Chapter 263

"You looked so angry when you came out. If it were just Kinoshita, you wouldn't have acted like that, so Kushida must have been inside too. And then you confirmed that Kushida betrayed you," Hachiman said.

"Ugh, I never imagined something like this would happen to our class, or even to Kushida. I never expected her to betray me. In fact, I have no idea why she would betray me," Horikita said, sounding somewhat dejected. "The things she said in the infirmary were all attempts to manipulate and convince me that I hurt Kinoshita. Although I knew she might not like me, I never expected her to betray me at such a crucial moment."

"How..."

"Are you out of options?" Ryuen asked.

Actually, I felt like I had finally gotten my revenge.

However, Hachiman Hikigaya was quite capable, and he immediately realized that Kushida was the spy.

It's regrettable that Kushida's spy identity has been exposed, so he may no longer be able to participate in the Special Exam that Hachiman Hikigaya are preparing for.

But.

This time, his value as a spy has met his expectations.

"During the VIP Exam, Hachiman Hikigaya was very aggressive in threatening me. Now, you can get that ten million back, right?"

"If the jade is returned intact, then I will have Kinoshita withdraw the arbitration."

"Because... You need to understand, Kinoshita's leg was deliberately injured by Horikita, which not only cost him the chance to score, but also robbed him of the possibility of becoming an outstanding athlete in the future! And can you afford to pay that price?"

"Once the verdict is handed down, will anyone still believe in you, Suzune Horikita?"

"I am innocent," Suzune Horikita said. "And I was injured too."

"Who would believe something like that? Or can you provide any evidence? But unfortunately, your voice recorder is destroyed."

These words left Suzune Horikita speechless.

Ryuen was rather smug.

"Ryuen." But Hachiman looked at him with a serious gaze. "You arranged for Kushida to betray us during the VIP Exam, didn't you? The patterns you obtained were all because Kushida had information about the VIP in my class."

"..." Ryuen.

Actually, the pattern he obtained in the previous VIP Exam was from Sakayanagi.

But at that time, Kushida did indeed become a spy.

It seems that Hachiman Hikigaya was unaware that the ultimate winner of the VIP Exam was Sakayanagi Arisu.

However, he casually agreed to take on this insignificant task.

"Are you still recording?" Ryuen asked.

"We don't have those voice recorders anymore," Hachiman said. "A voice recorder costs 100,000 yen, and you've ruined two of mys. I've lost 200,000 yen."

Oh.

However, he then heard Hachiman say something.

"Although we no longer have a voice recorder, we still have a mobile phone."

"What!"

Ryuen instantly darkened.

Because, given his intelligence, it seemed he realized he had been tricked.

"Looks like you've figured it out, a voice recorder, a voice recorder," Hachiman said. "These things aren't easy to apply for or get, but every student has a recording device—our cell phones."

"Because of the convenience of mobile phones, voice recorders did not spread as easily."

"So."

"Hachiman said."

"Although you arranged for Kushida to take the voice recorder from Horikita, did you consider that Suzune Horikita's phone was actually recording the whole time?"

That's what they're saying.

Hachiman looked at Suzune Horikita.

Suzune Horikita reached into her pocket with her left hand and took out her white cell phone.

Open the phone's interface.

It's a voice recorder.

And.

Recording time: 2:23:24

The recording lasted for more than two hours.

The recording took so long, which means... the recording started from the very beginning of the Sports Festival.

Ryuen's pupils suddenly contracted, and his expression turned deathly pale.

"It seems you understand."

Hachiman said that he took Horikita's phone, turned on the phone's recorder, and turned up the volume.

"Then, our school's 22nd All-School Sports Festival officially begins." A boy's voice Senpai Fujimaki from Third-year Class A.

Um.

That's too early.

So he fast-forwarded through it.

Soon.

"Horikita, I'm going to surpass you!"

"Horikita, I will surpass you."

"Horikita, you're just a little bit short."

A female voice came through the recorder, though not very clear, but still barely recognizable.

