The first day of winter break.
Around eight o'clock in the early morning, Ryuuen left the dormitory in casual clothes.
Even during winter break, students were required to wear their uniforms to enter the school, but the current Ryuuen had no intention of following that rule now.
Today would be the last day he set foot in this school.
Ryuuen had made his decision.
(What an unsightly end, even for me.)
Ryuuen let out a snort of self-mockery.
The reason for his expulsion was to take responsibility for his actions.
It was by no means because he had lost to Ayanokouji and lost all interest in everything else.
Ryuuen, who had repeatedly engaged in selfish behavior, needed to clean up the seeds he himself had sown.
The search for X might sound noble if described as a way to eliminate the threat from Class D, but in the end, he had simply acted on his own desires.
He had forced unreasonable demands on his class and robbed most of his classmates of nearly a month's worth of time. Despite that, there were no results to show for it. On the contrary, he had been counterattacked and had become a burden—a shackle—to his own class.
In the current situation, as long as Ryuuen remained in Class C, the moment Class D was driven into a corner, his neck could easily be put on the chopping block.
Even if Ayanokouji had no such intention, the instant the rooftop incident was brought up, it would be Class C at a disadvantage.
That was precisely why Ryuuen would take all the responsibility and withdraw through expulsion.
With that plan in place to settle the matter once and for all, he made his way to the school.
Upon arrival, he paused for a moment and gazed up at the school building.
(It was only a short time, but there were definite benefits to coming to this school.)
Ignoring the biting cold, Ryuuen reflected on his time and actions at the Advanced Nurturing High School.
He had encountered a monster of talent and learned of a being that inspired true terror.
His mental growth had allowed him to properly distinguish between pawns and subordinates. His perspective had broadened, and his thinking had deepened, enabling him to consider matters more widely and profoundly.
Even a brief recollection brought forth an overflow of gains.
He wasn't the type to get lost in nostalgia, yet he felt a strange sense of fondness for the version of himself that had grown since arriving at this school.
(...I have no regrets.)
He declared it firmly, yet the unease in his heart refused to clear.
As the winter wind blew past, gently caressing his wounds, Ryuuen let the cold fill his thoughts before stepping inside the school building.
A compress adorned his cheek and a band-aid covered the corner of his mouth. The injured student was heading not to the infirmary, but to the staff room.
The pain lingered, and he wanted nothing more than to rest his body immediately, but circumstances wouldn't allow it.
"You arrived before the designated time."
As Ryuuen reached the corridor leading to the staff room and prepared to call for his homeroom teacher Sakagami, his way was blocked by Manabu Horikita, who stood imposingly before the staff room door like he was waiting for him.
"But casual clothes are something I can't overlook."
"At this point, it doesn't matter what kind of punishment I get. More importantly, where's Sakagami?"
"Sakagami-sensei is waiting in the career counseling room. Along with Mio Ibuki, Masayoshi Hashimoto, and Chabashira-sensei—three in total. And Daichi Ishizaki, Albert Yamada, and Izuru Kamukura are with them too."
"…What?"
Ryuuen had already been informed by Horikita about the day's events beforehand, but three unexpected names had just been mentioned.
Before he could press for details, however, Horikita signaled with his eyes for him to follow.
Clicking his tongue, Ryuuen continued on.
When they arrived at the career counseling room, Ryuuen immediately scanned the interior.
It was a classroom-like room with four sofas arranged around a single desk, occupied by a large group of people.
Two teachers and Ibuki and Hashimoto sat facing each other across the desk, while on one of the remaining sofas, Izuru Kamukura sat with his legs crossed. Behind him stood Ishizaki and Albert like bodyguards.
"…Ryuuen-san."
Ishizaki called out anxiously to Ryuuen, who had instantly drawn everyone's attention.
Ryuuen ignored him as a matter of course and took a seat facing Kamukura.
He almost wanted to comment on the appearance of the person before him, but held back to maintain decorum.
The left side of his long hair—the locks that had once reached his waist—were now only shoulder-length, with some sections cut even shorter.
"…Hey, Sakagami. What are these people doing here?"
"…They seem to be the busybodies who gathered after hearing you were getting expelled."
Sakagami closed his eyes and snorted.
"Get rid of them."
"I can't. This meeting was arranged with the permission of the former student council president."
Ryuuen shot Manabu Horikita a glare filled with killing intent, but the other man paid it no mind and smoothly took charge of proceedings.
Receiving a clipboard containing the report from Chabashira-sensei, he began the discussion.
"There are two items on today's agenda: the incident involving Mio Ibuki and Hashimoto in the special building, and the matter of the surveillance camera destruction on the rooftop."
"…Hold on. Surveillance camera destruction? What the hell is that about?"
"I'll allow questions at the end."
The overwhelming pressure that dominated the room, paired with words that commanded it.
The presence of someone who had once served as student council president of this peculiar school came through clearly.
Since he was going to be expelled anyway, Ryuuen no longer cared what he did.
In other words, there was no need to hold back the urge to crush this formidable opponent right here and now.
However, he also knew full well the former student council president's combat prowess.
It was obvious he would end up on the receiving end of a counterattack, so for now, he obediently complied.
"Regarding the first point, since the matter has already been settled amicably, we won't delve too deeply, but I will confirm the details.
Yesterday, Masayoshi Hashimoto called Mio Ibuki out to the special building, where some trouble occurred. Is that correct?"
When Manabu Horikita sought confirmation, the two nodded slightly.
"Ibuki, after you refused Hashimoto's request, it was reported that an argument broke out. Was any violence involved at that time?"
"No. We only argued. There was no violence.
However, I did get carried away and said some things that went too far to Hashimoto-kun. I regret that."
Who the hell is this?
Ryuuen nearly blurted out the thought.
"I also deeply regret my own immaturity. Because my feelings weren't answered, I lost control of myself and hurled insults. I apologize once again from the bottom of my heart."
Hashimoto bowed his head toward Ibuki while remaining seated.
Once the two teachers had observed this, Manabu Horikita glanced down at the clipboard to move the discussion forward.
Ryuuen had already grasped what was happening here.
Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed his head off hearing Ibuki speak in such polite, refined language. But he sensed something unsettling about this unnatural turn of events.
...This entire discussion had already been staged from the start.
"Moving on to the matter of the surveillance camera destruction on the rooftop… First off, Ryuuen, there is no mistake that you used spray paint to deface the surveillance camera, correct?"
"No, there isn't. I did it by myself."
"One more thing. I heard you had a conflict with Ishizaki, Yamada, and Kamukura. Is this also true?"
"…A conflict, you say?"
Who the hell said that?
Ryuuen was about to press further when another voice cut in over his.
"It's the truth. He summoned us and attacked us one-sidedly."
The one who spoke was Kamukura.
Ryuuen immediately understood his intent.
Kamukura was trying to steer the narrative toward one where Ryuuen, after spray-painting over the rooftop camera, had called out his subordinates to punish them.
"According to Kamukura, you attempted to purge subordinates who failed to achieve a certain objective.
You injured Ishizaki and Yamada in the process, but were then counterattacked by Kamukura."
The two who were injured, and Kamukura who remained unscathed.
It sounded like a lie, yet given the facts and Kamukura's abilities, it didn't sound implausible at all.
Furthermore, Kamukura held the top grades in the entire school. Since Ryuuen had deliberately avoided involving him in any problematic behavior to keep things interesting, he carried the perfect image of a model student.
That gave the story considerable credibility.
"…Yeah, it's true. It's all my responsibility.
I did use violence against these guys, but I got beaten back instead."
If he denied it here, there was a possibility that he would drag them into the rooftop incident as well.
That would be a foolish move for Ryuuen, who intended to take all the responsibility.
He had no choice but to go along with it.
"I'll accept the punishment, Horikita. I'm getting expelled. I went on a rampage all by myself like this, so it's fair enough, right?"
"No, it's not fair. There's a contradiction in your statement."
"A contradiction?"
Ryuuen had cut straight to the main topic, but Horikita sliced through his proposal in a single decisive stroke.
"You said you did it alone, but according to the information we have, a Class D student was also involved in the destruction of the surveillance camera."
"…What?"
Ryuuen was thrown into confusion.
He was concerned about how Ayanokouji was connected to this discussion, but this unexpected development made it impossible to see through the true intention.
The one thing he could clearly understand was that Ayanokouji had no real desire to expel him.
It was precisely because Ryuuen had realized that this maneuvering had been arranged by Ayanokouji after they left the rooftop—by pulling in both Horikita and Kamukura—that he could assert it with certainty.
He still didn't understand why Ayanokouji wanted to keep him around despite the many disadvantages, but at least it now made sense that
Ayanokouji was the one who had orchestrated today's meeting.
"The topic of today's discussion is the destruction of the surveillance camera, but the point of contention is whether the repair costs for the destroyed camera should be split equally."
"Ryuuen, you said you would take full responsibility, but I personally witnessed a Class D student on the rooftop as well. Considering that you aren't the type of person who would protect students from other classes, I find it difficult to believe this was solely your responsibility."
Ryuuen clicked his tongue.
The former student council president's eyewitness testimony had made it clear that something had indeed occurred with Class D.
If they dug any deeper here and it eventually reached the Karuizawa incident, it would lead to the absolute worst outcome for Ryuuen.
As Ryuuen pondered this, Sakagami spoke up next.
"Regarding the brawl, from the extent of your injuries, it's clear that Kamukura's self-defense went too far. Therefore, there will be no additional punishment for you. Taking everything into account, the school's judgment is to issue a strict warning to both sides, treating this as an internal class matter."
A strict warning—that meant suspension would be next if anything happened again.
If this had been an obvious inter-class conflict, it would have been an immediate expulsion, but this time, thanks to the way the situation had been handled, it was being processed as a somewhat excessive fight.
"Ryuuen, if you still wish to be expelled, I won't stop you… What will you do?"
"I'm getting expelled. I have no intention of staying at this school any longer."
Ryuuen declared with firm resolve.
"I see. Then fill in your name, student ID number, and reason for expulsion here."
"Wait a second."
Sakagami handed Ryuuen the expulsion form and a ballpoint pen.
He then immediately pulled out two more printed sheets.
"Once your expulsion is processed, have Ishizaki and Yamada fill these out as well."
"What? These guys have nothing to do with this."
"They certainly don't. However, the two of them have requested it. They said that if you get expelled, they'll get expelled too."
"…So in the end, you have no intention of letting me leave this school, huh."
Ryuuen let out a deep sigh.
He already understood that his actions had been completely pointless.
Even if he forced through the expulsion now, it would only result in them all falling together, making the expulsion itself meaningless.
"By the way, I won't be getting expelled. If I were to get expelled, this world might come to an end, after all."
"…I didn't ask, and I don't understand a single thing you're saying."
The incomprehensible statement completely drained the fight out of Ryuuen.
The strength left his shoulders as he shoved the pen back toward Sakagami.
"I'm canceling the expulsion."
Ryuuen still couldn't imagine what kind of benefit Ayanokouji gained from this, but he no longer had any will left to take action.
He no longer felt any urge to reclaim his position as leader. From here on, he planned to leave things in the hands of Shiina, Kaneda, and Kamukura.
An unwritten, blank future lay ahead of him.
Himself, stripped of leadership. Himself, lowered to the very bottom of the class hierarchy.
Ryuuen knew exactly how he would move forward from that point.
However, a new doubt had begun to take root—whether staying the same as before would be enough.
Having suffered a complete and utter defeat, Ryuuen thought to himself:
...Can I really beat Ayanokouji like this?
He needed to change his way of looking at things.
For now, Ryuuen settled on that conclusion.
And then, deep inside his heart, he quietly let out the emotions he felt at having avoided expulsion after all.
***
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