NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Chapter 27
Just as Kiriyama nodded a knock was heard on the door.
Seems like Ichinose was here.
"Come in." Said Manabu.
The moment his words fell the door opened and a girl with blonde pink hair entered the Student Council Room with a hesitant expression.
"Hello, Kaicho!" She greeted him enthusiastically even though her application to the Student Council had been rejected.
"Relax and sit down. I have a few questions for you."
"Oh, okay!" She made her way to the chairs unaware of Nagumo's look of interest.
...
Kiriyama was sitting to the right of Manabu and Nagumo to the left. Behind him stood Tachibana with a serious look.
Well, at least she was trying to look serious...
Ichinose was still confused regarding the sudden invitation. They weren't going to say something like, "Hey, on second thought we would like to welcome you to the Student Council.", right?
But seeing Manabu's stern expression she got rid of the ridiculous thoughts in her mind.
"Is there something I can help with Kaicho?" She asked with a polite tone.
"Indeed. Did you go to Keyaki Mall today?" It was a sudden question and even though he knew the answer he asked for the sake of formalities.
"Uh, well... I did, Kaicho."
While a bit confused by the personal question she didn't hesitate to answer.
"Were you alone?"
"No. I was with Kanzaki-kun, Tatsuya-kun and Sakura-san. We were having lunch in a restaurant."
After hearing her affirm the situation in the image he just saw he nodded.
"Oh? I presume you paid for the lunch?" It was Nagumo who spoke this time and Manabu observed him quietly.
"Eh?" The constant unexpected questions baffled her, "I paid for Kanzaki-kun and Tatsuya-kun paid for Sakura-san."
"Then could I make a bold request?" Nagumo spoke with a pleasant smile. "Could you show me the transaction history on your phone?"
Hearing that Ichinose's face froze and Nagumo hurriedly clarified.
"I don't intend to pry into your personal or class life. Just show me that one transaction made at the restaurant. You can keep your phone in your hand while showing me the screen if you still feel uncomfortable."
He truly had a way with words. Ichinose couldn't reject him without looking suspicious or guilty now.
Sighing to herself she showed them the transaction history with her phone in hand.
To her, it wasn't a big deal but the air in the room had turned heavy.
The unsettling feeling in her heart made Ichinose confused about the whole situation.
"Let me ask you something. Don't think about it and answer honestly." Manabu said.
"Did at any point of time the Tatsuya-kun and Sakura-san you mention, leave your side?"
Tatsuya-kun? Sakura-san? Why is he interested in them?
Her mind churned like lightning.
Why would the Kaicho ask such a weirdly stated question?
By 'leaving her side' he was obviously looking to confirm something if she answered positively.
Is he implying that something happened while we were in Keyaki Mall? Not to mentio- Ah!
She suddenly remembered the blaring alarms in the mall and the sudden order to return to the dorms.
Since no details were given she chalked it off as an odd incident.
Wait why are Tatsuya-kun and Sakura-san being suspected?
Even though he told her not to think about it, Ichinose wasn't just going to obey his orders like some pet dog.
But in the end, she knew she couldn't drag on too long with her act of 'remembering' and answered, "I don't know about anything after we exited Keyaki Mall but inside we never separated. Though there was this one-time Tatsuya-kun went to the restroom."
Hearing that Manubu's eyes turned sharp.
He looked at her intently for a few seconds before confirming that she was speaking the truth.
"Something doesn't add up..." Nagumo muttered to himself.
After having watched the video twice he mentally noted a few details.
After the clerk was out on fire he thrashed around for 2-3 minutes.
Another 2 minutes went by as Keyaki Mall fell into chaos and the students panicked.
The time it took the guards to rush towards SIVCameras was also approximately 2 minutes.
Unless this Tatsuya went to the restroom for ten minutes—
"How long did it take for him to return?"
Manabu's voice cut straight through his thoughts and Nagumo frowned.
'Looks like he came to the same conclusion.'
Nagumo looked at Ichinose with narrowed eyes.
If her answer turned out to be—
"I think it took him 8-10 minutes but I'm not sure. He did say that he got a call from his friend." Ichinose spoke with a finger on her lips as she recalled what happened.
Unbeknownst to her, after she spoke Nagumo flinched in his seat and Manabu's body stiffened.
The whole purpose of this investigation was to confirm the odd event they had just seen.
The scene of something that defied common sense.
It was as if they were charging ahead into uncharted territory and if they made a single mistake they would get buried alive.
If magical means were involved...
If they were to remove the possibility of Tatsuya knowing teleportation the travel time back and forth from the restaurant they were in completely matched with the time the incident occurred.
But their expressions didn't change.
"I see."
"Thank you for your time. You may leave now." Manabu placed his hand on the table and fell into deep thought.
With a slightly odd look, she got up from her seat.
She bowed to everyone in the room and started heading off.
But Nagumo stopped her.
He noticed something.
"The look on your face says you want to say something to us."
"Ah-" Was she that transparent? "No... I just..."
"You can speak freely." Manabu encouraged her.
Ichinose didn't know what overcame her but the unsettling feeling in her heart was like a seed that had been buried blossoming into a beautiful plant.
The combination of Tatsuya and Sakura made her feel uncomfortable. Especially after talking with Sakura.
With what she had observed, Sakura wasn't someone who liked to be in the spotlight. She wanted to avoid crowds as much as possible due to her introverted and timid nature.
So why would such a person be walking with Tatsuya of all people?
In the so-called ike-man list of the girls he was at the top, Tatsuya dominated the first position with a landslide in 80% of the lists, unless it was a list of gloomy men or loners.
Being the leader of a class full of defectives didn't even crack his position at the top.
Instead, it was widely accepted that the school had made a mistake.
But praises aside, why would Sakura agree to walk around with such a person?
Friend?
Love?
Nope!
All she saw was fear and resentment towards Tatsuya in Sakura's eyes.
Not to mention the eerie encounter of him standing behind them silently with a thin smile while Sakura was about to say something made her heart shudder.
Excluding the last part she explained her doubts regarding the relationship of Tatsuya and Sakura.
She also didn't go into too much detail and said that it didn't seem like Tatsuya and Sakura were friends.
She just wanted the stifling feeling in her heart gone.
Plus, in her mind, she was convinced that the Student Council wasn't going to unjustly harm any of the two.
After saying her piece she bowed once again and left.
Tachibana who was still out of the loop scurried away to bring another student.
Someone directly involved.
The Student Council Room was left in heavy silence.
"Yamamoto Tatsuya..."
***
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