Let's Call It "Hiding Skill in Plain Sight" / She's the Boss of Class C. And Me? I'm Just a Fox Behind the Scenes ...

She couldn't see the wounds, and there wasn't a mirror around, either. So she decided to have someone help her.

"Sure thing. Just a moment."

Though there was a beauty in front of him, her brutal display just now had made the housing agent wary of doing anything inappropriate. He crouched down carefully and began applying ointment to Ryuen Shoko's wounds—not just on her face, but on her arms and thighs as well.

When he was done, he put on some bandages, then returned to his seat. He didn't put away the ointment or bandages, though. Instead, he left them on Ryuen Shoko's desk.

He knew she had other wounds in places covered by her clothes, but it would have been inappropriate for him to apply ointment there himself. That was why he left them out, so she could put it on herself when she got back.

Or perhaps... she could find a girl to help her? That would have nothing to do with the housing agent.

Kings were proud. When a wolf king was injured, he licked his own wounds in solitude. If someone else tried to fawn over him, he might not appreciate it and take a bite out of them. At least, the housing agent didn't dare touch the wounds hidden beneath her clothes.

When he returned to his seat, he saw Ryuen Shoko swivel her chair around a hundred and eighty degrees to face him. She even propped her legs up on his desk.

From the housing agent's perspective, he could see Ryuen Shoko's fair legs. They were covered in bruises and scratches, but he had to admit they were a great pair of legs.

Too bad she knew to cover up certain parts now. He couldn't see what lay beneath her skirt anymore.

"All right, go on. You were saying something about whether I'm a tyrant or a king."

With the necessary treatment taken care of, Ryuen Shoko wanted to hear what the housing agent had to say. "Being gentle with my own people isn't my style. You saw that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I saw. But that doesn't change the fact that you're gentle with your own people."

The housing agent leaned forward and gestured toward the classmate beside him. "At least in this incident, it's even clearer to me that you're a king, not a tyrant."

"Huh? I beat them up like this, and you still think I'm a king?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

The housing agent sat up straight again and looked Ryuen Shoko in the eye. "What do you think a tyrant is? You think beating up your classmates like this is enough? This was just punishment for disobedient subjects. If you were a tyrant, sorry, but I didn't see rivers of blood. I didn't see severed limbs, and I didn't see anyone getting their teeth knocked out. These are just bruises and scrapes. It's hardly cruel."

He'd been through a school brawl before. Back then, someone had lost a tooth, someone had broken a vertebra, someone's arm had been snapped, and someone else had been beaten until they were bleeding badly. That incident of school violence had led to five or six students being expelled and a whole lot more being put on probation. Compared to that, the housing agent really did think this fight was child's play.

"And you didn't bully anyone after winning, either. That makes me think you're even more of a king."

No matter what, the housing agent was going to praise her as a king. There had been plenty of people called kings in China. Whether it was Xiang Yu or the Little Conqueror Sun Ce, Ryuen Shoko couldn't compare to either of them. But you said what people wanted to hear, whether they were people or ghosts. In this situation, if the housing agent called her a king, then she was a king. Everyone liked hearing praise, no matter what kind of ruler they were.

If he dared call her a tyrant right now, she'd probably punch him. After all, the housing agent had just said that tyrants were dogs who yapped at people outside their own circle.

"For now, let's call it hiding your brilliance behind a humble appearance."

"All right, I'm a king. So what? What else do you have to say?"

"What else... There isn't really anything left to say. Since we've already accepted you as our king, I don't think there's anything else to deal with today. After all, we haven't even started looking into a lot of things, so there's not much to say yet. Besides, some of our classmates still don't understand the situation. They'll need to go back and think it over."

As he spoke, the housing agent glanced around, then turned his gaze to their homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami, who'd been watching the whole thing as if he were about to start devouring popcorn or a watermelon. "Teacher, is there anything else you need to say?"

"No, nothing."

"Then can we go home now?"

"Sure, sure."

Kazuma Sakagami wore the expression of a doting father, which left the housing agent baffled. Was he really that bad at being a homeroom teacher?

"Hey, tell me—who's the king here, me or you?"

As the housing agent spoke with Kazuma Sakagami, Ryuen Shoko's leg tapped lightly against his desk. The ruler of Class C clearly wasn't pleased.

It was obvious she thought the housing agent had overstepped.

"Ahem. My king, a king doesn't have to do everything personally. At least, I can handle this little matter myself. You should be taking care of more important things."

As he spoke, the housing agent glanced at the medicine behind Ryuen Shoko. He didn't say anything, but the meaning was clear.

"Then tell me, what's more important?"

"Facing tomorrow's challenges, of course, my king. There are still a lot of classmates who aren't convinced. They've submitted to you only because the situation forced them to. So I think it'd be best to let them go back and think about it. If they get angrier the more they think, they'll definitely challenge you again tomorrow. You may face even stronger opposition, so I think it's more important for you to rest a little now."

"Hmph, smooth talker. Fine. Since you say you'll handle what's left, do your best. Don't disappoint me."

