"He's lying!"
Seeing Kaoru's reply, Ibuki Mio was furious.
What did he mean by 'expose what happened between us'?!
As if she had some shady secret with him!
"Hey, can you give me back my phone now?"
Manabe Shiho breathed a sigh of relief internally but pretended to be displeased on the surface.
Ryuen frowned slightly.
How strange—Kaoru hadn't taken the bait. Did he not care about Manabe Shiho's safety?
"Why should I return it to you?" Ibuki Mio scrutinized her. "You still haven't given us a reason for the questions we asked earlier."
Manabe Shiho had always disliked this tomboy and retorted, "Do I need to report to you when I use the restroom?"
"I heard you talking on the phone."
Ibuki Mio remained expressionless.
She had been watching everyone, and now Manabe Shiho was the most suspicious.
Manabe Shiho gritted her teeth.
She hadn't expected Ibuki and Ryuen, who had already left, to double back.
If it weren't for Yamashita Saki and Yabu Naemi keeping watch outside, she would have been caught by Ibuki Mio immediately.
"On the phone?" Manabe Shiho naturally denied it firmly. "Is it possible I was just watching TikTok videos?"
Yamashita Saki chimed in, "You must have misheard. If Shiho-chan was on the phone, how could we not have heard or seen it?"
"Ibuki-san, please don't treat us with personal bias." Yabu Naemi spoke softly and gently.
With her glasses, she appeared particularly meek.
Ibuki Mio snorted coldly.
She knew these minor delinquents were in cahoots—they would definitely cover for each other.
"Ryuen-kun, if she can label me a spy based on one sentence, can I also consider her a spy?"
Manabe Shiho began sarcastically. "After all, Mitoma-kun's first reaction was about Ibuki-san. The two of them might be hiding some secret from us."
"You!"
Ibuki Mio couldn't stand anyone mentioning Kaoru now.
Whenever she remembered, her ass would ache.
At that moment, Ryuen spoke up.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing."
He nonchalantly tossed the phone back to Manabe Shiho. "Let's call it a day for now. Head back early."
Manabe Shiho caught the phone and breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had safely passed the test.
Although somewhat unwilling, Ibuki Mio knew Ryuen was the type who wouldn't let go once he bit his opponent.
Letting Manabe Shiho go now might mean he truly hadn't found anything suspicious.
Could she have really misheard?
Ibuki Mio began to waver.
"Really, next time, could you not eavesdrop on people in the restroom?"
Manabe Shiho showed a somewhat smug expression.
She really disliked Ibuki Mio.
"I hope you'll use your brain in the future and not resort to violence at every turn."
Ibuki Mio's face flushed red with anger, but she forcibly suppressed the urge to punch her.
Seeing this, Manabe Shiho felt even better.
With a smile, she was about to leave with Yabu Naemi and Yamashita Saki.
Suddenly, Ryuen said, "Wait, take out the laxative."
Manabe Shiho's slightly tense body relaxed.
She took out the laxative, confused. "Are we canceling the mission?"
"Heh, of course not. As compensation for suspecting you earlier, you deserve a laxative with better effects."
Though feeling strange, Manabe Shiho and the others accepted the new drug that Ryuen claimed was more effective.
After they left, Ryuen smiled.
"Tell the others to stand down. Hand the mission over to them."
Ibuki Mio was taken aback, somewhat puzzled.
"They might not be able to complete the task, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense. What I say goes. Let them handle it. Remember to withdraw the others but don't tell them—keep it from them."
At the end, Ryuen revealed a smile as if he had discovered prey.
Who was he kidding? Would he let Manabe Shiho off?
He only believed in 'guilty until proven innocent.'
Who cared about the details? If he suspected you, you were suspicious!
Faced with his fishing attempt, Kaoru hadn't taken the bait, which only fueled Ryuen's competitive spirit.
He really wanted to see if there were spies in his class.
If Kaoru received the message, he would definitely try to stop the drugging—either by warning Class D of the first year in advance or by pretending to be a passerby who accidentally discovered evidence of drugging.
Ryuen decided to let the suspected Manabe Shiho and the others carry out the mission.
He wanted to see how Kaoru would respond.
If Kaoru didn't intervene, it would prove Manabe Shiho and the others weren't suspicious, especially since he had already called off the others.
This way, either Kaoru had no knowledge at all, or the suspicion lay with someone else.
But—
If Kaoru intervened, it would be confirmed: Manabe Shiho was indeed the informant!
Because Manabe Shiho didn't know Ryuen had already called off the others, she would continue acting and send Kaoru a false signal.
As soon as Kaoru intervened, he would immediately discover the carefully prepared gift from Ryuen.
Salt.
Yes, the laxative Ryuen Kakeru had just given them was actually salt.
Since it looked similar to the original laxative, they shouldn't suspect anything, let alone taste it themselves.
Kaoru wanted to prevent Class D of the first year from ingesting the laxative, especially his women.
He would try to intervene before the drugging occurred.
And just as he intervened—the laxative would turn out to be salt.
Just thinking about Kaoru's expression made Ryuen excited.
He couldn't wait to see Kaoru embarrassed.
Ibuki Mio didn't know why he was so happy but could vaguely guess he hadn't given up on targeting Kaoru.
However, the girl felt somewhat conflicted.
"Without the laxative, how do we deal with Class D?"
"Heh, you're worrying too much."
Ryuen didn't care. "Ibuki, they're just trash. What's there to worry about?"
Ibuki Mio rolled her eyes at him.
What capabilities did their class have? Wasn't he the one who knew best?
Ryuen knew what she was thinking but just smiled it off. He had already figured out whom to bribe.
It's just Class D.
We'll win.
...
The next morning, in the Student Council office.
Faced with the anger of Kushida, Horikita, Sudo and others—with Chabashira Sae and Sakagami Kazuma standing nearby—Ryuen's smile froze.
"What exactly is this?"
Kaoru, representing the Student Council, placed a packet of white substance in front of him, glaringly conspicuous.
"It wasn't me!" Ishizaki Daichi spoke up first, loudly exclaiming, "I didn't do anything! Someone is framing me!"
"Nonsense! Everyone saw you putting something in Kushida's cup!"
Sudo was even louder, glaring furiously. "You beast! How dare you drug a girl!"
Hearing this, Kushida quickly pretended to shed tears, appearing pitiable.
"Wahh... Ishizaki-kun, I trusted you so much... wahh..."
'Huh?'
'What happened?'