The Spectators Have Had Their Fill

"Oh dear, I heard you've caused quite a stir in the First Year and second years lately. Although I had heard before I came here that this was a special school, after becoming the Chairman, I really do think that if every student were like you, managing them would be a real hassle."

Tsukishiro maintained his polite smile, but his words made Miyabi Nagumo unconsciously frown.

"On the other hand, if you hadn't created this situation in your second year, I probably wouldn't have noticed you, much less considered adding you as an interesting variable. In that sense, shouldn't you feel honored to have followed my instructions for the next semester or year?"

"I'm not quite sure what Chairman Tsukishiro means."

"How could that be? Nagumo, you should know this better than anyone. Isn't this how you control the second-year students? When you were secretly manipulating Kiriyama of Class 2-B to put on a show with yourself... But now you're going to become Kiriyama."

"How--"

Before Miyabi Nagumo could even speak, Tsukishiro's thick arms, hidden in the cuffs of his suit jacket, immediately targeted his body. In no time, Miyabi Nagumo, who had always been number one in sports and was incredibly confident in his physical abilities, was grabbed by the neck by the approaching arms and slammed against the wall behind him.

"You're not as amazing as you claim, Miyabi Nagumo."

"Hmm--"

Miyabi Nagumo tried to break free, but her throat and body were held down by a strange force she had never experienced before, and she could only manage to squeeze out a few hoarse sounds.

Just as Miyabi Nagumo felt her vision blurring and her consciousness reaching its limit, Tsukishiro gently released her, letting her slide down the wall. She instinctively clutched her throat and coughed heavily a few times, then, after breathing heavily for a while, looked up in a hoarse voice and questioned him:

"Do you really think that the Acting Chairman's use of violence against students won't cause problems?"

Despite having repeatedly used blind spots in surveillance and loopholes in the rules to frame students in his grade and force them to drop out over the past year, at this moment, Miyabi Nagumo's first thought was of the school rules he had once looked down upon.

"Has Nagumo forgotten? There have never been any surveillance cameras installed here."

Tsukishiro smiled and continued to grab Miyabi Nagumo by the collar from bottom to top. After realizing there were no surveillance cameras, Nagumo immediately launched a whip kick, but it was easily blocked by the other party.

"Ah, my memory isn't very good either. My first order after taking Acting Chairman was to quickly eliminate the blind spots in the school's surveillance system and wholeheartedly ensure the safety of teachers and students."

Just as Miyabi Nagumo clenched her fist, preparing to deliver another punch, Tsukishiro calmly pointed to a somewhat concealed surveillance camera in the distance:

"Nagumo- kun should be the person most familiar with ANHS School rules, right? May I ask, what are the punishments for a student who assaults the Chairman?"

Taking advantage of Miyabi Nagumo's momentary daze, Tsukishiro used the same trick again, pressing his neck against the wall once more, continuing to subject him to both physical and psychological torture.

"Of course, there are also those two loans of ten million Private Points that you issued to Class 1-C and Class D in the first year. Actually, I can have the teacher who witnessed your contract resign and go home to recuperate tomorrow, unilaterally stating that the school never acknowledged or guaranteed the validity of the contract, and that the previous statement was just a staff error."

"Believe it or not, those students in Class C and Class D who borrowed Private Points you will immediately shake their heads and say they never borrowed any points from you. They might even turn around and support our school's righteous enforcement of the law."

After saying this, Tsukishiro issued his final ultimatum:

"So, how about answering my initial proposal again? During my tenure as Acting Chairman here, you have full authority to follow my instructions. If your answer is YES, then blink twice."

Tsukishiro still held Miyabi Nagumo by the throat, preventing him from speaking, and didn't even give him the option to refuse, displaying a style of behavior completely inconsistent with his usual kind-hearted demeanor.

Without a doubt, his actions and words had completely shattered Miyabi Nagumo's psychological defenses. It was as if a higher-dimensional being had launched a dimensional attack on a lower-dimensional being, blatantly tearing apart the entirety of the world that Nagumo had ever known in her life.

In that instant, all his past pride and reliance were lightly negated, and even his most basic human physical abilities were suppressed in such a humiliating way.

Miyabi Nagumo blinked twice.

Tsukishiro released his grip, then turned away without a second thought, slowly saying as he took out a tissue from his pocket to wipe his hands:

"Of course, you can still act according to your own ideas when I don't give you instructions. That OAA idea is very good. Let's implement it after the Sports Festival and you take over as Student Council President."

The footsteps of the departing person were as clear as the footsteps of their arrival, each step crunching over the broken and scattered items on the ground until they disappeared completely.

"Ya has suddenly become very irritable these past two days. Before, she was just annoyed by the drama on the forum, but now she seems to want to argue back with them word by word."