That was Kinoshita's voice.

"If you want to use Horikita's frequent turning around during the match as evidence."

Hachiman said mercilessly, "Then I can refute your evidence. We can then turn the tables and sue you in the Student Council, applying for arbitration. Because you're framing me!"

"And you, Ryuen, are very familiar with this, aren't you!"

Does it look familiar?

Of course I'm familiar with it.

Because this is a repeat of the Sudō assault incident.

Oh shit.

Ryuen then realized that he was also the kind of person who would fall into the same trap twice.

Hachiman continued, "..."

"Let me think. If someone intentionally causes harm and then maliciously frames another person, can they be punished for both crimes? While we can't really do anything to Ryuen, the Kinoshita, we should be able to expel Kinoshita, right?"

Knowing how the other party orchestrated the conspiracy is more effective than proving that they actually used a conspiracy.

It needs to be more direct and effective.

"Dragon, Ryuen, what should we do?"

Hachiman didn't lower his voice, and Ryuen forgot to close the infirmary door.

So his voice immediately reached the infirmary.

Meanwhile, Kinoshita's panicked voice could be heard coming from inside the infirmary.

Putting everything else aside, this alone is enough to prove that Kinoshita lied.

"You're something else, Hachiman Hikigaya."

Ryuen Kakeru's face was grim as he said coldly, "I've lost this time. Let's make a deal. I'll personally pay you three million and withdraw my appeal against Class B. In return, you can't use the evidence you just presented to arbitrate against Kinoshita from Class D."

Class D has already lost.

Ryuen understood and accepted this fact.

Therefore, he now has to find a way to minimize the losses.

At the very least, Kinoshita absolutely cannot be expelled because of this!

There are only two athletes like Kinoshita in Class D.

Even Mio Ibuki is a bit inferior to her.

Although this time, due to the strategy of mutual destruction, Kinoshita was unable to participate in the following matches.

But what about next semester, the semester after that, or even next year and the year after?

There will definitely be more than one Sports Festival.

This is also why Ryuen is not in such a hurry to evaluate class scores, because it only makes sense to graduate in Class A at the end of the third grade.

So.

If Kinoshita of school, they will lack the means to cope with the Sports Festival in the future.

At the same time, if Kinoshita is expelled now, who will listen to his orders in the future?

Whether from a long-term perspective or otherwise, he cannot allow Kinoshita to drop out of school.

"So you're admitting that all of this was a conspiracy you orchestrated against Class B?"

A smile finally appeared on Hachiman's face, while Ryuen was gloomy, as he felt that Hachiman was toying with him.

"Yes, I admit it."

Ryuen took a deep breath to calm himself down. "So, what do you think? This deal is pretty good, isn't it?"

Three million, for a Kinoshita.

He felt it was worth it.

Because Class A gives him 1.2 million every month, so he can earn back 3 million in just over two months.

If he is indeed expelled from school, he will need to spend 20 million points if he wants to get back in!

That's a real shame.

Hachiman sighed, but Ryuen's heart sank; he felt that Hachiman had just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I'll stop pretending."

Hachiman shrugged. "Actually, I only just now obtained evidence of your conspiracy."

"..."

Ryuen was speechless; he suddenly realized something.

Are you still recording?

Because Horikita's recordings didn't contain any information about him as the mastermind. However, his current conversation with Hachiman Hikigaya suggests that he is the mastermind.

"Kinoshita 3 million."

"And Ryuen, you get 5 million," Hachiman said. "I think you'll accept it."

"After all, you wanted to take 10 million directly from me, so it's already very cheap for me to only ask for 8 million," Hachiman said.

"..." Ryuen.

Ryuen had nothing to say.

"Hachiman Hikigaya!"

Ryuen lowered his head gloomily; he had lost again.

Once again.

In this psychological battle, his defenses were repeatedly breached and broken.

Finally, he completely panicked and fell into Hachiman's rhythm and trap.

Then he took the initiative to tell the truth.

"The total is eight million. Remember to transfer it."