Chapter 238: The Introversion of Ryuen Kakeru's Entire Life

School days always seemed to pass both slowly and quickly.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since the incident with Ichinose's rumors. No new rumors about her had appeared on the forum. Instead, they were quickly drowned out by more eye-catching events.

For example, the power struggle of Advanced Nurturing's famous popular contender, Ryuen Kakeru.

At a window seat in the Palette Cafe, the afternoon sunlight spilled through the glass onto the wooden table. Fuyuji Mikage, having finished his exam papers, propped his chin on his hand and silently observed Ryuen striding along outside the window with a swaggering gait.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, walking with that utterly self-assured stride, he led the way at the very front of his group, with three or four lackeys trailing behind him.

From what Fuyuji knew, this was already who-knew-how-many-th time Ryuen had walked laps around the school since half-unifying Class C.

Beside him, Kamuro also noticed the flashy redhead outside the window. She set down her pen, lightly shook her sore right hand, and stretched her lovely figure. Her slender waist arched slightly backward as she casually remarked:

"Why is he still outside? The exam is next week."

"Bro." Fuyuji crossed his hands in front of his mouth and said with certainty, "I think he might be lost."

"Huh? Lost?" A flicker of surprise crossed Kamuro's face. She raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Hashimoto say that guy is going around looking for targets in Class D to harass?"

According to the conclusions reached by Katsuragi and the others, Ryuen's plan was roughly to ensure there was no risk of expulsion while finding a few Class C students to harass Class D's various study locations, thereby disrupting their mental state.

Commonly known as: one rat dropping ruining a whole pot of porridge!

"That's just his excuse for showing off." A cold glint flashed through Fuyuji's eyes.

You little chuunibyou Ryuen, I can see through you at a glance!

"I see." Kamuro nodded as if understanding. "Just like how you showed off to the whole class a while back about getting a full-duplicate Nero with two hundred quartz, right?"

"Shut up, bro!" Fuyuji's expression changed drastically. He slapped the table and stood up, blurting out, "How can you compare my great endeavor to that mere Ryuen? That's an insult!"

"Tch!"

Faced with Fuyuji's righteous warning, Kamuro tilted her chin up in disdain, gave him a contemptuous glance, and picked up her pen to continue focusing on the exam questions.

He talked such a big game, but the quartz were all farmed by her, weren't they?

This bastard was only responsible for pulling and enjoying it!

After walking some distance, Ryuen and his group stopped at the cafe entrance. He scanned the surroundings and, with his signature chuunibyou grin, headed straight toward a group of Class D students also studying in the cafe.

The script from here was probably: verbal provocation, trash talk, angering the Class D students, then retreating to find the next target, continuing tomorrow, never tiring of it.

Fuyuji, who had enjoyed watching the drama yesterday, had already seen a full round. This melon was no longer guaranteed ripe, nor guaranteed sweet.

With little interest, he could only redirect his attention to the girl beside him, who was fluently writing her exam paper.

Different from her usual swift and decisive style, Kamuro's manner of doing questions exuded a quiet calm. Her purple half-ponytail fell over her shoulder. A few disobedient strands of hair lightly brushed her fair neck. Her slender fingers gripped the pen, writing methodically. The tip of the pen rustled. Her long eyelashes trembled faintly with each blink.

Fuyuji: "..."

Kamuro: "..."

Gradually, Kamuro's writing speed began to slow. A pink flush crept onto her rounded earlobes and was quietly spreading toward her cheeks.

A dozen or so seconds later.

Feeling thoroughly uncomfortable, Kamuro gathered her pencil case and exam papers from the edge of the table closer to herself, and silently shifted two seats inward.

Fuyuji, grinning cheekily, shuffled his butt along to follow.

Another dozen or so seconds passed.

With a thin blush on her face, Kamuro grabbed her exam papers. With a swoosh, she turned and ran to the seat next door.

But the next second, Fuyuji followed right behind her, continuing to watch.

"Tch, you're so annoying, Fuyuji. Get lost!"

"Don't be so shy. Let me take a look."

"Get out, go look at your own!"

"Mine aren't as nice as yours."

...

Amid their playful scuffling, a few muffled thuds of wood striking the floor suddenly sounded in the cafe. A silver-haired girl named Sakayanagi Arisu walked with measured steps to the seat across from the two and sat down directly.

Fuyuji didn't even lift an eyelid. He kept his head turned, staring at Kamuro, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. Sakayanagi, meanwhile, fixed her gaze on Fuyuji without blinking.

