Saiki remotely crashed the school forum server.
Almost instantly, the school website froze. Refreshing it showed a white screen, then an error message.
...
In the school server room, staff panicked.
"What's happening?!"
"The server's down?!"
"Fix it, quick!"
They were baffled. The school's high-end server, connected to the S-system and regularly maintained, shouldn't fail like this.
What happened?
...
After resolving the issue, Saiki messaged Shiina.
Saiki: It's done.
Shiina: Thanks, Saiki! Checking now!
A minute later, Shiina replied.
Shiina: Saiki, the school forum... I can't access it.
*"Because I crashed the server."*
Saiki typed, then deleted and rewrote the message.
Crashing the server would draw unwanted attention, so he kept it to himself.
Saiki: Today's a maintenance day, so deleting posts was easier.
Shiina: I see... I don't know much about this.
Shiina: Did you find who posted the rumors?
*"The poster... I didn't check. Should I tell her it's Sakayanagi? But Sakayanagi wouldn't post personally..."*
As Saiki muttered, he heard Horikita Suzune and Ayanokōji Kiyotaka's thoughts outside. A second later, a knock came.
*"Pretend I'm not here? But they know I'm in..."*
Saiki sighed, opened the door.
"Saiki, we need to talk about Ichinose."
"Hmm... speak."
Saiki nodded.
"Although we're no longer allies with Class C, I think we should investigate Ichinose's situation. After all, our enemies might use similar tactics against us later."
Horikita Suzune spoke seriously, then turned to Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.
"Ayanokōji, tell us about what happened this afternoon."
"Yeah."
Ayanokōji glanced at Saiki.
"After school, I met with Hasebe and others. We heard there was some conflict with Miyake, so we went to check it out. But it turned out to be Kanzaki and Hashimoto fighting..."
Earlier, Hasebe Haruka had stopped Ayanokōji to discuss this very issue.
"...From their argument, we learned that Hashimoto was the one spreading the rumors."
"Hashimoto, huh."
Saiki feigned surprise.
"But I doubt it was Hashimoto's idea. It was probably Sakayanagi's order; after all, he's her confidante."
Horikita frowned and took out her phone to open the school forum.
"So, it's likely that the anonymous poster on the forum is Hashimoto... Strange, why isn't the website loading?"
*'Because I crashed the server.'*
Saiki thought to himself.
"Is the school website down for maintenance? That's good for Ichinose; it should stop the rumors from spreading further... though many already know."
Horikita shook her head.
Ayanokōji scanned the room, his gaze landing on Saiki's computer screen.
*[Was Saiki just browsing the forum too? Or... is the website issue related to him? Could Saiki be skilled with computers as well?]*
Ayanokōji wondered.
*'Yare yare...'*
"I'm meeting Ichinose tonight. Want to come?"
Horikita asked Saiki, though he knew he couldn't refuse.
"Fine... When and where?"
Saiki had already read her mind but didn't believe it.
"Right now, in your room."
"?"
Before Saiki could respond, there was a knock at the door.
Ichinose Honami had arrived.
She looked tired, her usual energetic demeanor replaced by fatigue.
"Sorry to call you out on a school night, Ichinose."
Horikita said.
Among the first-year students, Ichinose was one of the few Horikita truly respected. In the past, Horikita had even sought Ichinose's advice.
"You didn't need to apologize. It's for my sake, right?"
Ichinose smiled warmly.
"Let's keep this brief; it's getting late. Rumors have been spreading, causing anxiety, right?"
"Yeah. Do you know who's behind them?"
Horikita asked directly.
"I'm not sure, but it's probably Sakayanagi..."
Ichinose replied.
Saiki was surprised; he hadn't expected her to name Sakayanagi so confidently.
"Sakayanagi... Why do you think it's her?"
Horikita asked, puzzled.
"She challenged me before, and now this. It's likely her."
Ichinose explained.
*[Sakayanagi, huh? It's very possible. She's aggressive and would even turn her own class against each other to target Katsuragi. It's easy to imagine her aiming at Ichinose, the leader of Class C.]*
Horikita thought, then said,
"Regardless, you've been hurt by baseless rumors."
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
Saiki noticed Ichinose's hesitation and heard her thoughts.
*[Most of the rumors are false... but one is true... I stole from someone...]*
*[I made a mistake—one that's unforgivable. My sick mother's anger, her tears, my sister's pain... I can't forget...]*
*[I spent half of middle school locked in my room...]*
Ichinose's painful memories surfaced, and Saiki understood her past.
In middle school, she stole to buy her sister a birthday gift while her mother was ill. Though forgiven, the guilt haunted her, and she isolated herself for months until her acceptance to this school.
This trauma led to her placement in Class B, a secret she'd never shared.
Recently, Nagumo Miyabi invited her to the student council. Wanting to face her past, she confided in Nagumo—
A decision that backfired.
Nagumo told Sakayanagi, who used this against Ichinose.
"You're not denying the rumors?"
"Sorry, Horikita... I can't answer. You, Ayanokōji, and Saiki are my friends, but you're from another class. Even if we work together, we'll eventually have to fight, right?"
Ichinose shook her head.
"I won't force you, but silence might be seen as admitting the rumors."
"People can believe what they want, but I won't overreact. This is Sakayanagi's strategy to disrupt Class C. Silence is the best response."
Ichinose smiled, seeming normal.
"I met with you today to keep you out of this. I'm staying silent, so if others cause trouble, it'll only get worse. You don't need to risk Class B for me. I'm fine!"
She nodded firmly, her smile unchanged.
*[This is my problem. I can't let it affect my friends.]*
Ichinose thought.
Saiki stood silently, watching her.
"Your strength is admirable. Those rumors would hurt anyone, but you're considering others too."
"I'm not that noble. Just act normally, okay? I'll handle this myself. Don't worry about me."
"Do you know about Kanzaki?"
Ayanokōji asked.
"Kanzaki?"
"He confronted Hashimoto from Class A today, begging him to stop spreading rumors. It almost turned violent."
Ayanokōji said.
*[It nearly became a physical fight.]*
"Kanzaki's so kind. I told him not to do anything."
"It's not just Kanzaki. Many want to help you."
"I'll talk to them again. Can we end this discussion?"
"Are you really okay?"
Horikita asked, concerned.
"Of course."
Ichinose replied without hesitation.
"Thanks for worrying. Thank you all for coming so late!"
She bowed deeply.
*'This is my room.'*
Saiki thought.
Ichinose left.
"Is she really okay?"
"Who knows?"
Ayanokōji replied.
"What should I do?"
"I suggest doing nothing."
"Why?"
"If Sakayanagi's behind this, intervening might make Class B a target."
"True, but if Ichinose loses to Sakayanagi, won't we be next?"
Horikita frowned.
"Class B will eventually be targeted, but by then, the troublesome Class C leader will be gone. That's something to be grateful for."
Ayanokōji said slowly.
Saiki looked at him.
Typical Ayanokōji.
But Saiki disagreed.
"So, Ichinose's fate doesn't matter to you?"
"Rationality? That's our stance. Helping classmates is different, but Ichinose is an eventual enemy..."
"I disagree."
Saiki spoke up.
"Helping Ichinose is the better choice."