On that rain-heavy afternoon, soon after lunch, we delivered our results, that being; to bring out the witnesses that we could possibly gather. Yet, I and Shizuku could only grab one.

Frankly, it sounded fairly idealistic to even expect something out of the other bitches but our task was limited towards the afternoon. Results could not come forth after lunch was over because we were tasked with the responsibility of gathering witnesses from the other blocks, respectively.

Nonetheless, I strongly benefitted from a positive outcome here. Why? Because if there were really witnesses that were there, on that day when Yulia's mind was in pure despair, then clues could be collected towards the true identity and pathology of my dear Omega.

As such; Shizuku and I, alongside Izufusa, were the last ones to enter the classroom. Judging by Izufusa's reactions and loud skepticism upon entering the classroom, it was briefly clear that he was used to a school lifestyle far superior to what we were. To make sure that everyone present understood that, Izufusa spoke without restraints as he slammed the frontal door.

"Goodness, what is this place!? Is this a swamp or a classroom?! I can't tell the di---"

Before he could attract much attention and delaying my ever-important progress, I kicked his left fragile calf from behind and stole his line of speech the moment he got too absorbed in his own physical pain.

"We are sorry for being late. Our witness here has a tremendous big appetite."

"Ow! What was that for?!"

Izufusa kneeled down and kept rubbing his calf like it was a diamond in a rough.

Lacking any sort of remorse in the first place, I moved on to my seat on the east side of the classroom while Shizuku closely followed me. That's right, with the boys absent, Yuka-sensei didn't really mind that we took the other places temporarily. So, Shizuku and I were paired up.

Speaking of Shizuku, she guided Izufusa to our seat.

I like seating on the furthest edge to the east no matter what. I cannot stand being on the other side.

More detailedly elaborating the scene; Yuka-sensei was finishing her coffee before addressing her words to everyone present and as far as I could tell, no one was missing. And, I could not help but be excited for this upcoming afternoon for very obvious reasons.

Eventually, with a light stretch enveloping her two arms together to the top, Yuka-sensei moved onto the podium.

"Good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon!"

I didn't speak, but the majority spoke back.

Witnessing this mud-like pace made me grab the razor blade in my pencil case. Afterward, I started to crisp out the wooden edge of the table that I was seating on; underneath.

"Did you all eat enough?!"

Enthusiastically exultant, our teacher could not show any signs of wanting to actually move on with the topic that we should DESPERATELY seek to uncover. This caused me to step on the ground loudly and to furthermore erupt from my seat resonantly. This mediocre conversation could not go any longer!

"Excuse meeee! I am not trying to sound rude or anything, but it's not as if we don't have witnesses here and they would probably like to go to their classrooms soon, so we should, um, just saying, you knooooow, get started, like, now! Not after chit-chatting nor after noticing that we have more than four witnesses here, I mean, really now...!"

Awkwardly, each of them stared at me like what I just said was something out of this world or that it was ill-mannered.

Yes, it was ill-mannered, but... Isn't it more ill-mannered to waste the witnesses' time? That's the point I'm trying to make them understand.

Even so, the stares kept on growing even longer, for whatever reason and I was starting to grow anxious to the point where I had to bow sincerely and make an even more pleasant speech.

"I am so sorry for my words, it's just not fair to waste someone's time like this!"

Well, I really couldn't care if they missed their classes or not. What I did care about was their own information.

"I'll agree with her just this time. Can we get started? My customer's time is limited."

Often outspoken, seated close to the door in my opposite direction; alongside Kanawari, Lus said in agreement.

Although not next to them, a boy who was stretching his legs rather extravagantly resided in this classroom.

To my utter repugnance, the boy who thus far contained an unknown identity had a hairstyle that embodied dreadlocks, which I cannot like one bit. The moment I think of how little someone with dreadlocks washes their own hair, the more I want to vomit. Nonetheless, his looks were only a mirage of his brazen personality contrasted with calm stoic behavior to back it up.

"It is quite alright. You did earn the right to earn my presence."

Still not revealing his name, he limited to placing his two hands on his own pockets, while demonstrating an exaggerated lack of manners in this classroom, despite not exhibiting a rude impulse behavior, which puzzled many.

"Well, if you say so."

