"When did this chain text begin to circulate?" Shishio asked since he needed to know where this chain text started before he determined everything.
"Last weekend, right?" Hayama looked at Yui, asking for confirmation.
"Yup." Yui nodded.
Shishio looked at Hikigaya and wanted to ask him too, but he decided to give up since he knew this guy didn't know anything.
'Oi!' Hikigaya scolded inwardly, but he didn't say anything since even if Shishio didn't say anything, he could tell what this guy thought. He knew this junior of his was rude, but he couldn't blame him since no one in his class knew his contact info, so no one would send him the chain text.
"Did something happen in class?" Shishio asked.
Hayama thought for a while and shook his head. "Nothing comes to mind."
Yui also nodded. "Yeah, things were the same as usual."
Shishio looked at Hikigaya and asked, "Senpai, I might as well ask you."
"What do you mean by "might as well"?" Hikigaya complained, but he thought for a moment, trying to remember what had happened last week. "Last weekend, huh? That's not too long ago." He scratched his temple and suddenly remembered something. "Oh, the Workplace Tour Study!"
"That's it!" Yui quickly recalled what had happened. "So this is because of the group formations."
"Mind giving us an explanation?" Yukinoshita was confused.
"Forming groups for these kinds of events has an effect on the relationship afterward. Some people are really sensitive about that stuff." While Yui didn't have the brightest head, she was particularly good at reading the atmosphere and the knowledge regarding the relationship among the group.
"We're supposed to be a group of three, so one person from a group of four friends is gonna get excluded." Hikigaya added and said, "I can see them shit-talking to each other to make sure they're not the one who is left out."
"Which means one of the three is the culprit here," Yukinoshita said confidently.
However, Hayama was overwhelmed and couldn't accept this fact. "H-Hold on. I don't want to think that the culprit is among them. These texts say bad things about all three of them. Surely it can't be them." While he lacked confidence, he tried to defend his friends since he didn't want to believe such a fact.
Shishio looked at Hayama, wondering whether this guy was gullible or disillusioned or might be part of his personality?
Shishio wasn't sure, nor did he care, but Hikigaya interrupted Hayama's la-la land.
"Are you retarded?" Hikigaya snorted and said, "They clearly did that so nobody would suspect them. If it were me, I would have avoided slandering someone on purpose in order to make the scapegoat."
"...." Everyone.
"Hikki, you're horrible." Yui moved back slightly.
However, Hikigaya crossed his arms proudly and said, "Call me a "white-collar criminal."
While Shishio said he was the one who said he would solve this problem, everyone started to ask Hayama curiously about his "three friends" since, without a doubt, the criminal was among them.
"Anyway, could you tell us about those three?" Yukinoshita asked.
Hayama hesitated for a moment before he explained with a forced smile. "Tobe's got a bad look at him, but in truth, he's the best at managing the mood. He's also proactive during events. A nice guy."
Yukinoshita took her note and wrote. "A frivolous idiot who can only be noisy, right?"
"...."
Yukinohita stopped writing, then looked up and asked, "What's wrong? Continue."
While Hayama was speechless, he still tried to maintain his smile as usual and continued to explain to the rest of his friends.
"Yamato's calm and a good listener. He's a chill guy who makes everyone around him relax, I guess? He's a nice guy."
"So he's slow and indecisive, huh?"
"...."
Hayama was slightly overwhelmed, but he didn't give up and tried to express the good point about his last friend. "Ooka is friendly and considerate. He's always helping people out. He's —" However, Yukinoshita didn't want to hear anymore and cut him straight. "An opportunist who's always worrying about what others think, then."
"...."
While Yukinoshita was one thing, Shishio must admit Hayama probably didn't see his friends that much, and he could also tell they weren't particularly close either.
"Hmm..." Yukinoshita mulled over slightly and said, "It wouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine any one of them as the culprit. Listening to Hayama-kun isn't really helping us." She looked at Yui and Hikigaya. "What about you guys? What do you think of the three of them?"
"Huh?" Yui was startled, but she answered, "There's not much I can say..." While they often hang out with each other, the relationship between Hayama's clique and Yumiko Miura's clique wasn't that particularly close.
On the other hand, Hikigaya's answer was obvious. "I don't know them too well."
Yukinoshita sighed, then looked at Shishio. "What do you think, Shishio-kun?"
"Do we need to search for the culprit?" Shishio asked.
"Eh?"
They were dumbfounded when they heard his answer.
"Can you explain what you mean by that?" Yukinoshita was intrigued and looked at him curiously.
The two were sitting next to each other, and their distance was close.
For the three of them, the two were like dating each other, which made their lips twitch.
"In the end, the cause of this incident is without a doubt Hayama-senpai," Shishio said.
