Gu Heng neither handed the anonymous paper to Horikita nor immediately questioned Kushida.
He first placed the paper in the Source Verification Field.
The paper came from an ordinary Class D printing sheet. The ink had been printed using the classroom's public printer, but the time could not be confirmed from the page itself.
Yukimura checked the printing records and found four print jobs that day. Two came from public proposals, while two came from unknown terminals.
"The unknown terminals didn't leave names," Yukimura said.
"Then we can't attribute this paper to anyone," Gu Heng replied.
Kushida sat in the front row as if she had not seen the paper in Gu Heng's hand.
Gu Heng did not look at her. Instead, he had Hirata publicly announce that any anonymous information intended for inclusion in the class proposal had to first provide its source and verifiable content.
Kushida finally turned her head.
"Do even warnings need their sources checked?"
"Warnings can be retained, but conclusions cannot be put directly into the proposal."
"What if the warning is true?"
"Then it should withstand verification."
Kushida's Weight Vision flickered: probing, leaving herself an exit.
Gu Heng did not continue reading her.
He had Yukimura list the times of the four print jobs and compare them with the people present at those times.
One unknown print job had occurred after Horikita submitted the first draft of the proposal, while Kushida had been in the girls' lounge. The other had occurred after Gu Heng refused sole submission authority, when Kushida returned to the classroom.
The timing could only narrow the range. It could not prove who had operated the terminal.
For the time being, the paper still could not be made Kushida's responsibility.
Kushida watched Gu Heng press the paper back into the file