Looting the Burning House

Though a bit stumbling, Sudo Ken still managed to explain the situation clearly.

"The school gave me until next Tuesday to prove the other side threw the first punch. If I can't, it'll be counted as my fault—not only suspended until summer break, but the whole class's points will be deducted too."

To Sudo Ken, losing points didn't matter much, but suspension was a death sentence.

Suspension didn't just mean missing classes; all school-related activities, including club practice, would be halted. With that long away from the club, Sudo Ken's status as an official player candidate would definitely be revoked.

And the rest of Class D couldn't just stand by and do nothing. They'd barely scraped together 87 class points; if those got wiped out because of this, the blow to the class would be immeasurable.

"How about we go talk to a teacher?" Kushida Kikyo suggested.

"The school doesn't trust Sudo Ken. No matter how much you plead or explain, it won't work." Horikita Suzune shook her head.

"But the other side had three people, right? Three guys couldn't fight back against just Sudo?" Ike Kanji patted Sudo Ken's arm, looking puzzled.

"That's exactly why they did it on purpose." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka waited until Horikita Suzune had already pointed out the suspicious points in the incident before speaking slowly. "They took the hits without fighting back much, so Sudo Ken can't use self-defense to dodge this."

This dispute wasn't something that could be solved just by figuring out who threw the first punch. According to Sudo Ken, the other side deliberately provoked him into striking. If he couldn't prove that, even if Sudo Ken was retaliating, beating them up like that would still get him in trouble.

"Damn it!!!" Hearing everyone lay out the whole chain of events for him, Sudo Ken slammed Ayanokoji's desk in anger.

"In short, Sudo Ken, you need to find key evidence to prove that point, or you'll face a very heavy punishment." Horikita Suzune tapped the desk, signaling Sudo Ken to quiet down with a cold glare.

While Class D was discussing countermeasures, Shiraishi Makoto arrived at the library.

He swept his gaze across the crowd inside and soon spotted Shiina Hiyori reading alone in a quiet corner.

"Shiina-san, good evening." Shiraishi Makoto tiptoed over to sit across from Shiina Hiyori and spoke softly.

Hearing someone greet her, Shiina Hiyori put down her book and looked up to see Shiraishi Makoto.

"Shiraishi-kun, good evening."

Though she didn't know why he was looking for her, Shiina Hiyori replied politely.

The two had met in the library the day after school started and often ran into each other there since, but this was their first real conversation.

Shiraishi Makoto naturally knew how to build a good relationship with Shiina Hiyori, but he'd been swamped since the start of the term, having to cram Japanese history to cover his weak spot, with no spare time to dive into detective novels.

Still, the reason Shiraishi Makoto sought out Shiina Hiyori was simple: he didn't know anyone in Class C.

To be precise, Class C was deliberately avoiding him.

Maybe it was because his mediation in the cafeteria back in early June caused some trouble for Class C, or maybe his reputation was just too loud. Ryuen Kakeru seemed to have ordered Class C not to bother him—he couldn't even see a single Class C student hanging around.

And Shiraishi Makoto didn't have Ryuen Kakeru's contact info either. What he was about to do was extortion, so he couldn't ask any other acquaintances for help. That left him with only Shiina Hiyori, this fixed-respawn NPC.

"I need to meet with Ryuen-kun. Could you introduce us?" Shiraishi Makoto stated his purpose.

The leader of Class A suddenly wanting to see Ryuen Kakeru—even Shiina Hiyori, who wasn't that invested in class competition, couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. But since it was just passing along a message, she nodded in agreement.

"Time? Place?" Mindful of the library, Shiina Hiyori didn't call but sent a message via chat app.

Shiraishi Makoto checked the time. It was 5:40 PM.

"6:30, at the school building entrance. Is he free?"

"I'll ask first." Shiina Hiyori wasn't sure about Ryuen Kakeru's whereabouts.

After a moment, her phone screen lit up.

"No problem."

"Alright, thanks, Shiina-san." Having gotten in touch with Ryuen Kakeru, Shiraishi Makoto whispered his thanks.

"It's nothing." Shiina Hiyori smiled and shook her head, watching Shiraishi Makoto leave the library before her smile slowly faded.

A glint of thought flickered in her eyes as her fingers typed a line on the screen.

"He's probably found out what you did."

Shiraishi Makoto walked out of the library, pulled out his phone, and made a call.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, are you still at school?"

"It's like this—I'm about to sign a contract with Class C later, and I might need you to witness it."

"Haha, you guessed it, Sensei."

"The time is 6:30, at the school building. Just wait for me in your office; if you want to come out and watch the show, that works too."

Having secured the backup he needed, Shiraishi Makoto returned to the dorm and picked up the contract he'd written earlier.

At 6:30 PM, Ryuen Kakeru showed up at the school building entrance as promised.

"This is our first meeting, Shiraishi-kun." Ryuen Kakeru's expression was serious, because Shiina Hiyori had already analyzed the situation for him.

Though Shiina Hiyori wasn't involved in this incident, she'd heard about the class's movements. Class C had just filed a complaint with the school yesterday, and today Shiraishi Makoto was asking for his contact info—the reason was obvious.

But he couldn't afford not to come. If Shiraishi Makoto was willing to talk, it meant there was still room to negotiate.

"First meeting, Ryuen-kun." Shiraishi Makoto glanced around. "This place is too conspicuous for what we need to discuss. Let's go inside."

"Fine." Ryuen Kakeru eyed the documents in Shiraishi Makoto's hand. Though he couldn't make out the writing, he had some guesses.

It seemed Shiraishi Makoto had realized the whole incident posed no real threat to Class A and decided to profit from it. But Ryuen Kakeru still didn't know exactly how much Shiraishi Makoto had uncovered.

The two walked into the school building. At this hour, no students were still inside. Ryuen Kakeru spoke first:

"What did you call me out for? Just say it straight."

"That thing with Sudo Ken—you didn't handle it cleanly. I caught your tail."

Shiraishi Makoto had expected that meeting Ryuen Kakeru for the first time, he'd be arrogant and throw out some provocative words. To his surprise, Ryuen was unusually serious, and he realized his purpose had already been seen through.

Since that was the case, Shiraishi Makoto didn't need to beat around the bush.