Blind Spot

"Koenji."

"Do you have anything to refute? Were you in the infirmary as they claim?"

Horikita Manabu shifted his gaze to Koenji Rokusuke, who still seemed somewhat nonchalant under the watchful eyes of the four homeroom teachers. He shrugged, seemingly bored, and snorted.

"No, my beautiful body is so strong, why would I go to a place like the infirmary?"

"I was just sitting in a coffee shop enjoying coffee and dessert."

"The location is on the second floor of the Keyaki Mall. You should have investigated it beforehand."

Horikita Manabu nodded and, under the somewhat incredulous gazes of Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki, replied:

"After reviewing the surveillance footage, we confirmed that on September 14th, Koenji Rokusuke stayed in the coffee shop on the second floor of the Keyaki Mall from noon until dusk, and never approached the direction of the infirmary."

"How could that be? I clearly saw it and heard the sound!"

Yamauchi Haruki immediately started shouting, but quickly shut his mouth under the intimidating gaze of Horikita Manabu.

[You're lying...]

Even Mashima Tomonari, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-D, made this judgment, because in the admission materials he had of [Yamauchi Haruki], the interviewer's comments clearly stated that "the student's answers to the interview questions differed from the objective investigation report," "has a bad habit of lying to faculty members," and "likes to exaggerate."

During Mashima Tomonari's coaching tenure of more than half a month, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike were indeed among the most unruly people.

"Based on objective facts, Koenji Rokusuke himself did not appear at the infirmary that day, so Yamauchi and Ike, your statement can only be wrong; you are lying."

"If it were just a voice, it might be possible that someone recorded it, but to claim that you saw Koenji Rokusuke..."

Horikita Manabu shook his head:

"This is an impossible fact."

After confirming the statements of the two students from Class D, Horikita Manabu turned to ask Katsuragi Kohei, remembering that this shiny bald man had also participated in the Student Council recruitment, but was ultimately rejected during the interview.

"Katsuragi, according to you, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike deliberately faked their injuries and framed Koenji Rokusuke as the culprit in order to intimidate and deceive you, is that right?"

"Yes."

Katsuragi Kohei stepped forward. After hearing Yamauchi and Ike's words, he instantly realized that what the two had seen was him wearing a wig. However, revealing this would not benefit Class A at all, so he simply decided to keep it a secret.

"At the time Yamauchi Koenji Class D Koenji, who were denouncing Koenji. They threatened to expel Koenji from school. In order to protect my classmate, I asked to pay one million Private Points to make them drop the matter."

"At that time, I didn't have the mind to think about it in detail. I just felt that as the Class 1-A, I couldn't sit idly by and watch a classmate drop out of school."

Katsuragi Kohei's resolute gaze and powerful words seemed to bathe the entire conference room in a righteous light. Even the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, Chabashira Sae, nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

"Do Yamauchi and Ike have anything to refute?"

"That injury wasn't something we faked! Although we did try to extort money from Katsuragi later, we were already bandaged up like that when we woke up."

Kanji Ike quickly denied it, saying that it really couldn't be blamed on him and Yamauchi Haruki for having preconceived notions; everything just made too much sense.

The panic of being caught before losing consciousness, the smell of disinfectant in the infirmary upon waking, and the lingering pain almost instantly made them accept their injuries. Just then, another person rushed in to apologize and offer compensation...

Not to mention that Koenji Rokusuke didn't have time to think it through, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike didn't have time to think it through either.

"Heh, maybe you're just trying to protect your own accomplices."

Katsuragi Kohei, however, felt he had grasped the whole truth. He crossed his arms and said:

"I heard from classmates that photos of Koenji being surrounded by girls circulated in your Class D group before, and you two were the ones who expressed your dissatisfaction at that time, right?"

"Because of this incident, you have become jealous of Koenji."

"After investigating Koenji's situation in our Class A, you found that he usually keeps to himself and behaves in a somewhat eccentric way. However, I've been standing by his side these past few days, making it difficult for you to make a move."