"Quite generous. As expected of a block A student."

Both Lus and Kanawari came to a consensus, and thus, the block A student, in order to quickly show his might, did not hesitate to speak words that would fasten the overall process.

Therefore, as he collected his own two legs back, he placed his elbows on his table in order to speak fluently towards Yuka-sensei.

"Madam, you go by the name of Yuka, correct?"

"My, how chivalrous! If only we could have a single boy like you in our class!"

Lightly, we all laughed, myself included. It can't be helped. The contrast is simply too ironic.

By this time, I was already on my seat as the block A student progressed.

"I am delighted and I will also assume that my assumption is correct. Both Lus and Kanawari told me the details and I would love to corporate. In any case, may I ask you what your plan of action to extract information out of the present witnesses is? If you don't have one, I would love to offer you one."

"Wow..."

"He really is educated, impressive."

Hinagiku and Akimiyashika both fawned over this guy's manner like it was something out of this world. They are so used to the contrast; which is the impulsive behavior mixed with narcissistic anti-social elements that the boys in our class uphold constantly. Even then, this is straight-up bullshit. Stop licking his dick already. The only reason as to why I'm not trash-talking this limp-dick loser is because he's deliberately presenting a favorable stance here.

"Do you know him, Izufusa?"

I took the chance to ask Izufusa, who was silent, right next to Shizuku. With my eyes crossed on his', he slightly got anxious but sooner or later answered regardless.

"Yeah..."

"Oh... Do you know his name, perhaps?"

"What?! How do you not know his name?! Wait, is this your first time seeing him?!"

In a noticeably low-toned voice, Izufusa, frustrated at our lack of knowledge, couldn't find the exact words to express his disappointment after analyzing both of our responses.

"Yup." x2.

Bad-mannerly, Izufusa face-palmed as if this guy from block A was some mighty deity that everyone in this school should know by now. Nevertheless, that explains why Izufusa was keeping silent. He assumed that we already knew who this guy was.

"Ah... Listen, his name is Liyuga. I'm assuming you both don't know why he's so famous, but he is part of the extremely private student council body."

"So there's more to it than just the president?"

Shizuku proposed an interesting question, but unfortunately, our attention got immediately captured by Yuka-sensei, who responded to Liyuga's question a few seconds back.

Cheerfully, with a smile attached to her face, she attempted to provoke a good reaction.

"That is a really intriguing response. But don't you think it's a bit rude to ask for someone's name without giving yours first?"

Damn it, what the hell is in the matter with this teacher?! You are not supposed to sass him, just make him fucking talk! God!

And naturally, as if the world was ending, in response to Yuka-sensei's unnecessary words, Liyuga expressed an amount of concerning care for the fact that he actually didn't give his name first all this time. Even to the point of sitting his own forehead heavily on the wooden table whilst apologizing.

"I am so sorry, miss Yuka! My name is Kada Liyuga. It is a very nice pleasure to be under your presence and everyone here."

He swiftly smiled at all of us but didn't exactly strike a flaming impression on most of us because we really aren't used to the educated type of boys in the first place. I'm not saying I prefer the brute narcissistic stupid boys, but an ass-kisser like him makes me sick!

"A pleasure to meet you too, Liyuga. You asked me regarding my plan and the plan is very simple. It's to question if the witnesses present here have seen our previous classmate on that day during the festival and who she was with."

"I see. And your method of extracting such information is through questions? Or do you have a personal way of doing it that varies from your average way of going about it?"

I am still not quite sure what Liyuga is trying to imply here. The only reason why I haven't been pressing this issue any further it's because of the fact that he is a block A student and supposedly a student council body member. This means that he holds some sort of elevated level of power in this school. In other words, this matter could easily be solved through the usage of such power.

Yet, what power, exactly?

That's what I'm trying to find out.

"No, there isn't anything special to it. Why? Do you object to my way of doing things?"

If Liyuga did, then he perhaps would walk away from this classroom, which could damage Lus and Kanawari's task result.

However, that wouldn't be the only issue here. I strongly need his opinion here. It should go without saying, but the higher your class is in this school, supposedly, the higher your "power" is. Alternatively speaking, if he possesses methods of figuring out Omega's identity, then he CANNOT be allowed to leave this classroom, no matter what!

