The Angel Leader of Class B

"Mosimosi."

Back at the Dormitory, Hachiman Hikigaya received a call from Airi Sakura.

"Sorry, I caused trouble for you guys."

Even over the phone, Sakura's voice was still so timid.

Many people might be introverted in real life, yet show a different side of themselves online or over the phone.

But Sakura was clearly not one of them.

"Not at all. You misunderstood."

Hikigaya poured himself a glass of water and calmly used the computer in his room to search for information.

"Huh?"

Sakura sounded surprised, unable to understand what Hikigaya meant.

"Horikita and I aren't a couple, so you don't need to feel sorry."

Hikigaya denied their relationship.

"Ah? This..."

Sakura processed the matter, and it took a long while before her voice came through again.

"Sorry, I was being presumptuous."

"It's fine. How about Saturday?"

Hikigaya's abrupt change of topic left Sakura struggling to keep up.

When no answer came from the other end, Hikigaya chuckled. "To get your camera repaired. If you're free this weekend, come with me."

"Oh, oh." With that detailed explanation, even Sakura understood what Hikigaya meant.

"That works. I'm free all weekend."

"Good. See you this weekend, then."

"Mm, good night, Hikigaya."

Sakura politely wished him good night before hanging up.

Hikigaya leaned back in his chair and looked at the information on the screen about the gravure idol, "Shizuku."

The girl in the photos wore a confident smile and looked full of energy.

And she looked exactly like Sakura, who had just hung up.

This was the hidden side of Airi Sakura.

"Haah!"

Hikigaya lazily yawned as he walked toward the classroom.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since the incident. There were only three days left; if they still failed to find evidence, Hikigaya and Sudo would face expulsion.

For the past few days, Horikita and the others had been desperately searching for evidence to keep the two of them from being expelled.

On the second day, Hikigaya had also been threatened by Horikita into helping look for evidence.

He just had not put much effort into it. There were no surveillance cameras or anything of the sort at either location where the incidents had happened. There was simply no evidence to be found.

As for eyewitnesses, both places were rather secluded. The other side had probably chosen them for that exact reason before calling the two of them there.

It was a flawless setup. There was neither witness testimony nor physical evidence, and no matter how much they insisted on their innocence, they would not receive a fair judgment.

"Um, are you Hikigaya?"

A voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

A pink-haired girl and a boy walked over to him, both smiling.

"That's me. You are...?"

Honami Ichinose, traits: [Angel-like Personality] [United as One]

The pink-haired girl's information appeared before Hikigaya, along with the name of the other boy, Ryuji Kanzaki.

Honami Ichinose, the leader of Class B. Like Ryuen, she was an important figure in her class.

The two of them had something in common: each could lead an entire class alone. Even Class A had not managed to establish a situation where one person stood above everyone else.

Class D was even less worth mentioning. At present, it was impossible to tell who its leader was.

The difference between Ichinose and Ryuen was that Ryuen preferred to use violence to instill fear in others and firmly secure his position.

Ichinose, on the other hand, earned her classmates' trust through her angelic personality.

"I'm Ichinose from Class B. I've heard a lot about you, but this is the first time we've met."

Ichinose smiled slightly. "Just like the rumors say, you're the most handsome boy in the first year."

She and Kushida were known as the two angels of the first year. Their similarly gentle personalities had earned them incomparable support.

There was practically no one in the first year who did not know them.

Incidentally, Hikigaya's popularity had also reached the peak of the first year. The title of most handsome boy had fallen into his hands last month.

Hikigaya scratched his head awkwardly and responded with a shy smile.

"I heard from Kushida. It looks like you're in serious trouble, Hikigaya."

"Yeah," Hikigaya replied.

Kanzaki chimed in from the side. "It should be just as the people from Class D said. Hikigaya really doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like that."

Having met Hikigaya, very few people would truly believe that he would make a move on a woman on Manabe's level.

Besides, Kanzaki had always disliked Ryuen and found his behavior disgusting, so from the start, he had taken the side of Hikigaya, whom he had only met once.

"Yeah, Hikigaya really doesn't look like that kind of person."

Ichinose waved her fist and said, "All right! To prove Hikigaya's innocence, I'll do my best to help find eyewitnesses too!"

She really was an angel! Every move she made was enough to make hearts flutter.

Was this what they called a white moonlight? Wanting to date an angel like her was such a horribly sleazy thought.

"Thank you, both of you."

Hikigaya thanked them. In any case, this morning had been unexpectedly lucky. He had actually gotten the chance to talk to Ichinose.

More and more people were beginning to appear, and the things that made this school truly interesting were slowly surfacing.

When he arrived in the classroom, Hikigaya found Horikita with a deeply furrowed brow.

"It's not good to get angry so early in the morning. You'll get wrinkles easily."

"I really wish I could be as carefree as you."

Horikita spoke with envy.

Hikigaya was the one on the verge of expulsion, yet he had not shown the slightest hint of panic from beginning to end. His accomplice, Sudo, was not even going to Basketball Club anymore, desperately searching for evidence instead.

"No matter how anxious you get, it won't help. You might as well calm down and take a good look at this school. Maybe you won't get another chance later."

Hikigaya spoke as if mocking himself, and Horikita's brow furrowed even more tightly.

Even Ayanokoji was surprised by how calmly Hikigaya was taking things.

"I already asked Sakura for help, but unfortunately, she refused my request."

Horikita bit her finger, constantly thinking of a way to break the deadlock.

But the only option right now was Sakura. She alone had appeared at the scene of the incident, and she alone could prove that Hikigaya was innocent.

Why was she unwilling to step forward and testify?

"Maybe you were too harsh, Horikita. You probably scared her."

"Are you an idiot? How could someone abandon a classmate in trouble over something that trivial?"

"Huh? Horikita, you can say things like that now? You were colder than anyone when school first started."

Thinking back to Horikita from two months ago, she had probably been a hundred times worse than Sakura.