Chapter 077 Holding a Study Session in a KTV Private Room
"Ryuen, just say what you want." Hikigaya didn't feel like wasting time with idle chatter.
"Hmph! Dead-fish eyes, you're quite direct. I don't hate that."
Ryuen Kakeru let out a cold snort and stopped beating around the bush.
"Shiina is our Class C's academic ace. You've been freeloading off her for so long; don't you think that's a bit much?"
"My interactions with Shiina are personal and have nothing to do with the class," Hikigaya stated his position.
"But you're utilizing Class C's academic resources. That is a fact!" Ryuen emphasized his tone.
Hikigaya's eyes narrowed as he quickly grasped the other's intent. "So, you're planning on making me pay a fee?"
"Exactly! But I don't want your points." Ryuen spoke meaningfully. "I heard your liberal arts grades are quite good. In Japanese specifically, you can rank in the top three of the grade."
Hikigaya's brow furrowed. "You don't mean you want me to teach the people in your class, do you?"
"See~ talking to a smart person is different." Ryuen admitted it.
"..." Hikigaya thought about how the number of underachievers in Class C wasn't any less than in Class D. It must be exhausting for Shiina to teach everyone alone, right?
"Oh? You agreed that readily?" Ryuen first looked surprised, then as if he'd thought of something, he flashed a lewd smile.
"What? Have your eyes on the beauties of our Class C? Is it Shiina or Ibuki?"
'Do you think you're being funny?' Hikigaya gave him an annoyed glare.
"Your vision is too small, Dragon Boy. Only children make choices; adults take everything!"
"...What did you just call me?!" Ryuen's brow twitched, his anger meter rising rapidly.
"Dragon Boy. Or if you prefer something more 'international,' Dragonboy?" (Dragonboy said in English)
Hikigaya had no intention of backing down.
'What? You're allowed to call me dead-fish eyes, but I can't call you Dragon Boy?'
"!" Ryuen suddenly burst out laughing.
"Haha!" Hikigaya followed suit with a laugh.
"Hikigaya-kun..." The familiar voice coming from behind made the smile on Hikigaya's face freeze instantly, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Hehe! Keep laughing! Go on, laugh!" Ryuen bared his teeth in a mocking grin.
Hikigaya turned his head with difficulty.
He saw Ibuki Mio and Shiina Hiyori standing behind him, though he had no idea when they'd arrived.
"...When did you two get here?" Hikigaya clung to one last shred of hope.
"Eto~" Shiina Hiyori maintained her usual gentle smile. "Right around the part where Hikigaya-kun said, 'Only children make choices; adults take everything.'"
"Hikigaya, you bastard!" Ibuki Mio stepped forward angrily and stomped hard on his foot. "It's one thing to have bad intentions toward me, but you actually want to make a move on Shiina too?"
'Wait, brother? When did I ever have bad intentions toward you?'
Hikigaya really wanted to retort, but he felt that saying it would only provoke Ibuki's rage further. He chose to swallow his grievances.
'Damn it! Ryuen, you set me up!! I'm remembering this grudge!!!'
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KTV Luxury Private Room
"Holding a study session in a KTV room... your Class C is truly one of a kind." Hikigaya's mouth twitched.
"This is just my style of doing things! Follow me, and you'll always be living the good life!" Ryuen Kakeru sprawled across the sofa in a "T" shape, resting his feet on the table.
Class C was full of delinquents; force alone couldn't suppress them entirely. Ryuen used a "carrot and stick" approach, successfully winning over the hearts of Class C with a mix of toughness and perks.
"Dead-fish eyes, teach them well. Points won't be an issue." Perhaps learning from the last time his "empty promises" failed, Ryuen paid up on the spot this time, transferring the points directly.
Ding~ Hikigaya glanced at his phone. 600,000 points had arrived!
Good grief. When he asked Horikita Suzune to teach him, it only cost 100,000. This was a six-fold increase!
"I'll state the ugly truth first: my points aren't that easy to take. If you don't teach them well... hehe!" Ryuen threatened with a fierce look.
"Fine. I might slack off on other things, but regarding studying, I won't be negligent." Hikigaya always believed that studying was a student's top priority.
"Hmph! Spoken like a true honors student." Ryuen snorted, essentially accepting the explanation. He waved his hand and commanded the Class C students: "Same old rules! Study hard first! Then play as much as you want!!"
"Banzai, Boss!" the Class C crowd shouted in unison, responding enthusiastically.
The tutoring group Ryuen assigned to Hikigaya consisted of: Ibuki Mio, Manabe Shiho, Yamashita Saki, Yabu Nanami, and Nishino Takeko.
"Hmph! So you're the 'dead-fish eyes' that Ibuki took a liking to?" Manabe Shiho, with her short brownish hair and arrogant brow, looked like a classic gyaru leader.
"Manabe, shut your mouth!" Ibuki Mio glared at her fiercely.
"Can't even say a word, how scary~" Yabu Nanami was dressed purely and looked like an honest, good girl, but her words were like needles hidden in cotton. She looked like trouble.
"Can you actually do this, guy? You don't look like a proper good student." Yamashita Saki was a girl with small eyes, and knowing this, she habitually glared, her tone very forceful.
"I didn't exactly accept Ryuen's arrangement. I just heard you're great at liberal arts, so I'll listen for now." Nishino Takeko had some freckles on her cheeks. According to her, she seemed brave enough to defy Ryuen's orders.
How should he put it? All five of them were troublemakers...
Hikigaya took a deep breath, and his entire aura shifted.
(Unconsciously, he drew upon the authority he possessed in his dreams—where he was the Chairman at Advanced Nurturing High School after marrying into the Sakayanagi family.)
"If you don't want to listen, then get the hell out!"
Hikigaya's cold voice was extremely aggressive! The atmosphere in the KTV room froze instantly.
"..." The Manabe trio were about to flare up, but after meeting Hikigaya's icy dead-fish eyes, they withered instantly. Classic bullies who prey on the weak!
Nishino Takeko furrowed her brow but said nothing.
"This guy... why did he suddenly become so strict..." Ibuki Mio muttered quietly, now behaving herself.
Even Ryuen Kakeru unconsciously took his feet off the table, straightened his back, and tried to act calm by pouring himself a glass of juice.
"Great aura. He's exactly like a sensei... no, like a Chairman."
"Boss, you're spilling your juice." Albert kindly reminded him.
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