The class was temporarily excited but quickly returned back to reality. Like yesterday, they were trying to get information about witnesses.

On the other hand, I was standing in the back of a room like a ghost, feeling admiration for Ikes group and Kushida for being able to casually converse back and forth.

It was as clear as day that I, who cant even talk coherently, wasnt fit for the job of looking for witnesses. How can they talk so easily to strangers? Theyre monsters.

During the investigation, they gathered not only names but also asked for contact addresses. Kushidas presence probably prompted them to tell her their addresses immediately after being asked. Thats also a great talent

Even though Kushida and her group were walking to the second-year classrooms and asking all the upperclassmen, there havent been any leads.

As time kept ticking, the number of students left after school was rapidly decreasing. When we stopped passing by other students, we decided to call it a day.

We didnt find anything today either

In order to revise our strategy, everyone returned to my room.

Soon after, Sudou came by and joined in the discussion.

What happened today? Was there any progress made?

Sadly, no progress was made. Sudou, was there actually a witness?

I understand Ikes feelings of doubt. Even after the school reported the same information, there was no indication at all that a witness actually existed.

Hah? I never said that there actually was a witness. I only said that I thought there was a witness.

Is is that so?

Certainly, Sudou-kun didnt say I saw. He said that he thought someone was there.

Couldnt that just have been a hallucination? You must be doing some strong drugs.

No, thats a bit too far Sudou put Ike in a headlock.

Hey! I give, I give!

While the two fooled around, Kushida and Yamauchi were still puzzling over the situation.

After the discussion continued on for ten minutes, Kushida spoke up, having come up with a new idea.

I think it might be better to change the direction of our efforts. For example, lets look for a witness that mightve witnessed the incident.

Look for a witness that witnessed the incident? Isnt that kind of useless?

Are you going to look for the people who went into the building that day?

Yeah. What do you think?

The ideas not bad. There mightve been a few people that entered the building on that day, but the entrance is pretty easy to spot. In other words, if someone says that they saw a person entering the special building, we would be getting closer to finding the witness.

That sounds like a good idea. Lets do that immediately.

When I noticed, Sudou was using up his stamina on a mobile game he got addicted to recently. It looked like it was called the Generation of Miracles something, but I didnt really know what was happening. After winning the match, he made a triumphant pose.[1]

Even though Sudou really couldnt do anything in the present situation, Ike and Yamauchi look disgruntled. However, since they were scared of Sudous counter-attack, they decided not to point out their own dissatisfaction. Both of them stayed silent, pretending not to have seen anything.

Its almost Friday already. Itll be difficult to get anything useful on the weekend.

In other words, the actual time we have to find a witness is very short.

The bell rang and a visitor appeared at my door.

The small group of people that regularly visit my room have already gathered, so it was probably that person.

Has progress been made?

Horikita asked with a condescending attitude even though she probably knew the answer to her own question.

No not yet.

Im only saying this because its you, but I have something

While she was talking, she realized there were a lot of shoes lined up at the doorway.

She turned around and held herself back in a panic.

Kushida popped out, probably worried that she would head back quickly.

Oh, Horikita-san!

Kushida waved at Horikita with a smile. Looking at her cheerful attitude, Horikita naturally let out a sigh.

You cant run now, you know?

Seems that way

Horikita entered the room reluctantly.

O-oh, Horikita!

Of course, Sudou was the happiest to see her. He put his game on pause and looked up.

Did you decide to help? Im glad you decided to join.

I dont intend to help. After all, you havent found the witness yet, right?.

Kushida nodded her head dejectedly.

If you didnt come to help, whyd you come?

I was wondering what kind of plan you guys had.

Im happy even if youre only going to listen to the plan. I wanted advice as well.

Kushida then told her about the plan that she came up with a short while ago. Horikitas expression was stiff throughout the whole explanation.

Its not a bad plan. It might even produce results with enough time.

Time is definitely the issue here. Its doubtful if well be able to get anything done in the few days we have remaining.

Now that Ive checked up on the situation, Ill be leaving.

In the end, Horikita decided to leave without even sitting down.

Did you think of something?

When she was standing at the door earlier, she clearly had something to say.

Shes not that amicable to have come to my room for no reason.

Ill give one piece of advice to help your weak efforts. Its hard to see whats right in front of you, after all. If there really is someone that witnessed the incident, then that person is most likely close by.

The information that Horikita gave us was much more significant than I thought it would be.

Shes talking as if she already found the witness we werent sure existed in the first place.

What do you mean, Horikita? Are you saying you found the witness?

Surprise and doubt came first before joy for Sudou. Its understandable.

Everyone, including me, was in disbelief until she replied.

Sakura-san.

An unexpected name came from Horikita.

Sakura-san, from our class?

Yamauchi and Sudou exchanged glances. They looked confused as to who Sakura was. That was probably expected, though. I also had to think about it for a bit.

The witness is that girl.

Why do you say that?

When Kushida-san was asking the class for witnesses, she looked down. A lot of the students were looking at Kushida-san, but she was the only one that looked uninterested. She wouldnt have acted that way if she actually was unrelated to the incident.

I didnt notice at all. Horikitas powers of observations are really impressive.

Since youre one of the people that were staring at Kushida-san, its only natural.

What a sarcastic tone.

So, youre saying that this Sakura, Kokura something person is probably the witness?

Sudou said something reasonable, unlike the role of a boke.

No, Sakura-san is definitely the witness. Her actions made it obvious. Although she may not admit it, shes who youre looking for.

Horikita was acting like her usual self.

All of us were moved that Horikita was doing this for the class.

Did you really do this for my sake!

Sudou looked especially moved.

Nope. I just didnt want to waste this time and look shameful to the other classes. Thats all.

Um, so in short, youre saying that you helped us right?

