"Ahahaha~"

  Watching Yamauchi Haruki run his mouth with reckless abandon, Horikita Suzune clenched her fist tightly.

  She couldn’t take it anymore!

  With a cold expression, Horikita turned to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka and ordered,

  "Hey, go grab something and block the security camera."

  "Uh… What exactly are you pnning to do?"

  "Less talking, more moving. Now!"

  Horikita’s fury had already reached the breaking point.

  ...

  Once everything was set—

  Without a word, Horikita walked straight up to Yamauchi.

  Seeing her grim expression, Yamauchi stammered,

  "W-what do you think you’re doing?! I-I’m not afraid of you…!"

  And then—

  BAM! BAM! BAM!

  With a few swift, decisive moves, she knocked Yamauchi to the ground.

  Brushing off her hands, she looked down at him and scoffed,

  "You can’t even beat me, yet you think you took down three guys from Css C? Yamauchi, have you been sleeping too much and started dreaming?"

  After throwing down that parting remark, she returned to her seat, leaving Yamauchi sprawled on the floor.

  "……"

  For a brief moment, the entire Css D was silent.

  Then, an uproarious cheer erupted.

  "Nice one, Horikita! He needed that beating!"

  "Horikita-san, that was amazing!"

  "Well done! I’ll let the whole contract thing slide now."

  ...

  Yamauchi, still lying on the ground, stared bnkly at his hands, his eyes filled with confusion.

  "W-wait… Was I really just… dreaming…?"

  But the stinging pain across his body quickly shattered that illusion.

  No, this wasn’t a dream.

  That meant…

  Everything had been fake.

  Everything had been a lie.

  Refusing to accept reality, Yamauchi colpsed to his knees, gripping his hands in despair.

  "My superpower…!"

  Meanwhile, the rest of Css D let out a collective sigh of relief—finally, this ridiculous farce was over.

  That scene just now made one thing painfully clear:

  Yamauchi was pced in Css D for a reason.

  But… that also meant…

  From the school’s perspective, they were all considered the same level as him.

  ...

  "No, this isn’t over yet," Horikita growled through clenched teeth. "We still haven’t dealt with the real culprit behind this."

  To come up with something this disgusting to mess with her—this was no longer just css competition.

  This was outright war.

  "Horikita, just a reminder—our css points are already in the negatives, so we won’t get penalized any further. At worst, Yamauchi might get suspended."

  "No. Even if this whole mess was ultimately because Yamauchi is a complete idiot, letting ourselves get bullied without retaliation isn’t my style."

  Horikita’s tone was firm.

  "Then what do you pn to do? Even if Yamauchi doesn’t look like someone who could take on three guys, the current evidence overwhelmingly favors Css C."

  Ayanokōji paused for a moment, as if recalling something completely incomprehensible.

  "More importantly… he already admitted to it."

  Horikita fell silent.

  Given Yamauchi’s stelr reputation, there was no way they could expect Css D to keep quiet about his confession.

  Lowering her head in frustration, she muttered,

  "The only thing we can do now is find evidence—or a witness—whose testimony contradicts Css C’s."

  Since all existing evidence pointed toward Yamauchi, their only option was to uncover something new.

  But that was easier said than done.

  Even with Hirata’s help, there was no guarantee they would find anything.

  Css C might have already wiped out any traces of counterevidence.

  "If we run out of options… we’ll have to go to that guy in Css B. If it’s about messing with Css C… he might be somewhat interested. Not to mention, he’s the vice president of the student council."

  Horikita ground her teeth.

  She had just managed to cut ties with him, and now she had to go back to ask for help?

  "Hmm, that could work. But Horikita… do you even have him added as a contact?"

  Everyone knew that Uesugi was like a rare NPC that randomly spawned on the map.

  If you didn’t follow the correct sequence of events, you couldn’t summon him.

  Horikita turned toward Ayanokōji in disbelief.

  "Don’t tell me you didn’t add him either?"

  The air grew eerily quiet.

  "……"

  ---

  "That’s the situation. I wanted to ask if any of your Css B students witnessed anything, or if they know someone who did."

  Horikita addressed Ichinose and Kanzaki with a serious expression.

  As for why she wasn’t asking Uesugi directly—

  Because he was impossible to find.

  The moment css ended, he vanished into thin air.

  "Hmm…"

  Ichinose rested her chin on her hand, contempting.

  Then, with a bright smile, she nodded.

  "Sure! We’ll help!"

  "It’s best to put a stop to this kind of thing quickly," Kanzaki added. "If we let it fester, it might even affect us in Css B."

  Sharp judgment.

  No wonder he was Ichinose’s right-hand man.

  Horikita gave them both a silent nod of approval.

  Then she thought about her own css—

  A den of fools and lunatics.

  Ugh. The difference is infuriating.

  "As for Uesugi-kun… I’ll call him for you!"

  Ichinose excitedly pulled out her phone and sent a message.

  Instant reply.

  "……"

  Ichinose’s smile stiffened.

  Scratching her cheek awkwardly, she turned to Horikita.

  "He says he’s saving the world and doesn’t have time."

  Horikita let out a deep sigh of relief.

  So every css has at least one unreliable moron, huh?

  "You really shouldn’t spoil him so much," Kanzaki sighed, pulling out his own phone.

  "I’ll handle it."

  He sent a single message.

  Reply received.

  "He says he’ll be here in a bit."

  "Wait, Kanzaki-kun, how did you do that?!" Ichinose gasped. "I’ve called him so many times, and he never answers me!"

  Obviously, I threatened to leak the location of his secret hideout.

  "I told him I’d treat him to food."

  WHOOSH.

  A shadow fshed into the store at inhuman speed.

  Uesugi had arrived.

  "Divine—!"

  The moment he spotted Ichinose and Horikita, his expression instantly fell.

  "Oh, I knew it. The only reason Kanzaki would treat me is because he sold me out to you two."

  "Enough compining. Horikita needs your help."

  Kanzaki, unrepentant, got straight to the point.

  "So basically, you need to find evidence proving that Css C’s three-man squad were the ones who started the fight, huh?"

  Uesugi asked, casually cutting into his steak.

  Horikita rubbed her temples.

  "As much as I hate to admit it… yes."

  SLAM!

  "Horikita-san, I can’t believe you!"

  Uesugi dramatically spped the table, standing up and gripping her hands.

  "This… this mission… I must accept it! You must keep such a genius in your Css D!"

  A vein bulged on Horikita’s forehead.

  "As much as I’d love to say thanks, for some reason, I just really, really want to punch you."

  "Don’t sweat the details!"

  ...

  After finalizing the pn, Uesugi and the others left the café.

  "Uesugi-kun…"

  Ichinose hesitated for a moment.

  "Hmm? What is it?"

  She fell silent for a few seconds, then swallowed her words and gave him a bright smile.

  "No, it’s nothing. Just… don’t stay up too te. I’ll come wake you up tomorrow morning."

  T/N: kinda reached my limit for webnovel I think ill prob only post 30 chaps for new transtions then wait a few days before updating