"Tch... I've been played."
Ryūen Kakeru's knuckles slammed against the desk, his expression dark enough to drip ink.
His glare burned into the ceiling's blinking red camera—as if his gaze alone could melt it.
(Who the hell is pulling the strings?)
The thought spun wildly in his mind.
He'd instantly grasped the scheme: Surveillance rights were a sword hanging over his head.
The live feeds flooding in were a silent taunt—pay exorbitant points to own the cameras, or live under watch forever.
"Renting surveillance? This school really takes 'points rule all' to the extreme." A cold laugh escaped his gritted teeth.
His account did hold the 3 million points he'd extorted from Class C—a fortune now ripe for the taking.
After a pause, Ryūen swiftly messaged his homeroom teacher:
[Ryūen Kakeru]:"How much to lease the school's surveillance room?"
[Sakagami Kazuma]:"Can't. New school-wide ban: No buying, leasing, using, or tampering with campus equipment. Explanation? 'School rules.'"
"Just now?!" Ryūen's pupils contracted. "Then that means... the other guy got in first!"
The severity hit him. His fingers flew across his screen, testing the waters with Tsuki Ao:
[Ryūen Kakeru]:"How much?"
The reply was brutally succinct:
[Tsuki Ao]:"3 million."
"Damn it!" Ryūen's grip trembled, his back drenched in cold sweat.
The number was terrifyingly precise—his exact class fund balance.
This shadowy figure knew his finances intimately—and aimed to clean him out in one go.
Worse? It meant the surveillance had been ongoing, yet he had no clue who was behind it.
"Since when...?" His jaw clenched.
He'd thought bugging Class A was masterful—but this?
Openly monetizing school cameras? This was leagues beyond.
His temple throbbed. The feeling of being cornered set his blood aflame.
(Not a second-year... Vice President Nagumo's not this petty. The third-year prez? Too beneath him.)
(So it's gotta be a first-year starving for points.)
"Ryūen! You okay?!"Ishizaki Daichi leaned in, alarmed by his leader's pallor.
A glance at the phone screen made him blurt: "WHAT?! Someone's SPYING on us through the cameras?!"
His booming voice detonated across the room.
"What? Since when?!"
"Explain properly!"
"Aren't those just school cameras?!"
Panic spread like wildfire.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Ryūen kicked Ishizaki hard, livid.
He'd never planned to tell these morons—it would undermine his control. Yet his own lackey shouted it to the world.
"Ryūen...!" Rubbing his sore backside, Ishizaki looked betrayed.
But Ryūen was already weighing options:
Endure surveillance? The humiliation churned his stomach.
A hunter like him, now caged prey?
Yet the camera's unblinking lens prickled his skin.
Destroy it? Futile. The enemy controlled the feeds, not the hardware. Smashing it would just—
CRASH!
A deafening shatter cut his thoughts short.
Ryūen whirled—to see Ishizaki holding a chair, the camera now in pieces, wires dangling like severed tails.
"Problem's the camera, right? SMASHED!" Ishizaki grinned triumphantly.
"Good thinking!"
"No more deductions!"
A few idiots actually cheered.
(Did these morons leave their brains at home?!)
Ryūen's vision whited out with rage.
He lunged, driving his knee into Ishizaki's back, slamming him to the floor.
"You fucking imbecile! The data's transmitted ONLINE! Smashing this does JACK SHIT! The school can replace it in SECONDS! And when our class points get nuked for vandalism, HOW WILL YOU FIX THAT?!"
Ishizaki's face drained of color.
"Ryūen... I messed up. From now on, I'll follow your orders—no questions!"
"GET LOST! Sit down and SHUT UP!"
Then it hit him—the cameras were recording his meltdown.
This would cost them even more points.
"Goddammit... Fine, I'll lease the damn things!"
But owning surveillance wasn't entirely useless.
It'd counter the spy and prevent future deductions.
He'd been overconfident—thinking his iron grip could keep these fools in line.
Reality proved otherwise: Some idiots are beyond saving.
At least with cameras, he'd have a safety net.
The deal was poisoned honey—deadly yet irresistible.
His gaze swept the room.
(...Is there no one with a brain here?)
It landed on Shiina Hiyori—the only one watching him with calm, calculating eyes.
The irony burned: This "meritocratic" school had lumped him with brain-dead brutes.
(Who's the real D-class here...?)
(If I hadn't seized control Day 1, would these morons have tanked our points already?)
His fists clenched.
But the fury boiled hotter—especially at one chilling thought:
(Silver threads... a spider's web...)
Ryūen's lips peeled back in a grin.
(Was it YOU, Sakayanagi Arisu? With your chairman father, leasing cameras would be child's play!)
If this was her revenge—using his extorted points to extort HIM—it was genius.
(Did you find my bugs, Sakayanagi?)
"HAHAHA! This just got INTERESTING!"
His manic laughter silenced the room.
Wiping tears away, his eyes sharpened like blades.
This cat-and-mouse game was just beginning—and nothing thrilled him more than dragging a queen from her throne.