Class D's Plan

The wait in the corridor outside the Judging Room stretched on, sunlight creeping slowly across the floor as an intangible tension filled the air. To lighten the mood, Ichinose Honami took the initiative to start a lighthearted topic, chatting about the recent amusing incidents among Class B students.

"Ah, speaking of which, yesterday Shibata made a huge fool of himself during soccer practice..." Ichinose described vividly, a warm smile on her face, occasionally punctuating her words with gestures as she tried to keep the atmosphere lively. Kanzaki Ryuji stood nearby with his arms crossed, his expression still stern, but he occasionally nodded slightly at key points and added brief remarks like "Yes, I was there too" or "That training mistake was indeed quite typical," showing that beneath his serious exterior, he wasn't entirely detached from everyday matters. Shimiya Kuki leaned quietly against the wall, his gaze fixed on the lush tree shadows outside the window, like a detached listener, his face betraying no change in expression, only occasionally giving the faintest nod during pauses in the conversation to indicate he was listening.

"...And then the ball flew straight over the fence and hit a passing teacher on the head! That guy Shibata's face went white with fear, haha!" Ichinose was in the middle of her story.

Just then, Shimiya Kuki spoke calmly, his voice not loud but clear enough to cut through her narration: "They seem to be done." His gaze turned toward the other end of the corridor.

Ichinose and Kanzaki immediately fell silent, following his line of sight.

The door to the Judging Room opened, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stepped out first, his face wearing its usual unchanging, indifferent expression. Close behind him came a small figure that left a strong impression.

It was a girl with soft, glossy pink hair, strands like cherry blossoms in early bloom. She kept her head slightly lowered, almost burying her entire face behind the folder clutched in her arms, revealing only her smooth forehead and a sliver of pale, almost translucent chin. Her frame was slender, clad in a well-fitted school uniform, yet her whole demeanor radiated an intense, cowering desire to shrink into the cracks of the floor. She followed closely behind Ayanokoji as if he were her only shield, her large eyes hidden behind glasses occasionally darting up to glance around before retreating like a startled deer, filled with unease and avoidance. This must be Sakura Airi from Class D, whom Ayanokoji-kun had mentioned earlier.

She seemed to be gathering immense courage to say something to Ayanokoji, her lips moving faintly. But just then—

"Ayanokoji-kun! How did it go?" Ichinose Honami, seeing them emerge, immediately broke into a warm smile and stepped forward quickly, asking with concern.

This sudden voice struck Sakura Airi's ears like a thunderclap!

"Ugh...!" She let out a short, terrified whimper, her body trembling violently. She jerked her head up, and upon seeing the three approaching figures of Ichinose and the others, she decisively hid behind Ayanokoji.

"Ah! Sorry! I scared you!" Ichinose stopped at once, her face full of apology and bewilderment, quickly offering her regrets. At this point, Shimiya also looked at Sakura Airi, held his gaze for three seconds, then shifted his focus away.

After exchanging greetings with Ichinose and the other two, Ayanokoji turned to face Sakura.

"Sakura, sorry about that. Tell me the rest."

She dared not look at anyone else, turning only to Ayanokoji, using all her strength to speak in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, trembling and on the verge of tears: "No, no... it's nothing. Ayanokoji-kun..." She took a deep breath, as if fighting against immense fear, forcing out a sentence: "It's just... I'll muster my courage and try my best!"

With that, as if she could no longer bear even a second more of pressure, she turned and stumbled headlong toward the corner of the corridor, her pink hair fluttering messily behind her, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched the direction Sakura had vanished, his expression flat, offering only a simple explanation to Ichinose: "Sakura-kun... is very bad at communicating with strangers." He then turned to the three Class B students: "The school administration is likely to uphold the original verdict. Without new compelling evidence, they tend to believe the testimonies of the Class C trio."

"No way..." Ichinose furrowed her brow.

"Horikita insists that Class D is completely innocent, that Sudo was forced to fight back," Ayanokoji added. "She's been arguing her case inside, but... it's had limited effect."

"Don't worry," Ichinose immediately showed a determined look, offering reassurance. "Class B will help too! Many hands make light work—we'll definitely find a breakthrough!"

"I appreciate your offer—" A cool voice sounded from behind, cutting off her statement.

Everyone turned to look. Horikita Suzune had quietly appeared in the shadows not far away. She walked closer, her black hair flowing like a waterfall, a coldness veiling her delicate face, her phoenix eyes sweeping sharply over the three Class B students.

"But there's no need for that."

She stopped beside Ayanokoji, her gaze icy: "Even if a new witness appears now, Class D can't win. Class C's testimonies have already been preliminarily accepted by the school administration. Any additional testimony will only be questioned for credibility, and might even be turned against us as collusion. The conventional path is already blocked."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Kanzaki Ryuji pushed up his glasses and asked calmly.

Horikita Suzune was silent for a moment, her gaze roaming over the faces of the three Class B students as if assessing something, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of her sleeve—a rare small gesture revealing inner deliberation. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, her voice carried a cold, all-or-nothing resolve: "Class D has its own plan. However... this plan requires a specific piece of equipment."

"What kind of equipment?" Ichinose pressed, her eyes full of concern and curiosity.

Horikita paused again, as if weighing the risk of revealing information. She might have worried that Class B, upon learning the plan, could betray them, but another more practical difficulty—the meager personal points left for her and Ayanokoji—seemed to outweigh that doubt. She chose to trust (or rather, had no other choice), and clearly stated the answer:

"That is—a monitor."

Seeing Ichinose's confused expression, she added: "But not to review any footage. It's to make Class C 'see' it, and believe—that we've obtained decisive 'evidence' through it!"

Ichinose and Kanzaki both showed expressions of sudden realization mixed with shock.

"You mean..." Ichinose ventured.

"Exactly." Horikita's voice carried a desperate resolve. "We need a monitor display terminal that can run normally, even the same model as the school's. It doesn't need to actually work, nor connect to any system—it itself is a prop! A tool to scare Class C into believing we have the 'warehouse surveillance footage' that doesn't exist! If they buy it and panic, they might slip up in subsequent questioning or private contact, and then we can use that to force them to withdraw their complaint. That's our plan—a deception aimed at Class C's psychological defenses! And the only way for Class D to escape without any punishment."

Ichinose gasped: "There's actually such a method? But something like that... must be hard to get, right?"

"There's an obscure shop on the shopping street." A calm voice suddenly cut in, interrupting everyone's thoughts.

All eyes instantly focused on Shimiya Kuki, who had remained silent until now.

He was still leaning against the wall, his posture unchanged, his gaze calmly resting on Horikita as if stating the most ordinary fact: "In the back alley of the shopping street, next to the old book recycling station, there's an inconspicuous electronics store. That store... sells monitor reception and network equipment of the same model as the school's."

"Eh...?!" Ichinose was completely stunned, her mouth slightly open, her face full of disbelief. "Something like that... there's a store like that?" She never imagined Shimiya would know such information.

Kanzaki Ryuji's eyes behind his glasses instantly sharpened, staring intently at Shimiya, his voice carrying strong inquiry and a hint of incredulity: "Speaking of which, Shimiya... how do you know about this? That kind of store is rarely encountered by most people, right?"

Facing their shocked gazes, Shimiya Kuki's expression didn't change at all. He merely shifted his gaze away with extreme indifference, as if looking at the drifting clouds outside the window, and answered in a flat tone: "I happened to see it before." He gave a vague explanation that was almost no explanation at all, yet carried an undeniable finality.

Ichinose and Kanzaki exchanged glances, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes, but knowing Shimiya's personality well, they understood that pressing further would yield nothing. Ichinose took a deep breath, turned to Horikita, and put on a serious expression again: "I never thought the school had such a store. Then Horikita-san's plan should be feasible."

"Yes, thank you for telling me," Horikita expressed her gratitude to Shimiya. She had originally planned to search the shopping street later, but now that she knew exactly where to buy it and its location, it saved a lot of time. However, there was still one issue she found hard to bring up, but she eventually did.

"You probably know a bit about our class's situation, so I'd like to borrow 30,000 personal points from you. We'll pay you back as soon as possible."

Her voice grew quieter toward the end, but she still managed to convey the full meaning.

"I fully understand that I'm in no position to make such a request. It's too selfish and would place a huge burden on you. But—"

"Ah—no. Well, this matter is within my personal capacity. And I think I have a good understanding of Class D's situation. I'll—"

"I'll handle the points."

Before she could finish, Shimiya interrupted her, directly pulling out his terminal. The screen lit up, and his fingers began to operate. His gaze turned to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, his tone as usual: "Thirty thousand personal points, I'll transfer them to you. Ayanokoji-kun, I've added you as a friend."

He deliberately avoided letting Ichinose make the transfer, clearly considering that her terminal held Class B's collective points and not wanting to expose that to Class D.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's gaze instantly focused on Shimiya, a faint trace of understanding flickering in his deep, pool-like eyes. He showed no surprise or doubt, simply nodding calmly: "Alright." He also took out his terminal.

Two boys of similar temperament silently completed the point transfer. Shimiya's movements were clean and decisive: "Done."

Ayanokoji glanced at the terminal to confirm, then quietly put it away.

Horikita Suzune looked at Shimiya; besides scrutiny, there seemed to be a faint trace of inquiry in her eyes. She said to Ayanokoji beside her, "Then I'll leave the matter of the equipment to you." She deliberately emphasized the words "leave to you," carrying an unmistakable demand.

"I'll do my best." Ayanokoji clearly understood he couldn't refuse. So he turned back to bid farewell to the three from Class B. "Then we'll be going ahead."

Leaving the three from Class B standing there, exchanging glances. Ichinose stared dumbfounded as Ayanokoji disappeared around the corner, then looked at Shimiya beside her, whose face was as calm as if nothing had happened, and finally met the gaze of Kanzaki, who wore a similarly serious expression but with an indescribable glint in his eyes.

After a brief silence, Ichinose Honami was the first to break it. She let out a long sigh, the tension on her face relaxing, replaced by a complex smile mixed with amazement, understanding, and a hint of admiration.

"I see... using a fake monitor as a prop to create the illusion of holding 'ironclad evidence,' directly attacking Class C's mental defenses..." Ichinose lightly clapped her hands, a gleam of insight in her eyes. "What a bold and exquisite strategy! Horikita-san... they completely saw through Class C's smugness and underlying fear after pulling off such a scheme."

She turned to Kanzaki Ryuji and Shimiya Kuki, a confident certainty in her smile: "It seems the outcome of this incident... will be Class D's victory, won't it?"

Kanzaki Ryuji adjusted his glasses. The gaze behind the lenses remained sharp, but the tightness at the corners of his mouth eased slightly. He nodded and analyzed in a steady voice: "Indeed. From a psychological standpoint, when an opponent believes they have an absolute advantage and starts enjoying their victory, suddenly being threatened with 'fatal evidence' makes their mental defenses most prone to collapse. Especially for someone like Ishizaki Daichi, who is impulsive by nature and has a similar 'track record.' Once they believe Class D really has video evidence proving they set up an ambush and lied, the likelihood of them making wrong reactions or falling into internal conflict out of panic is extremely high." His analysis was rigorous and cold, yet it confirmed Ichinose's judgment. "Horikita Suzune's plan seized the opponent's most vulnerable moment and psychological weakness."

Ichinose nodded vigorously: "Exactly! And the best part of this plan is that it doesn't need real 'evidence' at all—it only needs Class C to 'believe' the evidence exists! It exploits their guilty conscience! If executed properly, it's entirely possible to subdue the enemy without fighting, making Class C expose their own flaws or even voluntarily withdraw their complaint!"

Her gaze finally fell on Shimiya Kuki, carrying a hint of inquiry and playful mischief: "What do you think, Kuki-kun? What are the odds of Class D's 'bluff' succeeding?"

Shimiya Kuki remained leaning against the wall. After listening to their analysis, his face showed no ripple. His deep gaze seemed to pierce through the wall, landing on the invisible confrontation unfolding or about to unfold. He gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod, his voice calm and unwavering:

"Mm. Fear often stems from one's own vulnerabilities. Class C... will defeat themselves." His words were brief but cut to the core—the key to this bluff's success lay not in how realistic the prop was, but in whether Class C truly had a guilty conscience. And the answer was clearly no.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting warm patches of light on the three of them. The corridor returned to calm, but all three from Class B understood that a psychological battle with no visible smoke had already begun, and the scales of victory, as they expected, were quietly tipping toward Class D. They only waited for that "prop" to be in place, and for Horikita Suzune to skillfully "display" it to the terrified prey. The air already seemed to carry the scent of Class C's impending chaos.

"It looks like this time, Class D wins?" Ichinose's final words carried a sunlit smile, as if writing the footnote to this impending reversal. The silence before the storm held immense power.