Chapter 19

A guy who cares about the voting power of the girls in the class, yet he ended up doing a favor for Ibuki, who usually has zero popularity. Rubbing my chest, I silently noted this grudge in my little notebook. Just you wait, Ibuki! A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. Of course, for now, business comes first. Arriving at the secluded spot behind the gymnasium, Ishizaki and the others had already set the stage. There were also a few onlookers scattered about, all of them boys from Class C, naturally. "Is that Kitazawa? Hasn't Kaneda shown up yet? He wouldn't be scared enough to wet his pants, would he?" Ishizaki looked like he had the victory in the bag. "He wasn't in the classroom when I left, at least," I replied. "This is Ibuki. She's here representing all the girls as a witness." "Is that so! Welcome! Welcome! By the way, Kitazawa, would you be willing to be my strategist? You seem very capable, and with a top student like you in the class, I could establish a study group with proper legitimacy." To my surprise, Ishizaki extended such an invitation. "If you can win, it's not out of the question, but Ishizaki, you aren't the class leader yet! It's not good to be so sure of victory this early." "Haha! There isn't a single person in this class who can fight; who else could challenge me?" "Hard to say... what about that guy over there... Ryuen?" I pointed casually at an inconspicuous guy who had been watching the show the whole time. He had his hands in his pockets and wore an indifferent expression, as if he didn't hold anyone present in any regard. Heh heh, let me stir the pot first. As they say, wisdom can throw the world into chaos, and martial arts can defy the heavens. I can't let Ishizaki win so easily; his subordinates are unstable, which is exactly why they need me more. "Ryuen?" "Yeah, you can tell at a glance that Ryuen is a delinquent too, right? Not to mention Yamada, who is so tall; if it comes to a fight, he should be pretty strong too. I think whether you're the strongest in the class, Ishizaki, remains to be tested!" "True, I've heard the name Ryuen before. But so what? Seeing him now, it's just an empty reputation. If he met me, he wouldn't even dare to make a sound..." No sooner said than done, Ishizaki was kicked to the ground by Ryuen. Although this wasn't my original intention, the effect seemed quite good; at least now someone dared to question Ishizaki's status, right? If this group just surrendered to Ishizaki so easily, that would be worse. Fight! Fight! I cheered silently in my heart. "Haha! Is it really just an empty reputation?" Ryuen laughed out loud. "Damn it, you actually ambushed me... Komiya, Kondo, beat him to a pulp!" Facing the pincer attack from the two, Ryuen ignored them entirely. Instead, he lunged into the arms of Ishizaki, who was just trying to crawl up, and delivered a fierce headbutt to him. The scene instantly became chaotic. Komiya and Kondo tried to pull off Ryuen, who was mounted on top of Ishizaki and beating him senseless. That's right, in a team fight, grabbing one person and beating them to death—this Ryuen has some skills, I'll give him a ten! Ibuki, standing to the side, watched these boys rolling around on the ground in a tangled mess with an expression of disgust. Ishizaki was beaten black and blue in no time; of course, Ryuen was also sporting several injuries from the pincer attack. But Ryuen continued to beat Ishizaki like a madman who couldn't feel pain, until both Komiya and Kondo were scared off, and until Ishizaki was slurring his pleas for mercy. "It's decided then, I am the king of Class C! You! You! And you! You all have to listen to my orders!" Ryuen announced with a loud laugh. "Don't make me laugh, crazy boy. I won't listen to anyone's commands." Yamada, the mixed-race student who had been pointed at, stepped forward in dissatisfaction and kicked Ryuen away. Ryuen's stamina was bottoming out, but he relied on sheer willpower to stand up again and charge at Yamada. Without any surprise, he was knocked down again by a straight punch from Yamada. "It's enough." After confirming that Ryuen was down again, Yamada prepared to turn and leave. Ryuen, whose legs were injured to the point where he couldn't even stand, took off his shoe and threw it with all his might at the back of Yamada's head. The shoe hit with a loud smack, causing Yamada to let out a strange cry of pain. Needless to say, this two-meter-tall giant was definitely angry now. He turned back, crouched down, and punched Ryuen's abdomen hard; the scene descended into chaos once more. Even so, Ryuen still didn't admit defeat, struggling with both hands and feet while unleashing a torrent of abuse at Yamada. Fortunately, the "despicable" Kaneda lived up to expectations and arrived just in time with Mr. Sakagami, stopping the enraged Yamada from continuing his one-sided beating of Ryuen. "School violence is prohibited, you know!" Facing the troublemaking students, Mr. Sakagami shook his head in distress. "Teacher, as a bystander, I believe they haven't violated any school rules." To prevent the matter from blowing up, I hurriedly stepped in to defend them. "They're bleeding, and you say they haven't violated school rules?" Mr. Sakagami smiled. "There are no surveillance cameras, and no one has reported any incident to the school, have they? Everyone present is a student of Class C, and surely no one would report this to the school and have our own class points deducted. Right?" My words were very effective. Everyone present had a bit of masculine pride (yes, that includes Ibuki, haha!), and clearly, no one wanted to be a traitor. "But these people are all covered in injuries..." "That makes it even easier. Oda, you guys go buy some more bandages and medicine. Don't go to a troublesome place like the school infirmary; find a pharmacy in the shopping district, transfer some points to the clerk, and give them any excuse. I think they'll be more than happy to sell to us. As for Mr. Sakagami, as our homeroom teacher, you'll keep this confidential for us, right? Don't worry, these are just minor issues; we won't let it affect the class." "Fine, since these are just internal class issues, I won't ask any further." After saying that, Mr. Sakagami actually left this mess behind, leaving Kaneda looking shocked. "At least we didn't cause a major disaster..." Ibuki sighed. "Then, we'll deliver the free, heartfelt medicine to everyone's dorms... For the sake of Class C, if anyone asks tomorrow, just say it was an accidental injury!" I reminded the guys sprawled all over the floor. "Thanks, Kitazawa... I shouldn't have let my head get hot and joined in on such a boring thing..." Ishizaki seemed to have been beaten into his senses; Komiya helped him up, and he was the first to leave. "Me too, sorry for the trouble, Kitazawa-kun! I've thought about it carefully; I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I'm truly not qualified to be a leader yet." Then Kaneda also left after saying that. Yamada, having made a fool of himself, nodded at me and prepared to leave. "Hey! I'm not dead yet! Yamada!" Ryuen shouted weakly. Yamada thought for a moment, but ultimately ignored him. "One day... one day, I will defeat you! Hahahaha!" Ryuen started again; he didn't seem to have admitted defeat at all, and instead, he looked like he wanted to laugh. Ibuki and I exchanged a helpless look and carried this guy with invincible willpower back to his dorm. Volume 1: First Signs of Brilliance : 10 Of all the methods in the world, flattery is the most ingenious and cunning. Of all the methods in the world, flattery is the most ingenious and cunning. -- Balzac, "The Country Doctor" "Apply the medicine, and by tomorrow, it will surely..."