After hearing Katsuragi Kohei's speech [standing beside him], Koenji Rokusuke twitched the corner of his mouth and turned his head to the other side.

"So you decided to target me first, knowing that I have a good relationship with Koenji, and used Koenji to blackmail me. You deliberately faked a very serious injury, claiming that it was caused by Koenji Rokusuke's violence. Then you called me to the infirmary alone with an anonymous message, inducing me to pay Private Points to settle the matter privately, hoping that I would break off my relationship with Koenji after this incident, and then find an opportunity to take action against Koenji."

"So, am I right?"

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike were shocked. They had no idea they had such a complex plan and such subtle thoughts, but the logic seemed quite coherent, making them wonder if they had actually drafted such a plan in the first place.

"How could that be? Yamauchi and I are not familiar with you or Koenji at all. If you hadn't walked in and apologized, we wouldn't have asked you for points."

Kanji Ike tried his best to explain:

"The only student we know from Class A is Kushida."

Yamauchi Haruki quickly added a comment as well.

Kushida Kikyo gave an awkward yet polite smile, admitting that she didn't know why she had been called here.

"Besides, if we really wanted to frame Koenji, why not just use a real injury instead of a fake one that's easy to spot?"

"That's because you two are afraid of pain. You can't threaten them with injuries that are too minor, and you can't bring yourself to inflict serious injuries."

Katsuragi Kohei snorted coldly.

"I already said that the fake injury wasn't done by me or Yamauchi, and we don't know how to do that at all."

Kanji Ike's blood pressure rose after Katsuragi Kohei's words, and he stomped his feet in frustration.

"Because the medical room's surveillance cameras were faulty, it was impossible to confirm exactly who was inside at the time."

Horikita Manabu stroked his chin and asked Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike:

"Assuming what you two say is true, then there must be at least one mysterious person present."

"First, there's the person who knocked you both unconscious; let's call him X for now."

"Then there's the person who made the fakes for both of you; let's call him Y for now."

"X and Y could be the same person, but we can't be sure right now."

The homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, Chabashira Sae, wasn't interested in Horikita Manabu's XY approach. She tapped the table and said:

"Regardless, it is a fact that Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike extorted one million Private Points from Class A by faking an injury, and Yamauchi himself has already spent 110,000 Private Points, which fully meets the criteria for fraud."

"These minor details are not important; the Student Council just needs to make a fair judgment."

For Chabashira Sae, all she wanted was for Class 1-A to get out of this storm as quickly as possible.

"No, it's better to get to the bottom of things first."

Horikita Manabu clicked on an image on the desktop, which showed hundreds of movement trajectory lines centered on the infirmary.

"Although the surveillance cameras at the infirmary malfunctioned, the cameras in other areas are still functioning normally. The Student Council has also compiled a list of students who were loitering near the infirmary during the time of the incident. Ultimately, they discovered that, apart from Ryuen Kakeru, Yamada Albert, Tokito Yuya from the previous incident, and Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, Katsuragi Kohei, and the school nurse Hoshinomiya Chie from this incident—"

"There is a strong possibility that two other people have visited the infirmary."

"The first one is Ayanokoji Kiyotaka from Class 1-A."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who had been silently keeping his presence to a minimum, lazily raised his head after hearing his name called, looking drowsy as if he hadn't slept well.

"I was just feeling a little unwell and wanted to go to the infirmary, but then I thought it was too much trouble, so I just went back the way I came."

"OK."

Horikita Manabu did not directly refute Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's statement. Instead, he turned to Tachibana Akane, who was standing beside him, and said:

"Let Yagami Takuya from Class 1-B come in too."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's pupils contracted slightly, but his expression remained calm.

"Yagami- Yagami, what did you do at the infirmary that day?"

"I just helped the Hoshinomiya, with some cleaning and tidying."

Yagami Takuya, who was summoned in, showed no signs of nervousness. He even greeted the four homeroom teachers and Student Council members with a polite smile.

"I can testify that Yagami used to come and help me a lot."

