Planning and Games

Glancing at the time on my terminal, it was 4:30. Uesugi Hara looked toward the cafeteria, but it was clearly too early to head over, and returning to the dorm to sit around felt like a chore—better to grab a pork trotter rice bowl from the convenience store and heat it up for dinner later.

Having made up his mind, he turned to the girl beside him: "Miss Arisu, I shall take my leave now. I intend to go buy some pork trotter rice for dinner."

"Feel free, Uesugi-kun. I, too, should return to the dormitory to attend to some matters." Sakayanagi Arisu tapped her cane lightly against the ground. As she turned, her skirt swayed slightly with her steps. "See you tomorrow."

Once her figure vanished into the shadows of the cherry blossom trees, Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue in his mind: She really is bored out of her mind, using people to pass the time. Still, it was for the best; he had finally shaken off this seemingly harmless yet actually troublesome little girl.

The pork trotter rice from the convenience store was still steaming hot. He carried the container back to his dorm and took a shower to wash away the thin layer of sweat. As the steam dissipated, he sat at his desk and zoned out—what should he do next?

The power struggle within the class would likely kick off in a few days. Should he get involved? Which side should he take? The Katsuragi Kohei faction had a relatively stable foundation for now, but in the original story, they fell apart after being schemed against by Sakayanagi Arisu several times. If he joined, his knowledge of the plot might balance the scales, but with Sakayanagi Arisu's personality, she would never back down easily, and endless infighting would only give other classes an opening.

If he leaned toward Sakayanagi Arisu's side, the Katsuragi Kohei faction would naturally be no threat. But right now, most of the class still favored Katsuragi Kohei; a frontal assault definitely wouldn't work. A stab in the back? Class points would be deducted, and personal points would be docked too—absolutely not.

He curled his lips in self-mockery—he was never cut out to be a leader anyway. He could handle charging into battle or devising strategies, but commanding the big picture? Forget it.

He decided to push that aside for now and ponder something else: could he find a way to poach those "tools" of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka? For Karuizawa Kei, holding her secret over her head should make for a decent initial asset. Kushida Kikyo also had utility; he needed to hang around secluded areas more often. It couldn't be that only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could stumble upon her venting. Uesugi Hara figured if Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could force a handprint, he could too—as the saying goes, if the enemy can go, so can I. As for Ichinose Honami, making her betray her class was too difficult, but using her hand to deal with others might be feasible, though he feared offending Nagumo Miyabi, who controlled the second years, so he'd put that on hold. As for the Black Room Trio, he could use the pool incident to make Kushida Kikyo act, directly recruiting them as "black slaves," turning the Black Room Trio into the Black Slave Trio—a simple and efficient operation.

"Horikita Suzune?" He scoffed. "Not even as useful as the Black Room Trio. At least they have leverage I can squeeze. What does she have? A bad temper and a sour face; only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could tolerate her." Thinking of how Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was pushed around by her in the original story, Uesugi Hara suddenly felt that the guy's patience was on par with the back of Mouri Kogoro's neck.

If he wanted to live comfortably, he definitely couldn't be short on points.

He had to figure out how to hoard more. However, for the current Uesugi Hara, that wasn't much of a challenge. With his strength, dealing with these students was a dimensional strike, and combined with his slightly gloomy face, fleecing some upperclassmen would surely be a breeze.

Lost in these wild thoughts, his stomach growled at the perfect moment. He patted his forehead—why think so much? Establishing a foothold in Class A, hoarding points, finding tools... none of these could be rushed.

In this world, eating is the greatest priority. He'd settle dinner first.

The aroma of the heated pork trotter rice filled the room. As he swallowed the rice coated in sauce, the earlier annoyance seemed to fade. But after eating, he felt bored again. He flipped through the games on his terminal, but none caught his fancy. Just as he was about to close it, he caught sight of a familiar icon—the fair 5v5 competitive game from his past life! He could actually find it here!

"Heh, let the natives of this world witness the power of a transmigrator." He excitedly clicked in, noting the "Internal School Connection Only" label on the interface, but that wasn't a big problem.

Half an hour later, a muffled roar echoed through the dorm:

"Clear the minions, brother! Are you holding a military parade?"

"Is the mid-laner a vegetable? You don't even know how to support!"

"Running so fast during a team fight, are you in a rush to reincarnate?"

If anyone were watching, they would surely question reality—this guy's gameplay was so bad that even a dog would shake its head. But Uesugi Hara had clearly grasped the "essence" of this game: rather than improving yourself, it's better to disparage others.

"I am Ryuen Kakeru from Class 1-C! If you have the guts, come meet me offline! A bunch of cowards!" He was so angry he almost smashed his terminal, but he didn't dare use his real name—he hadn't forgotten the news stories from his past life about people being "dealt with" offline. If things were bitter, he could only let Ryuen Kakeru suffer for it.

After losing several games in a row, his chest felt stifled. He grabbed his jacket and stormed out. The evening breeze, carrying the scent of cherry blossoms, finally helped him calm down a bit—if he kept playing, he'd likely die of anger.

The night wind swept cherry blossom petals past his ears with a sweet, cool chill, finally dissipating most of the fire the game had stoked. Uesugi Hara walked slowly along the path outside the dormitory area and turned onto the small road leading to the sports field—there shouldn't be anyone there at this hour, perfect for some quiet time.

He kicked a small pebble, his mind replaying the gameplay from earlier—actually, it wasn't entirely the teammates' fault; he had been too eager to steal kills and had ruined the minion wave. But admitting that was too embarrassing; it was more satisfying to curse his teammates.

As he walked toward the field, his terminal buzzed in his pocket. It was a friend request from the game, with a note: "I was the mage from earlier. One-on-one in the computer lab tomorrow afternoon?"

Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow, replied with "idiot, get lost," and then simply uninstalled the game.

The grass at the edge of the track was still damp. He sat down and pulled a blade of grass to chew on. There were still a few scattered lights in the distant school building, likely students staying late to study. The sound of pen tips scratching against paper drifted over with the wind, light as a feather.

Just as he was zoning out, he heard footsteps on the track. Not the sluggish rhythm of a stroll, but a steady, powerful gait. He looked up and saw a figure in sportswear jogging at a constant pace under the dim streetlights. The side profile was exceptionally clear in the light and shadow—it was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

The guy didn't seem to notice him on the grass, maintaining his pace as he moved forward, his shirt hem fluttering in the wind. Uesugi Hara stared at his back for a while and suddenly felt a bit amused—this guy always acted like he was indifferent to everything, yet he was always calculating everything in the dark.

"He can run better than I thought," he muttered, remembering his "poaching plan" from earlier. Stealing tools from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would require careful planning.

Just then, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finished a lap. As he passed the grass, his footsteps paused, and he finally glanced toward him. No surprise, no curiosity; just like looking at an ordinary rock, his gaze lingered for half a second before moving on.

"This guy..." Uesugi Hara clicked his tongue. Just as he wanted to say something, the other had already turned to continue running, his footsteps quickly fading into the night.

He curled his lip and spat out the grass blade. Forget it, bickering with someone like that was pointless. Better to think about other things—like getting to the convenience store early tomorrow, or else he'd only get the fatty leftovers of the pork trotter rice; or perhaps finding a time to stake out the rooftop behind the school building, where he might just run into Kushida Kikyo.

The cherry blossom scent in the wind grew fainter, and the warning bell for lights-out in the dormitory area rang in the distance. Uesugi Hara stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his pants, and as he walked back, his terminal buzzed again. This time it wasn't a game notification, but a class group alert—Katsuragi Kohei had just sent a notice that there would be a class meeting before class tomorrow.

He tapped his fingertip on the terminal screen. He didn't reply, but for some reason, the boredom he felt earlier had vanished. Whether it was fighting for power or hoarding points, it was better than rotting in the dorm and getting heart palpitations from a game.