In the café at the Keyaki Mall, Asahina Nazuna complained to Kitagawa Ryo in a slightly annoyed tone:

"His attitude towards those around him is terrible. I spoke to him yesterday and he scolded me. I have no idea what he was venting his anger about."

"Maybe it was some comment that triggered him? After all, the insults directed at Senior Nagumo on the forum right now are really quite excessive."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't sure what Miyabi Nagumo had gone through these past two days, but the events were proceeding as he had predicted, and even more smoothly as a result, so he didn't dwell on it for the time being and planned to investigate further later.

"Maybe so. Anyway, Aya is acting like he's on steroids right now. He even told Class A and all the students who signed contracts with him to bet on him for the school's top scorer award. It seems like he's really going to compete with Horikita-senpai."

Asahina Nazuna shrugged helplessly at this point:

"But Liang knows perfectly well that we second-year students don't have many points left, and the contest has already been going on for a day, with many students having already used up most of their points."

"Actually, I still feel uneasy."

Kitagawa Ryo kindly offered his opinion:

"No one doubts that Senior Nagumo, but Horikita-senpai should also have no problem becoming the top scorer among the third-year students. In other words, the real battle between the two will likely be the final relay race, which is mixed with the entire grade. Class 2-A can't be said to have a sure win against Class 3-A, so people are hesitant."

Upon hearing this Asahina Nazuna nodded in agreement, then, somewhat wearily, folded her arms on the table, rested her chin on them, and lazily said:

"Maybe so. In the end, someone anonymously said on the forum, 'Anyway, we basically give all our points to Nagumo every month. If you're so confident that you can become the top scorer in the whole grade, why don't you use your points? Do you really think that's your private stash?' As a result, the wind suddenly turned like this, and Ya was basically put in a difficult position."

"That seems to make sense. After all, Senior Nagumo's points were collected from second-year students. Since he's so confident in himself, why not just use those points to bet on himself? If he wins, As You Like It be happy, and the Private Points he earns might be enough to give an extra transfer ticket to a lower-ranked class when they graduate in their third year."

"But what if we lose...?"

"If you can manipulate the results of all the competitions in the second year and still can't win the overall score title, doesn't that mean you lost to Horikita-senpai in the last mixed event for the entire grade? You have to accept the loss, after all, it's Senior Nagumo himself who keeps saying he wants to defeat and surpass Horikita-senpai."

"If I were Senior Nagumo, I would definitely stand up and place a big bet on myself right now, and then win it back in front of everyone."

"What Kitagawa-kun said makes a lot of sense."

Asahina Nazuna rested her head on her arm, tilted her head to the side, and muttered a complaint. Then, she habitually took out her phone and glanced at the real-time updates on the betting situation. To her surprise, Miyabi Nagumo's name suddenly appeared in first place in the all-grade scoring champion category. The amount of bets she had placed had increased by four million Private Points compared to half an hour ago, surpassing Horikita Manabu was originally in first place.

"Huh? What's going on... No, I have to go ask Ya."

Looking surprised, Asahina Nazuna quickly sent a message to Miyabi Nagumo asking about it. A short while later, she looked up again, somewhat confused, and said to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Ya said he didn't vote for it himself."

It seems that Asahina Nazuna still trusts Miyabi Nagumo's words, accepting his explanation immediately, and sighing with her chin in her hand:

"It seems there are still some people who are particularly optimistic about Ya. With this four million invested, it seems that quite a few undecided students have started to favor Ya. Is this what they call bandwagon investing?"

"Well, considering that someone dared to bet four million Private Points on Senior Nagumo in one go, they must have some inside information or be absolutely certain, so it's normal to follow suit."

Seemingly wanting to see what other students were discussing, Asahina Nazuna continued browsing the forum on her phone. A moment later, as if she had found something, she showed the screen on her phone to Kitagawa Ryo with a hint of confusion:

"This guy, Ryuen Kakeru, is he First Year students? He just posted screenshots of online betting on the forum. It looks like he bet four million on Ya..."

"In that case, Vice President Nagumo can rest assured. This will both boost your current momentum and ensure that you won't be blamed if you lose. I've thought of everything very carefully."

Ryuen Kakeru sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, his bright smile a stark contrast to Miyabi Nagumo's gloomy expression.

As a fellow internet guru on the forum, Ryuen Kakeru had been following Miyabi Nagumo's various controversies closely lately, and had even actively participated in two of them himself. Therefore, he was well aware of her current predicament, which is why he took the initiative to reach out to her.

"Think positively. Like I said, if you win the all-grade scoring title, you'll get your betting stake and winnings back in full. You'll make a huge profit. Even if you don't win, you can walk away unscathed. It won't affect your continued dominance over the second year. After all, what you lost was my Private Points, Ryuen Kakeru's, not the points you had to give away for Transfer Ticket."

