COTE : Backed By Black Technology System

While Kanda Shuichi and the others were having lunch, the school broadcast suddenly came on. 

**"Lost item notice: First-year Class D's Horikita Suzune lost a personal belonging inside the facility today. If anyone finds it, please go to Pool No. 3 and look for Horikita Suzune. She will offer a reward."** 

... 

Hearing this strange announcement, Kanda Shuichi's eyebrow twitched. He already knew Horikita Suzune was bold, but he hadn't expected her to be this bold. 

After exchanging a glance with Kamuro, the two quickly finished eating. Kamuro headed to Pool No. 3 to find Horikita Suzune, while Kanda Shuichi quietly returned the screwdriver Kamuro had been carrying all morning to Ike's backpack. 

At Pool No. 3, Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka sat side by side at the edge, waiting for someone to show up. 

"Was that your doing?" 

Hearing the familiar voice, Horikita and Ayanokouji turned their heads at the same time and saw Kamuro Masumi standing about three meters away, wrapped in a towel. 

Since it was lunchtime, there weren't many people around. Even if they talked about these things openly, no one else would overhear. 

"What are you talking about, Kamuro?" 

"Don't play dumb. I'm talking about the remote-controlled car. The only person who would make a public announcement like that must be the one who realized the memory card was missing from the car." 

That confirmed it. At this point, Horikita and Ayanokouji were almost certain that the person who had taken the remote-controlled car before Horikita could get to it—and removed the memory card and camera—was Kamuro Masumi. 

"Did Kanda ask you to do this?" 

Kamuro glanced at Ayanokouji, then answered without hesitation. 

"I didn't tell Shuichi about this." 

"You and Kanda know each other well? I don't recall seeing you two interact before." Horikita voiced her confusion, which had been bothering her all day. 

"Shuichi and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He just doesn't remember me anymore." 

"He doesn't remember?" 

"That's part of Shuichi's personal matters. I'm not in a position to explain." Kamuro had no intention of answering more of Horikita's questions. "I'll ask again—was that remote-controlled car yours?" 

"Unfortunately, it wasn't made by me. But could you return the memory card for Kanda's sake?" 

Ayanokouji shook his head, indicating that the car wasn't his work. 

"If you don't want to return it, destroying it works too." 

"Hah, so you're Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, huh? You're really calculating. You should already know why I didn't tell Shuichi about this." 

Kamuro smirked sarcastically. 

"The remote-controlled car was placed in the ventilation shaft beneath the first-year changing rooms. This facility has separate changing rooms assigned to each grade. 

That means the only ones who could've done it are first-years. Considering what you guys have been up to and the reputation of some Class D students, I'd say it was one of your classmates. Maybe even those two idiots you came here with today. 

After all, their bags seemed suspiciously heavy this morning." 

Kamuro's analysis was spot on. 

It wasn't surprising. Once you knew the result, going back to analyze the process and connecting it with the clues from today made it easy to reach these conclusions. 

Kamuro Masumi's words made Horikita Suzune feel uneasy. 

Was every student in Class A this strong? 

Meanwhile, Class D still had a bunch of dead weight. 

What's that saying again? You don't fear a godlike opponent—you fear a pig-like teammate! 

And when the enemy specifically targets your worst teammate, by the time you get your first item, they're already fully geared up. How are you supposed to win like that? 

"What do you want?" 

That one sentence showed that Horikita Suzune had already given in. The flow of the conversation was now completely under Kamuro Masumi's control. 

"It's simple. Hand over the 20 million private points Shuichi didn't take from Class D. Also, you're not allowed to tell Shuichi about this. If you do, I'll hand the evidence over to the school, even if it means giving up the points." 

Horikita Suzune's expression darkened. She had planned to tell Kanda Shuichi so he could step in and get the evidence back from Kamuro. But Kamuro shut down that option the moment she started talking. 

"Why should we trust you?" 

"You don't have to trust me. But you don't have a choice, do you?" Kamuro Masumi had been in control of the negotiation from the start. "I'll give you half a day. Give me an answer before the park closes." 

"That's impossible! That money belongs to the whole class, not just me. I can't make that decision alone." 

Horikita refused Kamuro's demand. At this point, all she wanted was to buy some time so she could ask Hirata and Kanda Shuichi how to deal with this. 

Even if she wasn't allowed to tell Kanda Shuichi who had the evidence, she could at least bring up the issue. 

"Fine. School starts tomorrow anyway. You can discuss it within your class and give me an answer by 5 PM. Waiting another day doesn't matter to me. Shuichi's still waiting for me, so I'm leaving." 

