(PS: The picture shows Ryuen Kakeru)
The next day, during the lunch break, Yuyuki went alone to the entrance of C Class. The doors were shut tight, and screams could be heard from inside now and then.
A few students in the hallway kept their distance, while several others eyed C Class's doors with curiosity.
He was different from Ayanokoji.
He had vast ambitions, which made him more proactive and gave him a stronger ability to take action.
After all, promoting to A Class was a prerequisite, and Yuyuki also hoped to quickly get a handle on the information circulating around the school.
Simply trusting the Original Work—
that would only leave him more passive when he ran into trouble. It was a kind of wishful thinking he couldn't afford.
Yuyuki stepped forward and pulled at the doors to C Class. They seemed to be blocked by something, and the doors were locked from the inside.
"Bang, bang."
With no other choice, Yuyuki knocked on the doors.
The screams inside C Class stopped at once. A brief commotion followed, then gradually faded.
It wasn't long before—
The doors to C Class were yanked open, and a red-haired man with shoulder-length hair appeared before Yuyuki.
"What do you want, kid?"
"Why are the doors shut during lunch break?"
"That's C Class's business. It's got nothing to do with you. If you've got nothing to say, hurry up and get lost."
The red-haired man stepped forward, his presence imposing. The swollen, purplish bruise around his right eye, however, made him look a little ridiculous.
C Class's leader, Ryuen Kakeru.
He was the tyrant who ruled C Class, but it was still early in the school year. It would take him some time to bring the class under his control.
Just then, a man with blond hair and glasses appeared beside Ryuen. Pale-faced, he clutched his stomach and glanced at Yuyuki apologetically.
"Sorry, is there something you need?"
Yuyuki furrowed his brows, then asked with concern, "Are you all right? Should you go to the infirmary?"
"No..."
"What are you talking about? Do you have a screw loose? If he's fine, who would go to a place like the infirmary, right, Kaneda?"
The man called Kaneda hadn't finished speaking before Ryuen cut him off.
Ryuen stepped between them, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the uninvited guest like a snake's.
Yuyuki ignored him and turned his gaze to Kaneda. Kaneda frowned, glancing back and forth between Ryuen and Yuyuki before gritting his teeth and nodding.
"That's right."
The bruise around Ryuen's eye made it obvious that C Class had been fighting. But as long as those involved denied it, there was nothing anyone could do.
In other words—
As long as the victim couldn't speak up, anyone could do whatever they wanted at this school. The School Authority would turn a blind eye. It was an unspoken rule.
This was important!
There was no need to investigate further.
"Bang!"
Just as Yuyuki was about to leave, Ryuen punched the door with a harsh thud and stepped forward again, his face twisted into a sneer.
"Which class are you in, kid? You've got some nerve coming to C Class's turf and acting like you own the place. You ready to face the consequences?"
Yuyuki studied Ryuen for a moment, then said apologetically, "I'm Tenyo Yuyuki from Year One, D Class. Sorry, I was just curious why you'd shut the doors at lunchtime. If I've upset you, I'll leave now."
"Quit screwing around. You barged into C Class's territory, and now you think you can just leave? You're pretty naive."
Ryuen kept pressing him, watching him with a cold gaze. He had no intention of letting him go.
"Ryuen, that's enough."
"Shiina Hiyori, do you think it's a good idea to let this guy leave right now?"
"It's not that important, is it?"
A girl called Shiina Hiyori appeared at the classroom entrance and stood in front of Ryuen.
She had silver hair, a lovely figure, and a quiet, pretty appearance. It was hard to imagine how she dared to face Ryuen while he was furious.
Ryuen scoffed and turned back into the classroom.
Shiina seemed to relax, then looked at Yuyuki apologetically.
"You're Tenyo, right? I'm really sorry. Ryuen can be short-tempered, and he's caused you trouble."
"No, I'm the one who stuck my nose where it didn't belong."
Yuyuki shook his head to show it was all right.
"No, Ryuen's the one in the wrong, after all," Shiina murmured. She gave a self-deprecating laugh, then added, "You must have come to C Class for a reason, Tenyo. If you need anything, I can help."
"I was just curious. I'll be going, then."
Hearing that Shiina was seeing him off, Yuyuki left and headed back to the D Class classroom.
C Class's Class Advisor had clearly informed the class about the S System.
Or rather—
Ryuen had caught wind of the information and won the students' approval. Kaneda had given in because any improper conduct might affect their Class Points.
