The morning in the Class C classroom was filled with a sense of order completely different from other classes.
Ryuuen Kakeru leaned back in his seat, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the desk, producing a dull, rhythmic sound.
His gaze swept over the students in the classroom, a satisfied smile on his face.
After a week of iron-fisted rectification, the scattered sand that was Class C had finally been forcibly molded by him into a barely presentable shape.
At least, on the surface, no one dared to openly challenge his authority anymore, and classroom discipline had improved significantly.
This laid the foundation for retaining class points in the first month and even aiming for a higher ranking.
He was in a good mood.
The trap had been set; all that remained was to wait for the fish to stir the water themselves.
That foolish woman, Kamuro Masumi, staring at Sakamoto like a devoted wife every day—that undisguised concern was the best breakthrough point.
He deliberately threw out the highly insulting phrase, "Sakamoto's dog,"
precisely to provoke Sakayanagi Arisu's suspicious and arrogant nerves.
That woman, Sakayanagi, was smart, but she took herself too seriously and also took the leadership of Class A too seriously.
She definitely couldn't stand the feeling of "being kept in the dark,"
and would certainly try every means to verify this information.
What would she do?
Go directly to question Kamuro? Or try to probe Sakamoto in a more roundabout way?
Or both.
Either way, it would be enough to create sufficient cracks and suspicions within Class A.
As soon as Sakayanagi started to act, the seemingly solid elite facade of Class A would show fissures.
Thinking of this, the curve of Ryuuen's lips grew colder.
He enjoyed this feeling of manipulating everything from behind the scenes,
watching those self-important individuals being led around by the bait he casually threw out.
As for the so-called "cooperation" with Sakayanagi…
Ryuuen sneered inwardly.
That was nothing more than a thin veil of hypocrisy that could be torn apart at any time.
That woman provided initial information, and he put in the effort to test Sakamoto; each took what they needed.
Now, he had obtained the crucial "class points" rule,
while Sakayanagi… had only received a pile of carefully concocted, hard-to-distinguish junk information from him.
This cooperation was unequal from the start.
A rupture was only a matter of time.
Ryuuen knew very well that Sakayanagi Arisu was no benevolent person;
she was probably thinking about how to exploit him in return, or even eliminate him.
But he didn't care.
He even somewhat anticipated what Sakayanagi might do.
Only then would the game be more interesting.
Before the cooperation completely broke down, he had to seize the time to extract more value from her.
For example, more information about Class A's internal affairs, or the weaknesses of other classes.
Speaking of other classes… Ryuuen's thoughts turned to Class B and Class D.
Class B, the class led by the pink-haired Ichinose Honami.
On the surface, it indeed appeared to be thriving.
Strong cohesion, harmonious atmosphere, and the overall quality of students didn't seem bad.
But Ryuuen had done a little digging and concluded:
Strong on the outside, weak on the inside.
Ichinose Honami herself might have some leadership charisma, be sincere with people, and good at uniting them.
But this type of "sunny" leader often lacked ruthless tactics and deep cunning.
She might be able to lead Class B to steady progress, but she would never be able to achieve any earth-shattering comeback.
Moreover, apart from her, Class B didn't seem to have any particularly outstanding, independent, tough characters.
This was Class B's Achilles' heel.
High average quality, but no top students.
It was like a perfectly round, smooth ball—it looked full and complete, but it was hard for it to have any fatal impact.
For the first month's class points evaluation, Ryuuen was confident that Class C, under his strict discipline, definitely had a chance to surpass Class B.
As for Class D… a flicker of undisguised disgust and disdain flashed in Ryuuen's eyes.
A junkyard.
That was the only evaluation he could think of.
He didn't even bother to spend too much effort to understand it deeply.
From the scattered information he gathered, Class D was a disorganized mess, with many small cliques and no cohesion whatsoever.
He heard there was someone named Hirata Yousuke, who, like a good-natured person, mediated everywhere, trying to unite everyone.
Ridiculous.
In Ryuuen's opinion, this kind of powerless "gentleness" was laughably naive in a place like Koudo Ikusei High School.
Class D probably had more troublesome students than Class C, and they were more chaotic, lacking a strong central figure to suppress and integrate them.
Such a class was destined to be at the bottom, not even qualifying as an opponent.
Circling back, the true opponent was indeed only Class A.
Sakayanagi Arisu had now become a chess piece on his board, though she herself might not yet realize it.
Her suspicion and competitiveness would help her stir up Class A.
And Sakamoto… Ryuuen narrowed his eyes slightly.
His final move was to use Shiina Hiyori's phone to send that distress message to Sakamoto,
attempting to lure Sakamoto to the location where Kamuro was surrounded, to make him witness "his subordinate" being humiliated, thereby forcing him into a more direct conflict.
But that guy, Sakamoto, actually broke the situation in such an incredible way,
and afterwards, Shiina Hiyori's side seemed to have no unusual reaction either.
It seems this last chess move, Sakamoto didn't fully step into it.
A bit of a pity, but no harm done.
Ryuuen pouted.
No matter how powerful Sakamoto was, he was just one person.
And Ryuuen, he had already planted nails in both Class A and Class C, and although the effect might not be as expected, it was enough to create continuous trouble.
What he had to do now was to watch from the sidelines.
Focus on integrating Class C internally, strictly disciplining them, ensuring no points were deducted in the first month, and even striving for bonus points.
At the same time, enjoy the "splendid drama" about to unfold within Class A.
He could almost see the silent smoke of battle between Sakayanagi Arisu and Sakamoto.
"Heh…"
Ryuuen let out a low chuckle,
let him see what this fire, ignited by his own hands, would ultimately burn into.
Preferably, it would burn everyone to a crisp.
That way, he could come out and clean up the mess… In Class 1-D, the classroom atmosphere remained loose.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's gaze calmly looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought as usual.
But in his mind, the scenes from yesterday at the cafe replayed repeatedly.
He had developed a slight interest in Sakamoto.
His original intention in coming to this school was to enjoy an ordinary campus life,
like a drop of water merging into the ocean, leaving no trace.
But Sakamoto—
That person… was too special. So special that he couldn't be ignored.
It wasn't just his incredible behavior and abilities, but also the occasional glint in his eyes.
Yesterday, at the cafe, when his words, "You've already observed the truth of this school?" slipped out,
the look Sakamoto gave him.
Calm, profound,
yet seemingly able to penetrate all disguises and reach the core.
That kind of gaze… Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was very familiar with it,
yet he felt a subtle, inexplicable difference.
In the White Room, he had seen countless geniuses and monsters,
their eyes either sharp, mad, hollow, or full of calculation.
But Sakamoto's gaze was different.
It was a purer feeling.
As if all things in the world had their own trajectories in his eyes, and he merely observed, understood, and appreciated them calmly.
This feeling caused a flicker of interest, almost imperceptible even to himself, in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's heart, which had long been trained into an icy state.
Truly, just a little bit.
But this little bit of interest was rare enough for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been in a state of absolute rationality for many years.
A few words naturally couldn't explain much.
But this gaze, combined with those actions, was enough to constitute an "abnormal variable" worth observing.
He needed more information.
He needed to understand this person named Sakamoto more deeply.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka slowly withdrew his gaze from the window, lowered his head, and seemingly casually flipped through the textbook on his desk.