Ryuen Shoko picked up her bag and strode out of the classroom.

She acted as if she didn't care, but judging by the fact that she took the medicine and the slight change in her gait, she must have been badly hurt this time, too.

Whatever. If she couldn't get through even this much hardship, she had no business being the king of Class C. She might as well settle for being a delinquent girl.

Once Ryuen Shoko had left, the housing agent clapped his hands. "All right, everyone, school's out. What are you still doing here? And while we're at it, think things over when you get home. If you don't want to submit to Ryuen Shoko, you'd better discuss how to beat her tomorrow. If you're too scared, then just do what she says. That's all I have to say. School's out—go home and find your moms. Oh, would anyone be willing to take these students to the infirmary? We're all going to be in the same class, so we should get to know each other. Especially those of you who can't stand Ryuen—take them to the infirmary and discuss what to do."

With no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys became kings. Since the housing agent had been the first to submit to Ryuen Shoko, everyone listened to him and left.

As for the students lying on the ground, they were helped away, too. They'd just been knocked around, and their injuries weren't too serious. They could make it to the infirmary with someone supporting them.

"Hey, Mr. Sakagami, could you stay a moment?"

Seeing the homeroom teacher, who'd had his fill of the spectacle, about to leave, the housing agent quickly called him back and asked him to wait. "I don't suppose you have anything urgent to do, do you, sir? Could we... talk?"

Kazuma Sakagami really didn't have anything urgent to do. The middle-aged man looked stern and cold, but after getting to know him, it was clear that he was just cold on the outside and warm on the inside.

After all the students had left, Kazuma Sakagami asked the housing agent, "Is there something you want to ask me, Hoya?"

"Of course. I've got a lot of questions, homeroom teacher."

The housing agent stood up and looked out the window. "Something that big just happened in class. You watched the whole thing, so you must have your own thoughts about it, right?"

Right—a spectacle. In the housing agent's eyes, Ryuen Shoko, himself, and every classmate who'd stood up just now had all been fools on a stage, part of the same farce.

It had been a pretty pointless showdown. It might even become an embarrassing memory they'd look back on in the future.

Of course, only people who weren't self-aware would think of it as an embarrassing memory. The housing agent wasn't one of them. He knew it was a farce, but he'd still been willing to play along. He'd even shamelessly said things like "my king" and "oh, my king"—the kind of line that would make someone's pinky finger curl up enough to dig out a whole three-bedroom apartment. Even looking back on it later, he'd still think he'd done a damn good job.

Once you accepted that you were an actor and started fooling around onstage, the entire situation would take on a different character.

"Thoughts? I don't care."

Kazuma Sakagami also went to the window and looked at the many students leaving the school. "As far as I'm concerned, having someone step up as class leader is already a good thing."

"Then I'd like to ask you something, homeroom teacher. What are your plans?"

"What do you mean?"

"The state of the class. Are you just going to let things slide, or do you want us to improve?"

"Of course I'd rather see you improve. I'm very pleased with Ryuen's performance. If she dares call herself the king of Class C, she'll lead the class forward. That way, I won't have to worry about us falling to Class D."

"I see."

It had seemed like a subtle hint from Kazuma Sakagami, but to the housing agent, who'd read the script, that hint was more than enough for him to use as bragging rights.

"Fall to Class D? So you're hoping we can become Class A, then?"

"Become Class A? No. That's impossible. Since this school was founded, no other class has ever replaced Class A as the graduating top class."

Kazuma Sakagami turned his head to look at the housing agent. "You're quick on the uptake. That's something even I didn't expect. Is your intelligence really only C?"

"Sir, isn't it only natural to hide your talents behind a humble appearance? To be honest, I'm not suited to being a leader, which is why I let Ryuen be king. I don't care who the class leader is, as long as they can win everyone over."

"Win everyone over? Honestly, you're starting to interest me. You looked like a loyal lapdog just now, but in less than a day, you've already figured out who the most capable person in class is. Maybe the school underestimated you."

"If we set aside the omniscient perspective, what Kazuma Sakagami said wasn't wrong."

Without that fight just now, Ryuen Shoko would have looked like nothing more than a delinquent girl. She might even have seemed like a mere pretty face, completely lacking in fighting ability. She had skinny arms and legs, and she couldn't compare to Yamada Albert.

But the housing agent had immediately reacted and started fawning over her. It looked as if he were trying to please his master, but without anyone noticing, he'd gradually become the real king. He didn't look like Ryuen Shoko's dog so much as a sorcerer manipulating her like a puppet.

He seemed pretty green. But they were all just kids in their teens. For someone so young to be this capable meant his future was promising, without a doubt.

"Haha, the school underestimated me? Maybe not. Sir, you shouldn't have such high expectations of me, either. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. I'm just a pushover. I can't be anything impressive."

The housing agent knew himself best. His motto was to go wild with the wind at his back and switch sides when things turned against him. Though he looked carefree, that was all because he knew the script. If you asked him what the future held, he wouldn't dare guarantee anything.

