One Million Leaves My Sister

Sakagami Kazuma stood at the podium in the classroom and cleared his throat. "Students, next Friday will be the first exam of this semester. Those who fail to meet the passing line will face expulsion. Please take this seriously."

"Kaneda, arrange a study group where the students with better grades in the class can help those with poorer grades. I want to see your review results every day." Ryuuen sat in his seat and sent a message to Kaneda.

As for why he didn't assign Hiyori to organize the study group, it was because Ryuuen had noticed that her complexion had been terrible these past few days.

If it were just a bad mood, Ryuuen could naturally use all sorts of methods to make the girl laugh. But physical pain was something Ryuuen had no way to deal with. Aside from telling her to drink more hot water, he really had no other options. Ryuuen had never set foot in a kitchen, and doing things like other men who cooked ginger and brown sugar water for their girlfriends was out of the question. The only thing he could do was bother Hiyori less lately.

A girl in her period was overly sensitive. In Hiyori's eyes, Ryuuen's behavior came across as deliberate distance, which made her heart sour. But her pride as a young woman wouldn't allow her to ask Ryuuen why, and Ryuuen was hardly the type to offer explanations on his own.

While fiddling with his Student ID Card, Ryuuen unexpectedly received a message from Horikita Manabu.

"Come to the Student Council after school. —Horikita Manabu (Student Council President)"

How presumptuous. He even deliberately stated his position to hint that Ryuuen shouldn't stand him up. Ryuuen wasn't surprised that Horikita Manabu had found his contact information; he just couldn't figure out what this Third Year Senior wanted with him. Could it be that buying Points from Mizuno Kosei had been exposed?

After thinking for a moment, Ryuuen decided to go to the Student Council alone. After all, Horikita Manabu was the Student Council President. If he stood him up and the guy made trouble for him in the future, that wouldn't be good. Though Ryuuen didn't think Horikita Manabu was the type to do that, it never hurt to be cautious.

As dusk fell, since Horikita Manabu had only said "after school" without specifying a time, Ryuuen deliberately dragged his feet and went to the Student Council very late. If Horikita Manabu had left early, then he'd have a valid excuse and could even turn the tables.

Unfortunately, when he knocked on the Student Council door, Horikita Manabu was sitting right there in the Student Council President's chair.

"Waiting this long and still not leaving, President sure has patience."

There was only Horikita Manabu in the room, so Ryuuen naturally sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs. "Ha, your little lackey isn't here. Looks like what you want to talk about involves Suzune."

Horikita Manabu tapped the desk twice with his knuckles. "Tachibana is not my lackey. She's the Student Council Secretary."

"Whatever, same thing. Let's get to business. I don't have time to chat with you."

With the President's little lackey gone, Ryuuen couldn't even get a cup of tea here.

"Are you close with Suzune?"

"Shouldn't you have already investigated that? Asking me now is redundant."

"I only know the surface. As for what goes on behind the scenes and what's in your hearts, I have no way of knowing."

"You're not denying that you investigated me, huh, Horikita Senior. Do you think I'll tell you?"

"One hundred thousand Points should be enough to buy some information from you."

"Oh, the President is quite generous. Why don't you just ask Suzune directly? Oh, I remember now—you and your little sister don't get along."

That remark seemed to hit a nerve. Horikita Manabu's gaze sharpened considerably.

"Don't look at me like that. It's easy to figure out you're siblings, and it's just as easy to figure out you two don't get along."

That was the truth. Horikita Manabu hadn't deliberately hidden it, so his sibling relationship with Suzune was easy to spot.

"What does the President want to know?"

Ryuuen had come all this way, so it would be a waste not to make some extra cash. Since Horikita Manabu wanted to buy information, he'd sell it to him. And even if the info he gave was made up, Horikita Manabu wouldn't go confirm it with Horikita Suzune. The initiative was in Ryuuen's hands; he even considered raising the price.

"Do you like Suzune?"

"Like her? I like anyone pretty."

"Does Suzune like you?"

"Like me? I'm this handsome—no girl wouldn't like me."

Horikita Manabu frowned. Ryuuen's words were half-truths and half-lies. He hadn't asked for the truth, and even if he did, Ryuuen wouldn't necessarily give it. But to Horikita Manabu, Ryuuen's words still had value.

"Too many probing questions, Horikita Manabu." Ryuuen was getting thirsty and wanted to end this conversation quickly.

Addressing a Senior by name wasn't polite, especially when that person was the Student Council President. But Horikita Manabu didn't get angry over it. He kept his stoic face. In the original story, Horikita Manabu was cold and hard to approach, but in reality, he was a principled, warm-hearted, and highly responsible person.

Probably also a bit of a tsundere sis-con.

"One million Points. Stay away from my sister." Horikita Manabu tapped the desk again. This time, he stood up and sat across from Ryuuen.

"The President isn't just generous—you wouldn't be embezzling, would you? Too bad, though. I, Ryuuen, love money, but I'm not short on that."

In response, Ryuuen walked behind Horikita Manabu and placed his left hand on his right shoulder. "I'll give you ten million. Hand over Tachibana Akane to me!"

Ryuuen's hand pressed down hard, wrinkling the fabric of Horikita Manabu's shoulder.

Horikita Manabu didn't just sit there. He countered with a reversal hold, grabbing Ryuuen's hand and locking eyes with him. "Tachibana is not merchandise, and you don't have ten million!"

It was clear now that buying Points hadn't been discovered. Even if the negotiation with Horikita Manabu fell through, he'd still gotten valuable information. No loss there.

"Brother-in-law, aren't you overstepping your bounds?"

Ryuuen broke free from Horikita Manabu's grip and sat back down in his original seat.

The term "Brother-in-law" really pissed Horikita Manabu off. This die-hard sis-con absolutely did not want to see Ryuuen and Suzune getting together.

"No deal?" Horikita Manabu was, after all, the ruler of the Third Year. He had plenty of ways to deal with this Junior of his, but he didn't want to retaliate against someone for personal reasons. He'd originally planned to transfer the Points from his personal account to Ryuuen.

"There's a deal." Ryuuen suddenly put on a smiling face, as if he hadn't been the one bristling with tension moments ago. The shift was so abrupt that even Horikita Manabu felt a bit thrown off, wondering if Ryuuen was really that slippery.

"Name your terms." Since there was room to negotiate, Horikita Manabu naturally wanted to continue. But if Ryuuen's conditions crossed his bottom line, the talks would still fall apart.

"My terms are simple. In a week, the First Year will have an exam. According to school tradition, the exam questions are pretty much the same every year. I want this year's exam to have completely new questions, different from all previous years!"

Horikita Manabu hesitated. Ryuuen wasn't asking for the exam answers. Combined with Ryuuen's earlier demand for Points from Class D, a little thought made it clear what he was planning. This request was something Horikita Manabu could fulfill.

"Suzune does need to go through some things to grow. I can agree to your terms, and I hope you'll keep your promise to me." Horikita Manabu seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Of course. A businessman is all about integrity." Ryuuen replied with a smile, but inside he thought, I won't go after Horikita. If Horikita comes after me, that's not me breaking the deal.

As he left, Ryuuen kindly reminded Horikita Manabu, "Brother-in-law, don't forget to transfer me one hundred and ten thousand Points."

Horikita Manabu grimly opened his Student ID Card. Spending one hundred thousand Points to watch Ryuuen be narcissistic—that was something Horikita Manabu decided to take to his grave.