The Dragon Garden's Methods

Hoshida No sat in the classroom, his fingers flipping through the copy of Cognitive Psychology he had borrowed from the library last time.

Sudo Ken's characteristically rough voice drifted in from the classroom doorway: "The people in Class C are so damn annoying. If I weren't worried about losing class points, I would've laid them out already."

This remark opened the floodgates for the rest of the class.

Some claimed their lockers had been rummaged through, others complained that Class C students were constantly staring at them in the hallways, and some brought up how Class C students had intentionally tripped them during yesterday's physical education group activities.

Hirata Yousuke's gentle voice still echoed from the front, saying, "Everyone, please calm down; Kushida-san has already taken this to the student council," but the whispers below him never ceased.

Hoshida No withdrew his gaze and returned it to the page, though his fingers stopped turning the paper.

He recalled how Karuizawa Kei had slumped over her desk yesterday to complain to him, poking her notebook in a huff and saying that the girls from Class C would crowd their classroom door during lunch, their gazes sticky and uncomfortable.

"Ryuen Kakeru only knows how to use such low-handed tactics." Horikita's cold, crisp voice reached Hoshida No's ears.

Hoshida No turned his head to see Horikita standing by his desk with her arms crossed, her icy gaze sweeping over the restless crowd in the classroom.

Hoshida No felt a spark of interest and spoke up: "Do you have a way to stop it?"

Horikita looked down at Hoshida No: "Isn't Kushida already at the student council?"

Hoshida No turned his head away, closed his book, and shook his head: "The student council's intervention is merely a stopgap measure; it won't have any real impact on their class."

Horikita didn't speak, merely fixing her violet-red fox-like eyes on Hoshida No, waiting for him to continue.

Hoshida No raised his eyes and met Horikita's gaze directly.

Silence.

Seeing that he had no intention of speaking further, Horikita let out a cold huff and walked toward her own seat.

Watching the girl's retreating back, Hoshida No sighed and said slowly: "To do anything, you need evidence—the student council is no exception."

Horikita didn't pause, but instead of returning to her seat, she headed toward Hirata, who was still at the front trying to soothe the students.

The two exchanged a few words, and then they saw Hirata nod in assurance, his posture suggesting he was taking the matter into his own hands.

Not long after, Kushida Kikyo returned to the classroom, wearing a pained expression as she relayed the news that the student council had participated, but had only issued a verbal warning to Class C.

The whispers in the classroom instantly turned into a stifled uproar.

Sudo slammed his desk and stood up, roaring: "A verbal warning? Are you kidding me! Those bastards."

A few boys even began clamoring to go and settle the score with Class C.

Hirata Yousuke hurried forward to appease them, his tone growing more urgent: "Everyone, calm down! Acting on impulse now is exactly what Class C wants!"

But the waves of anger had already drowned out his attempts at persuasion; they were clearly disappointed to the core by the student council's handling of the situation.

Just then, Hirata suddenly raised his voice: "Everyone, listen to me! Horikita-san and I have already thought of a countermeasure! We need everyone's cooperation—"

Before he could finish, the back door of the classroom was suddenly pushed open. Three students from Class C poked their heads in, and the leading boy whistled, his tone provocative: "Yo, everyone, still squabbling over such a small matter? It's really..." The second half of his sentence stuck in his throat.

Horikita whipped her head around, her eyes sharp as blades, locking directly onto the three at the door: "Get out."

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight of pressure that made the smiles on the three Class C students instantly freeze.

Ayanokoji walked in from behind the trio at this moment, effectively blocking Sudo, who was preparing to stand up and fight, and cleanly shut and locked the door.

He pointed at Horikita with an innocent expression, saying, "It's Horikita-san's decision," then skillfully tossed the topic to Hirata: "Hirata-kun seems to have thought of a plan."

The crowd's focus shifted from Ayanokoji to Hirata.

Hirata took a deep breath and raised his hands to suppress the restless noise: "Everyone, please quiet down. Horikita-san and I have come up with a strategy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom went mostly quiet, even Sudo temporarily suppressing his temper, eyes wide as he waited for the rest.

"First, from now on, everyone clear your personal belongings out of your lockers. Leave only textbooks and workbooks so that the people from Class C have nothing to rummage through."

Hirata's voice was clear and forceful. "Second, I will arrange several groups of observant students to take turns recording the times, locations, and identities of the Class C students who are harassing us."

Kushida Kikyo added at the right moment: "Although the student council's verbal warning was useless, if we go back to appeal with concrete evidence, the school will have no reason to sit idly by."

Horikita then stepped forward, her cold gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Third, and most importantly, everyone must restrain their emotions. No matter how they provoke you, private conflict is forbidden. If you fail to do this and we lose class points, you are dragging the entire class down."

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last sparks of impulse in the boys.

Hoshida No noticed Ayanokoji, leaning against the doorframe, looking at him. He shrugged helplessly, signaling that this plan had nothing to do with him.

The next day, Hirata and Horikita brought a thick stack of evidence to the student council. To their surprise, Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei from Class B also came forward to testify against Class C.

The school finally stopped issuing mere verbal warnings and instead handed Class C a written reprimand, along with a deduction of 30 class points and an additional 500,000 personal points.

Ryuen Kakeru's harassment tactics had failed completely, causing his own class to suffer a loss instead.

That day, when Horikita returned to her seat, she questioned Hoshida No: "Are you on good terms with Ichinose and Karuizawa from Class B?"

"Yeah, they're alright." Hoshida No didn't even look up as he brushed her off.

In the days that followed, the people from Class C indeed restrained themselves significantly; no one could be seen lurking in the hallways, and the lockers were never rummaged through again.

However, Hoshida No felt the gaze fixed on him from the right growing even more intense.

The last traces of May's heat were quietly blown away by the June breeze, and the first-year students welcomed the latest class point standings and a special exam.

A: 1076

B: 1013

The afterglow of the setting sun had not yet fully faded, yet an unusual sense of tension was already permeating the campus.

An emergency summons was posted on the bulletin board, requiring all first-year students to arrive at the gymnasium promptly at 18:00.

Hoshida No was in the middle of discussing his thoughts on a book with Shiina Hiyori when he received the notification.

Ever since the incident at the library involving borrowed books, Hoshida No had noticed that Shiina Hiyori was becoming increasingly proactive, always deliberately creating little accidents (books she couldn't reach, accidental bumps), until he finally had no choice but to confront her.

"Shiina-san, are you doing this on purpose?"

"Not at all, Hoshida-kun, I'm just a bit uncoordinated."

It was only later that Hoshida No learned she was looking for a reading companion, and she had shared her own truth as well.

"Hoshida-kun, do you come to the library every day?"

"Just about; after all, I don't have anything particularly important to do."

"I see you often come here to read alone. May I come over and read with you?"

"Sure."

Back to the present.

Seeing the summons, he explained to Shiina, who was sitting across from him, that the school had sent a notice to gather at the gymnasium, and that this might be about a special exam.

When the two of them arrived at the gymnasium together, it was already packed with students.

After a brief farewell, Hoshida No sat in a seat near the aisle in the back row of Class D; from this angle, he could clearly see the podium and observe the profiles of key figures from other classes.

At exactly 18:00, Chazhu Zuo Zhi and several other first-year homeroom teachers walked up to the podium.

Majima Tomoya, the homeroom teacher for Class A, stood at the very front and, without any superfluous pleasantries, cut straight to the point.

"Starting from now until 18:00 next Sunday, the first years will undergo a seven-day special exam called the 'Class War'." His voice echoed through every corner of the gymnasium via the microphone.