The Hoshinomiya Chie teacher of Class 1-B, Hoshinomiya Chie, also raised her hand to explain.

Horikita Manabu paused in his movements, then suddenly asked with some curiosity:

"As the school's health teacher, Hoshinomiya-sensei wasn't in the infirmary on the afternoon of the incident, was she?"

"Of course, I left after noon, so it was a little bit of a break?"

Facing Horikita Manabu's gaze, Hoshinomiya Chie quickly waved her hand again and said:

"Don't worry, don't worry. Although I'm not in the infirmary every single moment while I'm on duty, I'll check in every hour. If no one's there, I'll go back."

"That..."

"Since the door was always closed and there was no activity, and it was a normal class time that afternoon, I didn't expect any students to go to the infirmary, so I would just look around the door and leave each time."

Looking at the map showing Hoshinomiya Chie's numerous detours, Horikita Manabu reluctantly nodded in agreement.

The infirmary and health teachers at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, or rather, all high schools, are in a rather awkward position. They are in a situation where they can't get help for minor illnesses, but they can't get help for serious illnesses either. If something really happens, the school will definitely arrange an ambulance immediately. For minor illnesses like colds and fevers, students will choose to get medicine after school.

Therefore, being a school nurse is essentially a fairly relaxed job, especially since there aren't many students at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. This is why Hoshinomiya Chie was able to take on the role of school nurse while also serving as a homeroom teacher for Class 1.

But there's always a feeling that the other party is hiding something.

As Horikita Manabu was pondering the matter of Hoshinomiya Chie, a piercing scream suddenly rang out from Yamauchi Haruki:

"I... I understand completely!"

"Pretending to be injured means they want to make a big fuss. In fact, if it weren't for Ryuen Kakeru's interference, Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike would almost have succeeded in swindling one million Private Points from Class A."

"Wasn't Longyuan arranged by you, Ryuen...?"

Horikita Suzune muttered a weak complaint.

"I was just thinking from their perspective."

Kitagawa Ryo lowered his eyes, staring intently at the two people who entered the conference room, as if he could see right through their thoughts:

"The school will narrow down the pool of candidates for these two, after all, the Student Council President is a student."

You mean your brother will help?

"We don't need his help; rather, he's the person most likely to deduce the truth."

Kitagawa Ryo smiled, and as he played with the ends of Horikita Suzune's hair that hung down to her feet because she was squatting, he sighed:

"Suzune's hair grows very fast."

"However, it's still quite a hassle to comb through every day."

Horikita Suzune lowered the pitch of her voice slightly, making it sound somewhat soft and limp.

"But it looks really good! Suzune can recite it to herself every morning when she combs her hair in front of the mirror—"

"Silently ask yourself, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

"No interruptions!"

Kitagawa Ryo patted Horikita Suzune on the shoulder and said very seriously:

"A woman adorns herself for the one she loves."

"The 'pleasers' here include both people you like and people who like you, but ultimately it's all about pleasing yourself; your own happiness is the most important thing."

"So it should be described as a two-way emotion. Like Suzune, who only kept her hair long because she remembered her brother's promise, it was essentially a one-way emotional investment."

Horikita Suzune understood all of this, having experienced it twice before. However, she showed no sign of rebuttal or impatience, quietly listening to Kitagawa Ryo's soft words as he leaned against her.

With Yagami Takuya summoned into the conference room, Kitagawa Ryo changed the subject:

"Gaku will probably deduce half the truth, and then Yamauchi and Ike will fill in the other half without thinking. You can think of him as Uncle Mori who only heard half of Conan's explanation."

"The metaphor of 'cool' is truly apt."

Kitagawa Ryo propped his head up and asked himself:

"Oh dear, who did this?"

Who is it?

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka! This was all your scheme, and I've seen right through it all!"

Facing Yamauchi Haruki, who was rushing towards him with spittle flying, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was instantly locked onto by all eyes in the conference room. Yamauchi Haruki waved his hand and pointed at him without any politeness, his voice almost cracking:

"It was all Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's doing!"

Chapter 55: Darkness Under the Lamp