"So! If the school really knows, why doesn't it just tell us?"
"Because the school wants to test our ability to solve problems independently. To that end, it's given us time to prepare and is testing what conclusions we'll ultimately reach."
[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's perspective]
The time Horikita and I had agreed on arrived as scheduled. After setting up the fake surveillance camera I'd bought with the large number of points borrowed from Class B, I went to the designated spot and looked down at Ishizaki and the other two from a position of authority.
The blazing sun and the pressure of sharp, cutting words combined to produce expressions of terror on the three boys' faces and a slight tremor in their hands.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew that Horikita's plan had an extremely dangerous flaw. But under this kind of intense pressure, few people could keep their cool—least of all three high school students.
"If you think carefully about yesterday's conversation, doesn't it seem like the school saw through the truth from the start?"
Remembering what the man named Chiba Yu had said last night, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew that they were already at the point of no return.
So they could only take a gamble: that the factor he... they considered a dangerous flaw wouldn't show up at this moment.
"I...I don't want to be expelled!"
"Hey, Ishizaki! Let's go tell the school we lied. Maybe they'll let us off the hook."
Just as the three began to argue, even clutching their heads in frustration, Horikita Suzune emerged from where she'd been hiding.
She told them that if they withdrew their accusations in person and got their stories straight, even the school wouldn't be able to pursue the matter any further.
Faced with pressure from both Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune, the three, already on the verge of a mental breakdown, were even less able to think clearly.
So that was it. The outcome seemed settled...
"Heh. Hey, Suzune, what are you and your little dog saying to our classmates?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes snapped open as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared nearby: Ryuen, the tyrant.
The fatal flaw in Horikita Suzune's plan had just arrived on the scene!
"R-Ryuen!"
In that moment, the three boys seemed to glimpse a faint light in the darkness. They fixed their hopeful gazes on the man named Ryuen Kakeru.
This was bad...
"R-Ryuen, heh. I just didn't want anyone to be punished by the school without knowing the whole story."
This is bad, Horikita. If only you could control your facial expression while saying that.
Watching the uncertainty begin to show on Horikita Suzune's face, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could only sigh inwardly.
"Sounds nice," Ryuen sneered. "Hey, Suzune, wasn't this whole thing caused by that monkey in your class hitting one of our classmates first? And now you're saying someone from our class started it. Do you have any proof?"
"Of course! Everything they just said was recorded on this voice recorder." Horikita Suzune pulled a recorder from her pocket with righteous indignation. She'd brought it just in case.
"Tch!" Ryuen snorted, completely unconcerned. "I don't think a statement made under your threats has any real weight. If you think it'll help, go ahead and hand it over to the school."
Ryuen's refusal to admit anything infuriated Horikita Suzune, but she had to admit he had a point. The school might even respond to them with the same argument. For a moment, they were caught in an impossible dilemma.
"Enough, you three. Come with me!"
Ryuen glared fiercely at Ishizaki and the other two. Under his ruthless, threatening gaze, they didn't dare say another word and scurried after him.
Ryuen gave Horikita Suzune a broad smile, his smug, mocking gaze even more pronounced. "I'm afraid we'll have to disappoint you this time, Suzune. See you this evening."
As he watched Ryuen and the others walk away, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka slowly went over to Horikita Suzune and asked nonchalantly, "What do we do now?"
But Horikita Suzune had clearly lost her composure. Her brows were deeply furrowed, though she still managed to suppress her irritation and answer Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. "It's fine. Let's go back for now and take things as they come."
Horikita Suzune clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly. For the first time, she realized just how troublesome a man named Ryuen could be.
"So your plan failed?"
Just now, on his way back from shopping, Chiba Yu had happened to run into Ayanokoji Kiyotaka in the elevator. From Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's account, Chiba Yu learned that Ryuen had interrupted their plan halfway through. As expected, it had failed.
But Ayanokoji Kiyotaka also told him that Horikita Suzune seemed to have another plan and said Chiba Yu didn't need to worry.
To be honest, Chiba Yu wanted to tell him outright that he wasn't worried about this at all. If he had to be dragged into the whole affair somehow, the only connection he could think of was that Sudo still owed him thirty thousand points.
"Did Horikita tell you what her plan is?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook his head. "No, but she asked me to tell you not to worry. She'll take care of it."
Chiba Yu was curious about the plan Horikita had mentioned, but his better judgment told him not to ask. Otherwise, he might accidentally get himself pulled into an even bigger mess.
"Then I wish you luck."
"Ding!"
The elevator reached the floor where their dorm rooms were. Under Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's watchful gaze, Chiba Yu stepped out first. He looked as if he'd expected Ryuen to discover their plan all along.
Back in his room, Chiba Yu lay alone on the bed, as if nothing around him had anything to do with him—as if he alone were the only real thing in this world, quiet and at ease.
He looked at the terminal in his hand, where an encrypted folder had appeared.
Inside was an edited video. As the light reflected off the screen, Chiba Yu's pupils began to lose focus. He murmured something under his breath.
"Honestly... this really is such a hassle..."
In the lazy afternoon, the boy lying in his room let out a sigh. He half-covered his face with the back of his hand, as if he'd made some kind of decision.
As time passed, the final judgment was about to begin...