Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
In the school cafeteria, it was noon.
Akira looked at the message he'd just received on his phone.
{If there is any illegal or criminal behavior by students or staff within the school, students need to first inform the student council, which will then discuss with the school to decide whether police intervention is needed.}
The situation was roughly as he expected. This school was indeed special. One couldn't easily call the police.
In fact, upon closer thought, it wasn't hard to understand. If the school truly allowed students to call the police at will, Ryuuen and Nagumo would probably have been reported by students in their respective classes long ago. The conduct of these two was already an open secret.
If a "campus blacklist" were to be made, these two would definitely be at the top, the first to be listed.
Moreover, the school itself exuded a sense of uniqueness.
He'd been here for over two months and had hardly seen any supply trucks from the outside world, and rarely saw anyone other than students, staff, and employees of the on-campus shops.
There were only four dormitory buildings in total at the school: one for each of the three years, and the remaining one for joint residence by on-campus staff and shop employees.
This layout clearly showed the school's intention to create a small society-like environment for students.
If outsiders were allowed to enter and exit freely, this enclosed "social form" would probably have been broken long ago.
At least for Akira, ever since he entered this school, discussions about "money" had become extremely rare, replaced by what were called "private points" and "class points."
This was probably the most direct intention of the school's design.
{Suppose there's a middle-aged uncle at school who's a stalker, harassing female students and sending many so-called love letters. How would the school handle it?}
{In the situation you described, since there are many letters as evidence, and likely surveillance video to corroborate, the school would immediately expel the person and hand them over to the police.}
{As this matter involves a student and staff issue, students do not need to prove themselves; the student council will take full responsibility for the investigation.}
{As it involves improper employment by the school, the school will also provide the victim with a certain amount of private points as compensation.}
The results were exactly as Akira had anticipated.
The person, being a stalker and actively delivering so many letters, was simply digging his own grave. It was no different from handing over evidence personally.
Moreover, surveillance cameras were ubiquitous in this school. Sending letters to the dormitory area would inevitably leave traces.
Akira didn't consider himself a kind person, but Sakura had helped him after all, and she was a classmate. Besides, all he had to do was report it to the student council.
Furthermore, the student council had said they'd proactively launch an investigation.
For minor squabbles among students, the school might ignore them, letting everyone find evidence and resolve them on their own, which could also cultivate students' abilities.
But if an adult harbored ill intentions toward students, or even acted on them, the school would naturally not stick to the so-called "prove your innocence" rule. Strictly speaking, such a situation was inherently a lapse in the school's supervision, and they had no reason to stand by.
As for point compensation, since the involved employee was hired by the school, and students suffered losses as a result, they naturally had the right to demand an explanation from the school.
However, now that this information was confirmed, the top priority was to explain it clearly to Sakura again.
He wasn't Sakura herself after all, and had no right to make decisions for her. Whether or not to report this matter ultimately depended on her own wishes.
Although, given Sakura's personality, she was likely deeply troubled by this, he still had to ask.
He also wasn't sure if she still had those letters. If the letters had already been thrown away, the investigation progress might be greatly affected.
While thinking about these things, Akira quietly ate his meal when his phone suddenly vibrated, receiving a new message.
This time, however, the sender wasn't Horikita Manabu, but Kamuro.
{After lunch today, take the points I gave you and go to the supermarket to buy a pair of women's slippers and a few packets of hot cocoa.}
Akira was momentarily stunned.
What did she mean? Was she planning to come today? Otherwise, why would she ask him to buy women's slippers and hot cocoa?
Speaking of which, specifically asking him to buy women's slippers... it seemed Kamuro still remembered what happened last time.
{Got it, Kamuro.}
{So, what time are you planning to arrive?}
{Not sure, maybe around seven or eight in the evening, just wait for me.}
{Oh! I saw the boxing club flyer! Did you join the boxing club?}
{Yes.}
{I see you running on the track every day, you can't just know how to run, can you! Do you really have muscles?}
{I get up very early every day and spend an hour in the morning doing several sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. After school, I also practice boxing for nearly an hour and a half. I consider my physical fitness to be second to none in the school, so of course I have muscles.}
{Really?}
{No need to lie to you. Worst case, when you come over, I'll show you. Sit-ups, pull-ups, anything is fine.}
{Can you do 50 push-ups in one go?}
{Yes, I can.}
After sending that message, the other party sent nothing further.
However, Akira felt that Kamuro was underestimating him.
Forget fifty push-ups, with his current sturdy physique, even five hundred would be nothing.
After eating, Akira went to the supermarket to choose women's slippers.
He wasn't sure what color Kamuro preferred, so after a moment's thought, he decided to choose a pair of purple slippers based on her hair and eye color.
He also specifically went to a high-end coffee shop and pre-ordered hot cocoa for pickup around seven o'clock. The last time he'd made hot cocoa himself, but after thinking it over, the coffee shop's freshly made one would be more to her liking.
Afterward, he first returned to his dormitory to put away the women's slippers, then went back to his classroom.
He checked the time. There were about 20 minutes left until class.
His classmate Horikita was already sitting at her desk, as usual, engrossed in an extracurricular book, turning page after page.
Seemingly sensing his arrival, this time Horikita put down her book, pondered for a moment, and then spoke. "Class D still hasn't found any relevant witnesses."
Akira naturally understood what she was referring to, and simply replied, "That's right."
Horikita's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction. "Hirata-san's personality is still too soft."
Just as she said, the night before last, she'd told Hirata the relevant clues about Sakura, and he'd indeed gone to ask her yesterday at noon.
But what was the result? As soon as Hirata opened his mouth, after Sakura refused and showed timidity, he immediately gave up pressing further, only smiling and smoothing things over by saying, "I understand."
