We'll set aside Symon and Hiyori's daily life for now.
Meanwhile, with an introduction from Manabu Horikita, Ryūen had left the Class C classroom and soon appeared in the Chairman's office. There, he met the man "Hiyori Shiina" had called the true "power player" of the school—Chairman Sakayanagi.
Standing before the desk, Ryūen sized up the man Symon had labeled "an irresistible mastermind."
He was a middle-aged man around forty, dressed in a black suit. He had short, silver-white hair, wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and had a gentle smile on his face. His eyes were kind, giving him the appearance of a gentle elder.
However, ever since being played for a fool yesterday by that seemingly honest shopkeeper, Ryūen now understood that appearances could be deceiving. He opened his mouth to speak, on high alert.
Just as he was about to speak, Chairman Sakayanagi on the other side spoke first, his tone gentle. "Since yesterday, I've been wanting to meet you, as well as the student named Hiyori Shiina."
"I figured you wouldn't have the time. That guy Moriyama was probably more eager to see you than I was." Ryūen said, crossing his arms. His tone wasn't exactly friendly, but it was still restrained.
"Not at all..." Chairman Sakayanagi smiled kindly, waking up the terminal beside him and showing it to Ryūen. He shook his head and said with a smile, "I simply thought you would come see me tonight."
Displayed on the terminal was an email. Ryūen was very familiar with its contents—it was the message Hiyori Shiina had sent him the day before yesterday, including the details of the stalking incident and the suggestions that followed, almost completely unchanged.
Clearly, this entire "show" had been conducted right under the school's nose from start to finish; the administration had simply chosen not to intervene.
"How many points would it take to stop this kind of surveillance? No..." Ryūen frowned, changing his line of questioning. "Let me rephrase. How many points would it take to stop the school from selling this information to students?"
"Regarding that matter, you can ask your homeroom teacher." Chairman Sakayanagi shook his head with a smile and said, "Alright, someone will handle the rest. Just leave the key to the physical education equipment room."
Ryūen took the key from his pocket and casually placed it on the desk. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said, seemingly offhandedly, "There's some bad news. That Miyabi Nagumo from the student council seems to be thinking of leaking the story. He hasn't done it yet, which is why I came to you ahead of time."
Upon hearing this, Chairman Sakayanagi paused, then shook his head with a sense of helplessness. "In that case, I'm afraid the reward we had prepared for you, Ryūen-kun, is now off the table."
"I know," Ryūen replied, his tone perfectly calm.
Before he came, "Hiyori Shiina" had asked him how many points he'd managed to get, implying he should know when to stop. His main reason for coming here now was to have the Chairman clean up his mess and ensure the matter was resolved smoothly, preventing any further trouble.
Of course, while he understood the reasoning, it didn't stop him from cursing Kiriyama a thousand times in his head.
More trouble than he's worth!
...
——————————————
Time passed, and afternoon arrived. Just as Symon expected, the school's official announcement was posted early and pinned to the top of the forums. It read as follows:
『Announcement』
『Considering the impact of the incident, the school administration is now issuing a public statement regarding the conflict that occurred in the shopping area.』
『The parties involved in this conflict were: "Student Council Disciplinary Committee Member, Mr. Ryūen" and "Staff Member, Mr. Itō."』
『The incident began when Mr. Ryūen, while shopping, happened to discover that Mr. Itō was communicating with outside parties and had been leaking confidential school information over a long period.』
『When the latter attempted to flee, Mr. Ryūen acted swiftly, taking necessary measures to restrain him and subsequently turning him over to the school administration.』
『Currently, our school has handed Mr. Itō over to the police on charges of leaking confidential information. Given the severity of the issue, he may face up to ten years in prison and substantial fines.』
『Furthermore, the school administration wishes to reiterate: our fully-enclosed, society-simulation educational model is a pioneering initiative of this institution. It has been specially approved by the Cabinet and is subject to a sixty-year confidentiality period. We urge all individuals with knowledge of this to voluntarily comply with the non-disclosure agreement and refrain from breaking the law.』
After the first period of the afternoon ended.
Symon, experiencing the world through the girl's senses, finished reading the announcement. After mulling it over, he remarked with a sigh, "Striking the mountain to scare the tiger, killing the chicken to warn the monkey. What powerful backing, what ruthless methods."
Hiyori's voice was soft. "The tiger... are you referring to Nagumo?"
Symon chuckled. "No, Nagumo is just the monkey."
Meanwhile, in the Class 2-A classroom.
After reading the announcement on his terminal, Nagumo mulled it over. After a long silence, he sent an email to Ichinose:
『Miyabi Nagumo: Did you see the announcement? From now on, swallow the truth. Don't say a word, no matter what.』
『Ichinose: Huh? I told some of my classmates a few things.』
Seeing this reply, a cold sweat broke out on Miyabi Nagumo's back. He rapidly typed with both thumbs, his nails tapping loudly against the screen:
『Miyabi Nagumo: Then keep their mouths shut! For at least a week, I don't want to hear anything that contradicts the official announcement.』
『Ichinose: You're being too tense, President Nagumo. I only told everyone that Ryūen-kun wouldn't be expelled... That seems to be the only thing they cared about.』
Receiving this reply, Miyabi Nagumo fell silent for a long moment. He turned off his screen and thought back, and the more he thought, the more something felt wrong.
His original plan was to have Ichinose spread the truth. It was just a girl being stalked; no serious accident had occurred. Given the school's usually lenient policies, the final outcome would have been nothing more than a slap on the wrist for everyone involved—
The staff member would be punished, he and Manabu Horikita would be warned, and Ryūen and Ichinose would leave the student council. That way, the student council would return to how it was before Ryūen joined, and it would count as a victory for him over Manabu Horikita.
So, was it really worth it for the school to issue such an announcement?
Miyabi Nagumo couldn't understand it, nor could he figure it out.
——————————————
Meanwhile, in the Chairman's office—
Arisu Sakayanagi sat on the sofa, looking at the kindly-faced Chairman Sakayanagi beside her. She smiled and said, "Father, it has been a while."
"Arisu, how has your health been recently?"
"Thank you for your concern, Father. I've been in very good spirits lately."
As she said this, Sakayanagi asked with some curiosity, "I saw it, you know. The announcement. Don't you think the wording was a bit too severe this time, Father?"
"It wasn't that severe."
Chairman Sakayanagi said this as he took out his terminal, once again displaying the email he had shown Ryūen. He pointed to the last line—"Don't refuse the school's hush money"—and couldn't help but laugh.
"That student, Hiyori Shiina, is already thinking of extorting the school board. Let this serve as a lesson for her."
"Ara~ Is that what you think, Father?"
Arisu Sakayanagi tilted her head, quickly scanning the email and forwarding it to her own phone. She asked with a smile, "Ryū-boy got his points, the school board got its donation, the student council got the credit, and the shopkeeper seemingly kept his business rights. When everyone is satisfied with the outcome... have you ever considered what Hiyori-chan truly wanted, Father?"
"That girl asked Ryūen for 500,000 points."
"..."
Arisu Sakayanagi rolled her eyes and extended a delicate index finger, pointing out several lines in the email for her father:
『On the grounds of protecting the victim's privacy...』
『Do not disclose case details, do not mention the victim... covertly amplify the narrative』
『Protect the victim's privacy... shift all conflict and blame for this incident onto the perpetrator. Remember to handle it with the utmost severity.』
Pointing out each of these seemingly insignificant phrases, which appeared to be mere filler, Arisu Sakayanagi's lips curved into a pleased smile. She looked up and asked softly, "Hiyori-chan has already gotten what she wanted. Don't you think she's adorable, Father?"
"..."
Chairman Sakayanagi fell silent for a moment before sighing warmly, "Just as you said before, she is indeed a kind child..."
"Indeed, she is," Arisu Sakayanagi said, then changed the subject. "But a child that Hiyori-chan would go to such lengths to protect... Father, could you let me meet her?"
Chairman Sakayanagi shook his head. "I can't do that. That girl's situation is very special, and she also lacks a bit of courage."
Arisu Sakayanagi blinked and said in a soft voice, "Papa~"
Chairman Sakayanagi coughed into his fist. "Ahem... well, you can only take a look. Don't even think about bullying her."
"I understand."
_____
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