"Eh... Is that the middle-aged man who was blocking the school gate a few days ago?"
Shiina Mahiru widened her beautiful eyes and murmured softly.
"So it's him."
The memory in Izumi Sora's mind instantly became clear.
No wonder he looked familiar just now; he had seen him a few days ago.
"I originally thought the other party was a pervert who had snuck into the academy and pushed the second-year senpai off the building in a moment of desperation after being discovered. It seems the situation is more complicated than imagined..."
Izumi Sora exhaled softly, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Angel-sama in front of him:
"Mahiru, let's rewind time right now. Things seem to be anything but simple."
"Okay..."
Shiina Mahiru's pretty face flushed slightly. She looked up, her voice shy:
"Sora-kun... close your eyes."
To rewind time, Mahiru couldn't do it alone. She had to activate the ability through the kissing ritual. And it wasn't just an ordinary kiss; she had to slip her...
Since they weren't even dating yet but were doing something only couples could do, Angel-sama was naturally very shy. So every time, she would deceive herself by making Izumi Sora close his eyes.
Izumi Sora was shameless:
"My eyes are stuck together with glue, I can't close them."
"Liar. Sora-kun was just blinking a moment ago."
Shiina Mahiru glared affectionately. She reached out her right hand, covered Izumi Sora's eyes, and then stood on her tiptoes, her pretty face flushed as she kissed him.
Their lips touched.
One was burning hot, the other delicate and cool.
The last time they kissed was the last time. Having not kissed Angel-sama for a while, Izumi Sora inevitably lost some control. So he swiftly took the initiative and began to bully Angel-sama.
"Mmm..."
The girl's long eyelashes fluttered shyly, and she hurriedly closed her eyes in embarrassment.
Before long, the right hand covering Izumi Sora's eyes quietly slipped down, silently wrapping around Izumi Sora's neck.
A thrilling sensation that made her want to sink into it quietly struck. Although Shiina Mahiru really wanted to continue letting him bully her, she couldn't let go of the serious business in her heart.
The next second.
The entire world's pause button was abruptly pressed.
Countless streaks of light flew backward.
Time seemed to be turned by an invisible hand, quietly regressing.
Izumi Sora only felt the emptiness in his embrace. Then, a deafening cheer reached his ears.
Opening his eyes, he realized he had returned to the sports field. It was the time and place where everyone had just won the championship of the cavalry battle and was celebrating happily.
"Phew..."
With a slight sense of regret, Izumi Sora exhaled and turned to look at Angel-sama.
Mahiru's pink lips were slightly parted, her gaze misty. She was panting slightly, secretly looking up, right into Izumi Sora's eyes.
Their eyes met.
Angel-sama's pretty face looked like autumn maple leaves—vibrant, beautiful, and unparalleled.
"What's wrong, Mahiru?"
Yanami Anna's voice suddenly rang out, full of curiosity:
"Why did your face suddenly turn super red?"
"N-Nothing..."
Shiina Mahiru hurriedly averted her pretty face guiltily, raising her right hand and shyly fumbling with the hair by her ear.
"We just won the cavalry battle championship... I'm a bit excited..."
Even though it wasn't their first kiss, she was super shy every time.
"Is that so?"
Yanami Anna crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head in confusion:
"But Mahiru was fine just a moment ago. How did your face turn red in the blink of an eye?"
"Umm..." Angel-sama stammered. "My reflex arc is a bit long."
"..."
Although there was no evidence, Yanami felt something was very suspicious.
Especially Mahiru's misty-eyed expression just now; Yanami Anna felt it was somewhat familiar.
After thinking for a while, a flash of inspiration crossed Yanami's mind.
Wait... isn't that how one looks after a kiss?
When she kissed Sora on the Ferris wheel, Yanami had seen her reflection in the glass; it was exactly the same as Mahiru's expression just now.
"I must be overthinking it."
Yanami Anna quickly shook her head.
The sports field was packed with people, and Mahiru and Sora were right under her nose the entire time. They couldn't possibly have time to kiss, right?
Amidst the cheers, Izumi Sora quietly approached Angel-sama and lowered his voice:
"We have a half-hour window for action, so there's no rush. Let's start by comprehensively analyzing the current information."
"Okay..."
Shiina Mahiru took a deep breath, her fingers gently fumbling with the hair by her ear as she voiced her thoughts:
"That middle-aged man made a commotion at the school gate a few days ago. I remember the reason was something about his daughter cheating in the midterm exam and being punished. He came to seek justice for his daughter... Could he have a connection with that second-year senpai who was pushed from the building?"
"There's a high probability they are connected."
Izumi Sora nodded slightly and said his piece:
"There might be a hidden story behind the exam theft... It's highly likely to be related to the senpai who was pushed."
