Every time Kanawari was about to speak, I gained preemptive anxiety due to the fact that she was going to shout out loud the cursed words that are still written on Ikkiri's table and chair.

"Hmm...! 'TIEF.' Erm, I stuttered... It's... 'THIEF.'!"

She stuttered alright. Her tongue slipped away as soon as her frontal teeth connected with it. It happens, I suppose.

However, we didn't exactly care. The atmosphere thus far was far too positive. If it was me and my table partner only, then this would be chaotic. Our argumentative tendencies will never end, most likely.

Kanawari and Kuzan are the ones who are making this possible.

Speaking of Kuzan, as always, he would be the first one to speak.

"Ikkiri stole something from the culprit?! Really?! Ikkiri's a thief too..."

Kuzan's eerie smile insinuates that he's thinking of Ikkiri as a fellow thief. That sort of thought is completely off-topic right now.

"You should stop stealing, Kuzan! Entering our dorm should have gained you a death sentence, but I'm nice! Others really aren't that nice!"

I'm surprised Kuzan hasn't been assaulted by one of the girls yet.

"It's fine, Kana. They were bound to be screwed either way. That's why it's fine to let that event go through."

Is her reasoning seriously that? Then, if a boy invades your dorm and rapes every girl there then--- Ah, okay, let's not go there.

"Weeelll, since I'm next, I think this might be something Ikkiri herself isn't aware that she stole!"

"What do you mean?"

Kuzan's question was my question as well.

"If we are keeping the love affair possibility alive still, then, strictly speaking, wouldn't a girl just say something like 'thief' when her man is stolen by another girl?!"

Why are we insisting on that option still....

It barely contains any logic. We are getting biased here... Though I know this, I won't state my opinion because this biased nonsense might actually prove to be useful.

Plus, there's barely any point in arguing here.

"Then, Kana, Ikkiri stole someone's man here? From our class...? That's hard to say. But, since you know more, from the girls here in class, who do you think it is?"

The only remarkable relationship that is known is Tateyana and Sagasuga, I think. Unless I'm missing something. Otherwise, there aren't any other relationships or affairs out there.

I'm additionally surprised that my table partner is interested in this topic. Is she a romance fan or something?

"Um... There are none. Although, Tateyana seems to be on good terms with Sagasuga."

"Hold on, Kanawari! I think I found out something crucial!"

"Oh, you did, Kuzan?!"

"Yeah! Maybe Ikkiri and Sagasuga had something going on!!"

"You think so?!"

How the hell do they get so positive every time they speak to one another?!

"Doesn't it make perfect sense though?! Sagasuga apparently broke up with Tateyana, but, what if Sagasuga broke up with her in order to be with Ikkiri?!"

How does Kuzan know this?

I'm missing out on things, aren't I?

"I see! You do bring a valid point, Kuzan! Maybe there is a hidden romance between Ikkiri and Sagasuga! Tateyana somehow knew and did this! Doesn't it all come together now?!"

These two are going a little bit too much with the flow. At this rate, they will be convinced that this is all there is to it.

Furthermore, it's my turn.

"Well, since it's my turn, I'll give my opinion. Ikkiri might've attempted to steal something or maybe it was only prematurely."

"What do you mean, Aniki?"

"Think about it, Kuzan. The culprit has been splashing messages that might have after-meanings instead of present meanings. All in all, this could also be referring to how Ikkiri might attempt to steal what the culprit has in possession."

Although, it's logical to assume that Ikkiri already stole something from the culprit. We might be over-thinking here, honestly.

Also, Kanawari needs to abandon her romantic perspectives just because she adores the topic.

And, without any opinions returned, it was her turn at last.

"Maybe Ikkiri didn't steal something natural, like an object or anything of that sort. Stealing the spotlight, for example?"

"Then, the culprit likes attention in general?"

Kanawari's question isn't a bad one. There are other ways of screwing Ikkiri without being this public about it. Whoever did this is surely enjoying bathing in this fountain of attention right now.

"It could be the case, Kana. But maybe not general attention. This type of attention could be related to the attention something, or, someone, can only give."

"So we're back to the affair possibility...?"

Her reasoning is there, I know. But, it's just...

