[Huh?]
At this moment, Yamauchi Haruki's face was full of question marks.
From the beginning until now, he hadn't understood a single thing these two were talking about.
What expulsion? What past? Were Kushida Kikyo and Horikita Suzune putting on some kind of play?
"This is a battle between the two of us. Yamauchi is completely unrelated, isn't he? I don't understand why you're so fixated on him."
Horikita Suzune looked at Kushida Kikyo with confusion.
"I don't know if you're pretending to be clueless or if you really don't know, but from the recording incident to the sports festival, all of this was orchestrated by you behind the scenes, wasn't it, Yamauchi?"
Kushida Kikyo narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze still fixed on Yamauchi Haruki.
"Huh?"
Yamauchi Haruki's small eyes were filled with big confusion. He had no idea what Kushida Kikyo was talking about.
"Are you still playing dumb? I know everything you've done. It's all your doing, isn't it? How did you manage it? Getting such private recordings... Did you plant recording devices in the room beforehand?"
Kushida Kikyo continued to press.
"Huh?"
Yamauchi Haruki's face was still full of confusion.
[What's going on? Recordings? What recordings?]
Yamauchi Haruki felt that Kushida Kikyo's words were even more cryptic than the school's curriculum. And from the looks of it, Kushida Kikyo and Horikita Suzune weren't joking.
Not to mention... the former student council president, Horikita Manabu, was also here...
This made Yamauchi Haruki feel immense pressure.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about, Kushida-san..."
"Yamauchi-kun, please stop wasting time pretending you don't know anything. If you're truly innocent, then hand over your phone and prove it to me."
Kushida Kikyo spoke with utmost seriousness.
"O-okay!"
Hearing this, Yamauchi Haruki quickly handed over his phone to Kushida Kikyo.
Kushida Kikyo frowned slightly. She hadn't expected Yamauchi Haruki to hand over his phone so readily, but she took it anyway. She first opened the messaging app and checked the chat history, then opened the shopping app and browsed through his purchase records.
Her gaze was instantly drawn to a few specific purchases.
Pinhole cameras, remote-controlled cars...
"So, this is how you did it? I see now!"
Kushida Kikyo suddenly understood and immediately turned her attention back to Yamauchi Haruki.
In her eyes, Yamauchi Haruki handing over his phone and letting her see those purchase records was no different from a provocation.
"Huh?"
Yamauchi Haruki was even more confused.
"Pinhole cameras and remote-controlled cars... Using the remote-controlled cars to plant the cameras in advance? No wonder no one noticed."
"Pinhole cameras?"
Yamauchi Haruki was momentarily stunned, then suddenly remembered what these items were.
During the summer break, he and a few others had planned to invite some girls to the pool and secretly install cameras in the girls' changing room to record them changing.
Thanks to Saiki's psychic intervention, Yamauchi Haruki and his friends' plan had failed, and over time, Yamauchi Haruki had forgotten about it.
...
Meanwhile, in another classroom in the school building, Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were listening to all of this through the latter's phone speaker.
Earlier, Horikita Suzune had sent them a message to come near the school building and then called them, allowing Saiki and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to overhear her conversation with Kushida Kikyo.
For Saiki, he didn't even need a phone to know what was happening...
But he hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
The various gadgets Yamauchi Haruki had purchased earlier only further cemented his role as the "mastermind"...
Now, Yamauchi Haruki couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
[I remember during the summer break, Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo bought surveillance equipment, right...]
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka began to think. Earlier, Yamauchi Haruki and the others had also contacted Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, wanting him to join their plan, so Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew about it.
[Could it be that Saiki had planned this from the start, deliberately making Yamauchi the scapegoat... Did Saiki foresee this day and act accordingly?]
'I didn't think that far ahead!'
Saiki screamed inwardly.
At first, he just wanted to teach Yamauchi Haruki, who was always trying to pick fights with him, a lesson. He hadn't expected things to escalate like this. Even if he tried to explain now, Kushida Kikyo probably wouldn't believe Yamauchi Haruki was innocent.
Saiki pursed his lips and decided to silently listen to how this would play out.
...
"Huh?!"
Yamauchi Haruki remembered why he had bought those cameras. Originally, the cost was supposed to be split among the group, but for convenience, Yamauchi Haruki had bought them all at once.
Although he didn't understand what Kushida Kikyo was talking about, it definitely wasn't what she thought.
"What?"
Horikita Suzune was also momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected Yamauchi Haruki to have bought such things.
Since Saiki had thwarted the plans of the "idiot trio" and The Professor, the incident had never come to light.
"These were originally meant for..."
Yamauchi Haruki wanted to say something but ultimately swallowed his words.
There was no way he could admit that he had planned to install cameras in the girls' changing room to spy on them.
Not to mention, the former student council president, Horikita Manabu, was present. If the school found out, he would definitely be punished. And if this got out, it would ruin his reputation, making it even harder for him to find a girlfriend at school.
[I can't let this get out. If the school finds out, I might get suspended... And it'll be even harder for me to find a girlfriend!]
'Hey, hey, hey, is that all you're thinking about at a time like this?'
Saiki was completely done with Yamauchi Haruki.
[Maybe I should just say it was Sudo and Ike who wanted to spy on the girls' changing room! Shift the blame onto them... No, that won't work. It still doesn't explain anything, and those guys would probably rat me out too. They're not trustworthy at all.]
'Weren't you the one who was about to sell them out first?!'
In Kushida Kikyo's eyes, Yamauchi Haruki's behavior was tantamount to admitting to everything she had accused him of.
"It seems you've finally decided to stop hiding."
Kushida Kikyo smiled.
"Are you ready to officially declare war on us now?"
"Yamauchi?"
Horikita Suzune's eyes were full of confusion.
[Is it really him? No, I don't think someone like him is capable of this... Is it that Saiki guy who used some method to force Yamauchi to take the fall?]
Horikita Manabu looked thoughtfully at Yamauchi Haruki.
"Since the person in question has already admitted it, the agreement is set. The bet between the three of you is now in effect. I look forward to seeing what happens next."
Horikita Manabu left these words and then exited the classroom.
"Hey, hey, hey, I never agreed to anything!"
Yamauchi Haruki realized he had been dragged into something inexplicable and quickly tried to refuse, but it was too late. The classroom was now empty except for the three of them.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Whatever it is, I'm not involved!"
Yamauchi Haruki hurriedly packed his bag, ready to leave.
"Yamauchi-kun, if you tell anyone about what happened today, I won't let you off the hook!"
Before he left, Kushida Kikyo gave him a murderous smile.
Yamauchi Haruki swallowed nervously. He knew Kushida Kikyo wasn't joking. He could only flee the scene like a scared rabbit.
[Kushida-san... has become so scary...]
'You finally see her true colors, huh?'
Saiki thought to himself.
'This matter is settled now. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with me...'
Just as Saiki was about to leave, Kushida Kikyo's voice came through the phone again.
"I assume Ayanokoji-kun has also heard the entire conversation, right?"
"What?"
Horikita Suzune's face showed a hint of surprise. She hadn't expected Kushida Kikyo to notice that she had secretly called Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"I've been trying to call you, but it kept saying the line was busy. In this class, the only one you're close to is Ayanokoji-kun, right?"
Kushida Kikyo said as she took out her phone.
"Indeed, your observational skills and initiative surpass mine... These are necessary qualities for us to rise to Class A."
Horikita Suzune said seriously.
'Seriously? Even now, you're still thinking about that?'
"In that case, Ayanokoji, Saiki, come over here."
Since her actions had been exposed, Horikita Suzune no longer hid anything and spoke into the phone.
"Saiki? He's here too?"
Kushida Kikyo's eyebrow twitched slightly. She hadn't expected Saiki to be involved in this.
'Hey, hey, hey, don't drag me into this!'
Saiki inwardly screamed in frustration.
But at this point, Saiki had no choice. He could only follow Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to the classroom where the other two were.
"Ayanokoji... Saiki..."
Kushida Kikyo's gaze naturally fell on the two of them.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was close to Horikita Suzune, so his involvement wasn't surprising.
But she hadn't expected Saiki to be here.
[Is Saiki-kun on Horikita's side? If Saiki-kun is here, that means he already knows about my betrayal... Horikita must have told him.]
'Actually, I've known since last semester...'
"Why did you call Ayanokoji-kun and Saiki-kun? I thought our conversation was over. If you're unhappy that I told them without your permission, you can take it up with me."
Horikita Suzune asked.
'Wasn't it you who called me out here?'
Saiki was speechless. He could have just been a bystander, but now he was dragged into this mess.
"I'm not unhappy. I just thought it would be better to tell you my thoughts face-to-face. Since others already know about this, I was thinking if we could add another condition to the bet."
"What?"
"If I win in terms of points, I also want Ayanokoji-kun and Saiki-kun to be expelled."
'Of course!'
Saiki wasn't surprised by Kushida Kikyo's words, but—
'This has nothing to do with me!'
"That's not something we can agree to. This has nothing to do with them."
Horikita Suzune immediately replied.
'Even though you're making sense, wasn't it you who sold me out?'
"From my perspective, anyone who knows about my past should disappear. Even if Horikita-san isn't here, if Ayanokoji-kun stays at the school, the seeds of my troubles will remain—and of course, Saiki-kun too."
"But in that case, I'll join the bet too. Of course, I'm betting on Horikita's side to win."
At that moment, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spoke up.
[To help Horikita grow, we need to eliminate Kushida Kikyo, this virus.]
"Huh? What are you saying, Ayanokoji-kun? This is a battle between me and her. It has nothing to do with you."
"Originally, that was the case. But now I'm involved too—and since I'm here, Kushida, you won't let me off the hook, right?"
"That's right."
'Hey, hey, hey, this has nothing to do with me!'
Saiki knew that even if he tried to explain, it would be pointless.