I arrived at the supermarket.
It was around 4 p.m., not long after homeroom ended, so there were still few customers and the shelves were well-stocked.
Basket in hand, I wandered the ingredient aisles at leisure, thinking about the menu.
Ryūen had said something luxurious, but what should I make?
He was covering the cost, but when "luxurious" had to be ready in just a few hours, the options narrowed considerably.
"...What am I in the mood for?"
To narrow down the choices, I tried considering what I actually wanted to eat—but that was a poor strategy.
After all, I don't have anything I particularly want to eat.
As long as it goes in my mouth and supplies nutrients to my body, anything is fine—that kind of extreme thought even crossed my mind.
I really do lack personal desires.
It's a side effect of having everything deemed unnecessary removed except talent, and also a side effect of talent now being able to satisfy more than what is necessary.
If I think that's the difference between me and Kōenji, then yes, he truly is an interesting existence.
Just as my thoughts began to veer off track, a group's voices reached my ears from behind, pulling my attention.
When I turned to look, six students—some familiar, some not—were strolling through the supermarket, chatting and laughing.
"That's why takoyaki is the way to go! Shibata, we still have that thing you used last time, right?"
"We just did a takoyaki party the other day, so let's do pizza this time, Amikura~. We order the pizza online and buy drinks and snacks here—that's better, yeah? Ichinose thinks so too, right?"
"Hmm, I'm with Shibata-kun on this one~. Sorry, Amikura-san. Takoyaki sounds good too, but I'm not really in the mood to cook today. What about you, Kanzaki-kun?"
"...Honestly, I'm fine with either. More importantly, we should decide whose room we're using first."
They were all Class B students.
I knew the three who usually took the lead: Ichinose as the de facto leader, Kanzaki as the strategist, and Shibata as the mood-maker. The others were unfamiliar.
But they were definitely all from Class B. Most likely some kind of celebration for the Paper Shuffle.
This time, Class B had faced Class A and come out victorious.
That said, if they had fought fairly on pure academic ability, Class A would have overwhelmed them, and their chances of winning would have been less than fifty percent.
In reality, Ichinose had negotiated with Sakayanagi, paying a certain number of private points to obtain Class A's questions—that was how they secured the victory.
This school never fails to remind us that if a class harbors an internal "bomb," winning special exams becomes extremely difficult.
In Class B's case, as long as Ichinose doesn't get expelled, that concern seems nonexistent.
"Kanzaki-kun, saying 'either is fine' doesn't help. Pick one properly."
"Then... pizza."
Once Kanzaki gave his answer, the group reached a consensus. As Shibata had suggested, they decided to order pizza and buy drinks and snacks here.
They split up and started picking out their favorites.
After watching them for a moment, I also made my decision.
"I'll go with pizza too... And if I want to make it luxurious, adding a couple more Italian dishes wouldn't hurt."
Having settled on Italian for no particular reason, I decided to make pizza, pasta, and minestrone.
"Oh, Kamukura-kun. Fancy running into you here."
Just as I resumed shopping, I ran straight into Ichinose, who had also started her own browsing.
She flashed her usual friendly smile and glanced into my basket to find a conversation starter.
"As expected of a guy who can cook for himself, Kamukura-kun!"
"I don't recall ever telling you that I cook."
"Of course not—I didn't hear it from you. I heard it from Sakayanagi-san.
She was absolutely raving about your world-class skills! I'd love to try it sometime~."
"If the opportunity arises, I wouldn't mind."
We chatted idly while I picked up the ingredients I needed.
It was a hassle, but staying silent would only make her keep talking anyway.
"Yay! So, what are you planning to make today?"
"Pizza, pasta, and minestrone."
"That's a lot! Still growing?"
"No. I'm eating with Ryūen-kun, so it's an appropriate amount."
"Ry-Ryūen-kun eating Italian... Somehow it doesn't quite suit him~."
I silently agreed.
"Congratulations on beating Class A, by the way."