As she watched Kamuro walk away, Horikita Suzune let her shoulders drop in frustration. 

"What should we do?" 

"I want to ask Kanda's opinion first," Ayanokouji said, sitting up from the poolside. 

"Make sure you don't spill too much," Horikita Suzune warned him seriously. 

"Don't worry. I'll be careful." 

At noon, when they returned to the locker room, Kanda Shuichi put his phone away. Since he had come all the way to the pool, he figured he might as well go for a swim. 

But while everyone else was having fun, Kanda Shuichi was still learning how to swim. 

Ever since his health had improved, he had been trying to do more physical activities. It was still exhausting, but at least he didn't collapse as easily as before. 

An hour later, Kanda Shuichi climbed out of the pool. 

Kamuro was a great teacher, but he was a slow learner. 

Not his fault, though. How was he supposed to focus when a gorgeous girl in a swimsuit was standing in front of him, holding his hands, and teaching him how to swim? 

"I need a break. Masumi, go have fun on your own for a bit." 

He had no choice. That bastard Ayanokouji had been staring at him for a while now. He probably had a lot to say. 

"Got something to tell me? You've been watching me for a long time." 

Back on shore, Kanda Shuichi dried his hair with a towel, took a sip of his drink from the table, and lay down on the beach chair. 

"Kamuro's acting on your orders, isn't she?" 

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kanda Shuichi's face showed confusion at Ayanokouji's words. 

"Stop pretending. After you left the locker room this morning, you went to see Kamuro alone. After that, Kamuro disappeared for a while." Ayanokouji spoke expressionlessly. "And during that time, the memory card from the remote-controlled car went missing. Kamuro may be good at acting, but she still made mistakes." 

Seeing that Kanda Shuichi remained silent, Ayanokouji continued, "When Horikita refused to answer her, Kamuro was clearly caught off guard. She recovered quickly, but that reaction showed that Horikita's response was completely unexpected for her—or rather, for you." 

"And you, Kanda, back on the deserted island during summer break, you predicted Horikita's actions, didn't you?" 

After hearing Ayanokouji's analysis, Kanda Shuichi muttered, "You're really good at this, huh?" 

"So, you're admitting it?" 

Ayanokouji stood next to Kanda Shuichi, staring blankly at the pool ahead. 

"Yeah, that's right. Masumi was following my orders. So, what are you going to do? Report me to Horikita?" Kanda Shuichi said casually. "I wasn't joking when I had Masumi take the evidence." 

"You mean handing it over to the school?" 

"Exactly. If Horikita wants the memory card back through me, I'll have Masumi give it to the student council president right away. I don't need to tell you what'll happen then, do I?" 

If the school found out, at least one of Ike or Yamauchi would be expelled. And if that happened, I probably wouldn't be safe either. 

After thinking for a moment, Ayanokouji looked at Kanda Shuichi. 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Because I think I made a mistake." 

Kanda Shuichi spoke calmly while watching Yamauchi and Ike play around in the pool, acting as if nothing was wrong. 

"A mistake?" 

"Yeah, I messed up. I shouldn't have let Class D keep a safety net, because I don't think everyone in Class D deserves it. Don't you agree, Ayanokouji?" 

"Or do you really think people like Ike and Yamauchi deserve to use it?" 

Kanda Shuichi's words made Ayanokouji Kiyotaka fall silent, because he also believed that those two didn't deserve it. 

"So, you decided to give the safety net to Class A?" 

"Are you joking? I gave it to Masumi, not to Class A." 

"I see. I understand now." 

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka closed his mouth. Based on their conversation, he had already figured out that he was safe. 

Since Kanda Shuichi was willing to reveal himself as the mastermind, it meant he had no intention of targeting Ayanokouji. 

That also meant that once Kamuro got the twenty million points, she wouldn't use the evidence to expose Class D. And that meant Ayanokouji wouldn't be dragged into it. 

Kanda Shuichi's real targets were just those two idiots, Yamauchi and Ike. 

Or rather, once this incident passed, even if someone tried to dig it up again, Ayanokouji wouldn't be held responsible—because he really hadn't done anything. 

The tools were prepared by the professor. The plan was carried out by Ike. The cover-up was done by Yamauchi. 

What did any of that have to do with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka? 

As long as tomorrow's class meeting made it clear that Yamauchi and Ike were the masterminds, the others wouldn't be affected. 

What was Ayanokouji's crime? He simply failed to stop Ike and Yamauchi. 

And with Horikita backing him up, there was no way the blame would fall on him.

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