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Akira always believed in this philosophy of life:
In this world, people often don't cherish things that are easily obtained.
Only those things acquired through twists and turns and great effort are truly valued.
This principle also applies to interpersonal relationships.
Therefore, when Akira stepped into the library, he made up his mind—never to initiate conversation with Shiina Hiyori.
Only when every step was initiated by her could he become her assistant in the most natural way.
Things unfolded as expected. The moment he picked up "Fictional Reasoning," Shiina eagerly approached him.
Akira seized the opportunity to start a conversation, and everything flowed naturally.
However, an unexpected situation arose—during their conversation, the girl suddenly became hesitant and fell silent.
Akira had expected to receive an invitation next, but instead, he was met with cautious probing.
Shiina's perceptiveness exceeded his expectations.
Fortunately, he was well-prepared.
He'd anticipated that she would question the timing of his appearance in the library and had already prepared a perfect excuse.
Finally, he subtly revealed the memo Horikita had given him at noon.
As he expected, the suspicion in Shiina's eyes immediately diminished significantly.
After all, Akira hadn't said a single false word—except for his true intention, everything he told Shiina was true.
For the past half-month, he'd indeed been coming to the library every day for tutoring.
He estimated that she should be about to make an invitation.
"Shimizu-kun, please wait a moment!" Shiina indeed called out to him, her voice tinged with a hint of apology. "Actually... I'd like to invite you to be my assistant and help investigate the surveillance equipment rental incident from last month. I want to find out the true identity of that person."
As she explained the situation in detail, Akira displayed a perfectly timed expression of surprise, as if he knew nothing about the matter.
Just as he expected, the assistant Shiina needed was precisely someone to help her with the aspects she wasn't good at—such as gathering clues from strangers or identifying gaps in the reasoning process.
"Of course, I won't ask for your help for free." Shiina said softly. "I'm willing to pay twenty thousand... no, thirty thousand private points as compensation. It's estimated that you'll only need to assist me a few times, it won't take up too much of your time, and it certainly won't affect your study progress."
Akira's eyebrows twitched slightly—this was an unexpected bonus.
He'd originally come to the library just to get closer to her, but he didn't expect to earn an extra sum.
"Deal." He readily nodded. "Thirty thousand points, I accept this request." Anyway, his purpose for this trip was to infiltrate the investigation team, and now it was killing two birds with one stone.
"Then let's exchange contact information first." As Shiina pulled out her phone, Akira keenly noticed her gaze subtly examining his phone screen.
'She's checking the account nickname and balance, isn't she...'
Akira secretly found it amusing.
He was well-prepared. He was logged into his main account, which only had less than forty thousand points—this amount wouldn't seem suspicious and was enough for daily expenses.
He generously turned his phone screen towards her, letting her examine it.
"Pleasure working with you, Shimizu-kun." Shiina nodded slightly, her fingers quickly sliding across her phone screen. "Without further ado, could I trouble you to go ask Ichinose-kun a few questions right now?"
Akira's eyebrows raised slightly. "What exactly do you need me to ask?"
He secretly found it amusing. This detective lady probably wouldn't realize that the person she was investigating was standing right in front of her.
Shiina lowered her voice. "Ichinose-kun once inquired about Ryuuen Kakeru's contact information. I hope you can probe whether she is the one who rented the surveillance, or at least confirm evidence of communication between the two."
"If I'm to ask that..." Akira mused. "I'll need to disclose to Ichinose-kun about Class C renting the surveillance. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to get her to cooperate with the investigation. But if it's her, she might refuse to answer, so I hope you're prepared for that."
Shiina hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.
"Understood." Akira turned and walked towards Class B's study group, ignoring the displeased glances of the other boys, and directly said to Ichinose. "Could I speak with you for a moment?"
Ichinose looked slightly surprised at Shiina not far away, but still followed him out. "Shimizu-kun... and Shiina-san from Class C, what do you need me for?"
Despite Class C's recent provocations towards Class B, she maintained a gentle demeanor.
Akira got straight to the point. "Ryuuen Kakeru from Class C rented surveillance last month. Shiina-san has entrusted me to investigate this matter. According to her, Ichinose-kun once inquired about Ryuuen Kakeru's contact information, and after that, Ryuuen received a friend request from a mysterious person. So, I'd like to confirm whether Ichinose-kun is the one who rented the surveillance? Or if you know this person?"
"It wasn't me!" Ichinose candidly pulled out her phone, showing chat records with a user named [Tsuki Ao]. "I also asked for Ryuuen Kakeru's contact information at the request of the other party. Actually... Class B also rented surveillance! Although three million points were a bit expensive, it indeed helped us increase our class points by over a hundred. I didn't expect you guys to specifically investigate this matter."
"Shimizu-kun... will you also take other people's requests to earn points? Class D..." Ichinose suddenly asked with concern. "Is Class D very short on points? If you need them, I can send you tens of thousands..."
'She's too kind...'
Akira's mouth twitched slightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of guilt for deceiving an innocent girl.
"Thank you for your kindness, Ichinose-kun, but I have enough points." He politely declined, then quickly returned to Shiina's side.
The two sat down at a reading table in the corner.
Shiina was thoughtful. "From the chat records Ichinose-kun provided, she is indeed not the one who rented the surveillance. But... I didn't expect this mysterious person to also sell the surveillance rights to Class B."
She suddenly looked up. "According to this logic, Class D should have also rented surveillance, right? Otherwise, it's impossible for them to suddenly gain five hundred thirty class points, especially since Class C only got six hundred forty class points from renting surveillance."
"Hmm... your reasoning is very sound." Akira was slightly surprised, but then realized this wouldn't be hidden from this detective girl anyway.
"Actually..." Shiina suddenly chuckled. "I found an even more interesting detail—since the mysterious person knows Ichinose-kun knows many people, but never asked her for Class D's contact information. What does this indicate?"
She looked directly into Akira's eyes. "The other party very likely already has the contact information of your Class D leader. In other words! The mysterious person is very likely one of your Class D leader's contacts, perhaps even a classmate from your Class D."
Akira nodded calmly on the surface. "That possibility certainly exists."
However, he was somewhat surprised internally.
'Could Shiina-san deduce to this extent with just a few simple conversations?!'
'Oh no! In a few more days, would I be "doxxed"?'