What? It's actually magic?

Feeling their eyes on him.

Prince Ganlongdao glanced at the pile of trash beneath Ryuen.

He said mockingly:

"Sakagami, didn't you see it?"

"What do you mean?" Sakagami frowned.

"There's a magic circle I drew under Ryuen's bed."

Prince Ganlongdao nodded toward the edge of the bed with his chin. "That's why he can't go to class."

"..."

Kazuma Sakagami's face darkened.

A magic circle?

Were these guys seriously taking him for an idiot?

"Ryuen."

"Sakagami's here, too. Why not ask him to make me remove the magic circle beneath your feet?"

Ignoring Sakagami's gaze, Prince Ganlongdao said mockingly.

It was simple.

Nothing complicated about it.

A battle of wills: just throw the problem back at him.

At that,

Ryuen narrowed his snake-like eyes.

If he answered by relying on Sakagami's authority at school, then in Ryuen's eyes, that would be no different from admitting defeat.

If he said no,

then this contest—and their lives—would simply go on as before.

Wasn't that...

Just perfect?

Ryuen's eyes were cold.

"No need!"

"..."

The two looked at each other, then grinned.

The contest was still on!

The longer this dragged on, the worse Ryuen's living conditions would get. He might even fall ill, which meant the pressure on Prince Ganlongdao would only grow.

Watching the scene unfold, Kazuma Sakagami furrowed his brows.

The so-called magic circle was obviously nonsense.

Clearly,

the two had some kind of bet going on.

That was troublesome.

"At least try to keep the place clean if you're going to have a magic circle."

Kazuma Sakagami glanced at the trash on the floor, looking thoroughly disgusted.

With that,

Kazuma Sakagami turned and left.

Prince Ganlongdao followed behind him, thinking the teacher was pretty funny.

After the two left,

Ryuen hesitated for a moment.

Then he tidied up the trash a little.

Living in such a mess was bad enough.

Besides, there wasn't much room left in the room to pile up any more lunch boxes.

Outside the dorm room.

After leaving Ryuen's room,

Prince Ganlongdao saw Kazuma Sakagami waiting outside.

"Ganlongdao."

Sakagami turned around, his tone stern.

"What exactly is going on between you and Ryuen?"

"Don't be so stern, Sakagami."

Prince Ganlongdao leaned against the balcony and said indifferently, "You saw it yourself. Ryuen's perfectly fine."

"..."

Kazuma Sakagami took a deep breath.

Even if Prince Ganlongdao didn't say anything, he could more or less guess that the two had made a bet, perhaps to decide who would be the boss of the class.

But...

"As the homeroom teacher, it's my responsibility to guide my students onto the right path."

Kazuma Sakagami chose his words carefully, then said coldly:

"If this goes on, Ryuen's life could be in danger. I can't just stand by and watch him waste away. Ganlongdao, whatever your problem with Ryuen is, resolve it within a week."

They were able to act so recklessly

partly because no one had reported them.

Their violence wasn't as serious as the way Kaneda and the others pursued their own interests.

Another reason

was Kazuma Sakagami's bias and favoritism.

Even if someone did report them, he could use his authority as a teacher to smooth things over.

In the end, a big problem would become a small one, and a small one would disappear.

Like saying, "Why did they pick on you and nobody else?"

No matter how comprehensive the S System's rules were,

people were the ones who ultimately enforced them!

"A week?"

Prince Ganlongdao raised an eyebrow. "Why the rush? Is it that big a problem if we don't resolve this?"

"You don't need to know that for now. Just resolve it within a week. Understood?"

Kazuma Sakagami's face was cold.

There were more than just the Private Points each student held.

There were Class Points, too.

They needed enough Class Points to move up to Class A and gain the freedom to choose their careers. Then he could receive a hefty bonus.

He could overlook Ishizaki and the others playing on their phones in class.

But every time Ryuen skipped class, the Class Points kept getting deducted.

Since they were Class C,

it was normal for them to fall behind the other classes.

Losing a few points was no big deal.

Kazuma Sakagami could accept that if it helped unite the class quickly.

But,

if Ryuen kept skipping class and they continued losing points,

the gap in Class Points would widen even further,

and they might even end up with zero.

Then what was the point?

Naturally, Kazuma Sakagami was getting anxious.

"That won't work."

Prince Ganlongdao spread his hands helplessly.

"When this gets resolved mostly depends on when Ryuen admits defeat. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Is that so?"

Kazuma Sakagami pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said coldly:

"Then I have an idea. Ganlongdao, go apologize to Ryuen and admit defeat. Otherwise, you know what'll happen..."

The threat was obvious.

He'd beaten up students and confined his classmates.

Prince Ganlongdao had more than enough dirt on him. Any one of those things could get him expelled.

And all of it

was being covered up by the homeroom teacher.

Kazuma Sakagami wasn't necessarily on Prince Ganlongdao's side.

He would stand with whoever benefited the class most and had the best chance of getting them into Class A.

Though he did admire Prince Ganlongdao's strength, Ryuen Kakeru was no weakling either. His abilities were enough to satisfy Kazuma Sakagami.

Ryuen's reasoning was sound.

All he had to do was endure the terrible conditions, while Prince Ganlongdao had plenty to worry about.

As long as Ryuen held out,

the pressure would gradually shift onto Prince Ganlongdao.

As time went by,

that pressure would only grow, eventually forcing Prince Ganlongdao to give in.

Ryuen would naturally be the one to win in the end.

"Wow..."

Prince Ganlongdao looked thoroughly disgusted.

He'd figured it out from the first day of school.

Sakagami played favorites, but he didn't have anything resembling professional ethics.

"As a teacher, you're threatening a student? Sakagami, that's pretty low."

"I can't help it."

At that,

Kazuma Sakagami's expression remained calm. He didn't care in the slightest.

"As the homeroom teacher, I can't just stand by and let students destabilize the class.

I don't care what you and Ryuen are doing, what kind of bet you made, or who wins or loses. You have to resolve this within a week.

If you don't want to admit defeat to Ryuen, then figure something out yourself.

In any case, I want to see Ryuen back in class a week from now.

If you can't manage that, the university is right over there. Do what you want."

At that,

Prince Ganlongdao couldn't help giving him a sidelong look.

He knew Kazuma Sakagami played favorites and wasn't exactly a good teacher, but he hadn't expected him to be this shameless.

His so-called favoritism,

his willingness to let Prince Ganlongdao and the others do as they pleased—

it was all because the class's interests aligned with his own.

For his own benefit,

he'd even go so far as to threaten a student.

And force students to act according to his wishes.

Actually,

aside from their age difference,

Kazuma Sakagami and Kaneda were cut from the same cloth!

This was just...

Wonderful!