Sakura Incident

"You don't intend to keep Sudo?" In the Class D Counseling Room, after the agreement was signed and Ryuen had left, Chabashira asked with some hesitation.

"Keep him? Why would I?" Hoshino looked puzzled.

"His athletic ability could certainly be put to good use..." Chabashira seemed to want to say more.

"...I believe I've already helped him once." Hoshino cut Chabashira off, his gaze shifting toward the window.

Last time, that was three hundred thousand points!

"..."

"...I didn't say he had to leave, but this time, I'll leave it to Ayanokoji and the others." Hoshino was still quite "vengeful" about what happened on the morning of the hearing!

With this matter settled, Hoshino had nothing left to care about; whether Sudo stayed or not had nothing to do with him anymore.

Hoshino could sense Chabashira's dissatisfaction, but so what?

At the very least, Hoshino felt that his current value far exceeded Sudo's. Chabashira should have enough discernment to see that. Besides, he still held a condition over her; there was no need to be afraid of Chabashira at all!

"Haa—" The next day, Hoshino got up uncharacteristically early and left the dormitory ahead of schedule.

The Sudo affair was basically no longer any of his business.

As for Ryuen, he had certainly taken advantage of the situation this time! Eight hundred thousand personal points a month, and he had even guarded against any "settling of scores" from Ryuen later on. Hoshino wanted to pat himself on the back for his own wit! Let's see if Ryuen dares to act recklessly now. He could finally relax.

Walking toward the classroom, if it weren't for the scattered few people he could see, Hoshino felt excited enough to want to "run wild."

"G-good morning!" As he slid the door open and entered the classroom, a timid, faint voice rang out.

Hoshino paused slightly, glanced at the pink-haired girl in a seat not far away, and instinctively looked around.

"G-good morning! Hoshino-san!"

"...Oh, good morning, Sakura-san!" Hearing the girl call his name, Hoshino finally reacted.

He was a bit surprised; Sakura was actually greeting him?

"...About last time... thank you!"

Last time? That must have been about her camera!

"Uh, it's nothing, just a small favor!"

"...Um... Hoshino-san... you... are a member of the Student Council, right! I have something..."

The girl's voice grew quieter and quieter, until by the end, Hoshino could barely hear her at all.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Um... um..." The girl's eyes seemed filled with struggle.

Although he didn't know if Sakura was approaching him out of gratitude for last time or because of a problem she was facing, Sakura's hesitation just now made Hoshino take her seriously.

Hoshino knew a thing or two about "social anxiety." For Sakura to brave her fear of interacting with others just to speak to a Student Council member, it couldn't be a small matter!

"Yeah! What is it? You can take your time," Hoshino lowered his voice, hoping to make it sound as gentle as possible.

"I've been... constantly receiving... all sorts of... photos of myself being followed! And... some... letters from unknown sources..."

"Would you mind letting me take a look?"

"...Um... okay..."

After struggling for a long time, the girl slowly took a stack of photos out of her bag and handed them over with trembling hands.

Wow! These photos... they're quite bold! Hoshino was a bit surprised. Sakura looked so pretty without her glasses?

"Ahem... there are so many photos. If you don't want to expose your privacy, you can pick out the ones you don't mind showing. Also, for the photos from the testimony last time, you can copy and remove the ones from the front, and just keep the last one!" Clearing his throat in embarrassment, Hoshino reminded her.

"O-okay!" Sakura's face turned beet red, and she answered stammeringly while keeping her head down in shyness.

Is this girl really a bit silly? How could she just take everything out like that?

"You're not busy right now, are you?"

"N-no, I'm not!" Hoshino breathed a sigh of relief.

With that, Hoshino returned to his seat, put his bag away, and took out the books he needed.

"A-all done!" After a minute or two, Hoshino heard that faint voice and returned to Sakura's desk.

He took the photos and checked them one by one. Indeed, many were taken from voyeuristic angles, and a few even captured scenes of Kushida talking to her. This was truly a very serious matter!

"Is it alright if I take pictures of these?"

"Eh... yes, you can!"

After receiving permission, Hoshino took some photos and sent them to President Horikita.

"Keep these photos safe for now. Come to the Student Council after school, okay? We should start an investigation this afternoon, and I'll definitely give you an answer as soon as possible!"

"O-okay!"

One wave settles, another rises?

Hoshino suddenly felt that there had really been a lot going on lately!

In class, Hoshino's thoughts had already drifted far away.

This was truly bold! To think someone would dare to engage in stalking and secret photography at this school!

Wait, it seemed like this school loved doing exactly that sort of thing...

"Hoshino, what is going on?" President Horikita hurried into the Student Council room.

"It's about that girl from our class who provided testimony the other day; she is suspected of being stalked and secretly photographed."

"That girl... is she alright?" A look of concern appeared on the face of Secretary Tachibana, who was following behind President Horikita.

"There doesn't seem to be any physical harm yet, which is the only silver lining in this misfortune."

Given Sakura's personality, she would likely have endured it in silence even if she had been harmed, so it was fortunate that it was discovered in time!

"She will be coming here later to submit the evidence. Secretary Tachibana, would you mind handling it then?"

"...Alright." Although she was a bit confused at first, after glancing at President Horikita, Secretary Tachibana seemed to understand what Hoshino meant.

"Hoshino, do you have time? If you are free, I will leave this matter to you and Secretary Tachibana for now." President Horikita walked quickly back to his seat.

"Understood!"

"Alright!"