Chapter 232: Sakayanagi Arisu's Invitation to the Trap

By afternoon, the resonant chime of Big Ben echoed throughout the entire teaching building. With a single "Class dismissed" from the subject teacher, the students of Class A responded by packing their bags and filing out one after another.

A single day was enough for the rumors on the forums to spread throughout this school of fewer than a thousand students. Yet, due to a sheer lack of credibility, most students merely treated them as idle gossip and after-meal conversation, privately speculating that it was probably the doing of some student driven mad with jealousy over Ichinose's popularity.

"Looks like it's going to blow over just like that. As expected—it couldn't stir up any real waves." Hashimoto Masayoshi leisurely packed his stationery into his satchel. "Come to think of it, if that Ichinose woman were really this easy to defeat, she wouldn't have become Class B's leader in the first place."

"You seem rather disappointed?" Kito Hayato's low voice rang out. His eyes—sharp as a hungry wolf's—fixed tightly upon Hashimoto.

"I won't deny that." Hashimoto shrugged. With an exaggerated sigh, his shoulders slumped a few degrees. "If that woman fell, our class winning this exam would be a certainty. Too bad the other side stopped after just one strike. It was as though they only wanted to spread the rumors and nothing more. I can't figure out what they're trying to do."

Kito fell silent for a long while. Finally, he squeezed out a single sentence. "You really are a despicable bastard..."

"Oi, oi. I'm doing this for the class's advancement, alright? Do you really have to trash me like that?"

This remark—striking straight at the core—had drawn out even Hashimoto's glib tongue.

Kito Hayato: "..."

You're doing this for the class? It's clearly for yourself! I can't even be bothered to expose you!

"A word of warning." Kito averted his gaze. His tone was flat and devoid of ripples. "Fuyuji-san forbade us from meddling in this matter."

"Of course I know that." With a sharp zip, Hashimoto slung his satchel over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom. "I still want to graduate from Class A, after all."

Walking and walking, Hashimoto suddenly slowed his pace and looked toward Kito.

"Come to think of it—how come you've got the free time to move together with me today? Normally, even when I invite you with everything I've got, you don't respond."

Kito—both hands shoved in his pockets—wrenched his head around and silently glared at him.

What do you think?

"Tch!" Hashimoto's scalp prickled under his stare. He couldn't help but scratch at the back of his head. "At least trust me a little, would you?! We've known each other for so long. We've been partners for ages. No matter how you put it—"

"You—are not worth—"

Both of their footsteps came to a halt almost simultaneously. As though pulled by invisible threads, they turned their heads with flawless synchronicity. Their gazes locked with precision upon the area outside the Class A classroom door.

There—standing silently—was a figure with an expressionless face, coldly watching the Class A students emerge from the classroom.

The two exchanged a glance and stepped forward simultaneously.

"Yo, yo! Isn't this Class B's Kanzaki-kun? A rare guest!" In the blink of an eye, Hashimoto spread his arms wide and strode forward to greet him, his face covered in smiles. "What business brings you to our Class A?"

The moment the words fell—the gazes of quite a few students who still remained in the Class A classroom, having yet to leave, converged in unison.

Kanzaki Ryuji stood ramrod straight. Faced with the invisible pressure of the numerous Class A students, his expression did not waver in the slightest. Calmly, he spoke. "In truth—I am assessing the possibility that this matter was perpetrated by Class A."

His piercing gaze swept past Hashimoto and Kito. "The person spreading these rumors behind the scenes—to have gone to such lengths as to stuff cards into every class's mailbox, their methods clean and leaving no trace—I do not believe they will simply let the matter rest here."

He paused briefly. His tone abruptly turned cold, carrying a direct, pointed accusation.

"So—was it you?"

"Did something happen?" Hashimoto spoke with feigned bewilderment.

Silently staring at Hashimoto for a moment, Kanzaki stepped forward a single pace, locking horns with him.

"Our Class B's class president—Ichinose Honami—has been the target of slanderous rumors. Was this your Class A's doing?"

"Oh, you mean that." Hashimoto nodded with sudden understanding, dragging out his syllables. "Even if I told you it wasn't our class— Aiya!"

Before Hashimoto could finish, Kito kicked him aside with a single foot.

Rambling on and on—why not just tell him directly and be done with it? You want to be a riddler like Fuyuji-san too?

