Two Clear

The whole incident was nothing but a farce to Beihai—or, to put it more plainly, just a means of self-defense. And now the farce was finally over.

The pervert got his punishment, the two girls received their Mental Distress Compensation, and the Student Council claimed the credit. Joyful and celebratory, joyful and celebratory.

It was just that Student Council President Manabu Horikita's expression hadn't looked great from the start, all the way through to the end of the interrogation.

Honami Ichinose, walking alongside Airisu Sakura and Beihai, couldn't help grumbling as she unconsciously leaned on Sakura's arm.

"This really scared me, but I guess it's over now. Is everyone okay?"

Just thinking about it made Honami Ichinose shudder. The sheer number of Points on that terminal still felt unreal.

The day before, she'd been in class proclaiming they'd set up a Class Bank, pooling Points, preparing for the worst. The unity was real, and the slogans were thunderous. Then the next day, the problem was already solved—way too fast.

And what had she done? Just helped catch a pervert. In truth, even that step could've been skipped, since the Student Council had already stepped in. Whether she went or not made no difference. If anything, it just gave her a bit of participation.

Having some participation did feel different—at least she could take the Points with some peace of mind, not like she'd sold herself. But even so, Honami Ichinose felt she didn't quite deserve it.

Airisu Sakura was a bit unluckier. She had no idea what had happened the whole time, only able to piece together the existing evidence. Her brain's CPU was practically smoking from overdrive.

To make things worse, she'd been caught and interrogated by the Student Council. Even if the treatment was gentle, an interrogation was still an interrogation—nothing to sugarcoat.

Responding to Honami Ichinose's concern, she held onto the other girl's arm and said, "I'm fine. Thank you for this."

Beihai sighed beside them. Was this incident over now?

Of course, Beihai hadn't forgotten his main goal. After all, the biggest victim still hadn't received compensation. By reason and emotion, Beihai couldn't be that selfish.

Just like he'd said last time, matters required asking for others' opinions. He couldn't just decide everything himself and claim it was for their good.

"Honami, could you transfer half of these Points to Sakura?"

Hearing this, Honami Ichinose's footsteps stopped completely. The three of them halted together, not moving forward.

Once she snapped out of it, Honami Ichinose quickly pulled out her terminal. After all, the amount was what it was.

Even she felt uneasy keeping it all. Now that someone was willing to share the burden, and Beihai had spoken, she couldn't refuse.

"Mm, okay, okay. Actually, I was thinking of doing that too. Don't misunderstand."

Honami Ichinose was a little happy, but felt her words came out oddly. She quickly corrected herself—that "I was thinking of doing that too" sounded like she wasn't being proactive enough.

So she hurried to deny it, but Beihai raised a hand to stop her, signaling he understood completely.

If it were Kikyo Kushida, he'd have reason to be suspicious. But Honami Ichinose, from what he could see, was a pure angel.

You just couldn't overthink things with her. Besides, she was a bit of an airhead.

Airisu Sakura, meanwhile, was frantically waving her hands, looking panicked, even trying to step back. But Honami Ichinose grabbed her.

The two of them instantly fell into an awkward standoff—one smiling and leaning in like she was up to no good, the other full of reluctance and shyness.

"Is this really hometown lilies blooming? Ah, ahem. Sakura, just take it. Actually, I owe you an apology for this too. Let me say sorry first."

For the first time in this long reincarnation, Beihai mustered some craftsman-like sincerity, bowing at a 90-degree angle.

Airisu Sakura couldn't back out now. Her eyes started spinning like mosquito coils.

"No, no, Beihai, you didn't do anything. What's going on?"

Beihai slowly began to explain.

He described the uncle's perverted behavior—stalking, tailing, harassment, all those labels.

In the end, he'd set the guy up for self-preservation, and along the way, said some inappropriate things. That was what led to today's scene, and it might have affected others.

After finishing, Beihai bowed again.

"But that uncle really did seem to be your fan."

"No, he's not! I've never acknowledged that!"

Airisu Sakura perked up instantly. She hadn't expected it to be over something like this.

"Maybe I was a little angry and confused at first, but after hearing the whole story, I should thank you. For not looking at me or my job with any strange eyes."

Online, she was bold and unrestrained, even posting selfies. But in real life, around peers her age, she naturally became timid, afraid of her job being exposed.

Sometimes, gossip from others really hurt. Especially in this country of Sakura, where everyone got bullied equally.

That was why those "kind senpai" types were so popular. In this kind of environment, who wouldn't get confused?

If she were a singer, she wouldn't need to hide it. At her age, she could be proud of that—it was her skill. But she was an Underground Idol, and she even took some Fan Service Photos.

Peers her age were very good at slapping on labels.

Beihai smiled. "Then it's better you take it. This counts as Mental Distress Compensation. With this, you'll have a bit more confidence."

Airisu Sakura fell silent again. The confidence she'd just mustered turned back into shyness. So Beihai had known about her job all along.

Finally, with Honami Ichinose's urging, she pulled out her terminal.

Once the Points were transferred, Beihai understood this meant the two of them were square. After all, he'd said it was compensation.

As for Beihai himself, he only needed enough to get by. He didn't buy intel, didn't bribe anyone, and managed his own affairs just fine. Besides, there was Kiyotaka Kiyotaka, who was ready to cover him for a month.

And what was Airisu Sakura's job? Up to now, Beihai had only guessed—he had no idea the truth. He was completely making it up.

He'd never named or exposed it, just spoke in riddles, saying "I already know." But Beihai had never actually said what the job was.

Honami Ichinose couldn't quite tell if she felt good or not—it was strange, overall. Beihai's actions had proven he was a good person.

"Beihai, you're a good person."

"Honami, why did you suddenly give me a 'good person' card?"

Ichinose snapped back to reality. How had she let her inner thoughts slip out? She was instantly mortified, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the floor, and quickly made an excuse.

"Nothing. Everyone in Class B is still waiting for me, so I'll head off first."

Airisu Sakura, standing nearby, had her face flushed red from holding it in. She'd actually wanted to say the same thing just now, but she was too late. In class, a guy stealing her job was bad enough—how could a girl also steal her lines?