Chapter 35

He looked at me with an expression of "colluding for evil." "Interesting. Nagumo can wait until we've dealt with the first-years. What about Class A?" Ryuen made the final call. "Katsuragi Kohei, a bald guy who doesn't listen to reason. He advocates for stability and conservatism in everything he does; he's a boring guy. His ability is decent, and he's currently the public leader of Class A. The policy he proposed during the class representative election was to solidify Class A's advantage and maintain internal peace." "The public leader?" Ibuki asked, puzzled. "Exactly. What's more worth noting is Sakayanagi Arisu, a girl with a cane who seems quiet. An acquaintance of mine from the past; her ability far exceeds mine. She's a very aggressive girl who doesn't play by the rules and loves to stir up trouble. She's practically a demon." "Is it really that exaggerated? Even someone as capable as Kitazawa-kun evaluates her like that?" Nishino asked, startled. "Anyway, I don't see any chance of winning if I encounter her. Perhaps Ryuen-san, who also doesn't play by the rules, could keep her in check. Her roster alone is much more luxurious than Katsuragi's. The fact that she hasn't taken control of Class A can only be said to be her intentionally yielding to Katsuragi first. We might be able to take advantage of this to quickly close the gap with Class A; I estimate it will be difficult once she takes power. It would be much better if we could control Class B and Class D first before engaging her." "I understand. Thank you for your hard work, honor student. Leave the rest to me." Ryuen stretched and said confidently. "Mm, I will also continue to cause trouble for them in the shadows, just like this time. As for the open battle, I'll rely on Ryuen-san to attract their attention." "With the two of you here, our class's promotion to Class A is guaranteed!" Komiya said. "No, we still have to rely on everyone's joint efforts, just like passing this exam. Cheers!" I stood up with a smile and picked up my drink. "Cheers!" "Everyone, have a good time! This is a class activity, after all! We're all our own people. Compared to the chaotic Class D, the penny-pinching Class B, and Class A which is split into two factions, we are the most comfortable class!" Kaneda said. "Exactly! Exactly!" I sat back down and clinked glasses with Ryuen. "How is it? Our King?" I asked Ryuen with a smile. "It's alright, I suppose! These guys, getting so happy over such trivial things..." "Isn't it nice? High school students are all like this." "It's nice. Do you know, Kitazawa? This school isn't that simple." "I know, but so what? For us students, it's fine to enjoy the wine while we have it today." "So you're a hedonist too! I thought you were an ambitious second-generation heir!" Ryuen, having found a kindred spirit, was somewhat delighted. "Ambition? I just want to live a good life for three years in this school where ability is everything." "Coincidentally, so do I. It's just that I like to live brilliantly." Ryuen was telling the truth. This guy didn't seem to care at all about graduation assignments or getting expelled. He only had two goals: challenging the strong and enjoying life. This was also the reason he stood up when the class was competing for leadership, and the reason I chose him. People with motivation and desire can always climb upward. Author's note: Another chapter is on the way. Volume 1: First Glimpse of Talent: 21 To be detached from labor is a crime. To be detached from labor is a crime. -- Leo Tolstoy. A relaxing weekend after the midterm exams passed in a flash. On June 1st, the members of Class C were once again sitting neatly in the homeroom class. "Sakagami-sensei, why haven't this month's personal points been distributed?" Manabe and the other girls seemed unable to wait to spend money. "Oh, a slight dispute occurred. This is also an arrangement by the school. Before it is resolved, the distribution of class points is suspended," Sakagami-sensei said indifferently. "How could this be..." "It's an action on my end." A voice came from the back of the classroom, and Manabe immediately shut up. The only person in Class C who could have such a final say right now was Ryuen. Upon learning that the action was initiated by his own student, Sakagami-sensei said a few routine notices and left satisfied. So it turned out that Ryuen's operation against Class D had already begun. No wonder Ishizaki and the others were coming to class covered in various injuries... Poor Class D, it never rains but it pours, being rubbed into the ground by our wave after wave of offensives. Not to mention that Ryuen is the type of guy who doesn't play by the rules; if there were a so-called ceasefire agreement, he would probably tear it to shreds and start the war again. As for not distributing class points, if it were Class C, I would just lend some to everyone. Class D, however, has just taken on debt; if they continue to take on debt, bankruptcy won't be far off. Many Class D students who bailed out the "Three Idiots" will surely start to regret it. They thought they would get new points immediately, but instead, they have to secretly take out high-interest loans from Class D's mortal enemy—yours truly. As for the borrowers in Class D, I am not polite at all. Nine out, thirteen back—who told them we are enemy classes? It's already generous of me to lend to you. As for Senior Nagumo, I'll go fool him a bit later. Thinking of this, I said with a smile: "Everyone, don't panic. It's just points, right? I'll lend everyone 50,000 points this month without interest, and it won't conflict with the class competition on Ryuen-san's side." "You're a huge help! Kitazawa-kun!" The atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became relaxed again. "Everyone doesn't need to worry too much about the fluctuation of class points. Our class's goal is personal points." Taking this opportunity, I began to mobilize the class's enthusiasm. "Everyone must have seen the current class points: A, B, C, and D are 1004, 663, 494, and 46 respectively. Our class only went up by 4 points, presumably because some were deducted due to the things Ryuen-san did, right? Everyone actually doesn't need to feel regret." I pointed out this matter in public that others dared not mention. Many students looked at me with gratitude, while Ryuen looked indifferent. "Because our class's purpose from the beginning was never something unreliable like class points. Class points will increase or decrease with every exam, and future exams will definitely become increasingly difficult, even evolving into situations where classes harm each other. It's not that easy, nor is it safe, to want to maintain the number one spot in class points until graduation." "Then is there a safe strategy?" Ibuki asked at the right time; she hadn't heard the conversation between me and Ryuen earlier. "Yes, the rule of transferring classes for 20 million points. We just need to collect 800 million personal points and collectively transfer to Class A at the last moment before graduation. It's hard for one person to collect 20 million points, but it's very simple to collect personal points by working together. Moreover, it's much harder for others to reduce our personal points than it is for class points. To train us, future exams will definitely have opportunities to earn personal points." "I see. But what if..." "Indeed, there is a possibility that we won't be able to collect 800 million points. Therefore, we have proposed a recording system to record the contributions made by everyone in the class. For example, performance in exams, the amount of class fees donated during normal times, participation in class activities, etc. Of course, if there are bad things like betraying the class, they must also be recorded one by one." "So, people with more contributions get priority to transfer classes in their third year? Is that..."