The post had taken the number one spot on the school forum, and in a matter of hours, nearly half the students had already clicked in to see it.
Not only had they read it, but they were now commenting freely both anonymously and under their real names.
["Kuraki Kazue, huh... Not surprising. I heard all kinds of stories about her when she first enrolled."]
["First-years are really something. Every year they bring in all kinds of drama. The upperclassmen are honestly impressed."]
["Yoshida Yūji's the real piece of work here. Does he think the school is his personal harem? Like he gets to choose any girl and no one can say no?"]
["I'm from Class 1-D. Gonna say this anonymously: those two act like the classroom is their personal kingdom or something. Obey and survive, resist and perish??"]
["Also from 1-D... Poor Nishimiya. But if I said anything in class, I'd end up getting bullied too QAQ."]
["So did Kuraki actually lose her money or not? And if she did who took it?"]
["Maybe it was someone close to her? I mean, if you don't know her well, how would you know she keeps money in her bag?"]
Kuraki Kazue was trembling with rage.
She knew perfectly well whether or not her wallet had gone missing.
This was slander!
She slammed her desk and shot to her feet, jabbing a finger toward Nishimiya Shōko, who sat in the back row.
"Nishimiya Shōko, you wrote that post, didn't you?!"
Nishimiya looked up in confusion at being singled out.
Even with her hearing aid, her hearing couldn't match that of a regular person. She usually had to concentrate hard just to catch what others were saying let alone when something came at her out of nowhere like this.
She pointed at herself with a timid expression.
Me? You're talking to me?
Kazue stormed toward her in a fury. Deep down, she knew it was unlikely. That mute girl didn't have the sharp tongue or the scheming mind to pull something like this off. If she did, Kazue might have backed off long ago.
"Cut the act already!"
She kicked her chair aside and marched down the aisle, gritting her teeth.
"From the moment you transferred here, I knew you were trouble "
"Kuraki-san!"
Someone stepped in front of her.
It was Isshiki Iroha, holding her arm out protectively in front of Nishimiya.
"Yoshida just got hauled off to the discipline office for fighting. Do you want a warning on your record too?"
Kazue's anger flared even hotter.
"Isshiki Iroha, are you just dying to climb over my head?"
In any group, there were only ever a few people who held the real power. Once the king and queen were established, anyone who stood out even a little would be seen as a threat.
Isshiki Iroha was one of the most popular girls in the entire school an undeniable beauty among first-years. After Kazue and Yoshida had banded together to establish control over their class, she'd always seen Iroha as her biggest rival.
But until now, Isshiki had avoided taking sides. She'd never given Kazue an opening to come at her.
And now of all times she chose to speak up.
Yoshida was under disciplinary review. Isshiki had jumped ship. Classmates who once stood by her were starting to pull away.
The sudden unraveling of her social circle left Kazue feeling dizzy.
All this from one post?
How had things spiraled so far?
She looked around the room. But most of her classmates averted their eyes when they met her gaze.
"Kuraki-san, I suggest you stop trying to bully Nishimiya again," Isshiki said with a smile. "I won't let something like that happen in our class ever again."
Tch. And just a few days ago, weren't you acting like nothing had happened to Nishimiya?
"You two-faced fake. You've got some nerve saying that."
But Isshiki remained unbothered, her smile untouched.
"I only learned about how awful you've been today, Kuraki-san."
Seeing Kazue being cornered, her friend Misa finally stood up and spoke, trying to calm things down.
"Let's not fight, class is about to start..."
She walked over and pulled Kazue back to her seat.
"Let it go, Kazue. Just calm down..."
Isshiki gently reassured Nishimiya, who was still visibly shaken, before returning to her own desk.
On the surface, she looked calm. But deep inside, she was still trying to catch her breath.
Isshiki Iroha wasn't some justice-obsessed airhead. She didn't want Nishimiya a kind, pretty, sweet girl to be wronged. Of course not. She wanted to help.
But only if it didn't hurt her in the process.
After the whole wallet incident erupted in 1-D, she'd spent an entire night trying to think of a solution. But no matter how she approached it, there was no clear, practical way forward. That's why she had reached out to the Service Club for help.
After all, Kuraki's wallet really had gone missing. Without finding where the money went, there was no way to clear Nishimiya's name.
And even if her name was cleared, would that change how others saw her? Probably not.
Then, like a miracle, this forum post appeared. A stroke of brilliance. A lightning bolt from somewhere completely unexpected shattering everything and resetting the board.
Not just a double play. A quadruple strike.
First: It effectively cleared most of the suspicion off of Nishimiya.
Second: It spread the blame across the whole class. Once suspicion was diluted, the rigid cliques in 1-D began to crack, making it easier for Nishimiya to fit in.
Third: The authority of Yoshida and Kuraki took a major hit. Now, even being friends with them no longer meant automatic ostracization.
And fourth: Even though Kuraki and Yoshida's old alliances hadn't completely crumbled, anyone who disliked them now had every reason to get closer to Nishimiya.
Because just by existing, Nishimiya Shōko served as a walking reminder: This is what Kuraki and Yoshida did.
No one wanted to end up like her.
Isshiki silently marveled.
Just one post on the school forum and every sentence cut deep, drawing blood without leaving a trace. The entire social order of 1-D was upended. The whole school now seemed to be moving according to the unseen will of the post's author.
Terrifying.
A pure results-driven genius. A born schemer. A master manipulator of human nature.
She didn't stand a chance against them.
If nothing else went wrong, even the missing money incident the source of it all would probably be resolved soon enough.
Isshiki pulled out her phone and typed a message.
Isshiki: Yuigahama-senpai, do you know who wrote that post?
The reply came quickly. Clearly, Yuigahama was following the drama too.
Yuigahama: Hmm~ I'm not totally sure either (●°u°●)」
Which meant she did know.
If it had been Miura-senpai, she probably would've said so. But her playful tone suggested she was proud of whoever it was.
Isshiki could almost hear the chuckle behind the screen.
And with that she knew.
Ah... she was pretty sure she'd figured it out now.
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