One Word From Above, Running Your Legs Off Below

The next day, inside a Mos Burger.

Ryuen walked into the store with a gloomy expression on his face.

"Ryuen, over here!" Hashimoto Masayoshi waved his hand to greet him.

"Oh? So Class A sent you? Where is your leader, Sakayanagi?" Ryuen asked, seemingly casual as he sat down in a chair.

"Well," Hashimoto Masayoshi said, chewing on a toothpick, "obviously, she couldn't make it because she had other things to attend to."

Ryuen didn't speak, and Hashimoto Masayoshi had no intention of breaking the silence, simply waiting quietly for the others to arrive.

Before long, Ichinose and Horikita Suzune stepped through the entrance at the same time, spotting Ryuen and Hashimoto Masayoshi the moment they walked in.

"Suzune, so Class D sent you?" Ryuen said with interest.

"Is there something wrong with me coming here?" Horikita Suzune pulled out a chair and sat down, while also glaring fiercely at Ryuen:

"Also, calling people by their first name without permission is very rude behavior."

Ryuen didn't answer, instead turning his head to look at Ichinose: "Is Horikita Etsuka not coming?"

Ichinose's expression didn't change in the slightest as she asked in confusion: "Why would you think it would be Horikita-kun coming?"

"Nothing. Compared to you, I'd rather have a conversation with him."

Ichinose remained completely unfazed, her fingers interlaced as she rested her chin on them:

"My, that's quite embarrassing to hear."

"I don't see any embarrassment on your face." Ryuen seemed to think of something, turning his head to look at Suzune as he said:

"Horikita Suzune... Horikita Etsuka, are you two related?"

"Yes, he is my younger brother. What of it? Is there a problem?"

Horikita Suzune admitted it quite straightforwardly; after all, there was nothing to hide about this, nor could it be hidden.

"Nothing." Ryuen shifted into a more relaxed posture on his chair, a hint of mockery in his eyes as he said:

"For him to be in Class B as the younger brother, while you are in Class D as the older sister, that's truly pathetic."

"Class assignments don't..."

"Do you even believe that yourself?" Ryuen interrupted Horikita Suzune directly, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table:

"Since things have reached this point, is there any need to say such foolish things?"

Horikita Suzune's teeth clenched slightly, but her expression remained unchanged.

"Huh? Why is the atmosphere so thick with gunpowder?" Seeing that the mood was off, Ichinose quickly tried to smooth things over:

"Anyway, we're supposed to be here to discuss how to resolve this matter, right?"

"Exactly. If you want to talk about those topics, do it in private," Hashimoto Masayoshi chimed in.

"Fine." Ryuen reined in his aura and spoke slowly: "You really did win this time. State your terms."

Ichinose spoke first: "Class C pays 2 million points, and this matter will not be leaked."

"2 million points? You really dare to dream." Ryuen reached up to rub his temple with one hand:

"Just give me the price you actually have in mind. Don't play these boring games of haggling."

One had to realize that if each class averaged 40 people, the total points for an entire class would only be 4 million. Even though Ryuen ruled through violence, many people would still rise up in rebellion.

"1 million points. That is our bottom line," Ichinose said bluntly.

Hashimoto Masayoshi took a contract out from under the table, and Ryuen took it to look:

Class C shall grant 1 million points to Classes A, B, and D. Classes A, B, and D shall destroy all videos from the special building on the afternoon of May 28th and guarantee they will not be leaked.

The 1 million points are to be distributed as follows:

Class B: 500,000 points

Class A: 300,000 points

Class D: 200,000 points

Ryuen sneered as he read through it:

"So, it was all prepared in advance." He pointed his finger at the guarantor section: "Even the Student Council has stamped it. You really prepared thoroughly."

Hashimoto Masayoshi shrugged, saying helplessly: "The big shots have their own ideas. To be honest, there are some things I still don't know even now."

Ryuen picked up a pen and signed his name directly, then stood up and said: "The 1 million points will be transferred to your three accounts respectively."

With that, he stood up and left immediately, without any hesitation.

He paused when he reached the door, turning his head to say in a low voice:

"I accept this defeat, but next time, I will crush you one by one."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it," Hashimoto replied.

Only then did Ryuen disappear from everyone's sight.

The remaining three didn't linger for long either, exchanging a few brief words before leaving the Mos Burger.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name has just been changed!

For the leaders of each class, this time was merely a minor scuffle, but the executors below ran themselves ragged.

In particular, the three members of Class C led by Ishizaki not only took a beating but didn't gain any benefits at all.

