The Hidden Client (I)

"Hey! Did you find anything yet?"

"Don't rush me... can't you see I'm looking?"

"I really don't get it, why do I have to help you with this work anyway!"

Tachibana Akane had been looking forward to her day off, hoping to get some proper rest, but she never expected to be dragged into this by her unscrupulous underclassman.

The most shameless part was that he actually used the Student Council President as his excuse!

'Senpai, you wouldn't want to disappoint Horikita-senpai, would you?'

How absolutely shameless!!!

Shinjo, who was busy flipping through documents, suddenly paused. "It's not like I have a choice, is it? I was asked to investigate a certain employee at the shopping mall, but I can't access their employment records with my personal clearance. If you want to blame someone, blame the client for not leaving any useful information."

"Heh, don't expect me to sugarcoat this. Every staff member at this school goes through layers of screening before they're hired; there's no way someone like that exists! If you ask me, this request is probably just someone messing with you."

"Maybe, and I didn't want to deal with it either, but I don't really have a choice..."

Soon enough, Shinjo found the list and information for all the staff at the electronics store. Since the target was acting inappropriately toward female students, the person in question had to be a man.

After collecting the information on all the male employees, Shinjo left the archives.

According to the level of detail in the request, the employee wasn't just giving girls lecherous looks; he was at the point where he might take advantage of them at any moment.

But if that were the case, it should have already spread among the students.

Besides, the guy at most just had a weird look in his eyes. He hadn't engaged in verbal harassment or committed any perverted acts, so how could they pin a crime on him based on that alone?

The electronics store.

Because the students at this school had high purchasing power, and being in their teens meant they were naturally interested in tech gadgets, the store was quite busy.

However, as time ticked by, Shinjo didn't notice anything unusual about the employees behind the counter.

'Did I guess wrong, or is that guy just a cautious pro?'

In the blink of an eye, another half hour passed, and Shinjo still hadn't spotted anything strange.

"Excuse me, student, you've been looking for a while now. Is there any product that catches your eye?"

"Actually, to be honest, I'm planning to buy a camera for my girlfriend, but I suffer from severe decision paralysis. Plus, I have a bit of a rebellious streak, so it's hard for me to listen to other people's opinions."

"Oh? So it's a gift for your girlfriend! I bet your girlfriend must be a very cute girl, right?"

Unconditionally flattering the customer without making them feel disgusted was one of the essential skills of a top salesperson.

"This... hehehe... she is the cutest girl I have ever seen."

Shinjo intentionally let out a few lecherous laughs, but in reality, he was speaking from the heart.

Karuizawa really was cute!!

"Is that so! Although I can give you some recommendations, since it's a gift for your girlfriend, I think as long as the sentiment is there, she'll be happy regardless, right?"

"Yeah, yeah... you're right! I think I'll just bring her here tomorrow. If I have to make the decision all by myself, it's just too difficult."

"That works too! You're always welcome here!"

Just like that, Shinjo's investigation ended in a bit of a failure; he hadn't narrowed down the suspects, nor had he obtained any key intelligence.

The next morning, Class D.

"So, you didn't find anything yesterday?"

"Unfortunately, that's the case. The information was just too scarce, and the description was so subjective. If someone could catch a culprit under these circumstances, even that death-bringing elementary schooler from the neighboring theater couldn't pull it off."

Karuizawa nodded helplessly. "So what should we do today?"

"We'll go check it out again at noon, but before that, I plan to ask Sakura-san if she has any leads."

Sakura owned a very nice-looking camera, and the only place in the school that sold cameras was that electronics store.

Since she was a former customer, she might know something.

Just as the two were talking, a heated argument broke out over by Sudo.

"You want to say that again, you bastard?!"

"Hmph, so what if I did? Your existence is not very beautiful for this class; no, I should say it's quite ugly. So I suggest you just drop out obediently."

Koenji attacked Sudo with a nonchalant air.

"I think you have absolutely no idea what it means to respect others, do you?!"

"Hahahaha! That's a truly interesting thing to say. Red-haired boy, you haven't given me a single reason to respect you. On the contrary, I could spend the whole day listing reasons why I despise you."

Already at his boiling point, Sudo raised his fist to punch Koenji, but the latter didn't show a hint of fear. He was already prepared to strike at any moment; if the other party dared to make the first move, he would counterattack immediately.

But at that moment, the usually gentle Hirata forcefully intervened in their battlefield:

"Everyone, calm down!!"

"Sudo! Do you have any idea what time it is? If you dare to throw a punch now, not even the gods can save you!"

"And you, Koenji! Why must you keep provoking Sudo-kun? What you're doing right now is undoubtedly wrong!"

But who was Koenji?

Would the eldest son of the prestigious Kōenji family really be shaken by the accusations of a commoner?

Of course not.

"I don't believe I've done anything wrong. However, allow me to offer you all some sincere advice: if we let this red-haired boy drop out now, we would only lose a mere 87 points. But if we wait until our score is higher to expel someone, how many points will be deducted then?"

"Kōenji!!"

Hirata was already beyond furious. He was trying his hardest to maintain class unity, but there was always this one guy digging holes in his foundation.

"Fine, fine, do whatever you want. I have an important date coming up, so I won't be keeping you company any longer."

Once the dust had settled, Karuizawa slowly let go of her covered ears.

"These guys are unbelievable, always just arguing."

"You'll get used to it. Besides, it's nearly impossible for the average person to keep their cool when dealing with Kōenji. Even though what he says sometimes makes sense, the way he says it just makes it impossible to accept."

"By the way, are you close with that guy Kōenji? Even though he acts like he's the king of the world all day long."

"About that... I'll tell you later."

Because right now, Shinjo had finally waited for Sakura to return from outside.