Chapter 176 – Visiting Ichinose

On Tuesday night, Yukio received a contact from outside. The external team had been quite efficient, investigating everything thoroughly and reporting back to Yukio.

Even Nagumo's relatives were now under surveillance.

"Are you saying Ichinose once stole a butterfly hairpin from a store?" Sitting cross-legged in his dormitory, Yukio held his phone and tapped his fingers on the table, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.

What kind of criminal is this? The slander letter described it so severely, and this is the result?

Although Yukio had long suspected that Ichinose was not a criminal—otherwise, she couldn't have been admitted to Advanced Nurturing High School—he hadn't imagined it would be due to something like this.

"Yes." The voice on the other end of the line remained steady and respectful: "And Ichinose-san blamed herself for it and stayed at home for six months without going out. The store manager is still running the store. What do you think..."

"I understand. I'll contact you later." Yukio gave instructions and then ended the call, shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation.

After some thought, Yukio decided to get up and take the elevator to Ichinose's dormitory. There, he saw Kanzaki, Shiranami, and others standing guard at Ichinose's door.

Even though it was late at night, they hadn't left, silently protecting the angel of their class, not moving an inch.

"Yukio." Kanzaki was very surprised to see Yukio. He hadn't expected Yukio to come, especially after he had ignored his plea for help at noon.

"Alright, you all go back. Let me talk to Ichinose alone." Yukio's eyes were cold. The fact that so many people were guarding Ichinose's door indicated that she had likely been shut in her dormitory all day, not stepping out at all.

Thinking of this made him even colder. He would confirm with Ichinose, and if it indeed was Nagumo's doing, he would deal with it.

"But..." Shiranami seemed to want to say something but was stopped by Kanzaki. Kanzaki gave Yukio a deep look: "Alright, we'll leave it to you then."

With that, he urged the class members to leave, encouraging them to trust in Yukio's ability. Even Shiranami, who had the most objections, was persuaded by Kanzaki.

Within a minute, the area in front of Ichinose's door, which had been crowded, was now empty, leaving only Yukio. He politely knocked on the door: "Ichinose, can I come in?"

From inside the room came a muffled and gloomy response: "Ah? Yukio-kun, sorry, I'm not feeling well right now. Can I host you in my dorm another time?"

Her proficiency in refusal was heart-wrenching. Yukio lowered his gaze, remaining silent. It seemed that Ichinose's classmates had asked many times before, forcing her to refuse so gently and skillfully.

It was clear that her classmates had been trying various ways to comfort and persuade her, but Ichinose had consistently avoided the matter, never opening the door.

In the eyes of some, it was a trivial matter that could be laughed off, yet Ichinose couldn't let it go.

Call her childish or stubborn, but this was Ichinose—a compassionate angel who could gently save others but not herself.

Thinking of this, Yukio didn't waste any more words with her. He took out a universal card, swiped it, and with a "click," the door opened.

Upon entering, he saw Ichinose sitting lifelessly in the living room, her head resting on her knees, arms tightly hugging herself, almost curled into a ball. Her school uniform was wrinkled, likely from being in that position for so long.

Hearing the door open, Ichinose looked up in surprise and saw Yukio casually taking off his outdoor shoes and stepping barefoot into the entrance: "Yu... Yukio-kun? The... the card? How did you get in?"

This was Yukio's first visit to Ichinose's room. A quick glance revealed a minimalist decor, with alphabet posters on the walls, two green plants, and three plush bears stuck to the walls.

The room was simply yet elegantly decorated, fresh and playful, but unfortunately, the person who decorated it now seemed out of place with the room's overall atmosphere, lost in her gloom, creating a stark contrast between her and the interior.

In response to Ichinose's question, Yukio took out the card and quickly put it away: "I asked the dorm supervisor for it. She said you hadn't left your room all day and was worried something might have happened to you, so she gave me the universal card."

This was a lie. Yukio had made the universal card himself using materials sent in from outside. He had noticed when he first entered the dormitory that all the rooms, like hotel rooms, had electronic locks.

Students had their own cards, and the dorm supervisor held the universal card, which was not allowed to be given to students, as no one knew what mischief it might be used for...

These universal cards were only supposed to be used when graduates left school, to clean and tidy up the rooms of departing graduates.

But Yukio didn't want to be restricted by this rule, so he used materials sent in from outside and his hacking skills to make a universal card.

"It's... it's fine," Ichinose weakly shook her head, not pursuing the matter further, but instead continued to bow her head. "Yukio-kun, as you can see, I'm fine. I just want to be alone quietly."

"Could you please leave?"

"Let me tell you a joke." Yukio completely ignored Ichinose's request for him to leave and, making himself at home, sat down beside her.

"Long ago, in my hometown, prices were very low. There was an old lady who complained that prices were rising too fast. She said that in the past, one dollar could buy two eggs, two bottles of drinks, one bottle of sauce, and several packs of snacks."

"But now it's not possible anymore."

Ichinose remained unresponsive, silently listening.

"Because now, the store has installed surveillance cameras, and the old lady can't steal anymore."

Ichinose suddenly looked up, her eyes, which should have been shining, were filled with fragile uncertainty as Yukio began his story.

She simply thought that Yukio-kun was really a gentle person, trying to tell a joke to cheer her up and make her feel better.

However, she felt incredibly apologetic inside, because she wasn't in the mood to listen to jokes. No matter how funny the joke was, even if it could make people laugh until their sides split, she probably wouldn't be able to find it amusing.

But when Yukio mentioned stealing, Ichinose finally understood. This wasn't a joke; it was Yukio hinting that she didn't need to hide anything anymore because he had already uncovered her past.

"This... no, Yukio-kun, you, I..."

Ichinose was extremely confused, staring blankly at Yukio, even her pupils seemed to dilate: "How... how did you know?"

"It was Nagumo who told me." Yukio stared straight at Ichinose, abruptly throwing out Nagumo's name.

He keenly captured the fleeting emotion of realization in Ichinose's eyes, and in his heart, he had already sentenced Nagumo to death.

***

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