---Notice---
I edited Chapter 78, where I called the tyrant of Class 2-D (Shinji's Class) Hosen. This was a mistake. His name has been changed to Kaito Ogami.
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But if there is one person or more than one who is so outstanding by reason of his superior virtue that neither the virtue nor the political power of all the others is commensurable with his or theirs, then such men can no longer be regarded as part of the citystate. For they would be treated unjustly if they were thought to merit equal shares, when they are so unequal in virtue and political power. For anyone of that sort would reasonably be regarded as a god among human beings. ~Aristotle. (1998). Politics (C. D. C. Reeve, Trans.).
***Kiyotaka Ayanokoji***
It was silent in my room after I briefed Matsushita on the details of what had just occurred here. The peace was a contrast to Ryuen's obviously chaotic nature.
Still.
This silence symbolized anything but peace. It was a step further from the normal life I'd envisioned since arriving here.
Ryuen lay on my floor, beaten, now carrying knowledge of my identity. Matsushita stood frozen by my door, processing what she'd witnessed after only our second encounter. And Kushida…
Her involvement was its own problem.
But I supposed it was fine. It wasn't as if I hadn't understood what I was getting myself into.
This school—when I first joined, my expectations weren't high. Even when I applied and ran away from that place, I knew to keep my expectations low. I had already witnessed the incapability of the average individual, after all. They fell below even those I had deemed incapable in the White Room.
Compared to the average person, the test subjects in the White Room possessed god-like intellect.
But even then, if you took the top forty individuals to ever participate in the White Room—excluding myself—and placed them in Class A, and you took me and placed me alone in Class D, if I tried, I'd still win.
That alone explained my previous desire to live a normal life.
But of course, a normal person wouldn't completely understand, so I should put it like this:
Competition can only attract interest when the outcome is uncertain.
Of course, competition can be coerced, like how I was forced to compete in the White Room. But when every advantage I could offer still leaves victory certain, then competition for competition's sake becomes pointless.
I may help Class D, but I can't compete for them.
I may be coerced into competition, but I have no interest in it.
I may be many things in this place, but interested simply isn't one of them.
And so the act of competition, fundamentally, isn't possible for me.
Not because I lack the ability.
But because I lack the reason.
At least, for the past few years, that's what I thought ever since Shiro left.
Maybe Yagami is like him—someone capable of competing with me, even if for but a moment. I presume that would make him someone worth competing with.
Either way, as things are right now in Class D, it's not worthwhile to crawl out of the hole we've been thrown into. Of course, there are other ways Class D can still claim victory over the other classes, but…
My reason is slowly returning. My reason to act. Those lines between help and interest are blurring, just a bit. Too long of inactivity. Once this year is over, then…
It doesn't matter, I thought to myself, my eyes now focusing on Kushida.
Kushida remains a problem that requires precise handling. She become a nuisance; any action taken carelessly against her could create unforeseen complications.
I let out a very light sigh as I took a deep breath, closing my eyes which had been facing in the direction of Matsushita and Kushida.
Suddenly, I could hear footsteps down the hall. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone standing right next to the two girls.
Light Yagami.
I wondered how he knew exactly when to come. His timing was impeccable. Maybe it was Kushida who informed him. Maybe the answer was more analytical—he'd calculated the precise moment. Either way, the timing was impressive.
Yagami smiled as he approached the door. "I hope everyone is doing well. I just came to collect my classmate," he said in a voice strangely casual for someone looking at their classmate laid out on the floor of my room.
Of course, it wasn't strange to me—I likely had a better understanding of him than most—but it was for Kushida and Matsushita.
Matsushita quickly responded, her voice sharp with confusion and alarm. "What do you mean? Ryuen attacked Ayanokoji here! He won't be going anywhere, not until we get Chabashira-sensei here to deal with this mess."
Yagami shrugged.
It was interesting. Yagami didn't bother arguing about the incident that had occurred here. He could obviously have—given my pristine condition compared to Ryuen's—but it seemed he just instinctively understood there was no point in doing so as if he'd been watching this whole situation play out.
Maybe Ryuen had informed him of the details of his plan beforehand?
Or maybe Yagami had orchestrated it from the beginning.
Either possibility seemed equally likely.
***Light Yagami***
Of course, I knew there was no point in arguing.
I'd had Ryuk watch over Ryuen and Ayanokoji and brief me on the entire situation—the fight and the outcome. The rest, like the fact that the camera in the hallway had been vandalized and could possibly be traced back to Ryuen. I knew all of this. Ryuen's actions can't escape my grasp.
Arguing about whether Ryuen attacked Ayanokoji or Ayanokoji attacked Ryuen—that wasn't the way to go about any of this.
I moved past the two girls. Matsushita already had her phone out, fingers hovering over the screen. I stepped past Ayanokoji, positioning myself directly in front of Ryuen's beaten form on the floor.
"You could contact Chabashira-sensei," I said calmly, "but are you sure that's what Ayanokoji would want? What right do you have to make a big deal of this incident?"
Matsushita paused, glancing at Ayanokoji, likely considering his well-documented desire for a peaceful life.
"Well… It's not like it matters," she reasoned after a moment, her voice steady and sharp. "Ryuen can always talk about Ayanokoji's identity if he wanted to, so it doesn't make much difference whether I report this or not."
I nodded, looking down at Ryuen.
She was right. It was a sharp analysis, one I couldn't easily counter. I could argue that Ayanokoji's peaceful life would be ruined if she reported this incident, but there was also the unavoidable truth that there's no guarantee Ryuen would keep his mouth shut. Of course, her arguments were largely driven by the desire to bring down Class B and capitalize on this moment.
Theoretically, there was no argument I could currently make to help Ryuen.
He had been completely defeated in this encounter.
Logically, it would seem like I had lost.
I sighed. "Yes, you're right," I said, letting out a deep breath.
Matsushita's eyes brightened slightly as she heard my concession. She brought her phone closer to herself, ready to make the report.
"Yes, this time it's undeniable," I continued, my voice carrying a note of resignation. "Class B has completely lost to Class D."
I let out another breath, slowly taking my hands out of my pockets.
Matsushita's fingers moved quickly across her phone screen, typing out the message that would seal Ryuen's fate.
I moved to Ryuen and helped him to his feet.
"You look confused," I said, observing him carefully. "Well, I'm sure you are. You probably never expected a situation like this."
My words likely sounded condescending, even though they were meant strictly as an analysis of fact. Ryuen's expression told me as much.
"Tsk…" Ryuen clicked his tongue, his voice rough and strained. "Shut up and just get me out of here."
I nodded, steadying him as he found his balance.
I stepped back and stood straight, calmly adjusting my blazer.
Then I looked at Matsushita and smiled.
"Weren't you going to make that report? Go ahead. Though I wonder how that will end for Class D."
The room was silent except for Ryuen's labored breathing.
Matsushita stared at me, phone still in her hand, her earlier confidence completely gone as she noticed my own confidence.
"T-the camera," she whispered, her voice barely steady. "It still proves Ryuen had intent to do something here if it can be traced back to him."
Ayanokoji finally spoke, his tone flat and matter-of-fact. "Don't bother, Matsushita. That only matters if we can prove Ryuen was the one who vandalized the cameras. It's better if I do not go into detail, but there's more to it than that. To say the least, it's a similar situation to what we put Class B in during the sports festival. There's no winning here."
He understood.
Of course he did.
Ryuen wouldn't have vandalized the cameras himself—he was smarter than that. And he wouldn't have paid someone directly either, well, at least not when point transactions can be traced… This was something I'd known for a while and informed the class about. Even when I was paying Karuizawa's bullies, I'd taken multiple precautions to ensure the trail wouldn't lead back to me.
Ryuen's methods weren't as sophisticated as mine, but he wasn't stupid. He would've used an intermediary—someone to handle the transaction and create enough distance that tracing it back to him would require exposing someone else first.
My eyes shifted to Kushida.
And if Ryuen was smart—which he is—he would've made sure that someone was her.
That was the real trap to protect himself from expulsion.
There was no point in pressing me or Class B further in this situation. If Class D wanted to trace who paid for the camera vandalism, they'd have to follow the points. And that trail would lead straight to Kushida—their most popular, most influential, most trusted member.
Exposing Ryuen meant committing to exposing Kushida; Ayanokoji understood this.
And for Class D, exposing Kushida wasn't a decision to be made lightly. Given her influence and popularity, she wasn't just someone you could toss away without a second thought. The chaos her exposure would cause far outweighed any benefit they'd get from bringing down Ryuen.
As Ayanokoji said, this situation was no different from the sports festival. Class D was caught in the same type of trap that Class B had been in back then.
The type of situation Class D was best off forfeiting.
Matsushita was obviously frustrated. It was understandable. Ryuen was someone who'd terrorized Class D, and the moment Class D had a chance to strike back at him, she was being told it was a situation best left alone.
Her eyes shifted to me, sharp and accusing. "You lied. You said you wouldn't interfere with Class D and Ryuen."
"How did I interfere?" I asked calmly. "I was simply trying to make you aware of your situation. Whether I informed you of it or not, the aftermath of you reporting Ryuen would've been the same. If anything, I've done you a favor."
"Aftermath?" she questioned, her gaze moving between me and Ayanokoji. She seemed to understand most of what both of us were saying, but, without knowing that Kushida was a traitor to Class D, she could never understand the whole story. "...Is it just impossible for Class D to work its way up? If it wasn't for the way the school was set up…"
"I don't think that's completely true," I replied evenly. "Even if it is, you just have to find a way to make the playing field more even. I'd love to see the day when you can surprise me."
I moved to Ryuen and helped him stand, steadying him as he found his balance.
"Anyway, I think we'll be on our way then," I continued, guiding Ryuen toward the door.
We left without issue.
Once we were a bit down the hallway and approaching the elevator, Ryuen spoke, his voice low and bitter.
"Do you really believe that nonsense? Can that group of failures really rise up? Even when their most capable member seems so disinterested?"
"No, of course I don't," I said simply. "Matsushita is naive. The differences between Class B and Class D aren't a flaw in the system. In many ways—academically, for example—Class D as a whole is more capable than our own class. That goes to show Class D isn't beneath Class B because of the school. It may have been like that at the start, but the true reason Class D is beneath Class B now is because every one of its members is beneath me. As long as that remains true, Class D can never win against me."
Ryuen didn't say a word as we arrived at the elevator.
Soon it arrived, and we stepped inside.
"Good thing the nurses basically work 24/7," I said as the doors slid shut. "He really beat you good."
"I don't want to hear it," Ryuen mumbled quietly. Then, after a pause, he added, "I think I'm done after this."
"Done?" I asked as the elevator hummed, making its way down to the lobby.
"Done," he repeated, his voice hollow. "I don't have a reason to stay at this school anymore."
"I have one for you," I replied firmly. "You're an asset to Class B. It's undeniable that we need you. The plans you come up with are genuinely impressive. Look at all you accomplished just today."
Ryuen started shaking.
Then, suddenly, he burst out in laughter.
"Hahaha! Stop bullshitting me!" His voice echoed in the confined space. "Let's be serious here for a second. How much of it all was truly me? Even since the beginning?"
I kept my expression neutral. "What do you mean, Ryuen?"
"Stop acting for a second and answer me seriously," he said, his laughter fading. "From the first exam in the first month where 'I' expelled multiple students, to recently where Kushida suddenly seemed more willing than ever to work with me—you've been controlling me from the start, haven't you? Like I'm some sort of donkey to be led with a carrot."
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Give me your thoughts on this chapter. This arc should be concluded with the next chapter, quickly after that winter vacation, unless I get sidetracked, but for the most part, I want to get to the mixed training camp soon, so yeah.