The afternoon sun was always at its fiercest, and warm breezes swept along the paths across campus.
Hoshida No followed Ayanokoji around a corner, then abruptly slowed his steps.
Under the trees not far ahead, three figures hurried along, their movements unmistakably suspicious.
At their head was a man with dark red hair that fell casually over his shoulders. His uniform jacket hung off his back, and his shoulders swayed slightly as he walked, giving him a rebellious, thuggish air.
The black-haired student beside him was somewhat stocky, yet he was tightly gripping another student's arm, a grin spread across his face.
The boy they were holding had his uniform collar askew as the two dragged him toward the back of the school building.
Hoshida No's gaze instantly sharpened, and his fingers instinctively felt for the phone in his pocket.
He knew all too well what lay behind the school building.
The area was surrounded by dense shrubs, with only an abandoned storage shed inside. It was also a blind spot in the surveillance system that he had discovered on his first day of school.
"Now this is interesting," he murmured.
He lightened his steps and pulled Ayanokoji behind a nearby bulletin board, then stealthily peeked out from behind the posters.
His phone screen lit up again. He switched to video mode and aimed the camera over the shrubs, precisely capturing the three figures from behind and the direction they were headed.
The red-haired man seemed to sense something and glanced back. Hoshida No immediately ducked low, only raising his phone again once that gaze had passed.
Ayanokoji leaned against the bulletin board, calmly watching the three figures disappear in the direction of the storage shed.
He lightly tapped the wall with his fingertips and said, "The redhead is Ryuen Kakeru from Class 1-C. I heard he's already beaten up quite a few students in his class. The one beside him is his lackey, Ishizaki Daichi. The one they're holding... seems to be from Class 1-C too."
"You know Ryuen?" Hoshida No raised an eyebrow. While adjusting his phone to film the entrance to the storage shed, he asked, "Is Ryuen Kakeru trying to take over the class?"
"I saw them once while I was eating," Ayanokoji said flatly. "I heard Ryuen wants everyone in his class to hand over their points."
"So Ryuen Kakeru has a say in Class C now, and he's got a lot of Personal Points at his disposal." Hoshida No stated it as a fact and put his phone away. "A surveillance blind spot where you can get up to all sorts of things without being caught. He sure picked a good spot."
Meanwhile...
"You're only ten minutes late paying your class fees, and you think you can hide from me?" Ryuen Kakeru's voice carried its usual contempt. He twisted the boy's collar hard between his fingers. "Class C doesn't keep useless deadweight. You think hiding is going to help you get away?"
The boy stammered, trying to explain himself, but Ryuen cut him off with a raised hand. The force of it made the boy stagger, nearly sending him crashing into the wall.
Hoshida No's gaze darkened as he pointed his camera at the scene by the storage shed.
Keeping his movements discreet, he quickly adjusted the angle, recording Ryuen's expression, Ishizaki's taunts, and the boy's stoic face.
The camera shutter clicked.
"Who's there? Come out!" Ryuen Kakeru roared, his voice brimming with undisguised menace. The fist he had raised stopped abruptly in midair, his knuckles turning white with tension.
He whipped around, his sharp gaze sweeping over the shrubs.
The leaves rustled softly in the breeze. Hoshida No didn't answer right away. Instead, he quickly tapped his phone, encrypting and saving the video and photos he'd just taken. Then he leisurely parted the branches and stepped out.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling across his expressionless face.
"Ryuen, no need to get so worked up." He waved the phone in his hand. Though the screen had gone dark, it looked like he was holding a ticking time bomb. "I just took a commemorative photo of your 'class unity' and recorded a few of your highlights. Is there any need to shout so loudly?"
Ishizaki Daichi instantly flew into a rage and charged forward, fists clenched. "Cut the crap! Hand over your phone, or I'll smash you!"
He was tall and broad, and as he rushed over, his fist shot straight toward Hoshida No's face.
Hoshida No dodged to the side with a movement as light as a breeze, then took half a step back, ending up beside Ayanokoji, who had followed him out.
Ayanokoji still had his hands in his pockets. He calmly glanced at Ishizaki's fist without making a move, yet somehow that was enough to make Ishizaki hesitate.
