Only He Wasn't at School

Makoto sat on a vehicle that was more or less a bus, on his way away from school. He gazed out the window, his mind already somewhere else.

"With your ability, as long as you perform as usual, taking first place should be a piece of cake."

The swimming instructor smiled reassuringly, thinking Makoto was nervous.

As his coach, he had accompanied Makoto and was sitting in the back of the vehicle. Simakudian was driving, his expression stern. He looked like a particularly old-fashioned man.

"I'm fine. I was thinking about something else. By the way, when are we going back to school?"

"We'll head back after the competition this afternoon."

Since it wasn't anything important, the swimming instructor promptly answered Makoto's question.

"I see..."

Makoto said nothing more and continued gazing out the window in silence. Simakudian glanced at him through the rearview mirror in the middle of the vehicle, then said nothing.

And so, the three of them made their way to their destination in silence.

"Boss Ryuen, are we still going ahead with the harassment plan against Class B? Isn't that a bit much?"

Ishizaki Daichi asked cautiously. Ever since the four of them—or rather, the three of them—had been beaten one-sidedly by Makoto a few days ago, Boss Ryuen seemed to have gotten a little depressed. He'd been saying much less than usual.

"Don't ask me about trivial things like that. Proceed with the plan as usual."

Ryuen Kakeru scratched his head, looking a little annoyed. He'd never cared about other people's feelings—or rather, he simply couldn't be bothered.

As far as he was concerned, as long as the outcome was in his favor, nothing else mattered. The process?

Everything was a means of reaching his goal. He was willing to do whatever it took.

So what if people despised him? So what if they hated him? It wasn't as if he'd lose a piece of himself over it.

"Y-yes, sir."

Ishizaki Daichi got up and left to notify the rest of Class C. They discussed all their plans verbally, so they wouldn't leave any evidence online.

Ryuen Kakeru was a cautious man like that. Everyone knew he was behind many things, yet they could never find any evidence to prove it.

Witness testimony alone wasn't enough.

People could be bought off, after all. Modern society had seen far too many cases of baseless accusations, so the government had become extremely cautious about such matters, afraid that public trust in it might fall even further.

"Ryuen, you really can't change your ways."

Ibuki Mio spoke with disgust. She hated the man in front of her, but for some reason, he trusted her deeply.

"Ibuki, this is how I survive. What do you think? Have you been won over by my personal charm?"

Hearing Ibuki Mio's voice, Ryuen Kakeru raised his head and flashed a fearless smile.

"Are you talking about how you looked like a beaten dog a few days ago? Then I guess I really was 'won over.'"

Ibuki Mio didn't hold back as she reopened Ryuen Kakeru's wound, exposing it for everyone to see.

"That time was definitely my mistake. I never thought there'd be a 'monster' like that at this school."

Ryuen Kakeru wasn't the sort of man who refused to admit defeat. Fortunately, his failure hadn't led to any terrible consequences. Instead, he'd gained some useful information.

Miyano Makoto. That man was definitely dangerous.

He didn't believe someone with those skills could be a harmless little lamb. This wasn't a fairy tale.

Did anyone really think heroes were supposed to be good people?

"Then just wait until he teaches you a lesson."

Ibuki Mio mocked him, eyeing Ryuen Kakeru's slightly hunched posture compared to usual.

"But you're pretty lucky. That Miyano doesn't seem to be at school today. I didn't see him this morning."

"Ibuki, that's useful information. I knew I could count on you."

At her words, Ryuen Kakeru abruptly stood up and patted Ibuki Mio on the shoulder with a grin.

"Then I'll turn this school upside down!"

"You jerk!"

Ibuki Mio roughly slapped away the hand Ryuen Kakeru had placed on her shoulder, her disgust plain on her face.

"I'm telling you, don't underestimate him."

"I've never thought that way."

As usual, the two parted on bad terms. Ibuki Mio stormed off, and Ryuen Kakeru beckoned to Ishizaki Daichi, who had just finished notifying everyone. Ishizaki hurried over.

