Houtarou noticed something that had been overlooked.
Was Suzune injured?
Watching Houtarou's expression, Masumi quickly shared what she knew.
"She injured her left leg — fell during the 200-meter race. Since we're split into red and white teams competing against each other, and I'm on the red team, I couldn't get too close to gather information." Masumi explained, "But Kikyō has been by her side helping the whole time."
Getting injured at a Sports Festival wasn't unusual — sometimes people just ran too fast and fell.
"Has Horikita withdrawn then?" Houtarou asked.
"Pretty much. She attempted the three-legged race but couldn't run, so she had to withdraw. Kushida went with her to get food." Masumi said.
After the girls finished the three-legged race, all individual events would be over. With Suzune's withdrawal, she could finally rest.
Houtarou nodded slightly.
Kikyō accompanying Suzune suggested their relationship wasn't strained.
Something about this deserved questioning, though.
After finishing his own race, Houtarou had retrieved his phone from Class A's base. There hadn't been a single message — Kikyō hadn't reported anything about Suzune's injury.
True, Houtarou knew Kikyō had betrayed Class C again. But since that was someone else's Class C and he was in Class A, spying between classes didn't concern him. Class A students were doing the same thing.
Having more spies in other classes was advantageous — that's why he tolerated it.
Yet previously, when Suzune had acted foolishly, Kikyō had at least informed him about the conflict with Kayano, fulfilling basic friendship obligations.
So why hadn't she mentioned Suzune's injury at all?
Something didn't add up. Kikyō must have been planning something.
He couldn't entirely dismiss her — despite disliking Suzune, she still maintained a pretense of friendship.
Houtarou opened Kikyō's contact to send her a message.
But...
『You are not friends with this person. Unable to send message.』
The screen displayed the notice.
Houtarou: "..."
How genuine of you, little Kikyō.
She had blocked him again.
He tried Suzune's contact next and called her.
However.
Beep Beep—
The call didn't connect.
But opening the GPS system confirmed that her phone was powered on and stationary.
After confirming this, Houtarou turned and said, "Looks like you'll have to help me get lunch again. I need to take care of something."
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
After sending Masumi to get food, Houtarou went to find Airi.
Kikyō had blocked him once before, during her previous betrayal of the class. When he caught her then, she explained that she had blocked him to avoid being discovered, planning to unblock him after completing her task. Her goal had been to hide her whereabouts.
Now she had blocked him again, which could only mean she was planning something she wanted to keep from him.
The pattern was clear — Kikyō was likely playing the same game, pretending to befriend Suzune while actually plotting to force her to drop out.
Suzune's injury might not be accidental. It could be part of Kakeru's scheme, with Kikyō as an accomplice.
To investigate further, Houtarou needed someone who still had access to that little devil. Fortunately, that person was nearby, taking a break.
That person was Airi.
She had just completed the three-legged race with Haruka. Though neither excelled at sports, their compatible pace had earned them fourth place — a stroke of luck, perhaps.
Airi had given it her all. After their group finished, while Hasebe left with some other girls, Airi stayed behind to rest on the lawn.
As she sat there, footsteps approached.
"You did well just now." Houtarou said, "Congratulations on getting fourth place."
"Oh, did you see me, Oreki-kun?" Airi's expression was a mix of happiness and concern, "But Horikita-san got injured and had to withdraw from the three-legged race. And she was taken to eat by Kushida-san."
She seemed well-informed, but Houtarou wasn't here to find Suzune.
"Also, Satō-san and Shinohara-san and the others went to the cafeteria already…" Airi added.
He wasn't here to find them either.
"Sakura-san, can I borrow your phone?" Houtarou asked directly.
"Um, s-sure—"
He had borrowed her spare phone before on the ship, so this was familiar territory.
"I need to find someone." Houtarou said.
Airi wondered why he needed her phone to find someone, but she handed it over without hesitation.
Houtarou brought her along as he checked the GPS guidance. Using his friend access to Suzune's phone, he could see it was located in area J outside the cafeteria. When he checked Kikyō's location on Airi's phone, he found her phone in the same area — the positions overlapped exactly.
"This is..." Airi followed as he led her to some bushes outside the cafeteria. The area was deserted.
Her eyes widened as Houtarou calmly retrieved two white-cased student phones from the bushes, along with a voice recorder.
"Kushida-san's phone... and Horikita-san's phone... Why are they both here?" Airi asked.
She had watched him use her phone to locate Kikyō and his own phone to find Suzune, so she understood the process.
The phones were here, but their owners were nowhere in sight.
Houtarou played the black voice recorder, and voices emerged:
[On your marks, fourth group ready...start!]
The voice was likely the referee's.
[Horikita-san...Horikita-san...]
This came from an unfamiliar girl.
[Ungh—]
That was unmistakably Suzune's groan.
[Is your foot okay?]
Kikyō's familiar voice.
[That's not what bothers me. That girl kept calling my name during the race.]
Suzune again.
[So that's why you kept looking back. Anyway, Horikita, you should rest now. I'll get the medical staff.]
The recording had captured the moment of Suzune's injury.
"This is..." Though innocent, Airi seemed to grasp the implications as she listened.
There was clearly more to Suzune's injury than met the eye. Someone had deliberately called her name during the race, distracting her until she got hurt. The incident became common knowledge, even boosting team morale during the cavalry battle — Airi included.
Though her squad fell quickly, the white team's alliance of Class B and C girls ultimately won, securing the points. Everyone celebrated the victory.
Now it all made sense.
"Horikita and Kushida's phones are here, but where are they now?" Airi asked.
If Suzune's injury was indeed part of someone's scheme, their location should be predictable.
Where? The answer was obvious.
Houtarou checked Kakeru's location through his friend list that he had obtained during the cruise ship special exam.
He confirmed the position.
⍟⍟⍟
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