Shiina Mahiru looked up and said softly:
"So we need to first figure out the relationship between that man and the second-year senpai. If it wasn't an accident, we need to solve the problem from its root. Otherwise, even if we stop it temporarily, a murder incident will definitely break out later."
"The student council must have records of this kind of thing. Let's go ask."
Izumi Sora looked around and quickly spotted Basori Tiara and the gyaru senpai in the corner. He immediately strode over.
"Eh, Izumi-kun?"
Seeing Izumi Sora approaching, Tiara's pretty face quickly flushed red, her gaze wandering. Clearly, she was thinking of the accidental contact from lunch again.
"Tiara-san, I have a favor to ask of you."
Izumi Sora got straight to the point and explained his purpose.
"What favor?"
Tiara looked up curiously.
They had known each other for over half a month, and this was the first time Izumi Sora had asked for her help. Tiara was naturally very curious.
Izumi Sora lowered his voice:
"A few days ago in the morning, a middle-aged man blocked the school gate, saying his daughter hadn't cheated on the exam. What was the final outcome of that?"
"Why did Izumi-kun suddenly ask about this?"
Tiara looked curious, crossing her arms over her chest:
"I heard from the President that they wanted to pull the surveillance footage to prove his daughter's innocence, but the cameras had been neglected and happened to be broken."
Izumi Sora and Mahiru exchanged a glance, both speechless.
The world is a giant makeshift stage, and the school is no different. Many cameras are just for show; they won't be fixed unless a student is in trouble.
"Although there's no surveillance, there were witnesses and physical evidence at the time..."
Tiara continued:
"The night before the exam, a security guard was patrolling the school and heard noises in the office. He rushed over and pushed the door open to check, and happened to see that second-year senpai inside. At the time, the exam papers were also scattered in a mess... Aside from stealing exam papers, there's no other possibility, right?"
"Not necessarily..."
The gyaru senpai's voice echoed faintly:
"Misaki-san... is not a bad kid..."
"Hmm?"
Izumi Sora raised an eyebrow and looked at the gyaru senpai:
"Shikiya-senpai knows that girl who was punished?"
Not only that, the name Misaki sounded inexplicably familiar.
Izumi Sora thought carefully for a moment and quickly remembered.
When he was hiding in the restroom stall during lunch, the girls smoking outside had mentioned the name Misaki... Could it be the same person?
Shikiya Yumeko tilted her head, her voice intermittent:
"She's in the class next door... we had... cooking class together..."
Izumi Sora was enlightened.
The gyaru senpai was a second-year student, and Misaki-senpai, who was punished for stealing exam papers, was also a second-year girl. It wasn't strange for them to have interactions.
"Misaki-san... patient... gentle... delicious cooking..."
"Those are just Yumeko-senpai's subjective evaluations."
Izumi Sora pondered:
"Aside from Misaki-senpai, was anyone else caught in the office at the time?"
Tiara shook her head. "I didn't hear about anyone else being caught."
Izumi Sora thought for two seconds and suddenly asked:
"Which floor was the office that was broken into on?"
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Tiara blinked:
"I think it was the first floor."
"Is there a possibility that Misaki-senpai was being bullied, and the real person who stole the exam papers was someone else?" Izumi Sora said expressionlessly. "After being discovered by the security guard, that person forced Misaki-senpai to stay in the office and attract attention, while they secretly climbed out the window and slipped away?"
Tiara widened her eyes upon hearing this:
"That's just Izumi-kun's speculation... If Misaki-senpai really was bullied, why didn't she say so?"
There are way too many reasons not to say anything.
They might not dare to say it.
Or they might not be able to say it.
For example, Izumi Sora could easily think of several ways to bully Tiara until she was teary-eyed and wouldn't dare tell anyone else!
Take a simple example.
"Tiara-san, you don't want the secret of your poor grades to be exposed, do you?"
Izumi Sora pulled back his wandering thoughts and asked another seemingly unrelated question:
"Tiara, the student council should have a list of all students, right?"
"Yes."
"Can I go to the student council to take a look at the list of all students?"
"Eh?"
Tiara tilted up her pretty face in confusion:
"Why does Izumi-kun want to see something like that?"
Izumi Sora told the truth:
"I want to know how many people in school are named Misaki."
"That kind of thing..."
Tiara's expression was hesitant, feeling as if she were abusing her power for personal gain.
Izumi Sora brought his hands together:
"This is the request of my lifetime."
"I-I understand..."
Tiara quickly gave in, turning her pretty face away:
"The list has students' private information and can't be given to Izumi-kun. But I can help check it for you... Izumi-kun just wants to know how many people are named Misaki, right?"
"Exactly, sorry to trouble you, Tiara." Izumi Sora's tone was sincere. "I can't explain the reason now, but I want to know right away."
"Got it. I'll message Izumi-kun later."