Despite having such superstition, Liyuga only further adjusted his tie while closing his eyes transiently before speaking solemnly towards everyone here.

"In a way. If I may propose a higher-level method of identification, would I be allowed to?"

Hearing this almost made me jump out of my seat.

What the hell did he mean by that?!

"I appreciate it, but if it means disbanding the opinions of the other witnesses then---"

"If I may, there are better witnesses than human beings nowadays."

Purposedly cutting Yuka-sensei's sentence down in a flash, Liyuga looked towards our security cameras to emphasize his point even further. Upon understanding his point, many lashed out a single simple "Oh...".

"Oh, I get it, Liyuga. But do you really think we would be here if we hadn't found any massive clue through surveillance cameras?"

"If so, then that's shocking. Putting it in simple terms, a suicide occurred and despite the fact that there are surveillance cameras in this school, a single lead has not been made? Truly worrying. I see now. Perhaps you hold the reasoning that we saw Yulia in ways that surveillance cameras didn't?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

True enough, although surveillance cameras are extremely reliable in theory, IF the individual knows how to play around them, then relying on them bears little to no fruit.

Though...

Liyuga's words gave me an idea. But to put that idea into practice, I need to actually make sure why he's implying surveillance cameras this much. Unless he has a way to manually access them, he is just spouting vague words.

But not now. This is progressing smoothly.

"That is precisely it. Lus, did you tell him everything?"

Sighing at first but quickly replying back, Lus gave a pretty straight-forward answer.

"Why, yes. I've explained to him the absolute details of the situation and he did confirm to know that he has met Yulia during the festival. He also said that he had a crush on her."

How surprising! Of course. multiple excited at first yet rapidly sad reactions came forth, but Liyuga took it a bit personal that Lus was speaking such cold words in a light manner like that.

In spite of such fact; he did not argue against Lus and went along with the flow.

"...That is very much true. I remember her beautiful appearance clearly as the cerulean sky midst summer. It's truly sad to hear that she encountered such a tragic fate. That is why I will cooperate with all my might."

This is oddly perfect for me. If he really is from block A and he has a strong resolution like me when it comes to finding out who is behind this, then this could not be better.

"Mhm, I see. Well, it appears that you did tell him."

"That's what I said..."

"Aye, aye. Sooo, let's get started! Erm, it appears that not everyone could bring their witnesses, so I'll be taking note of that."

To be expected, not everyone could fulfill the task.

In particular, Tateyana and Iris.

What's surprising is that... That's about it. Sana and Arkalee were successful as they have two girls by their side in two side chairs.

In addition to that, the trio that consists of Akimiyashika, Hinagiku, and Ikkiri were successful as they were able to bring along a boy, just like Lus and Kanawari.

I'm somewhat interested in the way that they were able to acquire the students' assistance, honestly. Because getting Izufusa's assistance took a relatively tiring process...

Thinking about it makes me madly curious.

On the other hand, Tateyana and Iris had something to say before taking the defeat to the face.

"I don't think that they wanted to cooperate with us in the first place. Rude assholes!"

"Language, Tateyana."

"..........Yes..."

"I am sorry..."

They probably had no plan, to begin with. Midst this, Yuka-sensei was walking in the classroom while calmly reading the atmosphere and the students' profiles; namely the witnesses.

Then, with a rational judgment, she chose to start from the bottom.

Yuka-sensei was practically in front of Izufusa and slightly one meter away from me.

".....Hi..."

What a meek shy response! Izufusa just couldn't gather the might to introduce himself once he was howled by the glares of every female student here.

Is he really gay? Aren't gay people more friendly with girls than boys? Or was that just a myth? Could Izufusa have an inferiority complex where he is quick to lash but when it comes to a situation face to face he just hides? That is not good...

If he doesn't tell the information he's supposed to due to his limp attitude, then it was a wasted effort.

Ergo, before Yuka-sensei could interact with him, I stepped in and talked to Yuka-sensei about Izufusa.

"Yuka-sensei, hello! This is our witness from block E! Please treat him with extra kindness. He is a very fragile boy with tender feelings!"

How's that?

...I got glared at instead by Izufusa, for whatever reason, which caused him to stand up for himself.

