Ryuen glared, his voice a low growl. "Don't think you've won!"
A smirk played on Ren's lips. The System's ultimate reward replayed in his mind: [Invincible Luck]. He almost laughed. If you're truly invincible, what's a little problem like getting expelled for a fight? The thought washed over him, and the tension left his shoulders. As long as he avoided actual criminal charges, a simple brawl was nothing to worry about. He hadn't bothered preparing any counter-evidence because he never needed any.
However, as Ryuen stared at Ren's infuriatingly nonchalant expression, his conviction hardened. This guy had to be holding a trump card, some piece of evidence that could get him expelled. Panic gnawed at him. He couldn't risk it.
Gritting his teeth, Ryuen swallowed his pride. "Fifty thousand points," he bit out. "We settle this privately. We sign an agreement, and this never happened."
A settlement agreement would legally bind them. Even if Ren produced evidence later, the school couldn't punish him for an issue that had been formally resolved.
Ren put on an aggrieved look. "I really didn't record anything."
"I don't care if you did or not," Ryuen snapped. "I'll operate as if you did."
Seeing Ren's silence, Ryuen misinterpreted it as a rejection of the offer. "One hundred thousand! That's all I have."
Ren considered the situation. Ryuen was completely convinced he held the man's school life in his hands, and that sense of crisis made him desperate. If Ren pushed this to the school authorities, Ryuen would almost certainly deny everything to save himself. Given the school's tendency to smooth things over, a he-said-she-said situation would likely end with a meaningless warning for both of them. His plan to get punished would fail.
But if he accepted a settlement… Ryuen would feel safe again. He would be free to come after Ren in the future, perhaps even with his cronies from Class C. That was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Plus, he could drain the guy's points, punishing him for his non-cooperation while simultaneously upgrading his own lifestyle and cementing his villainous reputation with Class C. It was killing three, maybe four birds with one stone.
"Five hundred thousand," Ren said, his voice calm and clear. "Give me that, and I'll agree to settle."
"Five hundred thousand?!" Ryuen's eyes went wide. "Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"
Ren feigned a look of puzzlement. "You have your future, don't you? You can owe me."
Ryuen's face contorted, but after a moment of internal struggle, he spat, "Fine! Wait here."
He stormed off, returning less than a minute later with two sheets of paper and a pen.
"Let me be clear," Ryuen snarled, his pride stinging. "I didn't lose to you. I lost to the rules. Don't you dare think I've submitted!"
They hashed out the details, and soon, two copies of a meticulously crafted settlement were complete.
Private Settlement Agreement
Party A: Ryuen Kakeru (Student ID: S01T0047-C) Party B: Ishikawa Ren (Student ID: S01T0047-D)
Regarding the incident on April 3rd: Party A attempted to use violence and intimidation to coerce Party B into revealing commercially valuable information. To protect his personal and property safety, Party B exercised legitimate self-defense.
During this incident, Party A's actions caused significant mental distress and psychological trauma to Party B. In the course of the defensive action, Party B caused some physical injury to Party A.
Party A expresses deep regret for his actions. In a show of good faith and to compensate Party B for mental damages, lost time, and emotional distress, Party A agrees to transfer 500,000 personal points to Party B.
Payment Terms: An initial payment of 80,000 points will be transferred upon signing. The remaining 420,000 points will be paid in installments over the next three (3) months. A penalty of 10% interest will be applied to the remaining balance for each month it is not paid in full.
Signed:Ryuen KakeruIshikawa Ren
Date: April 3rd
With the agreements signed, one for each of them, the matter was officially closed. Ryuen was now officially the poorest student in the first year, and Ren had just made a fortune.
"This isn't over," Ryuen muttered, stuffing his copy of the agreement away before turning to leave. He stalked toward his classroom, only to realize Ren was following him.
"What do you want now?" he asked, exasperated.
"I still haven't sold my information," Ren replied cheerfully. "I'm heading to your class next."
"The information!" Ryuen finally remembered the reason this whole mess started. "How much? I'll buy it."
Ren arched an eyebrow. "With what money?"
"The others in Class C have points. What's theirs is mine," Ryuen declared. "I'll… convince them."