We're lacking any sort of actual anecdotical evidence. I understand that the point of this is to figure out the intentions of the culprit just based on the words and sentences that the culprit wrote, but prioritizing this romantic perspective might backfire.

"If the culprit is female, then there's a 75% of all these messages being a reference to an affair. Or so, my female intuition tells me."

"Never doubt our female intuition!"

We're doomed.

"The next message is.... 'THERE'S NOWHERE TO HIDE NOW!'"

This is turning out to be a problem. We are attracting too much attention. Kuzan, shut her up.

No! Don't look at me like you understand what I am trying to say! I want you to understand what I'm trying to say, but just tell her to not shout every time!

"Hmm? Oh, you're hungry? Sorry, I got nothing on me..."

You idiot!

"Um, the message says that Ikkiri has nowhere to hide now, but, wasn't that always the case? What changed?"

Contrasting his dumb words that were previous to his new ones, Kuzan made an interesting question.

Kanawari, being next, took up the torch.

"Kuzan, if you are talking about the places Ikkiri has to hide, then there are none in general. We can only leave school once per month. Aside from that, you are locked inside this school! Terrifying! But, I think the important part to analyze isn't the 'There's nowhere to hide', but the 'now' part."

"Then, are you saying something happened that made that 'now' part possible, Kanawari?!"

"Yes! Yes! This message could very well symbolize that Ikkiri did something to offend the culprit's emotions! In other words, this wasn't always the case, but it suddenly became the case! The question is... when?!"

That's true. We can't just ignore the 'now' part. It's a direct reference to an event that took place.

But, why would the culprit leave such an obvious message? If the culprit had not included the 'now' part, then there would've been a lot of mystery behind it.

Nevertheless, there's still a great depth of mystery. Kanawari's question is on point. Even if we know that something triggered this event, we don't know when. Because we don't know who.

If that's the case...

"Kanawari, if your question is 'when', then doesn't that mean that something must've happened? There is a good amount of drama going on between us boys, but I don't know anything regarding the girls. This isn't to say that the culprit is a girl, but this is about Ikkiri. Was she involved in a recent drama...?"

Once again puzzled, Kanawari wondered about it.

"...No. Honestly, the only remarkable thing that I can remember when it comes to recent events regarding Ikkiri, is her absence in the exam."

"Her absence should have created a great deal of hatred in Tatsu, don't you think? Due to her absence, he failed. I find it hard to believe that he isn't related in all of this."

Akimiyashika was most surely on point when she blamed Tatsu. However, she lacked the evidence to back her argument up. Plus, Tatsu just twisted her argument by using her flawed logic to his advantage.

That was not going to work. I know. Still, out of all the people here, Tatsu is a high suspect.

"Ehhh! But if we choose Tatsu as our target, then what about the affair?!"

"The affair is only a small possibility... Tatsu should have a higher chance of being the culprit. Tatsu is one supply exam from being expelled. It makes all sense for him to be the culprit here."

Yeah. I'm convinced that there isn't this love affair bullshit that Kanawari is spewing.

Logically speaking, Tatsu has the highest chances. He could have simply used a girl's writing pattern in order to allude the audience. It's a simple trick, honestly.

"My turn. I think this is just a straightforward message. Meaning, the culprit is only getting started. Which should mean that the culprit has no intention of being caught."

So a progressive assault? That would make sense. However, isn't that a bit too over-confident from the culprit?

"There's also the fact that the culprit has two other arguments to his/her side. The cameras being broken and the surveillance system being hacked. All in all, I would say that the culprit is trying to stay hidden. This message most likely means that despite the behavior that the culprit is portraying, the assault will continue."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Her deduction might just be on point. Only the future can prove if she's correct here or not. Is she assuming that it's meaningless to question something that will undoubtedly happen?

Regardless, we moved on to the next message.

"Woaahhh... So... 'KILL YOURSELF BITCH!'"

Kuzan... Do something...

"Isn't this sorta similar to the 'DIE' part? What's the difference here?"

Kuzan questioned the meaning of this message, as he thought of it only as mere repetition.

"It's weird, truly! There isn't much difference... Except... Wouldn't the culprit want to kill Ikkiri then? If she's so troublesome, then why isn't the culprit just killing her?"

Suddenly, Kanawari uttered those heartless words. What a change of mood.

Nevertheless, Kuzan followed up.