As expected, information was what mattered in ancient warfare. The more information you had, the easier it was to act. The ancients hadn't lied.

"But, sir, that's not all I wanted to ask. Let me take my time and ask everything."

"Sure. Go ahead."

"I think Class C becoming Class A, or falling to Class D, can't happen just because someone says so. It must have something to do with points, right?"

"Right."

"And if it has to do with points, then... there must be a system secretly calculating our scores that we don't know about yet. Is it a system where we earn points, or one where we lose them? Probably both, right? Small things cost us points, big things earn them, and whoever ends up with the most points becomes Class A?"

"Your powers of observation and deduction are impressive. What else can you figure out?"

Kazuma Sakagami hadn't expected a student to notice the S-Points on the very first day. He couldn't deny that it surprised him. Someone like this should have been in Class A. How had he ended up in Class C?

He was beginning to think his class was interesting. At this rate, his bonus would be pretty good.

Kazuma Sakagami cared a lot about class honors. But it wasn't for the sake of principles or anything like that. He just wanted his bonus.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Ryuen Kakeru do as he pleased in the original story. He only became disappointed when Ryuen Kakeru could no longer control Class C.

That meant he wasn't the kind of inflexible teacher who cared about his students' moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education. He cared only about results.

A boss like that was both easy and difficult to deal with. But at least he was willing to let them do what they wanted, and that was a good start.

There were always ways around the rules. The housing agent was talking to Kazuma Sakagami now to get a better sense of what kind of person his homeroom teacher was.

If he was easy to deal with, he'd be a great ally. The housing agent needed to prove his ability to Kazuma Sakagami. He might keep saying he wasn't capable of this or that, but it wasn't up to him to decide whether he was. Kazuma Sakagami had to figure that out for himself.

Besides... humble people were less likely to be dismissed. If he boasted right now, even the smallest mistake would make Kazuma Sakagami think much less of him. But if he stayed humble, Sakagami wouldn't hold it against him unless he made a serious mistake.

"I also have a feeling... that the points are connected to the points we receive on the first of every month. Is that right?"

The housing agent turned his head to look at Kazuma Sakagami. The two of them met each other's gaze, smiles on their faces.

"Getting a hundred thousand points every month sounds wonderful, but would the school really give us that much every month? Let's say a class has forty students. That's four million points per class and sixteen million for all four classes. Those points can be equated to money. The school would spend sixteen million every month on students, which adds up to over a hundred million a year. And that's just for one class. I don't think any high school would be that generous."

Clap, clap.

Kazuma Sakagami applauded. He had to admit the housing agent had given him a huge surprise.

He'd been at this school for a long time, but this was the first time he'd seen a student with such excellent powers of observation.

He didn't know about the script, so he could only assume the housing agent had figured it out for himself. And his reasoning was flawless.

Sometimes, logic was right there on the surface. Things seemed normal, but if you thought about them more deeply, you'd find a lot of problems.

Plenty of clever people would realize something was wrong later on. But on the very first day, while everyone else was excited to have a hundred thousand points to spend each month, the housing agent had already noticed this. That was extremely unusual.

"So, what do you intend to do?"

"My intentions... I've got plenty, but there's no rush. Right now, I just want to know what you think, sir."

The smile on the housing agent's face gradually faded. He looked calmly at Kazuma Sakagami. "I want to know just how far you're willing to go to help Class C rise."

"If you can become Class A."

"Ah... I can't guarantee that. I'm only at a Class C level myself, so I can't say what the students in Classes B and A are like, sir. I can only say I'll do my best not to let you down."

The housing agent never made promises. He never gave people expectations, because if you promised something and failed to deliver, they'd hate you even more.

If you didn't give people expectations, you wouldn't disappoint them. Instead of telling them in advance, it was better to surprise them later. That was the right move.

Giving people enough hope in advance could certainly earn you the most resources, but if you failed, the housing agent wouldn't be able to bear the cost. So he had to play it safe and stay cautious.

"Then all I can say is that I'll support you as far as you can go."

"Then I'd like to ask... for now, could you turn a blind eye to what's going on in class?"

"Sure. I can do that."

Letting things take their course was simple enough. Kazuma Sakagami agreed readily. "But I hope you can truly unite the whole class."

"Not me. Ryuen, right? She's the king of our class."

"So you're planning to work behind the scenes?"

"You flatter me, sir. At best, I'm just a strategist."

Though the housing agent said that about himself, to Kazuma Sakagami, it looked as if nine white tails had sprouted behind him.

What kind of strategist was he? He was a nine-tailed fox!

"Why is everyone drawn to me when I'm just eating a wild-vegetable set meal?"

"Phew. That hour was more exhausting than a whole day."

After talking with Kazuma Sakagami, the housing agent couldn't help letting out a sigh.

He wasn't sure how much of it had been an act and how much had been genuine. But from the moment Ryuen Shoko announced that she was the king of Class C, he knew that their life at Classroom of the Elite had begun.

"Ugh... I should go grab dinner first, then head back to the dorm and think carefully about the future."