The dismissal bell rang,
Ryuuen Kakeru left the noisy school building alone,
and instead of heading towards the dormitories,
he turned and walked in another direction.
His steps were steady,
his gaze sharp,
his mind repeatedly pondering the newly formed plan to use internal conflicts within Class D to constrain Class C.
But before that,
he needed to confirm one thing,
something that had been lingering in his mind since the end of the midterm exams.
The "midterm exam papers" distributed in Sakamoto-kun's name,
which nearly caused turmoil among the First Year students,
who was the mastermind behind them?
After piecing together and analyzing fragmented information from various sources,
all clues
eventually subtly pointed to one person—
that prominent figure of the second year,
the student council vice president, Nagumo Miyabi.
Through his investigation of the second year,
Ryuuen believed that:
Only he
had the capability to do such a thing.
Ryuuen needed to confirm it in person.
He needed to see
what kind of mindset this senior had,
attempting to stir up trouble for the First Year students with such underhanded methods.
He arrived at the administrative building,
and walked straight up to the second floor.
He stopped in front of a door with a sign that read "Student Council Room."
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, neither too lightly nor too heavily.
A moment of silence passed inside the room before a slightly tense voice said, "Please come in."
Ryuuen pushed the door open and entered.
Only one person was in the Student Council Room.
With golden hair and a slightly frivolous gaze, it was indeed Nagumo Miyabi.
He sat alone in the main seat of the room, and upon seeing that the visitor was Student Ryuuen, and not someone he least wanted to see at that moment, the subtle tension on his face quickly faded, returning to his usual cynical demeanor.
Nagumo leaned back against the chair, his fingers intertwined on the table.
"Ryuuen Kakeru from Class 1-B? What can I do for him?"
He recognized Ryuuen.
He was one of the few First Year students whose name had left an impression on him.
To have directly surpassed the class above in the first month of school, he was certainly capable.
Ryuuen closed the door behind him and walked unreservedly to the desk, his gaze fixed on Nagumo.
"Vice President Nagumo," he said straightforwardly, his tone devoid of any respect, "I'm here to ask him something."
"Regarding that 'past years' midterm exam questions' widely circulated among the First Year students under the guise of Sakamoto's name—"
Ryuuen's voice paused, and he emphasized, "That was his doing, wasn't it?"
The smile on Nagumo Miyabi's face froze for a moment, then bloomed into an even brighter smile.
He hadn't expected someone to confront him so directly.
Nor had he expected the person to be a complete stranger he had never interacted with.
Even more, he hadn't expected the other party to have investigated this far.
"Heh~" Nagumo chuckled softly, not denying it.
"So what if it was? So what if it wasn't? It's just an outdated exam paper. What kind of waves could it possibly make?"
His tone was calm, as if it were an insignificant matter.
"Waves?" Ryuuen scoffed.
"Unfortunately, he underestimated the First Year students and overestimated the value of that scrap paper. His plan completely failed."
He stared intently into Nagumo's eyes.
"I'm just curious, why would he, this high-and-mighty second year Vice President, bother to target a First Year student with such... clumsy methods?"
Nagumo Miyabi's smile remained unchanged, but a clear tremor flickered deep in his eyes.
Failed?
It was more than just a failure.
The nightmare experience of that "interview period" still made his scalp tingle when he thought about it.
But he would never mention that matter to anyone.
"Clumsy or not, the result defines the hero."
Nagumo evaded the main point.
"As for targeting Sakamoto? Perhaps he just found it amusing. Watching those self-proclaimed 'geniuses' stumble is always enjoyable, isn't it?"
He tried to steer the conversation towards the possibility of Ryuuen also harboring jealousy towards the strong.
Ryuuen was about to retort when he suddenly noticed that as Nagumo spoke, his gaze inadvertently flickered towards the door behind him.
The calm expression on his face instantly stiffened for a moment, and his pupils contracted slightly.
It was as if he had seen something he wished not to see.
Ryuuen keenly sensed this anomaly.
He abruptly turned his head to look behind him.
He saw that the door to the Student Council Room had silently opened a crack at some unknown point.
A tall figure stood quietly outside the door.
The gaze behind the black-rimmed glasses rested calmly inside the room, as if it had been there for a long time.
It was Sakamoto.
When did he arrive?
How much did he hear?
Ryuuen's brows furrowed, but soon relaxed.
So what if he heard?
He hadn't intended to hide this confrontation anyway.
Instead, he was more interested in Sakamoto's reaction.
"Oh, the main character has arrived."
Ryuuen turned to Sakamoto.
"It seems he heard our conversation. So, regarding this Vice President's personally directed frame-up, was he aware of it beforehand?"
Sakamoto did not answer immediately.
He calmly pushed the door open and walked steadily to the desk.
He first nodded slightly, greeting the Vice President with impeccable etiquette.
"Vice President Nagumo, good afternoon."
Then, he turned his gaze to Ryuuen: "Student Ryuuen, good afternoon."
He paused, as if pondering how to answer Ryuuen's question, "Regarding this matter, I have heard a little. However, rumors stop with the wise, and the innocent will prove themselves."
Nagumo Miyabi looked at the suddenly appearing Sakamoto, feeling his recently relaxed nerves begin to throb faintly again.
He suppressed the discomfort, maintaining the Vice President's authority, and asked coldly, "Sakamoto, what is he doing in the Student Council Room? I recall that Horikita-senpai did not assign him fixed duties."
Sakamoto adjusted his glasses and calmly replied, "Precisely for that reason, I should proactively fulfill my responsibilities. Although the President has not explicitly assigned me, the task of organizing Student Council documents is trivial and complex, and I am willing to offer my humble assistance in handling it."
His gaze swept over the slightly cluttered documents on Nagumo's desk.
"It seems I've arrived just in time."
Nagumo Miyabi: "..."
He felt a twitch in his temple.
Assist with document processing?
He could almost imagine the "extreme" way Sakamoto would "assist" him in organizing documents next.
That scene was too beautiful; he dared not imagine it.
Ryuuen was not satisfied with Sakamoto's official, diplomatic reply, but he seized on another, more crucial question.
He stepped closer, his gaze sharp as he looked at Sakamoto:
"'The innocent will prove themselves,' indeed. Then I ask him, the sudden and complete change in the midterm exam format, rendering that 'past years' exam questions' useless—does this have anything to do with him?"
This was Ryuuen's biggest question.
The timing was too coincidental, as if an invisible hand had corrected the course at a crucial moment.
Sakamoto quietly met Ryuuen's gaze, his eyes profound behind his black-rimmed glasses.
He did not answer directly, but merely pushed his glasses up with his middle finger again, elegantly.
The lenses reflected the light streaming in from the window, a flash of white momentarily obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
Silence, in itself, was an answer.
Ryuuen stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly chuckled, as if he understood something.
"Heh... so that's it."
He stopped pressing for answers, turned, and walked directly out of the Student Council Room.
As he passed Sakamoto, he didn't stop, leaving only a meaningful remark:
"It seems that trying to take you down will be much more interesting than I imagined."
The door closed softly.
Inside the Student Council Room, only Nagumo Miyabi and Sakamoto remained.
Nagumo looked at Sakamoto, who was calm and composed, as if everything was under his control, and then recalled Ryuuen's challenging gaze as he left.
He suddenly felt an inexplicable irritation.
Neither of these First Year guys is easy to deal with.
Sakamoto, as if oblivious to Nagumo's complex gaze, bowed slightly:
"Then, Vice President Nan Yun, what documents do you need my assistance in organizing?"
His tone was humble and serious.
Nagumo Miyabi looked at his impeccable demeanor and felt a headache coming on.