"I should surrender to Ryuen, huh? Mm... I guess that won't work."
He thought it over.
Prince Ganlongdao shook his head helplessly.
"In that case, how about I break Ryuen's legs on my way out of college?"
"What?"
Kazuma Sakagami was stunned, hardly able to believe his ears.
"Are you crazy? That wouldn't just get you expelled. You'd also be facing criminal charges."
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Prince Ganlongdao shrugged indifferently.
"With my family background, settling something like that would be easy."
"Hm?"
Kazuma Sakagami stared at him blankly.
He remembered that Prince Ganlongdao's parents were listed as self-employed bubble tea shop owners.
How come it sounded like...
Prince Ganlongdao had some kind of powerful connections?
In truth,
given Prince Ganlongdao's family background,
there was no way he would put his real history on a résumé.
The principal was probably the only person at the school who knew his true identity and past.
Most people had at least heard of Yamaguchi, but few knew the name of the country's second-largest yakuza organization.
Aside from people like Ishizaki, who already knew a little about the underworld,
an "elite" like Kazuma Sakagami had never even heard of yakuza organizations, let alone one from Hokkaido.
Still,
after thinking it over,
Kazuma Sakagami decided it made sense.
No matter how much the owners of a bubble tea shop spoiled their child, they probably couldn't raise someone this arrogant. Ganlongdao likely did have some powerful connections.
At that thought,
Kazuma Sakagami hesitated.
If Prince Ganlongdao really had powerful connections, breaking someone's legs might not be a big deal after all.
Ryuen had been right about one thing.
As time passed, the pressure on Prince Ganlongdao would only grow.
But Ryuen had made one mistake.
Teachers?
What the hell did teachers count for?
Teachers were people too!
Kazuma Sakagami had his own interests to consider.
In his eyes,
Prince Ganlongdao and Ryuen Kakeru
were both rare talents.
As long as they could get their class promoted to Class A, it didn't matter who was in charge.
They were both good enough.
If it came down to it, he could even afford to sacrifice one of them.
Kazuma Sakagami could accept Prince Ganlongdao using violence, and he could also get him and Ryuen Kakeru to settle their differences.
But now,
Prince Ganlongdao had said he would break Ryuen's legs before leaving. By the time Ryuen recovered, the other classes would probably have built up an insurmountable lead.
If they lost two key players outright, how could they possibly make it to Class A?
Kazuma Sakagami hesitated.
Watching Kazuma Sakagami's conflicted expression, Prince Ganlongdao's lips curled into a slight smile.
A man without desires was unshakable!
Though he had his own goals and had to dominate Advanced Nurturing,
Prince Ganlongdao would never let his enemies know what he was thinking.
Otherwise,
even if Kazuma Sakagami was a teacher,
he could only be manipulated like he was now.
Of course,
out of respect for Sakagami's position as a teacher,
Prince Ganlongdao wouldn't make things too difficult for him.
"Don't worry so much, Sakagami."
Prince Ganlongdao put an arm around Kazuma Sakagami's shoulders and patted him. He raised his other hand in front of him, slowly clenching it into a fist, and said coldly:
"All you need to know is this."
"No matter what difficulties or disadvantages we face, I'll be the one who comes out on top. That's all you need to know!"
"..."
Kazuma Sakagami abruptly turned to look at Prince Ganlongdao beside him.
He couldn't understand it.
How could this guy be so confident when he knew so little?
In truth,
getting his class into Class A meant far more to Kazuma Sakagami
than Prince Ganlongdao and the others could imagine.
After all,
it was tied to Kazuma Sakagami's generous bonus.
If the class didn't graduate as Class A, he would only get his base salary.
The base salary at Advanced Nurturing was decent, but Kazuma Sakagami wanted more if he hoped to buy a house and a car.
For Sakagami,
this wasn't just about money. It would mean wasting three years of his life!
Time was the only thing that couldn't be bought!
That was why
Kazuma Sakagami treasured every opportunity.
Even if the other teachers despised him, he would still protect the students in his class for his own benefit.
How could he so easily believe Prince Ganlongdao?
Kazuma Sakagami asked in a low voice:
"What makes you so sure?"
"Sure?"
Prince Ganlongdao glanced at him, slightly confused.
"Sakagami, don't misunderstand. I'm not promising you anything. I'm telling you a fact. No matter how great our disadvantage is, no matter what difficulties await us—"
"As long as we stand together, there will be no enemy ahead of us!"
"What?"
Kazuma Sakagami felt his blood surge—but only for a moment.
Then he laughed in exasperation.
What a joke.
He'd only just remembered that this guy was absurdly arrogant.
There was no point asking.
Given Prince Ganlongdao's performance at the start of the school year, Kazuma Sakagami believed he was no pushover.
But
when all was said and done,
only a week had passed.
Prince Ganlongdao had no concrete results to show yet.
How could Kazuma Sakagami believe he would definitely lead the class to graduate as Class A?
More importantly,
if they lost too many Class Points in the first month, the gap between them and the other classes would become too wide.
It would only get harder from there.
At the thought,
Kazuma Sakagami grew thoroughly irritated.
But on second thought,
looking at Prince Ganlongdao's arrogant expression, Kazuma Sakagami couldn't help feeling helpless.
He'd just realized
there was nothing he could do about Prince Ganlongdao!
Believe Prince Ganlongdao,
and he might die!
Don't believe Prince Ganlongdao,
and he would have to side with Ryuen and force Prince Ganlongdao to surrender or even drop out.
With Prince Ganlongdao's completely self-centered personality,
that would probably mean certain death.
Other than believing in Prince Ganlongdao and backing him from behind,
Kazuma Sakagami realized
that even as his teacher, he had no choice at all when it came to Prince Ganlongdao.
And yet,
there was no foundation of trust between them, no guarantees—just a partnership forced on them by circumstances.
Kazuma Sakagami found it irritating and deeply unpleasant.
He was no longer so polite to Prince Ganlongdao.
"Ganlongdao, you'd better follow through. Otherwise, with the way you're acting now, if you don't graduate as Class A, Ryuen and the others will probably beat you to death!"
With that,
Kazuma Sakagami snorted and turned to enter the elevator.
Since he had no choice, he would see for himself whether Prince Ganlongdao was just a fraud with nothing to back up his arrogance—or whether he really had the strength to be that arrogant.
After he left,
Prince Ganlongdao turned to look at Ryuen's room.
He had only made a quick visit to the club orientation to observe things, and hadn't seen the leaders of the other classes. For now, the person at this school who interested him most was Ryuen Kakeru.
He hadn't expected
Ryuen to really hold out this long. It seemed he showed no sign of fear at all.
That was quite unexpected.
But the stronger his opponent was, the more excited he became!
Before you continue