"Er, erm! My name is Izufusa and I'm here acting as a witness by their request. How can I help you?!"

Strongly supporting his own average height, Izufusa nonetheless managed to stand up to himself and administer a more valiant impression to the rest of the class than before.

"Hello, Izufusa! It's a pleasure to meet you. And thank you, Yukishiro and Shizuku for your work."

We gladly accepted that compliment which allowed Yuka-sensei to finally reveal something of her own methods.

"I did say that it would be a normal questionnaire, but I wasn't quite speaking the truth, so forgive me there. Instead, every witness will get a turn and every girl from this class will have to ask the witness a question regarding the incident. I will be absent from this and will remain as an arbiter who will clarify doubts. We will start in alphabetical order. This means that the first to start is..."

"Me! I am the first one since my name starts with the letter A and the only other person with the starting letter of A is Arkalee, but since my name is Akimiyashika and the K comes before the R, I get to go first."

She doesn't have any restraints whatsoever. What a show-off.

I will say that I am glad that she is moving this forward though.

Meanwhile, Yuka-sensei turned in Akimiyashika's direction and gave her the approval along with additional pieces of information.

"That is correct, Aki. Feel free to call her Aki, I think she doesn't mind, right?"

"Yes, of course. Would you like me to call you Izu or do you dislike diminutives?"

Suddenly questioned like that, Izufusa, instead of instantly denying it, gave it some thought and then replied back to Akimiyashika positively.

"Well, that's fine by me, Aki. Ah, nice to meet you, by the way..."

"The pleasure is all mine, Izu~"

She has no idea that Izufusa is actually paranoid about being in a classroom full of criminals. Yet, he did show a level of tenacity towards me and Shizuku in spite of the fact that we actually are criminals.

Yuka-sensei had walked all the way to her desk and along the way, she invited Izufusa to join her, since he would be the center of attention.

"Izufusa, come and seat by my side! This way, no one has to turn around to ask you the question!"

"...Okay..."

With much hesitation to his action, Izufusa went back to showing yet another horrid stance filled with anxiety.

Unable to cast a single glance more at him, I hurried him to his task.

"Get going already!"

"Wh--- I was gonna anyway!"

I started to throw wood-cut pieces at his body so he would get the hell out of my sight.

Just tell me what you know already...

"Oh, it's pretty comfortable here..."

Feeling like home, Izufusa rejoiced the prestigious feeling of being in a comfortable desk like Yuka-sensei's. For the record, it immensely contrasted every single one of our desks...

"Hm..."

Now, everyone's eyesight was on Akimiyashika, who was taking her sweet time thinking about the question that she was going to ask.

It sucks that we don't have the complete freedom to pursue this questionnaire the way we want to. One question alone just isn't enough. I am terrified of the scenario where all the questions ultimately are useless. Because it's evident that not EVERYONE shares the same intensity and thirst to find out the identity of the one behind this...

And that's why we are meant to be... No one else will go through my lengths. It's not a coincidence.

"Only one question, right, Yuka-sensei?"

"Yes."

"Well, okay. Am I allowed to propose questions to my classmates and should they give their consent, they will align their opportunity to ask a question according to my questions?"

Simplifying Akimiyashika's ideology... it means that should she reach out to another one of her classmates and she tells them to ask a question regarding the incident we are investigating, under their consent, Akimiyashika is allowed to have more than one question.

Well, that's not bad a strategy. If Ikkiri and Hinagiku give their consents, Akimiyashika has three questions.

"I have nothing against it. But I will be taking note of autonomy here. So, choose wisely."

"I see. I will ask my question then."

Ultimately turning her complete focus on Izufusa, Akimiyashika finally launched her awaited question.

"Tell me, Izu, out of all the times you have encountered Yulia, what did her outside outlook reflect you?"

Since you can only really ask one question, you might as well ask one BIG question. And given that Izufusa is here as a witness, Akimiyashika and the rest have no choice but to assume that he actually has performed minimal contact with Yulia, even if Yulia did not with Izufusa. To answer Akimiyashika's question negatively is something that won't happen.

Moreso, she's attempting to acquire a psychological evaluation of Yulia's behavior during the times Izufusa met Yulia, supposedly.

I shouldn't have to say this, but it's a really good start.

And, very much like Akmiyashika, who, a while ago was thinking deeply, Izufusa stopped for a few seconds and thought before he could reply.

"Take your time, there's no rush."

Yuka-sensei told Izufusa that by rubbing his left shoulder, but that didn't let his train of thought slip by.

In roughly twenty seconds, Izufusa gave a brief answer.

"To tell you the truth, Aki, Yulia and I never interacted, but that much you already guessed, right?"

"Yes. We... are not known for good reasons due to particular rumors, I believe. So, approaching someone intertwined with such rumors, such as Yulia, isn't the wisest's of all choices to make. I completely comprehend your judgment."

There is something outer-worldly about Sana's expressions switching between apathetic to mildly tempered with a temper that cannot ever go beyond a certain limit. It's as if she's trying to snap, but then she grows more apathetic the more she tries.

How interesting...

"I must admit I didn't expect this much comprehension, so thank you, Aki."

"You don't have to thank me, but I appreciate it."

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

"I've encountered Yulia three times, I believe. The first time was in a cafeteria. If I recall correctly, she was accompanied by a boy."

"A boy? Could you describe his appearance? As you can see, all the boys in our class are absent, soooooooo......."

Oh, oops, I spoke without thinking. I quite literally did the impulsive action out of pure emotion solely.

Consequently, I managed to bring up the wrath of several individuals.

"Excuse me, but respect your turn!"

"It's not fair if you ask questions out of the blue, you only get one question, Yukishiro!"

"Respect the rules!"

Akmiyashika, Hinagiku, and Tateyana brutally complained like I did something WRONG in the first place, but they are too dumb to realize that if I had succeeded in letting this question slip by that I could accumulate extra questions!

Still, I composed myself and resisted the urge to fight back and just stared at Izufusa to see if he would give the answer to that or not.

In the end, Yuka-sensei spoke, much to my terror.

"Yukishiro, don't do that, or else I'll give you a failing mark. I know you are eager to know who the person is, but obey the rules."

"......"

Screw these damn rules, for fuck's sake! All of them are irrational to the concrete absolute core! If we took advantage of soft loopholes we could land decisive information, but no, we are too busy pretending to be morally right!

HYPOCRITES!

Well, even as I land my forehead on this cold table's flat surface with my fingers on my hair strands, I capitalized on the fact that I had said such questions, so someone will eventually be inclined to knowing the answers to such questions and if they don't question it, then I might just not.

"Uh, can I continue?"

"Ah, yes, please!"

Rather decisively, Akimiyashika gave her permission to Izufusa, who looked as if he wasn't actually going to answer my question.

"I forgot to mention that this occurred back in February. When I saw Yulia's picture, I recalled one time where I went to the cafeteria secretly on a toilet break and since everyone was in class, I thought it was going to be completely empty, but I saw Yulia with another boy. She was... quite happy, actually. I thought for sure that they were in a relationship."

Hold on...

Just hold on a damn second...

AHHHHHHHHHHHH, I NEED TO KNOW THE TIMELINE OF THIS EVENT! I only saw Yulia and Daniel back when Yulia proposed the idea of killing Yuka-sensei in February! It's a different story from all the stalking I did in March! Did this happen prior to or after that?!

Once slightly calm, I looked forward to Izufusa's second example. Since he said he met her three times, there is more where that came from.

"Oddly enough, by the second time I came across her, she looked like she was in a hurry. I recall she was coming from a plaza. I don't believe that she noticed my presence because I... have the bad habit of eating alone. Er, erm! Anyway, she looked rather... stressed..."

...!!!!!

"I don't know what exactly had happened to her, but she was not with the boy that she used to be with. I thought that they had broken up for sure."

I have never wanted to speak so badly in my whole life, but I can't!

So many questions! Like, why was Yulia stressed?! Who caused such stress in her psyche?! She was supposedly happy in February, so what happened? Why was she in a rush? And most importantly...

Truly, it takes away all of my attention to carefully analyze the cracks in Sana's reactions silently. I've noticed that Shizuku has been following my eyesight for quite a while, but I don't mind. What is intriguing is how Sana's usually half-closed eyes supremely widened out of the sudden.

It's almost as if she knows why Yulia was stressed. The look on her face is not a puzzled one. Thus referring to the lack of necessity of having anything to question in the first place.

