Ryuuen Returns!

[Exercise Booster active. Exercise goal completed: 30/30.]

[Stamina: 3→4.]

[Exercise Booster (30 days) has expired.]

After seeing the message pop up in the System Bar, Hashiba Hikaru wiped the sweat from his face and stretched out both arms. But even after swinging them forcefully several times, he didn't feel any obvious difference.

After a month of steady training, the boy did feel that his physical fitness had improved quite a bit. But even after seeing his Stamina stat increase, he didn't feel all that different.

"I'll try running another lap."

Hashiba Hikaru focused his attention on his body again. The moment he started running, a completely different sensation swept through every part of him. The weakness and fatigue he'd felt at first had vanished without a trace, replaced by an endless flow of energy welling up from within.

"So this is what gaining one point of Stamina feels like?"

After quickly finishing another lap, a smile finally appeared on Hashiba Hikaru's face. Waking up early every day for the past month really hadn't been for nothing. If his Stamina kept increasing, his body might undergo a complete transformation.

Hashiba Hikaru opened the System Panel again. The items refreshed in the [Trading Shop] yesterday had been pretty good; he'd gotten the [Exercise Booster] two months in a row.

When the boy focused on the Exercise Booster listing, he saw that while the price hadn't changed, the description below it had been updated.

[Exercise Booster (30 days)]

[Increase your maximum Stamina through sustained exercise. Upon the host's second purchase, the intensity of the training will double. The training options are running and swimming, and each requires one hour of exercise per day.]

"Swimming?"

Hashiba Hikaru scratched his head. He hadn't expected the [Exercise Booster]'s training goals to level up. He was already used to running, and all he had to do was keep getting up early.

But if swimming was added too, he'd have to set aside time for it separately.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School naturally had a swimming pool, but it wasn't open to students all day.

"Looks like I'll have to ask a teacher. Either way, I can't let my plan to improve my Stamina lapse. I have to keep at it."

Hashiba Hikaru wiped his face and headed back to his dorm.

After showering and changing into his uniform, he stepped onto the floor where the first-years' classrooms were. He immediately spotted a group of classmates gathered by the door, all focused on the new class sign mounted on the wall.

Now that the class had been promoted, the metal number plate outside each classroom naturally had to be replaced. It now read Class 1-A. The boys and girls gathered around it craned their necks to look, pride written across every face.

"Good morning, Hashiba!"

Someone noticed the boy approaching and promptly greeted him.

"Good morning, everyone." Hashiba Hikaru smiled and nodded to the classmates gathered around the sign.

"Hashiba, come take a look! Our class sign says Class 1-A now. Isn't it great?" Shibata came over and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him closer.

"How does it feel? Pretty proud, right? We have you to thank for those 100 Class Evaluation Points."

"Definitely. I hope we can keep it up. Let's all keep working hard."

When he entered the classroom, Hashiba Hikaru immediately saw Ichinose Honami sitting at her desk. There were always a lot of girls gathered around her, chatting together every day.

"Good morning, Hashiba." The pink-haired girl greeted him with a bright smile.

"Morning, Ichinose."

By yesterday noon, Ichinose Honami had already finished collecting the Class Points. Every student had contributed half of the Private Points they'd just received—50,500 points.

The girl now had more than five million Private Points in her hands, an astonishing sum—one-quarter of the twenty million they needed.

"Do you have any plans this afternoon, Hashiba? I found a new recipe yesterday. I think it's Chinese food. You like that, don't you?" The girl looked earnestly at Hashiba Hikaru's profile, anticipation in her eyes.

"Really? But I've got a few things to take care of today, so I might not be able to head straight back to the dorm."

"What things? Are you meeting a friend again?"

Hearing Ichinose deliberately emphasize the word "friend," Hashiba Hikaru smiled and gently explained, "It's just something I need to take care of myself."

"I've gotten interested in swimming lately, so I want to ask Hoshinomiya-sensei whether the school has a suitable pool. It'd be great if I could get permission to use it."

"Swimming?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Ichinose Honami's beautiful eyes. She quickly asked, "Are you thinking of joining the swim club, Hashiba? I remember someone in our class is in it. Would you like me to ask them about it?"

"I just want to swim. Joining a club means having regular activities, and that's too much trouble."

Hashiba Hikaru shook his head. He had no intention of joining a club. The class competition was already more than enough trouble; he didn't have time to try out club activities.