Ryuen Kakeru waved his hand casually. The deal he made with Miyabi Nagumo was simple: he would use his four million Private Points to bet on Nagumo, and then Nagumo would transfer four million Private Points to him. If the bet was successful, the principal and the profits would all go to Nagumo; if the bet failed, nothing would happen.

Just as he said, this was indeed a contract that was completely advantageous to Miyabi Nagumo, because the worst outcome for Nagumo was that he would break even, since Ryuen Kakeru had already investigated in advance and found that the other party could make a profit of exactly four million through loans in this Sports Festival.

With the forum's subtle manipulations, Nagumo's points had become the common property of the second-year students. Under these circumstances, if he used these points to place bets and then lost, he would inevitably face a backlash.

In fact, Miyabi Nagumo had considered lending money to others to bet on her, but betting by second-year students would only make it obvious that it was her doing and wouldn't be very effective. It seemed that the third-year students were also up to something recently. She couldn't contact Ishikura from Class 3-B, whom she was familiar with, so she chose to come to Ryuen Kakeru on her own initiative.

After being Tsukishiro, Miyabi Nagumo's mentality became even more extreme than before. She even developed a sense of crisis and fear, and her desire to control the second-year students and her competitiveness against Horikita Manabu became even stronger, as if this could make her forget that nightmarish afternoon.

"Well then, it was a pleasure working with you. See you next time."

Seeing that Miyabi Nagumo seemed reluctant to communicate, Ryuen Kakeru was too lazy to bother with her. He put his legs down, got up from the sofa, and left the room in a few steps.

On the surface, his transaction seemed to be a break-even deal. He bet four million and got four million back from Miyabi Nagumo, so whether he won or lost the bet was irrelevant to him.

But perhaps he has already achieved his goal with that extra four million.

As the total prize pool for the all-grade top scorer award grew larger and larger, Ryuen Kakeru simply swiped his phone screen and heavily tapped on a particular name among the displayed selections.

Perhaps he did indeed have an inexplicable trust in the other person.

Kitagawa Ryo--

Five million Private Points, all in!

Chapter 291: The onlookers are having a good time.

Just as Ryuen Kakeru went all in with five million, Kitagawa Ryo, the person he had bet on, had just finished chatting with Asahina Nazuna and, after smiling and saying goodbye, seamlessly moved on to another second-year upperclassman.

"You suddenly have five million on you, did you see that?"

Kiryuin Fuka had barely pulled out her chair and hadn't even sat down when she blurted out her words. Kitagawa Ryo, however, had gradually grown accustomed to his senior's personality, so he replied in a similarly teasing tone:

"Doesn't this just prove that someone has high hopes for me? It's better than having no one betting on Senior Kiryuin at all, right?"

Upon hearing the amount of five million, Kitagawa Ryo was basically certain that Ryuen Kakeru had placed the bet on him. In that case, the screenshots of bets placed on Miyabi Nagumo that the other party could show on the forum were probably just a scheme to get something for nothing.

Although it's unclear what kind of mental journey the other party went through before making this all-in decision, Ryuen's choice was indeed correct, because he also had no intention of holding back in this Sports Festival, aiming for the top scorer award within and even across the entire grade.

As for why he made such a decision, it was mainly due to the bet he made with Kiryuin Fuka in front of him.

Even though Kitagawa Ryo hadn't known this white-haired senior for very long, and hadn't had as many opportunities to chat with her as he had with Asahina Nazuna, whom he met around the same time, he still believed he had a certain understanding of her personality.

Although the bet between the two was made before the school announced the guessing game, Kitagawa Ryo did not intend to use that as an excuse to avoid his duel with Kiryuin Fuka.

On the contrary, only when he wholeheartedly displays his full strength, creating a fierce atmosphere of neck and neck with Kiryuin Fuka on the scoring leaderboard, will the upperclassmen who are used to slacking off be willing to completely stir up a storm on the second-year side, which is actually what Kitagawa Ryo hopes to see.

"It's not surprising that no one voted for me. After all, not many people know me. Besides, look at the situation of the second year. Apart from that guy Nagumo, there isn't a single second-year student in the entire list who has been voted into the top ten."

Kiryuin Fuka still seemed indifferent, completely different from Asahina Nazuna's impression. Whenever she sat down, she would unconsciously spread her arms and drape them over the back of the chair, one on each side. Combined with her height of over 1.7 meters and her tone of voice, she exuded a cool and dashing aura.

"Kiryuin, don't underestimate yourself. Who says no one believes in you? Someone has already bet a million on you, hasn't they? But the contest you've chosen is 'Who will become the second-year scoring champion?'"

Kitagawa Ryo took out his phone from his pocket, swiped the screen a few times, and then smiled as he showed it to Kiryuin Fuka. The page displayed the successful bet confirmation, with Kiryuin herself as the bettor. The bet was on the second-year top scorer, and the amount was one million Private Points.

"I see."

Kiryuin Fuka raised an eyebrow slightly, quickly understanding Kitagawa Ryo's meaning. As if not satisfied, she took out her phone and, like him, chose the second-year scoring champion prediction game, also spending one million Private Points on herself.

As one of the few second-year students who did not form a contract with Miyabi Nagumo or was expelled by her, Kiryuin Fuka naturally did not need to pay tribute to Miyabi Nagumo every month, and she had quite a few Private Points at her disposal.

After doing all this, the two of them tacitly opened the forum together.

Just as they expected, the combined effect of these two million Private Points was even more exaggerated than the four million and five million that had just been spent. The latter was at least a contest and confrontation of evenly matched strength, but the former... it's no exaggeration to say that in the eyes of most students, especially second-year students, this was simply casting a losing option, an extremely absurd act of giving away Private Points.

Given the current situation in second grade, is there really anyone who can compete with Miyabi Nagumo for the top scorer position in the grade?

Even if, hypothetically, this person truly possesses athletic abilities comparable to Nagumo's, she might still face a dire situation at the Sports Festival where all her opponents in her group would abandon their own performance to desperately disrupt her.

Perhaps this reflects the complex and contradictory mindset of many second-year students. On one hand, they hold the belief that Nagumo is invincible, while on the other hand, they secretly yearn for someone to bring him down from his pedestal and restore the entire second-year situation to the original class competition system of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

Despite their thoughts, everyone still honestly squeezed out their last bit of Private Points and threw them all at Nagumo.

If it were the top scorer in the entire grade, they would indeed hesitate, but this project is the top scorer among the second-year students, an area that Nagumo cannot afford to lose.

Besides the second-year students, thanks to the publicity and exposure by an anonymous account, most of the first- and third-year students who were already aware of the situation in the second year also chose to take advantage of this free Private Points and bet on Miyabi Nagumo.

As for why not many people are willing to participate in the prediction of Kiryuin Fuka's unexpected result, firstly, Nagumo's advantage is too obvious, and secondly, it's due to the final profit-sharing mechanism of this prediction contest.

Don't be fooled by how easily Kitagawa Ryo and Kiryuin Fuka each pulled out a million points; in reality, most students don't have that many points available, and coming up with a few thousand or tens of thousands is already their limit.

In other words, even if someone bets on Kiryuin Fuka with 10,000 points, and wins, they will only receive less than one percent of the prize pool. This kind of low-return, high-risk betting is something only those who want to bet can do.

Although both are top scorers, this is completely different from guessing the top scorer of the entire grade. The total prize pool over there is several times larger than this one after the four million and five million prizes were won. It's a big prize where if you guess correctly, even if your share is small, you'll still get a lot of points.

Even so, little by little, in the second-year scoring champion category, Miyabi Nagumo's total Private Points still rose rapidly, quickly surpassing the one million mark.

"Now, we're just waiting for Nagumo's reaction. I think we can already guess how much he's going to bet."

"Are you so sure, Kiryuin- senpai?"

"Otherwise, wasn't he aiming for the top scorer in the entire grade? Since he's already the top scorer in the entire grade, he'll naturally be the top scorer in the second grade as well. It's an extra challenge where winning one means winning the second place as well, so he'll definitely bet on it."

Kiryuin Fuka leaned back slightly and gestured with her chin towards Kitagawa Ryo:

"And besides, he's the top scorer in the second year."

"These are the second-year students whom Nagumo considers his private domain, and even the school administration cannot interfere with them."

Inside the Student Council, Kiriyama had already lost his composure, angrily standing up and pointing at Miyabi Nagumo, who had summoned him and his confidants, loudly demanding:

"Nagumo, are you crazy? Are you really going to do something this reckless? You already bet four million Private Points, and now you want to gamble another one in the match against Kiryuin? Are you going to spend Private Points to hire someone to interfere with her match on the day of the Sports Festival?"

"Kiriyama, you're the one who doesn't understand the situation. I called you here simply to inform you of my actions, not to discuss anything with you."

Miyabi Nagumo, who was already in a bad mood these past few days, was also ignited by Kiriyama's direct rebuttal, and responded with a cold laugh.

"You've been acting so strangely lately, Nagumo. I'm really disappointed in you."

Faced with the somewhat disdainful look that Kiriyama suddenly revealed, Miyabi Nagumo's tone also became agitated: