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[BIG CHAPTER]
The moment Shiina's words fell, her gaze involuntarily locked onto Akira, like a detective catching the slightest reaction from a suspect.
But unexpectedly, the composure on his face instantly faded, replaced by an obvious look of confusion.
Her own brows furrowed slightly.
Akira's reaction was more direct than expected. It wasn't the embarrassment of having his thoughts exposed, but rather complete surprise, as if he'd never imagined this question coming from her mouth.
Was he surprised that she could see through this matter? Or... was her own deduction flawed?
The wind outside the window suddenly blew through the half-open screen, rustling the sticky notes on the desk across the cover of "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," making a faint sound, like a rest note for this moment of stillness.
"I see." Akira's voice broke the silence. He raised a hand to press his forehead, his tone calm as if he'd recovered. "You think I rented the surveillance from the school to save up twenty million points to transfer classes?"
He paused, his gaze clear when he looked up. "Then, may I hear your deduction, Miss Detective?"
This question was like a stone thrown into still water, making Shiina's tense shoulders relax slightly.
She suddenly realized she'd been holding her breath, and the thin sweat on her palms left faint marks on the bedsheet.
Thankfully, he responded.
She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, yet couldn't help feeling a subtle annoyance.
She should've been leading this "investigation," but now it felt as if the "suspect" had gently steadied her, preventing her from falling too awkwardly when the rhythm suddenly went off track.
This feeling was truly complex.
"Deduction?" Shiina cleared her throat, her fingertips tapping a regular rhythm on her knee, as if calibrating the pace for the logical chain she was about to unfold. "Actually, during this time, I've summarized a few essential characteristics for 'that person.'"
"Tell me." Akira's response was concise and sharp, his gaze fixed on her tapping fingertips, as if waiting for the next key point.
"First, before renting the surveillance, that person must've held a considerable amount of private points." She held up her index finger, her tone steady. "The surveillance was rented from the school, definitely not free. Based on the lowest configuration, they must've had at least one million points, possibly even over two million points."
Akira unconsciously nodded. "Makes sense."
"Second, the student council must know his identity." Shiina held up her middle finger again. "There's no reason for this person, who can cooperate with the student council, to have his identity concealed. After all, surveillance access isn't something that can be casually given out."
"Indeed." Akira's agreement held a hint of subtle seriousness. He recalled the computer the student council president had given him in the student council office.
"The third point, however, borrowed your idea, Shimizu-kun." She suddenly smiled. "That person must have at least one laptop. Since they could get ahead and use the surveillance, they must have a device. Otherwise they wouldn't have been able to view the surveillance footage of other classes."
"Anything else?" This time, when Akira nodded, his gaze met hers directly.
"Fourth, that person bought a secondary account from the school. I checked the registration records for that account, and it showed it was last month, April. Normal student accounts are all registered uniformly upon enrollment, so this timing is too abrupt. Nine times out of ten, it's a specially requested secondary account."
Akira's eyebrows moved imperceptibly. He didn't interrupt, his gaze resting on her intertwined fingers.
"The fifth point follows from the fourth." She added another finger. "Since it's a secondary account registered last month, it's unlikely that an upperclassman would specifically bother with a new account, right? It's most likely a first-year student. Not to mention, this person already knows the personnel configurations of the four first-year classes very well."
"Sixth, as of 6 PM this evening, no one in the other classes, except for Class D, has bought a secondary account." She said this very quickly, like reciting a confirmed testimony.
"Oh?" Akira finally raised an eyebrow, tapping his fingertips lightly at his side. "What's the basis for this point?"
"I asked my homeroom teacher." Shiina leaned back, her lower back resting against the bookshelf at the head of the bed. "I didn't ask who specifically, just that I wanted to confirm if anyone in the class had bought a secondary account, and his answer was '0 people.'"
She paused, reaching up to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen to her ear. "I also asked Ichinose-san from Class B, and a certain student from Class A, to help me inquire, and the answer was the same. No one in their classes had bought a secondary account."
At this point, she suddenly straightened her back, her six fingers together, drawing a clean arc in the air, as if bringing this deduction to a close.
"So the conclusion is obvious: the person who bought the surveillance is a first-year Class D student. He had a large number of points last month, knows people in the student council, has a laptop in his dorm, and even specifically bought a secondary account from the school."
"And finally, the seventh point—which is why I believe you're that person's ultimate evidence, Shimizu-kun." Shiina suddenly paused. "Do you remember the form I sent you?"
"...I remember." Akira's voice was half a beat slower. "You specifically sent your own example beforehand."
"Then, may I ask, what tool did you use to fill out the form, Shimizu-kun?" Shiina suddenly looked up, her gaze like a taut thread directly entwining him.
Akira was startled, unable to respond for a moment.
He suddenly remembered the crisp sound of keyboard typing echoing particularly clearly in the empty dorm when he filled out the form that day.
Naturally, he'd filled out the form using his dorm computer, a professional habit he'd developed from his previous life as a planner.
He was already accustomed to efficiently completing such detailed form work on a computer. The rhythm of keyboard typing, the logic of table formatting, it all seemed ingrained in him. Using any other device always felt awkward.
He never thought that she would find a loophole?
"By the way, I completed it on a computer." A hint of aggressiveness entered her voice, like a detective finally revealing a long-hidden piece of evidence. "I borrowed Ryuuen's computer beforehand and spent over an hour filling it out. But your form was so detailed, with all sorts of yellow and red lines, even the example questions were written clearly..."
She leaned forward slightly.
"And yet, you sent it back in less than two hours, Shimizu-kun." Shiina's trailing note was extremely light, yet it felt like a heavy hammer falling on his heart. "You must've used a computer, right? So, may I ask, where did your computer come from?"
"Did you borrow someone else's computer? That's unlikely." Shiina continued her questioning. "I clearly sent you the form at 9 PM. At that hour, who'd be willing to lend their computer for someone to work on late into the night? Not to mention, only one person in Class D bought a computer."
"Furthermore, just now I deliberately said I wanted to visit your dorm, and you immediately refused." She touched her chin, lengthening her tone. "If my deduction isn't wrong—"
The moment her words stopped, her gaze locked onto Akira's face like a spotlight.
"Your computer should be on your dorm desk right now, shouldn't it?"
Her last few words were spoken extremely softly, yet they were like a key sliding into a lock, clicking open all the truths of the situation's development.
However, after this Miss Detective finished all her deductions, she suddenly shook her head, and the aggressive aura from before dissipated instantly like smoke carried away by the evening breeze.
"Shimizu-kun, I'm not saying this to blame you." Her voice softened considerably. "I have no intention of telling Ryuuen your identity. As I just said, I completely understand your position. Being placed in Class D and wanting to save up twenty million points to leave your class is perfectly normal, because by common sense, no one likes to stay in the worst class, and I'm no exception."
She looked down at the patterns on the bedsheet, her tone becoming more earnest. "Renting surveillance isn't some kind of deceitful act. Last month, Class C was able to avoid losing so many class points, wasn't it thanks to you? I just... want to fulfill my duty as a detective and investigate the matter to the end. I hope you don't blame me for my somewhat aggressive attitude earlier."
She looked up and said earnestly. "You've always been very kind to me, Shimizu-kun. You're a competent assistant. You helped me out at the electronics store, and after receiving the form, you worked late into the night for nearly two hours. Speaking of which, it was your quick reply that allowed me to catch the flaw." She suddenly smiled at this point. "Even meeting Ichinose-san was thanks to you. You've done a lot for me..."
She stood up and, instead, placed the book "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" face down on the desk. "Like Sherlock Holmes, I never consider myself a good person, using Dr. Watson's kindness to deduce clues. I would never do something like uncovering the truth and then turning around to harm my assistant."
"So! I'll keep this matter to myself, and I absolutely won't tell anyone!" She looked at Akira with firm eyes, emphasizing each word.
"Shiina-san, you truly are beyond my expectations."
Akira looked at her serious expression, a faint smile unconsciously spreading across his lips.
Just two hours ago, he was convinced that this month's plan would remain securely hidden.
He never expected Shiina to come knocking directly on his door before his rear end had even warmed the seat.
With seven interlocking deductions, she firmly affixed the label of "the one who rented the surveillance cameras" to him.
Every logic stood its ground, almost identical to the truth.
He'd actually anticipated that she'd uncover a few clues, but some of her deductions still caught him off guard. For example, contacting students from various classes to confirm the alt account with their homeroom teachers.
What surprised him even more was how decisive this seemingly quiet detective girl could be in her actions, even asking Ichinose from Class B for help. As for the person she asked to inquire about Class A's information... he couldn't guess who it was yet.
Strictly speaking, it was the simultaneous progress of three classes that ultimately pinpointed the target to Class D.
However, what touched him most was her deduction regarding that form.
He paused, his gaze falling on the laptop on her desk. "The form... you sent it to me on Saturday night, right? Did you suspect me from that moment?"
Shiina's tapping fingers suddenly stopped, as if that sentence had pulled her back to a specific point in time. Her voice was half a tone lower than before. "Actually, I didn't think too deeply about it at first. When I sent the form on Saturday night, I just thought your reply was unusually fast. At the time, I just put it down to your efficiency, and it wasn't until I organized the surveillance-related clues yesterday that I suddenly remembered it."
"So, following that thread, many things started to connect." Shiina's tone returned to steady, but her eyes held a hint of insight. "You clearly have a computer, Shimizu-kun, and it's most likely not newly bought. Otherwise, you wouldn't have deliberately led me to the electronics store, intentionally guiding my deduction toward 'buying a computer.' That way, your name naturally wouldn't be on the list, and I wouldn't have suspected you."
Her right hand once again stroked her smooth chin. "But later, I thought about it carefully. The 'buying a computer' clue was actually just one link. The fastest way to solve the problem would've been to directly ask the student council president—to ask him who he gave surveillance access to. Or, to approach the problem from the alt account angle. I don't believe, with your mind, you wouldn't have thought of that."
"However, there are still several things I can't figure out." Shiina's brows furrowed slightly, confusion like a fine net entangling her brow. "First, I never revealed a single word, so how did you realize I was investigating you? And even deliberately approached me?"
"Second, how did you get so many points just a few days after school started, Shimizu-kun?"
"Third, where exactly did your computer come from?"
Akira paused slightly, his gaze fixed on Shiina's tightly pressed lips, and a difficult-to-describe emotion suddenly stirred in his heart.
It must be said, this girl was still very kind at heart.
Even though she'd uncovered the ultimate truth, her first reaction wasn't to rush to Ryuuen and expose everything. Instead, she deliberately sat down and explained the reasons to him, even empathizing with his efforts for points. The empathy hidden in that phrase, "After all, it's Class D," warmed his heart more than any defense.
And that phrase, "It'll forever be buried in my heart," was said so earnestly, like a vow made to a secret.
The girl before him was truly extraordinary.
She possessed both the detective-like tenacity to get to the bottom of things, following every clue to the truth, and a rare delicacy and understanding, knowing how to leave the other party a measure of dignity and leeway when revealing the mystery.
But in fact, he'd originally intended to clarify everything with the girl. If not for the sudden message from that mysterious person this afternoon, which had disrupted all his plans.
"I'm sorry, Shiina-san, your deduction is incorrect." Akira met her scrutinizing gaze, his tone as calm as a placid deep pool. "Because I'm not 'that person.'"