"Oh?"
Nagumo looked at Ryuen with a hint of curiosity.
"Since you were able to hear the conversation, you should know what kind of person Subaru is, right?"
Ryuen leaned his entire body back against the chair.
"A monster who is thoroughly and utterly living in his own world, indifferent to everything around him."
There was a certainty in Ryuen's voice, as if he were stating a verified fact.
He hadn't had many interactions with Subaru. However, Ryuen's beast-like keen intuition gave him a certain understanding of Subaru.
"He doesn't care about the life or death of Class D, doesn't care about class competition, and might not even care about this school itself. Horikita? She's just a guy who sits relatively close to him and occasionally exchanges a few words. No matter what is done to Horikita, Subaru won't care in the slightest."
Today, Ryuen had tried to probe Subaru through Horikita.
However, the answer was clearly negative.
Subaru didn't care about Horikita at all.
This wasn't a bluff. Ryuen could feel this very clearly.
He turned around, facing Nagumo again, his thought process halfway through:
"To get a reaction out of him, or even make him feel troubled, we have to pick those... who matter to him."
Ryuen's gaze swept over the names and photos on the screen, finally stopping on one of them.
"Hiyori Shiina."
He directly ruled out the people in his own class.
"He seems to treat that girl, Shiina, a bit differently."
This was the consensus of quite a few people in Class C; after all, Hiyori was one of the few who could frequently stay quietly with Subaru.
"But she is in Class C."
Ryuen's tone carried a trace of imperceptible complexity—there was both the confidence of controlling the class and a hint of uncertainty regarding Hiyori's detached state.
He didn't plan to touch people in his own class for the time being, especially that guy who might cause an uncontrollable reaction.
Moreover, Ryuen needed Hiyori's power.
Ryuen was very clear that Hiyori possessed an incredibly outstanding mind. If Class C wanted to go further, they would need to rely on her.
And although Hiyori was close to Subaru, Ryuen knew she wouldn't casually participate in this class struggle.
Letting Hiyori move freely was currently the best plan.
Then, there was only one candidate left.
His finger moved to another name:
"Airi Sakura."
The screen displayed a photo of Sakura with her head lowered, wearing glasses, looking somewhat timid.
"Class D. Hardly interacts with anyone usually, presence is thin... But according to some observations, Subaru seems to have had contact with her a few times. His attitude... is somewhat elusive."
Ryuen's so-called observation was naturally the surveillance of Subaru's daily behavior that he had authorized. Although Subaru's movements were regular to the point of being rigid most of the time, the occasional brief intersections with Sakura were still captured.
However, Ryuen wasn't sure if the fact that he sent people to track Subaru first had been discovered by the other party.
Or rather...
Even if he discovered it, he didn't care.
But the most important thing right now was that Sakura was one of the most fragile and easiest targets to attack in Class D.
"A withdrawn, timid girl with almost no ability to resist."
The corners of Ryuen's mouth split into a cold arc.
"This counts as an existence upon whom Subaru has carved his mark. If she were forced to drop out due to some 'accident'... do you think that 'transcendent' Student Subaru would continue to be indifferent, or..."
He didn't finish speaking, but the meaning was already obvious.
Choosing Sakura carried low risk and was easy to execute. Moreover, it was enough to test Subaru's bottom line—
If he really had things he cared about, that is.
Aside from Hiyori, Sakura seemed to be the best candidate.
Nagumo looked at Sakura's photo, then looked at the undisguised malice on Ryuen's face, weighing things quickly in his heart.
But soon, a familiar smile appeared on his face.
"An interesting choice."
Nagumo nodded.
"Airi Sakura... is indeed an inconspicuous, but perhaps critical character. And it seems she also has quite a bit of popularity outside the school."
As the Student Council Vice President, investigating Sakura's background wasn't a difficult task.
He paused, leaning his body slightly forward, lowering his voice in a tone as if sharing a secret.
"Also, Junior Ryuen, your luck is good. Very soon, there will be an opportunity very suitable for creating an 'accident'."
Ryuen's gaze sharpened:
"Oh?"
"Have you noticed that our school's rules are particularly special? And there are some traditional matters you haven't experienced yet."
"What matters?"
"Whenever it's the end of the term, the school does some special things. For example, not long from now, the school... will soon announce a 'Special Exam'."
There was a trace of depth in Nagumo's smile.
"I can't fully reveal the specific rules and forms right now, after all, I have to maintain the 'impartiality' of the Student Council. Of course, even I don't know exactly what it will be this year."
He shrugged, making a helpless expression, but then the conversation turned.
"However, I can guarantee that it will be... an environment that is relatively complex, where accidents happen easily. Very suitable for... doing some special things, isn't it?"
Special Exam.
A sharp light flashed in Ryuen's eyes.
He hadn't heard of such an existence in the school.
Besides the regular midterms and finals, it turned out there were also Special Exams?
The school's Special Exams often meant changes in rules, increased pressure, and... the breeding of chaos.
In that kind of environment, many things would indeed become much more convenient.
To the side, Ibuki and the others looked at each other in dismay.
What is a Special Exam?
Why hadn't the teacher ever mentioned it?
"Ten million points, in exchange for Airi Sakura 'accidentally' dropping out during the Special Exam."
Nagumo re-offered the price, the target clear this time.
"As long as it's successful, the points will be transferred immediately. If you need some... 'extra convenience' or information during the process, I can also provide it at my discretion. Of course, the premise is that the matter must be done cleanly."
