Buying a Thousand Gold Pieces' Worth of Horse Bones / After Class, the Real Estate Agent watched as everyone left the classroom in twos and threes, a glint flashing in his eyes. ...

"If there were cameras here, that'd be one thing, but there aren't any, and you still dare to pull something like this... Do you know what this kind of behavior means to a hot-blooded teenage boy?"

After knocking Kushida Kikyo to the ground, the real estate agent pinned her beneath him. Their faces were only inches apart, and his overpowering masculine scent flooded her nostrils.

"You're so beautiful. It's hard for a guy to hold himself back."

"You... You're going to assault me?! Help—"

"Shh. You chose this place, remember? It's secluded, and there aren't any cameras. If I really did it to you here, what could you do?"

The real estate agent moved even closer to Kushida Kikyo. They could both feel each other's breath now.

His breathing was ragged. He looked excited, but he kept forcing himself to hold back. Otherwise, he could turn into a beast at any moment.

Lust could lead to ruin. When someone really got carried away, you never knew what might happen.

"Did you think having a few of my fingerprints on you would be enough? First, fingerprints on clothes aren't that easy to collect as evidence. Second, if I poured water on you after I was done, where would the fingerprints be? Third, you snuck out alone in the middle of the night. How likely do you think it is that anyone would believe you ran into something like this? They'd wonder whether I'd forced myself on you, or whether you'd wanted it to happen."

There was no denying that victim-blaming was a really fucked-up argument. But right now, it was the perfect thing to use to scare Kushida Kikyo.

He just had to put enough pressure on her to make her break down. Especially since everything the real estate agent said sounded so reasonable... even if it was bullshit. He liked manipulating people with words, especially kids like Kushida Kikyo. She was only sixteen, a first-year high school student. What could she possibly know?

Kids were the easiest to fool.

Only after seeing Kushida Kikyo start to cry did the real estate agent remove his hand from her mouth. But then that hand began to move lower.

"No... No... I was wrong. Please, let me go..."

"Were you wrong? But you know, if you hadn't been so aggressive from the start, maybe we wouldn't have ended up in this situation. And... which little cutie was it who threw herself into my arms just now?"

"Pop~"

He undid one of her buttons.

"I really was wrong. Please, don't do this... Please, don't..."

"Pop~"

He undid another button.

Kushida Kikyo was just a delicate young girl. How could she possibly stand up to a guy like the real estate agent? His physical and biological advantages rendered her clever little tricks useless. Once again, it proved just how important strength was.

"Is that so? Then... what are you willing to give me?"

"Anything. Please, don't... Don't keep going."

"Pop~"

The third button.

There were only four buttons on her clothes, and he'd already undone three. The last thread of her composure had snapped. All she could do now was beg for mercy; she couldn't think about what to do afterward.

Most people were like that. When disaster struck, they'd do whatever it took to solve the immediate problem, even if it meant robbing Peter to pay Paul. Otherwise, she'd be done for right now.

With three buttons undone, her fair skin looked irresistible in the moonlight. The pink bra beneath was practically on the verge of spilling into view.

"You said it yourself. Anything."

But the moment Kushida Kikyo said she would do anything, the real estate agent suddenly stopped.

Instead of undoing the last button, he touched her face. "You know what happens when you lie to me, right?"

"I do... I know..."

"Then you should also know that pretending to obey me to my face while going behind my back would be even worse, right?"

"I understand... I understand..."

"Tsk, what a beauty. What a shame."

He'd moved fast, but he left just as quickly. The real estate agent had been able to shove her to the ground in an instant, and now he stood up just as quickly, acting as if nothing had happened.

"All right, get up. Fix your clothes."

It was as if everything that had just happened was an illusion. The real estate agent stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the moon. He seemed like an entirely different person from the one who'd looked ready to take her moments ago.

She couldn't understand him. She couldn't see through him. What did this man really want?