"Then... can I come with you?" The pink-haired girl's thoughts shifted, and she immediately asked to go with him.

"Well, I don't mind, but won't that be a bother for you, Ichinose?" Hashiba Hikaru had no problem with her suggestion. He just wanted to find a place as soon as possible.

"Not at all. I don't have anything planned today, so I can go with you."

"Okay, then."

After school, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami left the classroom together. He'd already spoken with Hoshinomiya-sensei at noon. The school's Gymnasium had two swimming pools, but one belonged to the swim club and wasn't normally open to regular students.

The other was used for swimming lessons, but it closed along with the Gymnasium.

However, this was Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, and the S System stood above all school rules.

So Hashiba Hikaru had contacted the school through Hoshinomiya-sensei and paid 100,000 Private Points for permission to use the pool at night, from eight to ten—a total of two hours.

Now that he'd taken care of that, he still needed to speak with the Gymnasium's caretaker and get a key.

After walking for about ten minutes, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami reached the Gymnasium staff room. A young woman was sitting inside. Naturally, she'd received a notification from the school as soon as the boy's transaction went through, and the spare key was already beside her.

"Are you Sonoda-sensei? Hello, I'm Hashiba Hikaru from Class 1-A." The boy greeted her politely, and Ichinose greeted her as well.

"I'm Ichinose Honami from Class 1-A."

The young teacher, Sonoda, stood up and looked from one of them to the other. Then she asked in some confusion, "Why are there two of you? Only one person bought the permission, didn't they?"

"I bought it. Ichinose is just keeping me company." Hashiba Hikaru smiled as he explained.

"I see. You two are close."

The teacher named Sonoda Rina gave a small, thoughtful sigh, then looked the boy over again. He had striking features, a straight posture, and a composed manner. A boy like that was bound to be the center of attention wherever he went.

He even had a girl accompanying him just to pick up a key. What a popular little guy.

"Hashiba, here's your spare key."

The young teacher handed Hashiba Hikaru a spare key engraved with a number. Once he'd taken it, she gave him a serious reminder. "You've bought permission to use the pool, but there are a few things I need to make clear."

"First, your time slot is from eight to ten at night, so you must leave the Gymnasium before ten. The cameras at the entrance will keep track of your usage in real time. Don't overstay. If you're caught breaking the rules, your permission will be revoked immediately."

"Second, this permission is for you alone. You aren't allowed to bring anyone with you. If you're caught, your permission will be revoked as well."

"Third, you won't be the only person using the swimming pool. If you happen to run into another student while you're there, just ignore them."

"I understand. I won't break the rules, so please don't worry, Sonoda-sensei." Hashiba Hikaru nodded seriously.

The eight-to-ten time slot was one the boy had chosen himself. When he'd seen Hoshinomiya-sensei pull out the pool schedule, he'd immediately realized that students using the pool outside of class hours must have been allowed to do so before. Otherwise, the rules wouldn't have been so detailed.

Hearing the third reminder now confirmed his guess.

But it didn't matter. He didn't care who he ran into. The important thing was to swim and improve his Stamina.

"Then we'll be going. Goodbye, Sonoda-sensei."

"Goodbye, Sensei."

After putting away the key, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami left together.

The young teacher watched the boy's retreating figure and murmured to herself, "He's only the second person to apply for permission to use the pool outside of class hours, after Fuuka. I wonder if anything interesting will happen if they run into each other. I can't wait to find out."

Afterword: Ryuen Returns!

After sorting out the swimming pool, Hashiba Hikaru spent another 100,000 points that evening to buy a new [Exercise Booster]. That completely drained his funds, leaving him with only 7,000.

Aside from his high-priced [Ichinose Honami Stock], the other stock he currently held was the [Kushida Kikyo Stock], whose price he'd been trying to raise. It had reached 40.

He only needed to push it a little higher, to 50, to afford the [Combat Technique] skill. Hashiba Hikaru was confident he could do it. He'd already tested it twice: as long as he approached Horikita, Kushida Kikyo would be very proactive.

Then there was the [Ichinose Honami Stock]. It hadn't gone up for a long time, but its price remained high.

Hashiba Hikaru didn't want to cash it in just yet. Not a single Special Exam had started, and the system might offer a more important skill in the future. He could cash it in then.

Then he opened the Stock Interface.

