Sure enough, three people are heading our way.
In the middle is a medium-height teen with a lean, muscular build and mid-length magenta hair parted on both sides. To his right, a boy with dark green hair and a fairly athletic frame. To the left of the magenta-haired teen, a tall, ebony-skinned teen with a much more muscular build than the other two.
With the cafeteria so spacious right now, this kind of flashy approach can't go unnoticed.
I catch Sudō glancing at me before returning to his group when he sees I'm unfazed.
'He's grown in that regard too. Nice.'
The three students finally reach us.
"Nice weather, huh? What're you guys having for lunch?"
The guy in the middle says with an amused tone, but his eyes aren't smiling.
"You're interrupting our conversation. If you don't have anything important to say, please leave."
Surprisingly, Horikita's the first in our group to respond.
"Whoa, relax. You'd think we're here to cause trouble."
Horikita's about to snap back, but Yukimura arrives with our orders.
An odd silence settles in.
The three guys stay quiet as we each take our food.
Yukimura acts like they're not even there.
'Good move, Yukimura-kun.'
As for me, I dig into my meal the moment I get it. I'm starving.
Following my lead, the others in the group do the same. Airi struggles to ignore the three guys standing nearby, and Horikita joins in out of sheer obligation.
The guy on the right seems to take our ignoring them personally, clenching his fists but saying nothing. The guy in the middle, though, grins like he's enjoying the whole scene.
'What's this nutcase gonna do? We're in a public place with everyone watching. Starting a fight here would be dumb. Ryuen Kakeru, you're crazy, but not stupid, right?'
Yep, I know who these three are.
The guy in the middle is Ryuen Kakeru, a major named character in the novel. To his right is Ishizaki Daiki, and to his left, Yamada Albert. Both are secondary named characters and Ryuen's lackeys. I know—15-year-olds acting like gangsters. Hilarious.
"Since we're here, let's grab something to eat too, guys."
Ryuen shows no sign of leaving.
He pulls a chair from a nearby table and joins our group. His two buddies do the same. Without hesitation, he grabs the menu from our table and starts picking.
"You're the celebrities of our year."
Ryuen says out of nowhere.
"No surprise there. You shot from the lowest class to the top in just a month. Kuku. I won't even deny it—I'm here to size you up myself."
Ryuen adds, launching into a monologue while my group and I keep eating and drinking.
"Because of you, we dropped to D. Wouldn't it be fair if we took your spot like you did?"
His gaze shifts to me.
"At the start, all classes had the same points, meaning we were on equal footing. That was the best time to pull ahead. But some info was deliberately hidden so no one could grasp the stakes right away. That's why, in the end, the class results varied and fell below the starting amount. Except for you. You stayed at the starting line, like you already knew what was up from the get-go."
He pauses, eyeing me.
'Why does everyone keep doing that?'
Then he smirks and continues his long-winded speech.
"But that's not the most impressive part. Any sharp mind could've spotted the catch early on. No, the real challenge is getting your whole class to buy in. That's a process that usually takes time, but it looks like you pulled it off in record speed, which is insane. Care to share how you got your sheep to follow your lead?"
Ryuen's monologue ends with a question directed at me.
Well, wouldn't it be cruel to ignore a young man eager to learn?
"What's your name, kid?"
I ask.
I've finished my salad. All that's left is my fruit drink.
My eyes meet his for the first time, and I flash a jovial expression, almost making you forget I was intentionally ignoring him earlier.
Ryuen keeps his smirk before answering.
"Right, we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Ryuen Kakeru, and these two guys are my lackeys—their names don't matter."
'That's a unique way to treat your classmates. What's wilder is they don't seem to mind being called 'lackeys.''
"Alright, Ryuen-san. You want to know how I got my 'sheep,' as you call them, to follow my lead?"
I pause to chuckle.
"Don't you find it funny, Ryuen-san? The fact that you see people as sheep or lackeys is exactly why your class fell to D."
"Oh? So you don't see it that way?"
Ryuen asks, his gaze sharpening.
"Nope. What you call sheep or lackeys, I call treasures and raw diamonds. How'd I do it? I just brought out their value. That's all."
"Kukuku. Treasures, huh? Kukuku."
Ryuen bursts into laughter.
"What a shame. Here I thought I'd finally found someone worth emulating. But you're just another idealistic leader like that naive chick in C. Such a pity."
Ryuen says with a pained expression, like he's pitying me.
"Anyway, I'm glad we talked, Kōenji. Remember, it's all a game to me. The higher you climb, the harder you'll fall. I hope you'll let me have the pleasure of crushing you myself. It'd be a waste to devour you now, so survive until the smaller fry are dealt with."
With that, Ryuen stands, and with his two "lackeys," leaves our table.
"Who was that nutcase?"
Yukimura asks.
"He introduced himself as Ryuen Kakeru. From his tone, he's probably the leader of the current Class D."
Horikita answers Yukimura's question.
"Anyway, so we're treasures in your eyes, huh?"
Hasebe skips the whole episode and zeros in on something else.
I smile before speaking.
"Exactly. Every one of you in this class has talent. All I do is help you bring it out."
I notice Horikita's expression flicker briefly before she snaps back to her usual cold demeanor. Meanwhile, I faintly hear Airi murmur, "So me too…"
'Yup, you too, Airi.'
After that, we finish our meals and head back to class with the rest of the cafeteria crew. A few minutes later, the bell rings, signaling the end of the break and the resumption of the exam…
Paulo Coelho said: "To every human being have been granted two qualities: power and gift. Power drives a man to meet his destiny; the gift obliges him to share with others the best of himself."
Since forever, I've felt called to be a leader who carries society forward. I sensed a faint cry within me, urging me to step up and be an indispensable force in my country.
But that kind of thing never interested me.
I longed to live like an adventurer, free as the wind, caring only for myself.
Because of that choice, I met a miserable fate. Others might find a better one. But was that really the path to take?
Normally, people say you only live once—no reset button.
You only live once… Well…
Even now, I don't know what's happening to me, but though I was done with life, it called me back. I don't know if everyone experiences this at their first death, but that's my situation.
I've migrated to a new body and a new world. I'd have preferred to restart in my old body, but maybe the saying that you only live once isn't entirely wrong. Still, the fact is, I've been given a second chance.
And as you've probably guessed, with this life, I'm following my calling. It just so happens my gift for it has grown even stronger.
I'll stand at the top of this world.
Not because I aspire to it or it's my dream, but because it's my destiny, my vocation.
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