---Notice---
Give me a moment of your time, and I'll be quick. At this point I think everyone has accepted I am the most inconsistent writer on webnovel, that's fair enough i'd agree, once again I'll never plan to drop this work, a large part of my absence this time wasn't just my laziness (although that played a small role), I was out of state helping with some problems then I went back home and had my own issues and lastly when I was finishing up this chapter another big issue came up, so I just want everyone to know I'm lazy, but sttill, you would've gotten this chapter about 50% earlier if it wasn't for life, so I am 50% less lazy and inconsistent then you believe, anyways enjoy the read, I'm grateful for everyone who reads my work and love to hear your thoughts.
My discord (Best server in the world): discord.gg/PVcF3ned
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"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I walked through the halls of the dorm building, the faint hum of the air conditioning mixing with the muffled sounds of doors shutting. My footsteps echoed lightly on the polished floor as I headed toward the elevator.
Ryuk floated lazily beside me. "Hehehe… it seems like your plans are going well, Light. You've got yourself two servants to essentially command." He was obviously amused.
As I stepped into the elevator, the doors sliding shut with a soft hiss, I lowered my voice to a whisper. "There's still a bit left, though. As long as those two don't cause me trouble, things will proceed smoothly… though 'smoothly' might be an exaggeration, given the layers to everything."
Ryuk's yellow eyes gleamed. "I can't wait to see how everything ends… but what now?"
I looked down at the extra phone in my hand, its screen dark.
"I have to return this to Ibuki. Ichinose slipped it in for me—given my intentions are, of course, 'righteous.' I asked her because if someone from my own class did it, it would raise suspicion. Naturally, it wasn't Ichinose's phone I borrowed."
Ryuk tilted his head. "And after that?"
"After that, there isn't anything else for me to do. I'll likely call it a day," I replied.
"Hmmm. I see," Ryuk muttered, almost disappointed, as the elevator stopped with a soft chime.
The doors opened, and I stepped out, making my way swiftly through the quiet corridor. The fluorescent lights above casting shadows as I reached Ibuki's door and knocked.
It didn't take long before the door creaked open, revealing Ibuki, her sharp eyes scanning me.
"That was quick," she said, extending her hand without hesitation.
I slid her phone into her palm. "Yeah. Thanks again for the help. I knew I could trust you."
"Whatever…" she replied flatly, though her gaze lingered on me. "Anyways, you never told me exactly what you needed my phone for."
I allowed a faint smile to show on my lips. "Well, you got the gist of it. I told you I needed it as a decoy."
Ibuki sighed, clearly dissatisfied. "That isn't very informative… but never mind. Are you coming in or something?"
"No," I said with a slight shake of my head. "I think I'll go to my room. I'm tired. And with the ongoing special exam, it's best if I get some rest."
Her expression tightened slightly. "On that topic—are you sure about letting Ryuen lead? He's obsessive when it comes to D Class's so-called mastermind."
"Who's to say that's a bad thing?" I replied evenly.
Ibuki blinked, momentarily dumbfounded, as if I'd just uttered the most reckless statement possible. "An impulsive, obsessive tyrant who's willing to drag our class through hell just to satisfy his curiosity… You aren't stupid. There's no way you don't see how this could go wrong."
"Sometimes," I said as I turned away, "wrong is good."
Her eyes followed me, searching for an explanation that I had no intention of giving.
"Anyway," I added, walking off without looking back, "we'll see. I'll see you tomorrow, Ibuki."
I headed toward the elevator once more, this time with the intent of ending my day in peace. Stepping inside, I pressed my floor number and leaned casually against the wall.
The elevator hummed softly as it ascended, the quiet broken only by the faint mechanical whirring beneath my feet. Ten seconds later, the familiar ding announced my arrival. The doors slid open, and I stepped into the corridor, already picturing the stillness of my room.
But peace, it seemed, wasn't on today's schedule.
Two familiar figures stood lounging near my dorm door—Suzune Horikita and Chiaki Matsushita from Class D. Both turned their attention toward me almost in unison.
"There you are," Horikita said flatly, her sharp gaze locking onto mine like a hawk's.
Matsushita's expression was more neutral, almost apologetic. "Sorry for the bother, Yagami. We'd been looking for you. We had no luck after hearing from your classmates that you left because you were busy."
Horikita's tone, however, was markedly different. "Although," she continued, "it does make you wonder what could possibly keep someone like you busy for so long. No one seemed to know where you were—or, at the very least, they didn't want to tell us. We checked all the places you could've been 'busy' at."
