10 Chapter 10 - The New Month

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"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it." ~Benjamin Franklin

"Hehehe," Ryuk's laughter echoed behind me as I exited the student council room. "You really put on a show for the student council president, didn't you, Light?" he prodded, "Come on, Light, there are no cameras around. Talk to me."

"Of course I did," I responded, "I want that student council seat. If it means aligning myself with his cause, so be it. The power to influence the school is a fair trade-off."

"Oh? So, does that mean you'll actually help him against Nagumo?" Ryuk asked.

"Of course, Light Yagami is a man of his word. But once I get rid of Nagumo, I'll have free reign, won't I? After all, I made no other promises."

"Ohhh? So, what are you planning?"

"I'll be building up quite a reputation for myself in the future. Helping my entire year and even joining the student council; as you heard, that position comes with a lot of power. I've heard rumors of Nagumo having a lot of power in his school year. If Class C and I can maintain a position of power over all three other classes, I can make them reliant on me. Those who oppose me will be opposing what is just. Most students would obviously align with my peaceful regime with the goal of group survival because most students are incapable of surviving alone. And if the disparities between classes are so immense, can you really blame them for being scared?"

"Hehehe, I rarely get to see this side of you. So, do you plan on ruling the school with an iron fist?"

"No, Ryuk, how could I do that? But if others align themselves with me and want to maintain the system that will be in place… well, then that isn't my fault, right? And if my hand slips here and there and I accidentally get some students expelled, I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal, right?"

Ryuk burst into more laughter as I finished speaking. Soon, I came to a halt. It was the library, but what caught my interest was who was in it - Hiyori Shiina, my classmate. I hadn't gotten many chances to converse with her lately, and the few times she seemed interested in conversing with me about something, she hesitated. So, I guess I should engage her myself.

I made my way into the library and approached Shiina, "Critique of Pure Reason by Emmanuel Kant? I thought you were more of a mystery fan?" I said.

She turned to look at me, seeming confused about who was speaking to her until she saw my face and smiled. "Yagami? I didn't expect to see you here. I heard the loudspeakers call you. Are you done with whatever you were called for already?"

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"Yes, it was a simple matter," I replied, pulling out a chair to sit next to Shiina.

"That's good. So, have you read…" she trailed off, hiding her face behind the book and peeking at me from behind it.

"The Critique of Pure Reason? Of course, I have. I'm more surprised that you're interested in it," I responded.

"Well, I said I like mystery, and when you think about it, what greater mystery is there than people themselves?" Shiina said with a smirk. "So, what do you think about the ideas in it? I rarely get to talk to others who like reading, especially more complex books, so I'm really curious."

I looked up at the ceiling, allowing myself a moment to think. "It was Kant's response and an attack on the ideas of René Descartes, the idea that knowledge comes solely from reasoning and logic. Kant essentially argues we can't have knowledge of things as they are in themselves but only as we perceive them. And, of course, he says our perceptions are shaped by things themselves. In the end, he essentially says that there is a limit to logic, and it is, at times, used in situations where it should not be. I think it's fair to say Kant is right; at the very least, human beings aren't normally capable of exploring the entire world through reasoning alone, although I don't think it's bad to try to do so."

"May I ask why you agree? And why do you say it may not be bad to do so? Isn't it contradictory if you agree?" Shiina asked me, honestly intrigued. It was actually quite endearing. This was more intriguing than most conversations I had in the school so far.

"Well, Kant doesn't really ever argue against the use of reason but the overestimation of its capabilities, and I guess saying the overestimation of its capabilities isn't a problem may be contradictory to an extent, but didn't Kant use reasoning to arrive at his conclusion to begin with?"

"Huh, I guess he did, yes," she said, looking at the book.

"Maybe reasoning can't be used to discover every truth. Kant is right, I can only understand things as I see them and not as they are, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to make accurate assumptions on those things given what I do understand. In a way, Kant may be underestimating reasoning, don't you think?"

She smiles and nods, "I think I can agree with that. But isn't the idea beautiful? The idea that there are so many things we just can't know that exist out there? So many things to experience?"

I return her smile and nod, "I think it is. It makes me wonder what it's like to be a god, you know? What do they have to entertain themselves?" I say, and in response, Ryuk looks back at me. I guess that was a foolish question. I had the answer, after all. I suppose I'm closer to a god than anyone else on earth.

"Yes, I agree. We should get together like this more often, Yagami," she suggests.

"I was going to ask you about that. You mentioned on the first day that we should get together and read, but you seem to be avoiding me," I respond, "unless I'm misunderstanding." I say, having an idea of Shiina's answer.

"Well… the truth is you're always with Manabe or Ibuki; they can be a bit intimidating," she admits, laughing nervously, "and I don't think they would really appreciate my presence," she explains.

"That's nonsense. We're friends, right? I wouldn't let them treat you badly. And while they may not seem the kindest at first, they aren't bad people," I reassure her.

"Is that so?" she asks, still seeming unsure.

"I promise it is. Either way, you would be coming to talk to me, not them. So don't hesitate to talk to me if you want. I enjoyed our conversation here today," I say, glancing at the clock in the library. The period was almost over.

"Okay then, I'll make sure to do that!" she finally responds cheerfully.

***April 1st***

"Light, it's the first of the month. You know what that means, right?" Ryuk asked as I changed into my school clothes.

"Of course I do. It's the day of revelation," I replied with a smirk.

"So, how do you think your class did this month?" he inquired.

"Hmm, we didn't excel, but we weren't terrible either. Everyone kept quiet about the discovery Ryuen and I shared with the class, so we had a significant advantage over the other classes. But in the end, Class C is mostly just a group of delinquents, so we were probably negatively impacted by our attitude in class and likely outside, too. Although, I imagine it would've been worse if Ryuen and I hadn't said anything," I explained, grabbing my phone to check how many points had been transferred this month. 

62,000. Not bad. I can assume that whatever measures class performance, we'll call them class points, so one class point is equal to 100 personal points. We probably started with 1,000 and now we're at 620. It seemed the class had also already transferred their class tax to me, leaving me with almost 3.5 million points.

"If the class wasn't listening, why wouldn't you warn them?" Ryuk asked, "You seem to get along with everyone perfectly now; they would've listened to you."

"All that effort isn't necessary. If we worry about all the small things, everyone will be too tired to deal with the bigger problems. Plus, they may have changed for a bit to limit point loss, but it wouldn't have been a permanent change. People don't change that easily, Ryuk, and you have to remember this is a school. People want to have fun, so for now, I'll let them," I responded as I stepped out of my room and headed towards the elevator. Starting today is when things will really get serious.

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As promised the story is ramping up a bit now, let me know what you all think I can tell this story isn't as popular as the L one, which I kinda expected, but I just want to make sure there are a decent amount of people who enjoy the story.