"Confident, are we? Alright, write me another IOU. Same interest, but since you're so sure of yourself, I want it paid back within the month."
Ryuen's jaw tightened. "Fine."
He ran back to the classroom and returned not with a single sheet of paper, but with an entire notebook. Ren typed out a list of the intelligence packages on his phone and showed it to Ryuen, the titles designed to pique curiosity:
The School's Secret Evaluation Criteria for Classes & Individuals (Exclusive Buyout) , Complete Record of All Information Purchased by Other Classes (Live Updates) , 13 Hidden Ways to Use Your Points , Secrets to the 99.9% Employment Rate , The Real Reason You Were Placed in Class C .
Ren had enlarged and bolded two items: the evaluation criteria and the purchase records. Sometimes, just knowing what intelligence your opponent possesses is intelligence in itself.
Ryuen's eyes scanned the list, his fingers clenching into a fist. "I'll take it all."
"That's 500,000 points," Ren said with a salesman's smile. "But since you're buying out the entire stock for all three remaining classes, I'll give you a package deal. One million points. Think about it, Ryuen. You're saving 500,000!"
Ryuen didn't even hesitate. "Done."
After the transaction, Ren's assets were staggering. He had 1.13 million points in his account and another 1.42 million in high-interest debt owed to him by Ryuen, for a total of 2.55 million. The first phase of his plan was complete. The seeds of chaos were sown.
With the entrance ceremony approaching, Ren decided to wander the campus, looking for bulletin boards or any public records. He wanted to see if there were precedents—advanced strategies from upperclassmen who had managed to get themselves expelled.
Soon enough, he arrived at the auditorium and slipped into the back of the Class D line, ignoring the hostile stares his earlier classroom antics had earned him. The ceremony was a predictable affair of speeches from school figureheads, filled with tired platitudes about fulfilling potential and the school's prestigious reputation.
Once it ended around noon, the students were dismissed for the day, free to explore the campus before classes officially began tomorrow.
For Yosuke Hirata, the self-appointed shepherd of Class D, the day was a disappointment. He hated conflict and desperately wanted to foster a harmonious, supportive class. His plan to have everyone introduce themselves, followed by a class-wide welcome party, had been completely derailed by Ren.
He decided to postpone the party. Inviting Ren would make everyone uncomfortable, but not inviting him would be an act of exclusion—the very thing he sought to prevent. Bullying started with small things like this, and the mere thought of it sent a shiver down his spine, dredging up memories he fought to keep buried. It was those memories that had landed him, a student with otherwise perfect scores and a charismatic personality, in the defective Class D.
I have to get everyone to get along, he thought, clenching his fists. I can't let it happen again.
He decided to pivot. "Kushida-san can organize a party just for the girls first," he reasoned.
Kikyo Kushida, the angelic girl who had tried to maintain order in the classroom, was already on it. She had enthusiastically gathered nearly every girl in Class D, her social charm working its magic. The only holdout, it seemed, was the other main troublemaker of their class.
With the girls' social situation in capable hands, Hirata sighed in relief. "Okay. Now I can focus on solving the Ishikawa problem."
He didn't have Ren's contact information, so he decided to approach the one person who had spoken to him: Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.
Ayanokouji was on his way to the convenience store when Hirata, having finally escaped a crowd of admirers, called out to him.
It's over, Ayanokouji thought. I couldn't get away.
"Ayanokouji-kun!" Hirata said with his signature gentle smile. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Ayanokouji felt the daggers being stared into his back by Hirata's resentful fan club. "Ren and I aren't really close," he said flatly.
"But you're the only one he'll talk to," Hirata insisted, his expression earnest. "It's very important to me that our class builds unforgettable memories and graduates together, with everyone on good terms. Please, tell me how to get along with him."
Trapped, Ayanokouji could only nod stiffly. "I… understand."
"Help me understand his way of thinking. Why did he do what he did?"
Feeling the murderous aura from behind him intensify, Ayanokouji just wanted the conversation to end. "Give me some time to think about it."
"Great!" Hirata beamed. "Let's talk later. After lunch. What's your room number?"
Ayanokouji's spirit died a little more.
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