After Tsubaki Shinra's explanation, Tetsuya Hoda recalled something that had happened a while ago.
"Tsubaki-senpai, it really wasn't me," Tetsuya Hoda insisted. "Around the time the rumors started, someone contacted me and asked me to write a program."
A cold glint flashed in Caleb's eyes. "What kind of program?"
"It was a script. Its main functions were IP proxying, automatic account creation, auto-replying, and automated posting."
Tetsuya Hoda honestly confessed everything. He never imagined that his pride, his network skills, would be exploited by someone else and cause him so much misery.
"Do you know who contacted you?"
Tetsuya Hoda shook his head. "No, the person contacted me through email."
"Just one email, and you agreed to write a program for someone?"
"No, the person first sent a deposit. After I emailed the program to them, they paid the final balance."
"Do you still have the transaction records?"
Tetsuya Hoda looked troubled. Of course he had the transaction records, but he really didn't want to show them to anyone.
"What?" Caleb threatened. "You're in this state, and you're still thinking of hiding something?"
Tetsuya Hoda gritted his teeth, deciding to risk it all. He had already confessed to most of his misdeeds anyway.
"I can provide the transaction records and the email correspondence with that person. I can even help you investigate." Tetsuya Hoda said gravely. "But, I have one condition."
"Tell us."
"The things I just talked about, you have to pretend you never heard them."
Caleb subtly glanced at Akeno Himejima and Tsubaki Shinra. He wasn't interested in punishing the wicked. When he was being tormented by the Cuckold-Bait template, no one helped him.
The three exchanged glances. Tsubaki Shinra said, "Now that we know, the Student Council cannot ignore it."
Tetsuya Hoda shut his mouth, his face crestfallen.
"However, I can guarantee that your actions won't be publicized."
Tetsuya Hoda's expression improved slightly. "Will I be expelled?"
Tsubaki Shinra glanced at him. "Since you're asking, what you did must be quite serious."
Tetsuya Hoda winced. "Vice President, I just stole and sold some private photos online. That's not that serious, right?"
"What about the drug use and the stolen underwear?"
Tetsuya Hoda hesitated, but eventually confessed the whole truth. The person he drugged and the person whose underwear he stole were the same girl. The girl was an ordinary human. Tetsuya Hoda was interested in her, but she wasn't interested in him. Failing to win her over, he developed malicious intent. He drugged her and performed a series of unspeakable acts while she was unconscious. Afterward, he secretly took her underwear...
Tetsuya Hoda was very discreet and even used his supernatural powers. The girl still had no idea who had assaulted her.
Tsubaki Shinra and Akeno Himejima looked at Tetsuya Hoda with disgust, nearly losing control and attacking him. As women, they deeply resented such acts.
Not only them, but Caleb also resented it. He wondered if the girl had a boyfriend. If so, this was a classic NTR scenario, and the guy she liked was the cuckold... Caleb specifically asked for the girl's name. After confirming she wasn't a character he remembered or someone he knew, he suppressed the urge to castrate Tetsuya Hoda.
"Scumbag."
Caleb spat. "We'll deal with this later. We'll find the victim and decide what to do based on her wishes."
"Now, hand over the transaction and email records you mentioned. Otherwise, this whole story will spread throughout Kuoh Academy tomorrow."
Tetsuya Hoda tried to negotiate, but Akeno Himejima's expression turned cold, and a golden bolt of lightning flickered in her palm. "Do you want to test me?"
Feeling Akeno Himejima's undisguised killing intent, Tetsuya Hoda trembled and quickly spat out his transaction account and email address, afraid that any delay would result in a golden lightning strike.
After some technical maneuvering, Caleb successfully obtained the email and remittance accounts, which likely belonged to the person behind the plot.
"Tsubaki-senpai, can we use these two accounts to lock down that person's true identity?"
"We should be able to," Tsubaki Shinra said after considering it. "Given how sudden the whole thing was, it's unlikely, and they wouldn't have had the time, to intentionally fabricate both accounts."
"Even if they are fabricated, I can still help you find that person." Tetsuya Hoda volunteered, hoping to mitigate his punishment.
Caleb glanced at him but didn't reply. Regardless of whether he used Tetsuya Hoda's help, the things he had done meant he couldn't possibly remain at Kuoh Academy.
"I'll take him away. Once we confirm the identity of the account holder tomorrow, we'll take the next step."
"I'm coming with you. I need to go to the infirmary for treatment."
Caleb followed Tsubaki Shinra out. Besides needing the infirmary, he wanted to spend more time with her to deepen their relationship, hoping to quickly gain the complete Mirror Reflection talent and the Middle-Class Devil Bloodline.
On the way, Caleb rubbed his chin, deep in thought. There were still two people on the suspect list. If the accounts checked out to be one of them, the target would be confirmed. But what if it wasn't someone on the list? He hoped that wouldn't happen, as it would make things much more complicated.
After a quick treatment at the infirmary, Caleb returned to the Occult Research Club. His fight with Tetsuya Hoda had shown him that his strength wasn't as high as he'd imagined. He was used to bullying delinquents, which had given him a false sense of security. He almost lost to a classmate, let alone the third-year Youkai he'd planned on confronting.
Besides acquiring talents and increasing his magic power, practical combat experience and technique also needed to be prioritized. If Caleb had better technique or more experience today, Tetsuya Hoda wouldn't have even had the chance to use his Second Stage Transformation.
Walking into the activity room, Caleb immediately spotted a white-haired Loli. Having spent so much time with big-chested, long-legged women like Rias and Akeno Himejima, the sudden sight of a petite, expressionless Loli was striking.
"Uesugi, you're here just in time." Rias's eyes lit up. "I was just about to send Akeno to the infirmary to look for you."
"Why look for me?"
"To check on you, of course." Rias pulled Caleb into a hug. "You're now one of my Familiar Candidates. As your master, how could I not care?"
Feeling the softness against his cheek, Caleb decided not to struggle. If he received this kind of treatment just as a candidate, he felt he could sleep with her if he truly became her familiar. Caleb vaguely remembered this being a characteristic of the Gremory family; their intensely affectionate nature led them to deeply cherish their familiars. Rias's older brother, the current Satan Lucifer, had his wife, the Queen-class Grayfia, as his first familiar.
Caleb reinforced his resolve, enjoying... no, working hard for a while before finally escaping Rias's 'face washing.' He was genuinely afraid he might impulsively agree to become Rias's familiar if he stayed any longer.