SWNOVELXO Chapter 122
Chapter 122: Sakura’s Secret
“It looks like you’ve realized it too.”
Hikigaya glanced at the girl across from him and slowly spoke:
“Finding a witness at the scene is indeed a powerful weapon to ‘turn the tables.’ But you should also realize that this witness can be anyone—except a student from Class D!”
As long as Class C claimed that the so-called witness was just a ploy by Class D to clear Sudo of guilt, they could argue that a Class D student would naturally defend their own classmate. This would greatly undermine the credibility of the testimony.
“If it had been on the first day…”
Horikita closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
If Sakura had stepped forward on the first day when Chabashira-sensei asked the class, her testimony would have carried much more weight. However, with time passing and only three days left until the next hearing, suddenly producing a witness—who also happened to be from Class D—would give Class C too many excuses to question the authenticity of the testimony.
“So, we’re back to the original problem. You all misunderstood the approach from the start. This case was destined to end in a deadlock where ‘neither side can convince the other.’ Even if you find a witness, at most, it will only reduce the severity of the punishment. Completely exonerating Sudo and overturning the verdict? That’s impossible.”
Of course, the best-case scenario would be if Class C voluntarily withdrew their complaint, making the entire incident disappear. But both Hikigaya and Horikita knew that was nothing more than a pipe dream.
“So… the best outcome would be to have the school reduce Sudo’s punishment to prevent his expulsion?”
Horikita sighed, feeling an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
“No wonder the school gave both classes a week to sort this out—they already knew this dispute would ultimately end in ‘mutual compromise.'”
“I understand now.”
Horikita took a deep breath and then thanked Hikigaya. And also…
“About what happened this morning with Yamauchi and the others… I sincerely apologize.”
As she recalled the events of that morning, Horikita was clearly frustrated.
“I specifically warned them…”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She hadn’t expected Ike and Yamauchi to be so unbelievably foolish!
She had clearly told them that this was an obvious trap set by Class C—a deliberate scheme to sow discord within Class D. Horikita had warned them to forget about it and not fall into the trap.
Yet, those two idiots still “took the bait”—and in front of the entire class, no less!
At that moment, she had the urge to rush up and tear their stupid mouths apart!
“They’re just two brainless monkeys!”
It was obvious that Horikita was truly furious. While she and a few others were working themselves to exhaustion for the sake of the class, these two morons were busy causing trouble and dragging everyone down. Anyone in her position would be angry.
Just then, Hikigaya’s phone vibrated—it was a message from Kushida.
[Midsummer Night’s Dream: I found something important. Are you in your room?]
[Energy-Saving Enthusiast: No time!]
[Midsummer Night’s Dream: !!!]
“Something going on?”
Horikita noticed Hikigaya looking at his phone and stood up, preparing to leave so as not to disturb him any further.
Seeing this, Hikigaya quickly nodded.
However, just as Horikita reached the entrance, the doorbell suddenly rang.
She stepped aside, making way for Hikigaya to answer it—after all, she was just a guest, and it was only proper for the host to open the door.
Hikigaya remained completely still.
The doorbell finally stopped ringing. Just as Hikigaya was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the next second, the doorbell started ringing frantically, over and over again—almost as if the person outside was facing some terrifying monster and desperately seeking help!
Horikita frowned in confusion. Hikigaya had no choice but to brace himself and open the door. As soon as the door swung open, he was met with Kushida’s face. The next second, she swiftly slipped inside, squeezing past him, and complained in an annoyed tone,
“Seriously! Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for me out there? I almost got—”
Her voice abruptly stopped. The shoes she had just taken off slipped from her hands and landed on the floor. She stood frozen, her expression filled with disbelief as she stared at Horikita inside the room, as if asking: Why are YOU here?!
Horikita, equally puzzled, glanced back and forth between Kushida and Hikigaya, analyzing the situation.
“Kushida said she had something important to discuss.”
Hikigaya remained expressionless, then turned to Kushida and added,
“Horikita is here for the same reason.”
Kushida quickly snapped out of her shock. She cleared her throat and said,
“I was just about to look for Horikita too. Didn’t expect to find her here… This actually saves us a lot of time.”
With that, she pulled out a photo magazine from her bag, indicating that the clue was in it. When she saw that Horikita’s attention was drawn to the magazine, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. Then, she borrowed Hikigaya’s laptop and opened a webpage, pointing to an image on a blog.
“Take a look at this.”
As Horikita examined the picture, Kushida turned back and shot Hikigaya a fierce glare, as if she was about to eat him alive. Hikigaya, however, completely ignored her murderous expression and instead focused on the contents of the webpage.
“A blog, huh? That’s pretty nostalgic. You don’t see many of these around anymore. Everyone just uses Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook now.”
Seeing the word blog gave Hikigaya a strange sense of nostalgia.
Blogs used to be hugely popular personal social sites, but as smartphones became mainstream, social media gradually shifted from personal PC platforms to mobile apps. With the rise of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, blogs had practically become relics of the past—something few people still paid attention to.
But of course, the real focus here wasn’t the blog itself, but rather its content—specifically, the girl in the picture.
The girl had a curvy figure, a bright and energetic appearance, and an undeniably cute charm. She looked like a student model—perhaps a gravure idol or a fashion magazine model. After all, many clothing and fashion brands liked to feature student models, and this industry had quite a promising future in Japan.
Even someone like Hikigaya, who didn’t follow this world closely, was aware of a few popular student models—like Mai Sakurajima, Ami Kawashima, and Kirino Kousaka. Of course, the only reason he even knew about them was because of his dumb little sister. It’s not like he spent his money on fashion magazines or cared about clothing trends.
Compared to Horikita, who seemed completely clueless, Hikigaya had an eerie sense of familiarity with the girl in the picture—especially with… a certain feature on her chest.
Wait…
“Isn’t this… Sakura?”
Hikigaya’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.