COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

After walking for a few minutes, Horikita led Ayanokouji and Kanda Shuichi to a quieter spot. 

"So, what is it? Just say it." 

Even though he already had a guess, Kanda Shuichi still asked out of formality. 

"Ike and the others' plan got exposed..." 

Horikita Suzune spoke with a troubled expression and explained everything she knew about Ike's plan. 

"So, when you went to retrieve the memory card from the RC car, you found that it had already been removed and placed next to your locker?" 

For once, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka actually seemed a bit shaken. 

"As much as I don't want to admit it, that's exactly what happened. And the camera and memory card inside are already gone." 

We're screwed. 

Even though Ayanokouji didn't want to accept it, he had to admit this was a really bad situation. 

In Japan, secretly filming someone is already a crime, let alone filming the girls' locker room. If that footage got handed over to the school, there would be no way to talk their way out of it. 

If the school found out who was responsible, everyone involved would definitely be expelled. 

This was something Ayanokouji absolutely had to avoid. 

To prevent expulsion, he had even accepted Chabashira's threats and planned to contribute to the class. Not that he had been particularly useful in any of the exams so far. 

Is this my punishment for slacking off? 

Ayanokouji suddenly recalled the fortune-telling he had received at Keyaki Mall Shopping Center—"You'll have some bad luck soon. Stay calm and analyze the situation, or it could turn into a big problem." 

Honestly, he did feel pretty unlucky. He never wanted to be involved in the first place. Ike and Yamauchi had dragged him into it without his consent. 

Thinking about this, Ayanokouji raised his hand. 

"Uh, how about we just turn ourselves in? If we do, maybe the school will only punish the mastermind." 

Ayanokouji had no hesitation when it came to throwing his teammates under the bus if it meant avoiding expulsion himself. 

But Horikita Suzune immediately shot down the idea. 

"If this issue reaches the school, it'll already be a huge problem. Not only will Ike and Yamauchi be expelled, but Class D will also lose a massive amount of class points. In the worst-case scenario, we could drop back down to zero. I want to avoid that at all costs." 

After that, Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka both turned to look at Kanda Shuichi, who remained expressionless. 

"Kanda, what do you think we should do?"

"What should we do? I feel like just getting them expelled is letting them off too easy," Kanda Shuichi said. "Horikita, can you imagine if someone had a video of you changing and—" 

"Stop talking!" 

Horikita's face immediately darkened, and her body started trembling. But it wasn't fear—it was anger. 

"But you can relax now. Ike and his gang won't get their hands on those videos," Kanda Shuichi said, pretending to comfort her. "Like you said, the stuff was found in the first-year girls' locker room. That means it's in the hands of a first-year girl now." 

Hearing that, Horikita let out a breath of relief. It was better for it to be with a girl than a guy. 

"And from what you said, quite some time has passed since she took the memory card and camera, but no one has come forward. That means she doesn't plan on making this a big deal." 

"You mean she wants to settle this privately? She's planning to blackmail us?" 

Horikita Suzune still wasn't as sharp as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. Even after I hinted so clearly, she still didn't catch on. 

"That's possible. But if she can't find someone to settle things with, she might just hand everything over to the school. If that happens, it's all over." 

Horikita's face twisted slightly. So that meant they had to find this person no matter what. 

"But there are so many first-year girls. How are we supposed to know who has it?" 

"That part's easy. We just use that." 

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka pointed to a nearby speaker. 

"That?" 

"If we make an announcement saying we lost a memory card or that someone found one, she'll definitely notice and come looking for us." 

It was a simple but effective plan. If this didn't work, then Class D was doomed. 

"And once we meet her, she'll realize this was done by Class D. If I were her, I'd use this chance to demand our 20 million points. We should tell Hirata about this too." 

Kanda Shuichi's words made Horikita feel even more uneasy. The reason she hadn't told Hirata was because she thought she could handle this herself. 