The system had now released five stocks: [Ichinose Honami Stock], [Chabashira Sae Stock], [Horikita Suzune Stock], [Kushida Kikyo Stock], and [Shiina Hiyori Stock].

Hashiba Hikaru had bought two: [Ichinose Honami Stock] and [Kushida Kikyo Stock]. Both had started at 10, so he'd bought them without hesitation.

[Ichinose Honami Stock]

[Current Price: 150, Shares Held: 3,000]

[Kushida Kikyo Stock]

[Current Price: 40, Shares Held: 5,000]

The other stocks had higher starting prices, so he'd need enough savings to buy them. Otherwise, he could run into trouble if he ran out of funds.

"My finances are still a little tight. Once I cash in the Kushida Kikyo Stock, I'll have to choose my next target right away."

Just like that, two days passed in a flash, and May 4 arrived. It was the day Ryuen returned to class, so the classroom of Class D, now demoted, was filled with a strange tension.

Everyone had more or less accepted Ibuki Mio as their class leader after spending this time together. But the man who had once threatened everyone with violence was coming back today, and nobody was quite sure what would happen next.

At eight ten, a figure finally appeared at the classroom door. It was a boy with long red hair. He didn't come in right away, instead studying the metal plate that read Class 1-D.

"Class 1-D, huh? Heh. It took you a month to end up in last place. Looks like you've done a great job under Ibuki's leadership."

Ryuen Kakeru sauntered into the classroom and immediately took aim at Ibuki Mio.

Ibuki wasn't about to let him get away with it. She stood up and glared at him. "Who do you think caused our Class Evaluation Points to drop?"

"If I remember correctly, that was you," Ryuen replied with a sneer. "You colluded with another class and got a student in your own class suspended, which caused our Class Evaluation Points to be deducted."

"You did something like that, and everyone still accepted you as their class leader? That's ridiculous!"

"You..."

Ibuki's eyes widened, anger showing on her small face.

Seeing her like this, Shiina Hiyori quickly tried to calm her down. "Wait, Ibuki. There's no need to get so angry. We all agreed with your decision at the time. No matter what Ryuen says, that won't change."

"You started a fight at the beginning of the school year. You think that wouldn't have cost us Class Evaluation Points?"

"That was simply a price we had to pay. If I had control over everyone in the class, I could lead you all to Class A." Ryuen grinned broadly, his voice filled with strange confidence.

Hearing this, Ibuki's small face took on a look of disdain. "Ryuen, are you still asleep? You're already dreaming of the future."

"No, I'm serious. But there's no point telling you all this now. I'm here to issue a challenge."

The red-haired man strode toward Ibuki Mio. As he neared the girl's desk, Yamada Albert's hulking frame stepped forward, blocking Ryuen like an iron tower.

"Well, well. It's only been a month, and Yamada's already become your loyal dog, Ibuki. How impressive."

"If you're looking for a fight, I don't mind having Yamada take you on. We're already in last place anyway." Ibuki motioned for Yamada to step back, then looked Ryuen in the eye. "What do you mean by a challenge?"

"It's simple. I want to be the class leader, but you stole that position from me, so I have to find a way to take it back."

"Do you think you can? The class leader is chosen by everyone's vote."

"Don't worry. Do you think I've been sleeping in the dorm all month? I've come up with plenty of plans."

A dangerous smile tugged at the corner of Ryuen's mouth. He turned to the rest of the class and declared, "Now that we've fallen to last place, we'll fight our way up one class at a time until we become Class 1-A!"

"Plans?"

After hearing Ryuen's outrageous claim, Ibuki Mio pressed him. "What are you planning to do?"

"That's my challenge. It's simple to explain."

Ryuen Kakeru stepped into the middle of the lectern and addressed everyone in the classroom. "Since you've all voted for Ibuki, I have nothing to say about that. But from now on, I'll put plans into action that can help the class."

"Once my plans succeed, the other classes' Class Evaluation Points will drop. Then you'll naturally see that I'm the one best suited to be class leader."

"Is that so?" Ibuki Mio stared coldly at the man in front of her and asked, enunciating every word, "What's your plan?"

"Of course I can't tell you. That would be giving away the secret."

Ryuen shook his head, then added, "No matter what, I'll show you what I can do. That other guy can't hold a candle to me. Just wait and see."

With that, he glanced at Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo, who were sitting at their desks, and motioned for them to come outside with him.