However, despite gaining nothing, they still felt a sense of relief—relief that Ryuen did not blame them, but instead showed understanding and tolerance.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ryuen summoned everyone in the class back to the classroom to conduct a thorough investigation for traitors; of course, whether they actually found one remains unknown.

Monday was the day for the results to be announced.

The students of Class B arrived in the classroom, and the study representative had long since placed the test papers on everyone's desks.

Hoshinomiya arrived at the classroom swaying, smelling of alcohol. She leaned against the podium with a dazed expression and said:

"Hehe, students, good afternoon everyone!"

"Teacher, it's still morning."

"Yeah, Teacher, you didn't forget that, did you?"

After several weeks of spending time together, the students of Class B had long since grown accustomed to their teacher's fondness for alcohol; aside from the first day of school, she basically carried a faint scent of liquor every single day.

"Oh? Is it really morning?" Hoshinomiya placed her index finger on her lips with a thoughtful expression, then turned her head to look blankly at the clock on the wall:

"Eh? It really is morning."

"Hehe, sorry about that. Well then, good morning everyone!" Hoshinomiya pulled herself together and greeted them again.

She picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard, muttering to herself: "I won't go over the results one by one; everyone did very well. Now, I want to focus on telling you about something very important."

As Hoshinomiya wrote, the students below began to whisper among themselves.

"Something very important? Is there anything more important than grades?"

"I don't know. Could it be that hygiene is being added to the assessment?!"

In the back row, Himeno Yuki turned her head to look at Horikita Etsuka, only to find him resting his chin on his hand and gazing out the window.

"Horikita, aren't you interested in this important thing the teacher is talking about?" Himeno Yuki asked.

Horikita Etsuka turned his head, and Himeno Yuki was instantly stunned.

She saw that Horikita Etsuka had two stickers pasted onto his eyelids, each with an eye drawn on it. The drawing was incredibly lifelike; if the color of the stickers had been closer to his skin tone, one might not have been able to tell at all.

"Pfft." Even Himeno Yuki, who didn't usually laugh much, puffed out her cheeks: "Horikita, what are you doing?"

Horikita Etsuka peeled the stickers off his eyelids: "It's obvious, I'm sleeping."

Himeno Yuki nodded, but then frowned slightly: "Horikita, you sleep like this every morning. Aren't you worried about your grades at all?"

Horikita Etsuka casually pulled out a test paper and handed it to Himeno Yuki. She took it and looked, only to see a satisfying score on it: 100!

"This..." Himeno Yuki was momentarily stunned.

She listened quite attentively during class, yet her grades could only stay in the upper-middle range. But Horikita was different; morning was basically his time for sleeping, yet he could still maintain a perfect score!

"Horikita, your math grades are very good, so your logical thinking must be excellent. However, literature is not like math; if you don't memorize it carefully, it's very likely that you won't..."

Before Himeno Yuki could finish, Horikita Etsuka tossed out another test paper.

Literature, 96 points!

Himeno Yuki pouted and slumped over her desk, her purple twin-tails swaying back and forth.

What is this? Her desk-mate could get high scores even while sleeping through the morning! She listened to the lectures carefully, yet her scores weren't as high as Horikita Etsuka's!

Horikita Etsuka smiled slightly. He patted Himeno Yuki on the shoulder and said:

"Everyone has a learning method that suits them. As long as you master that method, your efficiency can more than double, and you can use the extra time to do what you like. I can teach you."

Himeno Yuki raised her head, remained silent for a moment, and said one word: "Okay."

"But there's a condition," Horikita Etsuka said.

"What condition?"

"You have to smile often. Don't keep such a cold face. Has anyone ever told you that you look very pretty when you smile?"

"Smile?"

"Yes. Why don't you try smiling at me first?"

Himeno Yuki looked at the expectant Horikita Etsuka, and eventually, the corners of her mouth slowly lifted. But the next second, she immediately turned her head away: "No, I can't do it. It feels so strange."

"Himeno, smiling is actually very simple. Look at me."

Himeno Yuki turned back, and Horikita Etsuka immediately flashed a sunny smile.

In an instant, a flush of red appeared on Himeno Yuki's cheeks, and she felt her body grow a little warmer.

For some reason, Horikita Etsuka was very well-suited for smiling; whenever he did, Himeno Yuki couldn't help but blush.

"Alright! Mission accomplished!" Hoshinomiya, with her dizzy head, finally finished her "masterpiece" on the blackboard.