The next day was Friday, and the morning classes ended uneventfully.
During lunch break, just as Horikita Suzune was about to enjoy her lunch alone, Natsukawa Sosuke's voice came from the next seat.
"I need you to do something."
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Horikita's ears.
Horikita Suzune didn't even turn her head, merely responding coldly, "Speak."
"Go to the Faculty Office and find Chabashira-sensei. Try to get the surveillance footage from around the incident location, which is the Special Academic Building." Natsukawa paused, then added, "The time frame is all footage from three PM on the 28th until the academic building closes that evening."
"Surveillance footage?" Horikita Suzune finally turned her head, her eyes showing clear confusion. "The school should have already investigated. If there were crucial evidence in the footage, the matter wouldn't have dragged on until now."
"Is that something you need to think about?" Natsukawa countered. "What you need to do now is execute."
Horikita Suzune's expression grew a few degrees colder, but she didn't retort.
"What if Chabashira-sensei refuses to provide it?"
"Then buy it with points." Natsukawa's tone was matter-of-fact. "There's nothing in this school that can't be bought with points, and information is no different. If she names a price, you pay."
"I don't have many points left."
"Just because you don't have them doesn't mean the class doesn't." Natsukawa looked at her. "After you go back, tell Hirata about this, tell all the classmates. Say this is a necessary cost to find evidence. Let them share the expense this time."
He looked at Horikita's somewhat puzzled eyes and continued, "Doing this has two benefits. First, it can increase their sunk cost. When everyone has paid points for this matter, they will more eagerly desire a good outcome, thus becoming more united. Second, with you leading this matter, it can also boost your prestige in the class. It will make them understand that in critical moments, only you can lead them to solve problems."
Horikita Suzune was silent for a moment. She had to admit that Natsukawa's words, though seemingly cold and ruthless, accurately grasped human nature.
She asked no more questions, simply stood up, and walked straight out of the classroom.
Proactiveness was one of Horikita Suzune's few strengths. She went directly to her Class teacher, Chabashira Sae, and requested to purchase the surveillance footage. Chabashira Sae was not surprised, merely calmly stating a price.
Ten thousand personal points.
The price was not low, but it was within an acceptable range. Horikita bought it directly. Soon, a USB drive containing all surveillance footage from the afternoon until evening, covering the incident site to the basketball court along the way, was handed to Horikita.
After a brief discussion with Hirata Yosuke in the afternoon, Horikita had Hirata set up a public account within the class, with everyone contributing 1000 points per month to prevent situations like this. However, the class's response was clearly not very enthusiastic. Most people made excuses that they no longer had points, only symbolically contributing a few hundred points.
After school in the afternoon, Horikita Suzune stopped Natsukawa as he was about to leave.
This time, she said no opening remarks, directly handing over the USB drive and the folded report she held.
"I got the things." Horikita walked to his desk and handed him a USB drive and several printed papers.
"Chabashira-sensei quoted ten thousand points, which I paid in advance." Her tone was still cold, devoid of any emotion. "This is the surveillance footage, and I also took the liberty of requesting the injury assessment reports issued by the school infirmary for those three Class C students."
Natsukawa Sosuke took the USB drive and the report, casually flipping through them.
"The school and the Student Council must have already seen these things." Horikita Suzune looked at his profile, unable to resist raising her question again. "I don't believe there's any direct evidence here that can prove Sudo's innocence."
Natsukawa Sosuke folded the injury reports, his movements unhurried.
"Horikita, you made two core mistakes from the very beginning."
"First, you placed all your hopes on others. Whether it was hoping the school would see clearly, or hoping for an eyewitness who might not even exist. You completely gave up the initiative, passively waiting for an uncertain outcome."
Horikita's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
"Second," Natsukawa continued, "from the moment the incident occurred, you've been fighting on the battlefield defined by the other party. The Class C people said Sudo hit them, so you desperately tried to prove 'Sudo didn't hit them' or 'Sudo acted in self-defense.' Have you ever thought about jumping out of this trap from the start and setting the rules of the game yourself?"
Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed tightly; she seemed to grasp something, yet it remained somewhat vague.
"What do you mean?"
"The meaning is simple." Natsukawa Sosuke put the folded report and the USB drive into his pocket. "Our goal should never be to prove that those Class C people are lying. Because we have no evidence, this is almost an impossible task."
"Our real goal should be to prove to the Student Council that the credibility of those Class C people as witnesses is questionable; to make the Student Council realize how much weight their testimonies truly carry."
Natsukawa's words, like a flash of lightning, instantly cut through the fog in Horikita Suzune's mind.
Her thinking had always been to argue between "guilty" and "innocent," trying to find evidence to overturn the "guilty" accusation.
But Natsukawa, however, directly bypassed this debate, shifting the target of attack from the "incident itself" to the "accusers."
Pulling the rug out from under them.
Seeing the expression on Horikita's face, a mix of shock and contemplation, Natsukawa offered no further explanation and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Horikita Suzune instinctively called out to him.
"I want to watch the surveillance footage with you."
Her tone was firm, carrying an unyielding attitude. Since she had already paid the price, she had to personally confirm what this man intended to do, and whether he truly had the ability to deliver on his promise.
Natsukawa Sosuke paused, glancing back at Horikita, his face expressionless.
He offered no comment and continued walking forward. Horikita took his silence as agreement.
Tomorrow was the weekend, which meant that once she followed this man back to the dormitory, Horikita Suzune would likely have to spend the entire Saturday watching footage she considered worthless.
But at this moment, there was no hesitation in her heart.
The two walked silently, one after the other, on the way back to the dormitory.
Upon returning to Natsukawa's room, he naturally opened his computer and inserted the USB drive.
Horikita Suzune pulled over the chair she had sat in yesterday, quietly taking a seat to the side and slightly behind the computer, where she could clearly see the screen while maintaining a relatively safe social distance from Natsukawa.
Natsukawa clicked open the folder on the USB drive, which contained dozens of video files meticulously labeled with time segments and camera numbers.
He didn't rush to play them, but instead first spread out the injury assessment reports one by one on the table.
Then, he opened a blank document and his fingers began to tap rapidly on the keyboard.
"Class C, Ishizaki Daichi, mild sprain of the left wrist, soft tissue contusion on the left cheek, corneal damage, nosebleed..."
"Class C, Kondō Reion, abdominal strike, abdominal muscle strain, minor bruising..."
"Class C, Komiya Yōgo, facial soft tissue damage, ligament tear..."
He meticulously transcribed the key information from the reports into the document, forming a clear list.
After completing all this, he finally turned his gaze back to the video files.
"Alright, let's begin now."
Natsukawa's voice was calm as he clicked open the first video file.
The surveillance footage began to play, and the entire afternoon slipped away in the quiet room, minute by minute, as the video playback progress bar moved at three times the speed.