Ryuen

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ryuen Kakeru (龙园)
Alias(es)	“Tyrant of Class C”; “Ryuen-aniki”
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Class 1-C
Occupation/Role	Student; de facto leader of Class C
Status	Active 107
First Appearance	Chapter 17, The Girl Named Tsubaki Yuki 17

Background

Ryuen establishes control over Class C through intimidation and violence, demanding absolute obedience while framing Class A graduation as the class's only worthwhile goal. Homeroom teacher Sakagami Kazuma tolerates his methods as long as they keep the class effective. 21 29

Outside his power plays, he reads practical books on politics and economics. He also shares Shiina Hiyori's interest in reading, though their literary tastes differ sharply. 93

Personality

Ryuen is domineering, confrontational, and highly competitive. He treats classmates as assets to direct and opponents as targets to break, regularly pushing against the limits of school rules rather than openly violating them. 29 96 102

His confidence can become overconfidence. During the Uninhabited Island Survival Special Exam, he correctly detects part of Class A's deception but becomes fixated on his own conclusion, allowing Amasawa Yuto's deeper plan to defeat him. Even afterward, he identifies Amasawa as the most dangerous opponent in their year. 83 87

Despite his harshness, Ryuen is not uniformly cruel for its own sake. After initially demanding 10,000 points for Tsubaki Yuki's 100-point eraser, he gives it to her for free and accepts nothing in return. Later, he agrees to protect Class C from the consequences of its members' bullying when Tsubaki presents video evidence that could lead to multiple expulsions. 17 106

Abilities & Skills

Strategic Analysis and Deduction

Ryuen gathers information aggressively and is adept at recognizing patterns, testing assumptions, and exploiting small inconsistencies.

• Uses exterior surveillance footage to investigate whether Sakura Airi could have witnessed the incident involving Sudo Ken. 60
• Identifies the VIP-selection pattern in Class C through the gojūon ordering of group members' names. 102
• Reviews slow-motion footage and tests leader cards against a punch-in machine to expose Class A's fake-card deception. 83
• Understands that information itself can be weaponized, publicly spreading his conclusion about Class A's supposed leader to pressure rival classes. 85

Coercive Leadership

Ryuen commands Class C through fear, punishing disobedience and using trusted classmates such as Albert, Ibuki, Ishizaki, Kaneda, and Hiyori to execute his plans. 21 29 102

• Keeps Class C's attendance and discipline above Class D's through intimidation. 29
• Confiscates Class C students' phones to inspect their mailboxes and identify VIPs. 102
• Uses Class C's superior position to pressure other classes and pursue class-point gains. 96 106
• Is willing to employ manipulation, threats, surveillance, and intermediaries rather than rely on cooperation. 60 82 102

Field Tactics and Combat

Ryuen is capable in physical confrontations and favors ambushes or advantageous terrain over fair fights.

• Stakes out Class A's base at night in an attempt to identify its leader. 76
• Uses a cliffside stone attack to force Amasawa Yuto to defend Kito Hayato and Masumi Kamuro, allowing Albert to retrieve the dropped card. 82
• While temporarily blinded during Class A's counter-ambush, lands a kick on Kamuro before Amasawa knocks him unconscious. 76
• His tactics are effective but not infallible: Amasawa and Kamuro later infiltrate Class C's camp, locate leader Shiina Hiyori's card, and overturn Ryuen's projected victory. 86 87

Relationships

• Amasawa Yuto — Primary strategic rival. Ryuen repeatedly seeks to expose, surpass, and eventually crush Amasawa, while recognizing him as an exceptionally dangerous opponent. 83 96 102
• Tsubaki Yuki — First meets her over an eraser and unexpectedly gives it to her for free. Later, Tsubaki forces him into a cooperative VIP-exam deal by presenting evidence of Class C's bullying. 17 106
• Shiina Hiyori — Class C's leader during the Uninhabited Island exam and a reader with whom Ryuen shares an interest in books. He later pressures her to approach Amasawa for information. 86 93 102
• Yamada Albert — Class C enforcer who follows Ryuen's direction and retrieves Amasawa's dropped card during the island exam. 21 82
• Ibuki Mio — A combative Class C operative whom Ryuen deploys to target Class D's leader card; her capture by Tsubaki disrupts his island-exam plan. 84 85
• Kaneda Satoru — Analytical Class C associate who assists with deductions and objects to Ryuen's plan to use Hiyori against Amasawa. 99 102
• Ishizaki Daichi — Loyal subordinate who addresses him as “Ryuen-aniki” and relays intelligence about Class D's alleged witness. 60

Story Role / Major Arcs

Class C Takeover

By May, Ryuen has taken command of Class C and openly declares its objective: reaching Class A. His rule is built on coercion, with Sakagami allowing him broad latitude because he produces results. 29

Sudo Ken Expulsion

During the Student Council hearing concerning Sudo, Ryuen investigates Class D's supposed eyewitness through surveillance footage. He later engineers circumstances that lead Sudo to strike Komiya during his suspension, resulting in Sudo's expulsion. 60 62 63

Uninhabited Island Survival Special Exam

Ryuen launches an early nighttime stakeout on Class A's base but is discovered, blinded, and knocked unconscious by Amasawa's team. 76

He recovers by using a cliffside ambush to obtain Amasawa's apparent leader card, then deduces that Kito Hayato is Class A's supposed leader. Believing he has exposed Amasawa's scheme, he persuades Classes B and D to guess Kito. 82 83 85

Amasawa's actual arrangement names Masumi Kamuro as Class A's leader. Ryuen's conclusion becomes part of Class A's larger trap, while Tsubaki confines Ibuki and prevents Class C from securing Class D's leader. Class A ultimately wins with 412 points; Class C finishes third with 4. 85 87 88

VIP Exam

Ryuen cracks Class C's VIP pattern through the gojūon order and seeks outside-class confirmation before submitting names. He also attempts to use Hiyori's growing closeness with Amasawa as a source of intelligence. 102 107

Tsubaki presents Ryuen with footage of Class C students bullying Kei Karuizawa. To avoid the class-point penalties attached to multiple expulsions, Ryuen accepts her proposal for Class C to cooperate with the other classes toward Result One, in exchange for 18 million points. 106

Notable Quotes

“Class A. Only by graduating from Class A can you enjoy the privileges of graduation. If you don't want to waste your time, then climb up step by step, you ants.” 29

Trivia

• Ryuen's first interaction with Tsubaki involves a plain eraser she values because it resembles one from the White Room; she later gives him a pink eraser shaped like a sakura daifuku in return. 17
• He regards the pink sakura-daifuku eraser as impractical for his image. 17