Chapter 192: Is Shimizu Akira Her Master? / Horikita Suzune Steps Up Personally
Friday arrived quickly.
While having breakfast, Shimizu Akira received a text notification from Horikita Manabu—Kusuda Yukitsu had disappeared from the school.
Since the message arrived this morning, it was clear the school had started investigating the sasaeng fan incident yesterday. It seemed the school's actions were much faster than he had anticipated.
However, Horikita Manabu wasn't the only one messaging him. Sakura Airi had also sent several messages. The first was to express her gratitude for Shimizu's help, as she had also received the notification from Horikita Manabu. This was immediately followed by a transfer of 100,000 points as a thank-you.
Shimizu didn't overthink it and accepted it directly. There was nothing to agonize over; this was fair compensation.
Following that, she sent another message saying she had decided to testify next Tuesday. Since the Student Council already knew she was "Shizuku," she no longer had to explain why she was suddenly at the Special Annex taking photos or the reasons behind it.
Her evidence was a photo in her camera, which she reportedly snapped by accident while trying to take a selfie. She specifically sent it to Shimizu to see.
However, this photo was taken after the four of them had finished fighting; it was impossible to tell who struck first or last. Nonetheless, it was more than enough to prove that Sakura Airi was an eyewitness at the scene. As for her identity as a gravure idol, she still didn't want to expose it and draw attention to herself. It seemed she had already agreed with Kushida Kikyo that everyone attending the hearing would help keep her secret.
The end of the message was a long string of words thanking Shimizu for stepping in.
Next, Sudo Ken also sent a message, hoping Shimizu could attend the hearing on his behalf next Tuesday, even offering 30,000 points as a commission fee. But Shimizu didn't want to go, and he couldn't go anyway. The Boxing Club activities started at 7:00 PM; how would he have the time to attend such a hearing? Not to mention he had to prepare for his match in advance.
So, he explained his reasons clearly and rejected the offer flatly. Sudo was clearly quite discouraged, sending several messages expressing his regret. Shimizu, feeling a bit curious, casually asked who would be attending the hearing.
Sudo listed four names: himself, Kushida Kikyo, Sakura Airi, and Chabashira Sae. As for the reasons—he himself had to be there as the party involved; Kushida had proactively contacted him wanting to participate; Sakura Airi was the witness, so her presence was a given; and Chabashira Sae, being the homeroom teacher, was essentially forced to attend.
Shimizu vaguely recalled that when he went to the Student Council last time, the President mentioned that the attendees must be approved by Sudo himself.
Then again, there was likely a limit on the number of attendees. After all, the Student Council's long table couldn't seat that many people. Sakura Airi, as a witness, shouldn't count toward the quota. That meant Class D might still have one more slot. Otherwise, Sudo wouldn't have gone out of his way to invite him.
-
-
-
At 8:00 AM, today's Daily Intelligence refreshed on time.
During the last Class 1-C meeting, Ryuen Kakeru proposed a plan targeting Shimizu Akira, but it was opposed by his classmates Shiina Hiyori and Yamada Albert. Part of Shiina Hiyori's reason for opposing was that she didn't want the class's reputation to worsen further; the other part was purely a desire to protect her friend, Shimizu Akira. Chabashira Sae intends to find a girlfriend for Shimizu Akira within Class 1-D. Horikita Suzune of Class 1-D specifically made a bento for Shimizu Akira today, getting up at 5:00 AM. Due to the food poisoning incident last time, the ingredients used this time are high-end goods bought with points.
'Huh?! There really was a plan targeting me!'
Shimizu's eyes scanned the first piece of information, and his heart skipped a beat.
However, it was actually rejected by Shiina Hiyori and Yamada Albert at the same time?! What surprised him even more was that Shiina Hiyori had actually done such a thing for him behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through their recent chat history. The latest message was from the day before yesterday.
Shiina Hiyori: Shimizu-kun, have you finished the book for this week? Keigo Higashino's Journey Under the Midnight Sun.
Shimizu Akira: Finished it.
Shiina Hiyori: And what are your thoughts?
