Integration

After school, Ryuen and the other two went straight to surround Sawahara. The Black man, Albert, showed no expression, but Ishizaki beside him looked rather awkward. Sawahara had helped him out of a tight spot before, so this was a little hard to stomach. But since he had submitted to Ryuen, there was no helping it.

"Let's go." Despite being surrounded by three hulking men, Sawahara rose with a smile and calmly left the classroom with Ryuen and the others. He didn't look the least bit coerced. If anything, he looked like a boss being escorted by his underlings.

"Tch." Ryuen clicked his tongue. "You sure know how to put on a show. Let's see if you're still smiling later."

Watching them, Ibuki Mio gritted her teeth and chased after them out of the classroom.

As mentioned before, there were many blind spots in the school's surveillance coverage, as if they'd been deliberately left that way.

The grove behind the school building was one such spot. And since school had only just let out, even couples looking for a place to fool around probably wouldn't choose this time. It was truly deserted, making it the perfect place to settle a dispute.

When they arrived, Sawahara took off his jacket and hung it on a nearby branch. He had class tomorrow and didn't want to get it dirty.

"Are you coming one at a time, or all at once?" Sawahara shook out his wrists, still looking completely unruffled.

"Heh. You really are full of yourself." Ryuen grinned viciously at Sawahara's words and immediately threw a sucker punch. At the same time, he barked an order: "Ishizaki, deal with the tail who followed us."

Early the next morning, the students of Class C sat in their classroom, waiting for the final outcome. Whoever won, Ryuen or Sawahara, there would only be one voice left in the class.

"Do you think Sawahara can win?"

"Hard to say. Even Yamada lost."

"Are we really going to have to submit to that guy Ryuen?"

"What, are you going to go fight him yourself?"

"I..."

The class didn't have to wait long. Before long, the people they'd been discussing arrived.

Ryuen, Ishizaki, and Yamada were the first to enter the classroom. There weren't any visible wounds on their faces, but the bandage on Ryuen's arm spoke volumes about how brutal the fight had been. Yamada looked fine on the surface, but his gait seemed a little odd. He'd probably been injured too. Ishizaki was the least hurt of the three, with only a bandage on his face.

As Ryuen sat silently in his seat, everyone in class finally realized what had happened: Ryuen had lost the night before, and all three of them had lost together.

Some were relieved that Ryuen, the tyrant, wouldn't be ruling the class.

Others looked grave, unsure how Sawahara would manage the class.

But no matter what anyone thought, Sawahara finally arrived. Instead of heading straight to his seat as usual, he stopped at the podium.

The students looked at the man who would be leading the class from now on and were astonished to see that he didn't have a single mark on him. Even his clothes were still neat and tidy.

"After yesterday's friendly exchange with Ryuen, I'll be leading the class from now on," Sawahara announced.

His classmates weren't surprised, but the word "friendly" made their expressions turn strange.

Friendly enough to break bones?

"I have a few things to announce. First, starting next month, everyone will hand over half of the points deposited into your accounts at the beginning of each month."

"What?!"

"How can you do that?"

"Why should we?" His announcement stirred up a storm of protest. No one wanted to give up benefits they already had, and objections rang out throughout the class.

"Heh." Ryuen scoffed. "You idiots think you still have a choice?"

Only then did those who had been protesting remember that the man standing at the podium had beaten all three of Ryuen's group to a pulp.

And just as quickly as the objections had begun, they faded away, leaving the classroom silent once more.

"I don't like using violence," Sawahara continued once everyone had quieted down. "If anyone doesn't want to pay, that's fine. I won't use force to make you. But you'll have to bear the consequences yourselves."

Many students in the class looked pleased at this, while people like Kaneda paid more attention to the word "consequences."

"What consequences?" Kaneda asked without hesitation, helpfully prompting him.

"You should have realized by now that this school isn't as good as you thought. The cafeteria and shops have plenty of free items, which means this school has never been short of people with nothing at all. Competition between classes is fierce." Sawahara helped the students, still looking bewildered, piece together what they knew about the school. "Every year, the school admits 160 new students. There are fewer than 140 students in the second year, fewer than 150 in the third year, and even Class A of the Third Year has fewer than 40."

"What does that mean?" Some still looked confused, unsure what the numbers were supposed to tell them.

"Idiot. It means future exams will probably include expulsion as a penalty," said someone sharp enough to understand Sawahara's point.

"How could that be...?"

"Don't think you can coast through your time at this school. It's not that simple." Seeing that the class had finally grasped what he meant, Sawahara continued. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the upperclassmen yourselves later. But since we're in the middle of exams, a lot of information is probably still restricted."

"If you refuse to hand over your points, then if we face an exam involving expulsion, I'll prioritize abandoning you. I won't offer you any help, either."

"Ha, so it's just protection money. You sure took your time getting to the point," Ryuen mocked from his seat.

"I really wish you'd find a better way to put it, Ryuen," Sawahara sighed. "I'd rather call it 'insurance.'"

"Hmph." Ryuen snorted and said no more.

"There's no rush on this. It won't start until next month, so you have plenty of time to think it over.

"Second, starting today, everyone must attend class on time for the rest of the month. No arriving late or leaving early, eating in class, playing on your phones, or fighting. If you do, you'll owe an extra ten thousand points next month."

Sawahara laid out his second rule. It was meant to preserve as many Class Points as possible and prevent the class from falling too far behind the others right at the start.

"Third, starting today, Kaneda will organize study sessions. The ten students with the lowest scores on this week's test must attend. Everyone else should try to join as well."

This was to prepare for the next exam.

"Okay." Kaneda pushed up his glasses and agreed. They had already planned this out beforehand.

"That's all I need you to do for now." Sawahara turned toward the classroom door, where their homeroom teacher was waiting. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Sakagami."

"No problem. I'm happy to see the students in my class getting along so well."

Kazuma Sakagami couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising. The class had been completely unified in less than a week. There was no doubt it had what it took to move up a class.

But... Sakagami looked at Sawahara, still feeling a little worried. Was he a trump card or a joker?