Ryuen fell silent for a few seconds, his brain spinning rapidly.
Nagumo's proposal was extremely tempting.
Ten million points could greatly alleviate the tight economic situation Class C currently faced due to the self-destruct tactics and potential punishments, and could even become a powerful boost for his subsequent plans.
And targeting Sakura, while seemingly a probe against Subaru, was essentially also an act of clearing out a potential variable in Class D and further striking at Class D's morale, fitting his strategy.
As for Nagumo's assistance, that was just icing on the cake.
More importantly, the information about the "Special Exam" revealed by Nagumo was itself a huge value.
"Providing us with information about the Special Exam, doesn't that count as violating school regulations?"
Ibuki, standing to the side, asked with a frown.
"Of course not. I'm just friendly reminding my cute juniors of things that happened to me last year. I don't know the rules or anything either."
Nagumo shrugged his shoulders, then focused his gaze on Ryuen again.
"So, Junior Ryuen, your answer is—"
"Deal."
Ryuen didn't hesitate for too long, crisply spitting out the word.
He walked up to Nagumo and extended his right hand.
"Keep in touch regarding the specific details. The more detailed the information on the Special Exam, the better."
Nagumo also stood up, reaching out to shake hands with Ryuen, the smile on his face becoming a few degrees more sincere.
"Happy cooperation, Junior Ryuen~ I look forward to your wonderful performance."
He let go of his hand, adding meaningfully:
"Remember, our goal is to let Airi Sakura disappear reasonably. As for Subaru's reaction... that's just an 'incidental pleasure', right?"
Ryuen pulled at the corners of his mouth, not denying it.
To him, the ten million points and striking at Class D were the main goals; observing Subaru's flaws was an extra interest.
The two did not conflict.
"Then, I won't disturb you guys."
Nagumo put away his terminal, the projection disappearing. He tidied his collar, returning to that calm and elegant senior appearance.
"I look forward to hearing good news from your Class C during the Special Exam."
With that, he was the first to leave the conference room.
After the door closed, only the few people from Class C remained in the room.
"Ryuen, are we really going to do this?"
Ibuki couldn't help but speak, her brows furrowed tightly.
"Targeting someone like Airi Sakura... And how much of Nagumo's words can we trust?"
"The points are real. The news about the Special Exam is also likely true."
Ryuen walked back to the window, watching Nagumo's receding figure downstairs.
"As for what exactly he wants to do... it's not important. We each take what we need."
Ishizaki scratched his head:
"Then what do we do now? Wait for the Special Exam?"
"Wait, but also prepare."
Ryuen turned around.
"Go and collect all information on Airi Sakura. Her schedule, places she frequents, personality weaknesses, if there's anything she particularly cares about or fears... the more detailed the better. Once the Special Exam is announced, we need to formulate the most perfect plan in the shortest time possible."
"Yes!"
Ishizaki and several other boys immediately responded.
Ibuki looked at Ryuen's determined expression, wanting to say something but stopping.
She always felt that cooperating with someone like Nagumo was very dangerous.
"Ryuen..."
"I know what you want to say, Ibuki. Nagumo is using us."
"Maybe he has more arrangements for Kikyo Kushida..."
Ryuen shrugged his shoulders.
"But it doesn't matter. After getting rid of Subaru, the next one is Miyabi Nagumo. Everyone will kneel before me."
Evening.
Subaru had already returned to the dormitory.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Subaru pushed the door open. Appearing before him was none other than Kikyo Kushida.
"Kushida, is something the matter?"
Subaru opened the door slightly wider, allowing the other party to walk into the room.
"Natsuki-kun, I wanted to ask, what should we do afterwards?"
"Afterwards?"
"That's right... Horikita-san had water splashed on her, and Ayanokoji-kun said Class C might still continue to take action against us. Should we do something?"
A somewhat worried expression appeared on Kushida's face.
"Do nothing, because it has nothing to do with me."
Subaru spoke expressionlessly.
"But if they do something to Horikita-san again..."
"Then for you, that would be truly wonderful, wouldn't it?"
Subaru's gaze landed on Kushida's face, as if he were about to tear off all her masks.
"There are only the two of us here."
"That's true~"
Kushida dropped her disguise, a somewhat twisted smile appearing on her face.
"Seeing that woman eat humble pie was truly amazing~ Did you see her unwilling expression today? Just because her grades are a little better, she thinks she's all that. In the end, she couldn't even lift her head in front of Ichinose~"
After the negotiation with Class B ended, Kushida and Hirata were responsible for distributing the obtained personal points to the people in the class with the fewest points.
And naturally, Kushida couldn't do without some 'green tea' sanctimonious speeches.
"Although it's only two hundred thousand, Horikita-san really did her best~"
"Please don't blame Horikita-san. When she said earlier that she could get a lot of points, she also wanted to stabilize everyone's mentality~"
"For Horikita-san to achieve this level, she's already done great."
On the surface, it looked like Kushida was speaking up for Horikita.
But in reality, her words also played an instigating role.
Some students had already expressed dissatisfaction with Horikita's ability and methods.
Kushida, like a victor, savored Horikita's appearance from today.
Subaru simply watched Kushida—
She could be counted as a mildly interesting existence.
But not enough.
Her completion was above Ryuen's, but still not enough.
He needed the base color in her heart to be presented without reservation.
Presented in front of everyone.
Tearing her disguise apart, leaving not a single shred behind.
____
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