Ryo stood up. His arm feels good... to say the least. He walked towards the kitchen, and saw Kyouko in her casual clothes and apron, alone in the kitchen, finishing up the dishes. He walked up to her. "Fujimoto-san, do you have a moment?"
She turned around and saw Ryo with a serious face. "What do you want?" She replied as she placed the last plate on the plate rack and took off her apron.
"Can we talk outside?" Ryo asked.
"Outside you say?" She looked at him with dubious eyes, sensing an ulterior motive.
"It's not what you think. This is something important."
Kyouko looked at him intently before letting out a sigh. "Fine."
The both of them went outside and into the nearest cafe. They both ordered black coffee and went on to sit near the window.
"So, what is something important that you need to talk to me about?" She asked with a straight face.
"Firstly, you are from the Seiei Middle School, right?" Ryo asked as he rested his chin on his right palm.
"Yes, I am. Why would that matter?"
"Then, you know anything about the council?"
"Council, you say? Yes, I know something."
"Do you have some sort of connection with them?"
"This feels awfully like an interrogation."
"This is important, Fujimoto-san."
"Then, let me ask you back. Do you think I have some sort of connection to them?" Ryo thought for a moment before answering her question straightforwardly.
"I think... you're part of the council."
Kyouko's face remained straight, void of any surprise that one would expect.
"Then, let me introduce myself properly. I am Fujimoto Kyouko, currently the Eighth member of the Seiei Student Council."
"... Is that supposed to be sarcasm?"
"Up to you to decide."
"Okay, which one is it?"
"I am the eighth seat, Kyosuke-san."
"I'll take your word for it."
"So, what is this all about?"
"Do you know what an exousia stone is?"
"I've heard that it increases magic power."
"Yes, it does."
"Don't tell me..." She curled her eyebrows in a slight suspicion.
"Stupid. No one in their right mind would tell someone that they have a cheating tool, especially when the person they are talking to is a member of the upper echelons."
"What business do you have with that stone?" Her face returned to its straight expression.
"Someone brought an exousia stone to the hotel premises."
"Someone brought an exousia you say?" Her face became serious, her eyebrows frowning.
"At the forest side of the hotel, I saw two figures, with one holding that red stone."
"It may have been teachers researching, you know?"
"I doubt that a teacher here would hurt a student just because they were discovered. Moreover, I don't see a reason why teachers will conceal their identity if what they are doing is not suspicious."
"You were wounded?!" She blurted out in surprise. Ryo pats the area of his wound that was healed by Hina. Kyouko shifted her gaze towards it, displaying a shocked expression. Her eyes got more serious as she crossed her arms.
"Hina healed me. You could ask her."
"I see."
"Do you have your phone with you?"
"I do. Why?""I have a photo and a recording."
"Sure." She took out her phone from the front pocket of her uniform and handed it over to Ryo. He also took out his phone and opened the sharing app. After a few minutes of working with the phones, he returned it to Kyouko. Now, her phone has the data of the audio and everything related to the incident.
"I see. Having an exousia stone without permission and moreover, using violence, is unacceptable. I shall do what I can do." She said in a purposeful voice.
"Another favor I want to ask."
"Don't get too carried away now,"
"I'm not. Anyway, what I want to say is that, if you ever plan to give that file to the other council members and they ask where did you get it, never say my name."
"If I may ask, why?"
"I have my reasons. Now if you would..."
"You have my word. Just don't expect something too high. Though, I have a question to ask."
"What is it?"
"How did you know I was part of the council?" Ryo looked at her in the eye briefly before answering.
"Intuition."
"Intuition, huh? Alright."
With that, she finished her coffee and left the cafe, leaving Ryo alone. Ryo let out a sigh as he stared at the sky. through the window, taking a sip of his coffee as he does.
...
Kyouko immediately went to the council office, and there, Ryujin was doing paperwork on the council desk while he sang to some music through his headphones.
"Ryujin," Kyouko called out to him, but to no avail. She decided to move a little closer to him and placed her hands on the desk. Ryujin finally took notice of her, and he took off his headphones. He looked at Kyouko and smiled at her—, greeting her. "Hello there, Kyouko-chan. Are you here to help me—"
"You know this, right?" Kyouko cuts him off as she shows him her phone. Ryujin looked at her in disbelief, as he sighed to himself. He leaned in to take a closer look at the phone. "A red stone... Exousia stone?"
"Yes, an exousia stone. From the looks of it, someone smuggled an exousia stone inside the school."
"Precisely. This was reported to me by a first-year student."
"Alright... Though, it's hard to investigate when the only lead is a picture."
"Then, here." Kyouko also proceeded to play the recording. Even for Kyouko, this was the first time she had heard the recording and seen the picture. She pressed play and the recording soon started.
"I will... hurt you... if you don't delete that..." A serious, female voice spoke. "The picture of you with another figure, holding an illegal stone within the school premises?!" A male voice yelled out. It was Ryo's voice. After that, for a few moments, there were only subtle sounds of panting, some footsteps, and the swift sound of a blade being swung in the air. This was followed by the low sounds of people murmuring in the background. Seconds after that was a set of rushed footsteps.
The recording continued until after Ryo bandaged his deep wound. On the way inside, he stopped the recording. Kyouko stopped the recording and closed her phone. Ryujin frowned, pondering. "Alright, I've seen enough. Where did this occur?" Ryujin asked,
"East side. Near the forest area."
"Well, this alone wouldn't suffice. But, maybe we can find some traces of evidence if we go to the forest."
"Sure, no problem."