Instantly, Kamuro sensed something was off about the atmosphere and straightened her back.

"Sakayanagi, what are you doing here?"

Sakayanagi didn't reply. She pressed her lips together and continued staring intently at Fuyuji.

"..."

Kamuro's gaze drifted. She looked at Fuyuji, then turned to look at Sakayanagi. This time it was her turn to lean close to Fuyuji's ear and whisper:

"Don't tell me you did something to her?"

"Cough cough," Fuyuji coughed twice and likewise leaned close to Kamuro's ear. "Actually, I slapped her a couple of days ago."

"Huh? What did she do?"

"You know she did something bad?"

"Obviously," Kamuro rolled her eyes prettily. "With that arrogant personality of hers, treating people like tools, she was bound to get hit sooner or later."

"Then why do you still hang around with her? Accompany her to afternoon tea?"

"That's because, because..." Kamuro muttered for a while, seemingly unable to come up with a reason. She simply threw caution to the wind. "None of your business! Anyway, I do what I want!"

Fuyuji stared blankly at Kamuro for a moment.

Buddy, you really are an M, aren't you?

Finally, watching the two of them whisper to each other as if no one else was around, Sakayanagi couldn't hold back any longer. She rapped her cane heavily against the floor with a dull thud.

"Do you have nothing you want to say?"

"I have no interest in talking to someone who spreads rumors." Fuyuji pulled Kamuro's exam paper over, spread it open with both hands, and said flatly.

"What a coincidence," Sakayanagi removed the beret from her head and placed it beside her, sneering. "Actually, I also have no interest in talking to someone who hits women!"

"Then why did you come here?"

Sakayanagi was momentarily choked by his utterly indifferent attitude. After a brief silence, her elegant smile reappeared on her face.

"Aren't you afraid I'll hold you responsible for that slap?"

"Suit yourself."

Fuyuji didn't even raise his head. He turned to another page and circled a question with his pen.

Mm... bro's grades have improved again.

"What if I continue spreading rumors about Ichinose Honami?" Sakayanagi provoked.

Fuyuji's tone didn't waver in the slightest. He even raised a hand to order two iced drinks.

"If you want to keep courting death, I can't stop you. But I'll let you know the consequences."

"What? A couple of days ago you hit the right side. Today you want to hit the left? Getting addicted?" Sakayanagi tilted her chin up slightly and turned her head to display her right cheek to Fuyuji, mocking him. "You should know I took a whole day off yesterday. I stayed in my dorm for who knows how long before the swelling went down."

Fuyuji's eyelids lifted slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Sakayanagi's cheek, so pale it was almost transparent in the afternoon sunlight. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her neck.

He took the two drinks the waiter handed him and passed one directly to Kamuro.

"That depends on you. But you can try."

The hand Sakayanagi had been about to extend froze beneath the table for an instant, then she smoothly raised it to order a coffee from the waiter as well.

"You like that woman that much? For your information, Ichinose Honami sent me a message yesterday asking how my face was. In some ways, she's far more polite than you."

"Don't misunderstand." Fuyuji stirred the bottom of his cup. The ice cubes touched the glass wall, making a faint clinking sound. "I didn't hit you because of what you did to Ichinose. It's because in that moment, I felt you deserved to be hit."

"Heh... To be able to describe hitting a woman so gloriously, this is the first time I've seen someone like you."

Sakayanagi drew a deep breath. Beneath her wine-red blazer uniform, her chest rose and fell slightly. Her complexion turned a shade paler.

"Then let me tell you too. The rumors were indeed spread by me. I admit that. But I absolutely will not acknowledge that I did anything wrong. They're just rumors on a forum. Any normal person wouldn't care about such things. Yet Ichinose Honami cared. Her personality is weak. She places helping others above herself. That behavior itself is abnormal..."

She paused, accepted the coffee the waiter handed her, added several spoonfuls of sugar in a row, and her tone grew increasingly cold.

"In this authoritarian meritocracy, this level of thing is practically child's play. Even the school administration wouldn't care. I merely expended the smallest effort to make the optimal choice for that situation."

"On that point, my opinion actually aligns with yours." Fuyuji took a slurp of his drink. Water droplets slid down the transparent glass, forming a long, thin line. "I won't acknowledge that I did anything wrong either. Against a woman like you, reasoning is useless. You'd just lead me off to some unknown corner. Physical means are far more effective."

Sakayanagi's body stiffened. She looked at Fuyuji in surprise.

"I'll take that as a compliment, then. In some ways, your method was indeed effective. Well, if you regretted it, I would look down on you."

"..."

Fuyuji's mouth twitched. What kind of lightning-fast language processing system was this, to hear that as a compliment?

"Don't misunderstand. It was merely a strike at your weak point."

"Is that so..." Sakayanagi gently blew away the steaming heat from her coffee and took a light sip. "Then let me tell you some good news. I will no longer make a move against Ichinose Honami. Using the same method twice is too low-level. Besides, I don't have time to deal with her right now..."

She set the coffee down with a bang. A crisp sound rang out between the ceramic and the coaster.

"You, on the other hand, are an interesting opponent. That crushing defeat in the preferential exam and that slap, I will return them."

Fuyuji let out a scoff. Finally, for the first time since their conversation began, he looked Sakayanagi straight in the eye.

"With your zero-point Class D? You're not qualified."

"Then you just wait and see."

With that, Sakayanagi picked up the white beret beside her and put it back on. Her figure swayed slightly. Leaning on her cane, she left directly past him.

"I'll make you roll out of this school like a stray dog."

"Likewise. If I get the chance, I'll make you drop out directly. Though if you cry and beg your chairman father to help you cheat, there's nothing I can do about that."

Fuyuji sat in place, his eyes flickering slightly, his voice as faint as the autumn wind.

"As I thought... you're not him."

Sakayanagi gave Fuyuji a deep look. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Battle spirit rose in her eyes. Then she headed toward the exit, leaving behind one line: "But you please me just the same."

"You're a pervert..."

"Oh, right!"

Sakayanagi's steps suddenly halted. She turned her head back.

"Do you play chess?"

"Not interested."

"That's truly a shame."

After two seconds of silence, Sakayanagi sighed softly. Her breathing grew a bit more rapid. She left with unsteady steps.

...

Watching Sakayanagi's staggering figure depart, Kamuro covered her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

"How did you two start fighting again?"

"No helping it," Fuyuji blinked and spread his hands. "You saw it too. She came to provoke me on her own."

"Forget it, forget it. I can't control you."

Kamuro waved her hand listlessly, signaling him not to bother her.

"Huh?" Fuyuji shifted two steps closer again and poked his head out curiously. "Good buddy, why aren't you pleading for her this time?"

A hand moving so fast it left afterimages shot out and grabbed the soft flesh at Fuyuji's waist. Kamuro ground her teeth. "You've gotten the advantage and still act innocent. Do I even have a choice?"

"I was wrong, wrong, bro, let go, let go." Fuyuji grimaced in pain, repeatedly patting Kamuro's small hand. "But aren't you going to take a look?"

"What?"

"Your rude, ill-mannered pervert of a friend just got blocked by Ryuen."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Having successfully provoked the Class D students, Ryuen's group headed toward the cafe exit. Ryuen, at the head, looked utterly refreshed and radiant.

He collided head-on with Sakayanagi Arisu, who was also heading toward the cafe exit.

"Please move aside, Ryuen-boy. To be honest, I'm in a very bad mood today."

Faced with a group of Class C students all standing in front of her, Sakayanagi showed no fear. She spoke faintly, without sorrow or joy. But then she suddenly pressed a hand to her forehead, her breathing rapid.

"Hmph!" Ryuen sneered, looking down at her with disdain. "I wondered who it was. Turns out it's the genius who lost everything in the preferential exam. What's wrong? You cripple, why aren't you staying nicely in your dorm? What are you doing here?"

"Such a crude provocation. Do you think I would... I would..."

Before she could finish, Sakayanagi's pupils suddenly contracted. Her vision instantly blurred. Colors distorted. The world spun.

The next second, with a clatter, her cane rolled to the floor. Her whole body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, falling into the arms of Kamuro, who had run over.

The cafe instantly erupted into chaos. Screams and murmurs filled the air.

"Someone fainted!"

"The redhead knocked her over... huh? The Red Stone King?"

"I saw it. The Red Stone King was insulting her! He's been harassing Class D students every day these past few days."

...

Looking at Sakayanagi's ashen face, Ryuen instinctively straightened his posture. His hand, stuffed in his pocket, froze midair. He opened his mouth, and a look of deep bewilderment spread across his face.

Just because I called her a cripple?

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you want to Support me, you can Read 45+ Extra Chapters on : [email protected]/Yuni_TL

50 [Power Stones] = Bonus Chapter!