"Ah! Please, spare me..."
"So you're the guy who was stalking Shiina, right?"
"Ah, don't... don't hit me!"
"He's still got the energy to talk. Looks like we haven't hit him hard enough. Albert, put some muscle into it!"
"I'm afraid I'll kill him."
In the Disciplinary Committee office, Kakeru Ryūen watched coldly as Ishizaki kicked and punched the 'trash'.
After a good while, Ishizaki, having apparently had his fill of kicking, fumbled for the 'trash's' personal terminal. He transferred all the points on it to Ryūen and then gestured to him.
Kakeru Ryūen glanced down. The amount transferred was surprisingly large, enough to pay Hiyori Shiina's 'salary' five times over.
He casually transferred a hundred thousand points to both Ishizaki and Albert. Then, Ryūen took a key from the desk drawer, tossed it to Ishizaki, and said offhandedly, "The sports equipment room. Throw him in there and keep an eye on him."
Albert Yamada stood up straight: "Yes, boss!"
Daichi Ishizaki cracked his knuckles: "Don't worry, Ryūen-san, he's not going anywhere!"
With that, the two of them dragged the lump of 'non-burnable trash' cowering in the corner out of the room, leaving Ryūen alone in the office to wait for the person who was supposed to arrive.
Soon after, a middle-aged man in a brown suit knocked and entered the office. After looking Ryūen up and down, he smiled and said, "I'm Moriyama, the manager of the electronics store. May I ask where my employee is?"
Kakeru Ryūen sneered, placing his terminal on the desk. "Cut the crap," he said coldly. "You should have already met with Manabu Horikita, so I don't need to explain what happened. 50 million points, and I won't ask the school to revoke your business license."
Moriyama's expression didn't change. In a gentle tone, he said, "You must understand, you are all just students in the end. I will discuss this matter with the school. Now, may I ask where my employee is?"
"Heh, don't kid me. A school like the Advanced Nurturing High School, with its involvement in confidential and political matters... you must have pulled a lot of strings to get your store in here, right?"
Ryūen scoffed and spread his hands. "Now that you've breached your contract and caused this scandal, I don't need to tell you how happy the vultures circling outside will be. All I want is some hush money. You can deal with the mess with the board of directors yourself."
Thanks to a tip from Hiyori Shiina, he had already made preparations yesterday and looked into the store's information, which naturally came up blank. After considering various possibilities and thinking it over for a long time, he finally realized just how difficult it was to get into the Advanced Nurturing High School. It wasn't something that could be achieved with money alone.
Seeing that Ryūen had seen through it all, the smile on Moriyama's face gradually faded. He sighed lightly and said, "10 million. That's all I can give you. The school has strict restrictions on us, as you should know."
"50 million. Don't try to fool me. If the school had restrictions, someone would have come to talk to me about it. It's not your place to say." Ryūen made it clear he wouldn't be fooled by such nonsense.
Moriyama took out his personal terminal and said with some resignation, "20 million. This is truly the upper limit. You should understand the meaning of this number. I'll transfer it to you."
Ryūen pushed his terminal away and said with a cold laugh, "50 million. Not a single point less."
Moriyama, on the other side, was somewhat taken aback and let out a laugh. "Young man, that's not how you negotiate. I only have 25 million points. I'll give you all of it, how about that?"
As he spoke, Moriyama showed his terminal, revealing his hand to Ryūen. The point balance was indeed only 25 million.
Seeing that he had already 'shown his cards,' Ryūen thought for a moment and decided not to press the matter further. The two completed the transaction smoothly.
However...
After the transaction was complete, to Ryūen's stunned gaze, Moriyama casually pulled another terminal from his pocket, made a call, and left the office. His voice could be faintly heard: "Chairman Sakayanagi, this is..."
Thump! Thump! Thump! Ryūen slammed his fist on the desk three times and gritted his teeth. "Damn it! I still asked for too little!"
In that moment, Ryūen finally realized: he was still too green.
...
Meanwhile, in the student dorms.
Hiyori, wearing a new summer outfit, had a book placed upside down on her thighs, which were clad in pure white stockings. She sat with her feet together in front of a mirror, gently swinging them, holding her terminal and watching a video on the forum.
Symon, following the girl's perspective, watched the stalker get repeatedly thrashed and couldn't help but praise, "That's right! That's how you do it. Ryūen is teachable after all!"
"If Sakura-san saw things blow up this much, she'd be under a lot of stress, wouldn't she? I hope she can get over it..."
As Hiyori said this, she suddenly seemed to think of something and asked in a gentle tone, "Speaking of which, stalking isn't considered that serious of a crime. Will doing this really get that person severely punished?"
"I'm not sure about that either. I'm just giving it a shot."
Symon didn't deny that his efforts might be futile. He stated calmly, "Putting aside the methods I find disgusting, like using Sakura as bait..."
"The best method I can think of is to turn that person into the catalyst for a storm of public opinion, the source of conflict and problems, a thorn in the school's side, and a pawn that must be abandoned and sacrificed."
"I'm not sure how much power the school administration has, nor am I certain if they'll go as far as to completely crush that vermin just to protect the reputation of the faculty and the school in your eyes. All we can do is our best and leave the rest to fate."
At this point, Symon's tone shifted, and he said cheerfully, "Of course, I've already gotten my points, and that guy will definitely be gone. What happens next has nothing to do with me."
Hiyori Shiina chuckled softly. "Then what if the school decides to let the Student Council handle it themselves?"
"Then I'd have to wonder if the school administration got kicked in the head by a donkey."
After saying that so casually, Symon explained, "The faculty and staff act on behalf of the school's will. No matter how much power the Student Council has, it can only manage student affairs. That is a bottom line that cannot be crossed."
"The moment a subordinate can freely distort and smear the will of their superior, it means the superior has tacitly approved of being replaced. That's a slippery slope you can't even touch, a taboo of taboos."
"However, I won't deny it—this world is full of some truly bizarre characters who are always pulling some bizarre stunts."
"I see..."
As she said this, Hiyori Shiina looked up at her reflection in the mirror, set her personal terminal aside, opened the book on her lap, and began to silently read to herself in a soft inner voice.
Whenever she didn't know how to respond to him, Hiyori Shiina would think—if only their minds were connected as well.
_____
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