A Tyrant's Will

Volume 1: Chapter 8.1 - Mobilizing Forces

After all lessons were finished, I stopped everyone from leaving and went up to the podium. 

"Some interesting things have been happening around us, wouldn't you say? First we have those strange rumors from Class C spreading around. And now we're right in the crosshairs of another target."

"Err...what exactly do you mean, Ryuuen-san?" Ishizaki asked. Him, along with many other students, looked confused by my statement.

"Look around you, Ishizaki. Class A is conducting reconnaissance on us. They're already making their move."

The students exchanged nervous glances, their expressions clearly indicating they were unaware of this piece of information.

"What do you propose we do about this, Ryuuen-shi?" Kaneda asked.

"Nothing for now. It's natural that Class A are wary of us after our actions against Class C. For the remainder of this month, I'll try and learn as much as I can about them before I make a move."

"Ryuuen-san, you mentioned something earlier about rumors. What exactly are you talking about?" Suzuki asked.

"You didn't hear about them? Over the weekend, there were a couple of interesting stories circulating around Class C. For one, everyone in that class has grown distant. Their class unity is shattered, and hardly anyone talks to each other. On top of that, there's talk going around that Kanzaki Ryuuji betrayed the class."

"Yeah, I heard that as well. Did our actions last week cause this, Ryuuen-san?" Sonoda asked.

I shrugged. "If Class C were affected by our provocations that much, then that's their fault, not ours. And besides, this is good for us. We don't have to worry about a potential opponent breathing down our backs, and we can concentrate all our efforts on Class A."

Deep down, there was something bugging me about these rumors. I had originally predicted that Ichinose would take Kanzaki's side and defend him from the traitor allegations; however, the rumors suggested otherwise. Did Ichinose give up? Was the pressure too much for her to handle, so she went with the majority opinion and exiled Kanzaki?

No. I highly doubted she would do something like that. Even though Kanzaki punched her, Ichinose was impartial towards all her classmates. She wouldn't hold a grudge over something so trivial.

This was certainly interesting. Just what did happen in that classroom after I had everyone send that message?

"I feel really bad for Ichinose-san, though. I don't think Class C deserves this," a girl sniffled.

"Don't be soft. If Ichinose couldn't handle the heat and control her class, then she's just a weak leader. That's the thing with tightly-knit classes. Everything's fine and dandy, but the second you introduce a tiny problem, they fall apart."

"Like Ryuuen-san said, this is great news. Class C is pretty much outta the race now. Only Class A stands in our way. Let's bring this one home!" Ishizaki cheered.

"How enthusiastic you are, Ishizaki. Now, to our next order of business. We're gonna create a class bank."

"A class bank? Like, a place to store our points?" Sonoda asked.

"Every student will contribute a portion of their points to this bank every month, no questions asked. These will be reserved for class-related purposes only. Remember when I told you all that you could use points to buy anything in this school? Well, I talked to Sakagami, and apparently we can even prevent an expulsion if we pay 20 million private points. If we all pool our yen, we could save up that amount in a year."

"Wait, are you serious?" The class widened their eyes in shock.

I shrugged. "If you don't believe me, you can always ask Sakagami later. He'll confirm everything I've said."