Chapter 136: Nagumo Miyabi's Second Scheme Against Yuto!
The Class C students also believed Ryuen was only suspended, not expelled. Since he would eventually return to the classroom, they saw no reason to join Tokito Hiroya in causing trouble.
Class C had become completely disorganized.
Sakagami watched the situation with growing bitterness. He increasingly believed Class C could not function without Ryuen.
Otherwise, they would lose every future examination and conflict, eventually falling into Class D.
...
After school on Monday afternoon, inside Nagumo's clubroom, he stared at Ryuen sitting across from him and suppressed his irritation.
"I know you're anxious, but calm down."
"I'm not anxious. If I were, I wouldn't have called to arrange this meeting. I would've gone directly to your Class 2-A classroom and blocked the door," Ryuen answered.
'This damned delinquent!'
"We could've discussed your problem over the phone. Why insist on meeting?" Nagumo asked with a headache.
Meeting Ryuen carried risks. If Yuto discovered them together, he might mistakenly believe their relationship was close.
It was not close at all.
They merely had a relationship based on using and being used by one another.
However, that relationship had now changed. Ryuen was using Nagumo's position as student council vice president to solve the problem of taking the midterm while suspended.
"If you don't want to meet me, then quickly solve my problem. I was suspended because I followed your plan against Shimizu Yuto," Ryuen said bluntly.
"...Go kneel before the chairman and principal, apologize, and beg for forgiveness."
What was this?
Kneeling again?!
Seeing Ryuen's expression darken made Nagumo feel unexpectedly refreshed. To retaliate against the troublesome delinquent, he continued speaking.
"Only by receiving forgiveness from the school administration will you have any chance of taking the midterm while suspended."
"No. There should be another method," Ryuen argued.
"What method? Let me hear it."
Ryuen explained the idea he had spent the entire night considering.
"Sakagami-sensei told me that points can purchase anything at this school. How many points would I need to buy permission from the school to take the midterm?"
Ryuen was prepared to kneel and apologize, but if he could avoid humiliating himself, he naturally preferred not to do it.
"The school does claim that points can purchase anything, but the administration must still approve the transaction."
"If they refuse, spending any number of points will be meaningless."
Nagumo then looked at him suspiciously.
"More importantly, where would you obtain those points?"
Hadn't the student council already confiscated all of Ryuen's personal points?
During the hearing, Ryuen lost everything because of his violent bullying of Yamawaki and Komiya.
Forget buying permission to sit the midterm. He could not even afford a bottle of water.
Ryuen did not answer. He merely stared directly at Nagumo.
Nagumo's heart jumped.
His face twitched as he asked in disbelief, "You aren't expecting me to provide the points, are you?"
"Of course. We're partners, so shouldn't you pay them for me?" Ryuen answered as though it were obvious.
'Go to hell!'
Who was partners with such an unreliable, troublesome, shameless bastard?!
Nagumo's expression became even darker than Ryuen's. He took several deep breaths and suppressed his anger.
"Ryuen, I can pay the points, but you must first obtain forgiveness from the chairman and principal!"
"Otherwise, no amount of money will purchase permission to take the midterm," Nagumo said through gritted teeth.
"...Fine."
It seemed he truly could not escape kneeling and apologizing.
"There's something else I need you to do," Nagumo added in an unfriendly tone.
Ryuen did not mind. If someone had pestered him this much, he would not have spoken politely either.
"Tell me."
"The midterm is approaching. I have a way to obtain the examination papers in advance," Nagumo said.
"The student council has enough authority to obtain the midterm papers beforehand?!" Ryuen asked in astonishment.
"There's no need to use the student council's authority. The school rarely changes its midterm papers."
"Ryuen, there are many opportunities to cheat at this school, including both midterms and final examinations," Nagumo said with a cold laugh.
"So what do you want me to do?" Ryuen asked.
"I'll give you a forged set of midterm papers. You'll find a way to deliver them to Shimizu Yuto," Nagumo answered directly.
"You want me to give him fake papers? Are you trying to make him fail the midterm?"
Ryuen shook his head.
"That would be meaningless. Shimizu Yuto has excellent grades and received perfect scores on the quizzes."
Even if they convinced Yuto to accept forged midterm papers, what difference would it make?
Could they truly damage his examination results?
Of course not.
Yuto was an outstanding student.
Even if none of the questions on the forged papers appeared on the real examination, he could still answer the actual questions through his own ability.
"I know Shimizu Yuto received perfect scores. My real objective isn't to make him fail."
"It's to make the Class D students resent him," Nagumo explained with a sinister smile.
"Shimizu Yuto is excellent at studying, so he doesn't need advance examination papers. However, the worthless students in Class D do."
"Since he is Class D's leader, he cares about their midterm scores."
"You only need to persuade him by asking whether he wants his classmates to receive high marks. He should agree to purchase the papers."
"Once the Class D students receive them from Shimizu Yuto, those who struggle academically will desperately memorize every question."
"Then, during the real midterm, they'll discover that every paper Yuto gave them was fake."
"They'll naturally blame and resent him," Nagumo declared.
Ryuen silently nodded.
"If the plan succeeds, it would seriously damage Shimizu Yuto's authority within Class D."
"Exactly. The forged-paper plan cannot expel him, but it can at least make the Class D students dissatisfied with and resentful toward him," Nagumo said confidently.
"However..." Ryuen frowned.
"Will Shimizu Yuto really fall for it so easily?"
"If someone claims to possess the midterm papers and says the school never changes them, someone as cautious as Yuto will probably confirm the information with upperclassmen."
"The moment he does, won't he discover that the papers are forged?"
"Well..." Nagumo's eyes drifted aside.
"Tomorrow, I'll use my authority as vice president to restrain the second-year students and prevent them from revealing information about the papers."
"Will that work?"
"It should... probably."
Ryuen clicked his tongue.
He now believed Nagumo's fake-paper plan had almost no chance of succeeding.
Still, if Yuto exposed it, the result would merely be disappointment. Neither Ryuen nor Nagumo would suffer any real loss.
"I accept your plan and will find a way to make Shimizu Yuto receive the forged papers."
"However, Nagumo, you must also give me a copy of the genuine midterm papers," Ryuen said.
"What do you need them for? Are you planning to score full marks?"
"Exactly. I also intend to use them to win back support within Class C," Ryuen answered solemnly.
Ryuen knew that after his suspension and the loss of 350 class points, the Class C students had become even more resistant to his leadership.
He therefore needed the genuine midterm papers to regain some of their loyalty.
Nagumo frowned.
"I can give you the real papers, but can you guarantee Shimizu Yuto won't discover them?"
Yuto absolutely could not learn of the genuine examination papers. Otherwise, after receiving the forged set, he would immediately become suspicious.
The two sets were completely different.
Which one was the real midterm examination?
"I guarantee it!" Ryuen declared.
He was not certain at all, but he absolutely needed those genuine papers.
"Fine."
Nagumo later ordered his obedient secretary, Tonokawa, to forge midterm papers for all five subjects.
Creating five convincing examination papers required considerable time, so Ryuen could not receive the false set immediately.
However, the genuine papers required no fabrication or copying. Nagumo had already kept them, so Ryuen received them at once.
"Ryuen, how exactly do you intend to deliver the fake papers to Shimizu Yuto naturally?"
"Don't cause another accident," Nagumo said with clear mockery and doubt.
His previous nearly perfect plan had been destroyed by Ryuen's own subordinates.
Nagumo now possessed little confidence in him.
Ryuen considered the question.
"Neither I nor my people should approach him. We all have conflicts with Shimizu Yuto, so he would immediately suspect our motives."
Nagumo nodded.
Everyone knew Ryuen and his followers hated Yuto. An enemy suddenly offering him midterm papers would obviously appear suspicious.
"Then how will you deliver them without raising suspicion?"
Ryuen thought for a moment and looked toward Nagumo.
"Haven't you brought the entire second year under your control?"
"Choose any second-year student and have them approach Shimizu Yuto to sell the forged papers."
"If a second-year student offers to sell them, Yuto will probably trust the papers more, correct?"
"..."
Nagumo glared at Ryuen.
"I told you to handle the sale. I did not say I would send one of my people to do it!"
What an incredible bastard.
Nagumo had asked him to complete the task, yet Ryuen had casually thrown the responsibility back at him.
"I know, but if a second-year student approaches him, Shimizu Yuto will have fewer reasons to become suspicious."
"Ryuen, why weren't you this clever when you tried to trap Shimizu Yuto?"
"You suddenly become intelligent when dealing with me. You've done no work and still received genuine midterm papers for free," Nagumo sneered.
"That's because I didn't personally execute the previous plan. Had I acted myself, Shimizu Yuto wouldn't have escaped," Ryuen answered without hesitation.
Nagumo showed open contempt.
Even if Ryuen had personally acted, Nagumo believed he would still have lost.
The existence of that recorded video alone had guaranteed Yuto's victory.
"Don't you agree that a second-year student would be more suitable than me or anyone connected to me?" Ryuen asked.
Although Ryuen was correct, Nagumo remained annoyed.
Nagumo had originally intended to persuade a student from Class 2-D to approach Yuto while pretending to lack personal points and sell him the forged papers.
The goal was to destroy Yuto's reputation inside Class D.
When Ryuen appeared and began pestering him, Nagumo decided to dump the troublesome task onto the delinquent instead.
However, Ryuen had somehow circled around and returned the responsibility to Nagumo.
Nagumo had even given Ryuen the genuine midterm papers for free.
It seemed he had suffered a considerable loss.
"You can leave now! Contact me again only after you obtain forgiveness from the chairman and principal!" Nagumo ordered harshly.
"Hmph."
Ryuen snorted and left the clubroom while carrying the genuine midterm papers.
Nagumo rubbed his brow and muttered to himself.
"Forget it. Ryuen is shameless and troublesome, but he possesses some intelligence."
"I'll find a way to keep him at this school. He'll continue biting at Shimizu Yuto without ever letting go."
Despite Ryuen's shameless behavior, Nagumo still considered him a suitable person to use against Yuto.
Moreover, once Ryuen obtained forgiveness from the school administration, Nagumo could use his authority as vice president to let him take the midterm without spending any points.
As long as protecting Ryuen required little sacrifice, Nagumo was willing to keep him at the school.
…
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