"Um… sir, is this really okay?"
In the Shuchiin Academy News Club, a thin, hunched man with a small camera hanging around his neck and messy hair nervously asked the person on the other end of the phone.
"Don't worry. No matter what Shinomiya Kaguya does, all you need to do is keep applying pressure on Nakano Yu. You must let the entire school know about this matter and force Nakano Yu to personally come out and respond to it!"
From the other end of the phone came the voice of a middle-aged man, cold and clearly skilled at scheming against others.
"But, but…"
The head of the News Club wanted to say something more, but the middle-aged man on the phone interrupted him:
"If you don't want the matter of you coercing female club members to spread, and if you don't want to be expelled from Shuchiin Academy because of it, then just do as I say. Don't worry, I won't forget you when the time comes."
Hearing this, the body of the News Club head stiffened, and his eyes filled with fear. He originally came from an ordinary family and only got the chance to study at Shuchiin Academy because he had accidentally come into possession of a powerful person's secret.
However… a few months ago, that powerful person had been arrested, and his secret had become useless.
Having stayed in Shuchiin Academy for so long, rising to the position of club head and even being able to hold the secrets of various people in his hands, the News Club head did not want to be discarded so easily.
Clenching his teeth and fists, feeling deep resentment, the News Club head thought that once he was expelled from Shuchiin Academy, he would be quietly eliminated. In the end, he still chose to compromise:
"…Yes, Shinomiya-sama!"
"So, Hayasaka Ai, what do you think is that guy's scheme?"
Looking at the information Hayasaka Ai had sent her about the head of the News Club, Shinomiya Kaguya finished reading it and confirmed that she had nothing to do with such a disgusting bastard, then sent a message to Hayasaka Ai asking for her opinion.
After sending the message, Shinomiya Kaguya continued to look at the information about the News Club head. His name was Tobe Okuma, and according to the records, he had entered Shuchiin Academy through the back door, but that back door had been closed some time ago.
However, when Shinomiya Kaguya saw the malicious deeds Tobe Okuma had committed, a cold smile appeared on her face:
"He's even done things like this. Looks like just expelling him isn't enough."
"Ding-dong~"
At that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya's phone rang. Hearing the sound, she quickly picked up her flip phone. It was a reply from Hayasaka Ai:
"I don't know either, Miss Kaguya. Why don't you ask the other party involved?"
Looking at the message, Shinomiya Kaguya fell into thought.
The "other party involved" Hayasaka Ai was referring to could be no one else. In this newspaper incident, there were only two main people involved: herself and Nakano Yu. The meaning of Hayasaka's words was very clear: she should go and talk to Nakano Yu.
But… go find Nakano Yu?
If Nakano Yu was willing to deal with this matter, she would certainly be able to resolve it easily. That wasn't a bad idea.
After sending a casual reply to Hayasaka Ai, Shinomiya Kaguya stood up and left the Student Council office. She now headed off to find Nakano Yu to talk to him about this matter.
On the other side, Nakano Yu was currently deep in thought after listening to the information Tsurara had investigated.
That morning, he had asked Tsurara, who was invisible to ordinary people, to follow the head of the News Club to see if she could find out anything.
This investigation really did allow Tsurara to overhear some information.
First was the matter regarding the head of the News Club. He hadn't expected that guy to actually use his ability to collect students' private information to blackmail female students, and even distribute some private photos outside the school.
That alone was enough to make Nakano Yu feel disgust toward that guy. Even without today's newspaper incident, Nakano Yu would have killed him casually. Without any special reason, he was simply repulsive.
In addition, Tsurara discovered another piece of news: the mastermind behind this incident had the surname Shinomiya!
In other words, the person who planned the current situation was from the Shinomiya family.
This made Nakano Yu somewhat curious, wondering who in the Shinomiya family it could be.
If it was the Shinomiya family, then those who dared to act against Shinomiya Kaguya could be no one other than Shinomiya Oko and his two brothers, and then Shinomiya Gan'an.
However, as far as he remembered, Shinomiya Gan'an had been seriously ill and hospitalized at the beginning of the year. Although he had been saved, his physical condition was not good, so he probably wouldn't put so much effort into something like this.
Moreover, although Shinomiya Gan'an was old, he did not suffer from senile dementia, so he wouldn't be so stupid as to dare act against him, unless that old man wanted to die.
"Could it be Shinomiya Oko~?"
As he thought, another possible candidate appeared in Nakano Yu's mind.
Shinomiya Oko was indeed the most likely candidate at the moment. After all, that old man had grown up under the shadow of a patriarchal society and viewed Shinomiya Kaguya merely as a tool, not as a sister.
Shinomiya Oko was indeed the most likely person to do this, but… something didn't add up.
Leaving aside how cautious Shinomiya Oko was, just considering his current stable position as the heir of the Shinomiya family, targeting Shinomiya Kaguya would bring him no benefit at all; it would be a completely pointless move.
Besides, as the chairman of the board of Shuchiin Academy, Shinomiya Oko wouldn't need to use such despicable methods to target Shinomiya Kaguya, unless… someone wanted him to be specifically suspected.
Could it be Shinomiya Unyo? No, although that guy had a bad temper, Nakano Yu didn't think Shinomiya Unyo had the courage to spread rumors about him.