You can interpret it however you want, but Im just saying that youre wrong.

Dont lie~. Youre just a tsundere, Horikita~

Ike hit Horikitas shoulders playfully, but she threw his arm onto the ground.

Ouch!

Dont touch me. There better not be a next time, because Ill despise you until we graduate.

I-I wont touch even if I tried to touch Ow, ow!

She pinned him down in a headlock. Unfortunate, but he deserved it.

At any rate, those werent the movements of a normal girl. Since her older brother does karate and aikido, does she do martial arts too?

My a-arm is!

Ike-kun.

Horikita talked to Ike, who was on the floor in pain. Isnt this just overkill?

Should I revise it to, Despising you until we graduate wont cut it?

Uu! Sho cruel!

Ike was defeated by those final words.

But Sakura, huh Of all people, it was a class D student.

Its hard to say whether or not this is a good thing.

Isnt that great, Sudou? If its a class D student, we definitely have testimony!

Yeah. Im happy that there is a witness, but who is this Sakura person? Do you know her?

Yamauchi replied in surprise.

Are you being serious? She sits right behind you.

No, thats wrong. Shes diagonally in front of you to the left, right?

Both of you are wrong shes diagonally in front of Sudou-kun to the right.

Kushida corrected them with a pout.

Diagonally in front to the right I dont remember. I do know that there is someone though.

Thats obviously a given. If the seat diagonally in front to the right was empty, that would be strange.

This girl, Sakura, certainly doesnt stand out. Its a big problem that we dont know who she is.

I probably know her, but I dont exactly know where Ive heard her name.

I cant quite put my finger on it.

Tell us how she looks like.

Well, would it help if I say that she has the biggest boobs in the class? Excessively big, you know?

Ike, who looked lively again, told us her physical characteristics, but I dont know who she is with that explanation.

Oh, that plain glasses girl, huh?

Howd you understand with just that? I drew back a bit.

Its bad to remember people like that, Ike-kun. Thats pathetic.

N-No, its different, Kushida-chan. Im not trying to be offensive. You know how you might remember a tall person by their height? Its just like that! The only difference is that Im remembering other people by a different characteristic!

Ike tried to smooth over the situation when Kushida quickly lost faith in him. But its too late.

Damn it! Its different, its different! I dont like a plan girl like her! Dont misunderstand!

No, I dont think there are any misunderstandings here.

Everyone else shifted the topic towards Sakura as Ike broke down crying.

Then the next step is to find out how much Sakura-san knows. Does anyone know?

Hmm, Im not sure. Well have to ask her directly.

Cant we go to her room right now? We dont have much time.

The proposal from Yamauchi seems safe, but it also depends on her personality and character.

Sakura is an unusually shy girl. If people she didnt know very well suddenly appeared at her doorstep, its easy to imagine that she would be confused.

Then should we call her?

Speaking of which, I forgot that Kushida has everyones contact addresses in the class.

Kushida was on the phone for 20 seconds, but she shook her head and put her phone away.

No, it didnt connect. Ill try again later, but its a difficult matter.

What do you mean?

She told me her contact address, but I think shell be annoyed if I try to contact her, especially since she doesnt know me very well. Also, I dont think she was actually there to pick up the phone.

She might also be pretending to be gone.

So shes kinda like Horikita?

Why would you even think to ask that in front of the person herself, Ike?

She probably wouldnt mind. Rather, it didnt seem like she was interested in what Ike was saying either.

Goodbye.

Ah, Horikita-san!

Looking like she was caught off guard, Horikita quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

By the time I got up and chased after her, I heard the sound of the door closing.

Tsundere.

Sudou looked happy as he laughed, scratching his nose with his index finger.

She doesnt have tsun, nor does she have dere. I think shes a lost cause No tsun, no dere.

Since we couldnt do anything about Horikitas absence, the conversation continued without her.

I think Sakura-sans just a shy person. Thats the impression I get from her.

Its strange to talk about a persons character without ever having talked to them before.

Anyway, shes plain. Its a complete waste of what she has.

While talking, Yamauchi gestured towards his breasts.

Yea, yea. Her boobs are super big, though. Thats cute by itself!

Ike seems to have already forgotten the regret he felt a few seconds ago and started to get excited.

Ah, but Kushida had a strained smile. Noticing her expression, Ike regretted his words once again.

This is a perfect example of a living being that keeps repeating its mistakes.

The problem is that even though Im staying quiet, I feel like Im getting treated the same way as Ike and Yamauchi. Kushida expression seems to say, Youre also obsessed with the boobs, right? You pervert. Of course, this is my own persecution complex.

Um, about Sakuras face Nope, dont remember anything.

I can barely match the name to the face. I remember seeing her face back when we were doing the bets. I also remember her breasts, though. Somehow, it seems like Im just the same as the others

Sakura gives off the impression that she would always be alone and hunched over.

Which reminds me, I dont know if she actually talks to anyone. How about you, Yamauchi? Wait, wait a second Yamauchi, you said that you confessed to her before, right? Were you able to talk to her?

Oh right, Yamauchi did say that he confessed.

Ah, ah. Well, I dont remember if I did such a thing.

Yamauchi pretended to have forgotten.

Was it a lie

Bah. No, I wasnt lying. It was a misunderstanding. It wasnt Sakura, it was a girl from the neighboring class. A girl who isnt as ugly and gloomy as Sakura. Oh, sorry, give me a sec.

Yamauchi dodged the question and took out his phone.

Sakura may be plain, but shes not ugly. Ive never looked at her face directly, but she has pretty nice facial features.

But even then, I cant say with confidence because she has such a thin presence.

First of all, Ill try to talk to her by myself tomorrow. She might be wary if there are a lot of people.

That sounds good.

If Kushida isnt able to get through to her, probably no one can.