After sunset, all those who had gathered at the Momoyo Hall, whose goal was to protect everyone's smiles, to defend the Cherry Blossom Festival from destruction, and to fight the delinquent children of Street Mouryo gang and their unseen mastermind, convened to plan their next move.
"Then what exactly should we do about the mastermind behind this?" asked the graceful Yamato-Nadeshiko, Mimori.
"There is one most practical method," I replied: "First, head out onto the streets. Then find the Street Mouryo trouble-makers, and surround them all at once."
The poster-girl of the Momoyo Hall, Shizuko, refined the idea: "Although with just the Festival Operations Department this large operation would be impossible, now that the Inner Discipline Club is with us, it becomes feasible!"
Tsubaki, the "sleeping beauty" famed across Hyakkiyako, softly voiced her concern: "Surround them… and then what do we do after that…?"
"Of course," Shizuko said naturally and resolutely, "we immediately defeat them all, then capture everyone! Next, force them to reveal who the true culprit is."
She added firmly, "If necessary, we must not hesitate to use extreme measures!"
"A President with a backbone! Let's even use pinky-finger-cutting punishment on those villains!"
Pina, with her Yakuza-style spirit, added her support.
At that moment, the Head of the Shopping District, Date Meowru, for reasons unknown, summoned to the meeting suddenly slammed the table.
"Wait just a minute! You are students, are you not? How can you propose such extreme measures!?"
Every attendee showed expressions that were hard to describe. Even Pina hesitated and spoke up: "U-um… now that I think about it, President, I do feel this is a bit too extreme…"
"Why are you acting as though that was my idea!?" Shizuko snapped back.
Date Meowru, with a displeased expression, interrupted: "Listen, everyone, I came here in the middle of a busy schedule because many shop owners filed complaints. I have no time to entertain impractical schemes such as this."
According to Date Meowru, the actions of Street Mouryo gang had already caused economic damage to the merchants who had carefully prepared for the festival. As the head of the shopping district, he had come once more to urge Shizuko and the others in charge of the festival to quickly solve the problem.
Shizuko looked slightly embarrassed, but suddenly she brightened and asked: "Head, hearing you say that... do you perhaps already have a better idea?"
"I…"
Date Meowru stroked his long white beard, silent for a long moment, unable to produce a plan, but firmly opposed the current one:
"At least this plan of yours absolutely will not do. Fighting a large-scale battle on the streets late at night will only disturb nearby residents."
That reasoning clearly failed to convince Shizuko. She argued: "But right now we have no other way, do we? The climax of the Cherry Blossom Festival is the day after tomorrow, we must find the culprit before then. Even if your prediction is true, we can still only apologize to the disturbed residents afterward."
Date Meowru narrowed his brows and glared at Shizuko. "Hmph… can you guarantee the plan will definitely succeed? Even if you manage to catch those delinquents, can you guarantee you'll get any useful info from them? If all you get is chaos and no results, the residents affected by the noise won't lightly accept your apology!"
Now the debate carried the air of stubborn argument.
"I–I said it already!" Shizuko said each word slowly, though panic crept into her tone. "We no longer have time to waste! You fossilized old-geezer!"
"Wh-what!? What kind of attitude is that!?"
Immediately the atmosphere turned tense.
At that moment, Tsubaki, with worry in her voice, said: "Also... if at the fireworks show at the end of the festival the Street Mouryo gang rioters go wild again that won't just be a disturbance…"
Shizuko sighed, nodding lightly. "If that really happens, then we in the Festival Operations Department will be held accountable…"
Date Meowru softened his tone, saying in a calmer voice: "I understand the pressure you must be under. I came here to help solve this problem, but I also have my position to consider."
He reasoned gently: "Take some time, calm down, and think again. There must be a better method. If worst comes to worst, we can do this tomorrow in the daytime, still in time. And, as students… don't resort to torture for confessions."
Shizuko clearly hesitated.
At a moment like this, a leader needed to step forward.
"About the identity of the mastermind."
I, who had remained silent and observed since earlier, drew everyone's attention as soon as I spoke.
"Actually, I've already got a hunch. At least it allows us to narrow down the range considerably."
"What?!" Date Meowru was so surprised he accidentally pulled out one of his whiskers, then winced in pain before blurting out anxiously, "If you already have a theory... th-then say it quick! Young people these days, huh…"
"Even if I have a guess, I can't be 100% certain. Still, Shizuko's plan remains the simplest viable one."
Date Meowru's tone turned frosty: "I told you that idea isn't reliable."
The difference between me and Shizuko is that I have no desire to debate stubborn old-fossils like Date Meowru.
No matter how big a mess Street Mouryo gang makes, the ones who'll be blamed first are the Festival Operations Department. As shopping-District Head, Date Meowru hardly stands to lose anything. So of course it's easy for him to criticize while staying safe.
In truth, Shizuko and the others only included him in the meeting out of respect.
Once you remove that layer, what means does Date Meowru really have? Even if he objected, does the Festival Department need his approval to decide?
If he truly had a better workable plan, fine... but just opposing everything is nothing but harassing the kind-hearted students who want to fix things.
I felt a lot of resentment brewing toward him.
The girls of the Inner Discipline Club mostly seemed to feel the same.
It's not just innocent Kaede, even Tsubaki's earlier soft words had already revealed her own leanings.
As for Mimori... well, that goes without saying. Right, dear?
When my gaze met the pink-haired student's eyes, I couldn't tell whether she detected what I was thinking.
And more than that…
Was this fellow's opposition to Shizuko's plan really just what he claimed it was?
I remained doubtful.
That's also why I hadn't joined the earlier argument.
Regardless, ignoring Date Meowru's complaints, I continued:
"From our information so far, the mastermind behind this has several clear characteristics..."
"First, substantial financial resources. With personal funding alone, he's able to hire dozens, or potentially far more, from Street Mouryo gang. That's no trivial amount of money."
Date Meowru seemed to quickly forget his earlier displeasure. He nodded repeatedly: "That's true. Even as head of the shopping district, I couldn't possibly raise that kind of money on my own."
I continued, ignoring him: "Second, prominent reputation. Money alone might get Street Mouryo gang to follow orders, but it wouldn't be enough to make those rebellious brats truly respect someone, or follow him loyally. During the fights, they still repeated slogans as though being under his banner, that's proof of an existing prestige behind him."
"What?! Is that so!?" Date Meowru gasped, accidentally pulling another whisker and wincing. "Well, that's good… With that, the pool of suspects shrinks significantly!"
"Pinally, the most critical point," I said, scanning the group seriously. "It's obvious this is not the first time for this 'master.' If what Street Mouryo gang claimed is true, then whoever is behind the sabotage of the Cherry Blossom Festival has already committed many more crimes in secret."
"…Huh?" Date Meowru blinked. Then: "Oh! T-that's really… well… horrifying. You must catch the culprit as soon as possible."
Where did all these words come from just now?
"Already this many clues?" Shizuko thought aloud, noticing how things added up, she couldn't help her face lighting up. "Then we can at least narrow the suspect range by a lot!"
"But even if we identify the mastermind, that doesn't guarantee we can catch them," I warned Shizuko. "And we can't rule out the possibility the Street Mouryo gang themselves are lying intentionally."
Date Meowru hurriedly interjected: "On the contrary, I think your direction is quite viable! As expected of Schale's teacher, you truly are clever beyond rumors!"
Even if he praised me, it didn't change anything.
Still… although I strongly doubted it, might it really be, as Shizuko and Pina said, that Date Meowru is just a stuck-up old fool, cold-faced, but with a warm heart, a true tsundere…?
Honestly? That thought makes me feel nauseated.
Shizuko mulled it over for a moment, then following my reasoning, proposed another idea:
"Head is right. No matter what, if we gather sufficient evidence that shows the mastermind has a criminal record or is already wanted… then even the Yin-Yang Club shouldn't be able to stay uninvolved, right?"
Another card to play?
That was a path I'd previously overlooked. Having already been rejected once by the Yin-Yang Club, I hadn't thought to ask again.
Though they might reject us again, if we had a legitimate justification, it could very well be worth a try.
Shizuko switched to her "customer-service smile and tone," and sweetly said: "Thanks so much, Sensei."
"No problem. I'm only doing what I should. Now... without delay, let's start our deductions. I don't know much about the current state of Hyakkiyako. What ideas do you all have?"
Shizuko nodded, then frowned in thought. "Hmm… if we're talking about criminals known in Hyakkiyako…"
"Ah! I thought of someone!" Pina said excitedly. "If you ask who the most infamous criminal in Hyakkiyako is... it has to be that one, right?"
She lowered her voice and spoke in a mysterious tone: "Last I heard, she carried out indiscriminate destruction all across Kivotos like a ghost! So mysterious and terrifying that even the General Student Council trembled in fear. Their most elite force had to be deployed to arrest her, sending her to a correctional facility… but she recently escaped!"
…Huh?
From that all-too-familiar description, a bad premonition rose in me.
Everyone else seated there looked similarly startled.
Pina couldn't stay mysterious any longer. She finally revealed the name:
"That's right! She's one of the Seven Prisoners, the one nicknamed [The Fox of Calamity], Kosaka Wakamo!"
With a bang,
Date Meowru slammed the table in excitement. "Yes! It must be the Fox of Calamity!"
Shizuko's eyes brightened. "Yes, if it's Kosaka Wakamo that makes perfect sense! She'd have the prestige to rally Street Mouryo gang, the criminal record, and the same destructive style!"
Kaede's eyes gleamed. "Oh! The legendary Fox of Calamity! If we're really facing someone like that... this is huge! We're fighting someone like in those anime stories!"
Tsubaki cocked her head, puzzled. "But... why would Wakamo try to destroy the festival?"
Shizuko thought for a moment. "Her previous acts also had unclear motives... maybe she just enjoys destruction itself!"
While the group erupted in lively discussion, already almost certain Wakamo was the prime suspect, I quietly closed my phone.
Just in case, I had briefly contacted Wakamo via Momotalk. If she were innocent, she wouldn't lie to me. I was confident she wouldn't lie about this. She said it wasn't her. And I was confident she wouldn't lie to me about something like this.
But even though I knew the truth…
what excuse could I offer to deny this theory?
I couldn't exactly say,
"Oh, I'm actually quite close with the infamous delinquent Kosaka Wakamo, and she personally told me she's not the mastermind."
At that moment...
"Um, everyone. As far as I know, the Fox of Calamity always leads her operations personally, and never delegates everything to others."
The one who said this was not me, but Mimori.
I subtly nodded toward the pink-haired girl in thanks, though she seemed entirely unaware.
Once she said that, everyone looked at each other, recalling the rumors about Wakamo and indeed, it matched Mimori's statement.
Thus, even if Wakamo's suspicion wasn't fully cleared, it had significantly decreased.
"Besides the Fox of Calamity… who else could it be…"
Shizuko murmured, falling deep into thought.
Date Meowru looked around. Seeing everyone thinking, he cleared his throat and said gravely:
"Well… I still think it's the Fox of Calamity. After being captured and placed in the Correction Bureau, it's normal she'd adopt a more cautious style afterward!"
His point had some logic, but seriously? Bad-mouthing her in front of me?
Trying to muddy the waters... honestly, Date Meowru looked more suspicious than anyone!
Though admittedly, that was only my irritation speaking.
In reality, I knew perfectly well that an ordinary shopping district Head couldn't possibly have the funds to hire so many people, nor the motive to destroy the festival, nor the prestige to command delinquent students…
unless he had some hidden identity, which we had no reason to assume.
Still… we couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Date Meowru had some connection to the real mastermind.
"…I think I have an idea."
Shizuko finally spoke, as if something had clicked in her mind:
"If we don't limit ourselves to criminals originating from Hyakkiyako, but expand the scope to criminals who acted in Hyakkiyako, yet whose school, identity, or even whether they're a student is completely unknown… Such a person does exist."