This left Horikita unable to tell whether he was right or wrong.
To say he was wrong, Sakura had shown fear, and it seemed reasonable to not press further out of consideration for her feelings.
But to say he was right, from the outcome, Class D still hadn't found the key witness, which was an undeniable fact.
Only then did she realize an important issue: Hirata wasn't actually suitable for investigating information about his classmates.
After all, he was too much of a good guy, always unwilling to easily offend anyone in the class. Moreover, this time he was facing Sakura, who usually spoke softly, and she was a girl. Perhaps from the beginning, having Hirata ask was unlikely to uncover any crucial information.
'Do I have to go ask myself?'
Horikita knew her social skills weren't outstanding, but since even the gentle Hirata hadn't succeeded, perhaps if she used a direct and firm approach, she might be able to uncover some key information.
Just then, the classroom door was pushed open, and Sakura walked to her seat with her head down and a poor complexion.
"Sakura-san, you must be the witness to Sudo-kun's incident, right?"
Horikita thought of this, stood up directly, walked in front of her, and asked bluntly.
"I... I'm not!" Sakura denied immediately, without thinking, lowering her head.
"Why are you denying it?" Horikita's expression instantly became confused. "Do you, like me, simply dislike Sudo? But even if you dislike him, this matter concerns class points after all!"
"Th-that... I... I don't dislike my classmates! I... I really didn't! Please... can you leave me alone?!" Sakura buried her head, her voice broken as she continued to deny it.
"..." Horikita's face darkened. Hearing the words "leave me alone," she silently walked back to her seat.
She was rejected.
It seemed that whether her attitude was firm or gentle, the other party simply wasn't having any of it.
She should've known earlier. What she wasn't good at, she ultimately couldn't do.
But since neither she nor Hirata had succeeded, the class seemed to only be able to rely on Kushida.
However, she was truly unwilling to interact with Kushida, let alone proactively give her this kind of information. After all, she'd just rejected her yesterday.
Horikita always valued her dignity greatly. The thought of bowing down and asking that woman for help was out of the question.
As if suddenly remembering something, she picked up her phone and opened the message history from her brother, Horikita Manabu.
{Oh? You said you want to interfere with Sudo Ken's fight?}
{Yes, Brother. This is not only for the overall benefit of the class, but also to prove to you my progress over the past few months.}
{Alright. Though I still don't have much expectation for your ability.}
{You can't do it alone.}
{Therefore, I allow you to rely on Shimizu Akira.}
{But you must give him reasonable compensation.}
{After all, I don't want you to affect the relationship between me and Shimizu.}
The message was sent last night.
Frankly, Horikita's decision to interfere in Sudo's matter was also made after careful consideration last night.
After all, the final punishment for this incident was only suspension. Meaning that even if Sudo was worthless to Class D, her ignoring him wouldn't change the fact that he was still a member of the class.
Moreover, she'd asked Chabashira-sensei, and reportedly, this time at least 100 class points would be deducted.
She couldn't tolerate Class D losing a hundred points, and she wanted to prove to her brother that she'd indeed improved, which was why she proactively messaged her brother, stating her intention to be involved in handling Sudo's matter.
But unexpectedly, before she'd even officially started, she was stuck at the step of finding witnesses.
She hadn't even taken the very first step.
Her brother was indeed right.
Her social skills were simply not good enough.
Her brother probably saw this long ago, which is why he was so certain that she absolutely couldn't accomplish this task alone.
Allowing her to rely on Akira. That wasn't the issue. What made her slightly unhappy was the last sentence.
'What does my brother mean by that? Does he think I'm the kind of person who likes to take advantage of others?'
Frankly speaking, she'd always been fair, especially concerning her agreement with Akira.
Whether it was the 80,000 points, the handshake, tutoring him, or holding hands, she'd always kept her word, never breaking it.
As for what her brother said about "worrying about affecting his relationship with Shimizu Akira"—what did that mean?
In her brother's eyes, was she not as important as Akira?
Well, actually, she'd vaguely known this for a while.
After all, last time she went to her brother's place, Akira's seat was much closer to her brother than hers.
Not to mention, two days ago, Akira had specifically explained to her why her brother was exceptionally considerate toward him. It was because he'd also done a lot for her brother.
To say she felt no awkwardness at all would be a lie.
But since the person in question was Akira, there was nothing she couldn't accept.
As a younger sister, she hadn't done anything for her brother so far.
Rather, her own Class D had caused a huge trouble for the student council, making them work overtime.
Suddenly, the image of Akira and Sakura going out together a few days ago flashed through her mind.
In the end, would this matter still have to be entrusted to Akira?
It seemed things had come full circle. Horikita thought for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "Shimizu-kun, Hirata-san can't do it."
"So, I hope you can help me get clues about the witness to Sudo-kun's incident from Sakura-san." She paused, then added, "The condition is that I will prepare your lunch bento this month."
"Huh?" Akira was stunned, completely unprepared for the sudden request.
Before he could react, Kushida walked into the classroom with a displeased expression. She walked straight to Akira, raised her hand, and waved. "Shimizu-kun, could you come out for a moment?"
Although Akira was unsure of her intentions, he thought about it and got up to follow her out.
Kushida led him to the corner of the stairwell before speaking. "Shimizu-kun, could you help me ask Sakura-san for clues about the witness to Sudo-kun's incident?"
"Um..." A hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. "I'll give you a lap pillow, this time for three minutes, do you think that's okay?"
'What's going on here?'
Akira was completely bewildered.
Why were these two suddenly asking him to do the same thing?
And they both offered benefits.
Was this... killing two birds with one stone?