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 why I have to help you with this work!"

Akane Tachibana 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 an excuse!

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

That was truly shameless!!!

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

"Hah, don't expect me to sugarcoat this. Every staff member at this school goes through layers of screening before they're hired, so 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 really want to deal with it either, but I don't have much of a choice..."

Soon enough, Shinjo found the list and information for all the staff at the electronics store. Since the target was supposedly lecherous toward female students, the culprit had to be a man.

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

According to the level of severity described 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 spread among the students a long time ago.

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 it would be impossible to convict him based on that alone, right?

The electronics store.

Because the students at this school had high purchasing power, and being in their teens meant they were naturally interested in these 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 a cautious expert?'

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 long time. 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 strong contrarian streak, so it's hard for me to listen to other people's opinions."

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

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

"Well... hehehe... she's the cutest girl I've ever seen."

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

Karuizawa was indeed very 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 on my own, it's just too difficult."

"That works too! We welcome you both anytime!"

Just like that, Shinjo's investigation ended in failure; he hadn't narrowed down the suspects or 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 actually catch a culprit under these circumstances, even that death-god elementary schooler from the show next door couldn't pull it off."

Karuizawa nodded helplessly. "So what are we going to do today?"

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

Sakura had a camera that looked quite high-end, 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 erupted over at Sudo's desk.

"You dare 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're someone who doesn't know the meaning of respecting others at all, right?!"

"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, if you asked me for reasons to despise you, I could go on for an entire day."

Already at his boiling point, Sudo raised his fist to punch Koenji, but the latter didn't show the slightest bit of fear. He was ready to strike at any moment; if the other party dared to make the first move, he would retaliate 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 could save you!"

"And you, Koenji! Why do you keep attacking Sudo? What you're doing right now is undoubtedly wrong!"

But who was Koenji?

Would the eldest son of the prestigious Koenji family ever 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 withdraw now, we only lose a mere 87 points. But if we wait until our score is higher to have someone drop out, how many points will be deducted then?"

"Koenji!!"

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

"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, they just know how to argue all day long."

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

"By the way, are you close with that guy Koenji? 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 spotted Sakura returning from outside.