"We can't do that! No one can!"

Subsequently, in order to finish his sentence, Kuzan wrapped his left arm around Kanawari's neck and pulled her closer to all of us, ultimately whispering the upcoming words.

"If we kill someone then we might just be subjected to executions! I know it sounds stupid, but what if that's the case?!"

"Relax, Kuzan! I know what you are saying! My words weren't to question why the culprit hasn't killed Ikkiri, but, why that is the case."

Is there even a difference in her words? To me, she just said the same thing.

"Let me explain..."

Since Kuzan had let go of his arm, Kanawari was free to lax back.

"Kuzan, as you told us, doing such acts will put the one who did such in massive danger. Which is why the culprit can't do that. The culprit seems to have the pattern of someone who hides a lot of insecurities and worries far too much! This message might mean that the culprit truly wants Ikkiri to die, but nevertheless, the culprit can't do that. Hence, the culprit is telling her to die or to kill herself!"

The culprit probably isn't aware that such signals could be interpreted just from reading the messages that the culprit wrote.

What is important to analyze here isn't if there is a difference between the 'Die' and 'Kill yourself bitch'. What truly matters is to notice that the fact that the two messages that have the same meaning but with different meanings were written nonetheless.

In addition to that, Kanawari might be right in assuming that the culprit holds a lot of insecurities. If you are unable to take direct action, then you have to vent your emotions somehow.

This might just be one way to do it. Alas, it was my turn.

"The culprit can't take direct action, I think. Otherwise, wouldn't it make the most sense to make more direct approaches? Unless this is something that will change. Are we being fools by assuming that the culprit is filled with insecurities?"

My take was that the culprit couldn't take direct action due to the consequences, but, does the culprit even care? It's possible to assault Ikkiri even further in directer ways.

"You're forgetting something. There are technically three culprits. Or, that should be the case at least. The one who wrote the messages, the one who broke the cameras and the one who hacked the system. There's a possibility of the mastermind not even being directly involved in the first place."

........? What is she saying?

"Hold on... That's confusing then. Are you suggesting that there were three people who did all those three tasks separately and that the one who orchestrated all of this didn't even make any direct actions?"

"It's just a possibility. Regardless, I'll set it aside. Because that's not the current point. The current point is to analyze what the messages mean. No matter how you look at it though, the end goal of the tasks was for Ikkiri to receive the messages. Whether or not there was any direct involvement from the mastermind, that's another question."

That's a bit impressive... I never knew she was this curious about this... We're always arguing, so maybe that's why I never noticed.

"Well, my take on this is the same as our 'Aniki' over here. The culprit either can't take direct action or is putting up a facade. What I mean by facade is the following: In the scenario where the culprit's behavior is assumed, you'd assume that the culprit can't take direct action due to the consequences of doing so. This could very well turn out to be wrong if the culprit just isn't afraid of going through further lengths."

Can she stop tainting that word every time she opens her mouth? It's a sacred heritage passed down from generation to generation. It should not be taken with a sense of mockery or comedy.

"Wooow! You two are so good at this! I never noticed!"

? Kanawari's assumption is just wrong.

"You're misunderstanding. He's just trying to keep up. I'm always like this, Kana."

"She can't admit that she's having a hard time. Excuse her."

Then, my table partner lightly patted my shoulder.

"Hahaha, you're so funny!"

Of course, I did the same.

"Hahaha, you too!"

Hahahaha.

I'll break your fucking hip, bitch.

"Umm, Kanawari, what's the next message?!"

"I'm glad you asked, Kuzan! This might just be the message that supports my perspective the most... And that is... 'M-I-N-E!!!'"

For the numerous time yet, Kanawari shouted that possessive word that was separated four times.

Furthermore, it had three exclamation marks.

No way Kanawari was going to let that clue get away. But, Kuzan was way ahead of her.

"Three exclamation marks! Whoever wrote this must've meant this message quite a lot!"

Kanawari wasn't joking when she said that this message would support her perspective. I can already see what type of argument she's going to form.

The worst part is that I won't be able to run away from it.

"That's right! So, what's your take on this, Kuzan?!"

Kuzan, in a flash, placed his fingers on his thumb quickly and formed quick thoughts in order to not let any of us wait.

As he was doing that, I looked away for the first time and glanced upon the other groups who should be discussing this but...

Some are not even trying.

I guess I'm lucky that Kuzan and Kanawari were this open-minded about this discussion. We are just stating our opinions without arguing too much against them.

"A possession. Definitely! But, I don't know what..."

Although his answers are completely obvious to the topic and self-explanatory, they often give a good push to the topic, since Kanawari follows his simplicity quite well.

"Kuzan, Kuzan!"

"What, what?!"

"Isn't this soooo obviouuuussss?!"

"It is?!"

"Yes, yes it is! There is definitely something romantic going on!"

"No way!"

Kuzan, you really don't have to agree with her all the time... Not to mention, their enthusiasm is intoxicating me...

"As you all can see, the culprit clearly wrote this with aggression! And, assuming that whoever wrote this belongs to the female gender... it can only mean that there is a girl in here who doesn't want Ikkiri to get a taste of her man!"

I already knew she was going to say something like this. But, it's meaningless to form this assumption, because Ikkiri has not shown any visible interest for anyone in this class in general, romantically speaking.

Her natural asset which is her abundant curiosity should not be mistaken for romantic feelings.

Though... I could just be wrong here.

"...I can't support this. If we prioritize this 'romance affair' as a possibility for too long, then we will come out empty. We don't know anything about Ikkiri's interests. Even someone as sociable as you, Kanawari, doesn't. Aren't we being idiots in assuming that Ikkiri is romantically interested in someone?"

"But, Aniki, what else could the culprit be referring to with this message?!"

"...Look, I get it. But, there is nothing connecting here. Even if we assume that there is a romantic affair going on, we can't possibly arrive at a conclusion... That's why I've got no opinion here."

Thus far, the only person I could see Ikkiri being attracted to is Hyunda. But, calling their interactions 'attraction' is going too far. There's also the fact that Hyunda is far too manipulative.

He can't possibly feel such sentiments. Furthermore, that option has already been discarded in my mind.

Ultimately, it was my table partner's turn.

"I'll take a different approach then. There might not be a romantic affair going on."

"What?! What are you saying, Lus?!"

"Hear me out, Kana. This could just be one-sided jealousy. Assume the following scenario... The culprit is someone who is in love with a boy from this class and that boy has spent a considerable amount of time with Ikkiri and vice-versa. Telling who that boy is, is impossible. But, we could change our approach. There isn't a romantic affair, but just one-sided jealousy. What do you think?"

...That's one way to look at it. Isn't this unjust then? But... Would you really go this far just based on jealousy alone...?

No, that's not correct. There has to be more.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think it's best to move on. I think if we gather faster conclusions regarding the other messages, then we might be able to connect them all and arrive at a plausible conclusion."

I had to propose that. We are over-analyzing at this point. If we don't reach an end game soon, then we might not be able to form a good conclusion.

"I agree. We have to move on. Next one, Kana. Please."

Kanawari didn't mind the fact that I interrupted their conversation and decided to move on. I'm glad she understands the importance of advancing.

"Alright! Well, this is a... weird one... 'WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT'."

"Language!"

Yuka-sensei said that. I have no clue what went through Kanawari's mind honestly.

"Sorry, sorry! Um, erm, what do you think, Kuzan?!"

Should we even take this into consideration? This is just your typical insult. I can't believe we are going to analyze this message.

Actually, why am I allowing this to happen?

"Sorry, but can we skip? What's there to gain from analyzing this message? Isn't it just an average insult?"

This is average.

"I'm with him here. This is just additional hatred from the culprit."

I won't say it's expected, but I'm glad my table partner decided to side with me here. The problem is...

"That's not true, Aniki! We should analyze the culprit's messages, no matter what! We might miss out on something essential!"

"Kuzan's right, Lus! What if we miss out on something important?!"

Are they for real right now? Do I have to tell these two non-stop positive idiots the type of message that they are hoping to decipher?!

"Guys... You are trying to see if there is a meaning in 'Worthless piece of shit'... What exactly do you two think you are going to find while analyzing this? This is the type of shit you just casually say to the ones you hate."

The thing is... I don't know how long we can uphold this discussion. If we have to end it any time soon and if we are forced to say our target, then our decision might be poor in general.

Kuzan and Kanawari need to see that wasting this much time on something this trivial is contradicting.

"Kana, don't you think this message is just too vulgar to be taken into consideration? This is the type of messages only boys would ---- ...."

Why did she stop though? And why are Kanawari and Kuzan smirking simultaneously? What?

"So you've caught up!"

"How naive, Aniki! I thought you of all people would get the hidden message here!"

Following each other's lead, Kanawari and Kuzan delivered those confident words right back at us.

Still puzzled, I couldn't help but ask them what they were insinuating.

"Hidden message?"

Though, instead of Kuzan replying to me, my table partner took his turn.

As I look upon her, her long pink hair almost lashed my eyes for a second while twisting itself in order to reach out to me. Her passionate eyes crossed my vision instantly in the process.

"The pattern changed. All of the previous messages were personal insults. This one isn't. The meaning of the message isn't important, but the pattern."

"So we are supposed to analyze the pattern, is that what you are saying?"

"Simply put, yes. Though, let's follow the respective order. Kuzan, go."

It's a different story if we were to analyze the message's pattern and not the meaning of the message itself. However, I still don't see the exact point of doing this.

Despite my shortcomings, Kuzan went on and started.

"According to Kanawari, a girl is most likely the culprit, but after this message... I'm just not seeing it! Isn't this message a bit too vague? It's just an insult without any meaning behind it!"

Truth to be told, the previous messages all had deeper meanings than what they initially transmitted to be, but this is the first message to be this vague.

Even the first message which was 'DIE' was awfully vague yet you could assume a plethora of things from this. This one, not so much.

"Kuzan's right! And I'll explain this further with my opinion intertwined! It was me who defended the possibility of the culprit, the one who wrote these messages, being hateful towards Ikkiri who might've had a romantic affair with one of the boys in the class. However, I only defended my point of view because the messages seemed to be from someone who was undoubtedly jealous of Ikkiri! But... This is not the case! This is pure spite! Hey, Kuzan! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!"

Here we go again...

"I do think I am! Do you want me to say it!?"

"I would give you that option, but I'll do the courtesy! You see... The writer changed!"

What?

"How can that be?"

Can that really be the case? But why would that be the case...?

"Daniel, this message feels less personal, as it's simply spiteful. Regardless, it's incredibly biased. Also, as a girl myself, if I hated someone to the extremes, I would not write down such a low insult!"

"That's true, Kana. Whoever wrote this is clearly a boy. The past messages had more power behind them."

Are they all seriously assuming this based on the potency of the message and not based on a clear logic or reasoning?

"But why would there be another writer...? What sense does that make in the first place? Isn't that the same as saying as two people wrote all of those messages yet individually to their own?"

Nonetheless, as I threw that open question at the three of them, none of them answer.

Not my table partner, not the positive-attitude Kuzan nor the ever-enthusiastic Kanawari.

That silence alone made me realize a certain thing. Something that was never denied in the first place.

"....I see...! It's possible that there might've been more than one person who has done it..."

"Close, Aniki! However, that's not it!"

"Kuzan, Kuzan! Let me say it!"

"Naaaah! I'm gonna say it now!"

"Buuuhhh..."

"Aniki! The real mastermind probably ordered someone to write those messages along the way! I and Kanawari thought about this a few hours ago and analyzed the patterns of the messages and arrived at a single conclusion... Only one person could've written those messages!"

"I'll add something to that if you don't mind! Although the messages' calligraphy is, all the same, the messages themselves differ continuously and it was only in this message that we noticed a difference. In other words, it's fair to assume that whoever wrote this only started to take independent action starting from this message!"

I never knew... When did Kuzan and Kanawari develop this type of synergy? Unreal...

Against my doubts, Kuzan continued Kanawari's words.

"We came to this conclusion when we realized the possibility of the mastermind not wanting to be found out. Evidentially, there are three things that are being taken into consideration right now! One---"

"Who hacked the system! Two---"

"Who destroyed the cameras! Three---"

"Who wrote all those messages!"

Did they really just finish each other's sentences?

"That's nice and all, but what's the ultimate conclusion that you two arrived?"

They must've found something essential to the situation.

Thus, without waiting around, they both simultaneously said words of great enthusiasm and jubilance.

"The ones who did all of these three things are scapegoats!"

Scapegoats?