But now that things had taken this turn, her frustration resurfaced. 

"Alright, I'll contact Hirata," Horikita said, taking a deep breath and taking responsibility for the task. 

Kanda Shuichi then went to meet up with Ichinose and the others, while Horikita returned to the locker room to grab her phone and call Hirata. 

As for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, he decided to check the area near the locker room to see if anyone suspicious was lurking around. 

When Kanda Shuichi returned, a volleyball match between two classes was underway. 

Meanwhile, Kamuro was lying on a beach chair under a sun umbrella, with a towel covering her body except for her legs. 

"You're back." 

"Yeah. You're not bored being here alone?" 

Kanda Shuichi lay down on the beach chair next to her and took the cold drink she handed him. 

"It's fine. So, you're not planning to go in the water?" 

"I can't swim. What if I drown?" Kanda Shuichi joked. The deepest part of the pool was barely over a meter, and with his height of nearly 180 cm, there was no way he could drown. 

"If you drown, I'll save you," Kamuro said seriously, looking at him. 

Kanda Shuichi was momentarily speechless, but seeing how serious she was, he nodded. 

"Alright, I'll leave it to you then. But I'll try my best not to drown."

"By the way, don't you think Ichinose seems a bit off today?" Kamuro suddenly shifted the topic to Ichinose. 

"Ichinose seems off?" Kanda Shuichi looked confused, then turned his attention to the heated match happening in the pool. 

Right now, a 4v4 match was going on. From Class B, besides Ichinose, there were Kanzaki, Shibata, and some random classmate. 

On Class D's side, the team consisted of Kushida, Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudou. 

Class B had a higher average skill level with no major weak points, but they also didn't have a particularly strong player. On the other hand, Class D had Kushida, who was decent, while Ike and Yamauchi were clearly dragging the team down. But Sudou was just too strong. 

He was basically taking on four opponents by himself. Whenever it was his turn to attack, he would score for sure. Ike and Yamauchi were weak points that the other team exploited, but Sudou was making up for it by scoring even more. 

Kanda Shuichi focused on Ichinose. Other than how the school swimsuit highlighted her figure in a way that was a bit too eye-catching, he didn't notice anything unusual. 

"I don't see anything strange. Masumi, are you sure you're not imagining it?" 

"It's true that she seems normal now, but earlier, when she saw me, I could tell she was shaken." Kamuro sounded certain. 

She might not be great at studying, but she had sharp observation skills. Ichinose's reaction definitely didn't escape her notice. 

So Ichinose only seemed shaken after seeing Kamuro? 

"You've met Ichinose before, right?" 

"Of course. Our dorms are just one floor apart." Kamuro nodded. 

"Has this ever happened before?" 

Kamuro shook her head. 

"Did anything about you change recently?" 

Kamuro frowned, trying to think of anything she might've done that could've unsettled Ichinose. 

"I don't know. My life has been the same as always. If I had to say, maybe that night…" 

"Wait! You're not planning to say it here, are you?" Kanda Shuichi looked exasperated. "Or did you run into Ichinose that night?" 

"No, this is the first time I've seen her in days." 

"Could it be that she was just amazed by how good you look today?" The "great detective" Shuichi joked, shaking his head. He had no idea if Ichinose was impressed, but at the very least, he was. 

A white T-shirt paired with black leggings perfectly showed off Kamuro's curves, which Kanda Shuichi found very pleasing. 

"She only got shaken after she came to the pool and saw my face." 

That was weird. Kanda Shuichi scratched his head. If Kamuro hadn't changed, then was the issue on Ichinose's side? 

That didn't make sense either. Ichinose acted normal around everyone else—only when she saw Kamuro did she react strangely. 

So the problem had to be with Kamuro. But why? 

Kanda Shuichi turned to look at Kamuro and scanned her from head to toe before looking back up. 

Other than the towel draped over her, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. 

Actually, those hair clips I picked out look pretty good on her. No wonder they've been the most popular ones for the past few years. 

There's no way Ichinose was shaken just because Kamuro was wearing three hair clips, right? 

Kanda Shuichi laughed at the ridiculous thought. 

But then again, what if…? 

With that in mind, he reached out. Under Kamuro's confused gaze, he took one of the hair clips off her right temple. 

Hmm, let's test it later. Thinking that, he casually clipped it onto his own head. 

"Pfft! What kind of look is that?"

When Kanda Shuichi clipped a girl's hairpin onto his own head, Kamuro couldn't help but laugh. But Kanda Shuichi didn't mind and just quietly waited for the volleyball match to end. 

It's just a hairpin, not like I'm wearing a whole outfit. Is it really that big of a deal? 

About ten minutes later, Sudou led Class D to victory. 

By the way, both teams had bet their lunch on the game. 

"Ugh—We lost. That was a total defeat." 

Ichinose climbed out of the pool, looking a little frustrated as she walked over. 

Even though it was just a casual game, neither side wanted to lose. And in the end, Class D won two straight sets. 

"Ahaha, we basically won thanks to Sudou carrying us." 

Kushida laughed awkwardly. As for Sudou, he was off lecturing Ike and Yamauchi for not trying hard enough. 

"A loss is a loss. By the way, you're in the basketball club, right? Some of the guys in my class play too, and they said you're the best first-year." 

"Of course!" 

Being praised by Ichinose, even Sudou couldn't help but feel proud. 

But while he was enjoying the compliment, Ike and Yamauchi were burning with jealousy. 

"Damn it! Sudou, you're only good at sports! Don't get so full of yourself!" 

Seeing that it was about time, Kanda Shuichi got up from his beach chair and walked over to Ichinose. 

"Ichinose, are you guys planning to grab something to eat?" 

Hearing his voice, Ichinose turned to look at him. 

"Well, I—" 

But the moment she saw the hairpin on Kanda Shuichi's head, she froze. The smile on her face stiffened for a second before she quickly acted normal again. 

"Let's check out the food stalls." 

Since it was the last three days of summer break, they couldn't attend a festival at school, but the pool area had a similar festive vibe. 

There were entertainment facilities, and open spaces were filled with food stalls selling hot dogs, fried noodles, takoyaki, and more. 

Everyone immediately agreed with Ichinose's idea, and Kanda Shuichi got the reaction he was looking for. 

A normal person would either be curious or laugh at him for wearing a hairpin, but Ichinose wasn't like that. 

Her eyes were filled with something closer to fear. 

So the hairpin really was what triggered her reaction? Did she have some special connection to it? 

Kanda Shuichi and Kamuro walked at the back of the group. He took the hairpin off and handed it to Kamuro. 

"Didn't expect this. So it really was the hairpin." 

"Ichinose reacted to that? Why?" Kamuro was just as confused. 

"Who knows? Maybe she used to have one like it and lost it, so she cares about it a lot?" 

Kanda Shuichi shrugged. He didn't see the need to dig any deeper. Since Ichinose didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't push the issue. 

Besides, there were more important things to deal with right now. 

As Kanda Shuichi and the others were about to get food, Hirata arrived at the pool after getting a message from Horikita. He then met up with Horikita and Ayanokouji. 

"How's the situation, Horikita?" 

As soon as he got there, Hirata asked about the latest updates. 

"It's bad. We still haven't found the person who took the memory card, and there's been no contact from them either." 

Horikita held her forehead with one hand, clearly frustrated by the situation.

"So the first thing we need to do is find the person who took it, right?" 

"Yeah. No matter what, we can't let that memory card fall into the school's hands. Otherwise, someone from Class D will definitely get expelled, and our class points will probably be reset to zero." 

Horikita nodded, laying out the situation clearly. 

Hirata looked helpless. Maybe the 20 million points they had just received wouldn't even have time to warm up before being taken away again. 

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