On the same day, while Yamauchi Haruki was gathering information on Hasebe Haruka's movements, the very person was walking back towards the classroom after the school hours.
Most of the students of class 1C were taking it easy by visiting malls and karaoke, because their first year was almost over with only one special exam to spare.
While they were participating in the class discussions, according to arrangements made by Horikita Suzune, it was also true that they wanted to enjoy this short duration of free time before the last special exam of first year.
Moreover, students having club activities were already in their respective clubs.
So, the classroom was almost empty, giving Hasebe Haruka a moment of solitude as she walked down the quiet corridors.
That's because, even if it was not the time of the final special exam yet, she had another battle to fight before that.
Her best friend Sakura Airi was expelled in the previous special exam, which was totally unprecedented.
She was deeply shaken and was unable to accept this loss, when Horikita Suzune, who had failed as the class leader in that very special exam, approached her with a plan.
After hearing her words, Hasebe regained her senses and agreed to work on it, even if there was a very small chance that Sakura could be brought back to school.
And right now, she is going to give reports to Horikita, of the previous night.
As she entered the classroom, Haruka noticed Horikita Suzune sitting at a desk near the window.
The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room, creating an almost serene atmosphere.
The soft, golden light illuminated Horikita's focused expression as she flipped through some papers, her dark hair gently swaying in the cool breeze that flowed through the open window.
The classroom was bathed in a warm, amber glow, contrasting with the crisp air that carried the faint scent of blooming flowers from the school grounds.
Horikita looked up as Haruka approached, her sharp eyes softening slightly as she acknowledged her presence.
"....Was there anyone outside, Hasebe-san?" Horikita asked her if there was anyone outside the class.
It was because the contents of their discussion is confidential.
Moreover, fearing someone listening on them, they discuss everything regarding the next special exam in a chat group of consisting of the whole class, though there was someone who was not added in that.
"No, the whole floor was empty, and I don't think there is anyone in the school building except club members and teachers." Haruka responded in a monotonous voice.
"Let's come to the point. Tell me in detail whatever you found inside his room." Horikita said, her voice low and serious, as she gestured for Haruka to sit down.
Yesterday, Haruka took the unconscious Yamauchi inside his room around midnight.
But, it was clear that her intention was beyond getting inside his room.
As Horikita had previously explained to Haruka, Sakura's expulsion simply didn't make any sense.
The students of class 1C, aren't too dumb to understand the situation they were in, during that special exam.
Before the exam day, Yamauchi, himself declared that he was a traitor.
Therefore, it was clear that Yamauchi would have gotten most of the criticism votes from our class, which is an indisputable fact.
Because there was no way for Yamauchi to manipulate the votes anymore, after everything was laid bare by him and Horikita, about his deal with class A.
It might be true that he also got some praise votes from class A, as a barter, but Sakura getting that many criticism votes was simply impossible.
It was more reasonable for Sudo or Ike to get the most number of criticism votes after him.
Therefore, Horikita proposed a hypothesis that Yamauchi has somehow cheated in that exam.
And, to find out in what way he cheated, she started investigating him not long after and came up with an idea.
Thus, it has brought us to the present moment.
Haruka swiftly explained everything she saw and found inside his room to Horikita.
She listened with a stern look on her face.
From the flow of the conversation it seemed to her, that there was nothing unusual inside his room, except for the fact that she found a lot of pornographic content.
Yamauchi Haruki's pride as a man was being laid bare by Haruka in front of Horikita, though there was no unusual reaction from her.
Brushing aside that fact, Haruka was coming to the main issue.
"Did you thoroughly check his phone?" Horikita interrupted.
"Yes, I did. But there was no porn in it." Haruka's said with a completely serious face.
"I see." Horikita seemed to ponder for a moment.
Mobile phones were given to the students by this school itself.
So, there was no guarantee of security in it, in case someone gets your password.
There seemed to be something that clicked in Horikita's mind, as she made a nearly smug look on her face.
"Hasebe-san, do you understand the meaning of it?" She asked Haruka if she knew the meaning behind those two facts.
Haruka, too, pondered imitating Horikita for a moment, before showing a sense of realization on her face.
"Oh, now, I get it. Yamauchi reads porn manga but, nothing was found on his phone. That can only mean one thing, Horikita-san." Her eyes were sparkling as if she found something interesting.
"That's right, Hasebe-san." Horikita also nodded along.
"Yes! That means, Yamauchi prefers nude pictures more than videos! But, then comes a counter argument that, isn't voice of actors more impactful than just looking at pictures?"
"???? Um Hasebe-san, why are you suddenly acting like a freak in this serious development?" Horikita asked Haruka about her sudden change in behavior.
"I don't know. Maybe the author just wanted to make a lame joke, but extended it to increase word count of the story?" Haruka returned to her serious mode.
There was a possibility that she was right.
Authors are omnipotent after all.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, but the conclusion I came to is that, he is smart enough to keep all the private data on his phone safe. Were you able to check the messages?" Horikita continued her interrogation.
"No, it was locked." Haruka declined that she was not able to get in through Yamauchi's messages as it was locked, and the password she used before, was not the correct one.
"I thought as much. So there was nothing notable, you found?"
"It's not like there is nothing. This is a little off-topic as it was not last night, but when I asked someone what Yamauchi was doing the day before Saturday, they told that they saw him entering the staff room multiple times." Haruka said confidently.
"Staff room, huh? I see. This might be the clue we were searching for. I would investigate on it further. Anything else?" Horikita assured that she would take over further investigation, and asked Hasebe if there was anything else she found related to the matter.
"Uh, yeah. I found a call recording on his phone. This is the one I have been wanting to show you since last night." Haruka said while taking out her phone.
"A call recording? With whom?" Horikita asked her, as it was quite intriguing piece of information.
"It was with Sakayanagi. I am sending it to you via mail. I was totally baffled by the contents they were talking about. But, the main highlight is apparently, there is some kind of scheme going on, by acting director Tsukishiro, to expel Kiyopon."