Shimizu Akira: Ryoji and Yukiho are like a pair of symbiotic plants; their root systems are entangled in the darkness, yet they never managed to grow toward the same light source.
Shiina Hiyori: You noticed it after all. They aren't criminals and accomplices in the traditional sense, but more like two shadows nailed together by fate—one forever living in the shadows of the day, the other forever trapped in the illusion of the night.
Ever since last month, they had recommended a book to each other every week, giving a week for reading, and then exchanging thoughts every Wednesday. But looking back, during their chat the day before yesterday, Shiina Hiyori hadn't mentioned a single word about secretly helping him.
Shimizu figured that on one hand, it was a secret Class 1-C meeting and truly inconvenient to tell an outsider; on the other hand, that girl simply wasn't the type to proactively claim credit after helping someone. Shimizu felt a warmth in his heart. The fact that Shiina Hiyori would help him secretly proved she truly cared about him.
'I wonder if she noticed the loophole from last time!'
Actually, his trick of switching phones had several obvious flaws if one scrutinized it. As for Yamada Albert's refusal, he wasn't surprised. After all, he occasionally spoke a few words to him when going to the Boxing Club—though they didn't say much, he could clearly feel the other wasn't a bad person. In that case, let the truth be decided in the ring.
Still, it turned out Sudo had been right—if not for Yamada Albert and Shiina Hiyori's intervention, Ryuen Kakeru really might have made a move against him.
Moving to the second piece of intel, Shimizu was stunned and momentarily speechless. Since when did Chabashira Sae take on the role of a matchmaker? She actually intended to find him a girlfriend.
Come to think of it, could this be her counterattack after Hoshinomiya Chie approached him and tried to persuade him to transfer to Class B? As expected of best friends, even their logic was so similar.
Hoshinomiya Chie wanted to use Ichinose Honami as bait, dangling a date as a condition to hook him; Chabashira Sae was not to be outdone, intending to find him a girlfriend as well.
He just didn't know who in the class she had her eye on or how she planned to play matchmaker. But to be fair, Chabashira's approach felt more sincere than Hoshinomiya's. After all, she didn't seem to be dangling a carrot; she genuinely meant to find him a girlfriend.
What was this? Did she want him to stay in Class D? Could she already know that he was the person who rented the surveillance cameras? Shimizu thought about it carefully and it suddenly clicked—she definitely knew he had a massive amount of personal points, otherwise why would she be in such a hurry? After all, he had bought the "alt account" from Chabashira Sae back then; she likely pondered over it, asked Hirata, and guessed it was his doing.
However, what surprised him was that even though she knew, she hadn't made any redundant moves.
'Is she worried he'll pack his bags and run?'
Shimizu's thinking was almost identical to Chabashira's—once he saved up twenty million personal points, if things didn't feel right, he'd just slip away. But currently, he was still nearly a quarter short of that goal. Transferring classes wasn't within his considerations for the time being.
Finally, the last piece of intel.
'Wait, Horikita Suzune got up at 5:00 AM? And the ingredients are all high-end stuff bought with points?'
He had woken up at 5:30 himself; he didn't expect Horikita to be even earlier.
Thinking back, after he sent the info about the witness to Kushida Kikyo yesterday, he did relay it to Horikita Suzune as well. At the time, she was blunt, saying that as his seatmate she had overheard most of it anyway, and mentioned she would prepare a bento for him today as agreed. By the way, Kushida Kikyo still owed him a lap pillow; he wondered when she would fulfill that promise.
Just as he was thinking, Horikita Suzune walked through the door, carrying a bento box that clearly had some weight to it. When she reached Shimizu, she paused instinctively before slowly walking to her seat.
"We're eating in the classroom at noon," Horikita Suzune glanced at him and dropped the instruction.
"Thanks," Shimizu thanked her sincerely. "What kind of bento did you make for lunch?"
"...You'll find out when the time comes," Horikita replied, adding after a moment's thought: "The bento is absolutely fine this time!"
She had been obsessing over the food poisoning incident last time—embarrassing herself was one thing, but she was more afraid Shimizu would think her cooking was unhygienic.
