Chapter 247 73: Ryuen: I’ve Seen Your Ability, But Do You Think You Won?

The air in the office seemed to have solidified. Everyone watched Ryuen, waiting for him to continue. Ryuen straightened up from the wall, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and looked at Ayanokouji.

"So," Ryuen's voice slowed down, "I'll give you a choice. Hand over the test papers you submitted. In exchange, I won't make this recording public."

Ayanokouji watched him, silent for a long time. Those golden eyes showed no fluctuation; he seemed to be calculating something, or perhaps confirming something. The office was quiet enough to hear the wind blowing through the leaves outside the window. The second hand of the wall clock ticked away, each second feeling like a prodding urge.

"Ryuen," Ayanokouji finally spoke, his voice still very flat, "that you could think of these things—you are indeed quite excellent."

Ryuen didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.

"I did indeed tamper with things," Ayanokouji's voice was calm, as if discussing something trivial. "Originally, I had hoped you would come up with the corresponding points to purchase the test paper I submitted to Chabashira-sensei yesterday."

Ryuen's brows twitched slightly. "Points?"

"Five million," Ayanokouji said. "You buy my test paper, and I withdraw from this current deal. How you trade with Class D is your business; I won't interfere."

Five million points is not a small sum. For Class B, what would it mean to shell out five million? It would mean their already modest reserve of points would be depleted again, perhaps even leaving them unable to pass the next special exam smoothly. However, if they squeezed hard enough, they had these points; after all, after the VIP exam, Ryuen's class still had some savings.

"But," Ryuen's voice lowered, "you also accepted points from Class C, didn't you? Class C bought you off to attack Class B."

Ayanokouji watched him without denying it. "One million. The original plan was for that million to be returned. The prerequisite was that you were willing to pay the five million."

Ryuen's eyes narrowed slightly. "In other words, you intend to betray Class C and support me instead?"

"Not support," Ayanokouji's voice remained flat, "a transaction. You want my test paper, you have to pay. You want me to transfer to your class, you also have to pay. I don't do things for free for anyone."

Ryuen stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled. "So your plan was this—first take one million from Class C to attack me. Then use that as leverage to come to me and ask

for five million. That way, you make money and prove your ability at the same time. Eating from both sides."

Ayanokouji didn't speak.

"But you forgot one thing," Ryuen pulled his phone from his pocket and shook it. "I already have this recording. You took Class C's money, caused sabotage, and tried to make our Class B fail. As long as this recording is made public, you won't be able to stay in Class D. In the in-class expulsion vote, you are guaranteed to leave."

Ayanokouji's brows twitched slightly.

"So," Ryuen put away his phone, "if you want this recording to stay private, fine. Hand over your test papers. Also, you must split that one million you took from Class C with me."

Ayanokouji looked at him. "You're extorting me."

"Not extortion," Ryuen's voice was calm, "a transaction. You caused trouble, and I caught you. If you want to get out, you have to pay the price."

Ayanokouji was silent for a few seconds. "I can hand over the papers. I can also split the million from Class C with you. But you must promise me one thing."

"What thing?"

"This recording must not be made public."

Ryuen thought for a moment. "Fine."

The office went quiet again. Hirata stood by, watching these two haggle, unable to utter a word. He felt like a spectator watching two people trade in front of him while he couldn't do anything.

Ryuen looked at Ayanokouji, his lips curling slightly. "Then it's settled. You hand over the papers, split the million from Class C, and I won't make the recording public."

Ayanokouji nodded. "Agreed."

Ryuen turned to leave. Then, he suddenly stopped. He turned his head back to look at Ayanokouji, the curve of his lips deepening. The smile wasn't one of happiness; it was the mockery of "did you really think I was that stupid?"

"Ayanokouji," Ryuen's voice was very slow, "did you think I would believe you? I don't believe a word of it!"

Ayanokouji watched him.

"Is the test paper you submitted necessarily the real one?" Ryuen straightened up from the wall, his hands in his pockets. "Before you, someone else made the same request—to accept the paper they submitted, and then, when Class D students came to submit theirs, to pretend

to accept it. So, you had Miyake Akito submit a different set of papers, right? That paper is the one that will actually be used for the exam in three days."

