"Honami, aren't you going to offer me some compensation?"
"Compensation?"
"Mm. What happened to our temporary alliance?"
"Well..."
Oreki was momentarily at a loss for words.
He had been wary of Sakayanagi because he was cautious by nature.
But that did mean he hadn't fully trusted his ally.
That was pretty normal.
If you didn't stab your allies in the back, could you even call them allies?
If anything, allies were there to be betrayed.
"Oh, right. Aren't you playing the emperor in the parade on the thirtieth?"
"Yeah. And?"
"Of course I'll hold an umbrella over you."
"Mm... fine. Though that's not what I wanted."
Sakayanagi gave him a smile that was almost a smirk.
Her expression made Oreki's heart skip a beat.
Hey, hey...
You're not planning to make this your first time, are you?
Stop.
Oreki was a pure-hearted boy who hadn't even held a girl's hand.
"Let's stop joking around."
"I'm not joking."
"Anyway! Let's deal with the matter at hand first..."
"Fine."
Sakayanagi rose from her seat.
She left the classroom with Oreki.
Ayanokoji should be with Sakura Airi.
No...
He might be at yesterday's spot, too.
After all, Shiina Hiyori had said he was going to settle things with Oreki.
If so, then he was probably waiting for Oreki at the same place as before.
—Settle things, huh?
Oreki mused to himself.
Those words had stirred what little competitive spirit he had left.
Hopefully Kiyoko would put on a decent show.
At least, she shouldn't make it too ridiculous.
Like knocking someone flying with one punch.
It'd be hilarious if they spent all that time building up a villain, only for the protagonist to knock him flying with one punch.
Before long,
Oreki found Ayanokoji in front of the dormitory.
He was sitting on a bench by a streetlight with Sakura Airi.
The two of them looked very close.
Just the friendship between two girls, he supposed.
"You?"
"Uh... yeah, me."
"Didn't I tell her to ask you to stop investigating?"
"Who?"
"...I see."
Kiyoko got up from the bench.
He carefully sized up Houtarou Oreki.
Oreki had managed to wheedle information out of him a few times, but that was all.
He didn't like him, but he didn't dislike him either.
"So, you already know the truth behind the incident?"
"More or less."
Oreki nodded.
He had already worked out the art museum incident from beginning to end.
He was just missing the crucial evidence.
Without evidence, even the most brilliant deduction was still just a deduction.
"In that case, I suppose making peace is out of the question."
"Is that so?"
"Mm."
As Kiyoko approached step by step, Oreki put his right hand behind his back.
At a signal from him, Hashimoto Masayoshi, who was lying in wait nearby, would make his move.
But this wasn't the outcome Oreki wanted.
A contest of strength would be terribly boring.
"I've heard about what happened at the gym."
"What are you trying to say?"
"No, I'm not trying to threaten you. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"I imagine you'll suffer because of the person beside you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Hmm... Perhaps it'd be simpler to show you."
As he spoke, Kiyoko tossed a phone over.
Oreki caught it easily.
When he turned it on, a video appeared on the screen.
"Hashimoto Masayoshi?"
"...So he found out."
Oreki and Sakayanagi spoke at the same time.
Sakayanagi, however, seemed perfectly calm.
Could she have been prepared for even this possibility?
What a terrifying woman.
It was a very short video.
It showed...
Hashimoto Masayoshi feeding a crow, and then the crow flying through a gym window with a tennis ball in its beak.
"How about we both take a step back?"
Kiyoko took out another phone.
His meaning was obvious.
Even if you deleted the video, I still have a backup.
"I didn't expect you to pull something like this..."
Oreki began to think of a way to respond.
If this got out, Houtarou Oreki would be the one to suffer.
Because...
With the Sakayanagi Family's influence, the principal wouldn't dare say a thing.
But it was different for Oreki, the one who'd come up with the plan.
He shook his head.
If that unlucky bastard held a grudge against him, the days ahead would be rough.
The principal already nitpicked over a little thing like this.
How much worse would it be when it came to Oreki, who had made a fool of him?
If the principal learned the truth, he would never let Oreki off.
"Well, what do you think, Houtarou?"
"What do I think..."
"Are you going to give up?"
"No. As a threat, I actually have something I haven't shown you yet."
Oreki took out his phone.
What he'd asked Shiina Hiyori to investigate last time hadn't been so simple.
While gathering the employees' opinions of Sakura Tanaka...
Shiina Hiyori had also obtained evidence of his embezzlement.
No wonder he'd been demoted.
For an ordinary person, a demotion would be the least of their worries.
They might even be offered up to the public for a bit of satisfaction.
What kind of satisfaction...
It would be something like, "Another person was arrested today, and the people immediately applauded."
Even though that person hadn't stolen their money.
Even though they didn't know that person at all.
Even though the people oppressing them were still living carefree lives...
Most people wouldn't think about any of that.
They would just find an outlet and vent all the resentment they'd built up in their daily lives.
And this news happened to provide a good outlet.
It let them release their frustration peacefully and gave them hope... no, an illusion.
They thought that what happened in the news would one day happen to the person oppressing them, too.
But that wasn't the case.
Why?
Because...
It wasn't that the people oppressing them wouldn't get arrested.
It was that they couldn't even tell who was oppressing them in the first place.
Oreki pitied those people.
But it wasn't all bad.
Sometimes it was better not to know anything.
The most painful thing was knowing too much and being unable to change the situation.
Enough idle thoughts.
After all that, he only wanted to emphasize one thing.
"As a precaution, I made a backup, too."
Oreki swiped his right hand.
He quickly shared the photo with Kiyoko.
It served as proof of what he'd just said.
"You're the one who should give up, Ayanokoji. How can you use an innocent girl like that? Doesn't your conscience bother you?"
"Conscience? I don't understand."
"Is that so? You don't understand..."
"I warned you before, and I just gave you another chance."
"Hey, hey. Can't win, so you're flipping the table?"
"No. This is just faster."
"Tch... You've really disappointed me."
Oreki quickly made a hand signal.
Nearby, Hashimoto Masayoshi, who'd been waiting for his cue, sprang up.
Kiyoko charged forward without backing down.
After slipping past Hashimoto Masayoshi by half a step, he clenched his right fist.
Hashimoto Masayoshi immediately switched from defense to offense.
Just as the two were about to clash...
"That's enough! Both of you, stop!"
Ichinose Honami came around from behind a tree, recording with her phone as she spoke.
Oreki wasn't surprised at all.
Because...
Ichinose was the one he'd asked Hashimoto to call over.
--To be continued
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