Kushida Exposed?!

After school.

Shiomiya looked over the various bits of information he had analyzed. They were all trivial matters, so he did not pay them much attention.

Just then, Hirata came looking for him.

"Shiomiya, I have a small request. Could you help me?"

Seeing Hirata's bashful manner, Shiomiya could only think that Hirata still had not given up on him.

Didn't this guy already have a girlfriend?

He flaunted his relationship with Karuizawa every day.

No, wait!

Thinking it over carefully, Shiomiya realized that although the two seemed close, they actually kept a certain distance from each other.

And even though they were dating, they did not call each other by their given names.

Could Karuizawa be the beard Hirata had found?

Damn! Hirata, you hid it really well!

"I just... I wanted to ask you to share some information about the school rules."

Shiomiya had just put up his guard when Hirata's unexpected words left him awkwardly suspended.

Could Hirata see that I was on guard?

Otherwise, why did he change the mood every time I became wary?

Shiomiya put aside his suspicions. Looking at Hirata, who seemed a little embarrassed, he could roughly guess that someone else had egged him on to ask.

"No. If you want information, trade points for it. Information has depreciated a little now, so three hundred thousand points. But I don't think you can afford it."

Shiomiya picked up his bag and left.

He still had training with Koenji today.

The gym.

Shiomiya bench-pressed under Koenji's supervision.

"Hah... up!"

Shiomiya pushed up the 90-kilogram barbell, grabbed a towel beside him to wipe off his sweat, and saw Koenji drinking protein powder.

"Rokusuke, how many points do you spend a month?"

"Around thirty thousand."

"That little?!"

"It's not bad. Most of my expenses are for my prescribed diet. There isn't much else."

"What? Are you short on points?"

Shiomiya said somewhat dejectedly, "I had earned enough, but now Kushida has been added, and her standard is the same as mine, so it's no longer enough."

"It'll only last a little over half a year."

"Then you'll have to find a way to make money. Don't count on class points. They won't be enough for you anyway."

As Koenji spoke, he picked up a pair of dumbbells and began doing lateral raises.

"I know. Deals like the one at the start of the school year are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. I need a long-term income."

"Getting threatened at this school and having to support someone else is such a pain!"

"Hehehe... cough!" Koenji nearly choked laughing, his form even becoming distorted.

Shiomiya looked at him unhappily. "What are you laughing at?"

Koenji set down the dumbbells and took quite a while to catch his breath.

"Yo, no one can force you to do anything, can they? I've never seen anyone capable of forcing you. Has anyone ever made you do something you didn't want to do?"

"The old fogeys of the Shinomiya Family who don't want you to return? Even they couldn't manage it. And Kushida can? Don't make me laugh."

Shiomiya fell silent, still unwilling to accept it as he retorted, "You won't help me, and you're still mocking me!"

Koenji tore off his lifting belt and began organizing his gear.

"Haven't you been enjoying yourself lately?"

Shiomiya found another machine and continued training, ignoring Koenji.

Koenji did not care. He was used to it.

As Shiomiya's movements accelerated, sweat kept sliding down his face.

Of course, he had not been threatened. He had figured out Kushida's framing scheme that very day.

First, there were no injuries on Kushida's body.

With Kushida's personality, there was no way she would not resist. Besides, that kind of thing would be difficult to do without cooperation.

Second, Kushida's skirt had been washed, hadn't it?

There was no way Kushida would leave no evidence behind. Whether she wanted to send Shiomiya to the police or threaten him, she needed evidence.

And she had used his laundry detergent.

He liked lining up the cap before twisting it on. That day, the detergent cap had not lined up.

There were some other minor details too. While they could not conclusively prove that Kushida had been acting, it was close enough.

As for the water stain, Shiomiya felt a little awkward. He might really have made Kushida relive her childhood.

But after analyzing it, he now completely understood Kushida's movements that night.

Still, it did not matter. After so long, the evidence was gone, whether it was Kushida's or Shiomiya's.

Shiomiya guessed that Kushida should still have one piece of "evidence."

That was where her confidence came from.

Shiomiya was quite happy to keep playing along.

Even so, it was still irritating to have Koenji say it out loud!

"Urgh... ah!"

With another movement completed, Shiomiya finished today's workout.

Just now, Shiomiya had thought of another way to make money.

He could gamble on board games. He would put up an advertisement on the bulletin board: one hundred thousand points for anyone who beat him, one thousand points per game. Every now and then, he would let some lucky person win a game to draw in more people.

As long as Shiomiya could control his win rate, he would make a guaranteed profit.

Too bad Kushida had refused to cooperate before. Otherwise, he could have gotten a nice sum out of Shiranami Chihiro from Class B too.

Wasn't Class B the most united? Maybe he could even make the whole class pay points. The profits would not be lower than what he got from the third-years.

Shiomiya's method for dealing with Shiranami was different from the one he had used on Murata. He had already planned it all out.

Kushida would contact Shiranami and tell her that Ichinose wanted to speak with her. Then Kushida would pull Shiranami into a pose while Shiomiya took a photo from a misleading angle, making it look as if the two were kissing.

Finally, they would threaten to show it to Ichinose.

Whether Ichinose was a lesbian or not, this trick would work.

Unfortunately, Kushida wanted to preserve her perfect image and directly refused Shiomiya.

Shiomiya could only give up.

As for how he had noticed Shiranami?

Before Shiomiya started selling information, he would occasionally visit the A, B, and C classrooms to see whether they had chosen their leaders.

That was when Shiomiya noticed that Shiranami's dependence on Ichinose was far too strong.

She also used the excuse of being friends to make all sorts of little moves, constantly clinging to her.

They were one step away from scissoring.

And you still say you're not a lesbian.

On his way back, Shiomiya was still looking up how to place advertisements on the bulletin board when he noticed someone following behind him.

Seriously, your shadow gave away your position and you didn't even notice.

Someone this bored was probably from Class C.

Let them follow if they wanted. Shiomiya was busy refining his grand money-making plan.

As soon as he reached a dark stretch of the path, he heard three people rush up from behind.

Sure enough, they were from Class C. Shiomiya had beaten them up before, too.

Shiomiya examined his surroundings. There were no cameras. Did they want to use the cameras outside as supporting evidence?

Or had they brought recording pens, or secretly set up a camera?

Shiomiya carefully sensed the area. There were no cameras.

Shiomiya did not know how to explain it, but ever since inheriting a soldier's talent, he had become especially sensitive.

Whenever someone was watching him, he would feel an inexplicable sense of it.

That left recording pens.

"Hey, were you the one who beat up my buddy before?" a green-haired boy asked, pointing at Shiomiya.

Shiomiya said nothing. He merely set down his bag and started loosening up his wrists.

The other two exchanged nods. "Shiomiya Yo, you still want to fight?"

Now there was no need to guess.

They definitely had recording pens.

This kind of circumstantial evidence would at most get him suspended. As long as he was not expelled, it was nothing.

Shiomiya had already begun thinking about what state to beat them into.

Then he would start by giving them a round of Make-Me-Pretty Punches.

The three exchanged glances and charged forward together, intending to restrict Shiomiya's movements.