"Think carefully before you throw a punch, Ishizaki." Hoshida No's voice turned colder. "This may be a surveillance blind spot, but while I was recording, I shared my live location with a reliable friend.
"If anything happens to me, these videos and photos will probably be on the school's desk in no time, right?"
Ryuen Kakeru's gaze was like ice. He stared at Hoshida No's phone, then glanced at Ayanokoji, who looked completely unconcerned. Menace churned in his eyes. "What exactly do you want?"
He knew that anyone who showed up here was no ordinary person. And even if there was only a one-in-ten chance that the location-sharing claim was true, he couldn't risk it.
He had yet to take control of Class C. If evidence of him violently extorting his classmates came to light, not only would the authority he had worked so hard to establish crumble, he could also be punished—possibly even expelled.
The boy they had been holding took the chance to huddle in a corner, arms wrapped around himself as he trembled in silence.
Hoshida No spoke plainly. "Simple. An information trade."
He raised his phone. "I have the video from earlier, as well as footage of you using class fees as an excuse to extort your classmates and punish them with violence."
"Are you threatening me?" Ryuen Kakeru took two steps forward, his overwhelming pressure bearing down on them. His voice dropped low, thick with gritted teeth.
"It's a trade, not a threat," Hoshida No insisted. "1.2 million points. I'll delete all the evidence and never leak it. And I'm only selling you information about hidden deductions for this month. How you manage your class after that is none of my business."
Ishizaki Daichi roared, "Why don't you just rob us?!"
"Robbing you would take no skill." Hoshida No's expression didn't change. "Ryuen, you're a smart guy. You should know how good a deal this is. 1.2 million points to keep Class C from getting any additional deductions and to keep your position secure. It's worth it, right?"
He paused, then added, "Besides, that's not all the evidence I have. For instance, the classmates you beat up are holding quite a grudge against you."
Ryuen Kakeru's pupils contracted sharply. He didn't know what additional deductions were, but he knew all too well what he had done to his classmates these past few days.
Every day in class, they glared at him with venomous looks. There was no telling whether some idiot might report what had happened and give a statement.
He stared at Hoshida No for a full half minute. The tension in the air was almost thick enough to solidify.
Ishizaki fidgeted at his side, but Ryuen stopped him with a look.
"Fine." Ryuen Kakeru gritted out the word, his eyes so sinister it seemed the malice might spill out. "Account number."
Hoshida No gave him a string of numbers. When the notification that the points had arrived appeared on his screen, he nodded.
Right in front of Ryuen, he deleted the videos and photos from his phone, then showed him the cleared records in the trash folder and cloud storage. He even sent over the list of hidden deductions. "Pleasure doing business with you, Ryuen. Hopefully, next time we meet, you'll have found a gentler way to manage your class."
Then he turned to Ayanokoji. "Let's go."
As they turned to leave, Ryuen's voice came from behind them, suppressed to the breaking point. "Hoshida No, right? I'll remember you."
Hoshida No didn't look back. He just waved, his voice betraying no emotion. "You're always welcome to make another deal."
The two walked out around the corner. Only then did Ayanokoji speak. "Do you have videos of any other classmates?"
Hoshida No turned to him, puzzled. "No. I just split that video into separate clips."
Ayanokoji caught on. "So you were bluffing. Aren't you afraid Ryuen Kakeru will figure it out and come after you?"
"Come after me?" Hoshida No chuckled and pulled out his phone, giving it a wave. "I still have a backup. Besides, Ryuen Kakeru won't make a deal that puts him at a loss. What he needs most right now is to stabilize the class, not pick a fight with me."
He paused, a faint glint of cunning in his eyes. "I didn't lie to him. The information I gave him was accurate. I just left out some useless details."
Hoshida No took out his phone and displayed his friend-add QR code. "Besides, you're here. At least he won't come after only me."
After they added each other as friends, Hoshida No transferred the 250,000 points they'd agreed on last time.
Ayanokoji silently accepted the 250,000 points that arrived in his account. It was only one more Ryuen Kakeru to deal with.
Before you continue