The Goal Is to Save Kamuro Masumi

A footstep sounded not far from Kamuro Masumi.

She jerked her head up, staring warily at the source of the noise.

Kazehara Tetsu's figure appeared before her.

He had one hand in his pocket, the other holding a coffee can still steaming with cold air.

"Hiding here to lick your wounds, Kamuro?"

He stopped in front of Kamuro Masumi, looking down at her.

"Get lost!"

Kamuro Masumi's voice was hoarse. "My business is none of your concern!"

"I don't want to concern myself either."

Kazehara Tetsu popped the tab on his coffee and took a sip. "Just happened to pass by and saw a cat about to drown. A bit of a shame, that's all."

He crouched down beside her and pressed the cold coffee can against her cheek.

Kamuro Masumi flinched, instinctively trying to pull away, but the icy touch gave her mind a moment of clarity.

"You... know everything?"

"Kamuro, has your brain really fried from the fever? With that video, it's harder not to know. The whole school's probably waiting to laugh at you right now."

His words were sharp and direct, with no hint of comfort.

Kamuro Masumi lifted her head, bloodshot eyes glaring at him. "Are you here to laugh at me too?"

"Laugh at you? I'm not that boring."

Kazehara Tetsu took back the coffee can and drank again. "I'm just... interested in that video. A few days ago, I happened to overhear Shannei and his friends talking at a cafe, and I saw the video too. Thought it was interesting, so I helped myself to a copy from him."

"What!" Kamuro Masumi's pupils contracted sharply.

Kazehara Tetsu pulled out his phone, waved it in front of her, and tapped open a video file.

On the screen appeared the convenience store shelves and her own silhouette.

Then came the full footage of her theft.

"This is it, right?"

Kamuro Masumi's face turned ashen. She closed her eyes, unwilling to watch any longer.

"Don't give up hope just yet, Kamuro."

Kazehara Tetsu's voice rang out again. "Haven't you noticed... there's something off about this video?"

Kamuro Masumi's eyes snapped open, staring at him in confusion.

"Something off?"

"Look closely here." Kazehara Tetsu dragged the video's progress bar to a specific point and slowed the playback.

"The moment you pick up the lipstick, about to put it back, but it slips into your pocket... look at the shelf behind you."

Kamuro Masumi forced herself to look at the screen.

"See the reflection of that bag of potato chips on the shelf? Right when you make your move, that reflection has an unnatural warp. The lights don't change, so why does the reflection move?"

Kamuro Masumi stared fixedly at the detail. At first she saw nothing, but after replaying it several times, she finally caught the almost imperceptible frame skip.

"And here," Kazehara Tetsu dragged the video to another point, "listen to the sound."

He turned the phone's volume to maximum.

"The convenience store's background music, one second before and one second after your hand goes into your pocket. Listen carefully—between two notes, there's a brief, cut-off noise. Like... two different recordings forcibly spliced together."

Kazehara Tetsu looked at the stunned Kamuro Masumi.

"Most importantly, right here..."

That spot should have been the perfect angle to clearly see Kamuro Masumi's full figure. Yet, just as she brushed her hair back, the frame suddenly only showed the lower half of her face.

"A video with choppy frames and spliced background audio... Kamuro, don't you think this looks less like factual evidence and more like a carefully 'crafted' piece of work for a specific purpose?"

"Crafted... piece of work..."

Kamuro Masumi's gaze darted between Kazehara Tetsu's faintly smiling face and his phone screen, her mind in chaos.

She knew better than anyone that she had indeed stolen something.

That video, no matter how many flaws it had, recorded a core event that was real.

But why was this man telling her about these "flaws" to help her?

What was his motive?

"Why... why are you helping me? We're... not even close. And I clearly..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

The words "I clearly really did steal" stuck in her throat like a boulder.

"Helping you? Kamuro, are you misunderstanding something? I'm not helping you."

Kaedehara Toru casually placed the can of now-lukewarm coffee on the ground beside him. "I'm just an ordinary student pursuing 'justice' and 'truth.' When I see someone being framed by a maliciously edited video, the sense of justice inside me just... can't hold back. I can't tolerate such despicable tactics tarnishing the honor of our Class A."

Kamuro Masumi wasn't a fool. She watched Kaedehara Toru's utterly insincere "champion of justice" act, and instead of easing up, her wariness shot to its peak.

This man definitely had ulterior motives.

As if sensing the distrust in Kamuro Masumi's eyes, Kaedehara Toru barely kept a straight face for three seconds before letting out a snort of laughter.

"Alright, alright, I admit, even I got goosebumps from that speech just now."

"The reason is simple."

His gaze shifted unabashedly from Kamuro Masumi's eyes down to her slightly parted collar. "Because Kamuro-san, you're a beauty. I don't have many virtues, but I just can't stand seeing a pretty girl get wronged."

"So, think of it as my boring chivalry kicking in, or pure lust. Whichever reason you find more acceptable, go with that."

This reason was far more real than that earlier "for justice" spiel, and also... far more vulgar.

Kamuro Masumi's cheeks flushed bright red in an instant. It wasn't anger, but a feeling she couldn't quite name.

"...This afternoon, the student council will call me in for questioning again."

After a long pause, she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"Don't worry. By then, as the 'first eyewitness who happened to pass by,' I'll be going too. You don't need to do anything, don't need to say anything. Just watch me take care of Yamauchi Haruki."

He finished speaking, stood up, and turned to leave.

"Remember, Kamuro-san..."

He didn't look back, only leaving one last remark. "From now on, you didn't steal anything. You're innocent. You're just a poor victim maliciously framed by a despicable scumbag. Drill that into your head."

Kazehara Tetsu set the can of coffee—already barely cold—on the ground beside him. "I'm just an ordinary student chasing 'justice' and 'truth.' When I see someone framed by a maliciously edited video, the sense of justice inside me just... can't hold back. I can't tolerate such despicable tactics tarnishing the honor of our Class A."

Kamuro Masumi wasn't stupid. Watching Kazehara Tetsu put on that utterly insincere "Justice Bringer" act, her wariness didn't ease—it shot to its peak.

This man was definitely after something else.

As if sensing the distrust in Kamuro Masumi's eyes, Kazehara Tetsu held his serious expression for barely three seconds before a "pfft" of laughter escaped him.

"Alright, alright, I admit it. Even I got goosebumps saying that last part."

"The reason is simple."

His gaze slid without shame from Kamuro Masumi's eyes down to her slightly parted collar. "Because Kamuro-san, you're a beauty. I don't have many good qualities, but one thing I can't stand is seeing a pretty girl get wronged."

"So, think of it as my boring chivalry kicking in, or just plain lust. Whatever reason you find easier to accept, go with that one."

This reason was far more real than the earlier "for justice" line... and far more vulgar.

Kamuro Masumi's cheeks flushed bright red in an instant. It wasn't anger—it was a feeling she couldn't quite name herself.

"...This afternoon, the Student Council will call me in for questioning again."

After a long pause, she squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll be going too, as the 'first eyewitness who happened to pass by.' You don't have to do anything. You don't have to say anything. Just watch me take care of Shannei Chunshu."

With that, he stood up, turned, and prepared to leave.

"Remember this, Kamuro-san..."

He didn't look back, only leaving behind one final sentence. "From now on, you didn't steal anything. You're innocent. You're just a... poor victim, maliciously framed by a despicable little man. Carve that into your brain."