"Eh? Me?" Hayama was dumbfounded and asked, "What do you mean? How can I become the cause of this incident?"
However, Hikigaya quickly understood. "Ah, I see."
"What do you mean?" Whether it was Yukinoshita or Yui, they were confused.
However, it was a normal thing since Hikigaya spent most of his time observing people, so he understood many things, especially after he heard Shishio's explanation.
"The reason for this is because three of your friends don't want to be left behind in this Workplace Tour Event, especially when you can only make a group of the three. Then one person will be left behind, and they don't want that, so they made this chain text, so you'll choose them," Shishio explained calmly.
"Ah...!"
When everyone heard the explanation, they understood everything.
A normal person wouldn't choose someone with a bad personality or someone with a bad rumor about them. Instead, they would naturally choose someone safe.
However, Hayama was different after all, and he was a nice guy to the core, so when this chain text happened, he knew it was all a misunderstanding, so he would choose the people who were being talked bad about the chain text for his team on the Workplace Tour Event.
"We don't need to search for the culprit since, without a doubt, the culprit is the three of them. They talk badly about themselves, so they won't be left behind by Hayama-senpai in this Workplace Tour Event," Shishio said.
Shishio realized how amazing the EQ of the people in this country was. They realized the importance of communication, and no one wanted to be left behind.
After all, not everyone could become like a Hikigaya.
While Yukinoshita, Yui, and Hikigaya nodded, Hayama could only show a bitter smile since he didn't expect he was the cause of everything.
"How did you solve this?" Yukinoshita asked.
"Ye-Yes! How do I end this chain text?" Hayama quickly asked.
"Well, you just don't need to make a group with them," Shishio said naturally.
"Eh?"
They were dumbfounded.
"That's all?" Hayama asked strangely.
"That's it." Shishio nodded and said, "If the group is made of four, it'll be alright. Unfortunately, it is a group of three, so you can only leave behind one person, and without a doubt, when the Workplace Tour Event ends, the relationship between the one that you leave behind will be awkward. They don't want that, so they can only do this." Shishio took the cup of tea made by Yukinoshita, drenched his parched throat, then said, "So you can only leave them. Let them make their own group. Also, this isn't bad."
"This isn't bad, what do you mean?" Hayama understood, but then he became confused again.
"Well, you might think your friendship with the three is alright. However, what if you're not there?" Shishio asked. "Their relationship might be a friend of a friend. They gather there because of you, but when you're not there, they're not even a friend."
"Ah!" Yui understood and showed an uncomfortable expression.
"If you let them make a group of three, they might become good friends with each other instead of gathering together because of you." Shishio looked at Hayama and asked, "So can you do that? Becoming a loner for the three of them?"
Still, Hayama's answer was something Shishio had expected.
"I can do it." Hayama nodded with a gentle smile and said, "If they can become friends with each other from now on, I am happy to do this."
Shishio and Hikigaya thought this guy was a good guy so thoroughly.
"Well, you become a loner now, Senpai. Have you thought about which group you're going to join?" Shishio asked.
While Hayama's lips twitched, Hikigaya laughed hard.
"......." Shishio, Yui, and Yukinoshita looked at Hikigaya in silence.
Hikigaya stopped laughing since he knew he couldn't laugh at Hayama. After all, he was also a loner.
"Well, I don't know." With his popularity, it was easy for Hayama to join a group. However, he knew once he entered, one person would be left behind, and that person would be secluded. He didn't want to do that, but if he didn't do that, it would be hard for him to get into a group, which put him in a dilemma.
"Is that so? Why don't I recommend someone?" Shishio suddenly said.
"Oh? Who?" Hayama asked curiously.
"Hikigaya-senpai," Shishio said.
"...What?" Hikigaya was dumbfounded.
"Well, Hikigaya-senpai is a loner, so even if you invite him, you don't need to worry about those complex relationships," Shishio said.
"Oi!"
"That's true." Hayama nodded in agreement.
"Oi! You two!"
Hikigaya was so mad, but he stopped when he saw Hayama smiling at him.
"How about it, Hikigaya-kun? Do you want to team up with me?" Hayama asked with a smile.
Hikigaya looked at Hayama for a while and hesitated for a while before he let out a sigh and grabbed Hayama's hand. "O-Okay."
'Damn, why do I reply to him in English?' Hikigaya felt Raijuu really threw him off.
"You don't need to thank me, Senpai," Shishio said with a smile.
"Who wants to thank you?!" Hikigaya must admit he wanted to throw a table at Shishio at this moment.
With this one case closed, Detective Shishio solved the case, and everyone was able to attend the Workplace Tour Event peacefully.
Then, what about Shishio?
Shishio looked at the familiar house in front of him and thought he was going to release his inner beast today.