Chapter 3 Part IV

After leaving Ichinose and Horikita, I was torn about whether I should go back or not.

However, I bumped into Ryuuen, who led me to a deserted corner in Keyaki Mall.

We kept our distance, so if someone saw us, we could just pretend to just be passing by each other as well.

"Did you hear this from Ishizaki? Me being at Keyaki Mall, that is."

"Yeah, I was looking for you."

So he talked with Ishizaki and Ibuki for about an hour? Or did it end earlier?

In any case, Ryuuen's eyes had more spirit in them than before.

"You know my contact details. Wouldn't talking on the phone be easier?"

"I wanted to talk to you and look at your senseless, severe face at the same time."

Well, I'll listen to what he had to say for a bit.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That"- would be referring to the message I told Hiyori to pass on to him.

I would have gotten more than 5 wins using a better strategy. I told her to tell this to Ryuuen. It seems like she had done her task well.

After hearing my message from Hiyori, it led him to try to find me, was probably how this went.

"I meant what I meant. I would have done a better job if it were up to me."

"I'm free to use whatever means necessary."

"I don't want it to end like this. If you continue with your reckless strategies and get expelled as a result, I might even feel a bit lonely."

I said those words naturally, but it didn't seem to affect Ryuuen's frame of mind.

"Ahaha, what a joke. Losing to Sakayagani and you're still this calm!"

"Our class did indeed lose to Sakayanagi. And since I served as the commander tower, I can't be excused from the responsibility of failure. But is Sakayanagi stronger than me? Fight her, and you'll find out."

"Ha- are you underestimating me?"

Ryuuen's smile disappeared as he approached me.

"You, who have defeated even me, can't be weaker than Sakayanagi."

It seemed like he was trying to provoke me, deliberately saying such demeaning words towards her.

"Although I'm grateful for you trying to cheer me up after losing, but even if it's me, I can't possibly be lazy and not go all out during an exam, right?"

"Sorry, I don't believe it at all. Rather than believe that you were serious during the exam, it's more believable that you didn't care about winning or losing from the start… it may also be because of the school arranging it to make Class A win to save face. That's more believable to me."

Although it wasn't the correct answer, it was close to the mark.

Only Ryuuen had such a ridiculous comprehension ability in the whole school.

Because he had previously battled against me, he had absolute conviction on this.

"So…? What do you plan to do after your return, Ryuuen?"

"Don't say I've returned without my permission. I intend to enjoy the holidays for just a bit longer."

Ryuuen meant that he wouldn't officially participate in the battles between the classes for a while.

"But… If I get tired of this, I'll destroy Ichinose and Sakayanagi as a warm-up."

"What an extreme change of heart!"

"Kukuku, indeed. I'm shocked myself. I didn't expect to be able to get revenge on you so soon. I'm getting pumped up."

"So that's how it is."

The snake was about to wake up from hibernation.

If that happens, neither Class B or Class A could ignore Ryuuen.

Although it might be exactly what Sakayanagi wanted, it wouldn't be strange to see either class come out on top.

"I'd be grateful if you did that. If you're able to destroy Ichinose and Sakayangi, it'd be a great help. As it would allow us to accomplish our goal of reaching the upper classes without a hitch."

Having the upper classes fight each other was essential for us in order to rise in the rankings.

"I thought you weren't interested in the battles between classes."

"It's a little different now. My class will be ranked near the top next year, even if I'm not here next year."

"Ah?"

"Even if I'm not here". Ryuuen seemed to be surprised by that.

"Maybe I'm being targeted right now from a distance. If that's the case, it wouldn't be strange if I suddenly dropped out, right?"

If Tsukishiro really intended to do this, some unavoidable situations will occur on my part.

This would be the case even if I took unyielding measures to try to defend against them.

Of course, I'm not going to make it any easier for my opponent.

"Relax. The only person who can get you expelled is me."

Ryuuen said in his characteristic confident style.

"But-"

Ryuuen, who was about to speak, suddenly disappeared from my field of vision.

He attacked suddenly, going for my face without the slightest hesitation, his sharp fingertips poised at my eyeballs. I had no choice but to dodge.

"Aha!!"

Ryuuen used the momentum to spin around and attempt to kick me with his right foot, but it was just a feint, and passed right over me.

The real attack was from his left leg, using the force of the spin to make it even more powerful.

I dodged it again, and distanced myself from Ryuuen.

"Ha, you can even dodge like that after a surprise attack. How much of a monster are you!"

"And you still dared to attack me first."

Although it was just me and him, there were still a lot of surveillance cameras around.

However, if the students in question didn't cause any problems, they'll turn a blind eye to these small things. This was what allowed Ryuuen to go ahead with his characteristic brazen behaviour.

"My instincts are telling me that I should eat you alive."

Even in hibernation, snakes eat their prey by instinct.

"Why aren't you attacking?"

"I wanted to avoid the risk of fighting with you here. Besides, it's not the right time yet."

"Haha. So this is the so-called calmness of the strong? You seem to be genuine about this, and it's making my skin crawl."

His eyes were shining like it had been before. No, this was even brighter.

This wasn't the Ryuuen who had been lurking under the water for the past few months.

"You've got a chance. Because of it, you'd better grow even stronger, Ryuuen."

Maybe he didn't like the fact that I said it in a very patronising way, so he punched the wall.

"Grow even stronger? Who are you, my teacher?"

"I'm telling the truth. You're willing to use any means necessary, even relying on despicable, criminal means in order to achieve victory. I don't have any problem with that, but try not to be so obvious about it."

"Ah?"

"I've heard from Ishizaki that you used laxatives. Drugging them in the Karaoke room was a good idea, but if the food and drinks were kept as evidence, it would have been over for you. That's an act that will get you expelled without question. Even if what you did was ignored, peculiar behaviour during the exam will deepen the school's distrust of you. Your only salvation was that Ichinose didn't seem to want to complain about it."

"Ichinose being a pushover was taken into consideration in my plans."

"If that's the case, it's nothing more than a naive consideration. You'll never surpass me like that."

"…You really said it now."

Ryuuen approached me once again.

But it wasn't like before, as he didn't seem to want to attack me.

Even if he was just suppressing his attacking intent, he wouldn't be too hard to deal with anyway…

"You don't have to listen to my advice. But-fighting me now is impossible."

Would Ryuuen accept advice from his enemy? This could determine whether he had a certain ability or not. Ryuuen seemed to calm down and took his fist off the wall.

"I'll accept your garbage advice now. But one day I'll defeat you."

"That's not a bad motivation, Ryuuen. If I get expelled because of you, that wouldn't be so bad."

Although he was angry, Ryuuen listened to what I said.

And as a result, Ryuuen's future strategies would become even more ingenious.

The competition we faced in the second year was now getting harder to imagine.

Would Ryuuen sweep Sakayanagi out of the way and ascend directly to Class A, or would Sakayanagi stop him?

Or would Ichinose come back even stronger in the future?

Faced with the three-pronged attack, how deep would Horikita plunge into the battlefield?

The battlefield would be a lot different than what it looked like during our first year, and it wouldn't be long until we were able to witness it first hand.