The Hidden Client (1)

"Hey! Did you find anything?"

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

"I just don't get it. Why do I have to work with you?"

Tachibana Akane had been given the day off and planned to use the opportunity to get some proper rest. She hadn't expected that shameless junior, Shinjo, to come looking for her again.

The most shameless part was that he'd actually used the student council president as an excuse!

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

Absolutely shameless!!!

Shinjo suddenly paused while looking through the documents. "There's nothing I can do about it, is there? I was asked to investigate an employee at the shopping arcade, but I can't access their hiring records with my personal credentials. The only person to blame is the client, for not leaving behind any useful information."

"Heh, don't take this the wrong way, but every school employee has to make it through several rounds of screening to get hired. How could there be someone like the one you described? If you ask me, someone's probably just messing with you."

"Maybe. I didn't want to get involved either, but I didn't have much choice..."

Before long, Shinjo found the names and information of everyone working at the camera shop. Since the person in question had ill intentions toward girls, he had to be a man.

After gathering information on all the male employees, Shinjo left the records room.

According to the request, the employee's behavior went beyond leering at girls. He was the sort of person who might attack them at any moment.

But if that were true, word should have spread among the students long ago.

Besides, the person had only been acting a little strange with his eyes. He hadn't sexually harassed anyone verbally or done anything perverted. That alone wasn't enough to convict him, was it?

The electronics store.

The students at this school had plenty of spending power, and teenagers were exactly the kind of people who liked this sort of technology, so the store had no shortage of customers.

But as time passed, Shinjo didn't notice anything unusual about the employees behind the counter.

Did I guess wrong, or is this guy just an experienced pro with his guard up?

Another half hour went by, and Shinjo still hadn't noticed anything strange.

"Um, you've been looking around for quite a while. Is there anything that's caught your eye?"

"To be honest, I'm planning to buy a camera for my girlfriend, but I have a really bad case of indecision. I'm also incredibly stubborn, so I have a hard time taking other people's advice."

"Oh? It's for your girlfriend! I bet she's an adorable girl, right?"

Being able to praise customers without reservation while not getting on their nerves was one of the essential skills of a top salesperson.

"Well... heh heh heh... She's the cutest girl I've ever met."

Shinjo deliberately let out a few creepy, lovestruck laughs, but this time, he was actually telling the truth.

Karuizawa really was adorable!!

"I see! I'd be happy to make a recommendation, but since it's for your girlfriend, I think she'll be happy as long as you put your heart into it."

"Mm-hmm... You're right! I'll bring her in tomorrow. It's just too hard to decide on my own."

"Sounds good. You're both welcome to stop by anytime!"

And so, Shinjo's investigation came to little. He hadn't narrowed down the suspects or found any crucial information.

The next morning, in Class D.

"So you didn't find anything yesterday?"

"I'm afraid that's right. There was so little information, and the description was so subjective. Even the little death god from the theater next door probably couldn't catch the culprit under those circumstances."

Karuizawa nodded in resignation. "So what do we do today?"

"We'll go back and check things out at lunchtime. But before that, I want to ask Sakura if she has any leads."

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

She'd been a customer there before, so she might know something.

While the two of them were talking, another heated argument broke out between Sudō and the others.

"Say that one more time, I dare you!"

"Heh heh. And what if I do? Your presence in this class is quite unbecoming—no, downright ugly. I suggest you drop out like a good boy."

Kōenji casually took a jab at Sudō.

"You really have no idea what it means to respect other people, do you?!"

"Ha ha ha ha! That's an amusing thing to say. Red-haired boy, you haven't given me any reason to respect you. As for reasons to despise you, I could talk about them all day."

Already furious, Sudō raised his fist and went to hit Kōenji. The latter showed no fear. He was ready to strike at any moment and would retaliate as soon as Sudō made the first move.

But then Hirata, who was usually so mild-mannered, forcefully stepped into the fray.

"Both of you, calm down!!"

"Sudō! Do you still not realize what time it is? If you start a fight now, not even a god will be able to save you!"

"And you too, Kōenji! Why do you keep attacking Sudō? What you're doing is unquestionably wrong!"

But who was Kōenji?

The young master of the illustrious Kōenji family—would he be shaken by criticism from some commoner?

Of course not.

"I don't think I've done anything wrong. Still, allow me to offer you some heartfelt advice. If you let this red-haired boy drop out now, we'll lose a mere 87 points. But if we wait until our score is higher and then expel someone, how many points will we lose then?"

"Kōenji!!"

Hirata was already furious. He was doing everything he could to keep the class united, but this guy kept tearing holes in it.

"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want. I have an important date to get to, so I'll be taking my leave."

Only after things had settled down did Karuizawa slowly lower her hands from her ears.

"Honestly, those guys... All they do is argue every day."

"You'll get used to it. And it's hard for anyone to stay calm around Kōenji. Sometimes what he says makes a lot of sense, but the way he says it makes it impossible to accept."

"By the way, are you close with that guy, Kōenji? He acts like he's the king of the world every day."

"Well... I'll tell you about it later."

Because just then, Shinjo finally saw Sakura returning from outside.