Ayanokouji's pupils contracted slightly.

The office was not just silent this time; it was stunned. Hirata stood by, his mouth slightly agape, closing and opening. His mind was racing—Miyake Akito. Ayanokouji had Miyake submit a different paper. He knew nothing about this. He thought he was Class D's representative, that the papers he submitted were the final ones for Class D. But before him, Ayanokouji had already done this; and yet, even before Ayanokouji, someone else had already submitted another set. And that person was someone Ayanokouji had arranged.

"Miyake-kun..." Hirata's voice trembled, "he participated too?"

Ayanokouji didn't speak.

Mashima Tomonari, the homeroom teacher for Class C, stood in the corner watching this scene, his brows slightly furrowed. His gaze shifted from Ryuen to Ayanokouji, and back to Ryuen. It could be said that these students were far more calculating than he had imagined. Just a moment ago, he had thought Ryuen had seen through Ayanokouji's plan and had the upper hand, but now it seemed Ayanokouji wasn't so easily seen through either.

However—Mashima's gaze lingered on Ayanokouji's face—he always felt something was wrong. He had heard rumors about Ayanokouji's reputation: betraying Class D, leaking the roster, performing petty tricks at the Sports Festival. A person like that shouldn't be so easily compromised with Ryuen. Unless he still had an ace up his sleeve. Looking at it now, he indeed did.

"Ayanokouji," Ryuen's voice came from the side, "what do you say?"

Ayanokouji didn't speak, but his silence was the answer.

Hirata stood by, watching Ayanokouji. He felt that sense of powerlessness once again. He knew absolutely nothing about these maneuvers by Ayanokouji. He had been kept in the dark. He thought he was representing Class D in a deal with Ryuen, thought he was protecting the students of Class D. In reality, he was just a front. A front used by Ayanokouji to conceal his true intentions—and likely the lowest-level, lowest-tier one at that. And I'm afraid neither Ryuen nor Ayanokouji took him seriously at all.

"Ayanokouji-kun," Hirata's voice was very low, "why... why did you do this?"

Ayanokouji looked at him, saying nothing.

Ryuen spoke for him. "Because he doesn't trust Class D. He doesn't trust you, he doesn't trust Horikita, he doesn't trust anyone. He only wants to rely on himself. So he has to control everything. He wants to write the test, arrange the submission, and master the results himself. And he doesn't need Class D; escaping from Class D is the only option he cares for."

Hirata closed his eyes.

But Ryuen withdrew his gaze and looked at Ayanokouji. "You made these arrangements, and I've seen your ability. But—" he paused, "—do you think you won?"

Ayanokouji watched him. "Was it Hikigaya who gave you the idea to guard against me?"

Ryuen's lips curled slightly. "This kind of thing doesn't need Hikigaya to arrange. Why don't you guess how I handled this exam?"

Ayanokouji watched him, silent for two seconds. Then he spoke, his voice still flat. "Since you saw this point, you must have made arrangements as well. I'm afraid you long ago bought off Class D students, submitting papers earlier than I—earlier than Miyake. And you made the same request to Chabashira-sensei—regardless of who comes to submit the papers, pretend to accept them.

So that set of papers is the true, accepted exam."

Ryuen's smile deepened. "You can think that far, not bad." He pulled his hands from his pockets and clapped twice. "Correct. I did indeed do that. Your Class D is truly as leaky as a sieve."

Hirata's face went even paler.

Ryuen continued. "I had the papers Class D submitted prepared long ago. So for me, it doesn't matter what content you came to submit. Because no matter what you submitted, I had already seen it, and I had already had the students of Class B memorize the answers."

Hirata stood by, stunned. He thought he was making a fair trade with Ryuen—you write questions for me, I write questions for you, and both sides pass. But now he knew, that wasn't a trade at all. It was unilateral crushing. Ryuen had long known the content of Class D's papers and had already made the students of Class B familiar with the answers. Meanwhile, the students of Class D were still waiting for Class B to send the papers over.

