"All right, I'm done here. Boss, let everyone go eat. Shiina, could you bring lunch back for me and the boss?"
"Kaneda Satoru, stay behind."
"Oh, Shiina, could you also bring lunch back for Kaneda and Yamada? Nishino, would you mind helping Shiina carry it?"
Hearing Ryuen Shoko grit out the order, the real-estate agent added a request for Shiina. Worried she wouldn't be able to carry four lunches on her own, he asked Nishino Takeshi to help, too.
Nishino was a girl, after all. Surely the two of them could manage together.
To be honest, if Ryuen Shoko hadn't been in such a bad mood, he might have asked students from another class to bring him lunch.
Huh? Who would he ask? Maybe Kushida, maybe Ichinose, or even Ayanokoji. But no matter who he picked, it would probably only make Ryuen Shoko angrier.
The real-estate agent glanced at Kaneda Satoru, who was trembling where he stood, and shook his head. Then he looked over at Yamada Albert. Pulling some ointment from his bag, he tossed it to Albert. "Not bad. Let me ask you something: would you dare go even harder?"
"Yes."
Albert answered at once, without the slightest hesitation.
"Good. Once this is done, you'll get your share. Don't worry—as long as you do as you're told, I won't shortchange you. Good deeds will be rewarded, and wrongs punished."
Albert's response made the real-estate agent very happy. He was incredibly glad he was in Class C. If he were in Class B, he couldn't bear to treat those little angels this way.
Albert was a big guy with thick skin and tough bones. Making him sacrifice a little shouldn't be a problem, right?
The real-estate agent stroked his chin thoughtfully, then looked at Ryuen Shoko, who was slapping Kaneda Satoru. Even watching those slaps made him wince.
Kaneda's face was swollen. Ryuen was hitting him so hard that every blow looked like it might send him flying.
Looking at the scene, the real-estate agent lowered his head and messaged Shiina Hiyori: "It'd be best if Kaneda's lunch was something soft. His face is so swollen he probably can't eat most foods."
Who Gets the Message First Gets the Money!
"Uh... who's that student?"
"Teacher, he didn't sleep well last night and got drowsy in class, so he's standing there."
After the teacher entered from outside and spotted Kaneda Satoru at the back of the room, he asked what was going on. The real-estate agent answered from his seat.
"And what happened to his face?"
"He was worried he'd fall asleep, so he kept slapping himself. He was too hard on himself and bruised his face. Don't worry, Teacher, he's already put some ointment on it. It just looks scary."
"Uh... all right, then."
The teacher couldn't really say much about what went on in Class C, so he could only watch Kaneda standing there.
By lunchtime, the real-estate agent had finally stopped Ryuen Shoko. He said Kaneda couldn't be made to look too miserable, or the class might lose points for being divided.
The rest of the punishment was changed to physical discipline.
It might have looked as if Kaneda was simply standing at the back of the room, but that was hardly the whole story. The real punishment came when the teacher wasn't looking.
Kaneda had a plastic cup of water in his hands behind his back. If any water spilled by the end of class, he'd be beaten again after his afternoon lessons.
They could always give him a sick day tomorrow.
The real-estate agent said nothing about Ryuen Shoko's actions. He neither supported nor opposed her.
After all, he couldn't beat Ryuen Shoko.
No matter how clever he thought he was, this was a classroom where strength ruled—and strength meant fists. Since he couldn't beat Ryuen Shoko, he couldn't defy her.
Even when pleading on Kaneda's behalf, he could only do it in a roundabout way.
As for the cup of water, Ryuen Shoko had ordered it, so he couldn't say much about that either.
Really, Kaneda Satoru only had himself to blame for not catching on. If he'd run into the wall immediately when the real-estate agent told him to, Ryuen Shoko wouldn't have complained, even if he hadn't hit it very hard.
The problem was that he'd hesitated.
If he'd bumped into it gently, he could've claimed he was afraid of pain and hadn't hit it hard on purpose. But he hadn't hit it at all. Sorry, that meant he wasn't loyal enough.
If your loyalty wasn't absolute, then you were absolutely disloyal. Compared with the real-estate agent, Kaneda had no reason to expect Ryuen Shoko to let him off.
Poor thing. Poor thing.
The real-estate agent shook his head. There wasn't much he could say about it.
Class C had fewer problem students than Class D, but that didn't mean it had none. Without a little intimidation, he had no idea how to deal with those guys.
Like he'd said, all he wanted was to be the brains behind the throne. He had no interest in being king. Being king was exhausting—you had to worry about your subordinates' feelings and weigh the pros and cons of every decision. Being an adviser was different. You just gave your opinion. Whether the king listened or not was none of your business.
So why had he been running around all day for the past few days?
Well... he was simply a pervert. After all, the people he'd been running around to help were all pretty girls, weren't they?
"How much water spilled?"
Ryuen Shoko sat in her seat, still looking every bit the domineering boss, while the real-estate agent checked whether the cup had lost any water.
He checked carefully, and for every second he looked, Kaneda Satoru trembled for another second.
"Yeah, it's fine. Nothing spilled."
"Fine. You got lucky. Next time, no one might plead for you. Get lost."
Watching Kaneda flee in a panic, Ryuen Shoko turned to the real-estate agent. "So, why did you call all the girls in the class here?"
After class that afternoon, the real-estate agent had told Ryuen Shoko to have the girls stay behind. Whether school was over didn't matter; the teacher's words were unimportant. Ryuen's were what counted. So when she said, "All the boys can leave except Kaneda Satoru. The girls stay," everyone did exactly as they were told.
The last person who'd disobeyed had already been punished. Making an example of someone worked everywhere.
"I have a task for you... Shiina, you can leave. This is something you can't really help with."
Ryuen Shoko folded her arms and watched the real-estate agent sit on a desk and look over the girls in the room. Then he singled someone out and told her to leave.
Watching Shiina go, Ryuen Shoko gave a scornful laugh. "What, you don't want her doing the dirty work?"
"Of course not. It's just that this really isn't suitable for her. Shiina goes to the library as soon as school's out, so she can't do this."
As he spoke, the real-estate agent looked around at the girls. "I have a task for you. It's not compulsory, and it isn't difficult, so anyone who isn't interested can leave."
"Right. Anyone who isn't interested can go."
Ryuen Shoko added a comment from behind him.
Well, anyone who'd wanted to leave was no longer going anywhere. Ryuen Shoko's words had shut everyone up.
Who dared to leave? Who would? Did they want to die?
Ryuen Shoko punished students without distinction. She didn't care whether they were boys or girls. So everyone stayed where they were and listened to the real-estate agent.
The real-estate agent looked back at Ryuen Shoko and sighed helplessly.
Fine. This would work, too.
"I need you to keep an eye on someone. You don't have to watch her around the clock, just pay extra attention when you're in the dorm."
"Who?"
"Kushida Kikyo."
"Aren't you two pretty close?"
"That's just for show, Boss. Also, I'm talking about something serious. Could you save the teasing for later?"
The real-estate agent tried to persuade Ryuen Shoko. Couldn't she at least let him finish giving the instructions first?
"Keep an eye on Kushida Kikyo. If she ever sneaks out of her room at night, report it to me. Pay attention: she has to be acting suspicious, like she's going to do something she shouldn't. Whoever reports it successfully will get five thousand points."
"Five thousand points?"
The girls reacted strongly to the real-estate agent's offer.
Five thousand points was the equivalent of five thousand yen. That was a lot of money.
"Of course, if several people report it at the same time, you'll split the reward. So keep your eyes open if you want a chance to get the full amount. I think she'll make a move sometime in the next two weeks, so stay alert. Good deeds will be rewarded, and wrongs punished. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"All right, that's everything from me. Boss, do you have anything else?"
"No. Dismissed."
"Yes!"
After giving them their task, the real-estate agent let out a sigh of relief.
Good. That brought him one step closer to getting Plan B under control.
Now that they were dismissed, maybe he could go back and get some proper rest. Yesterday had been exhausting, but he probably didn't have anything else to do today... right?
That was what the real-estate agent was thinking when he suddenly felt something land on his shoulder.
"Hey, Agent. You're free, aren't you?"
"I guess I am..."
So a girl was definitely going to visit his dorm, wasn't she?
But this time it wasn't some sweet, delicate girl. It was a tigress.
"Hey, you've got beer, too. Nice. And cold appetizers? You live pretty well."
The real-estate agent couldn't understand why Ryuen Shoko acted more like the owner of his dorm than he did.
As soon as she came in, she went straight to the refrigerator, took out some cold beer and yesterday's leftover appetizers, then spent ages looking around his bedroom.
"Hey, Agent, why are all your underwear black?"
"Boss, isn't that sexual harassment?"
The real-estate agent was stunned. He had no idea why Ryuen Shoko was acting so familiar.
They'd only known each other for three days! She didn't have to act like that, did she?
"What's the problem with a boss getting to know how her underling lives? By the way, have you gone too long without taking care of yourself? You're always around pretty girls. It must be hard to keep it all bottled up, right?"
She really was a delinquent. She didn't hold back for a second.
But would the real-estate agent dare tease her back? No.
A tigress might only be joking when she tried to beat you in a battle of wits. But if you really made her angry, it could turn into a fistfight.
He wasn't some legendary warrior. He couldn't take Ryuen Shoko on.
"So, Boss, what exactly do you want?"
"Nothing much. I just feel like... you don't respect me."
After failing to find any evidence that the real-estate agent had been playing with himself in secret, Ryuen Shoko returned to the living room. She dropped onto the sofa and put her legs up on the small table.
There weren't any slippers for her to wear, so she was barefoot. Her fair little feet looked tempting, and every now and then she curled her toes, as if trying to seduce him.
But that was all an illusion. This small delinquent, who didn't look particularly imposing, could knock Albert down in three punches... Wait, wasn't Ryuen Kakeru supposed to be that strong? How had changing gender made her stronger?
The pinker the fist, the harder it hit. The real-estate agent wouldn't dare take one of those soft little fists.
It would hurt more than a fist the size of a sandbag.
"How could you say that? I've always respected you, Boss."
"Then why didn't you tell me you were trying to seduce girls from other classes?"
Ryuen Shoko had somehow found the caramel-flavored sunflower seeds the real-estate agent had bought on a whim. She cracked them as she spoke, scattering the shells across the floor.
Didn't she worry she'd step on them later?
"N-no, it was just a trivial matter. Reporting it to you would've wasted your time."
"Oh? It was trivial? Then why were you so serious about it?"
"Uh... I guess I did have a little personal motive."
Looking at the real-estate agent's expression, Ryuen Shoko let out a mocking laugh.
She beckoned to him. "Come here."
"Sure."
The real-estate agent wasn't going to make the same mistake as Kaneda Satoru. At Ryuen Shoko's words, he hurried over to her.
"Squat."
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