Wednesday, during lunchtime, the school cafeteria was filled with the aroma of food.
A male student from Class 2-D nervously rubbed his hands, his gaze flickering. "Um... Ryuuen-kun, thank you very much for treating us to a meal... But..." His voice grew softer. "I really don't have anything to tell you..."
Ryuuen leaned back in his chair, his long fingers gently tapping the table, looking at him with a calm expression.
Before he could even speak, the burly Ishizaki next to him slammed his hand on the table with a "bang."
"Hey!" Ishizaki grabbed the other's collar, the veins bulging on his muscular arm. "Are you planning to eat for free!"
His roar drew the attention of students around them. "Now you're telling me you have no information?"
"I... I didn't ask for it! You guys came up to me!" The second-year student retorted, trying to maintain his composure, but his eyes unconsciously darted toward the surveillance camera in the corner of the ceiling. "Let go! There are cameras here! Do you dare to try and lay a hand on me?"
Ishizaki's fist cracked as he clenched it, about to swing—
"Ishizaki, calm down." Ryuuen's lazy voice sounded at the right moment. He slowly stood up and gently pressed on Ishizaki's shoulder. "After all... this is our 'senpai.'"
He deliberately emphasized the word "senpai," a chilling smile playing on his lips.
"But..." Ryuuen suddenly leaned closer to the other's ear, lowering his voice. "I can stop him once, but that doesn't mean I can stop him every time. It's true there are cameras in the cafeteria..." His gaze pointedly swept toward the deserted corridor outside the cafeteria. "But there are always some places that cameras can't see, right?"
"Exactly!" Ishizaki violently flung the upperclassman's collar away, grinning menacingly. "Do you think eating for free can just be forgotten? Even if it means getting a demerit, I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"
The upperclassman's face instantly turned pale. "Are you really from Class C? Your style is even worse than Class D... Or is it! Because your points have been deducted to zero, you're fearless?"
His voice trembled, and he quietly added, "It's not that I don't want to tell you... If that person finds out... I'll never get a recommendation for higher education!"
"You bastard—" Ishizaki flared up again, his fist already halfway in the air.
"Stop it, Ishizaki." Ryuuen this time firmly grasped his wrist, with such force that Ishizaki winced in pain.
Ryuuen continued to turn to the upperclassman, revealing another chillingly gentle smile. "How about this, let's both take a step back. I understand your difficulties, senpai..."
His voice suddenly lowered, taking on a seductive tone. "Just tell me who that man you're afraid of is, and then give me a few key pieces of information, and I'll transfer fifty thousand points to you. It's a fair trade, isn't it?"
The upperclassman's gaze was flickering.
After a full half-minute of silence, he finally spoke. "...It's Nagumo, the Vice President. Class A enjoys the best teachers, while other classes can only transfer or graduate in disgrace! All four classes are rivals!" He suddenly realized he'd let something slip and quickly covered his mouth. "Uh, that's all I can say! Th-then what about my fifty thousand points?!"
Ryuuen suddenly showed a playful smile and slowly straightened his cuffs. "Who said I was going to give you fifty thousand points?"
He tilted his head and looked at Ishizaki, feigning confusion. "Ishizaki, did I say something like that?"
Ishizaki immediately understood and laughed cooperatively. "Hahaha, senpai, you must be hearing things!"
"You... you guys!" The upperclassman trembled with anger, his finger pointing at Ryuuen shaking.
Ryuuen suddenly reined in his smile, his eyes turning dangerous. "While I'm still in a good mood, get out! With these few disjointed pieces of information... I've already been merciful by not making you spit out the food you ate."
The upperclassman opened his mouth to argue, but after seeing Ryuuen's gloomy eyes, he shivered violently and finally hurried out of the cafeteria in disgrace.
Ishizaki looked at the upperclassman's hasty retreat, scratching his head. "Ryuuen, wasn't this information told to us by a 'kind person' on the second day of school?"
Ryuuen curled his lips in disdain. "After all, he's a waste from second-year Class D. This is the most we could squeeze out of him." His finger lightly tapped the table, and he suddenly changed the subject. "Any progress on Nagumo, the Vice President, whom I asked you to investigate?"
Ishizaki's expression immediately became serious. "I only know his full name is Nagumo Miyabi. But..." He lowered his voice. "Every time I ask a second-year student, as soon as I mention that name, their faces turn particularly ugly. So, besides the name, I can't get anything else out of them."
Ryuuen narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtfully out the cafeteria window. "To make the entire second year as silent as cicadas... he seems like a very interesting opponent. But it's too early to challenge the second year now... First, let's figure out the rules and crush the other classes."
'What kind of game rules is this school really hiding?'
In fact, from the first day he stepped through the school gate, Ryuuen had keenly sensed something abnormal.
Whether it was the school rule of "points can buy everything" or the meaningful hints from his homeroom teacher, Sakagami, all made him believe that the school authorities were deliberately concealing key information.
However, after many days of inquiries, from the timid upperclassmen, he only pieced together fragments of the truth: this school indeed divides classes by strength, and the four classes are rivals—that's all.
The second-year students, under the iron fist of Nagumo, the Vice President, completely blocked any news. And when he tried to contact a third-year Class D upperclassman, he was sternly warned by a suddenly appearing Student Council member as soon as he spoke.
The entire upper class seemed to be covered by an invisible net, and everyone was tight-lipped about the truth.
Ryuuen and Ishizaki strode through the cafeteria, and just as they were about to step out the door, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a striking silver-white flash—
At a window table, a silver-haired girl holding an exquisite cane was elegantly eating the food on her plate.
As if sensing his gaze, the girl slowly raised her eyelids, her eyes precisely locking onto him through the noisy crowd.
Their gazes met in mid-air, and the girl's lips curved slightly, revealing a half-smile, like a chess player examining a disobedient chess piece.
"Ryuuen? What's wrong?" Ishizaki looked in his direction, confused.
"...Nothing." Ryuuen withdrew his gaze, his voice dangerously calm.
That condescending look should have been his exclusive right, his sharp weapon for scrutinizing prey.
Now, it was returned to him intact by that girl with the cane, even with a superior arrogance.
'Are they those arrogant Class A students who think they're elites? Heh, if I punched such a delicate girl, she'd probably cry for a long time.'