Tiara waved her hand and scurried off like a wisp of smoke.
"Sora-kun?"
Shiina Mahiru looked up, her gaze curious.
"During lunch, I heard Misaki-senpai's name in the restroom..."
Izumi Sora didn't hide anything and explained the reason in a low voice.
There aren't that many coincidences in the world.
The "Misaki" who is hiding at home refusing to come to school is highly likely the second-year senpai punished for stealing exam papers.
As they spoke, Shikiya Yumeko wobbled as she prepared to leave.
"Shikiya-senpai, wait a minute."
Izumi Sora called out to the gyaru senpai as she was about to leave.
"Mmm?"
Shikiya Yumeko tilted her head in confusion, a lock of her golden hair slipping down her shoulder.
Izumi Sora said seriously:
"I have something I want to ask of Shikiya-senpai later."
"Thirsty... want to drink... peach juice..."
The gyaru senpai tilted her face up and stated her request.
"I'll buy it for you."
"Also want... to replenish energy..."
That's enough, don't push your luck! Don't be hugging and leaning in broad daylight!
Meanwhile.
Elf and Yanami both came over, asking Mahiru to go change clothes with them.
"You guys go ahead. I still have some things to do, I'll go over later."
Shiina Mahiru gently shook her head.
Serious business was important right now, so she naturally didn't have time to go change.
"Is Sora hiding something from us?"
Yanami narrowed her eyes, her tone suspicious.
I have to admit, 'Inmate Eight's' sixth sense is quite sharp.
"This is a long story..." Izumi Sora paused slightly. "So I decided not to tell it."
Yamada Elf was so angry she clenched her small fists and punched Izumi Sora on the knee:
"Idiot Sora, don't be a riddler!"
"You guys go change first. I'll tell you after you've changed."
Izumi Sora coaxed the two girls away.
"You'd better keep your word." Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. "If you don't tell us what happened once I've changed, Idiot Sora is finished."
By the time Elf and Yanami finish changing, time will have rewound again anyway, so there's absolutely no need to worry.
Having sorted out Yanami and Elf, Izumi Sora led the gyaru senpai toward the vending machine, with Angel-sama following closely behind, never leaving his side.
They had verified earlier that once they separated, another Mahiru would appear.
Back at the lakeside park, the other Mahiru had even taken the initiative to ambush him... so she had to stay firmly by Sora-kun's side.
Arriving at the vending machine, Izumi Sora bought a bottle of peach juice for the gyaru senpai and then looked at Mahiru:
"What does Mahiru want to drink?"
Shiina Mahiru gently pursed her pink, moist lips:
"Ramune."
Ever since drinking Ramune by the beach, Angel-sama had a special fondness for the ice-cold soda.
Izumi Sora nodded, bought two bottles of Ramune, and started drinking them with Mahiru.
Time quietly slipped away, minute by minute.
During the long wait, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
Izumi Sora took it out and saw it was a message from Tiara:
"Izumi-kun, I've already checked the list of all students. There are two girls named Misaki in total. One is in second year, and the other is in first year."
"The first-year Misaki-san..."
Izumi Sora inquired carefully and discovered she was in the same class as Kuroneko, so he sent a message to Ruri.
"Ruri, is there a girl named Misaki in your class?"
Gokou Ruri: "Eh, how did Sora know?"
Izumi Sora: "My eyes have seen the future."
Gokou Ruri: "..."
After a round of questioning, Izumi Sora quickly learned the accurate news from Kuroneko. The first-year girl named Misaki was currently in the general building changing clothes with Kuroneko.
"Good, now I can be certain. The 'Misaki' mentioned by those two girls smoking in the restroom during lunch is indeed the second-year senpai punished for stealing exam papers..."
Izumi Sora put away his phone and looked at Shikiya Yumeko:
"Shikiya-senpai, please come with us to the security office. I want to check the surveillance footage."
"Okay..."
The gyaru senpai, drinking her peach juice, agreed immediately without even asking for the reason. Clearly, "having eaten someone's food, one's mouth is short; having taken someone's things, one's hand is soft."
The three quickly arrived at the security office.
If he had come alone, the security guards definitely wouldn't have given him the time of day. But with a member of the student council by his side, everything went smoothly.
Izumi Sora quickly found the surveillance footage from noon. The middle-aged man Komari had seen sneaking into the general building was indeed the same man who had blocked the school gate a few days ago.
His entry into the general building during lunch wasn't for hidden cameras; most likely, he was scouting the location ahead of time.
Continuing to watch.
Two girls walked into the empty general building and then headed straight to the third floor.
The time and place both matched; they were highly likely the two girls who were smoking in the restroom.
But after carefully looking at their appearances, Izumi Sora slightly furrowed his brows:
"It actually wasn't the girl who fell from the building?"