Good Detective Hirata Forced into Action

"Good afternoon, Chabashira-sensei." Shangguan Che and Hirata greeted her in unison, both sounding slightly cautious.

After all, they were asking her for a favor, and it concerned Sudo's future at the school as well as the class points.

That was what Hirata thought, at least. As for Shangguan Che, he probably thought the same.

Chabashira Sae swept her gaze over the empty office, walked straight to her desk, and sat down. With her hands folded on the tabletop, she asked in an even tone, "Go on. What do you need from me?"

Hirata took a deep breath and spoke first. "Sensei, we'd like to access the security footage from the cameras near the scene of Sudo's fight. We want to see if we can find any witnesses."

"No." Chabashira rejected the request without even thinking, a meaningful smile still lingering on her lips.

Shangguan Che immediately understood.

He had secretly gone through quite a few physical documents in the principal's and Student Council president's offices before. He knew that at this school, there was no such thing as "impossible"—only "not paid for."

He immediately followed up. "Then can we buy access with points?"

"Ha ha ha, of course you can." Chabashira chuckled first, a flash of delighted understanding passing through her eyes. "So Shangguan Che was the one who spotted the loophole."

Although Hirata was surprised by Shangguan Che's bold question and his teacher's unusual answer, he reacted quickly and pressed on. "Chabashira-sensei, how many points will it cost exactly?"

"Let me think." Chabashira closed her eyes and tapped her fingers rhythmically against the desk, looking rather calculating.

If she could only suppress the smile threatening to break across her face, she would have looked even more convincing.

Shangguan Che and Hirata exchanged a glance, the same thought arising in both their minds: This teacher had definitely been waiting for us to ask that.

"Ten thousand personal points." Chabashira opened her eyes, her tone decisive. "Once you pay, you can view all camera records from the twenty-four hours before and after the incident."

"Then we'll pay now." Without a moment's hesitation, Hirata pulled out his phone and rapidly worked his fingers across the screen.

Shangguan Che could only click his tongue in amazement from the side.

He had just been wondering how to persuade Sudo to pay for it, since this was his own problem. Yet Hirata had simply taken the entire burden upon himself.

Shangguan Che silently gave Hirata a thumbs-up in his heart. Saint Hirata truly lived up to his reputation. His greatness needed no further explanation!

After accepting the ten thousand points Hirata transferred, Chabashira seemed to be in a much better mood and added, "Oh, right. For places like the mall and convenience store, which aren't completely managed by the school, security footage can be accessed for free. You won't need to spend points."

That was an unexpected bonus. Shangguan Che and Hirata quickly thanked her, took the authorization credentials for accessing the footage, and hurried out of the office.

After returning, Hirata practically stayed up without sleeping as he stared at the screen and watched all the footage at increased speed. Yet he did not spot so much as a single person who might have been a witness.

As for Shangguan Che, he spent the evening organizing tutoring materials for Karuizawa and Sotomura, so he had no time to watch. Even though it would have taken less than an hour.

With a "model worker" like Hirata around, he could just lie back and wait for the results.

At noon the next day, Hirata suddenly came to find Shangguan Che and suggested they "pool their wisdom." Perhaps discussing it with another person would help them find a clue.

Shangguan Che looked at Hirata's exhausted face and the dark circles beneath his eyes, and immediately understood.

This guy had definitely stayed up all night watching footage. When he got up that morning, he had already missed breakfast, so he simply arranged to talk at noon instead.

Even more "excessively," Hirata had disrupted Shangguan Che's planned "lunch for two" with Sakura.

Still, Hirata had asked beforehand, and Shangguan Che had agreed. Sudo's situation was more urgent, after all, and missing one private meal with Sakura was no big deal.

By the time Shangguan Che and Hirata arrived at the cafeteria with Sudo, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kushida were already seated there.

The six of them filled one table exactly. It was Shangguan Che's first time packing a table in the school cafeteria this tightly, and he could not help looking around. "This cafeteria is way too big, isn't it? Or does our school just have too few students? I've never seen such a lively table during meals before."

As for why everyone had come to the school cafeteria for lunch even though it was Saturday, the reason was simple enough to make one laugh and cry.

Hirata had been so busy that week that his feet barely touched the ground, and after staying up late to watch the footage several times yesterday, he accidentally slept for a very long time.

When he woke up that morning, there was only half an hour left until lunch.

The moment Shangguan Che heard Hirata wanted to discuss Sudo's situation at noon, he guessed the guy would insist on paying. To protect Hirata's already heavily bleeding wallet, he decisively suggested holding the meeting in the school cafeteria.

They could eat there, the prices were affordable, and most importantly, cafeteria meals had to be purchased by each student with their own points. Hirata would not even have a chance to snatch the bill.

I've really worried myself sick over Hirata's wallet, Shangguan Che muttered inwardly as he carried his tray over and sat down. After all, he just made the "great sacrifice" of paying ten thousand points by himself yesterday.

That should count as great, right? Whatever. I've done my best.

"Alright, everyone's here. Let's go over the current situation first." Hirata took a sip of hot soup, cleared his throat, and explained what he had found from reviewing the footage last night. "We watched all the cameras near the scene, but we didn't find any witnesses."