As if responding to Hikigaya's expectations, Ryuuen appeared outside Class D's classroom that very afternoon, right after the homeroom meeting ended.
And he wasn't alone. Four male students from Class C stood behind him.
One look at the lineup, and it was clear—they weren't here for a friendly visit.
The unexpected guests threw the classroom into chaos.
Chabashira-sensei spared Ryuuen a single glance before leaving the room. After all, he hadn't done anything outrageous—just standing there and watching. If things escalated into a fight, the security cameras would capture everything, so there was no need for her to intervene.
Students who had been preparing to head home or to their clubs froze in place, not daring to leave the classroom.
Ishizaki, Yamada Albert, Komiya, and Kondo—Ryuuen's muscle.
Getting targeted by this group was no joke.
It was as if someone had pressed a pause button on Class D. No one dared to make a move.
"Ryuuen-kun, what brings you to our class?"
Seeing his classmates growing uneasy, the ever-reliable Hirata stepped forward.
But Ryuuen scoffed at him, his tone mocking.
"What, am I not allowed to visit another class? It's perfectly normal for students to drop by their friends' classrooms. Why are you all so scared?"
While his words seemed logical, everything about the situation screamed otherwise.
"In general, that would be true," Hirata replied, keeping his tone calm. "But given our school's… unique circumstances, it's at least worth noting that this is the first time you've ever paid Class D a visit."
As expected, Hirata tried to de-escalate the situation.
But Ryuuen wasn't here to back down.
"That's only because we haven't had much interaction before," Ryuuen grinned, scanning the students of Class D. "But from now on, I plan to be a bit more proactive."
Then, with a smirk, he added, "Who would've thought you guys had such a skilled little thief among you? Thanks to them, we lost the Paper Shuffle. Truly impressive."
"Bullshit! Your class just sucks!" Sudou snapped, unable to hold back.
Hirata quickly reached out to stop him, then turned back to Ryuuen.
"Ryuuen-kun, please don't make baseless accusations. You know you have no proof. Also, can you just get to the point? What do you want?"
"Heh. I'm just here to give Class D a friendly warning."
"A warning? What do you mean?"
"If you don't understand, then don't ask. Or are you just pretending not to get it?"
Ryuuen was playing the enigmatic villain, but to Hikigaya, he just seemed unhinged.
Sigh… When will this end?
Hikigaya let out an internal sigh.
Nagumo had given him the rare luxury of a free evening—no student council duties today. He'd planned to head home early, play some games, and read a light novel or two… and now, here he was, caught up in this mess.
And the worst part?
Ryuuen already had a lead that could reveal X's identity.
He was just here to enjoy the thrill of toying with his prey.
Ryuuen probably thought X would be sweating over his every move, living in fear of being exposed.
In reality, Ayanokoji couldn't care less.
Thinking about it that way… Wasn't Ryuuen kind of pitiful?
Just to be sure, Hikigaya turned to Matsushita.
"Hey, Matsushita, I heard you got harassed by Class C earlier?"
"Huh? No, not really. Just had a little argument while waiting in line… Wait, how did you hear about that?" she asked, puzzled.
"Just overheard it."
Hikigaya deflected casually—he had no intention of bringing up Satou.
"Has our class been harassed a lot lately? Does that include Karuizawa?"
"Karuizawa? I don't think so. At least, I haven't heard anything," Matsushita replied, rubbing her chin.
As expected.
Ryuuen had gotten Manabe and her group to talk. That meant he knew about Karuizawa's past—about the bullying she had endured. And he had also deduced that she was closely connected to X.
If his goal was to uncover X, pressuring Karuizawa was the most efficient route.
Yet, he deliberately avoided doing so. Not out of kindness, of course.
It was just part of his little cat-and-mouse game.
Though, in the end, who was the real mouse here?
At that moment, Kouenji suddenly stood up.
While everyone else remained frozen, afraid to move, he calmly packed his bag and strolled out of the classroom—completely ignoring Ryuuen.
Ryuuen didn't stop him. He simply watched, eyes locked onto Kouenji's retreating figure.
Then, with a smirk, he gestured to his lackeys.
Without another word, the group left, disappearing.
…Were they going after Kouenji?
Seriously?
Hikigaya was at a loss for words.
Sure, Kouenji was an enigma to most students. It wasn't surprising that Ryuuen might suspect him of being X.
But at this point, it felt like Ryuuen just wanted to provoke everyone he could.
Truly a brainless tyrant.
If anyone planned to use him against Ayanokoji, it would take a lot of effort.
The moment Ryuuen and his group left, the tension in Class D broke, and the room buzzed with chatter.
"Hey, should we follow them? Feels like Ryuuen's up to something."
"He's probably gonna pick a fight with Kouenji."
That was the general impression of Ryuuen.
And honestly, it wasn't inaccurate.
Hikigaya, however, didn't think it was worth worrying about. He packed his things, ready to leave—
Only to be stopped by Horikita.
"Hikigaya-kun, do you have time?"
"…I was going to say no."
"Then that means yes." Horikita ignored his protest. "I have a bad feeling about this. I want you to come with me. As a student council member, your presence alone might prevent things from getting out of hand."
She played the student council card.
Damn it. She knew exactly how to corner him.
Hikigaya wasn't fond of responsibility, but he wasn't one to neglect his duties either.
It wasn't just Horikita—Sudou, Ayanokoji, Miyake, and even Hirata stood behind her.
All of Class D's 'fighters' had gathered.
"Come on, Hikigaya, let's go rescue him already," Sudou urged.
"…Rescue who?"
"Who else? Kouenji!"
Hikigaya wanted to say that was unnecessary, but he doubted anyone would believe him.
And with so many expectant eyes on him, it felt like refusing wasn't an option.
Most of Class D didn't particularly like Kouenji.
But that didn't mean they wanted to see him get beaten up—especially when they had prior knowledge of it. Their conscience wouldn't let them ignore it.
That said, they preferred someone else to take action instead.
Resigned, Hikigaya followed Horikita and the others.
Hirata, meanwhile, stayed behind to keep the rest of the class under control.
If possible, Hikigaya would've gladly switched places with him… Never mind.
"By the way, where exactly does Kouenji go after school?" Sudou asked.
No one had an answer.
Even Hikigaya wasn't sure.
If anything, Kouenji was usually out-dating girls.
But his meeting spots weren't fixed.
"Let's think about this differently," Hikigaya suggested. "If Ryuuen plans to go after him, he'll choose a place with no cameras—meaning, somewhere off-campus. The nearest location without surveillance would be that tree-lined path where Ayanokoji and Karuizawa—"
"Wait a second!"
Sudou suddenly cut him off, eyes wide.
The rest of the group looked just as baffled.
"You—you're saying Ayanokoji and Karuizawa?! Is that for real?!"
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Hirata isn't here anyway."
"No, no, no! That's not the issue here!"
Is gossiping just part of human nature? Koenji was immediately forgotten as everyone's attention shifted.
Under the weight of their questioning gazes, Ayanokoji calmly explained, "Hikigaya misunderstood. Karuizawa and I just happened to run into each other."
"Alright, let's put Ayanokoji-kun's love life aside for now. We need to get moving."
Horikita cut the topic short with that one line, but somehow, she only made it sound more suspicious.
They left the school and walked down the tree-lined path leading back to the dorms.
Sure enough, they spotted Ryuen and his group blocking Koenji's way. Even Ibuki, who hadn't shown up earlier, had now joined them.
That idiot actually plans to throw hands…
However, since nothing had happened yet, Horikita and the others decided to wait and see.
But just as Hikigaya thought, that worry was completely unnecessary.
Even surrounded by so many people, Koenji showed no signs of distress or anxiety. In fact, he even had the leisure to tease Ryuen.
"What's the matter, Class C's little troublemaker? Did you need something from me?"
"I let you off last time, but I won't make it so easy for you to slip away this time. Keep me company for a bit, you freak."
Ryuen stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring Koenji down.
So these two have already had a run-in before… Wait, does he seriously think Koenji is X?
I get that people involved in the situation tend to lose perspective, but Ryuen's brain might really need a factory reset.
"My apologies, I was quite busy that day."
Koenji took out a small comb and casually fixed his hair as he spoke, though his attitude made his words anything but sincere.
"But there's something that's been bothering me—when you say 'freak,' are you referring to me?"
"Who else would it be?"
Even the eavesdropping Class D students, who had no stake in the matter, silently agreed with Ryuen on that one.
Koenji, however, remained oblivious. "What a perplexing statement. But I am quite magnanimous, so I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Cut the crap. I've got something to ask you."
"Then keep it brief. I have an appointment to attend."
"Reschedule."
"You're not planning to let me leave, are you?"
"What if I'm not?"
Ryuen seemed to be losing patience and grabbed the wrist of the hand Koenji was using to comb his hair.
"Oh? Are you planning to get violent?"
Koenji smiled as he questioned Ryuen but then let out a quiet sigh.
"But resorting to such crude measures in broad daylight is hardly elegant. If that wasn't your intention, I suggest you let go of my hand. I can't properly style my hair like this. The wind is rather strong today, you see. Though even if my hair is a bit messy, I remain as radiant as ever."
Given Ryuen's temper, everyone expected him to lash out. Horikita and the others even stepped forward, ready to intervene.
But in this tense atmosphere—
Ryuen unexpectedly let go of Koenji's wrist.
A person with experience in fights only needs a brief moment of contact to assess their opponent. He must have realized the difference in their strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have backed down so easily.
Wow. So even Ryuen knows when to back off.
As Hikigaya silently mocked Ryuen in his head, Horikita, likely sensing that this could escalate into a real fight at any moment, spoke up in warning.
"Ryuen-kun, you should stop before this goes any further."
"Shut up, Suzune. I'm just playing with Koenji."
As he said that, Ryuen suddenly shifted his gaze toward Hikigaya.
"But… if you'd rather take his place, I wouldn't mind that either."
"Me?" Hikigaya pointed at himself in surprise.
That was one hell of a stray bullet.
"Heh, don't play dumb." Ryuen stepped forward menacingly. "Tell me, Dead eyes, how did your class get hold of questions that came from Class C? Don't even think about denying it."
"How should I know? Why don't you ask X?"
Ryuen would rather believe the test questions were leaked than accept that Ayanokoji scored eight perfect marks purely on ability.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault for lacking the imagination.
"Instead of X, I'd rather hear it from you. How about I bring Hiyori over, and we settle this face-to-face?"
Ryuen was pretending to threaten him, but that wasn't the case.
He was bluffing.
"Don't drag Shiina into this." Hikigaya scoffed. "Don't think I can't figure you out. You probably had your top students create a bunch of questions, and then personally select which ones to use. In other words, you were the only one who knew the final exam content. If there was a leak, it came from you."
"Tch. You talk like you saw it happen."
"Are you saying I'm wrong?"
"…Heh."
Hearing Hikigaya's confident response, Ryuen couldn't help but chuckle.
"You are an eyesore, Dead Eyes. Are you a parasite living inside my brain or something? How do you know me so well?"
"Your entire existence is an open book."
Honestly, Ryuen was just too easy to read.
If this were back when Hikigaya needed to keep Class D in check, he might have warned Ryuen. But there was no longer any need for that.
At best, he could offer some advice.
"Ryuen, you should've realized something after this test." Hikigaya said seriously. "Class C's weaknesses are too obvious. Your clever little schemes alone won't get you far. You still have time to change things."
The only way Class C could have won was if they got hold of Class A's test questions.
But that was something Ryuen would never be able to pull off. Class A's unity was too strong, and he didn't have the leverage to buy someone out.
Class C still had a chance to beat Class D, but Ryuen never bothered to care about his classmates' academic performance. His grades weren't great, either.
If things continued like this, Class C would inevitably crash and burn.
"Hmph. Don't talk down to me. I'll get to the bottom of the test question leak."
"Yeah, yeah. Good luck with that."
Hikigaya couldn't be bothered to keep lecturing him. Ryuen wouldn't listen until he learned the hard way.
"Heh, so that's what this was about. What an interesting bunch."
Just then, an unexpected guest arrived.
Sakayanagi, along with Kamuro, Hashimoto, and Kitou, had shown up to watch the commotion.
…Hopefully, she was only here to spectate.
Unfortunately, Hikigaya's bad premonitions were usually spot-on.