Call It a Favor I Owe You / Chapter 246: Ichinose Has Grown

However, apart from Ichinose, everyone else had rather stiff expressions and kept glancing around at their surroundings.

Shuichi Kanda, who had originally intended to go and say hello, immediately dismissed the idea. After all, he was now a man who was two-timing, and if Ichinose's classmates found out that Ichinose was actually dating a third person, the scene would probably not be very pleasant.

"You've really worked hard, Ichinose."

Seeing Ichinose's somewhat difficult situation, Shiina couldn't help but sigh.

You mean the rumors, right?

"Exactly, it's really going too far to spread something like that, isn't it?" Shiina, who usually doesn't have many facial expressions, showed a rare hint of Shiina at this moment.

"Yes, that's right, it's absolutely vicious!"

Shuichi Kanda nodded in agreement.

"So thank you so much for this, Kanda- kun."

"Ah, right, yeah?" Shuichi Kanda. "Wait, why are you thanking me?"

"Weren't all those rumors that appeared on the forum this morning actually Kanda's doing?" Shiina tilted her head.

"Don't talk nonsense! I don't admit it. Who spreads rumors about themselves?"

Spreading rumors about himself? Shiina, thought for a moment, and then showed a look of sudden realization.

"Oh, you mean that one? I asked Ryuen to send it."

Shuichi Kanda was completely bewildered. First of all, I didn't provoke you. Secondly, I didn't provoke you. Finally, you're not on the ship I'm standing on. How could you slander me out of thin air?

"Um, that's not quite accurate. Actually, I went to ask Ryuen about the rumors. I figured if it was him, he would definitely know who did it."

So, what image does Ryuen have in your mind, and why do you think he knows who the mastermind behind this is?

And...

So that's why Ryuen has so much free time.

"Fine, I had someone do the things on the forum."

"You did this for Ichinose, didn't you? You're trying to divert everyone's attention?"

"Yes, you could say that."

Shuichi Kanda could not deny that he actually had another purpose, which was to get the Student Council involved in this matter, and he had already achieved that.

Because Nagumo had already posted a clarification about the rumors in the Student Council members' exclusive group chat this morning.

He knew, of course, that the rumors about Ichinose were spread by Sakayanagi; he was referring to the subsequent events.

Shuichi Kanda has already accepted the task, explaining that since most of the issues involve first-year students, he'll let him handle it.

However, Nagumo immediately refused, asking you to clarify?

You fucking manage to make a rumor seem like the truth!

When did I, Nagumo, ever like men?

No, you're the one who orchestrated all this, aren't you?

Nagumo quickly figured out what was going on, but there was nothing he could do. The poster was an anonymous user, and this was something he had bought with points from the school. Even with the Student Council President's privileges, he couldn't find out who was behind it.

Unless he can find a skilled hacker to hack into the School Forum and check the backend.

It's a pity there weren't any talented people like that in the second year.

Speaking of hackers, Shuichi Kanda thought of someone: Hideo Sotomura from Class 1-C. This guy seemed to be a tech geek; he had previously been able to make a remote-controlled battle car with a camera by hand, and he also seemed to be quite familiar with computers.

Therefore, Nagumo's solution to this matter was to have Shuichi Kanda, who was the vice president, and Kiriyama handle it together, with Shuichi Kanda in charge of the first-year students and Kiriyama in charge of the second-year students.

Well, this can be considered a compromise in disguise.

"Ichinose, what are your plans for the future Kanda- san? There's no doubt that someone is manipulating things behind Ichinose. Are Kanda just going to keep fighting them like this?"

"How could that be? This kind of thing stops working if you use it too much. Besides, what I release is just some gossip to divert everyone's attention; it will dissipate on its own in a few days at most."

Shuichi Kanda shook his head, then he considered whether or not to tell Shiina what had happened.

"Speaking of which, Shiina shouldn't have anything to do with this, right? It's rare to see you so concerned about something."

When asked this question, Shiina nodded. "To be honest, I don't want to see Ichinose in pain. She treats me like everyone else, even though I don't have many friends, so--"

She expressed her thoughts in a firm tone.

"I used to dislike hurting others, but lately I've gradually come to feel that sometimes it's necessary to fight to protect your friends."

"... You want to protect Ichinose?"

"Yes!" Shiina nodded emphatically. "Even though I'm an enemy of Ichinose in our class, I still want to help her, so... Kanda- san, can you tell me your thoughts? If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Since they've Shuichi Kanda keep quiet.

Moreover, Shuichi Kanda used a perfectly legitimate conspiracy and wasn't afraid of outsiders finding out.

"My first step is to muddy the waters, or rather, to make things worse." Shuichi Kanda organized his thoughts slightly. "Using rumors to attack someone's feelings is a despicable act no matter how you look at it, so the school will not condone it."

"But because Ichinose hadn't appealed before, the school had been turning a blind eye and didn't intend to do anything about it."

Of course, the main reason is that Nagumo, as the Student Council President, tacitly approved of this matter, so even though the person involved was Ichinose, who was a Student Council officer, the Student Council did not intervene.

"But if the number of victims increases, or even if a major incident occurs, then the school will have no choice but to take action. In fact, the Student Council already took action this morning."

There's no way around it, because Nagumo himself has become a victim of the rumors. As the Student Council President, if he were to ignore such rumors...

Who knows what will happen next? The rumors might just get more and more outrageous.

Therefore, with just Shuichi Kanda forced Nagumo to take action.

"I see. As long as the Student Council intervenes and takes the initiative to strictly prohibit the spread of any rumors, then Ichinose can also be saved."

"That's right, that's one of them."

Shiina tilted her Shiina. "Firstly? Isn't that already solved?"

"As for the follow-up... I'm not at liberty to tell you, but you'll be able to see the results in the next few days."

Of course, Shuichi Kanda had more to say. The instigator did such a thing but received no punishment. Did they think the Kanda Family was too easy to bully?

Seeing that Shuichi Kanda had already resumed eating, Shiina didn't press the matter further. Since Shuichi Kanda had already said he had plans, she might as well just trust him.

That afternoon after school, the Student Council issued a policy prohibiting the spread of rumors without evidence.

Upon seeing this statement, Shuichi Kanda was somewhat speechless. What's the difference between posting it and not posting it at all?

Of course, Nagumo certainly knew this was useless; he was just making a statement to avoid accusations of Student Council inaction.

However, for the average student, this statement is sufficient. It signifies the Student Council's intervention, and if anyone continues to speak recklessly, they can report it directly to the Student Council...

Whether or not the problem is resolved is ultimately up to the Student Council.

How cunning, Nagumo.

If it involves rumors about him, he will probably punish him severely. If it involves Ichinose, he will probably punish him severely but then let it go, or he will drag it out and see Ichinose can drag it out longer.

However, it can't be dragged on for too long, otherwise the Student Council's capabilities will be questioned.

Shuichi Kanda estimates that it will be about this week, and starting next week, the rumors should gradually subside.

This is also a signal from Nagumo to Sakayanagi: I can't hold back anymore. If you have any follow-up measures, use them quickly. If not, then just admit defeat.

And this was one of Shuichi Kanda's goals.

Once the other party realizes that their previous methods have been thwarted, they will definitely take action again in order to achieve a more significant result.

This is commonly known as "a cornered dog will jump over the wall."

Shuichi Kanda was waiting for his opponent to make a desperate move. If he didn't act, he wouldn't have any weaknesses. But once he did act, he would inevitably give his opponent something to hold against him.

After school, the pretty girl sitting next to him struck up Shuichi Kanda again.

Aren't you going to do anything about this?

Look, look, everyone else knows what I did, but you still don't know I made a move. That's the difference, girl!

"What's going on? This doesn't really have much to do with Class C, does it?"

"Class B and Class C are allies after all..."

Horikita froze before she could finish speaking, then clutched her forehead.

During the first semester, Horikita did form an alliance contract with Ichinose, but the contract clearly stated that if the points of the two classes were almost the same, the contract would automatically become invalid.

Horikita clearly hadn't considered this at the time, only realizing it after the words had left her mouth, and therefore felt she had somewhat misspoke.

"That's right, Class B and Class C are no longer allies. Now the Class Points of the three classes are almost the same. It's more accurate to say that Class C should take advantage of Sakayanagi's attack on Ichinose to reap the benefits."

As Horikita listened to Shuichi Kanda's words, his gaze grew increasingly strange.

"Are you really that cold-blooded?"

I don't want you to say that to me, I was just teasing you.

"And you even know that the person behind it is Sakayanagi."

"Isn't it obvious?" Shuichi Kanda said lazily. "Speaking of which, why aren't you paying attention to what's going on with Yamauchi when you're focusing on this? That idiot seems to be on the verge of being turned."

Horikita felt terrible just thinking about it.

"By the way, you'd better talk to Hirata about this and tell him that if Yamauchi does anything detrimental to Class C, I might have to take action."

Horikita looked at Shuichi Kanda with surprise. "Why don't you go by yourself?"

"It's hard to say, after all, Hirata is that kind of person." Shuichi Kanda packed his bag and stood up. "Anyway, I'm leaving this to you."

Watching Shuichi Kanda's departing figure, Horikita Suzune sighed, feeling as if she had become his tool.

But did he really not offer any help to Ichinose?

I remember they seemed to have a pretty good relationship.

Chapter 245 Consider it my debt

Chapter 246 Ichinose Has Grown Up

Around 5 a. m., Ichinose woke up from her dream, feeling much better; her nose was no longer stuffy, and her headache was gone.

By the moonlight, Ichinose stared absently at the slightly brightened ceiling, feeling as if she had just had a good dream.

Feeling thirsty, Ichinose got up to get a glass of water and then she discovered Shuichi Kanda, who was asleep next to her bed.

Huh?

Could it be that it wasn't a dream?

Ichinose's face instantly flushed red, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Shuichi Kanda was still not awake.

Moonlight peeked through the curtains, illuminating Shuichi Kanda's face.

Shuichi Kanda's face was not very peaceful, his brows were slightly furrowed. Was he worried about me? Ichinose's heart was enveloped in warmth.

At the same time, I started to recall what happened before I fell asleep.

I think I was about to open the door, and then I think I passed out.

As for what happened in between, I don't know, but Shuichi, you must have had a tough time.

Seeing their hands clasped tightly, Ichinose smiled gently.

Looking at Shuichi Kanda's sleeping face, Ichinose reached out and placed his hand between his brows, gently smoothing out the slight furrow in his brow.

"I like you, Shuichi," Ichinose Honami said softly and gently.

Seeing Shuichi Kanda's face gradually become peaceful, Ichinose released her grip on Shuichi Kanda's hand and got out of bed.

I had such a high fever yesterday, but I didn't seem to sweat at all, because I didn't feel sticky or sweaty.

Ichinose tiptoed off the bed, then took a blanket and covered Shuichi Kanda with it before going into the bathroom.

However, when she turned on the bathroom light, she realized something was wrong...

Why is one of the buttons on my pajamas buttoned wrong?

Could it be...?

Suddenly, Ichinose thought of a possibility, her face turned red again, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably.