floor, looking up at Ryuen with mixed feelings. He'd been fighting Ryuen for two days straight, no matter the time or place—even in the bathroom, Ryuen would strike without hesitation.

"Oh, no. You are a bad boy!"

Seeing his classmate injured, a tall, burly Black student named Albert threw a punch that sent Ryuen to the ground.

Ryuen lay on the floor, coughing violently, but his gaze at Albert remained unyielding.

The moment Albert turned around, Ryuen kicked him in an instant.

But under the vast gap in strength, Ryuen was quickly taken down again. He was no match for Albert.

Still, Albert's feelings were complicated. Ryuen never knew what fear was, nor what giving up meant. This fight could go on indefinitely.

Ryuen never ruled Class C through brute force alone.

It was his unyielding will and unscrupulous methods that forced Class C to submit, compromise, and eventually—fall in line.