Chapter 5: Ichinose’s Secret, Kamuro’s Secret

TODAY WAS FRIDAY. Four days since Kanzaki had made contact with Hashimoto. The rumors about Ichinose had spread further with each passing day, to the point where it was no exaggeration to say the whole school knew of them. However, Ichinose had yet to report anything to the school. She seemed to pay the rumors no mind, going about her business as if nothing had changed. She stood firm in the face of the harassment.

People were beginning to speak up in support of her, saying things like "Rumors are just rumors, after all." These were all red herrings. They were nothing but lies.

Rumors didn't last forever, though.

The plan to defame Ichinose had ended in failure. She'd made it through the ordeal by maintaining her silence. As more and more people began to see it that way, their attention shifted to studying in earnest for the year-end final exams.

But something else happened during that time. Something that stoked the rumor mill again and caused fresh gossip to spread.

When I made it back to the dorm after class on Friday, I witnessed a large group of people gathered in the lobby. This was a familiar spectacle.

"Déjà vu, huh?"

Coincidentally, Katsuragi was standing in the same spot as last time.

The difference this time was that Yahiko was standing next to him. Since there didn't seem to be anyone else around who I could talk to, I decided to approach Katsuragi and call out to him.

"What's all this fuss about?" I asked.

"Seems like there was a letter put in people's mailboxes. It's similar to the previous incident," muttered Katsuragi, crossing his arms in apparent disapproval.

"Didn't you get one too?" said Yahiko, directing his question at me at

me a slight nod.

"I'll go check."

I went over to my mailbox, turned the dial of the combination lock, and checked the contents. I saw a piece of paper that had been carefully folded into fourths and placed inside. Just like before.

If this really was the same as last time, then it should be a printout. Of course, when a piece of paper was folded this many times, it made it harder to tell whether it was handwritten or printed.

I slowly unfolded the paper.

"Ichinose Honami is a criminal."

That was all it said. But this time around, the name of the sender wasn't included. It was also typed in a standard font, making it look exceedingly simple. Since I couldn't imagine this being printed at the convenience store, the sender had probably used a printer that they'd purchased themselves.

The sentence brought to mind those rumors that had just begun to die down. But the message was different this time. It simply said that she was a "criminal." No mention of what crimes she'd committed.

"I'm sure Ichinose must be exasperated by this prank."

"But won't saying it so blatantly cause a lot of problems? I mean, doing something this malicious more than once. That's going to cause trouble, isn't it?" asked Yahiko.

"The situation is certainly completely different from last time. The last letter merely hinted at the possibility that Ichinose had amassed points illegally. Although she was determined to have done nothing fraudulent, the school did recognize that she had a large number of points, so they made an unprecedented announcement recognizing their legitimacy. This time around, however, the contents of the letter are clearly designed to defame Ichinose. If we report this to the school and ask them to take action, there's a possibility they can identify the sender."

"Wow. Whoever sent it sure is an idiot, then." "Well, I'm not so sure I would say that."

that."

"Why's that?"

"I think the culprit would be well aware of something as simple as

"Huh…? Wait, you wouldn't happen to know who's been spreading

those rumors, would you, Katsuragi-san?" "Nothing more than a hunch is all."

Even though Sakayanagi had told me of her plans in advance, she publicly denied the truth of her involvement. It was possible Hashimoto had been working alone on this, or that he was acting on the orders of the second- or third-years. It was also possible that an entirely different person was the source of the rumors.

However, Katsuragi said he had a hunch about who the source might be. That meant Sakayanagi was obviously the clear candidate, right?

"Whether or not the school takes action will likely depend on the affected person: Ichinose."

The person who'd sent these letters was convinced Ichinose wouldn't report anything to the school, just like with the rumors of last time. They were confident that, no matter what they did, Ichinose would remain silent. If she took no action in response to the rumors or this letter, then the school couldn't act in response to her.

While all this went on, Ichinose had arrived at the dorm. No—it looked like she'd been contacted by her friends in Class B and then hurried back to the dorm. A friend handed her one of the letters right away, and she began to read it. Katsuragi, I, and the other ten or so students present watched her.

"..."

Ichinose didn't say anything. She just stood there, staring at the paper.

It took no more than a second to read the statement on the paper, but she stared at the words, seeming to read them over and over, for dozens of seconds.

"…This was put in the mailboxes?"

"Yeah… It's awful, isn't it? It's probably in every first-year student's…"

One of the girls from Class B, Asakura Mako, approached Ichinose and hugged her.

"Hey, look, there's really no need to stand for this anymore. Why don't we talk to the teachers? This is unforgivable."

"Yeah, that's right. If we talk to the teachers, I'm sure they can find out who's behind this!"

Until now, there had just been unseen rumors. But this was different.

This was a physical piece of evidence—clear proof that someone was attacking Ichinose with malicious intent.

"Don't worry. Something like this doesn't bother me," said Ichinose. "B-but we have to do something! If we don't, these horrible rumors

about you will just keep spreading, Honami-chan!"

It was no surprise that Ichinose's classmates were desperately trying to persuade her to act. Even if nine out of ten people dismissed the rumors, that one person who believed them would be all it took to make Ichinose Honami's reputation slowly deteriorate. Ichinose was unhesitatingly committed to keeping her silence, but those around her felt differently. They were all looking for a way to help her, to prove that she was innocent, and to punish the culprit. Their attempts, however, would only back Ichinose further up against the wall.

"I'm sorry, everyone. For making you all worry about me. But really, please don't worry about this," said Ichinose, smiling at the girls of Class B.

There was almost no doubt that these letters had been distributed in the middle of the night, while everyone slept. Since no one really checked their mail first thing in the morning, the letters weren't discovered until after students returned to the dorms after class. All that remained, after that, was to wait for someone to find the letter and tell Ichinose about it.

There was one girl who carefully observed the upset girls from Class

B. Katsuragi was glaring at her with a sharp gleam in his eyes. It was Kamuro Masumi, from first-year Class A. She was usually seen with Sakayanagi, but today, she seemed to be alone.

"Is something up with Kamuro?" "No… It's nothing."

Katsuragi didn't give an answer. He tossed the letter away in a nearby trash bin and then pressed the button for the elevator. His face remained stern from the time he called the elevator until he and Yahiko finally boarded it, after it had come down from the first floor. As I watched the elevator go back up, I decided to return to my room.

5.1

MY ROOM WAS on the fourth floor of the dormitory: Room 401.

When I got onto the elevator, Kamuro got on at the same time.

"What floor?" I asked her from my position right in front of the elevator buttons, but she didn't answer. Instead, she stood there in silence until the door closed. The elevator quietly began to move, bringing us to the fourth floor, where I disembarked. Kamuro exited right after me, like she was following me.

A simple coincidence? She was probably on her way to meet up with some guy. I walked to my door, and a second later, called out to Kamuro.

"Was there something you wanted?" I asked. "I have something to talk to you about."

"I would have preferred it if you had said something sooner."

"What, do you have plans?"

"No. Is there any problem if we stand here and talk?" I asked.

"I catch cold pretty easily. If you don't mind, can you invite me in?" she asked.

If you don't mind, she said, but the request sounded almost like a

threat.

"Sure, I don't mind…" I replied, unlocking the door and heading

inside.

Kamuro ran her eyes across my room, her expression never changing. "Such a plain room."

"That's the first thing you say after forcing your way inside my room?" I asked.

"How did I force my way in? You gave me permission to enter, didn't you?" replied Kamuro, sitting down on my bed.

"Well, it was the way you got permission… Never mind. So what is

it?"

"Get me something to drink. This is going to be a bit of a long story."

Wow, okay. She was pretty brazen. "Okay. I'll go make some tea or coffee."

"You don't have cocoa?" Unexpectedly, she requested a third option. "…I do. Okay, cocoa it is, then."

I broached the subject of the talk she'd requested while I prepared the cocoa.

"So what did you want to talk about? If you're worried about the cold, we could've talked in the lobby." The lobby was heated, after all.

"No one will bother us here. This is the best place to talk."

"What do you want to talk about then?" I asked again. To be honest, I wasn't interested, and didn't particularly want to hear it.

"Are you getting defensive now?"

"It would be strange if I didn't. A girl whom I'm not close to—who's an enemy student from Class A, on top of that—just came into my room."

"Wow, you sure are quite different from Yamauchi," said Kamuro, still staring at me. Like she was testing me. "Aren't you curious?"

"Nope."

"Okay. Then I won't touch on that subject anymore. Whatever. It doesn't matter."

While Kamuro might be hiding a trick up her sleeve, like recording our conversation with her phone or a tape recorder, it was also true that her position was somewhat unique. Since Sakayanagi already knew about me, Kamuro didn't need to choose her words as carefully. Sakayanagi could attack me at any time, if she deemed it necessary. The reason she wasn't doing so right now was because she didn't want to draw attention to me.

"That letter earlier, about Ichinose," Kamuro asked. "What do you think about it?"

"What do you mean, what do I think?"

"Exactly what I said. Do you believe that she's a criminal, like the letter said?"

"Who knows? I'm not interested, anyway."

"Even if you're not interested, you must have an opinion on the matter.

Do you think Ichinose is a good person or a bad person?" asked Kamuro.

"You can't say someone's a bad person just because they're a criminal, or that they're a good person just because they aren't." Good and bad were abstract concepts. How people defined them could vary greatly, depending on perspectives, positions, and relationships.

"...…"

Kamuro stared at me, completely unamused. She didn't seem to want to let the conversation go in that direction at all. There was probably no way for me to avoid getting the heart of the matter any longer.

"I suppose so. I did hear about those rumors that have been going

Said around."

"This is just conjecture on my part, but I think that one or more of those rumors might be true or at least somewhat close to being true. Which is exactly why Ichinose isn't fighting back against the rumors and against the letter. That's because if she did fight back, then the truth that she had been keeping hidden would be exposed," I reasoned.

"So, she thinks that if she continues to ignore them, the rumors will end up as nothing more than suspicions."

"Yeah. But that doesn't solve the problem. Ultimately, if the person who's spreading these rumors knows the real truth and keeps at it, they can get more and more specific with the rumors, without actually saying it themselves. When they do that, there's a high probability that Ichinose won't be able to hide it anymore."

The water came to a boil, and I poured it into a cup. Then, I put a cup of cocoa on the table. Kamuro didn't go to drink it right away.

"Not going to drink it?" I asked. "I have a sensitive tongue."

I wondered how true that was.

"It's just as you've guessed. Right now, Ichinose is being targeted by a student who knows the truth that she wants to keep hidden."

"And how do you know that?" I asked.

"You know why. Sakayanagi said it right in front of you, after all."

I did remember that, of course. However, Kamuro didn't have any reason to tell me that herself. Was this also one of Sakayanagi's strategies?

"Just for your information, Sakayanagi doesn't know that I'm here talking to you right now. She'd probably be angry if she knew."

"So, this means that you're betraying Sakayanagi?" "Yeah, it does."

"Sorry, but I can't really believe that."

"I figured. So I'll tell you the truth that Ichinose has been hiding. Besides, I'm sure that tomorrow or the day after, everyone will know it anyway."

So then, that means you can prove to me what you're saying is true then, huh?

"But before I tell you, there's something else. About why I'm being pushed around by Sakayanagi. That's something I need to tell you about."

"Your own personal story?"

"I know you're not interested, but just listen."

If it didn't matter whether or not I was interested. If all I had to do was listen, then I'll just listen. If I didn't do that, then she probably wasn't going to leave.

