บท 153: Ch 153. Ah, the Scent of Love Triangle
"Despicable tactics, vile behavior, unwilling to show themselves, only hiding in the shadows to maliciously slander and harm others—people like this are worse than cockroaches in the dark!"
Yukino's expression was icy, her words filled with piercing coldness.
"...I agree with Yukino..." Yuigahama raised her hand in support.
Kotoko Iwanaga sighed softly, standing up straight behind Hoshimi, feeling a bit let down.
She thought there might be some juicy gossip, but it turned out to be nothing more than baseless slander emails full of holes. She had a hundred ways to deal with such problems.
Patting Yukino on the shoulder, Kotoko asked, "Yukinoshita-senpai, are all the requests the Service Club receives like this?"
Yukino glanced at Kotoko from the corner of her eye, her tone indifferent. "No, most requests are more typical problems among high school students. This one is relatively malicious."
"I see..." Kotoko was noticeably disappointed.
After a moment, she perked up again, patting Yukino's shoulder confidently. "Yukinoshita-senpai, let me handle this request as my initiation test. How about it?"
Yukino frowned slightly, turning her head to meet Kotoko's gaze, her expression questioning. "Iwanaga-san, are you sure you can handle it?"
"Yukinoshita-senpai, don't worry. The troubles I usually deal with are a hundred times more complicated than this. This is just a small matter."
Seeing Kotoko's confidence, Yukino said nothing more, nodding slightly in agreement with Kotoko's offer.
"Hmph~ Hmph~" Kotoko leaned down, whispering into Hoshimi's ear, her breath warm, "Hoshimi-senpai, watch how I settle this dispute."
With that, Kotoko pulled out the chair beside Hoshimi and sat down.
Folding her hands on the table, she looked at Hayato Hayama, exuding confidence. "Hayama-san, your request is to find out who's behind these slanderous chain emails, right?"
"No," Hayama shook his head. "I just want the emails to stop."
"Hm?" Kotoko raised an eyebrow, suddenly more intrigued.
She continued, "Hayama-san, what's your relationship with the three victims?"
"They're my friends."
"Friends?" Kotoko's expression became strange as she looked at Hayama and asked, "What kind of friends? Are you all in the same class?"
"We're close friends. We're in the same class."
"I see..." Kotoko pretended to think, her right hand rubbing her chin as she contemplated.
After a while, she looked at Hayama and confirmed, "You're a 'nice guy,' aren't you?"
Hayama smiled wryly, unsure if he should acknowledge the label Hoshimi had given him.
After hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly nodded.
"I see..." Kotoko seemed to understand something.
Resting her right hand on the table, her expression turned subtle. "When faced with emails slandering your friends, your instinct isn't to find the culprit but just to make the emails stop."
"Interesting..." Kotoko observed Hayama's expression as she continued, "This leads to two possible explanations."
"The first is that you and your friends are only friends on the surface. You don't want to offend the person behind the emails, but since this incident has caused a stir, your 'nice guy' nature kicked in, and you want to calm things down without creating a bigger commotion."
Hayama's smile stiffened slightly, his eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly.
"The second..." Kotoko's eyes gleamed with amusement, "You already know who the culprit is, don't you? Or at least, you've narrowed down the suspects."
Hayama's pupils contracted, a hint of astonishment appearing in his eyes.
He remained silent, listening as Kotoko continued.
"You know that if the culprit is exposed, they might not be able to stay at Sobu High, so you're trying to smooth things over."
"Let me guess, the culprit is likely one of the three victims."
As soon as she said this, Hayama's smile froze.
To be precise, ever since Kotoko started laying out her deductions, Hayama had struggled to maintain his smile. By the time she made her final conclusion, his smile had completely stiffened.
"It seems I've hit the mark."
Kotoko smiled faintly as she observed Hayama's subtle expressions.
Raising her right hand, she held up an index finger and continued, "Initially, when I learned that you were friends with the victims but didn't want to find the culprit, I suspected that the person behind the chain emails might be you."
"It was odd, you see. Your friends were being slandered, but you didn't want to find the culprit and give them a beating—that's not how a typical high school boy would think."
"So when something abnormal happens, there's always a reason. I started to wonder if you might be the one behind it all."
"After all, I've seen quite a few cases where the thief cries 'thief.'"
"But since Hoshimi kept calling you 'nice guy,' I figured it might not be that simple."
"Hoshimi's good at reading people. If he calls you a 'good guy,' it's probably sarcastic. But if he says 'nice guy,' he is also being sarcastic but..."
"Kotoko." Hoshimi smiled, interrupting Kotoko as he reached out and pinched her cheek, gently saying, "I wasn't being sarcastic when I called Hayama a 'nice guy.' You shouldn't twist the facts."
"Yes, yes, I get it..." Kotoko's words were garbled as her cheek was pinched.
She lightly tapped Hoshimi's hand, her eyes pleading for mercy.
Hoshimi let go, then casually began to knead her soft cheek like dough.
"Senpai, I'm seriously trying to handle this issue... you're being..." Kotoko's voice trailed off as Hoshimi gently cupped her face, preventing her from continuing.
"Mmph~ Mmph~" Kotoko's small hands flailed in the air, much like a damsel in distress searching for a lifeline.
Watching the two of them playfully interact, Hayama glanced at Yukino, who had a frosty expression, in surprise.
Beside him, Yuigahama's eyes widened in disbelief.
Hikigaya, nestled on the sofa, continued to diminish his presence. It seemed he had already glimpsed the future of the Service Club...
As for Yukino, she gazed at Hoshimi with a frosty expression, coldly saying, "Hoshimi, don't interrupt Iwanaga-san while she's handling the issue."
Yukino's voice was so icy that it seemed ready to freeze the air, causing Hoshimi to pause.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat, nonchalantly withdrawing his hand as he nodded in agreement. "Right, I understand. The request takes priority."
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