School rooftop.
Looking at the man who suddenly appeared, a flicker of joy surfaced in Karuizawa's beautiful eyes; right now, she wanted nothing else but to be saved.
Meanwhile, Ibuki and the others were also drawn by the gaze of the sudden arrival.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Ryuen paused for a moment, glancing at Albert with some dissatisfaction: "Why did you bring him up here?"
"He said he is X," Albert said in a low, muffled voice.
Given that way of speaking just now, this guy has clearly admitted it by default, right?
"Ha?" Ryuen glanced at Hikigaya.
Although he had a physique suited for fighting, Albert preferred peace and disliked brawling, which made many things inconvenient for him.
That was why Ryuen hadn't kept him by his side.
He hadn't expected that someone would actually dare to impersonate X.
Albert naturally wasn't an idiot.
This guy must have said some deceitful nonsense to make Albert mistakenly believe he was X.
The whole school knew that Ryuen was looking for the suspect from Class D.
Hikigaya was clearly setting himself against him!
A piece of trash with a bit of cleverness had actually made him look foolish several times; it was simply...
Ryuen really didn't want to lower himself to deal with such garbage.
After all, it was truly beneath him.
But this guy was pushing his luck, and now he even dared to impersonate X.
Why would Hikigaya appear here at this specific time?
Whether it was intentional or a coincidence, the fact that he came to the rooftop meant he was doing it on purpose.
He pointed at Karuizawa beside him and said playfully: "Are you X, or Class D's X, Hikigaya? What do you mean by this? Could it be a 'hero saving the beauty' act?"
"Hahaha." Hikigaya scratched the back of his head and gave a couple of dry laughs: "If I said I went to the wrong floor, is it still too late for me to leave?"
"Then get lost!"
"Yes!"
Hikigaya turned around to leave without hesitation. As he left, he glanced at the girl from Class D; her eyes were filled with despair as she watched him.
Don't look at me with those eyes; I really am just as much of a loser as you imagine.
This is truly terrifying.
Looking at the big black guy in front of him, Hikigaya forced a smile and bypassed him to walk back toward the stairs.
"Stop!"
Hikigaya stood at attention, looked back at Ryuen, and said with an apologetic smile: "That... is there anything else? I don't have many private points."
"..."
Ishizaki, standing nearby, showed a disdainful smile.
With this kind of spineless behavior, he still dared to oppose Brother Ryuen? This guy was simply seeking death.
"Ryuen." Ibuki Mio frowned and glanced at Hikigaya: "Don't take it too far. Don't drag uninvolved people into this."
She had warned him long ago not to get close to Ryuen.
Unfortunately, this idiot just wouldn't listen. Without the skills, he still insisted on taking on the job.
"Shut up. I'm the one who decides that."
Ryuen's gaze, like that of a poisonous snake, focused on Hikigaya: "If you don't want to suffer, swallow everything that happened today and keep your mouth shut, understand?"
"Uh..."
What?
So after all that fuss...
Ryuen is also afraid of the events here being discovered.
In that case, things become much easier to handle.
A smile appeared at the corners of Hikigaya's mouth as he looked at Ryuen. I thought you were truly fearless.
Turns out, you're afraid too.
As long as the events here are exposed, Ryuen will inevitably face the punishment of expulsion, along with Ishizaki, Ibuki Mio, and Albert who are present.
Whether Ryuen only cares about himself or is a cold-blooded leader, he couldn't possibly not be afraid; he would definitely speak up to stop it.
"Ryuen, want to make a deal with me?"
Walking past Albert, Hikigaya turned back again, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly.
"You guy actually dares to come back?"
Ishizaki was momentarily stunned.
Didn't this guy look completely cowardly just a moment ago? Why did he suddenly have the guts to return?
"What on earth are you thinking?" Ibuki Mio glared at Hikigaya with some anger: "Hurry up and leave."
Hmm.
Unexpectedly, these two little idiots from Class C are actually somewhat cute.
Ryuen must have a hard time trying to lead this group up to Class A.
"Oh?"
Ryuen kept his hands in his pockets, narrowing his eyes with a faint hint of threat: "Let's hear it. If you want private points, it's not like I can't give you some as charity."
From the moment an outsider entered the scene, this matter had become a bit troublesome.
Ryuen would prefer to settle it with some private points; he hoped the guy wouldn't be ungrateful.
"Is that so?"
Hikigaya understood and was momentarily tempted.
No, no.
Even if I take the private points, I'll likely be targeted by Ryuen in the future, and I wouldn't be able to keep them anyway.
Taking them would be the same as not taking them.
"Unfortunately," Hikigaya glanced at Karuizawa on the ground, "the deal I want to talk about isn't that. Let her go, and I'll act as if I never saw what happened today. How about it?"
"Ha?" Ishizaki said indignantly, "Who do you think you are? Do you have any idea how much effort we put into today? I think this kid needs a lesson. Brother Ryuen, let me hit him!"
"..."
Beside him, Ibuki Mio pursed her lips. The people in Ichinose's class are truly irredeemable do-gooders.
Then again, bullying itself is wrong; they were certainly the evil side here.
Unfortunately, Ibuki's eyes watched Hikigaya with a trace of pity; this guy still underestimated Ryuen too much.
"Heh." Ryuen let out a sneer, walked to a position about one meter away from Hikigaya, and said coldly:
"As expected of someone from Ichinose's class, truly a group of irredeemable do-gooders. I realized long ago that you've got some nerve."
Ah.
"That's not it, actually. My courage is quite small," Hikigaya said awkwardly.
Even now, he could feel his calves trembling.
And you, guy from Class D—don't look at me with such hopeful eyes. I'm really not the good person you imagine.
"Is that so?" Ryuen's face turned flat: "Do it."
The moment he finished speaking, Hikigaya felt a pair of thick arms reach under his armpits from behind, lifting his entire person up.
However, his feet still touched the ground, so his movement wasn't entirely restricted.
The big black guy behind him was surprisingly kind; no wonder Ryuen didn't like playing with him.
"Making a deal with me?" Ryuen walked up to him, grabbed Hikigaya's cheek, and said coldly: "Unluckily for you, only parties on equal footing have the right to negotiate terms."
"Wooo wooo wooo." Feeling the pain from his cheek, Hikigaya spoke unclearly.
By the way... as expected of someone who fights often, this guy's strength is really something.
"..."
Dammit.
Ryuen relaxed his grip slightly, feeling a surge of frustration he couldn't vent.
After all, if this matter were reported to the school, there would definitely be hell to pay.
If it were just him, it would be fine, but now Ishizaki and the others were also present; not one of them would escape.
Ryuen naturally dared to use force...
As long as he could beat this guy into submission, just like he did with Karuizawa.
But simply put, he was sizing up the target.
The main issue was that they hadn't had many chances to interact; he only knew that Hikigaya was someone who could be easily dismissed with private points.
He really hadn't grasped Hikigaya's true nature yet.
But this guy...
He had no combat prowess and no academic excellence.
Ryuen hadn't even used much strength and the guy already wilted, yet he still maintained that nonchalant attitude.
It left Ryuen not knowing where to start.
"Cough, cough." Hikigaya moved his jaw; this guy's grip was really strong.
"I think I do have the qualifications to negotiate with you. If I tell the school about today, none of you will escape, right?"
"Heh..." Ryuen sneered, his face full of playfulness: "Indeed, many people have that thought. Before the moment comes, they always think they can handle anything."
"But when the critical moment arrives..." Ryuen walked over to Karuizawa and looked down at her, mocking: "After truly tasting pain that you cannot resist, they will understand that they are just weaklings, just prey waiting to be hunted. Don't you agree, Karuizawa?"
"No... don't, don't hit me."
The girl named Karuizawa curled herself into a ball, holding her head with both hands as if prepared to be beaten at any moment.
"How annoying. I'm actually quite afraid of pain too," Hikigaya looked at her, feeling slightly uneasy.
Well, that's how it is.
People who are bullied stay bullied precisely because they can't speak out about their experiences.
If he could avoid being hit, he naturally wouldn't want to be hit.
"Want to try?" Ryuen walked up to Hikigaya again, asking with a playful expression.
Underneath that look, however, was a scrutinizing gaze, carefully observing every expression on Hikigaya's face.
"Then... let's try?" Hikigaya helplessly turned his head to the side.
Since the other party wanted to fight, he could only let them fight.
There was nothing strange about it.
If that could solve the problem, it meant he didn't have to pay any price to make Class C and Class D lose their chance to compete for Class A.
The people here were probably all the elites under Ryuen.
Losing so much combat power at once... Class C would surely never recover.
There was no reason not to make such a profitable deal.
"Brother Ryuen, should we do it?" Although his brain wasn't very quick, Ishizaki also sensed something was wrong and asked hesitantly.
"..."
Ryuen narrowed his eyes.
He actually discovered that Hikigaya didn't seem to care at all.
That wasn't unusual.
Most people in the world are like that.
Without experiencing it, they don't know the horror of violence.
If violence were used, Hikigaya might not necessarily compromise like Karuizawa.
Unfortunately, Ryuen just didn't dare to try it.
This guy had always been greedy for money, took pleasure in others' misfortunes, and many times wanted to see Class C and Class D fight directly.
This loser was simply too easy to read.
As a student of Class B, Hikigaya had plenty of reasons to use this incident to destroy Class C and even take Class D down with it.
Ryuen really didn't dare to take the chance!
However, the opponent's goal was clearly to save Karuizawa.
If they attacked Hikigaya, and he reported it as the victim himself, there would be no way to explain it away.