5.2

SAKAYANAGI HAD MADE CONTACT with me a week after the entrance ceremony. I'd stopped at a convenience store on my way back to my dorm, and finishing up my business there, had just left the store when one of my female classmates called out to me.

"Please wait a moment."

I stopped in my tracks. "What do you want?"

"Well, it hasn't been long since we started school here. I was just thinking I'd like to speak with you a bit, Kamuro-san."

"You remember my name, huh?"

"I made sure to memorize the names and faces of my classmates," the girl replied as she walked towards me. She moved at a slow pace. The cane that she gripped with one hand made it clear her legs weren't in the best shape.

If I'd remembered correctly, her name was…Sakayanagi Arisu, I think. Her physical handicap made her stand out. I made no real effort to memorize my classmates' names, but for some reason, hers stuck in my memory.

"Would you mind if we walked back to the dormitory together?" she

asked.

I should've declined—but I didn't. It wasn't because her legs were bad.

There was just something about the mood, in the moment, that made it difficult for me to turn her down.

"Sure, if you want."

"Thank you very much." Sakayanagi smiled happily. She sped up a bit to match my pace, walking beside me.

"I'm not going to help you if you push yourself too hard and fall over," I told her.

"Don't worry. My cane and I are quite well acquainted. We've been together a long time."

So she said, but…she was still moving pretty slowly. I intentionally released a heavy sigh. Which didn't seem to bother Sakayanagi at all. She might look frail at first glance, but apparently, she was quite bold on the inside.

"By the way…what were you doing at the convenience store, earlier?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't look like you purchased anything."

"What does it matter? There wasn't anything I wanted."

I tried to bring the conversation to a close, but Sakayanagi grabbed hold of my arm.

"You shoplifted, didn't you?" she said, meeting my gaze squarely. Her eyes were sparkling, almost as if she'd found herself a fun new toy. "I'm assuming you already checked out the place several times, so you knew the positioning of the cameras. Was this your first time shoplifting at this school? How many times have you done it before?"

"You're really that certain I stole something?"

"Yes. It seems you aren't taking me very seriously, but yes, I am quite confident that you did. If I weren't, I wouldn't have asked you if you had shoplifted."

"I suppose you have a point." She'd called out to me precisely because she'd seen me there. "So even if I did steal something, then what? You gonna rat me out to the school or something?"

"Hm, let's see. While it would be a simple enough matter for me to report this incident, please listen to what I have to say first."

"Huh?"

Sakayanagi kept going, ignoring my scowl.

"Your execution was superb. What surprised me most of all, though, was how cool and composed you were. Most people would also buy something cheap, like gum or candy, to assuage their guilt. You did nothing of the sort, and I get the feeling you never have. More proof that the act of shoplifting has become something of a routine for you."

She was right on the money. Just from watching me do it once, she'd inferred that I'd done it many times before. But so what? What did that matter? I had no intention of drawing out this conversation. No matter how good my execution had been, the fact remained that she'd seen me.

"Do whatever you want," I told her.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the can of beer I'd stolen from the convenience store. People under twenty weren't allowed to buy alcohol. The shops only stocked it for the teachers and other staff living on campus.

"Just hurry up and contact them already," I added.

What Sakayanagi said next, however, was a complete non sequitur. "Do you often drink alcohol?"

"Huh? …No. I'm not really interested in booze."

"So shoplifting isn't something you do to make your daily life easier.

Rather, you do it just for the thrill, right?" said Sakayanagi, analyzing the situation. "For the feelings of guilt?"

"Okay, I get it, you can see right through me. So why don't you just hurry up and hand me over to the school already?"

"Are you sure that's what you want? If the school finds out you shoplifted, then suspension is quite likely, don't you think?"

"And?"

"It's only been one week since we started school. There are still so many things, both fun and not so fun, to look forward to, aren't there?"

"If you're not going to contact the school, I'll do it myself." I moved to take out my phone, but she stopped my hand.

"I quite like you, Kamuro Masumi-san. You're going to be my very

first friend," said Sakayanagi, urging me to put my phone away. "What are you saying?"

"In exchange for keeping your secret, I'd like you to help me with a few things, please."

"That isn't what I'd call friendship." "Oh, really?"

"Besides, do you think I'll just obediently do as you say?"

"It's certainly true that even if I report you, the penalties the school inflicts on you would likely be minimal. But the fact that you, Kamuro Masumi, are a shoplifter would become known to all. And that would make it hard for you to ever shoplift again, hm?"

"You're saying you won't just overlook me shoplifting this time, but you also don't care if I do it again?"

"Whatever you do is entirely up to you. I will do nothing to influence

your actions. Besides, even if I tried to appeal to you from a moral standpoint, telling you such criminal acts are wrong, my words would have no lasting impact. Am I wrong?"

"Well, that's…"

"Regardless…I think that if you follow me, your life will be anything but boring. Perhaps I can help you scratch this itch that currently only shoplifting assuages, hm?"

That was my first encounter with Sakayanagi Arisu.

5.3

"…AH, MAN, I'm exhausted. It's been a long time since I talked that much."

Having finished her story, Kamuro gazes at me with the same look in her eyes that she had since we started the conversation.

"So basically, I'm a habitual shoplifter." "Even recently?"

"Sakayanagi has been working me to the bone. I haven't had the time to shoplift."

Despite saying that, Kamuro didn't sound entirely dissatisfied. She'd probably never been needed by anyone before, which had led to the darkness she kept within in her heart. The fact that Sakayanagi now needed her kept her from continuing to commit crimes.

If that was the case, Sakayanagi was making good use of her. If Kamuro kept shoplifting, sooner or later, she'd be caught. She might have flown under the radar if she were doing it off campus, but the school provided her a very limited territory to work in. If on-campus store owners noticed continuing inconsistencies in their inventory, then they'd quickly figure out the truth. And if that happened, Class A would take some significant damage.

"Sakayanagi said something at the school camp about you and Ichinose sharing the same secret," I told her. In other words, if I assumed Kamuro was telling me the truth, it meant Ichinose has a history of shoplifting too.

"Exactly."

"So what exactly do you hope to achieve by telling me the truth about your past?" Depending on the circumstances, I might be able to use this to investigate her past. If that happened, Kamuro would be the only one losing out.

"I don't particularly like Sakayanagi or Ichinose or anything. But it's just that, well, the truth about Ichinose shoplifting really was a shock to me,

honestly. She's so popular. You'd think she would be satisfied with everything she has, but she's actually the same as me." Kamuro chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Stop Sakayanagi. You can do it, can't you?"

"In other words, you're asking me to save Ichinose?" I asked.

"Yes. If things keep going this way, Ichinose is going to be crushed, and I don't mean physically. I mean her heart."

"I see."

It was difficult to verify the truth of Kamuro's story. A store owner could detect monetary discrepancies or missing items by thoroughly analyzing their inventory, but that wouldn't tell them the cause of the missing items. The loss could be the result of an employee's processing error.

Kamuro had said that she'd shoplifted when she started school here, but she obviously didn't just steal the same items over and over again. I could hardly ask the store to show me their surveillance camera footage. The only thing I could do was leak the fact of Kamuro's shoplifting to the school and to the convenience store employees, but irrespective of the truth of her story, that posed far too much of a personal risk to me.

Even if everything she said was true, I wasn't inclined to take her words at face value. While it was probably true that she was dissatisfied with Sakayanagi, that was hardly enough incentive to make her come looking to me, a complete unknown, for help.

What was the point of this sequence of events, then? Realistically speaking, should I assume this was all happening at Sakayanagi's command? She might be using Ichinose to set up a direct confrontation with me.