Shooting a glance at Hashimoto—who was now clutching his side and sucking in sharp breaths as he scrambled back up—Kito redirected his gaze and fixed it upon Kanzaki.

"No. Regarding this matter, our Class A is also unclear."

After silently locking eyes with Kito's wolf-like stare for several seconds, Kanzaki withdrew his gaze.

"Forget it. Where's the person who calls the shots in your class?" He swiftly swept his eyes across the Class A classroom.

"Katsuragi? He's already left due to Student Council business." Hashimoto spoke in a teasing tone. "If you have any questions, you can direct them to me."

"Then what about Fuyuji Mikage?"

In that very instant—the atmosphere of the entire Class A classroom shifted. A heavy, oppressive pressure came crashing forth.

Hashimoto reined in his grin. His footsteps landed heavily as he stepped forward and drew close to Kanzaki. His expression dark, he spoke. "You bastard—you seem to know some things you shouldn't."

"That's none of your concern. In any case—I have something I need to say to him." Kanzaki spoke with a cold expression.

"My apologies—you don't yet have the qualifica—"

Before the words could leave his mouth, Hashimoto was stopped by Kito's hand pressing down on his shoulder, forcibly cutting him off.

"He just went out. Where exactly—we don't know either."

...

At four in the afternoon, the campus had quietly shed its clamor.

The November campus of Tokyo—autumn had already deepened. The ginkgo trees lining both sides of the school path were now draped in a coat of golden yellow, swaying in the wind like countless flakes of gold leaf suspended upon the branches.

Sunlight filtered diagonally through the gaps in the treetops, spreading across the ground like a river of flowing, shattered gold. It also illuminated a lone bench beside the school path.

Upon the bench sat a young girl. The hem of her white school uniform skirt hung properly and neatly. Her legs were wrapped in white garter stockings. Her slender ankles appeared especially delicate beneath the sunlight. Both hands resting upon her knees, she sat there quietly.

Beside her—was a slender cane.

The sunlight generously caressed her lowered lashes, illuminating her fair cheeks until they appeared crystalline and translucent—so tender it seemed that with just the gentlest touch, a mark would be left behind that would linger for a very, very long time.

After sitting quietly for a while—a series of measured footsteps sounded from behind. Stepping upon fallen leaves, they produced a rustling, crackling sound.

A smile surfaced upon the young girl's face. Leisurely, she opened her mouth. Her melodious voice rippled and spread across the empty school path.

"Ichinose Honami is flawed. This—not only I, but you as well—are surely aware of it. And from what I know, Ichinose Honami spends the vast majority of her time on her own class. There is a high probability that she has not told her secret to anyone else."

"When someone specifically stuffs letters that are difficult to trace into each class's mailbox, and asserts with such conviction that Ichinose Honami is a criminal, and even goes online in the middle of the night to manufacture hype—anyone with even a modicum of sense would realize that this matter will not end here."

"A reasonable deduction is that Ichinose Honami's past has been leaked. Well then—given that she did not proactively disclose it—just how was it leaked?"

A sea breeze swept past. The leaves overhead rustled and whispered.

"After much thought—the only possibility is the school administration. And student privacy is classified as confidential by the school—even teachers have no way of accessing it. The remaining possibility—is me, as the daughter of the board chairman. But I only disclosed this information to three people, including Masumi-san. And she is not the type of girl who enjoys casually spreading other people's secrets—even to the person she likes, it is the same."

Sakayanagi Arisu drew a deep breath. Slowly, she turned her head and continued.

"Therefore—the one who could ultimately deduce that I am the culprit behind this incident, and who would come here wanting to stop me from continuing to spread these rumors—must be that person who, in the VIP exam, allied with Ichinose Honami to defeat me, and who entrusted Masumi-san with probing me for intelligence—Class A's true master—"

Crack!

Several withered leaves on the school path were crushed underfoot. A pair of legs—wearing standard black uniform shoes, wrapped in pure white knee-high socks—came to a halt before her. Following the elegant line of those legs upward—the hem of a school uniform skirt. The faintly rising and falling contour of a young girl's full bosom. Finally—the pretty face of Ichinose Honami, her lips pressed tightly together.

Those eyes—as clear and blue as a cloudless sky—were, at this very moment, firmly locked onto her. Within them surged complex, indescribable emotions.

"Why is it you—Ichinose-san?!"

The confident smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face froze completely solid.

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