You're All Here to Study with the Young Lady, Right?

Closer, closer, closer.

That's enough!

The blade, suddenly drawn, reflected a sharp light under the camera, but before the raised hand could fall, an elbow strike, delivered after the blow, landed heavily on his lower abdomen.

"Pfft--" The impact spread throughout his body. Asakusa Toru's elbow strike, as if in response, suddenly brought him to his senses. The raised knife fell with a thud, and then clerk A knelt on the ground with a contorted face.

"Holy crap, a knife?!" Asakusa Toru exclaimed, his normally pacing steps becoming chaotic, and he 'accidentally' bumped into the kneeling shop assistant A.

And then, by accident, he stepped on his... shop assistant.

"Ah--" He was already exhausted from the elbow strike, but this time it awakened his body's potential, and he let out a pig-like scream.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said apologetically, but his feet subtly increased the pressure, which was difficult for the camera to see.

As a result, the shop assistant's screams became even more painful.

"Are you alright?" Asakusa Toru asked with a voice and gesture that sounded worried. "You rushed at me with a knife, and I accidentally struck."

Should I take you to the hospital to get it checked out?

Despite Asakusa Toru's words of concern, clerk A was no longer hearing them.

He fainted.

"Let's get in touch." Shrugging, Asakusa Toru pulled out his terminal and dialed a number.

It wasn't handled well enough.

Or rather, it wasn't fun enough.

I should have put him in a sack and beaten him up first.

While this makes it more legitimate and provides a legitimate reason for self-defense under surveillance, it still imposes limitations and gets you involved in the situation.

It would be somewhat beneath you to personally intervene when dealing with someone of this caliber.

... Maybe we should try to remotely control some people.

I happen to have a Loyalty Collar that I can't find anyone to use.

After spending a few days becoming more proficient in using Voice Transmission, I mastered the techniques for dealing with mosquito harassment and incidentally dealt with a stalker shop assistant.

Although the ending wasn't entirely smooth, Asakusa Toru felt that he had gained something in some way.

The incident was clearly recorded by a camera. Although it caused a little more harm to the shop assistant A, the school, seemingly wanting to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, did not pursue Asakusa Toru's 'mistake' too much.

After all, the knife was right there in front of them, clearly visible.

The evidence of stalking is also solid and present here.

The task of extorting money from the school was handed over to Kushida Kikyo, as she was the only one in Class D who was suitable to speak up for Sakura Airi.

Although Kushida Kikyo is just an 'ordinary student,' she has a few slightly special qualities.

What's special about her isn't her family background, but that she's 'good friends' with the vast majority of the first-grade students.

In some ways, this is more troublesome than the children of the powerful and wealthy.

Admittedly, Kushida Kikyo had her own flaws, but as a school, it's unreasonable to personally kill a student over a matter of compensation for emotional distress.

At least not now that Sakayanagi Narimori is the chairman of the board.

... It's already going too far enough to put his own daughter in Class A; if he interferes in class struggles as well, he'll be investigated by higher-ups.

Therefore, the final 'profit'.

It's 'two million Private Points '.

Chapter 169 So they're all just here to keep the young lady company while she studies, right?

[It's been forwarded]

The screen lit up slightly, and then a message from Kushida Kikyo popped up.

The next thing you'll see is a notification that your Private Points have been credited to your account.

Before he could say anything, Ms. Kushida provided a further explanation.

[Class D is not a good place to hold a large number of points. It would be troublesome if someone saw us and asked us questions. Whatever the reason, I'm leaving it to you for now.]

Spend money however you want, just don't let my daughter and me go hungry.

A very subtle remark was made.

Asakusa Toru wasn't really concerned about the money. Although he was the one who suggested using it to extort money from the school, his real purpose from the beginning was not money.

It's simply that there's someone who makes him uneasy.

That's why he went to such great lengths to specifically buzz in the other person's ear.

As for extorting the school, since he had handed it over to Kushida, he didn't intend to specifically ask for the money back.

How much she can raise is a matter of skill; if she can raise 20 million, then she's truly amazing.

It wasn't that Asakusa Toru was particularly selfless; it's just that from the very beginning, wasn't this money supposed to be compensation for Sakura Airi's emotional distress? Doing things with this money in mind felt a bit strange.

He would feel awkward about it.

That's why Asakusa Toru felt particularly uneasy after receiving the transfer and the words left by Kushida Kikyo.

"..." After scratching his hair a few times, Asakusa Toru typed out his reply.

[Today's overnight fee has been received]

Almost instantly, the "read" message appeared, followed by a new message from Kushida Kikyo.

[It's too expensive, I'm going to remarry with Sakura's mother in tow]

So you're that daughter?

After a few seconds, as if sticking out a tongue slightly, the additional message popped up again.

[I'll persuade Sakura's mother to stay if I take care of you for the rest of your life.]

Asakusa Toru: "..."

The second half of life is too long; three years is actually a long time.

The words seemed to be spoken in jest, but no one could tell from behind the screen whether the girl was speaking her true feelings through a joke or simply making light of the situation.

Let's just take this as a joke for now.

That will cost extra.

The message was sent quickly, Kushida Kikyo read it quickly, and her reply was even faster.

[Just kidding, I have plans with a friend later. If you're free, go play with your Sakura mom.]

Although he couldn't see Kushida Kikyo's expression at that moment, for some reason, Asakusa Toru had a feeling that she was tentatively reaching out her hand, and then pulling it back just as her little hand was about to touch him.

The longer you spend together, the more likely it is to develop into this situation.

It might have been fine before Sakura Airi got involved, but after Kushida Kikyo actively brought Sakura Airi into the picture, instability began to emerge, and the previously subtle, unspoken understanding between them started to falter.

After all, Kushida Kikyo was a woman who lacked a sense of security.

Even if the target is a pushover like Sakura Airi, even if she was the one who orchestrated the bizarre 'mother-son relationship'.

Of course, these are all just Asakusa Toru's deductions.

As for her specific thoughts, only Kushida Kikyo herself can answer that.

Asakusa Toru didn't intend to press the matter. A certain sense of boundaries was necessary to maintain a stable relationship. Excessive interference in other people's lives would only lead to a mutually destructive outcome. The current relationship might seem somewhat decadent, but both parties would be satisfied.

That's enough.

Don't overstep the boundaries.

Things that cross the line should, of course, be done in Diary.

Kito Hayato, male, class: First-Year Class B, faction: Sakayanagi Faction.

Tall, with a hooked nose and an ugly appearance, he was the top fighter in First-Year Class B.

"In other words, it involves considerable violence."

Ryuen Kakeru sneered, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"Very good, he's our target."

More than two months have passed since the start of the school year, and First-Year Class C is already completely under Ryuen Kakeru's control.

With the help of the class teacher and his persistent, even frighteningly Laipi She attitude, he had already completely taken control of the class by mid-April.

This control became even more solidified after the results of the first Special Exam were announced in early May.

There are many reasons why he didn't take any action after that.

The biggest reason is that he hasn't fully figured out the school's attitude yet.

Each student's assignment to a different class upon enrollment corresponds to the school's evaluation of the student; there's nothing to overthink about, it's simply a way for the school to assess and categorize students.

Even in ordinary schools outside of Advanced Nurturing, teachers may still arbitrarily engage in such behavior, mentally dividing students into 'bad' and 'good' categories.

The key point is the class ranking.

The order is ABCD downwards, and only graduates of Class A receive school support.

It appears to be a very ordinary 'breeding system'.

Competition, fierce battles, and fights culminate in the emergence of the strongest class.

It's no different from the act of catching beetles in the mountains and letting them fight each other when we were kids.

But here's the problem.

The school is open to anyone; as long as you make it into Class A, regardless of your initial evaluation, the school will only act according to the rules.

It's still 'it has to be him'. Although he says that strength is the most important thing and that he is going to fight for the throne of Class A, he actually belongs to Class A from the very beginning. The other three classes are essentially just 'sharpening stones' for Class A.

This is very important.

Ryuen Kakeru never believed that the school was fair from the beginning.

If the school were fair, it wouldn't have assigned that woman, 'Chabashira Sae,' to Class D as their homeroom teacher.

He had done a thorough investigation; ever since the rumors started circulating some time ago, it was only natural that Ryuen Kakeru would become curious.

If he were just an ordinary student, he would naturally just treat the fact that Chabashira Sae was once a student in Class D and the Special Exam in which Chabashira Sae became a war criminal as a joke, casually mention it a few times, and then move on from the matter.

But he is Ryuen Kakeru, the leader of Class C.

Of course, we need to pay close attention to this and verify its authenticity.

Although the news from Class Ichinose indicated that Hoshinomiya Chie had confirmed the accuracy of the information, he felt it wasn't enough and went to Sakagami Kazuma to confirm it again.

He spent some Private Points and got an answer.

It's true.

Both Chabashira Sae's background and the Special Exam they went through are accurate.

That's very interesting.

The class teacher, who should be the one to be 'fair', has such obvious differences in qualities.

It's not hard to guess the school's intentions.

Therefore, he remained inactive for a while.

This was to observe the school's reaction.

The rumors started in early May, which was also the beginning of the month when they finished their Behavioral Norms Exam and settled the Class Points.

The school's previously recognized "excellent" Class 1-A was defeated by the "mediocre" First-Year Class B and fell behind.

Although the Class Points is still not significant, and Class A can catch up at any time, this is undoubtedly a major embarrassment to the school.

"You're saying this is the top-quality product you selected?"

It was as if they were defying the school by stepping on Class A; the change in class ranking subtly carried that connotation.