"You think that I'm lying?" asked Kamuro, breaking the silence after a long period of consideration.

"To be honest, there's no guarantee what you said is true," I told her.

Of course, based on what she'd told me, I'd come to the conclusion that it almost certainly was true. Even so, her close connection with Sakayanagi made me wary of admitting that.

"…I see. In that case, how about I prove it to you?" "Can you prove it?"

"Probably." Kamuro took out her student ID and handed it to me. "Okay, then. Wait for me, and don't lock your door."

With that, she left the room. Wait a minute… Was she really planning on stealing something right now to prove she was a shoplifter?

I idly examined Kamuro's student ID while I waited. About 10 minutes later, she returned. She took something out from under her clothes and showed it to me.

"Hey, hey…"

It seemed I'd guessed correctly.

"I thought about taking some gum or something, but figured a beer would give my story more credibility," said Kamuro.

True enough. Anyone could buy gum. She could have just purchased it in advance and pretended to have stolen it. Alcohol was a different story.

Even if she borrowed another student's ID, she couldn't have purchased an alcoholic beverage. It was impossible for students to purchase age-restricted goods.

Additionally, it was extremely unlikely that a teacher or one of the employees working on campus could have gotten it for her. There was no mistaking the fact that this was stolen merchandise. Had she done this in order to gain my trust?

"Get it now?" Kamuro moved to put the can of beer away, but I reached out my hand.

"Just in case, I want to verify that it's the real deal. It could be fake." "…Moron. You really think I could fake something like this?"

Kamuro seemed reluctant for a moment but then quickly handed over the can. It was ice-cold, which made me think that it had just come from the convenience store. I gently looked over the can, rotating it slowly. It was most certainly a real alcoholic beverage.

"If you really want, you can just have it, you know?"

"No thanks." In the unlikely event something like this was discovered in my room, it would spell trouble for me.

"Yeah, I suppose," Kamuro took the can back. She tapped lightly on it

with her hands and repeatedly tossed it in the air and caught it, over and over. "So, anyway, do you believe me?"

"You showed me the real thing. I can't not believe you now." "I'm glad to hear that."

"So why me?" I asked.

"You're the only person in this school who I can come to. You should know that much," said Kamuro.

I picked up the cup of cocoa I had prepared for Kamuro, since I was sure she wasn't going to drink it. Ten minutes had passed without her taking a sip, and it had gotten cold.

"I stand to gain nothing from this," I told her.

"Probably not, no," said Kamuro. She stood up, seemingly satisfied. "I'm looking forward to seeing how this ends."

As if trying to bring the conversation to a close, she moved to leave the

room.

"Wait a second." "…What?"

"You forgot your student ID."

Kamuro grabbed it with her free hand—her other still holding the can

of beer—and left.

All things considered, this really raised some troublesome questions for me. Was ignoring everything going on with Ichinose the best plan of action, after all?

"Well… I suppose I can't know that for sure, can I?" I said aloud. In fact, it might be best to take advantage of this opportunity.

I grabbed my student ID and my phone, left my room, and made my

way to the convenience store. While I was on the way there, I got a call from Horikita's brother. I'd thought I finally had a chance to relax, now that my guest had left, but…

Well, this was a call from a rather unexpected person. I doubted he was calling just to chat.

"There are a few things I'd like to talk to you about," said Horikita when I answered the call.

"Is this urgent?" I asked.

"Depending on how things play out, it might be too late. It's about my sister."

"…About your sister?"

This was unexpected too. Horikita's brother wouldn't be talking about his sister unless there was something serious going on.

"Kushida Kikyou contacted Nagumo Miyabi."

"Huh?" I was surprised, but also impressed by the speed at which the news had reached Horikita's brother. "And here I thought you were surrounded by enemies on all sides. You've acquired some good information. Who did you get it from?"

"From Kiriyama. It's clear from what happened at the school camp that my relationship with Nagumo has fractured significantly. I'm almost certain he'll be launching an attack before long. I have no choice but to make a move myself," said Horikita.

Vice President Kiriyama, huh. While I thought things over in silence, Horikita continued speaking.

"You don't trust him at all, do you?" he asked.

"That's because I don't know Kiriyama as well as you do," I told him. "That's all right. You always err on the side of caution."

As the man serving as student council president, Horikita always approached others with a certain degree of trust, whether it be Kiriyama or Nagumo. Even if he had his suspicions, he gave them the benefit of the doubt until he was actually betrayed. That was something I could never do.

"So what's up?"

"She asked Nagumo for help in getting Suzune expelled. Quite a bold move."

"I see she's acting out with no regard for appearances or consequences,

then."

Kushida, after losing her wager with Horikita, had said she wouldn't do anything to interfere in the future. This proved she had no intention of honoring her promise. She'd tried to use Ryuuen to her advantage in the past, and now she'd approached Nagumo. Assuming she'd seen what Nagumo did at the school camp, it wasn't a surprising thing for her to do, really.

Of course, Kushida had to realize what this meant. That every time she pushed against Horikita like this, she was also driving herself further into the corner. But as they said, no pain, no gain. You could really sense her determination.

To be honest, while it might have been premature for her to reach out to Ryuuen when she did, it wasn't a bad idea for her to rub elbows with Nagumo. Working with a senior one year above her meant that once he graduated and was out of the picture, there would be no one around who knew what had happened. But that only held true if Nagumo was someone she could trust.

"I anticipate Nagumo, or someone close to him, will strike Suzune in the near future," said Horikita.

"So what do you want me to do? Protect your little sister?" I asked. "If Suzune ends up getting expelled from school, that will be her own

fault. However, Kushida also named you as someone who has caused her trouble."

"I see…"

Nagumo might not have been too interested in me, but if my name kept coming up like this, then it was going to stick in his memory whether he wanted it to or not. If I didn't do something to sever this connection sooner rather than later, the problems it caused would just keep mounting.

"Is it possible that Nagumo and Hashimoto have been in contact?" I

asked.

"Why are you asking that?"

"I thought I noticed a slight change in Hashimoto's behavior between

the start of the school camp and the end. I wasn't sure of what I was seeing, but when I saw him the other day, I became certain it wasn't just my imagination. I suspect someone told Hashimoto something about me during

our time at the school camp," I answered.

The number of students who'd taken notice of me and could pass that information onto Hashimoto were extremely limited, to say the least.

"It's just as you suspected. Nagumo warned Hashimoto about you during the school camp. That being said, Hashimoto still probably hasn't arrived at the conclusion that you are the student manipulating Suzune."

"I see." Which meant he was sniffing around to try to ascertain the truth of the matter himself.

"I didn't think I'd really need to come right out and ask you this, but are you displeased?"

"No. Even if you'd told me beforehand, it wouldn't change the current situation," I replied.

Horikita muttered an "I suppose so" in response.

I didn't care if a student from Sakayanagi's faction distrusted me. No matter how hard they tried to investigate me, as long as I did nothing, they'd come up empty. Even if they did come up with a strategy of their own, the moment they shared it with Sakayanagi, that would be the end of it. In that sense, she was easier to deal with Ryuuen or Nagumo.

Of course, Nagumo was at the center of all of this. Which meant just standing by and observing might cause me problems down the line too.

"I've given you information. What you do with it is your decision," said Horikita.

"I suppose so."

The call was disconnected.

In a school like this, information of the sort that the elder Horikita had just given me was useful in more than a few ways. Not a day passed in this school without someone enacting schemes to entrap someone else, which made Horikita's brother a useful source of information. While he wasn't as dexterous as Nagumo, and his information network wasn't as extensive, he was far more credible and accurate.

Regardless, it seemed the first sparks were already starting to fly. I probably needed to move fast if I was going to stop this from becoming a

full-blown fire.