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Although Ryuuen was forced to consider renting surveillance, a question always bothered him: How did the person who sold him the surveillance get his contact information?
Because he demanded tributes from his classmates, he'd indeed exchanged contact information with everyone in his class during the first week.
But from beginning to end, he'd never added anyone from other classes as a friend.
Thinking about it this way, the answer was obvious—his contact information had been leaked by a classmate.
So he questioned everyone in the class one by one, and under threat of force, a girl finally couldn't bear the pressure and told the truth: A few days ago, Ichinose from first-year Class B had suddenly asked her for Ryuuen's contact information.
"Traitor!" Ryuuen's face instantly darkened. He hated this kind of backstabbing behavior the most.
His raised hand was about to fall, but Ibuki stopped him in time.
"Stop! Ryuuen! She just gave out contact information, it wasn't intentional!"
"It's you again!" Ryuuen's eyes flashed with cold light. "I hate traitors the most!"
At this moment, Shiina slowly stepped forward and calmly said, "Ryuuen-kun, since the other party specifically came to ask for your contact information, it proves that they're not a student from our class. This is actually good news for our class, isn't it?"
"..." Ryuuen was stunned for a moment, having to admit that Shiina's words made sense. Although he'd long ruled out the suspicion of these "cowards" in his class, such meticulous logical analysis still made him look at her with higher regard.
Speaking of which, the person with the best grades in their class was Shiina, right in front of him.
She was also one of only two people in Class C who used their brains.
"Ryuuen!" Ibuki irritably ran a hand through her hair. "Shiina has already explained everything to me! Even though I hate you, Class C really needs you right now!" She gritted her teeth. "I'll transfer eighty thousand private points to you, but you have to let her go!"
"Hmph~ Have you finally learned your lesson?!" Ryuuen sneered, withdrawing his hand as his phone chimed with a transfer notification.
He stared at the screen, pondering for a moment, then a playful smile spread across his face. "Alright, I can let her go."
"You..." Ibuki was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"But!" Ryuuen's tone shifted, his sharp gaze locking onto Shiina. "Shiina, since you're so smart, why don't you help me find out the identity of this mysterious person? Who exactly are they?! As long as you agree to my condition, I'll let bygones be bygones."
Shiina barely hesitated. "I agree. After all, this can be considered a contribution to the class."
She tilted her head slightly, thinking for a moment, then added, "Deduction requires information. I need more details. Tell me all the clues you know, and also..." She paused. "The people you find most suspicious. Oh! Ichinose from Class 1-B is currently a breakthrough, I'll investigate her later."
A glint flashed in Ryuuen's eyes, and a dangerous curve appeared on his lips. "Good... First, go investigate that woman named Sakayanagi Arisu." He lowered his voice, each word seemingly squeezed through his teeth. "Her father is the current chairman. Such a position... makes it very convenient to pull some strings."
Ryuuen just watched Ichinose in front of him.
'Speaking of which, there's another possibility: the mysterious person could be her.'
'But she doesn't really look like it.'
'Besides, coming to the Student Council at this time... Could she also be...'
However, since he'd already entrusted the investigation of the mysterious person to Shiina, he couldn't be bothered to rack his brains over it anymore.
He personally still leaned toward the answer being Sakayanagi.
After all, she had a chairman for a father.
When Sakayanagi came to her senses, Katsuragi was already standing in front of her.
"Sakayanagi, please give me the class funds. According to the distribution, I'm holding one point five million points, and you should have the same amount."
At the class meeting a week ago, all Class A students unanimously decided to contribute three-quarters of their private points as class funds.
This fund was equally distributed to Katsuragi and Sakayanagi for safekeeping, for unforeseen needs.
At this moment, facing the need to rent surveillance access, the two of them and their classmates discussed for two full days before reaching a consensus: they had to come up with three million to rent the surveillance.
Katsuragi volunteered to go to the Student Council to pay these points.
"I understand..." Sakayanagi remained silent for a moment, then transferred all the points from her account.
Katsuragi stared at the number displayed on the terminal, his brows suddenly furrowing. "Wait... why is it only one point four five million? Where did the other fifty thousand go?"
His voice suddenly rose, drawing the attention of several classmates nearby. "Sakayanagi, you didn't... misappropriate class funds, did you?"
"Do you think the hidden information I obtained earlier was free?" Sakayanagi paused, slightly raising her chin, her tone carrying an undeniable chill. "That cost me a full fifty thousand points, bought from an upperclassman. Doesn't that count as an expense for the class? Is there a problem with me using this portion of the class funds?"
Katsuragi was stunned. He then realized that his earlier questioning was indeed a bit rash—at the beginning of the school year, Sakayanagi had indeed shared important information about loopholes in the school rules, and that certainly couldn't have come out of nowhere.
"...I see." His tone softened, even carrying a hint of apology. "My apologies, I didn't think it through."
He'd originally thought that, given Sakayanagi's self-willed personality, she might have privately misappropriated class funds.
But now it seemed she was indeed acting for the class.
After a brief silence, Katsuragi cleared his throat, trying to ease the awkwardness. "Then, let's have each student privately send me one thousand two hundred fifty points! I'll cover your share, Sakayanagi."
Without waiting for Sakayanagi's response, he turned and strode away, his back slightly hurried, as if eager to escape the scene where he'd made a misjudgment.
Sakayanagi stood quietly in place, watching Katsuragi's back disappear at the end of the corridor.
The composed, faint smile still lingered on her lips, but it quickly stiffened.
'That was a close call...'
Miss Sakayanagi was somewhat sweating at this moment.
What buying information with class funds? It was simply a made-up excuse.
In reality, she simply ran out of points, as her points were lost to Akira on the first day of school.
During this time, she'd indeed subconsciously treated the class funds as a private account.
Buying limited-edition black tea, acquiring new chess sets, and even replacing the grip on her cane with the latest model... It must be said, it felt quite comfortable to hold.
Every expense was naturally deducted from the class funds.
'So, who exactly is that mysterious person? Could it be Shimizu-kun?'
"Still too little information..."
Katsuragi should be handling the procedures right now, perhaps he could bring back some clues.
After all, purchasing services through the Student Council would inevitably leave a trace.
A more direct option suddenly flashed in her mind: if she just sent a message to her father, the chairman, the truth might be within reach.
Since it was purchasing access from the school authorities, her father would surely know something.
"Let's not," she suddenly chuckled softly.
This game had only just begun—she enjoyed the pleasure of uncovering the mystery herself even more.