This was the gap.

Hirata remained silent for a long time. His mind was a mess, as if a pile of tangled threads couldn't be unraveled. But one thing was clear—in this confrontation, Class D had thoroughly lost. Not lost in terms of academic ability, but lost in human spirit. The spirit of Class D had scattered; everyone had their own agenda. Some listened to Hikigaya, some were bought off by Class C, some were bought off by Ryuen, and some didn't care about anything and just wanted to coast through life. He couldn't control it; Hirata Yousuke couldn't control anyone.

"Hirata," Ryuen's voice came from the side.

Hirata looked up at him.

"This time, I can continue with the transaction. I will give you the test papers, and I will give you the answers. The students of Class D won't be expelled." Ryuen's voice slowed. "But you must remember, this is not a transaction. It's me pitying you."

Hirata opened his mouth to say something, but found his words stuck in his throat. He didn't want to accept this "pity," but he lacked the qualifications to refuse. The students of Class D needed these papers, needed these answers, needed to pass. He had no choice.

"I understand," Hirata said in a low voice.

Ryuen laughed loudly and turned toward the door. His laughter was thunderous, echoing in the office, harsh and ostentatious. Hiyori followed behind him, walking out of the office.

Hirata stood there, watching the closed door, silent for a very long time. Then he turned and looked at Hikigaya. A strained, embarrassed smile appeared on his face, the corners of his mouth curving slightly, as if to say, "I've made a fool of myself." Then he headed toward the door, his steps heavy.

Only Hachiman and the few homeroom teachers remained in the office. Hoshinomiya held her milk tea, Sakagami adjusted his glasses, Chabashira held her teacup, and Mashima stood in the corner. Hachiman straightened up from the window and walked toward the door.

"Hikigaya." Hoshinomiya's voice came from behind.

Hachiman stopped without turning back.

"Finished watching?" Hoshinomiya asked.

"Finished," Hachiman said.

"Thoughts?" Hoshinomiya was also curious, or rather, for them, this was also a grand spectacle. Of course, the students' trading couldn't be brought out into the open, but the school also had mechanisms to provide letters of recommendation for excellent students who couldn't graduate from Class A. Thus, Ryuen and the others demonstrating their planning prowess could potentially be chips for obtaining recommendation letters in the future. And the teachers wouldn't over-intervene with the students.

Hachiman was silent for a second. "Ryuen is quite excellent."

He pushed the door open and walked out.

The hallway was quiet. Sunlight poured in through the windows, making the floor shine. Hachiman walked along the hall, his pace steady. When he reached the corner of the staircase, he stopped. He leaned against the wall and waited for a moment.

Sure enough, footsteps sounded from behind. Light and steady, unhurried.

Shiina Hiyori walked over from the stairs and stopped in front of him. Her silver hair glowed softly in the sunlight, her expression was calm, but a shallow smile played on the corners of her lips.

"Hikigaya-kun," Hiyori said, "were you waiting for me?"

"Yeah," Hachiman leaned against the wall, "I wanted to hear your thoughts."

Hiyori's eyelashes fluttered gently. She thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Ryuen-kun made full preparations this time. He grasped the key to the rules—anyone can submit the test papers, and the one submitted first takes precedence. So before Ayanokouji-kun could act, he struck first. He had people submit Class D's papers in advance and made a request to the teacher to 'accept but not register' them. This way, no matter who Ayanokouji-kun arranged to submit the papers, they wouldn't be used."

Hachiman nodded. "Ryuen being able to do that is indeed quite excellent. This was Horikita Suzune's strategy in the original narrative, but this time I didn't let her act."

Hiyori's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Horikita-san?"

"Yes," Hachiman said. "In the original, she used this strategy. But this time, I didn't let her use it. So Ryuen being able to think of this was by his own ability."

Hiyori was silent for a second. "Then, does Hikigaya-kun think that Ryuen-kun underestimated Ayanokouji-kun?"

Read ahead by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting