Food Poisoning

"Kushida, please show some restraint."

Horikita Suzune, watching Kushida Kikyo constantly bothering her deskmate, finally couldn't hold back and spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

Kushida Kikyo looked up with an innocent expression.

"Thirteen times."

Horikita Suzune made another mark in her notebook.

"You've come to find You En thirteen times this morning alone."

"So what?"

Kushida Kikyo responded with a confused look, as if she didn't understand.

"Horikita, you're not dating You En, are you?"

Horikita Suzune stared at her seriously. "If you have a grudge against me or any issue with me, just come at me directly. There's no need to drag unrelated people into it."

"Eh? Unrelated people,"

Kushida Kikyo covered her mouth with a sly smile. "Between me and You En-kun, you seem to be the unrelated one, don't you?"

You En, seeing himself dragged into it, had no choice but to end the conversation.

"Kushida... your questions are explained. Go back now."

Hearing You En call her "Kushida" instead of "Kushida-san," she smiled sweetly and said, "Okay~ You En-kun."

That smile made someone frown.

A considerable portion of the class had their eyes fixed here.

"Is that a love triangle?"

"It has to be, right?"

"Damn, I'm so jealous! My little Kushida!"

Watching Kushida Kikyo return to her seat, Horikita Suzune felt like she understood how to provoke her emotions.

As for who taught her, did she even need to ask?

"Let me say this first—I didn't teach her that."

You En turned around. "She's a natural at it."

"Then she still had someone to imitate."

Horikita Suzune sighed, not dwelling on the Kushida matter, and instead asked, "About tonight's study session, have you coordinated with them?"

"Yeah, they sent the details last night. Location is on the third floor of the library. One-on-four teaching, helping them consolidate their studies."

"Alright then,"

Horikita Suzune handed over a notebook.

"This is my notes. Use them."

You En took it. Though his memory was excellent, he still needed some notes for teaching—at the very least, something to show the students.

"What about you?"

Horikita Suzune pulled out another one. "I have another. This one is my class notes; I reorganized a copy while reviewing on my own."

You En felt a surge of admiration.

What was a top student? This was a true top student. With this kind of attitude toward learning, one could fully utilize their talent, even surpass its limits.

"By the way, did Ichinose tell you what kind of students they are?"

Horikita Suzune asked.

You En knew she might not want to deal with troublesome people.

"Ichinose sent their names and grades. She said they're all nice girls, but, how to put it, their comprehension is a bit lacking. Still, their attitude is good."

Horikita Suzune let out a slight sigh of relief. "That's good."

If they were like Yamauchi, she would never go.

Suddenly, a short message came through on her terminal, and a conflicted expression appeared on her face.

You En was a little curious but didn't ask. Instead, he scanned the classmates around him.

His focus landed on Ayanokoji, who was chatting with Yamauchi and Ike Kanji.

Come to think of it, aside from Kushida Kikyo coming to find him many times today, there was one other person who kept watching this area.

That was Yamauchi Haruki. His attention had been fixed on You En's side, but his gaze was always on Horikita.

You En withdrew his gaze. This inevitably brought unpleasant thoughts to mind.

Was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka playing his behind-the-scenes game again? Was this a probe at him, or at Horikita Manabu?

Most likely both.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had probably been stirring up Yamauchi Haruki's emotions these past few days. After all, that guy had a terrible personality, habits, and temper.

Just by instigating and flattering, he could make him do things an ordinary person wouldn't dare attempt.

You En roughly sorted out the script Ayanokoji had designed. It was nothing more than using Yamauchi to bait Horikita Suzune with information about Horikita Manabu. She was smart, but when it came to her brother, she lost her wits.

After luring her out, under normal development, Yamauchi would fail to argue with Horikita Suzune, get angered by her, and then be subdued by her in one move.

Ayanokoji's plan shouldn't be that. He should be the one to step in and save the day at the end. So, he couldn't have overlooked the gap in their fighting ability. How would he fill that gap?

You En turned around and stared at Horikita Suzune.

After being watched for a long time, Horikita Suzune finally let out a helpless sigh and lifted her gaze. "What are you looking at me for?"

You En asked, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Horikita Suzune was about to say no, but suddenly a faint pain came from her lower abdomen and waist. She couldn't speak for a moment and took a slight breath.

"It's... nothing."

"Let's go to the school infirmary."

You En stood up.

Horikita Suzune shook her head. It was probably her period coming. She could just endure it...

But this time felt a little different from before.

"Suzune, I'll go with you. I want to confirm something."

You En felt this situation should be different. Even if Horikita Suzune wasn't in good condition now, she wouldn't lose most of her ability to resist.

If she had accidentally ingested some kind of drug, and it triggered the pain at the same time, she might mistake it for the same thing. Once the drug fully took effect...

He hoped it was just his overthinking.

You En took Horikita Suzune's hand and briefly spoke a few words to Hirata Yosuke, asking him to help request leave later.

The class representative election still hadn't started. Although the classmates had been proposing it to Chabashira Sae, the homeroom teacher hadn't responded yet. The same went for the other classes.

Arriving at the school infirmary, You En led Horikita Suzune to a nursing bed.

"How do you feel?"

Horikita Suzune felt her condition wasn't that bad yet, but seeing You En's expression, she didn't think it was bad either.

"...It's not that serious. Let's just take a quick look and go back. The next class is about to start."

"Wait a moment."

You En contacted Hoshinomiya-sensei. In less than five minutes, she arrived.

Hoshinomiya Chie entered. This time, she didn't say anything else first but adopted a medical professional's attitude and asked directly:

"Where's the patient?"

You En pointed over there. "I had her lie down on the bed first."

Hoshinomiya-sensei went to Horikita Suzune's side, checking on her while communicating.

You En pulled the blue medical partition curtain closed and waited outside.

About ten minutes later, Hoshinomiya Chie came out. "It's not just simple primary dysmenorrhea. There are symptoms of food poisoning or drug poisoning. I need to collect samples for a toxicology test."

Seeing You En's expression turn cold, she paused.

"Did you guess this, and that's why you brought her in for a check-up?"

"I have a rough idea of who it is."

You En had originally thought this was just his own speculation, but he hadn't expected that person would actually dare to do it.

But thinking about it, it made sense. What wouldn't Ayanokoji dare to do?

Compared to the obvious Yamauchi, Ayanokoji was far more terrifying. He dared to do anything and had the ability to do it.

If Yamauchi hadn't revealed his intentions, You En probably wouldn't have thought of this angle either.

"Don't worry,"

Hoshinomiya Chie made an OK gesture and blinked cutely.

"I've taken a blood sample and already treated Horikita Suzune-san. You don't need to be too tense."

You En calmed down first and thanked the Hoshinomiya-sensei in front of him.

"Thank you. How many points will this cost?"

"Since it's brought by You En, I'll work for free this time."

Hoshinomiya-sensei continued to extend her goodwill toward You En. "You just need to pay the points the school asks for."

You En understood that there was no kindness without reason, but also no hatred without cause. Regardless of her motives, this goodwill was genuine, and he would always keep it in mind.

"As you said before, I'll consider it. Even if I don't, I won't make trouble for the students in your class, Hoshinomiya-sensei."

Hoshinomiya-sensei had been waiting for those words. What wall couldn't she break down? Little Stupid Pillar, just you wait!

She held several fluid samples in her hand.

"I'll take these upstairs for specialized testing. It'll be faster than outside the school—results in about six hours. Until then, let Horikita-san stay here."

Hoshinomiya Chie pulled out her terminal and shot a teasing glance before heading out.

"Oh, right. Have her request leave on her terminal, find the school infirmary, and I'll approve it. She doesn't need to attend afternoon classes."

You En nodded. Hoshinomiya-sensei was reliable—at least more so than Chabashira-sensei, who did nothing, let alone go the extra mile or even show up for class.

But one thing puzzled him: this school's rules were clearly well-established, so why did it allow students so much freedom?

Forget it. He'd set that aside for now. The current problem was how to handle Ayanokoji's poisoning.

You En knew only Ayanokoji could have done this, but there was no evidence. If he planned something like this, he'd cover his tracks cleanly.

"You En-kun..."

A faint voice came from behind the medical curtain. Horikita Suzune seemed to be enduring something.

You En suddenly realized he might have trusted Hoshinomiya-sensei too much.

Though she meant well, how was she treating this? What method was she using?

He only remembered having a dream, but the specifics were already hazy.

To ensure safety, You En pulled back the curtain. The scene before him was quite striking. He took one look, immediately turned his head, and stepped back out of the cubicle.

Taking a deep breath, if that fleeting glance hadn't deceived him, Horikita Suzune's expression was like that of a...

The girl's gasps, along with whispers calling his name from time to time.

To stop himself from listening further and doing something irrational, You En started thinking.

Wait?!

If Hoshinomiya-sensei's treatment method was like this, then before, when he himself had received treatment, what had his expression been like?

He didn't dare imagine it. If he'd made that kind of face in front of Chabashira and Hoshinomiya, You En felt his life was basically over. Let it all burn.

Forget it. He wouldn't think about this anymore.

When Horikita Suzune woke up, if she'd forgotten this, good. If not, You En would say he hadn't heard or seen anything.

Inside the school infirmary's surveillance room, Hoshinomiya Chie pressed her hand on the desk, her face full of disappointment.

"What self-control? He didn't do anything?!"

After sending the samples for testing, she'd immediately come to the surveillance room to check what was happening inside. Given her racial traits, she was quite interested in such matters.

And this was all she got? Not a single scene she wanted to see.

Why be so rigid with your bottom line? Can't you be a little flexible?

Being this upright will only get you into trouble, You En-kun.