I could have ignored her entirely, but I changed the subject to keep the conversation going.
"Thanks. Though I can't really say we won fairly this time~."
"Does that mean you won by luck? Or because the method went against your principles?"
"The latter. Well... there were circumstances."
Ichinose smiled with a little "nya ha ha."
Regardless of the process, the result was a victory.
There may have been things to reflect on, but there was no need to be overly pessimistic.
And she understood those points of reflection perfectly well.
"If you're referring to the negotiation with Sakayanagi, then you simply chose the best possible option and earned the result. That, too, is a form of strength."
"...You've encouraged me. But next time, we'll win with Class B's own power."
"Class B's power, huh."
I observed Ichinose's shy smile while analyzing the current strength of Class B.
In truth, while their overall average was higher than the other classes, they lacked any standout elements.
Ichinose had the qualities of a leader, yet her personality made her ill-suited for the role.
Kanzaki tried to support her as a strategist, but he lacked initiative; as an enemy, he posed little threat.
The rest of the class had relatively high academic and athletic ability—and that was all.
Their only real threat was their unity: despite individual strengths and weaknesses, they could cover for one another.
Yet even that unity was half-hearted. To someone like Ryūen or Sakayanagi, it was nothing more than a fragile wall.
They needed to evolve from a friendly group that dragged one another down into a collective where each member fulfilled their own responsibilities toward a single goal.
They needed to change. Otherwise, everything would remain boring.
But for now, that was still impossible.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing. More importantly, Kanzaki-kun is heading this way."
I shifted my gaze behind her, prompting her to turn around.
In that opening, I slipped away.
Ichinose was the exception; the rest of Class B despised me.
There was no need to create unnecessary trouble right before their enjoyable celebration.
"Thank y—eh? He's gone already."
Ignoring the faint sound of her surprised voice, I went to pay for my ingredients.
Once checkout was done, all that remained was to return to the dorm and start preparing.
Ryūen would probably show up at my room before I finished prep anyway, but I could take my time.
If I told him I wouldn't feed him until it was ready, he'd have no choice but to wait.
"...Impossible. The very fact that they possess strength blinds them to their own flaws. They'll only realize it once they've hit rock bottom. Until then, they won't achieve true unity."
A boring prediction of the future.
Even if Ichinose grew stronger, they wouldn't change. No—the stronger she became, the less likely change would be.
That was precisely why the action I needed to take to alter this dull outcome was already decided.
Having found a small spark of amusement, I hurried back to the dorm.
...
The time had passed 7 p.m.
With a ding from the oven, I took out the pizza and arranged it on the dining table.
Then, bringing over portions of pasta and minestrone for two, the preparations were complete.
"Finally. I'm sick of waiting."
Ryūen-kun, who had been lying on my bed fiddling with his phone, sat up and walked over to the table.
As expected, he had shown up about thirty minutes early and waited while grumbling.
It was something I had grown completely used to.
"So, what's the reason for today?"
Without even a word of grace before the meal, we both started eating as I asked about the purpose of his visit.
Ryūen-kun let out a low chuckle, then tapped at his phone and set it down on the table.
The screen displayed a student ID photo, student number, name, birthday, school name, and held points—personal information.
The key detail here was the held points. Seeing the eight-digit figure, I was quietly impressed.
"You've gathered quite a bit."
"'Quite a bit'? Your sense of money is totally warped."
The point tax he had started in Class C around June.
Ryūen-kun collected 30,000 private points each month from forty people, netting 1.2 million pp.
It was now mid-December, and he had already carried out seven collections.
Simple math gave 8.4 million pp, plus the contract with Class A from the uninhabited island special test.
That devilish deal required thirty-six students in Class A—excluding four specific ones—to transfer 40,000 pp each month.
As a result, Class A had gained over 500 class points in the uninhabited island test, but it came at the cost of heavy chains.
40,000 × 36 = 1.44 million pp. Paid four times up to this month: 1.44 million × 4 = 5.76 million pp.
Added together, he should have had 14.16 million pp in total.
"——13.66 million pp. That's the exact amount collected."
The numbers didn't add up. But the discrepancy cleared up immediately.
There were expenses.
As far as I knew, there was the 500,000 pp paid to Kinoshita during the sports festival and the 500,000 pp given to Kushida.
Kushida should have already returned 100,000 pp, yet the figures still didn't quite match.
"It's slightly higher than it should be after subtracting the expected 1 million pp in expenses. Where did the extra come from?"
"From Hiyori during the cruise ship special test. She correctly identified the VIP and earned 500,000 points—I took eighty percent of it."
That made 400,000 points.
14.16 − 0.5 − 0.5 + 0.1 + 0.4 = 13.66, perfectly matching the total.
"You're not collecting from me?"
When I asked, Ryūen-kun grinned wickedly and motioned for me to hand over my phone.
I did as told, and he operated it with familiar ease.
"...Tch. Nothing but boring contacts. I was sure you were sleeping with Ibuki."
"Stop rummaging and just transfer the points already."
"It's your own fault for not locking it."
Ryūen-kun spouting his usual tyrannical logic.
I wanted to protest, but before I could, he handed the phone back.
I checked my private points.
"This is your reward for the exam. Now you've got 1 million pp—more than enough for emergencies.
By the way, today's meal cost is included in this 300,000."
"...Fine, I suppose."
It amounted to a free dinner, but I could tell he had no intention of paying extra, so I let it go to avoid the hassle.
But more than that.
The 1 million pp displayed on the screen.
I had held 700,000 pp, plus the 300,000 reward—no error in the numbers.
He was genuinely paying the promised compensation.
He provided proper payment to those who followed him.
"Unexpected."
"What is?"
"The compensation. Knowing you, I figured there was a chance you'd slip in some lie and not pay at all."
"When money runs out, so do relationships. I pay what's owed.
Besides, I need to distribute points to you for contingencies. When I'm not around, you're the one who makes the calls.
Though if you waste them like you did in the cruise ship exam, I'll immediately switch this role to Kaneda without mercy."
Better to be prepared.
Planning for times when he was absent was a good quality.
"So, today's business isn't just this, right?"
Having wrapped up one matter, I moved to the next.
"Yeah. First, about X."
"How are you handling it?"
"For now, this."
Ryūen-kun swiped the phone screen and showed me a photo of one female student.
The girl was Karuizawa Kei, the top of the girls' caste in Class D.
"She's the bait to lure out X—Ayanokōji."
"From the incident where Manabe and the others were bullying her? Indeed, she's the only real lead on X. How exactly do you plan to use her?"
"Simple. On the last day of the semester, call her to the rooftop. Then break her. Let X realize what's happening and see what he does."
A dangerous gambit only Ryūen-kun, who never chose his methods carefully, could execute.
Karuizawa Kei currently sat at the top of the girls' hierarchy, but according to Manabe, she had once been a bullying victim.
She didn't appear that way thanks to her own efforts, but if it was true, the reason she came to this school likely boiled down to cutting off all contact with the outside world.
She wanted to sever her miserable past and start a new life in a new place—that kind of prediction came easily.
"If he chooses to save Karuizawa, he'll show up on the rooftop. If he abandons her..."
"Ayanokōji loses one piece—Karuizawa."
As a way to erode their fighting strength, it would produce more than satisfactory results.
After all, Karuizawa Kei held high status within Class D. If she vanished, the effects would ripple through the class, especially disrupting the girls' unity.
"From now on, I'm going all out to crush X. And at the same time, I'll prepare to climb to the upper classes.
I'll be working you hard on that second part."
"Please be gentle."
The conversation paused as we finished dinner.
I soaked the used dishes in water, then brought refills of the free drinking water and sat back down.
Ryūen-kun drank his the moment it was set down, quenching his throat.
"Now, let's get to the main point."
He placed the glass on the table, recrossed his legs, and his expression grew more serious than before.
This was clearly the real subject.
"You said earlier that even after seeing the collected amount, it wasn't enough... and you're right.
It's not enough. Nowhere near. Compared to the points I truly want, this is nothing more than pocket change."
"Is that about class points or private points?"
"Both."
Ryūen-kun muttered the words, his expression still grave.
Even with a massive haul of private points in hand, he kept pushing forward.
His face looked like that of someone forever chasing a dream, forever harboring ambition.
To me, it read as desire left unsatisfied.
"Kamukura, I've tried all sorts of things in this school up to now.
The locations of the hundreds of cameras installed, the exact number and positions of the ones actually running in real time, the weight of the penalties, the ways to use private points—if I started listing them, there'd be no end to how much I've investigated this place."
Just the few examples he gave made it clear how deeply he had dug into the surveillance system and the school's rules.
That incident early after enrollment, when he targeted Sudō with violence, had probably been meant to probe systems like these.
"I've been searching for this school's 'rules' and 'clear method' since the day I got here, and I've learned more than enough by now.
Which means from here on—it's time to move into full execution."
"Execution phase."
"Yeah... Kuku. Hey, Kamukura Izuru. Can you guess the clear method I've figured out for this school?"
Ryūen-kun fixed me with a provocative, challenging stare.
"I haven't been at your side all this time for nothing. I've already grasped your tastes, your preferences, your thought patterns.
And factoring in the investigation results you mentioned earlier, the answer becomes obvious."
"Let's hear it."
"——Class transfer using private points. That's the 'clear method' you found, isn't it?"
"Kukuku—kuhahahahaha! Yeah, exactly! Spot on!"
The moment I finished stating it, he burst into laughter, genuinely delighted.
"That's right. I'm going to gather a massive amount of private points and ultimately take the seat in Class A.
That's why I never cared all that much about our current class ranking."
Right now we were Class C. Unless you were in Class A at graduation, you couldn't go to the jobs or universities you truly wanted.
But Ryūen-kun had planned from the start to use private points to transfer into Class A at the end.
The key to that plan was an enormous sum of private points.
"I believe it was 20 million private points. The right for a single student to transfer freely into any class."
I had heard the rumor early after enrollment, but only recently confirmed it was true.
A right you could only obtain by collecting the staggering sum of 20 million private points.
Yet Ryūen-kun, who had gathered enough to almost reach that amount, still said it wasn't enough.
That was when I finally understood the full scope of his strategy.
"...You've been thinking about this plan since the day you enrolled."
Something rose faintly in my chest.
He had moved for victory faster than anyone after entering the school and arrived at this strategy.
If it were me, I would eventually have reached the same plan.
But reaching it was certain; whether I would have sought it this quickly was uncertain.
Whatever the truth, the fact remained that he had found a way to cleverly use private points sooner than I had.
And that was my own negligence—and an unknown he had created.
"——You still haven't bored me."
"...Creepy. That smile of yours."
The words he spat made me pause; I immediately touched my cheek.
"What are you surprised about now, unknown-otaku?"
"...Surprised? Me?"
I couldn't comprehend the statement and simply repeated it back.
"Kuku. I'm honestly tired of that stone face of yours. Any other expression makes it pretty obvious."
A misfire of emotion. It took a fraction of a second to accept the fact.
But I understood and accepted it quickly.
That I had just shown emotion on my face—and that I had been confused and surprised.
"...A truly boring change."
So this... is the current Kamukura Izuru.
If the faculty saw it, they would surely have disposed of me as defective.
"Back to the topic. I found the 'clear method' of transferring classes with private points.
But the story doesn't end there. If it was just me, the game would end too easily and get boring."
He wore a triumphant look as he steered the conversation back and continued explaining.
He was doubtless in high spirits after seeing the change in my expression.
I could let him stay that way, but listening to something I already understood was dull, so I interjected.
"So you're going to save up 800 million points."
"...What, you'd already figured it out?"