"Boss Ryuen, is there anything else you need?"

"Keep an eye on the Class B students. If anything seems off, halt all activity immediately. I have a feeling this isn't as simple as it looks."

"Got it. I'll pass that along right away."

Learning that Makoto might not be at school only deepened Ryuen Kakeru's suspicions. Would that man really leave himself unprepared?

He decided to go and observe things in person later.

"What's got you so happy?"

In the Class A classroom, Sakayanagi Arisu asked curiously.

Honami usually walked into class with a sunny smile, but today was different. Her smile was even more radiant and passionate than usual, enough to melt anything in its path. It even made Sakayanagi Arisu feel a little afraid.

Something was off. Nine out of ten things about this were off.

"Is it?"

Honami tilted her head and reined in her smile a little.

"You know perfectly well. I'm not that curious, anyway."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't even need to guess. She could tell without a doubt that it had something to do with Makoto.

"Hehe, it's nothing important."

Honami scratched her cheek with her index finger, grinning like a fool.

"Oh, right, right. I almost forgot what I was supposed to do."

She gave her cheeks a firm slap to clear her head.

Honami, Honami, stop thinking about that kind of thing. The class's problems are more important right now.

The existence of the practice exam had once again convinced the students of Class A of Makoto's abilities. Honami hadn't hidden where the information came from.

But he was in Class B, and that worried quite a few students. Hashimoto Masayoshi was the most concerned of all.

"I asked Mashima-sensei. Transferring classes costs twenty million personal points. Until your boyfriend transfers here, could we have either Katsuragi or Sakayanagi lead us?"

That was what he wanted to say.

Since Sakayanagi Arisu was so close to Honami, Hashimoto Masayoshi also had doubts about her loyalty to Class A.

"Hashimoto, come over here for a moment."

Honami beckoned him over. Hashimoto Masayoshi was currently the leader of Class A's neutral faction. She only needed to tell him, and she wouldn't have to worry about the rest.

"What can I do for you, my angel?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi acted like he had an extreme case of chuunibyou. Instead of calling Ichinose Honami by her surname, he used the toe-curlingly embarrassing "my angel." Likewise, he called Sakayanagi Arisu "Your Highness, Princess."

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were living in the Middle Ages.

"I'm sorry I worried you before. But I think once you've seen this, you won't have anything else to say, will you?"

Honami handed him her phone openly, inviting him to look at the information on it.

Hashimoto Masayoshi's pupils abruptly contracted. What he saw was nearly sixteen million personal points. Even though two-thirds of Class A's total personal points were concentrated in Honami's hands, this was clearly an abnormal amount to have accumulated in just two months.

"Th-this is...?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi asked woodenly. He already had a guess, but still couldn't believe it.

Dude, is your boyfriend really that amazing? He just gives you ten million like it's nothing?

And where did he get ten million? Where at this school could he possibly earn that much?

Horikita Manabu: Don't @ me.

"Now you understand, right? There was no need to worry."

Honami maintained a polite smile. For Makoto's sake, she still had to work even harder!

She'd strive to become a wife worthy of him.

"I understand. With my angel and Her Highness, the Princess, working together, I'm sure we'll wipe out every enemy who dares invade Class A."

Most of the worry had lifted from Hashimoto Masayoshi's heart. Although the two leaders didn't seem interested in class competition, once Ichinose's boyfriend transferred over, everything would be fine!

As for Katsuragi Kohei?

Sorry, they weren't close.

At the start of the school year, he'd tried to claim the leadership position in Class A on the strength of his excellent grades and stern, rigid manner.

But Ichinose Honami was just as capable—and even had a slight edge in academics—so she'd appeared out of nowhere. After she'd exposed some of the school's true nature and revealed a phone balance with one more zero than the other students had,

the class had voted with their feet and unanimously decided Ichinose Honami was their leader.

Katsuragi Kohei could only rub his bald head.

Well, he'd just focus on doing his own job.