"I am memorizing the terrain. A captain who does not know his own surroundings is nothing more than a fool drifting at sea. Every building, every path, every blind spot. I intend to engrave all of it into my head."
Francois paused for a moment, then lowered their head slightly.
"My apologies, sir."
Ryusui grinned, clearly satisfied.
"Good! Because if this place really is hiding something beneath all that generosity, then knowing the battlefield decides who wins. And I always win."
He snapped his fingers.
"Do not look so down, Francois! Even if you failed to see ahead this time, you are still with me, yes?" Ryusui said, glancing back over his shoulder with a confident smile. "That means it is not my burden alone. We will figure this place out together."
Francois bowed immediately.
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent! Now then," Ryusui continued, stretching his arms as if preparing to conquer something far greater than a school, "our destination is Class 1-D. A gathering of unknown variables. There are bound to be strange ones, strong ones… interesting ones."
His eyes gleamed.
"But it does not matter. As the greediest man on Earth, I will not allow myself to be swallowed by something as small as a classroom!"
He snapped his fingers again, louder this time.
After wandering through several corridors, turning corners with no hesitation as if guided by instinct alone, Ryusui finally stopped in front of a door.
"This must be it."
Without knocking, he opened it.
"I apologize for being late!" Ryusui announced boldly as he stepped inside, Francois following close behind. "I hope I have not missed anything interesting."
Every single student in the room turned to look at him.
One figure stood out immediately. A boy with neatly trimmed brown hair sat near the center, his expression completely blank. His presence was… strange, it was almost like looking at a human machine, just sitting there waiting to be programmed.
The rest of the class felt ordinary in comparison.
Ryusui scanned them all in a single sweep, committing faces, posture, reactions into memory, allies were something that one needed in his life, classmates who you could trust were important when coming into a new environment.
"…Hmm."
He stepped further inside.
"It pains me to make such an entrance without proper timing," he said with a dramatic sigh, placing a hand over his chest. "Especially in front of so many beauties."
Everyone turned their attention towards him.
"…Also," he added, glancing around, "I don't see the teacher? Where have they gone?"
"The teacher left, idiot! You're late!"
A loud voice cut through the room, a red-haired boy with a muscular build leaned back in his chair, grinning.
His comment seemed to send the class into disarray as laughter followed after his outburst.
"I see, that is not a problem!"
He snapped his fingers.
"Francois, we shall—"
"He's the helicopter guy, right?" someone whispered.
"No way, he actually showed up here—"
"That was insane!"
"Did you see him jump?!"
The murmurs spread quickly, curiosity overtaking amusement.
"…Oh?" Ryusui hummed.
He turned back toward the class, clearly pleased.
"So my arrival has already made an impression. Excellent!"
Francois quietly stepped closer.
"Sir, perhaps we should proceed with—"
"No, no, no. Plans change!" Ryusui said instantly. "An audience has formed. It would be rude not to entertain them."
"Entertain us? We don't even know your name."
The one who spoke stood out immediately.
A boy of average height with blonde hair and brown eyes. He was more attractive than most in the class, but that was not what made him noticeable. He exuded confidence, but not in a bad way, it felt sort of comforting.
Ryusui looked at him, then grinned.
"Well, I suppose that is fair! It would be rude of me to command an audience without a proper introduction."
He stepped forward and raised his hand.
"Then listen well and engrave it into your minds!"
He snapped his fingers.
"My name is Ryusui Nanami! Heir to the Nanami Conglomerate!"
The place went completely numb for a few seconds…
Then it exploded.
"Wait, Nanami!?"
"No way, that Nanami!?"
"The one from the news!?"
"He's actually here!?"
The gasps of surprise and shock spread like wildfire across the entire room.
Ryusui closed his eyes in satisfaction.
"Yes, yes! That reaction is correct! Continue."
"Didn't expect you to be here, Ryusui boy."
A voice cut through the noise.
A tall, well-built young boy with shoulder length blonde hair and marron-gradient eyes that carried a sense of superiority spoke up.
Ryusui's grin widened.
"Aha! Koenji! I knew I would find you somewhere interesting!"
"Are you implying you nearly forgot my name?" Koenji smile remained undeterred.
"Of course not!" Ryusui laughed. "Though you did refuse my offer back then, so I suppose I cannot call you an ally yet."
He pointed at him.
"But I am a generous man! I will give you another chance!"
The class quieted slightly.
"Name your price. Ten billion? Twenty billion? Work under me, and I will pay it out without hesitation!"
A ripple of shock went through the room again.
Koenji scoffed with an amused smirk
"How bold. But also foolish. Do you truly think you still have access to that level of wealth?"
Ryusui snapped his fingers.
"Do not underestimate me! As the greediest man on Earth, a few frozen accounts mean nothing!"
Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick bundle of cash.
Then casually tossed it as it landed right beside Koenji.
"I will at least offer you a sample."
Murmurs exploded again.
"I-Is that real!?"
"That's a lot of money—"
"That's like… ninety thousand yen!?"
Koenji did not even look down.
"I have no interest in scraps," he said calmly. "Money at that level does not move me."
"DUDE WHAT!?"
"IF YOU DON'T WANT IT I'LL TAKE IT!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
Voices overlapped each other as they looked at the massive amount of money just being place on the floor.
Koenji simply turned away.
"The cries of the desperate are quite unpleasant," he said lightly as he walked past Ryusui. "Pick up your loose change."
The moment he left, the class broke.
Students rushed forward, scrambling for the cash without a second thought.
Ryusui watched it all with clear amusement.
"Sir," Francois said quietly, stepping beside him, "was that truly necessary? You were aware he would refuse."
Ryusui chuckled.
"Francois, you are still thinking too directly."
He crossed his arms, watching the chaos unfold.
"I did not throw that money to recruit him. If that really happened then it would be a bonus to my true thoughts."
"Then your intention was…?"
"To demonstrate that I am still in control."
Francois' eyes sharpened slightly.
"I came to this school by choice. Whether my accounts are frozen or not is irrelevant. Wealth is not something you lose. It is something you create."
He tapped his temple.
"And mine is infinite."
Francois bowed.
"Understood, sir."
Ryusui stretched slightly, looking around the room again.
"My sinstincts have been telling me since the moment I arrived. This place… is interesting."
"And in this I can smell an adventure! And as a professional adventurer I would be a fool not to make the most of it!"
He snapped his fingers.
"Ah… Ryusui, right?"
The same calm voice from before spoke again.
Hirata stepped forward, smiling politely.
"My name is Yosuke Hirata. You can call me Hirata. About what Koenji said earlier, the reason he probably refused is because this school uses a different system—"
"Points tied to our phones. Yes, I know."
Ryusui cut in immediately.
"I had a private discussion with the principal. You do not need to explain it."
"…I see," Hirata said, slightly surprised.
"Well then, would you mind telling us more about yourself? Aside from being… extremely wealthy, we do not really know anything about you. Since we will be classmates for the next three years, it would be nice if we got along."
Ryusui tilted his head.
"More information, hm?"
His eyes flicked across the class.
"Interesting. You ask me, yet you did not bother to ask the one behind me who has not even given their name!"
Hirata hesitated.
"Well, that's because—"
"The answer is simple!" Ryusui interrupted, raising his hand.
"I took all the attention for myself!"
He laughed loudly.
"As the greediest man on Earth, that is only natural! You will have to get used to it!"
The class stared at him.
"…What is this guy even saying?"
Ignoring them, Ryusui gestured toward Francois.
"Very well! If you want more, then I shall provide it!"
He spoke with pride.
"This is Francois!"
Francois stepped forward and bowed gracefully.
"My butler. My partner. The one who supports every decision I make and executes it flawlessly."
Ryusui smirked.
"In other words, an extension of my will."
Francois straightened.
"I will serve Ryusui-sama in all matters. It is a pleasure to meet you."
More whispers spread.
"A foreign student?"
"Francois… that name…"
"Wait, is that a guy or a girl?"
"Must be a guy right? They are wearing trousers…"
"But it looks like a girl…"
Ryusui ignored them completely.
"And as for me…"
"I will keep it simple."
He raised his hand.
"My name is Ryusui Nanami."
"I like everything."
"And I dislike nothing."
"Because everything that exists…will eventually belong to me."
"Including you.. Class-D."
He snapped his fingers.
***
A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. But I have a bunch of chapters stockpiled.