I let out a small chuckle. "Hahaha… I didn't know I was being investigated," I replied lightly.
Horikita's gaze narrowed slightly before she let out a short breath. "You're not. I just can't help but wonder where—and why—someone like you would disappear without a trace. Especially during this current special exam."
Her persistence was typical, almost predictable. "Don't worry about that," I said calmly. "Ryuen will continue being leader of Class C throughout the Paper Shuffle. He's quite adamant on this."
As I spoke, I reached between them to unlock my door, the faint metallic click punctuating my words.
"Is that so…? Obviously, I can't take your words at face value," Horikita replied evenly, "but this actually has to do with why we were looking for you in the first place."
"Is that so?" I gestured toward the open door. "Please, come in so we can talk inside then."
Slipping off my shoes, I stepped into my dorm without sparing them much of a glance. Behind me, both Matsushita and Horikita followed suit, removing their shoes neatly before stepping in. The door closed softly, sealing the three of us inside.
"Can I offer either of you tea or anything?" I asked, keeping my tone polite and neutral.
Horikita didn't bother answering. Instead, she stepped further into my bedroom, her sharp eyes taking in the surroundings, detached.
"Your room… It's boring. Plain. Your only decorations seem to be books and a few scattered papers," she remarked, her gaze shifting briefly to the desk and the window—its blinds drawn tight, cutting off the outside light.
Matsushita's expression was softer, her voice holding no criticism. "Honestly, it's not what I expected… but it isn't awful or anything. It just looks like an average bedroom you haven't really 'broken in' much yet."
Horikita ignored her and, without asking, made her way to my desk. She began flipping through the documents casually, though the precision in her movements suggested otherwise. There was more than just study material—past test papers, coursework, mock questions, and other academic notes lay neatly arranged, each page marked with meticulous care.
I let the moment stretch before repeating myself. "So, can I help either of you to anything?"
"I'm fine, but thank you, Yagami," Matsushita replied with a faint smile.
Horikita's eyes never left the papers. "Do you always study this much? I doubt it's necessary for you. A lot of these concepts you're working on are things you must already understand by this point in the semester."
Her assumption wasn't wrong—but her reasoning was incomplete. "I don't study because of school, or for the sole purpose of getting good grades," I said evenly. "It's simpler than that. I'm chasing perfection. Sadly… that's a race without a finish line."
My words seemed to strike a chord with her. Horikita's movements became more deliberate. She gathered the neatly stacked sheets into her hands and began scanning through them at a brisk pace. Dozens of pages passed through her fingers—too many to read in depth, but enough for her to notice the details.
Her eyes narrowed as she set the papers down. "There isn't a single mistake on any of these pages."
Matsushita's brows rose slightly, though her surprise was mild compared to Horikita's reaction. "That's impressive… but is it really strange enough to point out?"
Horikita glanced at me but chose to hold her tongue—for now. Her eyes lingered as if she were filing the detail away for later use. Finally, she spoke, her voice calm but deliberate. "We came to talk about Ryuen."
"It seems that everyone I talk to these days wants to discuss Ryuen. He's gotten quite famous, it seems," I replied, leaning back slightly, letting my posture relax as though this was a routine conversation rather than an interrogation.
"Infamous is more like it," Horikita countered. "Ryuen has done nothing but stir up problems for all classes—even his own—since school began. And now, his obsession with finding some 'mastermind' has made things… difficult, especially for us in Class D." Her words carried a restrained edge, the frustration she normally hid slipping into her tone.
"Let's address something here," I said evenly, my voice cutting through the air. "We continue to refer to Class D's mastermind as if he's some mystical unicorn… but we all know the truth. He is as real as the sun. There's no denying the fact he exists."
My statement was followed by a heavy silence that seemed to weigh on the room.
At this point, thanks to Ryuen using me as his so-called proof of the mastermind's existence, nearly the entire school had heard my claims. Even if Ayanokoji himself never confirmed anything to anyone, the results of the deserted island special exam alone should lend more than enough credibility to what I'd said—at least in Horikita's eyes.
Matsushita hesitated, fidgeting slightly as though working up the courage to speak. "Uh… umm, I'm sorry, but I've been wondering about something for a while now."
I gave her a small nod, silently granting permission to continue.
"It's been bothering me, but… if you've really knew about the mastermind, why didn't you do anything with that information? You could've caused chaos. It could've been used to put your class in an advantageous position while the other classes focused on him. Why didn't you even tell your own classmate, Ryuen?" she asked, her tone curious.
"What reason would I have for that?" I replied, a short laugh escaping me. "You must think I'm really cold-hearted if you believe I'd do something like that."
Her lips parted as though she was about to respond—likely to point out my morally gray tactics during the cruise ship exam. But even then, my actions hadn't been chaos for chaos's sake; they'd been deliberate, with purpose. Just like everyone else, I was trying to win. Even Horikita, for all her pragmatism, at times relied on trickery.
Horikita's gaze focused on me again, but she didn't speak.
"Anyways," Horikita continued, shifting the focus, "back to Ryuen. He has been harassing Matsushita."
"I see… I have to admit, it's upsetting to hear he's targeting you like that," I said, turning my gaze toward Matsushita.
She nodded slightly, her voice calm but tinged with unease. "At first, he was just being a nuisance. He had people—usually Ibuki—watching me during my lunches or breaks. Then she started following me. It was… stalker levels of creepy. My friends were obviously bothered by it too, and now Ryuen has threatened to take action against them."
I shook my head slowly, a hint of disappointment in my expression. "I didn't think Ryuen would use such methods. He seemed to have calmed down slightly before he found out about the mastermind… but it seems he's been truly set off."
Matsushita's agreement was firmer this time. "And now he's going to involve more innocent members of Class D. People like Karuizawa, Sato, and Shinohara don't know anything about the situation in Class D, but Ryuen doesn't care."
"Have you tried talking to the school?" I asked.
"I have," she said, her voice flattening with resignation. "But they won't listen—or more accurately, they say they can't do anything. Technically, Ryuen isn't breaking any rules. And he hasn't been caught doing anything punishable, so the school, and even Chabashira-sensei, say they can't and won't interfere."
I sighed lightly, the sound almost lost in the stillness of the room. "That's very sad to hear. While Ryuen is in my class, I hate to see students of other classes left defenseless."
"Well…" Matsushita hesitated, her gaze flicking briefly toward Horikita. "Although some didn't agree with me, I still wanted to talk to you."
My brow lifted slightly. "Some didn't agree? And talk to me about what?"
She seemed to weigh her words for a moment. "…Well, mostly Chabashira."
I tilted my head faintly, my expression sharpening. "I see. And?"
"I'm sure it's obvious now, but I came to ask for your help against Ryuen," she admitted. "Of course, before that, as I explained, I explored other avenues. But even though Ryuen only started his 'assault' recently, all avenues closed quickly. Horikita here offered to help me, especially since this could affect our class during the Paper Shuffle. The first and last person we tried talking to was Chabashira. Even though she's always against directly helping our class, we thought it was worth a try. As expected, she declined."
"And now you've come to me to ask for help dealing with Ryuen?" I asked.
Matsushita gave a faint, almost sheepish smile and scratched her head. "I guess it's pretty obvious, isn't it?"
Horikita's gaze didn't waver. "Honestly, I don't see why you haven't dealt with Ryuen yet. You've shown you're capable of doing so, and I'm sure your class would rather follow you than him."
Matsushita cut in before I could respond. "Basically, what we're saying, Yagami, is that with our class's support, if you saw it as too risky to challenge Ryuen before, that risk wouldn't be there anymore. Not only could you act however you saw fit, but you'd have backing for whatever you felt you lacked in challenging him before."
A coup. It's almost amusing that Class D would approach me with such an idea. But in a way, it makes sense. Time after time, they've been collateral damage in Ryuen's schemes—even losing members to expulsions. He's made a point of targeting them, and it seems they've finally grown tired of it.
"Sorry, but I must decline," I replied without hesitation.
Matsushita blinked, stunned. "Huh? You must be confused, Yagami. This doesn't only benefit Class D—it benefits you and your—"
I cut her off, my voice blunt. "I don't care."
Her mouth closed, the weight of my words hanging in the air.
"Don't get me wrong, Matsushita, Horikita," I continued, tone steady. "I sympathize with both of you and your class's situation. But right now, I have absolutely no intention of interfering with Ryuen or his affairs. You're free to challenge him yourselves, but neither of you is skilled enough to truly do so yet. The list of people who are is… short."
Matsushita's hands clenched. "I've basically tried everything. Even he ignored me. What are we supposed to do now?" The "he" in her tone was almost certainly Ayanokoji.
Horikita didn't look surprised. "In the end, you truly don't care about anyone but yourself, do you, Yagami?"
