Chapter 200: Let Him Die!
Yuto was more than happy to see Tokito constantly showing off and making his presence known. The more aggressively Tokito acted, the harder it became for Ryuen to control the students of Class D.
At the same time, Tokito was turning the entire class into a muddy mess.
Class D's power structure now resembled Class A, but the actual situation was far worse.
Katsuragi's faction and the Sakayanagi faction might be competing for control of Class A, but they hadn't turned the classroom into chaos.
Class A still maintained a proper learning environment despite the rivalry.
...
Time passed, and before long, July first arrived.
The first day of every month was when the school deposited personal points into the students' accounts.
Class C still had one hundred twenty-two class points, so Yuto and his classmates continued receiving only twelve thousand two hundred personal points each.
There was nothing they could do about it.
There had been no midterm exam during June to increase their class points, nor had any major club activities taken place that could earn additional points.
So Class C remained at one hundred twenty-two.
At least their score hadn't gone down either. That alone could be considered good news.
Among the four first-year classes, Class C and Class D were the only ones whose totals remained unchanged.
Class A and Class B had both suffered significant losses.
Class A had fallen from one thousand one hundred ten class points to eight hundred ten, losing three hundred.
Class B had dropped from nine hundred ninety to seven hundred forty, losing two hundred fifty.
The reason was simple.
During June, Class D's repeated harassment had caused both Class A and Class B to lose a considerable number of class points.
For Yuto's Class C, that wasn't necessarily bad news.
Their ultimate goal was to rise all the way to Class A, after all.
...
The sharp sound of high heels echoed through the room as Chabashira Sae walked into the Class C classroom.
"Today is July first. The main thing all of you need to pay attention to is the final exam in the middle of this month."
"Just like the previous midterm exam, if you fail to reach the passing mark in even one subject, the school will forcibly expel you."
Her stern warning immediately made the students tense.
Nobody doubted the school's willingness to expel students anymore.
Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sudo Ken had already been expelled for exactly that reason.
No one treated the phrase 'fail the exam and you'll be expelled' as an empty threat now.
Chabashira looked over their serious expressions and nodded with slight satisfaction.
At least they were taking the final exam seriously.
Once the monthly homeroom meeting ended, Hirata hurried straight over to Yuto.
"Shimizu, I think we should organize another study session so everyone can stay at this school!"
Hirata didn't want to see another classmate forcibly expelled, so he wanted to start preparing immediately and pull everyone into studying.
Yuto nodded.
"I agree. Let's do the same thing we did before the midterm exam. Anyone who wants to participate can stay after school and study together."
"Then you should go up front and tell everyone."
"You could announce it yourself, Hirata..."
Yuto looked helpless.
Hirata shook his head.
"I can't. Everyone trusts you more. It'll be much more effective if you're the one who proposes the study session."
"Fine..."
Yuto was fairly certain most of the class would participate even without him saying anything.
But if he refused, Hirata would probably keep pestering him.
With no other choice, Yuto walked to the front of the classroom.
"To prepare for the upcoming final exam, Hirata suggested that we hold another study session in the classroom. I think it's a good idea too."
"So anyone who wants to participate, come back to the classroom at five this afternoon."
"I'll definitely come!"
"Me too!"
The moment Yuto announced it, the students enthusiastically responded, one after another promising to attend.
The lively atmosphere surprised Suzune slightly.
Compared to two months ago, the class had changed so much that it was almost difficult to believe they were the same group of students.
'All of these changes were brought about by Shimizu...'
Suzune silently watched Yuto.
For the first time, she genuinely felt that if the class continued following his lead and maintained this atmosphere, reaching Class A might not be some impossible fantasy.
Under Yuto's influence, the students of Class C were gradually losing their old laziness and becoming more motivated.
That was the effect a capable leader could have.
...
Before long, it was three in the afternoon and school had ended.
Some Class C students headed to their club activities, while others left the classroom to rest.
They would all return at five for the study session.
Yuto said goodbye to Kei and headed toward the student council office with Suzune.
While they were walking, Suzune suddenly spoke in a reflective tone.
"Shimizu, our class has an advantage that none of the other classes possess."
"Hm?"
Yuto looked at her in surprise.
"Where did that come from?"
"It's nothing. Just treat it as a random thought."
A faint smile appeared on Suzune's face.
She was famous for being an aloof, tsundere snow fox. Almost nobody had ever seen her genuinely smile.
Yet now, Yuto had.
Her thin, delicate lips curved upward slightly, while the smile in her usually cool eyes softened her entire expression.
"Horikita, you look pretty good when you smile. It's a waste that you don't do it more often."
"Hmph!"
Suzune gave him a soft snort and immediately erased the smile from her face, returning to her usual cool expression.
She really was a tsundere snow fox.
Still, Class C wasn't the only thing changing.
Suzune herself was changing too.
She wasn't quite as cold as before, nor did she reject interacting with other people as strongly. She could now hold conversations with classmates instead of shutting everyone out completely.
All of those changes were positive.
If Manabu knew how much his sister had changed, he would probably be very pleased.
...
Yuto and Suzune arrived at the student council office, remained there for a while, then prepared to leave.
The student council didn't have work to handle every single day.
Normally, members simply reported to the office after school. If there was work, they handled it. If there wasn't, they were free to leave and do whatever they wanted.
So when the student council was busy, it was genuinely exhausting.
When there was nothing to do, it was remarkably relaxed.
Just as Yuto and Suzune were about to leave, Manabu suddenly spoke.
"Shimizu, stay for a moment. There's something I want to discuss with you."
"Hm?"
Yuto looked at him curiously.
Suzune glanced at Yuto, then at her brother, before quietly leaving the office alone.
Soon, only Yuto and Manabu remained.
"What did you want to talk about, senpai?"
Manabu spoke slowly.
"Shimizu, suppose someone you know wronged you. Later, that person sincerely regretted what they had done and asked for your forgiveness. What would you do?"
"Are they a friend?"
"You could say that."
"If they're actually a friend and genuinely regret it, then I'd probably give them a chance to turn over a new leaf. They've already admitted they were wrong."
Yuto answered casually before becoming curious.
"By the way, senpai, who came to you asking for forgiveness?"
"Nagumo."
"Let him die!"
Yuto answered without the slightest hesitation.
Manabu adjusted his glasses.
"You just said someone who sincerely repents should be given another chance."
"That was before I knew you were talking about Nagumo Miyabi."
Yuto looked irritated.
"Senpai, what did that guy say to you?"
"Last night, Nagumo visited my dormitory and spoke to me."
Manabu briefly explained what had happened.
Nagumo had come to see him the previous evening and sincerely admitted that he had been wrong.
He said he shouldn't have abused the vice president's authority, shouldn't have forged exam papers to frame a first-year student, and continued apologizing for a long list of previous actions.
In the end, Nagumo asked for Manabu's forgiveness and requested a chance to redeem himself by returning to the student council.
He even claimed he didn't care if he had to return as nothing more than general affairs staff.
As long as he could serve the students again and make amends through his work, he would be satisfied.
"Huh?"
Yuto stared at Manabu in disbelief.
"Nagumo wants to come back to the student council? Senpai, you didn't agree, did you? You know how dangerous that guy is."
"I did not approve his return."
Manabu answered calmly.
"Although Nagumo repeatedly claimed that he had sincerely repented, I know he hasn't."
"His real objective is simply to return to the student council so he can participate in the student council president election in October."
Yuto relaxed immediately.
At least Manabu hadn't been fooled.
He hadn't allowed Nagumo back into the student council.
"However, Shimizu, there's something I need to remind you about."
Manabu's tone carried deeper meaning.
"A student council secretary also has the authority to bring one person into the student council."
Yuto frowned slightly.
"Senpai, you're saying Kiriyama Ikuto could bring Nagumo back?"
"Exactly."
"Then why didn't Nagumo just ask Kiriyama to bring him in? Why come to you, apologize, and ask you to let him return?"
"Probably because of pride."
Manabu explained calmly.
"Nagumo cares a great deal about his image. Previously, he was vice president while Kiriyama was only secretary. Nagumo outranked him."
"So he can't bring himself to lower his head and ask Kiriyama for help."
"I see."
Manabu really was good at reading people.
That was exactly why Nagumo hadn't asked Kiriyama to bring him back.
However, if October approached and Nagumo still hadn't found another route into the student council, he would eventually have no choice but to ask.
Between pride and power, Nagumo valued power more.
And he would probably wait until shortly before the October election before having Kiriyama bring him back.
That way, Nagumo could enter the election immediately without spending months being ordered around by Yuto.
After all, anyone personally brought into the student council by either the secretary or vice president could only begin as general affairs staff.
Yuto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Senpai, should I find some way to kick Kiriyama Ikuto out of the student council too?"
"..."
Manabu looked at him.
"What you choose to do is your business. I only hope that the dragon slayer doesn't eventually become the dragon."
"Don't become a second Nagumo."
"That's pretty insulting, senpai."
Yuto looked displeased.
"How could I possibly become the kind of bastard who abuses his position to deliberately ruin other people's lives?"
"Whenever I deal with enemies, I do it openly and fairly."
Manabu thought back over Yuto's actions.
That actually seemed true.
When Ryuen plotted against Yuto, Yuto openly persuaded Komiya and Yamawaki to betray him and reversed the situation.
When Nagumo forged exam papers, Yuto exposed the entire matter to the chairman and student council and used official school authority to drive Nagumo and Tonokawa out of the council.
When Yuto removed Secretary Mizowaki, he once again handled it openly by exposing the ghost-member problem in the clubs and using that to force Mizowaki out.
In all of those situations, Yuto hadn't relied on underhanded threats, coercion, or force.
He had also chosen not to destroy the Class D students who belonged to clubs and allowed them to remain under observation instead of expelling them from their activities.
All of that made Manabu believe Yuto was unlikely to become another Nagumo.
Nagumo, after all, had been willing to abuse student council authority to remove anyone he disliked from the school entirely.
"Senpai, anything else? If not, I'm leaving."
"That's all. I only wanted to warn you that Nagumo still intends to force his way back into the student council and participate in the presidential election."
"Then I'm heading out."
Yuto suddenly remembered something and stopped.
"Oh, right. Senpai, do you still have the final exam papers from your first year? Let me make copies."
Manabu looked at him.
"You think this year's first-year final exam will be the same as the one from back then?"
"No."
Yuto waved his hand.
"I just want to use an old final exam to test how well everyone in my class is studying. Writing an entire test myself would be too much trouble, so I'll just copy an old one."
"I see."
…
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