The moment Nagumo spoke, Iijima Ryota instinctively panicked, his mind flashing with images of how Nagumo had previously dealt with traitors.
For a moment, he almost begged for mercy.
If not for his remaining rationality, Iijima Ryota might not have held on until now.
His mind went blank, repeatedly questioning himself: where had he gone wrong?
He was sure he hadn't done anything to expose himself.
He rarely met with Kiriyama or Kaoru, contacting them only through his Alt account.
Instantly, Iijima Ryota's pupils trembled slightly.
He hurriedly reached into his pocket, attempting to delete his phone's chat history while he had the chance.
At that moment, Nagumo seized his wrist.
"Should I call you impressive, or foolish, Iijima-kun?"
Nagumo's voice held no trace of gentleness; instead, his laughter carried a dark undertone.
"Truly remarkable. Even when your woman fell for me, you didn't resist but swallowed your pride. I always thought you were a coward. Did Mitoma give you courage?"
The moment Nagumo grabbed him, Iijima Ryota knew he was finished.
He shouldn't have panicked like that—it had only exposed his identity.
"W-what are you talking about? I've long since lost any feelings for Rie!"
Iijima Ryota struggled desperately, but facing Nagumo's gaze, an inexplicable fear surged within him, as if he had been transported back to their first year.
Back then, Nagumo was the undisputed ruler of their grade.
Single-handedly, he had led their class to surpass Class A.
He brutally eliminated anyone who dared oppose him, and his commands were enforced from Class A to Class D—no one dared voice dissent.
In this moment, Iijima Ryota once again felt that same powerlessness.
Unaware that this emotion was psychologically termed "learned helplessness," he simply believed it was impossible to resist this person.
The more clueless he was about how he had been exposed, the deeper his despair toward Nagumo grew.
This guy was truly too difficult to deal with.
"You bastard! You've turned the entire class, the entire grade, into a playground for your selfish desires!"
Iijima Ryota's teeth chattered. "Everyone wishes you'd drop out immediately. We'd be far better off without a tyrant like you!"
Ryuen observed the two with keen interest.
It was the first time he had heard someone other than himself referred to as a tyrant.
"Heh, idiot. Do you think anyone is fooled by your righteous-sounding words? This is nothing but your dissatisfaction with my existence."
Nagumo wore an intensely mocking expression as he tightened his grip on Iijima's wrist and swiftly pulled the phone from his pocket.
Iijima glared at him with pure hatred, veins bulging on his neck.
Despite having the strength to fight back, he could only watch in humiliation as his phone was taken.
"Are you wondering how I uncovered your identity?"
Nagumo deliberately provoked Iijima's nerves, and the latter was indeed fixated on this question, though his thoughts were too chaotic to form a coherent response.
Nagumo sneered coldly and glanced at Ryuen. "This plan—only I know its full scope. The reason I had Ryuen-kun approach Yamauchi was because I couldn't get involved directly and risk alerting Mitoma."
"Actually, the initial situation unfolded exactly as you described."
Ryuen interjected, "Yamauchi was such a fool—so easy to manipulate. He mindlessly targeted Karuizawa and Kushida. That very night, my people witnessed them going to the second floor of the student dormitory."
Nagumo stated calmly, "It's no surprise Kaoru saw through my scheme. But the fact that he immediately stirred up a commotion against me proves he knew what I was thinking. He wanted to cloud my vision."
"Your plan was doomed from the start. He holds more cards than you do." Ryuen laughed.
Precisely because he knew this, he had no interest in participating in this exam from the very beginning.
"He knew what I was thinking, yet he didn't interrupt my plan immediately. Instead, he allowed me to push it this far."
Nagumo sneered repeatedly, "The answer is already obvious. He knows who my target is, and he knows exactly how far I've progressed."
Ryuen crossed his arms, asking with interest, "So, you suspect someone close to you betrayed you?"
This reasoning seemed far-fetched.
Nagumo knew he had contacted Sudo and others—these people could have leaked information, allowing Kaoru to learn about his actions.
But—
Who said the mole had to be just one person?
Nagumo suspected that not only were there people around him, but Kaoru's influence extended throughout the first year, including Ryuen's class.
Moreover, this wasn't even news.
He should have realized it earlier—Kaoru's Harem was spread across the entire grade, and this network was already everywhere.
He thought boys would be more reliable, but they turned out to be even less trustworthy.
"Ryuen-kun, you'd better thoroughly investigate your own class when you return."
Nagumo believed he was offering the most well-intentioned advice, but Ryuen responded with scorn.
"My class has only one voice, and that is my command."
Ryuen was completely unfazed.
His class had little contact with Kaoru.
If he had to name someone, it would be Shiina Hiyori—this literary girl often exchanged reading insights with Kaoru in the library.
He had observed them a few times and found that their conversations were entirely about some novel, so he quickly lost interest.
Shiina Hiyori might betray him, but she would never betray the class.
Ryuen could tolerate Ibuki, and even Takeko Nishino who firmly opposed him, so Shiina Hiyori was naturally no issue.
"You're becoming more and more paranoid."
Iijima Ryota's rationality was gradually returning.
After figuring out Nagumo's meaning, he couldn't help but show a mocking expression.
"What if there's nothing on my phone? What if the one who betrayed you is from the first year? What would you do then?"
Nagumo glared at him with disgust. "I used to only value people's abilities. Now I realize I was wrong. The test shouldn't just be about ability, but also your loyalty."
Iijima Ryota gritted his teeth. "That's exactly why I can't tolerate you staying any longer!"
These people had always been dissatisfied with Nagumo's methods.
However, past victories had allowed them to endure it and accept his rule.
But now, Nagumo was in a precarious state, and these people were no longer willing to suppress their discontent.
Nagumo was well aware of this, so he straightforwardly said to Ryuen, "If you can find Mitoma's people in your class, I'll give you one million points for each person you find. If you can prove there are no Mitoma's people in your class, I'll also give you one million points."
Ryuen frowned.
Was this doubting his control over the class?
"If you're going to all this trouble, why not just give me the points directly?"
"I don't trust anyone right now, including you."
"Thinking about it, if you lacked the ability to cooperate, I would abandon you immediately."
"It seems I should thank you for telling me this good news in advance."
"One thing at a time. Since the plan has failed, should I give up on voting?" Ryuen smiled, "Mitoma must have formulated a plan specifically targeting your scheme. If we abandon it outright, it might backfire."
Nagumo pondered this issue, not immediately rejecting the idea.
Iijima Ryota felt the impending outcome wouldn't be favorable, so he stated bluntly.
"He only needs to concentrate the Praise Votes on Sakura. Even if you withdraw the Criticism Votes, the one expelled will either be Yamauchi or Sudo."
Looking at the total numbers, Class 1-D currently had 120 Criticism Votes.
Since students couldn't vote for themselves and duplicate names were prohibited, each person could accumulate at most 39 Criticism Votes.
Yamauchi Haruki was likely in first place, possibly receiving over 30 votes.
Even with around 90 votes remaining, considering the class was a small circle of acquaintances, most people would probably vote for those disliked by the group—typically individuals who were particularly unpopular.
The second and third places would also have relatively concentrated votes, likely ranging from 20 to 30 each.
This would leave about 30 votes scattered among others.
In short, votes would cluster around the top three, with the rest being dispersed—an intuitive judgment.
In fact, Iijima Ryota wasn't wrong.
Yamauchi Haruki and others had little positive reputation in Class 1-D, so the majority of Criticism Votes would focus on them.
If Nagumo could use Praise Votes to reduce the Criticism Votes of the top three, Sakura Airi, as fourth or fifth, would indeed have a chance to rise.
Unfortunately, he only had Ryuen's Praise Votes.
Spending at least 30 on Yamauchi Haruki would leave the remaining Praise Votes with little advantage.
Thus, Nagumo needed to involve Sudo Ken and others, not only to have them cast Criticism Votes for Sakura Airi but also to secure as many Praise Votes as possible through deception.
Initially, things went smoothly. Nagumo received a pleasant surprise from Sudo last night—they had formed a small group of about 10 people.
He was somewhat surprised because Sudo mentioned the group included girls, apparently thanks to Ike Kanji, who had recruited a girl named Shinohara.
This girl had her own circle, quickly expanding the group's size.
This gave Nagumo an additional 20 Praise Votes, making the plan's success probability roughly fifty-fifty.
He had intended to approach Horikita Suzune today; if she cooperated, it could decisively tip the scales without Kaoru's knowledge.
Unfortunately, Nagumo knew he had been betrayed.
"Give the votes to Sudo. Let Yamauchi fend for himself."
Nagumo didn't care about Yamauchi Haruki's fate at all.
After all, Sudo Ken and Ike Kanji had already proven their usefulness to him.
These days, even troublemakers had their skills; keeping a few fools around wasn't a problem—they might come in handy someday.
Nagumo's gaze fell on Iijima Ryota, who strained to lift his head and meet his eyes, as if to prove his bravery.
"It seems I need to clean house in the class."
The second years also had their final exam; this was an opportunity to eliminate these traitors.
Though he thought this, Nagumo felt intensely frustrated.
His fingers unconsciously clenched into a fist, nails nearly digging into his skin and flesh.
If he didn't have to maintain composure in front of Ryuen, an outsider, he would have long since vented his rage.
All the meticulously crafted plans had now completely failed!
It was always like this every single time!
At this thought, Nagumo's heart twisted painfully.
While he was fuming with rage, his childhood friend might very well be pinned beneath Kaoru—someone who should have been his exclusive property!