She knows......... And it's heightening on her conscious...

"A third time still happened, yes?"

"Ah, yes, I was just thinking... No, it's nothing."

Stuck with indecision regarding his thoughts, Izufusa continued after Akimiyashika called him out to reality.

"You can share it, you know?"

I like the fact that Yuka-sensei just went an extra mile to obtain information out of Izufusa. Especially giving him a shoulder massage. Though, that's just a nice gesture.

"Well, okay... The third time I met her was very weird. Of course, me "meeting Yulia" is the equivalent of crossing a stranger in the middle of the street, but she was crying and had tears on her face. She was also constantly checking her phone. I recall that she didn't even pay attention to where she was walking. And yes, this was by the end of the festival, during the last day. We were in a really open area and I was walking back to my dorm alongside a few classmates. It's just..."

So much information to capitalize on, but with Izufusa showing sudden hesitation, our attention was spiraling out of control.

We couldn't speak. We just had to let Izufusa come to terms with the information he was about to reveal.

"I couldn't completely hear it, or rather, hear it at all, but her lips were chanting a single word repetitively. That's why I didn't find any meaning in mentioning this."

With that, Akimiyashika's turn had come to an end.

Having taken that into consideration, I opened my notebook and took note of the particular details that I learned from Izufusa thus far. I engaged my writing by pointing down the initial information such as the possibility of Yulia being entangled with Daniel sooner than actually expected or perhaps later. Either way, there was a line here, so I drew a small line on one side and one bigger one below, which could differentiate the timelines, accordingly.

She was feeling happy. Alongside Daniel. Daniel was her source of affection. Potentially even before I was aware. Quite considerate, I must say. If this is calculated to such a great extent, then it's almost as if implying that no matter who had caught up to this event would be miles below by the time they had noticed that they had entered the spiral of endless calculations.

I simply drew a happy Yulia.

Then, calamity struck, and a stressful Yulia was born!

That wasn't enough, so, I drew a really stressed-out Yulia on the other side of my paper with haste.

From happiness to stress. Isn't that just a natural way of the opposite of happiness? You can't just hit rock bottom instantly. Or rather, you actually can. But the impact won't be there... It's too sudden. So, you have to be allowed to experience waves of stress mixed with perpetual fear. Maybe a little bit of hope here and there...?

"Hope..."

Endlessly, I kept on adding details until I arrived at the third step.

There was a two-minute break for Arkalee to think of a question, but I took advantage of the fact that Arkalee was in her endless depression and that an effort by the rest of my classmates had to be made; otherwise, the order wouldn't be underway.

Either way... The final stage turned into tears. To a point where you can't even tell where you are walking?

Thinking about it rationally, she was probably calling Daniel. But the result was negative, so what made the outcome negative? Is Daniel actually a cold sociopath with no remorse to the point of driving Yulia to the edge like this?

No... I just... No. Something tells me that wasn't quite the case...

Midst my brainstorm, I began to draw lips.

Various forms. Each would tell different words over and over.

"....iel....iel....iel...?"

I need to confirm this. Ever since Liyuga declared the possibility of him possessing a power that enables him to get access to the cameras, the possibility has become open, which is why I'm convinced.

Without a doubt, with the existence of Liyuga and with the words of Izufusa, it is possible to get a closer reading on Yulia's lips if there was a camera near the scene where Izufusa crossed her. By reading her lips, it will be possible to determine what she was saying and...

If she really despises the one behind her fate, then she surely must've slipped his name along the way.

"Um, Yukishiro, a little help...?!"

Out of my zone of attention, there were huge cries coming from a specific place and it was no other than Arkalee.

Shizuku called me out with a distorted look on her face.

But even then, my attention was all the way to Liyuga, who was trying to comfort Arkalee with many other girls.

The question here is... Under what circumstances will he allow me to visualize the footage by myself and what must I do in order to obtain the knowledge to myself alone?

Should there be another person who has the same knowledge as me and is afflicted to Omega here, then I would be playing into his palm too much.

In other words, the flow of the tide has to masterfully favor Liyuga here and I must make sure I am the one who produces it and no one else.

Out of all the witnesses, should there be a winner, he will be the one and I will get rewarded for making him the winner.