Chapter 174 – Investigation

"Hey, have you guys heard? That slander letter about Ichinose being a criminal."

"Of course, I've heard about it. It's been causing quite a stir. Last night, my phone was buzzing non-stop with over thirty chat groups discussing it."

"Since everyone has heard, do you think it's reliable? If not, who do you think is behind slandering Ichinose?"

"Hey! Look at you, asking if we believe it or not. You already answered yourself by asking who the slanderer is, implying you believe it's a lie."

"True. After all, we all got to know Ichinose during the test of courage event. She's a good person, so I think it's slander."

When Yukio arrived at the classroom, he immediately heard the lively discussions. If there were trending topics within Advanced Nurturing High School, Ichinose would definitely top the list.

"What's going on?" Yukio patted Ishizaki to ask. Last night, after sorting out the club funds inspection with Ichinose, he went to Shiina's dormitory for dinner.

Then, being very diligent and ignoring outside affairs, he slept until this morning. Upon arriving in the classroom, he realized he had apparently missed some big news.

"Oh, Yukio-san, here's the situation..." Ishizaki, being straightforward and familiar with Yukio's habit of gathering information, recounted everything without adding personal opinions or embellishments.

Ibuki was also nearby, occasionally filling in gaps. Whatever Ishizaki missed, Ibuki supplemented. She added at the end, "Though I don't know what you all think, it seems everyone really trusts Ichinose."

"But I still believe no one is perfect, and there's no such thing as an absolutely good saint in this world. Honestly, I think Ichinose might have some issues in her past."

This opinion was entirely contrary to the mainstream view. Most people still trusted Ichinose, but Ibuki held an opposing stance.

As she said this, Ibuki kept a close eye on Yukio, wanting to see if there would be any change in his expression.

In fact, Ibuki herself couldn't clearly explain why she was so attentive to Yukio's facial details. Was she worried that her doubts about Ichinose would displease Yukio?

When she noticed Yukio showed no sign of displeasure, she felt a small sense of satisfaction. See! She had said back when she acted as a spy in Ichinose's class on the uninhabited island, there was definitely something fishy!

Yukio remained silent. As soon as he heard Ishizaki mention that Ichinose spent over a minute reading the slander letter, he already knew it was true.

Otherwise, based on Yukio's understanding of Ichinose's character, there was no way she would spend so much time repeatedly mulling over a single sentence.

Since it was an established fact, Ibuki's words were not wrong. There was nothing to be upset about.

Ishizaki, after finishing his explanation, began to feel a bit uneasy as his boss remained silent: "Um, Yukio-san, did I not explain it well enough?"

"Huh? It's fine," Yukio nodded casually, already formulating some thoughts.

Ibuki took advantage of Yukio's good mood, glanced around, and then cautiously approached, lowering her voice: "Yukio, you surely think I'm right, don't you? What's your take on it?"

"Yes, you're right." This affirmation made Ibuki secretly delighted, her whole appearance brightening up. Yukio's subsequent analysis surprised both of them: "I'm just thinking about who the perpetrator is."

"Our class is definitely out of the question. Without my orders, who would act on their own? Then there's Sakayanagi's class. She's a likely candidate, but she currently has other important matters and wouldn't have a reason to do this."

"Huh?" Ishizaki and Ibuki were baffled. How did their boss know Sakayanagi so well, even knowing she had other important matters?

'…Yukio-san, you're acting a bit strange.'

Yukio ignored their puzzled looks: "It's unlikely to be the third years either, as they are not directly involved. If I had to guess, it's most likely someone from Class D of the first year or from the second year."

Ishizaki suddenly understood: "It should be Class D, right? We're now Class A, with Sakayanagi's class next in line, and Ichinose's class is the one suppressing Class D. This is an attack from Class D."

Actually, Yukio leaned towards the slanderer being from the second year, almost certain it was Nagumo.

The reason was simple: he had information that others didn't.

Class D might be a possibility, but who in Class D could slander Ichinose now? Horikita, who was betrayed by everyone? Ayanokoji, who was busy confronting Sakayanagi? There was no one left. Don't even mention someone like Sakayanagi slandering Ichinose—that's too far-fetched.

So, considering everything, while Class D is a possibility, the likelihood of Nagumo from the second year being responsible is much higher.

As for why Nagumo would slander Ichinose, Yukio couldn't quite understand. If Nagumo wanted revenge, shouldn't he come at him directly? What kind of skill is it to slander Ichinose?

Thinking of this, Yukio shook his head: "I'm going to the restroom."

Leaving the classroom, Yukio casually found an empty stairwell, intentionally avoiding surveillance cameras, and first sent a message to Kushida.

If anyone in the school was likely to have dirt on Ichinose, Yukio's first thought was the two-faced Kushida.

The amount of dirt Kushida had was enough to collapse the interpersonal relationships of several classes instantly.

However, the reply he received from Kushida was that she knew nothing about it, to which Yukio nodded quietly. This lowered the suspicion on Class D even more.

After carefully checking to ensure no one was around, he took out another phone and made a call: "Hello, I need you to look into two people for me."

"At your service," came a steady yet unexpectedly respectful voice from the other end of the line.

"One is named Honami Ichinose. She attended XX Academy in middle school, so she should be easy to find. I want all the information you can gather."

"The other is named Nagumo Miyabi. I don't know which middle school he attended, but I can send you a photo later. Find his family, but do not act rashly, understand?"

"Understood."

After hanging up, Yukio walked back to his classroom as if nothing had happened, his mind racing. There was probably something hidden in Ichinose's past.

Being slandered as a criminal was certainly an exaggeration. From what Yukio knew about Advanced Nurturing High School, it aimed to cultivate a large number of future middle-class members of society.

Although the students selected had varying qualifications, there would be no actual criminals among them. That statement in the slander letter was undoubtedly alarmist.

If Ichinose were truly a dangerous criminal, she wouldn't have even been able to step into Advanced Nurturing High School.

To uncover what Ichinose had done in the past, he could only wait for the investigation outside the school to progress. Hopefully, those guys would be quick so he wouldn't have to wait too long.

And once it was confirmed that this matter was indeed Nagumo's doing, heh.

Yukio had already decided what Nagumo's fate would be...

***

Enjoyed the chapters? Read 20 chapters ahead on Patreon

PATREON.COM/METARLN

400 power stones = 1 extra chapter