I shook my head. "I don't know why you'd think that. I care about everyone in this school—especially those I know. Admittedly, it's in my own way. If I could guarantee every student could graduate safely, I would. That's why I'll offer you help in another way."
"Another way?" Horikita asked, suspicion threading through her voice.
Straightening my posture, I answered, "I'll offer Class D a failsafe for the future. A way to prevent—or at least mitigate—situations like this from escalating."
Horikita leaned forward slightly. "And what exactly are you offering?"
"Access to the S-System. I want to create a structure within the school—maybe a club. This club would have four members: one representative from each class. These members would be fixed under almost all circumstances. Each class would contribute 50% of its monthly private points to a shared pool. That pool would be used to allow all classes access to the S-System."
"That wouldn't work," Horikita countered. "Even if all four classes contributed, there wouldn't be enough points to consistently give everyone access—"
I cut her off smoothly. "There would. If Class B puts all the points they've collected up to this point into the pot. I've been collecting what you could call… taxes since the beginning of the year. There's enough to sustain the system as soon as it's formed."
Her eyes widened. The scale of what I was suggesting likely hadn't crossed anyone's mind.
"No… there's another issue," she said after a beat. "How would you decide point distribution? What if the classes just abused the collective pot?"
"It wouldn't happen. Allocation would be decided by a vote among the four members. Majority rules."
Her gaze sharpened. "You'd be Class B's representative?"
"No. I know that's not a good idea. And student council members aren't allowed to be in clubs, so it couldn't be me anyway."
"Then who? Ryuen? Ibuki?"
"Hiyori Shiina," I replied without hesitation. "She'd be the fairest and most trustworthy choice."
"What about in a 2–2 tie?"
I smiled faintly. "Only in a tie would I step in to make the decision. In all other cases, the council would have multiple chances to decide on its own."
"But you said yourself—you can't be part of a club."
"Correct. However, if I have contractual consent to act as a tiebreaker from the four members, that's different. I wouldn't need to be a member—just have that specific authority."
Horikita's eyes narrowed slightly, weighing my words. She was thinking about the potential. If she joined, expulsions could be less likely. The council could influence how points were spent across the school—a shield as much as a weapon.
"If Class D joins, with you as its representative, I can also promise that next semester your class won't go without points. I'm confident I can guarantee at least two million points to Class D for the next term," I said.
She studied me, trying to gauge if I was serious. "Do… any of the other classes know about this?"
"No. But I'm confident Class A will join. And I'm also quite certain I can convince Ichinose and Class C. I think you understand why."
She did, and if A, B, and C joined, D would be forced to follow.
"I'll decide once I see if you can convince A and C. But, Yagami, I have a question."
"Ask away."
Her eyes locked onto mine. "Why aim for perfect scores every time?"
Matsushita looked between us.
Her gaze drifted to my desk. "Your grades. Always perfect. From the midterms to every exam after. As you know, exams here are calculated by a simple formula—the class's average score is halved. That means it's beneficial for some members to intentionally lower their own scores to lower the average. If one cared about their classmates, they would do whatever they could to ensure their success. I've done it a few times myself, and I'm sure members of A and C do as well. But you don't. You never do. It doesn't make sense."
"Well, the answer is simple — Class B has points to spare. But that's not what you want to hear, is it?" I replied to Horikita.
She didn't respond.
So I did. "The question you're asking isn't one I can answer, because it's an idea beyond comprehension. I'll just say this: you're asking why I don't limit myself on purpose. I could ask why anyone would. The moment you start holding back for the sake of others, you're no longer measuring your own ability — you're measuring how you impact theirs. From that point on, your results don't reflect what you can do; they reflect the measure of your willingness to compromise. And once you let your worth be defined by how you affect someone else… it stops being yours."
"I'll carry my classmates by moving forward, not by dragging myself down. Their weakness doesn't justify me limiting my strength."
And in the quiet corners of my mind, a darker truth arose: the weak follow the strong, never the reverse. That is the law hidden beneath every society, every hierarchy, every illusion of equality. To bend for the fragile is to inherit their fragility, to chain yourself to their failures. True strength exists only when it refuses to bow. Those who cannot rise will cling, crawl, and beg—but they are not owed salvation.
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It's been a while, so please take a moment to comment and share your thoughts on the chapter. I know a few of you think I'm just farming comments, but I genuinely love reading comments, theories, and seeing everyone's opinions on my story. Thank you.