But she knew she was at his mercy now, like a fish on the chopping board. He could do whatever he wanted with her.

She got to her feet and slowly buttoned her clothes. Head lowered, she listened to the real estate agent's instructions.

"Your phone. Hand it over."

"Yes..."

Biting her lip, Kushida Kikyo took her phone from her pocket. She unlocked it and handed it to the real estate agent.

She didn't dare imagine what he planned to do. Would he look through her private messages? Transfer her points? Download some kind of surveillance app onto her phone?

"All right. Here."

But after only a few seconds, he tossed the phone back to Kushida Kikyo.

When she got it back, she saw a message from a "new friend" on her screen.

So he'd just added himself as a friend?

"You said you'd do anything. So when the time comes, you'd better listen to me. You were right about one thing: this academy is fucked up. It's trying to make Classes A, B, C, and D fight one another. You have some influence in Class D. I need you to keep Class D under control. When I need you, don't refuse, or else..."

The real estate agent forcefully pulled her in front of him, making her look him in the eye.

Their faces were close again. But this time, she could tell his presence was completely different from before.

If he'd been a pervert who hadn't touched a girl in decades and was itching to make a move, now he was a cold, ruthless leader.

"You'll regret it. You'll regret it even more than you did just now. Understand?"

"I... understand."

"Good. I'm glad you understand."

The real estate agent released Kushida Kikyo and continued, "Of course, I won't make you work for nothing. If you carry out every task I give you perfectly, I'll give you points so you can live more comfortably. Believe me, things won't be easy for Class D in the future."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Also, if you ever feel stressed, you can come vent in my dorm room. It's at least safer than here."

The real estate agent didn't seem interested in answering Kushida Kikyo. He patted her shoulder and walked away.

His behavior left Kushida Kikyo completely unable to figure out what he was trying to do. She could only stare blankly after him. It wasn't until she shivered from the cold and sneezed that she realized she should hurry up and leave.

Making a Great Show of Rewarding the First Volunteer

"Good job. The five thousand points are yours."

This time, she was the only girl who'd reported what was going on, so naturally, she got the money.

Five thousand points was equivalent to five thousand yen, a substantial amount at the academy. Even though they received one hundred thousand points every month, he'd made it clear on the first day of school that they wouldn't necessarily get that much each month after this. They might get more, or they might get less.

But everyone knew that getting more was unlikely, while getting less was very likely. So having some extra money was obviously a great deal. Especially when... the effort required wasn't that much.

The real estate agent liked the old story about paying a fortune for a horse's bones. He knew that cruelty alone wouldn't work. It took both kindness and intimidation to win people over.

Fear made them afraid to defy him. Kindness gave them the motivation to work. In the original story, Ryuen Kakeru used fear but offered no kindness. So it was only natural that his empire was eventually overthrown. Not everyone obeyed him.

But now, with rewards in the mix, things were different. It didn't matter if you didn't like him. If there was work to do, he didn't believe you wouldn't do it. And once you'd done it, you'd get a reward. Even if you didn't obey him, you wouldn't slack off. If the task failed, after all, it wouldn't just be your interests that took a hit.

The real estate agent knew that this was only the very beginning. What he needed to build with Ryuen Shoko was prestige. One of them would play the good cop, the other the bad cop. Everyone needed to understand the consequences of defiance, as well as the benefits of obeying.

The real estate agent was sure that by tomorrow, word of the five thousand points would have spread through the class. The first horse's bones had been bought.

As for the second? That depended on whether Albert could get the job done. If he succeeded, the real estate agent would have a big surprise for the whole class.

"Mm... Finally, that's over~"

And just like that, the third day came to an end~

And it was a good thing Ryuen Shoko hadn't pinned him to the desk and twisted his arm at the start of the fourth day, too~ Congratulations, congratulations~

But one look at Ryuen Shoko's troublemaking expression told the real estate agent that today was sure to be another eventful day... in spring.

"So when are we making our move?"

"Don't rush. First, we build momentum."

"Build momentum?"

"That's right. Build momentum."

The real estate agent wore a delighted expression. This was what a proper scheme should look like. You couldn't just start plotting against someone on a whim. You had to lay the groundwork and make everything that seemed unreasonable feel reasonable from the start.

Albert was huge. That was the only problem with this operation—and the biggest one. So he needed to send a signal to the other classes: Class C didn't want trouble. At least, the people at the top of Class C didn't want trouble.

So how should they disguise it?

"Here's what we'll do. First this, then that."

The real estate agent laid out his plan, and it didn't take long for Ryuen Shoko to understand.

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

"Trouble? Let me put it this way, boss. If this works, we'll not only screw Class A over big time, we'll make a fortune too. So we can't be too careful."

He wasn't paying points for this operation, since it would need to be maintained for several days. If he paid by the task... that would be more than he could afford.

Besides, Ryuen was in charge of this operation. What did it have to do with him?

Thinking about it that way, he could save a huge amount of money, couldn't he?

Well, he could save a huge amount, but he still had to pay a little.

Of course, the money wasn't for his classmates. It was for Kushida.

Right, he needed to put Kushida to work.

"After the second period, find a way to invite Karuizawa to XX. I'll give you 3,000 points once it's done."

Three thousand points wasn't much, but Kushida didn't have to do anything difficult. She just had to bring someone to a certain place. It wasn't much trouble, and she could earn a little extra. Why not?

After sending the message, the real estate agent sighed and slumped over his desk, limp as a rag.

"What's with that dying look?"

Ryuen Shoko slapped the real estate agent's hand away. He'd unconsciously reached into her personal space, and she wanted him to snap out of it.

"I just feel like I don't have enough points..."

"Who told you to pay people points for doing things?"

"I have to give them some motivation. You need both kindness and intimidation... I'll have to figure out how to earn some points..."

The real estate agent had to start thinking about how he could earn points. Screwing over Class A could get him points, but he wouldn't receive them until next month. Did he really have to scrimp and save until then?

Ugh, what a headache...

"Your own fault."

Watching the real estate agent suffer, Ryuen Shoko merely raised an eyebrow. As far as she was concerned, he'd brought this on himself.

During class, the real estate agent pretended to pay attention while doodling on paper. In reality, he was calculating how many points he had left for the month.

This plan was costing him a lot. He was paying out of his own pocket for the class... Ugh, he could only grit his teeth and bear it.

Of course, he could tell Ryuen Shoko about it and have her squeeze the others for points. But... the real estate agent didn't think that was a good idea.

For one thing, it would make them unhappy. For another, he wasn't interested in taking money from poor people.

He still had some conscience left. Otherwise, he would've had Ryuen Shoko start collecting money from everyone ages ago. She had the whole class under her thumb. Making them hand over tens of thousands of points wouldn't be a problem.

But what the real estate agent wanted even more was Class A's points. Class A had money to burn, so they were the ones he should go after.

Damn it, he really wanted to put his plan into action today. But he couldn't. He needed to be prepared. Everything had to be in place—timing, location, and people—for this to work.

After the first period, the real estate agent watched everyone leave the classroom in groups of twos and threes. A glint flashed in his eyes.

He'd just have to put up with it for now. He still had enough points. If he really ran short... maybe he could borrow some from Shiina?

Even if she was secretly dark inside, she was still an angel most of the time. If he was really broke, maybe he could ask her... Wait, was borrowing money from a woman just because you were broke kind of a scummy thing to do?

He could worry about whether it was scummy once he'd made it through.

He slumped back over his desk, excitement stirring inside him again. His plan would begin during the next break.

He also had a little selfish motive in this operation. He'd have to think carefully about how to make his entrance when the time came.

Ryuen, Just Bullied Again (Mid-Autumn Festival Bonus 1/8)

She sure knows how to boss people around. Making me work on the very first day.