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When Akira returned to the classroom, the situation was indeed as Matsushita had described. Yukimura was standing beside Hasebe, explaining something in a low voice. Seeing their expressions soften, it seemed the matter was largely resolved.
His gaze fell on Matsushita, and a thought suddenly popped into his mind: This person's ability must be at least 0.3 Ayanokoji, right?
His experience last Saturday had made him fully aware of Ayanokoji's prowess.
That extraordinary investigative ability was simply not something an ordinary student could possess.
'Ayanokoji couldn't be a special forces soldier who just returned from Afghanistan, could he?'
He was like those characters in web novels he'd read in his previous life. Special forces soldiers mingling in the city, seemingly omnipotent, effortlessly mastering any skill.
Unconsciously, Ayanokoji had become his implicit benchmark for measuring the abilities of other classmates.
Just like now, watching Matsushita silently quell the class dispute, and recalling the "at least top twenty in the grade" mentioned in the daily intelligence, this "0.3 Ayanokoji" assessment didn't seem exaggerated at all.
...
Time quickly slipped to noon. As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Akira suddenly slapped his forehead. He'd almost forgotten what he'd promised Shiina.
He hadn't sent her the information about the investigation into purchasing surveillance equipment yet.
A few days ago, Shiina had already organized and sent over the Class 1-C form.
When he opened the file at the time, he specifically noticed that the data in the form was neatly arranged, and even the remarks column was clearly written, which indeed matched her usual meticulous style.
So, after returning home last night, he specifically organized the relevant data for Class 1-B and Class 1-D into a single table and saved it on his phone.
It came in handy now. He opened the chat box and directly sent the file.
Shiina: {Received. Shimizu-kun's table is very clear.}
Shiina: {In that case, I shouldn't need to bother you anymore.}
Shiina: {Thank you, Shimizu-kun, for your help these past few days.}
As soon as he finished reading the message, a system notification popped up. Shiina had transferred 50,000 points to him.
Akira was slightly stunned.
They'd agreed on 30,000 points, but he didn't expect her to give him an extra 20,000.
He looked at the string of numbers and suddenly remembered Shiina's seemingly calm but earnest eyes when she handed him the request. Perhaps for this Class C girl, accurate information and efficient assistance were indeed worth such a reward.
But what was agreed upon, must be followed.
After receiving the 50,000 points, Akira immediately transferred back 20,000.
He put away his phone and stood up, walking toward the cafeteria.
The clamor in the hallway washed over his ears like a tide, but his heart felt inexplicably refreshed. The dispute with Karuizawa had completely subsided, and the surveillance rental request was finally concluded. Having resolved two matters in one morning, he could finally settle down for the afternoon classes.
...
In the Class 1-C classroom, Shiina held her phone and carefully rechecked the table Akira had sent.
The table format was clearly filled out according to the one she'd sent earlier, and even optimized in details. For example, notes were added next to the data in light-colored font, and the classification columns were clearer than her version.
"Shimizu-kun is truly thoughtful." She unconsciously nodded, her fingertips gently sliding across the screen.
Neither the accuracy of the information nor the standardization of the table had any flaws.
She even couldn't help but wonder if he'd already made countless similar tables before?
"Probably not..."
After all, like her, he was just a 16-year-old student.
Shiina suppressed her doubts and refocused her attention on the information itself.
First, she looked at Class D's records: a student had purchased a computer due to their obsession with games and anime. The remarks column also included details Akira had specifically noted. He'd deliberately thrown out many questions about anime and programming, and the student had answered fluently, clearly indicating their words were true.
Then, turning to Class B: Ichinose's reason for purchasing a computer was even more self-explanatory.
As the Class B representative, combined with the chat records from that day, her renting surveillance from the "mysterious person" and buying a computer to verify if the equipment was effective was completely logical.
She read line by line, finding that every student's reason for purchasing a computer was clear and coherent, with no forced explanations. Whether for daily needs or class affairs, everything was consistent with their personal situations.
Thus, she could almost conclude: the people from Class D and Class B could be completely ruled out as suspects.
Next, she thought of her own Class C.
In fact, from the very beginning, she'd subconsciously excluded Class C. The reason was simple. If it were a classmate, there'd be no need to specifically inquire about Ryuuen's information through Ichinose.
But for logical rigor, she still asked the few people in her class who'd purchased computers about their purpose.
Since they were her own classmates, Shiina didn't feel any hindrance in communication.
The results were pretty much as she expected: these individuals had perfectly sufficient reasons and motives, with no flaws to be found.
So, the remaining suspects seemed to be only those from Class 1-A.
She picked up her phone and brought up the list of Class A students.
Although it was originally just a paper document, she'd long since organized it into an electronic version using Ryuuen's computer and saved it on her phone.
There were three people from Class A involved.
She didn't know any of these three people.
However, Shiina had a vague impression of the name Sakayanagi Arisu. Ryuuen had mentioned that she was the most likely person to have rented the surveillance. He'd also personally told her that Sakayanagi's father was the Chairman of this school, clearly from a privileged background.
Since the Chairman was her father, her chances of being able to rent surveillance were indeed much higher than ordinary people.
But this line of thought was clearly untenable. True analysis shouldn't be led by such "identity presumptions." Just like a detective solving a case, one can't prejudge a suspect merely because they have convenient conditions.
Moreover, such characters often appear to be the most suspicious, seemingly the most likely culprits, but are often red herrings used to mislead the detective. This is too common in mystery stories.
However, the real world is quite different. Many times, those who are initially the most suspicious are, nine times out of ten, actually the culprits.
Plot twists in books are for narrative fluctuations. Logic in reality is often more direct.
Shiina's thoughts were momentarily stuck.
But no matter what, she knew in her heart that she had to meet Sakayanagi in person.
Because handing over the Class B and Class D investigations to Akira last week, while keeping Class A in her own hands, wasn't an accidental move but a deliberate one on her part.