"I only realized just now. After all, even if you think of the method, executing it is another matter.
You're probably the only one who would reach for a strategy that ignores that much risk."
"Too bad—that's just who I am."
If Ibuki were here, she would have rained criticism on that smug face of his.
But he had provided me an unknown. Today, at least, I would let him enjoy it to his heart's content.
"This plan to gather 800 million points obviously can't be done through ordinary means.
To pull it off, I'd need to dominate all three grade levels at minimum and suck up more than 100,000 points a month from every student in the school."
"Yet even then, it remains nothing more than a pipe dream."
One class had 40 students × 4 classes = 160.
Assuming full cooperation from every student and every class earning more than 100,000 points profit per month.
In that case, you could collect 100,000 pp × 12 months × 160 people = 192 million pp—but even that wouldn't reach 800 million.
If you somehow gained cooperation from the entire student body: 100,000 × 12 months × 480 people (assuming no expulsions across all three years) = 576 million pp.
Still more than 200 million short, and things would never align that conveniently.
That was why another approach was needed to make it feasible.
"But there is a way it could reach."
He was already eyeing the strategy, grinning as he watched me.
No—he was testing me.
"Yes. Then I won't hold back my cooperation either."
As thanks for the unknown, I considered it seriously.
Simply accumulating private points wouldn't work.
Dominating all grade levels was unrealistic, and even if possible, maintaining it for a full year was doubtful.
That was why points earned in special exams held high value.
Yet even those were trivial before the goal of 800 million.
What deserved attention was—
"Contracts involving other grades and the school itself. And above all, class points. Since 1 cp equals 100 private points in value, depending on how you use the points deposited each month, you can obtain far more."
"Kukuku. That's exactly how you should be."
Ryūen-kun spilled a satisfied smile at my answer.
It seemed he had reached the same conclusion.
He gulped down the remaining drinking water, then stood.
"That bastard Ayanokōji kept me entertained. But I'll settle that before the year is out.
Then starting next year, I'll go hard after both private points and class points."
"What do you mean?"
I returned his earlier prompt with my own interjection.
"First Ichinose, then Sakayanagi—I'll crush them both. That'll get us cleanly into Class A, and once I'm in control, I'll raise the class points of every class."
There was no arrogance in this self-assured king.
He had fixed his eyes on his goal and shifted fully into execution.
It was a straightforward, predictable development—but if it was him, he would show me unknowns.
Yes, I found myself expecting it.
"Hey, Kamukura."
He called my name in his usual tone.
When I met his gaze, he flashed another grin—baring his white teeth in a shallow, predatory smile.
Then he snapped his elbow outward and threw a short, sharp punch.
A solid blow carrying his full weight came flying, but I stayed seated, caught the fist in my open palm, and clamped down.
A sharp smack echoed through the room, and this time he laughed with genuine joy.
"——In the end, it'll be you. Once my plan is complete, I'll settle things with you."
Since he began considering his classmates, his perspective had broadened.
A broader perspective widened his range of actions, and the number of followers increased.
More followers gave Ryūen Kakeru a greater presence than he'd had at enrollment.
In exchange, his distance from those followers had shrunk, and I had thought the fangs of the beast had dulled somewhat.
But a man who wielded a peakless, double-edged blade that cut everything it touched had merely gained a sheath called comrades—his edge had never rusted.
If anything, it had only grown sharper.
He had gained the wisdom to judge the position where his blade would swing most effectively and was taking actions that would draw the desired future.
Just a delinquent. A high schooler with no talent worth calling such.
A limited existence—yet the way he bared his fangs, intent on devouring even me, seized my attention.
"——Interesting."
A hot sensation welled up from deep in my chest. The kind that arises in mild excitement.
I slowly, gradually increased my grip strength—just short of breaking bone—and he showed a double-layered smile, pained yet delighted.
Conversation with a man who held the potential for an unpredictable future.
This—I felt, just a little, just a little...
"Fun."
***
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