Shizuko paused, then continued:
"Someone far more mysterious than the Fox of Calamity. Someone whose true identity even Chronos couldn't discover, someone who always moves from the shadows, someone hailed as the criminal mastermind of all Kivotos…"
Someone in the group already seemed to realize it.
Shizuko took a deep breath, then slowly revealed the name:
"The Smug Professor."
Bang!
Date Meowru slammed the table with exhilaration:
"Yes! It must be the Smug Professor!"
Pina gasped, face serious:
"So it's the legendary Smug Professor? That makes perfect sense! Only a villain of that caliber could recruit such loyal followers in secret!"
Kaede's eyes sparkled again:
"Oooh! The urban-legend Smug Professor! They… really do sound more like an evil mastermind than the Fox of Calamity!"
So who the hell is this "Smug Professor"?
Completely lost, I pulled out my phone to look them up.
"It certainly sounds like their style… But what would the motive be?" Tsubaki wondered.
But Shizuko waved her hand dismissively:
"The motive doesn't matter, we can investigate that after solving the incident. The important thing is that the Smug Professor is currently the most plausible suspect."
"Well… that's true…"
"And there's not a single contradiction!" Shizuko smiled brightly. "Since there's no proof it isn't the Smug Professor, let's report this directly to the Yin-Yang Club!"
As expected of the Momoyo Hall's poster girl, Shizuko was a strategist willing to use any means necessary.
Just as she said: as long as the incident looked like the Smug Professor's handiwork, and couldn't be disproved, then the actual truth didn't matter.
What mattered was leveraging that to force the Yin-Yang Club to act.
Shizuko stood up joyfully:
"I'll contact the Yin-Yang Club right now! With such a notorious wanted criminal involved, I refuse to believe they'll stay idle!"
"Hold it!"
However, Date Meowru suddenly jumped to his feet:
"Shizuko! Falsifying information like this is not acceptable!"
"What do you mean, falsifying?" Shizuko tilted her head innocently. "I don't understand. If the mastermind we catch isn't the Smug Professor, then the intel must have been wrong. I'm a victim too~"
Date Meowru fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"…Since you've made up your mind, I have nothing more to say. It's late, I still have business, so I'll take my leave."
"Ah... Chairman, safe travels!"
After sending Date Meowru out, Shizuko returned, exhaled deeply, dropped all pretense, and clenched her tiny fists with gritted teeth:
"In any case! Once we trick the Yin-Yang Club into helping, we'll find the real mastermind immediately! Then I'll return every last bit of stress I suffered straight to him, I won't forgive him unless I beat him into mush!"
I joked, "Done pretending already?"
"D-don't sweat the little details!"
The poster-girl said, "Anyway, let's call it a night. The Head had a point: a large-scale battle with Street Mouryo gang at this hour would disturb the residents. And everyone's tired today, right?
"Let's rest, wait for the Yin-Yang Club's reply, and prepare thoroughly tomorrow before starting the operation."
Finally with the outsiders gone, I spoke:
"Shizuko, everyone... I have something to tell you."
"Huh? Please go ahead."
"Tomorrow, during the day, I have a meeting with Izuna, the ninja-like girl who was accompanying Street Mouryo gang. So I won't be able to join your operation."
I concisely explained my relationship with Izuna, her being deceived by her employer, and my intention to extract information about the mastermind from her.
The girls did not object, only expressed concern for my safety.
Once I promised to contact them immediately if anything went wrong, my cute students raised no further complaints.
And so, after temporarily parting ways with the Inner Discipline Club and Festival Operations Department, I headed back to Schale alone.
Meanwhile....
in the Yin-Yang Club's room.
A girl with squinting eyes, holding a folding fan, spoke with great amusement:
"Niha~ Chise, Tanuki-san says she found the true culprit?"
Chise put away her phone, paused, and recited:
"Sabotaging the festival… mastermind is… Smug Professor."
"…Huh?"
The composed smile of the Yin-Yang Club President,
Amachi Niya,
froze on her face.
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