As more and more students lingered in the entrance, curiously observing every move, Ryuen began to grow bored.
"Mitoma, let's continue our conversation another time."
Ryuen shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away from the group.
Seeing this, Ibuki shot a resentful glare at Kaoru before quickly following after him.
Apparently having caught on, Daichi Ishizaki also glared at Kaoru.
"I thought Ryuen-kun would at least care about this exam, but I guess I expected too much."
Ichinose Honami sighed beside them. "Still, the tension between you two keeps growing. Are you sure that's alright?"
"He acts like this in front of everyone. Wild animals roar at anything they see—it's a self-defense instinct."
Kaoru wanted to say that there was a lion hidden in his eyes, but Ichinose Honami definitely wouldn't get the reference.
"W-wild animals? No one would describe a classmate like that..."
As she spoke, Ichinose Honami struggled more and more to hold back her laughter, finally bursting out with a snort.
"Wild... wild animals..."
Her sense of humor was a bit strange.
Just then, Amikura poked Kaoru.
"Was what you said earlier about the Class A spots true?"
Facing her gaze, Kaoru answered without hesitation. "False. I don't have that many points to give away."
Amikura breathed a sigh of relief.
She leaned in slightly and lowered her voice: "Even though Honami hasn't told you, the class doesn't think very highly of you. Some people see you as a liar and a scumbag, but you did pretty well this time."
Kaoru looked at her in surprise, but she had already retreated back as if nothing happened.
"It seems I missed something."
Sakayanagi walked up to his side, her gaze fixed on Ichinose Honami as she gently applauded.
"I heard you managed to pass the exam smoothly. I sincerely congratulate you all."
Despite her smile, there was an inexplicable sense of sarcasm in her tone—perhaps that was Sakayanagi's natural talent.
"No, it is I who should congratulate you, Sakayanagi-san. This supplementary exam required no thought at all—someone has already paved the way to victory for you."
Ichinose Honami responded to Sakayanagi Arisu's applause with a smile of her own. Her tone was flawless, even carrying a hint of envy.
"Heh, so someone has already admitted their own weakness and had no choice but to rely on others. How surprising."
Sakayanagi Arisu gave a faint smile but silently tightened her grip on her cane, as if something had stung her eyes, causing her to narrow them slightly.
"I've always believed admitting one's weakness isn't a bad thing, because I know there will be people by my side, giving me the strength to move forward."
Ichinose Honami's eyes shone with a gentle light, unintentionally sweeping over Amikura and others before finally settling on Kaoru.
"Someone once said courage is knowing what you don't need to fear."
Kamuro could feel the middle school student beside her clenching her teeth tightly.
She felt utterly speechless, not understanding what the two were arguing about.
"Masumi, how do you think everyone sees me?" Kaoru suddenly asked her.
"Pervert."
Kamuro uttered the two words as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Being with you will infect me with perverted germs."
Kaoru nodded - being with him indeed brought pressure, just like back at the agency.
"I might be leaving for a while."
Instantly, Kamuro felt her entire body stiffen. What did he mean by that?
Kamuro turned her gaze to see Kaoru's face completely calm, as if he hadn't said anything at all.
This guy must be joking.
"How disgusting."
Kamuro stopped looking at him.
This kind of joke was just too disgusting.
Yet her heart continued to beat stiffly, as if a chill was gradually approaching, making her feel uneasy.
...
Meanwhile, Ryuen encountered Yamauchi Haruki on the road.
The moment Yamauchi saw him, his face lit up with wild joy.
Perhaps thinking Ryuen was his lifeline, Yamauchi Haruki cried and begged incessantly, repeatedly asking if Ryuen would really give him the Praise Vote.
'This guy is beyond help,' Ryuen Kakeru thought, too lazy to humor him, and had Ishizaki drive him away.
If Sudo hadn't arrived in time, Ishizaki would probably have used his fists to make him leave.
"Why would you vote for this disgusting guy?" Ibuki frowned.
She deeply disliked the weeping Yamauchi Haruki - full of lies, and now clearly having a breakdown.
Ryuen didn't explain anything to her.
In fact, he hadn't told anyone in the class about the origins of this matter.
"Ibuki, do you know how many points I have now?"
"How would I know?"
"Fifteen million."
Hearing this number, Ibuki stared at Ryuen in shock.
She knew these weren't points squeezed from their class, but rewards Ryuen had obtained through his secret schemes.
"A wonderful number, isn't it, Ibuki?"
Ryuen laughed. "But the closer I get to twenty million, the more strongly I realize how shallow I was back then. Mitoma made me understand one thing."
Without waiting for Ibuki to speak, he continued on his own.
"The rules here can be changed. The school's bottom line is quite flexible, or rather, the school tacitly allows us to change the existing rules."
Ryuen recalled his past experiences - he had intentionally damaged cameras before, but the school only deducted some Class Points, not caring about what he had done.
Things like fighting should have been strictly prohibited by the school, but when he had beaten Ishizaki and Ibuki and others, during the school's inquiry, as long as the parties involved insisted it was accidental and the victims didn't press charges, the school would turn a blind eye.
Moreover, the fact that Kaoru could purchase points made Ryuen deeply aware of just how flexible the school's bottom line truly was.
Since the school was willing to concede to such an extent, could he push even further?
For instance, getting the school to alter certain rules or add new ones.
Ryuen had a wild idea: even the student council had the right to petition for rule changes, and he possessed the so-called all-powerful Personal Points—why couldn't he achieve the same?
Ibuki seemed startled by him, frozen in place as her mind raced, trying to grasp his meaning.
"What do you mean, Ryuen-kun?"
Daichi Ishizaki didn't understand. "Are you saying we can swap Class A for Class C?"
Ibuki's lips twitched, and she felt like punching him.
However, at that moment, someone spoke calmly.
"It's too troublesome, and the school might not agree. Why not just join the student council, Ryuen-kun?"
Ibuki and Ishizaki turned warily to see two figures appear on the nearby staircase, one with strikingly golden hair and a carefree smile that left a strong impression.
Almost no one in the entire school was unfamiliar with this person.
Second-year Class A, the current student council president, Nagumo Miyabi—the legend who once dominated the second-year students.