Ryuen watched Akasaka walk farther and farther away. He seemed to have made up his mind about something, and turned to Sakamaki Kazuma beside him.
"Hey, I've thought of a way to protect everyone else. I'll have to be the only one to drop out. Help me out..."
Ryuen had just turned around when he saw the Class C Homeroom Teacher, utterly devoid of fighting spirit. Veins bulged across his forehead like a coiling dragon, and he shouted furiously, "What good is sitting here moping?! Get up and do your job as a teacher, you bastard!"
Ryuen grabbed the dejected Sakamaki Kazuma and hauled him to his feet.
Sakamaki Kazuma stared stiffly at Ryuen, tears welling in his eyes. He'd clearly taken too hard a blow and fallen apart...
"Tch!" Ryuen clicked his tongue in annoyance, then spoke again.
"Mr. Sakagami, answer me. If I take all the blame by myself, will everyone else be spared expulsion?"
Sakamaki Kazuma opened his mouth woodenly, but for a long while, no words came out. His lips trembled as he said, "If you were the mastermind and the others were... were... coerced, there's a good chance they'd be spared expulsion. But they'd inevitably lose points."
"That'll do!" Ryuen let go of Sakamaki Kazuma. He'd gotten the answer he wanted and was preparing to say goodbye to his underlings.
He couldn't be bothered with this useless teacher anymore. From the looks of it, he was no better than a wreck.
With his hands in his pockets, Ryuen left too, leaving Sakamaki Kazuma sitting there in dejection, unable to recover for a long time. He kept muttering, "It's over, it's over," and the like.
Horikita Manabu sought Akasaka out alone and invited him to meet on the rooftop.
Akasaka decided to go, and forcibly dragged along the reluctant Horikita Suzune.
Suzune struggled with all her might, making it clear she didn't want to go. She was also a little afraid that her brother would come to hate her.
I couldn't help clicking my tongue and kindly reminding her, "You can just hide off to the side and listen in. I'll make sure you hear what you want to hear."
Suzune immediately stopped struggling and turned her head away haughtily. "Don't act like you know me so well..."
Horikita Suzune had clearly started to consider going with them.
Akasaka couldn't help pouting.
"I already know you pretty well, you brocon..."
Horikita stomped on Akasaka's foot again, then twisted her shoe against it. Akasaka grimaced in pain.
The atmosphere between the two of them was so ambiguous that Kato Megumi, standing nearby, couldn't help feeling envious.
"How nice... I want to fool around with Akasaka like that too..."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came over at an inopportune moment, patiently asking Kato Megumi how she'd learned that invisibility skill of hers.
Kato Megumi replied expressionlessly, "Ayanokoji, I'm not invisible. I was born this way. It's not something I can teach."
"I see..." Ayanokoji looked disappointed.
After all, if he could master this incredible skill, he could use it to escape back here even after he graduated from this school and was forcibly taken back to the White House. Unfortunately, he'd been getting ahead of himself. He couldn't learn Kato Megumi's stealth skills.
Kato Megumi's eyes flickered slightly.
"You seem to be thinking something rather rude, Ayanokoji."
Ayanokoji's eyes lit up at once.
"Can you teach me that mind-reading skill?"
"I can't, Ayanokoji..."
Ayanokoji and Kato Megumi chatted as they left.
They knew they shouldn't get involved in what came next.
As a smart person, Ayanokoji naturally knew what Akasaka was trying to do...
And as someone who was so good at reading people that she practically had mind-reading powers, Kato Megumi understood even better.
She also hoped her only female friend could get along with her older brother.
That's right! Kato Megumi had already unilaterally decided that Suzune was her good friend.
Though judging by Horikita Suzune's attitude, she didn't seem to object. Then again, she might simply not have noticed.
After all, Horikita could be rather slow on the uptake in certain ways. She'd never noticed Kato Megumi's little feelings toward her.
Meanwhile, Akasaka had already led the reluctant Horikita to hide around the corner behind the door. He repeatedly warned her not to make a sound.
Horikita looked at him as if he were an idiot. "I know how to do this. Don't treat me like a moron."
Only then did Akasaka relax. "Right, you're not stupid, after all."
Horikita glared at him fiercely and reached out with her wicked little hand to pinch his waist, but Akasaka dodged her.
"All right, all right, I won't tease you. Get ready. I'll make sure you hear what you want to hear."
Horikita kept a straight face, silently withdrew her hand, and said nothing.
This time, Akasaka didn't say anything either. He looked at Horikita Suzune, who had lowered her head, and smiled faintly.
"After this is over, you'll have to thank me properly. Treat me to a nice meal, okay?"
Horikita turned her head away. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Fine, if you don't know, you don't know."
Akasaka shook his head helplessly and prepared to go meet Horikita Manabu. Manabu had been waiting by the railing for quite some time. Gazing at the distant scenery, he said without turning around, "You're here..."
With his hands in his pockets, Akasaka walked over to Horikita Manabu, the sea breeze blowing against him. He looked relaxed as he rested his hands on the railing and gazed at the distant scenery.
"This island really is beautiful!"
This School was an artificial island established by the Japanese government as a special institution for cultivating talented individuals.
On the surface, it was a school, and it was indeed a school...
It was just that the people here weren't ordinary. They were the children of corporate executives, members of the Fortune Global 500, and other top talents from around the world.
The school had been established to educate these people's children and provide them with Japan's finest education, so their parents could rest assured that they would serve their country.
Putting all that aside, none of it had anything to do with Akasaka. His only thought now was to work hard, earn enough to pay off his enormous debt, and start a new life—dating, getting married, having children, and building a happy family.
That was an ordinary person's life, and it was also the life Akasaka longed for most.
The reason he worked so hard at this school was that a debt of nearly 120 million hung over his neck, forcing him forward.
Until he paid off that enormous debt, he had no right to date.
That was a belief etched into the bones of every Chinese person.
If he couldn't give a girl a happy life, he shouldn't disrupt hers, because he couldn't give her everything she wanted.
That was why Akasaka had rejected Morishita Ai, even though she was an exceptional girl.
It wasn't that he didn't want to accept her. He simply wasn't good enough for her.
He couldn't be in a relationship with a girl while burdened by a debt of 120 million. That would be far too irresponsible of him.
Until he paid off his debt, he wouldn't get entangled with any girl. That was his principle.
Before you continue