Things were becoming interesting. Most likely, it was another one of the four great financial groups, trying to use this incident to force him to act against the Shinomiya family.
The Sanzenin family? No, the current head of the Sanzenin family, that old Sanzenin Mikado, treated him like a god, so it was impossible that he would dare to do something like this. Moreover, his relationship with the future heir of the Sanzenin family was quite good, so the possibility of this happening was almost zero.
After a brief consideration, Nakano Yu had a rough hypothesis in mind.
It seems the person behind all this is gambling, gambling that I won't think this far.
Nakano Yu smiled and stood up, as a terrifying aura spread from his body.
"N-Nakano-sama?!"
Standing in front of Nakano Yu, Oikawa Tsurara immediately felt Nakano Yu's killing intent to wipe out an entire family, which frightened the child so much that she couldn't speak clearly.
"Thanks for this, Tsurara. Leave the rest to me."
Looking at the yuki-onna, the young man smiled and patted Tsurara on the head as he spoke.
After saying this, Nakano Yu thought about the location of the News Club's clubroom and headed toward that floor.
"Mhm, mhm…"
Watching the young man's back as he walked away, Tsurara raised her hand again and touched her own head, and an inexplicable faint blush appeared on her cheeks. She felt that Nakano Yu wasn't as scary as the Supreme Commander had said.
"Nakano-kun, what a coincidence to meet you here."
In the stairwell, Shinomiya Kaguya looked at Nakano Yu with a slightly surprised expression.
"Mhm, let's go, the News Club."
Seeing Shinomiya Kaguya, Nakano Yu directly told her to follow him to the News Club.
He didn't believe that Shinomiya Kaguya would be wandering aimlessly during lunch break. Had the black tea in the Student Council office stopped being fragrant? Or was the leather sofa no longer soft enough?
"Mhm."
Nodding, Shinomiya Kaguya followed Nakano Yu and continued up the stairs.
"Nakano-kun, what do you think is happening this time?"
As they approached the floor where the News Club room was located, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but ask.
"One of the four great financial groups has designs on the Shinomiya family. No, more precisely, they want me to act against the Shinomiya family."
Nakano Yu's expression was calm as he stated his hypothesis. Although he wasn't one hundred percent sure he was right, he wasn't far from the truth.
Hearing this, Shinomiya Kaguya frowned. She didn't doubt Nakano Yu, but she couldn't understand why a matter between the two of them would lead to Nakano Yu acting against the Shinomiya family.
What Shinomiya Kaguya didn't know was that the entire Shinomiya family, even that old man Shinomiya Gan'an, had to act cautiously in front of Nakano Yu. His status was transcendent. It was just that he hadn't appeared at banquets for some time, so the thoughts of some people had begun to stir.
Arriving at the entrance of the News Club, Nakano Yu kicked open the sliding door without a word and entered the clubroom. He immediately saw the head of the News Club sitting in front of a laptop, wearing headphones, writing news.
Obviously, that guy hadn't yet realized that Nakano Yu had already arrived.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu didn't waste time and immediately activated the newly acquired authority. Silver light flashed in the young man's eyes, and in the same instant, all four limbs of the News Club head turned into salt.
Seeing this scene, the eyes of Shinomiya Kaguya, who was standing beside him, suddenly narrowed. She clearly hadn't expected Nakano Yu to directly put the other party into such a state.
And… she hadn't noticed Nakano Yu making any movement at all. Everything had happened just by him looking. It seemed that Nakano Yu was even more terrifying than she had imagined!
"W-what's going on?!"
Only then did the News Club head react, looking at his arms and legs covered in salt, his face filled with panic and confusion.
"Now I ask, you answer. If I'm satisfied, I'll spare your life."
Nakano Yu walked over and casually sat down in an armchair, crossing his legs. His icy voice echoed through the clubroom, instantly lowering the temperature in the room by several degrees.
"Who are you?! You… isn't this a society ruled by law?! Hurry up and turn me back to normal!"
The News Club head looked at the unfamiliar young man who had appeared in his room, speaking in a commanding tone filled with fear.
"Oh?"
Seeing that the News Club head was still threatening him, Nakano Yu lightly tapped the armrest of the chair with his finger. Silver light flashed again in his eyes, and the News Club head instantly turned into a pillar of salt.
Seeing this, Shinomiya Kaguya's expression changed:
"Nakano-kun, he hasn't said anything yet…"
"It's fine, he's already written everything."
Nakano Yu waved his hand, saying this as he stood up and kicked the pillar of salt that used to be the News Club head, then picked up his laptop.
An electronic document appeared on the laptop screen.
The document was a confession, clearly showing that the News Club head, in his panic, wanted to expose the person who had been giving him instructions.
However, the document only contained "Shinomiya-sensei" and all the instructions that this "Shinomiya-sensei" had given him, along with his contact number. What surprised Nakano Yu was that the Momobami family was also mentioned in the document.
Nakano Yu had noticed this earlier, when the News Club head had been verbally disrespectful, so he killed him without hesitation.
"Find the owner of this number, and also inform everyone in the Momobami family to wait for me at their main residence."
Throwing the laptop onto the table, Nakano Yu finished speaking to Shinomiya Kaguya and turned to leave.
Nakano Yu was in a very bad mood right now. He would let this schemer know that he had made the wrong bet!