Chapter 27:
The Whimsical Matchmaking Brigade
“Okay, moving on,” Mai said, bringing everyone back to the original subject. “So, I think we should start by analyzing the letters.”
She took out two envelopes, one from her bag and one from the table.
“They both are written in the same handwriting. I don’t see any differences.”
“I agree,” Ryota said. “But this isn’t much information to work with. If we’re looking for a culprit, we need more than this.”
“I know. That’s why I wanted to analyze them!”
“Ok, chill!”
“Um, can I say something?” Yuki said, raising her hand.
“Later.”
“No.”
“Fine. But it’s important.”
“No.”
“Later.”
Yuki got shut down twice before she could even speak.
She looked at Mai and Ryota, who were arguing again.
She turned to Sato.
“You want to see a magic trick?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“A magic trick!”
Her inner devil was triggered, and it began whispering in her ear.
“Watch how I make Mai’s face blushes in 5 seconds.”
“Sure, let’s see what happens,” Sato replied, not even trying to stop her.
Yuki smiled at him and turned to the couple.
“Okay, watch this,” she said.
Her eyes were glowing. Her brain was on fire. She was a goddess of chaos.
A smirk appeared on her lips, and a few seconds later, she made her move.
“Mai honey, don’t you think Ryota’s eyes are beautiful?”
“Huh?”
“I think they’re very cute!”
She stared into Ryota’s eyes.
“Um... Um.”
“What’s wrong Mai? Is there something on your mind?”
“Uh... um...”
Feigning innocence, she approached Mai, staring deep into her blue eyes.
“Oh no. Don’t tell me you have a crush on Ryota. Oh my god! That’s so adorable!”
“N-no! It’s not like that!”
Mai blushed and turned away.
“S-Sato...”
Yuki jumped up, turning to him with an ear-to-ear smile.
“Sato, Sato! Did you see it? Did you see it?”
“Four and a half seconds... impressive.”
“Praise me more!”
Sato sighed. He shook his head.
He glanced at Mai and Ryota, sitting across from him.
They were both red, staring at the floor, unable to look at each other.
Hatsumi watched the whole thing, biting her lower lip to suppress her laughter.
Yuki’s attempt was a success.
After an hour of investigation, everyone concluded they couldn’t find anything new in the letters.
They had no suspects.
It was just a waste of time.
Mai sighed, rubbing her forehead.
“We should end it for today,” she said.
“Yes, let’s do that,” Yuki replied.
Everyone agreed, and soon they started leaving the room.
Mai was the last one to exit. She stopped for a moment, glancing at Ryota.
“I know you’re going to say something,” he said.
“Yes, I am. We should go out tomorrow.”
“But...”
“I want to go on another date,” she said, blushing slightly.
“Why?”
“I want to talk to you... just the two of us.”
“I guess this has something to do with the previous date, right?”
She nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor.
“Okay. Fine.”
She smiled at him, turning away.
“See you tomorrow, Ryota!”
He watched her leave, sighing.
He had a bad feeling about this.
****
It was night, and Ryota was in his room.
He was staring at his computer, looking at the screen.
It was on, and a video was playing.
An anonymous person filmed and shared the video online.
It was a video of Hashiba’s fight with the other guy from the other school.
Ryota was watching the video. Despite the slight blurriness, he could still discern everything.
He watched Hashiba getting punched in the face. He saw his nose bleeding.
It made him angry.
He was about to click the close button when he noticed Hashiba’s expression.
He didn’t seem upset.
He didn’t look like a guy who got punched in the face.
Instead, he looked happy.
His grin was radiant and expansive, and he appeared to be enjoying himself.
What was this guy thinking?
He didn’t care what happened to him. He wasn’t afraid of getting in trouble.
Ryota was completely clueless about the thoughts going through his mind.
He wanted to find out.
He was curious.
He thought about everything that had happened recently.
Everything seemed to revolve around Hashiba, the letters, and the student council.
He rewound the video, watching it again.
The fight began after the other guy confessed to Izumi Tanaka.
Ryota thought about the situation.
If he were in Hashiba’s position, he would be nervous.
Wait a second!
What was the purpose of recording the confession part?
Why would anyone record a love confession, a love confession that ended with a fight?
Was it planned? Or was it just a coincidence?
No! It was too good for a coincidence!
It was planned that the fight would happen.
Someone set up this entire thing.
Someone filmed the confession and planned everything.
Ryota stopped the video, getting out of his chair.
He walked across the room, opened his door, stepping into the hallway.
He walked to the end of the hallway, reaching a large window.
The moon was full. The night sky was dark.
The stars were twinkling in the sky.
The young man opened the window, allowing a chilly breeze to enter the room.
Ryota’s gaze shifted outside, at the street below.
It was dark and empty. There was no one around.
The street was hushed, as if the entire world had dozed off.
He looked up, staring at the stars in the sky.
There were too many of them.
They filled the sky with a thick blanket of glitter.
He thought about everything that had happened in the past.
It took him a few seconds to conclude that the student who filmed the confession was the same person who planned the entire thing.
He had to be the culprit.
But the question was: Who?
There were few possibilities, but they were very slim.
Among his friends, only a few were smart enough to accomplish something like this.
As a starting point, he eliminated Mai because she wasn’t at school during the fight.
He also omitted Sato from consideration, as he was in his company during that period.
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