Chapter 156 Shiina Hiyori: Sakayanagi Arisu is currently the prime suspect
When Shimizu Akira returned to the classroom, the situation was exactly as Matsushita Chiaki had described—Yukimura Teruhiko was standing beside Hasebe Haruka, explaining something in a low voice. Seeing their expressions soften, it seemed the matter was largely resolved.
His gaze fell upon Matsushita Chiaki, and a thought suddenly popped into his head: This girl's ability must be at least 0.3 Ayanokouji Kiyotakas, right?
His experience last Saturday had given him a complete look at how formidable Ayanokouji Kiyotaka truly was. That extraordinary investigative ability was simply not something an ordinary student should possess.
'Ayanokouji Kiyotaka isn't some special forces soldier fresh back from Afghanistan, is he?'
The guy was exactly like those web novels he'd read in his past life—a special ops soldier blending into the city, seemingly omnipotent, with every skill imaginable at his fingertips.
Unconsciously, Ayanokouji had become his hidden yardstick for measuring the abilities of other students.
Just like now, watching Matsushita Chiaki settle a class dispute without breaking a sweat, combined with the "top twenty in the grade" mention in the daily intel, the assessment of "0.3 Ayanokoujis" didn't seem like an exaggeration at all.
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Time quickly slipped toward noon. As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Shimizu suddenly slapped his forehead—he had almost forgotten his promise to Shiina Hiyori. He hadn't sent her the information regarding the investigation into the surveillance equipment purchases yet.
A few days ago, Shiina Hiyori had already organized the table for Class 1-C and sent it over. When he opened the file at the time, he noticed the data was arranged perfectly, with clear notes in the remarks column, truly fitting her meticulous style.
Therefore, after going back last night, he had specifically organized the relevant data for Class 1-B and Class 1-D into a spreadsheet on his phone. It was perfect timing; he opened the chat box and sent the file directly to her.
Shiina Hiyori: Received. The table Shimizu-kun organized is very clear.
Shiina Hiyori: In that case, I shouldn't need to trouble you any further.
Shiina Hiyori: Thank you for your help over the past few days, Shimizu-kun.
Just as he finished reading the messages, a system notification popped up—Shiina Hiyori had transferred 50,000 points to him.
Shimizu was slightly stunned.
They had clearly agreed on 30,000 points; he hadn't expected her to give an extra 20,000. Looking at the numbers, he suddenly recalled the way Shiina Hiyori's eyes looked when she gave him the commission—seemingly calm yet hiding a deep earnestness. Perhaps to this girl from Class C, accurate intel and efficient assistance were worth such a reward.
But an agreement was an agreement. After accepting the 50,000 points, Shimizu immediately transferred 20,000 back.
He put away his phone and headed toward the cafeteria. The noise in the hallway washed over his ears like a tide, but his heart felt strangely refreshed—the dispute on Karuizawa Kei's end was completely settled, and the surveillance rental commission was finally over. Having resolved two matters in one morning, he could finally settle down to deal with the afternoon classes.
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In the Class 1-C classroom, Shiina Hiyori held her phone, carefully cross-checking the table Shimizu Akira had sent once more.
The format was clearly modeled after the one she had sent him, but he had even optimized some details—such as using light-colored fonts for notes next to data and making the category columns clearer than her version.
"Shimizu-kun really is thoughtful," she nodded to herself, her finger sliding gently across the screen.
Whether it was the accuracy of the intel or the professionalism of the spreadsheet, she couldn't find a single fault. She even found herself wondering if he had made countless similar tables before.
"Probably not..." After all, like her, he was just a sixteen-year-old student.
Shiina Hiyori suppressed the doubts in her heart and refocused on the intel itself.
First, looking at Class D's records: some students bought computers due to obsessions with games and anime. The remarks column included details Shimizu had specifically noted—he had deliberately thrown out questions about anime and programming, which the students answered fluently, showing they weren't lying.
Turning to Class B: Ichinose Honami's reason for buying a computer went without saying. As the class leader of Class B, and combined with the chat logs from that day, the logic of her
renting surveillance from a "mysterious person" and buying a computer to verify the equipment worked was completely sound.
She read through line by line and found that every student's reason for purchasing a computer was logical, with nothing far-fetched. Whether it was for daily needs or class affairs, the reasons matched their personal circumstances.
Thus, she could almost certainly conclude: the people from Class D and Class B could be completely ruled out as suspects.
Next, she thought of her own Class C. From the start, she had subconsciously excluded Class C. The reason was simple—if it were a classmate, there would be no need to go through Ichinose Honami to fish for info on Ryuen Kakeru.
But for the sake of logical rigor, she had still questioned the few people in her class who bought computers. Since they were her own classmates, she didn't find communication difficult. The results were as she expected: their reasons and motivations were sufficient, with no flaws to be found.
Therefore, the only remaining suspects seemed to be the people from Class 1-A.
She picked up her phone and pulled up the list of Class A students. Although it was originally a paper document, she had long ago used Ryuen Kakeru's computer to organize it into an electronic version on her phone.
There were three people from Class A involved. She didn't know any of them.
However, the name Sakayanagi Arisu rang a faint bell—Ryuen Kakeru had mentioned that she was the most likely person to have rented the surveillance. He had also told her that Sakayanagi's father was the Chairman of this school, making her a bona fide "young miss."
Since the Chairman was her father, the possibility of her being able to rent the surveillance was indeed much higher than for an average person.
But this line of thinking clearly couldn't stand on its own—a true analysis shouldn't be led by "preconceived status." Much like a detective solving a case, one shouldn't declare a suspect based solely on them having the convenience to do it.
Furthermore, characters like that often looked like the biggest suspects and seemed most like the culprit, but in reality, they were often smoke screens used to mislead the detective—a common trope in mystery stories.
Yet the real world was different. More often than not, the people who looked the most suspicious from the start were indeed the culprits eight or nine times out of ten. Plot twists in books are for excitement, but logic in reality is often more direct.
Shiina Hiyori's train of thought was momentarily stuck. Regardless, she knew in her heart that she would eventually have to meet Sakayanagi Arisu in person.
Because last week, handing the Class B and D investigations to Shimizu Akira while keeping Class A for herself was no accident; it was a deliberate move.
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