Ryuen Kakeru's Strange Journey

"Ryuen, please wait."

Tsukishima suddenly spoke up, blocking Ryuen Kakeru's path.

"We're currently at the Sweet Talk Dessert Shop, and I'm an employee here. Since you've disrupted the shop's normal operations because of my other identity, we have the right to seek compensation from you. The Student Council will determine the exact amount."

Ryuen sneered and widened his eyes, trying to look murderous.

Unfortunately, high schoolers who'd killed someone generally weren't admitted to any school, and this one was no exception.

So all Tsukishima could see was the eye gunk in his eyes.

He licked his lips like a pervert. "Are these childish tricks all you've got?"

Tsukishima remained robotic. "It is every citizen's duty to abide by social rules and the law."

"If you think following rules is a childish trick, you can try using force to make the Student Council President step down and hand over his position, Ryuen."

"Violence and schemes won't let you live a respectable life in society, Ryuen."

Ryuen narrowed his eyes at Tsukishima. "Fine. Remember what you said today! We'll meet again at the Special Exam!"

With that, he left with his three lackeys.

Miyabi Nagumo laughed and slung an arm around Tsukishima's shoulder. "Did you call us over just to watch this show?"

Horikita Manabu looked at him, too.

Tsukishima sighed, his real self back on display. "I originally wanted you to try the crepes I made myself, maintain our good relationship, and help boost sales. I also wanted to ask you a few things."

Nagumo rolled his eyes and took an empty seat. "Wow. You're charging us to try your cooking? And on top of that, you want information? Have you no shame?"

Horikita Manabu sat across from Nagumo. "And you want us to lend you our support?"

Tsukishima brought them his homemade crepes and tea, sounding a little helpless. "I knew Ryuen would give me trouble, but I didn't expect him to come so soon. What a coincidence, huh?"

Horikita Manabu cut off a piece of crepe with his knife and fork, then took a sip of tea. "You whipped the cream a little too much, but the tea is good."

Tsukishima drew in a sharp breath. "I didn't know you knew how to whip cream, President Horikita."

Nagumo grabbed his crepe with his hand and took a bite. "I think it's pretty good. Don't mind Horikita. He's putting on airs."

Tsukishima just smiled and didn't respond.

Once they'd finished eating and drinking, Horikita Manabu asked, "What did you want to ask us?"

Tsukishima said, "Well, are there any restrictions on clubs working with shops on campus?"

Nagumo laughed. "You're quite something, arranging a partnership when it's not the school festival. What are you thinking? Let's hear it."

Horikita Manabu propped his chin on his hands, waiting for an answer as well.

Tsukishima didn't hide anything. "The Manga Club wants to promote its manga in the shop and collect feedback so they can improve it. Since I'm both in the club and an employee here, I thought I'd check first to see if that would break any rules."

Horikita Manabu nodded. "Clubs are allowed to work with shops on campus. It doesn't happen often, but it's not unheard of. I'll send you the relevant documents later. You can pass them on to the Manga Club members and the shop manager."

"But remember, the partnership must follow the rules. If there are any violations, the Student Council will step in."

Tsukishima nodded. "Then I'm grateful to both presidents."

Hearing him call them "both presidents," the two of them froze at the same time.

Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, while Nagumo burst out laughing. "You're a funny guy. I like you. If that Ryuen gives you trouble again, come find me in the second year. I'll take care of him for you! Hahaha!"

Tsukishima laughed. "Then I'll be counting on you, Nagumo-senpai."

He'd take that with a grain of salt. Only an idiot would believe it.

Horikita Manabu sighed. "We have things to do. We should get going."

The two left side by side, with Nagumo still laughing as they walked.

At last, they were gone. Honestly, both of them were a pain. One was the Student Council President, and the other was the second-year boss. Neither was someone to take lightly.

But there were some things you had to deal with them for anyway. Damn it!

The Boss Lady came out of the kitchen, smiling. "Well, well. I didn't expect you to get along so well with the Student Council President and Vice President!"

Tsukishima sighed. "We're not that close. We get along okay."

There were far fewer customers after that, so Tsukishima went into the kitchen and continued learning new dessert recipes from the Boss Lady.

Ryuen returned to his dorm, with his three top men standing beside him.

"Boss, what should we do next? Should we handle them the same way we handled Class B?"

The one who spoke was Daichi Ishizaki.

Ryuen snorted. "Let's focus on Class D first. As for that Tsukishima, this school has plenty of Special Exams!"

It wasn't that he didn't want to deal with him, but Tsukishima had taken down Albert with one hand. It had been unexpected, but that still showed he was no pushover.

Besides, Tsukishima was usually in class, sometimes went to the staff room after class, and holed up in the Dessert Shop after school. Although he usually walked alone, there really weren't many opportunities.

At least this time, he'd confirmed one thing: Tsukishima Yuto wasn't the type to just take a beating and defend himself like Class B. For all he knew, Tsukishima might really gather a bunch of people and block the toilets for seventy-two hours!

While they began discussing how to deal with Class D, Hirata Yosuke of Class D had already signed an alliance agreement with Ichinose Honami of Class B. It would remain in effect until Class D moved up to Class C.

When Tsukishima returned to his dorm, he saw the terms of the agreement.

In essence, Class B would give Class D individual points each month, equal to one-third of its Class Points multiplied by one hundred. In return, Class D would use various means to undermine Class C and could ask Class B for help, and so on.

The terms weren't very rigorous. Tsukishima only needed a glance to spot several loopholes.

For example, what if Class B refused to help? What if Class D asked for too much help?

Those were all loopholes, but there was no need to worry about them.

With Hirata Superman and Ichinose Archangel keeping them in check, neither side would go too far.

[Hirata]: The current terms of our partnership are that Class B will provide one-on-one tutoring to Class D students, so they can get better scores than Class C on the midterm exams.

[Tsukishima]: Got it. Don't message me unless it's important. You can handle it yourselves.

[Hirata]: The election group consists of me, Karuizawa Kei, Ken Sudō, Teruhiko Yukimura, and Kushida Kikyo—five people in total.

[Hirata]: I represent some of the boys, Karuizawa represents some of the girls, Ken Sudō represents the class's special talents, Kushida Kikyo represents the rest of the class, and Teruhiko Yukimura represents those who like to study quietly and get decent grades.

[Tsukishima]: Sudō needs an assistant. His gorilla brain isn't suited to this kind of high-level work. Talk to him privately and explain your concerns.

[Tsukishima]: You could put it this way: "You're the most representative member of our special talents group, but you know your temper can be explosive. People might be afraid to speak up when you're gathering everyone's opinions, so we're assigning you an assistant. They'll help you with your work, and you can learn from them how to stay calm and collected. I look forward to the day you become a truly capable representative. I'm counting on you!" Then bow to him.

[Tsukishima]: You can adjust the wording, but that's the general idea. Praise him and go along with him. First affirm his abilities, then bring up his shortcomings, and finally express your hope that he'll improve.

[Hirata]: ...Got it. What about the others? Are they all okay?

[Tsukishima]: Keep an eye on Karuizawa. She's the leader of the gyarus, but a typical gyaru leader should've been assigned to Class C, not Class D, so she must have some hidden problem. Pay attention to how she interacts with the others. You can set up chances for her to spend time with people of different personalities and see how she reacts.

[Tsukishima]: Yukimura needs watching, too. He's good at studying but ended up in Class D, so he must have had either a bad experience or an inflated ego and low self-esteem.

[Hirata]: Okay, I'll keep an eye on them.

[Tsukishima]: Then that's fine. When you've decided what to do, you only need to convince Karuizawa and Kushida. Sometimes the class can be your one-man show. That's all.