This time, she was determined to win back that trust. Last night, she went to the supermarket to buy high-end ingredients, meticulously selecting each item and even asking the shopkeeper about the restocking times. Just the shopping alone took a lot of effort.
She crawled out of bed at five this morning to start preparing the bentos for the two of them. After finishing, she even took a couple of bites herself. It was now past 8:00 AM and her stomach felt fine, so it should be okay.
But thinking about it, what was she doing? Pre-testing for poison? She felt like those ancient handmaidens who tasted food for their masters. At this thought, her expression became somewhat unnatural.
'Is Shimizu Akira her master? No way!'
It was just a fair and reasonable exchange—he helped her get information, and she provided the corresponding reward.
Shimizu raised an eyebrow: "Fine, I trust you."
How could he not? The intel said so clearly.
"...As long as you know," Horikita Suzune's expression softened slightly. Being trusted by the person involved was reassuring, after all.
Shimizu rubbed his chin and posed a question: "So, why did you suddenly ask me to look for witness info? Didn't you say you wanted to wait and see? Is it like Kushida—you want to get involved and prove your ability to your brother?"
He remembered clearly that last time Horikita said she wanted to observe. Now that she was willing to pay the price of a bento, she likely wanted to step in. Given her "brother-complex," it was likely the latter.
"...Yes." Horikita Suzune nodded to herself. This time, she didn't find it surprising that Shimizu guessed her thoughts. It had happened so many times she was already used to it. "This time, I will step in personally and settle this farce once and for all!" Horikita said with a hint of confidence.
"Haha..." Shimizu couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Truth be told, it had been a long time since Horikita Suzune was this confident; hearing those words so suddenly made him unable to hold back a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?!" Horikita frowned.
"I just thought of something funny," Shimizu squeezed out.
"...I am not the person I was before!" Horikita glared at him with displeasure, retorting almost instinctively. She felt that this guy, Shimizu, was truly infuriating sometimes. What "something funny"? He was clearly laughing at her! But this time, she wouldn't be looked down upon so easily.
"I've already thought of a way to bring down those three losers from Class C!"
Shimizu's interest was piqued: "What is it?"
Horikita Suzune was silent for a moment before spitting out one word: "Surveillance."
Shimizu was stunned.
'Surveillance?'
If he remembered correctly, there weren't supposed to be any cameras over by the Special Annex.
Horikita Suzune, as if seeing through his doubt, curled her lip slightly and explained unhurriedly: "I went to the scene to check. There are indeed no cameras at the Special Annex, but that doesn't mean there aren't any on the way there. Since those two from Class C claim they were led to the building by Sudo and were unilaterally provoked and beaten, the footage
should show Sudo walking in front with Komiya Kyogo and Kondo Reo following behind. Additionally, Ishizaki Daichi's mysterious appearance is also a suspicious point—if the footage shows him heading toward the Special Annex faster than those three, it's enough to prove Class C planned this in advance!"
Shimizu couldn't help but nod as he listened.
Not bad; Horikita's angle was clever.
The lack of cameras at the Annex didn't mean other paths weren't covered. Since the other side claimed they were being "led," it should naturally be Sudo in the lead. If the footage showed the opposite, it would prove they were lying—that they were the ones who brought Sudo there.
As for how Horikita knew these details, it was because around 8:00 or 9:00 last night, Kushida Kikyo had specifically gathered information from Sudo and the Student Council and posted the clues in the group chat. It was now shared information for Class D. After all, with Horikita's personality, it was still difficult for her to get information from others.
"However, you seem to have forgotten one thing." Shimizu looked at the clearly smug Horikita and couldn't help but throw cold water on her.
"I admit what you said makes sense, but you haven't joined the hearing yet, have you?"
He acknowledged her angle was indeed impressive, but she wasn't on the guest list for next Tuesday's hearing. He had just asked Sudo while eating, and Horikita Suzune's name wasn't on the list.
In that case, no matter how eloquently she spoke now, she wouldn't be able to state these ideas to her brother at the Student Council.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting