In Classroom of the Elite, but in the Underworld 44

"Yes, I am exactly that kind of greedy person."

"..."

Kikyo stopped speaking and simply held him tighter.

He had no way of knowing if Kikyo had fallen for him, but he could vaguely sense a subtle change in her through her actions.

He hoped things would develop just as he expected.

Chapter 56: Who Put It There?

Upon returning to the base, Eito felt that the atmosphere was a bit off.

The girls, in particular, were looking at him with strange expressions, and some even offered ambiguous smiles.

Had his business with Kikyo been exposed?

He instinctively leaned toward that thought, but he soon realized that wasn't the case.

He was greeted by a furious Karuizawa and her group of girls, but soon, others looking to watch the spectacle gathered around as well.

Basically everyone in the class was present, with only the 3 Idiots and a few scattered individuals missing.

Suddenly becoming the center of attention, Eito couldn't help but ask:

"What happened?"

Karuizawa asked directly:

"Why were my panties in your bag?"

"Uh... what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, you pervert. And here I thought you were a good guy."

Eito didn't recall her ever thinking of him as a good guy, but through the conversation just now, he had roughly grasped the situation.

Karuizawa's panties had been found in his bag.

Karuizawa's floral panties were in his bag.

First, he ruled out the panties Matsushita had given him, because he had anticipated that something like this might happen and had hidden them elsewhere long ago—a place even Ike couldn't find.

Second, he ruled out the possibility that the panties had grown legs and crawled into his bag on their own.

And he ruled himself out immediately, as he didn't have amnesia, nor did he have a habit of sleepwalking.

If things had followed the original development, the panties would have been stolen by Ibuki and hidden in Ike's bag.

So, who exactly did it this time?

The bag had been left outside, making it very easy for someone to tamper with.

If he hadn't changed reality, it would have been simple to deduce the result, but now it was troublesome.

Besides Ibuki, the list of people who would do such a thing included Karuizawa herself.

After all, he understood that Karuizawa hated him, so it was normal for her to want to damage his reputation.

Even if she hadn't done it, she wouldn't let this opportunity to embarrass him pass by.

And since he had been up to no good last night, he hadn't noticed anyone moving, and even if he had, it wouldn't have mattered—what if the culprit had acted after he went back to sleep?

Furthermore, he had another guess: it could have been Ike, trying to shift the blame by putting them in his bag.

"The evidence is already clear; they were found in your luggage. What else do you have to say for yourself?"

Karuizawa crossed her arms over her chest, looking imposing.

Eito could vaguely see the hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Happy, are you?

But this didn't confirm that she was the culprit.

Eito asked:

"I'd like to ask, why would I steal your panties?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Karuizawa's face flushed slightly. "It's obviously to do those kinds of perverted things."

As soon as these words were out, Eito felt the gazes of the girls looking at him become even stranger.

Shinohara stepped forward at this moment.

Her prestige among the girls was not much lower than Karuizawa's, which stemmed from her strong personality and willingness to stand up to the boys.

She usually supported Karuizawa as well.

She said:

"Um... Takeda, if you like Karuizawa, you can compete fairly with Hirata. There's no need to do something like this."

She thought so too.

Clearly, people were more willing to believe what they saw with their own eyes.

And the result turned into him liking Karuizawa Kei.

"So Takeda likes Karuizawa, I really didn't expect that."

"It can't be helped, Kei is so cute, it's normal for boys to like her."

"Takeda-kun, why don't you just apologize? Don't do things like this in the future."

The girls chimed in one after another.

Even if it was a misunderstanding, the fact that he had committed such an act meant they were still giving him a chance to atone.

If it had been Yamauchi, he would have been scolded like a dog by now.

Should he be happy, or should he be sad?

He chose neither, and he didn't want to take the blame either.

Eito said in a firm tone:

"No, I didn't steal these panties."

"It's come to this, and you're still trying to make excuses?" Karuizawa's tone was filled with anger.

"What is there to make excuses for? I already said I didn't steal them," Eito said indifferently. "Even if I were to steal any, I'd steal Kikyo's, wouldn't I? Isn't your self-importance a bit too high?"

"You—"

Hearing her own name, Kikyo had no choice but to step in to save the situation:

"There might be a misunderstanding here. You two, stop arguing. It would be better to investigate further."

"What is there to investigate?" Karuizawa retorted. "And Kushida-san, you're so concerned about him, could it be that you're having an affair with him? Do you want me to tell everyone about last night—"

"Look, a UFO!"

Eito interrupted her just in time, diverting everyone's attention.

"Eh—where? Takeda, you're lying."

Eito let out a sigh of relief and said:

"It's nothing, it was just too stifling, I was just joking with everyone, haha—"

He secretly gave Kikyo a look, signaling her to stay out of it.

Then he faced Karuizawa again:

"I really didn't steal them, and I truly have no interest in you, don't go too far."

His expression was quite calm, giving people the feeling that it was indeed the truth.

With just one sentence, he made the onlookers unable to help but believe him.

What acting skills.

No, this wasn't acting; he really hadn't done it.

"Listen to me for a moment." Suzune stopped watching from the sidelines. "Karuizawa, there should be a student here who is a much bigger suspect. Ibuki from Class C had a much greater opportunity to tamper with things. You don't suspect her, but instead suspect your own classmate; that's not right, is it?"

Suzune's words made the classmates turn their gazes toward Ibuki, who was sitting far away.

"That's right, isn't this Ibuki more suspicious? Could she have been sent by Class C to cause trouble on purpose?"

One student remarked.

Hirata also spoke up at this moment:

"I believe Takeda. He wouldn't do something like this. Perhaps there really is a misunderstanding."

"Now that you mention it, I think so too. Why don't we investigate first, Karuizawa? Let's not wrongly accuse others."

"Let's ask Ibuki-san what she has to say first."

However, Karuizawa did not agree, instead saying rather irritably:

"How could that be? She's a girl, how could she do something like this? Only boys would like to engage in such perverted behavior!"

Shinohara chimed in:

"Kei, aren't you being a bit too agitated? Is it that time of the month?"

"I'm not, hmph, mind your own business!"

After dropping that line, Karuizawa ran back to her tent alone.

She left behind a group of bewildered classmates.

One girl said:

"Ah, I might have been too harsh just now. It's all my fault for not understanding Karuizawa's feelings."

Shinohara also felt a bit guilty:

"It's my fault. If I had known, I would have investigated before talking to her."

The panties had been found by Shinohara, and she felt she bore some responsibility as well.

They were Karuizawa's friends, and being girls, they had a stronger sense of empathy for what Karuizawa had experienced.

This was something the boys present could not do.

So even if it was a bit unreasonable, they could still understand.

So, was this matter coming to an end?

No.

Eito's name had still not been cleared; although he didn't care what others thought of him, he didn't want to be forced to take the blame for something he didn't do.

Whoever dared to frame him, if he caught them, he would definitely make them pay.

He glanced around and realized the three idiots hadn't returned yet.

Where did they go off to play now?

He couldn't even shift the blame if he wanted to.

Seeing that the matter was about to just fizzle out, the students were all starting to disperse.

But at this moment, a girl stood up:

"Sorry, I was the one who put the panties there!"

"???"

Eito looked at her, a headache forming.

Why are you running out to join in the chaos?

Chapter 57 Woyouzui

The girl giving him this headache was none other than Sato Maya.