First Year Class C,
Hiyori Shiina noticed Mio Ibuki's pale face early in the morning. She couldn't help but ask her friend in Class C with concern: "Ibuki, are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine. Maybe I ate something bad last night," Mio Ibuki shook her head and casually made up an excuse, indicating that she was alright.
After being knocked down by one punch from Ren yesterday, Mio Ibuki returned to her dorm, lifted her shirt, and found her abdomen completely red. It hurt so much that she couldn't sleep well all night and only felt slightly better this morning.
Mio Ibuki could not, under any circumstances, talk about this socially embarrassing incident of actively seeking trouble only to be instantly defeated by the supposed victim.
It was too humiliating…
"Eating something bad is no small matter. Let me take you to the infirmary." Hiyori Shiina reached out to take Mio Ibuki's arm but was cleverly avoided by the other girl.
Hiyori Shiina was about to say something more when Kakeru Ryūen walked over.
Tapping lightly twice on Mio Ibuki's desk, he waited for Mio Ibuki to look up at him, then said with a dark expression: "Ibuki, come out for a second. I need to talk to you about something."
Before Kakeru Ryūen and Mio Ibuki could move, Hiyori Shiina stepped in front of Mio Ibuki: "Ryūen, Ibuki is unwell today!"
"Ha, unwell?" Kakeru Ryūen glanced at Mio Ibuki dismissively and walked out of the classroom alone.
He trusted that Mio Ibuki would come.
Just as Kakeru Ryūen expected, the moment he left the classroom, Mio Ibuki got up and followed his steps.
Mio Ibuki, getting up with difficulty while clutching her stomach, quietly said as she passed Hiyori, who was blocking her way: "Sorry, Shiina."
Given Mio Ibuki's willingness, Hiyori Shiina did not press the matter, only silently mouthing something in the direction Mio Ibuki had left.
Satoru Kaneda in the class was quite happy, and his enthusiasm for teaching the class was significantly higher.
Kakeru Ryūen had finally done something good for the class. When he arrived in the class this morning, he distributed a stack of test papers to everyone.
He clearly told everyone that this was the midterm exam paper and the answer key, and he told them to study it thoroughly and attempt the questions.
As for academically hopeless idiots like Daichi Ishizaki, he told them to simply memorize the answers so they could pass the midterm exam.
After receiving the midterm answer key, Ishizaki, regardless of how other classmates looked at him, wrapped his arms around Kakeru Ryūen's leg and rubbed his face against it.
Even after being kicked away by Kakeru Ryūen and falling to the ground, he still wore a silly, cheerful expression.
Following Kakeru Ryūen to a rooftop, Mio Ibuki looked at Kakeru Ryūen, who was waiting for her in the wind, and asked: "Ryūen, what is it?"
"Did you defeat Ren last night?" Seeing Mio Ibuki still pretending that nothing had happened, Kakeru Ryūen sneered.
Not only did she disobey his orders and unilaterally go looking for trouble with Ren, but the entire incident was recorded.
A complete idiot.
Kakeru Ryūen didn't want to dwell on why Mio Ibuki went to find Ren. He only wanted to know Ren's specific combat strength.
"No…" Mio Ibuki, extremely unwilling about her defeat last night, lowered her head weakly.
Kakeru Ryūen showed no pity for Mio Ibuki's appearance, coldly uttering two words: "Fool."
Even more foolish…
A loser getting video-recorded by the winner, which was then used to extort himself… Kakeru Ryūen truly didn't know what to say about Mio Ibuki.
"How do you know? Did you follow me last night?"
Mio Ibuki didn't believe Ren would willingly tell Kakeru Ryūen this. Her first thought was that Kakeru Ryūen had ordered someone in the class to follow her.
She was one of the few in the class who dared to openly show her disgust toward Kakeru Ryūen. It wasn't impossible for Kakeru Ryūen to send people to track her movements.
"Follow you? Ibuki, Ren literally shoved the video recording of you attacking him right in my face!!!"
Hearing Mio Ibuki say he had followed her, Kakeru Ryūen completely lost his composure.
He immediately forwarded the first file Ren had sent him last night to Mio Ibuki face-to-face.
Not understanding why Kakeru Ryūen would send her a file at this moment, Mio Ibuki opened it.
As the file opened, the video inside automatically popped up, recording the entire process of Mio Ibuki's one-sided "assault" on Ren.
"This… I…" Mio Ibuki's flushed face said it all.
Kakeru Ryūen took this opportunity to observe Mio Ibuki. He didn't see any injuries on her, and the video showed Mio Ibuki unilaterally attacking Ren, suggesting the gap between the two should not be large.
Was Ren's previous intimidation just empty posturing? Kakeru Ryūen began to have this doubt.
If that was the case, then Ren would be much easier to deal with.
I'll take Albert Yamada and try it out later.
"Don't do it again."
Kakeru Ryūen paid no further attention to the crimson-faced Mio Ibuki.
Under a large tree in a school park,
Ren leaned back against the tree, thoroughly enjoying a light novel, while Honami Ichinose rested her head on the young man's lap, taking a nap.
Noticing Kanzaki jogging up to him, Ren withdrew the hand that was stroking Honami's head and put his index finger to his lips.
Kanzaki nodded to show he understood, then spoke quietly: "Young Master Katsuragi, everyone saw Kiyotaka Ayanokōji and Kikyō Kushida from Class D eating with a second-year student in the cafeteria a while ago."
"During the meal, the second-year student also gave them a test paper. We suspect…"
Putting his hand back on Honami's head, Ren said indifferently: "Yes, it's the midterm exam paper. If you have any ideas about Class D, go try them out. I'll be your safety net."
"Then what about Class President Ichinose?"
"That's your business, do you understand?" Ren shifted his gaze from the light novel to Kanzaki, speaking with displeasure.
"I understand." Seeing that Ren was unhappy, Kanzaki didn't press the matter, choosing instead to go back and discuss with his classmates how to target Class D.
Unlike when they were in Class B, now that they were in Class A, everyone wouldn't be as peaceful as before. To maintain their Class A status, it was necessary to target other classes.
Now that Class D had given Class A such a huge vulnerability, everyone in Class A wouldn't remain indifferent.
Honami is slowly growing under Ren's guidance, and everyone else is also growing.
Even gentle sheep will gradually grow horns for their own benefit.
As for Class D buying the midterm exam paper from a second-year student, Ren already knew about it.
All three second-year classes besides Class A were under Ren's influence. When a student from the first year sought to buy the midterm exam paper from the second year, that second-year student reported it to Ren immediately.
Competition exists in any environment.
If that student found out later that Ren was unhappy because he had secretly sold the midterm exam paper to other first-year classes, and the promotion slot that should have gone to him was lost, what would he do?
That second-year student only dared to sell the exam paper to Kiyotaka Ayanokōji after getting Ren's consent. In fact, to curry favor with Ren, he even gave Ren a free copy.
Yes, that's the one Ren sent to Kakeru Ryūen.
"You can't always take care of them. Everyone needs their own growth." Ren grabbed a lock of Honami's cherry-pink hair and smelled it, speaking to himself.
Honami, who had woken up when Kanzaki arrived, knew that Ren was talking to her. She affectionately turned her head into Ren's arms and nestled against him.
"Eh… Ren, are you talking about me?" Airi, who was eating a sandwich next to them and still thought Honami was asleep, was confused, naturally assuming Ren was talking to her.
Putting down the light novel, Ren smiled and pinched Airi's cheek: "Airi, if I said I have this midterm exam paper, would you want it?"
Ren also wanted to see Airi's choice.
"No! I want to stay by Ren's side forever based on my own true ability!" With her cheeks pinched by Ren, Airi stopped eating her sandwich and said firmly.
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