Ryuen had also noticed that Yuyuki was trying to lead him on, and had even wanted to turn the tables and fish for information himself.
In that case, there was no need to investigate A and B Classes any further.
The leaders of A, B, and C Classes really were talented.
Although it was lunchtime, no one in C Class had left.
The main reason was that Ryuen had used underhanded tactics to cause trouble for everyone, like spitting on them and using violence, so they couldn't even eat.
"Ryuen, what did you mean by that just now?"
Kaneda confronted Ryuen. He didn't have any crucial information, but he believed Ryuen would understand.
Sure enough—
"Idiot." Ryuen leaned back with his legs up on the desk and sneered. His voice was cold.
"That guy was trying to lead you on. Whether you said 'go to the infirmary' or 'don't go,' it would raise the question of why you were injured, forcing the School Authority to investigate."
"As long as you deny it, there won't be any consequences. But it would expose the fact that you losers actually dared to fight back, which would damage my authority. And until I know where this school draws the line, I don't want it thinking C Class is a problem class."
Kaneda was already used to Ryuen's bluster, but he still sounded dissatisfied. "We're all classmates. Do we really have to go this far?"
"Ryuen, when it comes down to it, this is all just your speculation!"
A blue-haired girl slammed her hand on the desk and glared at Ryuen. "If you lay a hand on the class again, I won't let you get away with it."
"Ibuki Mio... You can try." Ryuen laughed dismissively, then said with irritation, "Why is my class full of idiots?"
"Listen up, you bunch of idiots." Ryuen stood and swept his cold, snake-like gaze over the class. "That guy called Tenyo Yuyuki was obviously here to investigate. He knows a fair bit about the school, too. D Class might already have a leader."
There was one more thing Ryuen didn't mention. Based on Kaneda's capitulation, he believed he'd given Yuyuki the impression that Ryuen was C Class's leader. At the very least, Yuyuki would suspect it. Once the rumor spread, that would make it easier for Ryuen to control C Class.
"How could that be?" Kaneda clearly didn't believe him. "Are you saying that guy just now was D Class's leader?"
"Probably not," Ryuen said coldly. "How could a loser like that take over a whole class so quickly? If he really had, D Class wouldn't be worth worrying about."
Ryuen considered his clash with Yuyuki a victory. If Shiina hadn't intervened, he could have made D Class's leader come here to collect him—and even extorted some money in the process.
Ryuen was already injured, after all. If he started a fight, faking an injury would be easy.
As for his pride, Ryuen didn't care about that as long as he won.
Besides, they'd find out who the leader was sooner or later, so Ryuen wasn't too concerned.
Shiina was just about the only intelligent person in C Class, though she rarely spoke to anyone. Ryuen was willing to do her a favor.
"Stop trying to scare us. This is probably just an excuse so you can make yourself C Class's leader."
Ishizaki Daichi stepped in front of Ryuen.
"An excuse? Why would I need D Class as an excuse?" Ryuen sneered and looked around at everyone. "You're all useless. B Class already has a class leader named Ichinose Honami. You don't even know that?"
"How could that be? This school doesn't have class leaders. And how would you know?"
"While you losers were huddling together and licking your wounds, I wasn't wasting my time."
Hearing Ryuen's words, Ibuki and the others could hardly believe him.
Ryuen didn't just make their lives miserable during the day and beat them up during breaks; he also found time to gather information on the other classes.
"And besides..."
Suddenly, Ryuen kicked Ishizaki hard, knocking him to the floor. His voice was cold. "Who gave you permission to question me? All I need from you is obedience. Got it?"
"You..."
Ishizaki lay on the floor and gave Ryuen a complicated look. He'd been fighting Ryuen for two days. Any time, any place—even in the bathroom—Ryuen was ready to throw down.
"Oh, no. You are a bad boy!"
Seeing his classmate hurt, Albert, a tall, muscular Black man, punched Ryuen and knocked him to the ground.
Unable to move, Ryuen lay there coughing violently. Yet the look he gave Albert showed no sign of surrender.
The moment Albert turned away, Ryuen kicked at him.
But the gap in their strength was enormous. Ryuen was quickly knocked down again; he was no match for Albert.
Even Albert felt conflicted. Ryuen had never known fear, nor did he know how to give up. Albert had no idea how long this fight would go on.
Ryuen had never ruled the class through violence alone.
It was his unbreakable resolve and unscrupulous methods that had forced C Class to submit and yield in the end.
Before you continue