Chapter 040 Hirata: The One Who Betrayed the Class Is Me!
Yukimura Teruhiko stood in the center of Class D's tent, clutching the photocopy of the participation list he had torn off the pillar. His fingers pinched the edges of the paper lightly.
Truthfully, he wasn't the most influential person in Class D, nor was he the strongest fighter, but he possessed something others didn't: a brain. In Class D, Yukimura's academic ability was second only to Horikita Suzune and Koenji Rokusuke.
He was in the habit of using logic to deduce everything, including this incident regarding the leaked participation list.
"Only three people knew the complete list," Yukimura's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "Katsuragi-kun, Hirata-kun, and Horikita-san. Katsuragi-kun is from Class B; he has no motive to leak Class D's list. After all, if it were leaked, Class B would be the first to suffer the impact, and they can't afford any more hits. As for Hirata-kun—I don't believe he would do such a thing. Therefore, only one possibility remains."
Everyone's gaze turned toward Horikita Suzune.
Horikita sat on a folding chair, her back perfectly straight. Her expression remained unchanged. Her long black hair was tied in a low ponytail, with a few strands hanging over her forehead, obscuring half of her face. She looked no different than usual.
But the air around her had changed.
The students of Class D formed a circle. Some stood, some sat, but all eyes fell on Horikita. Some gazes were filled with suspicion, others with schadenfreude, and some with pure curiosity. Whispers drifted from every corner of the crowd like countless mosquitoes buzzing in the ear.
"How could Horikita-san do something like this?"
"Why wouldn't she? Look at her—who has she ever been close to?"
"But she helped us get our living expenses..."
"That was a transaction. A transaction and betrayal are two different things."
The voices weren't loud, but they were enough for those in the circle to hear. Horikita's brow didn't twitch; her fingers didn't move. She sat there like a sculpture, waiting for the voices to gradually die down before she spoke slowly.
"Why me?" Her voice was calm, but she wasn't making an excuse; she was stating a case.
"I have no intention of betraying Class D."
Yukimura's brow furrowed. He waited for her to continue.
Horikita took out the copy of the list that Kushida had brought over earlier. Her gaze fell on the dense names and numbers, pausing for a second before she looked up and scanned everyone present.
"If I really wanted to betray Class D, I could have done it far more thoroughly," her voice grew louder, ensuring everyone could hear. "I could have handed the list to Classes A and C right in front of everyone and said—'Class D doesn't matter, but Class B is in the same boat as you. If you want to attack Class B, I can help.' There would be no need to sneak around, let alone stick the paper on a pillar."
The crowd went silent for a moment.
Horikita continued. Her pace wasn't fast, but every word seemed carefully considered before being uttered.
"I could ask Classes A and C for points. I could negotiate how much a head is worth, how much a piece of intel is worth. We could split the points gained. You already get 20,000 in living expenses from Hikigaya every month; if I got another sum from Class A and C, you could get even more. Why would I leak it secretly? Why would I shoulder the reputation of a 'traitor'? What benefit would I gain?"
Yukimura's expression froze. He opened his mouth to say something but found he didn't know what to say. Every word Horikita said made sense.
If she were truly a traitor, she could have been more covert, or she could have been more overt. Both ways would be more logical and beneficial to her than this method of "sticking the list on a pillar."
"I am not defending myself," Horikita's voice returned to its initial calm. "I am simply stating facts. Whether you believe it or not is your business."
The tent fell quiet.
Yukimura stood his ground, the photocopy in his hand becoming wrinkled from his grip. He moved his gaze away from Horikita, scanned the crowd, and then pulled it back. Just as the silence began to spread, Yosuke Hirata walked quickly into the tent from outside. He held his phone, and fine beads of sweat were on his forehead, making him look like he had just run back from somewhere. He scanned the tent, sensing the stagnant air.
"What's wrong?" Hirata asked.
No one answered him. Yukimura handed over the photocopy. Hirata took it, glanced down, and his brow furrowed instantly. "Where did this come from?"
"It was posted on the pillar outside the tent. It was found when we came back at noon," Yukimura's voice was a bit strained. "The list has been leaked. Only three people knew the full list—you, Katsuragi-kun, and Horikita-san. Katsuragi-kun is from Class B. So..."
He didn't finish the sentence. But Hirata understood.
Hirata lowered his head, turning the photocopy over and over. Then he looked up. His expression shifted from confusion to relief, and then to a calm that suggested he had finally made a resolution.
"There must be a mistake about the leak," Hirata said. "If someone really leaked the list, it definitely wasn't Horikita-san."
Yukimura frowned. "Hirata-kun, you—"
"Because the one who leaked it was me," Hirata interrupted him.
'Huh?'
The tent went silent instantly. The faces of the surrounding students were filled with utter confusion, as if they were thinking,
'Did we hear that right?'
Now, everyone's gaze shifted from Horikita and landed on Hirata.
Hirata stood in the center of the tent, his gentle face devoid of a smile. He scanned the crowd, pulled his gaze back, and looked down.
"Back when Sudo-kun and Yamauchi-kun failed the old questions exam, I borrowed points from Hikigaya-kun," Hirata's voice slowed. "I owed him a favor then. He said that when the time came, he would ask me to do one thing. I agreed."
Someone gasped.
"So," Hirata looked up at Yukimura, "if the list was really leaked, the one who did it was me, not Horikita-san."
Yukimura opened his mouth to ask "Why didn't you say so earlier?" but swallowed the words. He saw Hirata's expression. There was no guilt or panic on that face, only a calm readiness to accept all consequences.
"Hirata-kun..." someone whispered, their tone laced with disbelief.
"How could you do such a thing..."
"And we trusted you so much..."
Voices came from every corner of the crowd. But Hirata did not explain or argue; he just stood there quietly, listening. He knew this was his to bear.
However, a small portion of people did not join in the accusations. They didn't look at Hirata with anger. Having received help from him regularly, they knew Hirata wasn't the type to selfishly betray the class.
Especially since he was willing to protect even someone like Yamauchi—how could he sell out the whole class for a single favor?
"Hirata-kun is taking the fall for Horikita-san." At that moment, Hasabe Haruka's voice came from the edge of the crowd. "Only three people knew the list. Katsuragi is impossible, Horikita won't admit it, so that leaves only you. You say it was to repay a favor, but couldn't you have repaid it at any other time? Why now? Why exactly when someone is attacking Horikita?"
Hirata's brow twitched.
"So," Hasabe said with an expression of having seen through it all, "you're being the scapegoat for her. Of course, whether you're really covering for Horikita-san is hard to say, because as she said, if she were to betray us, there'd be no need to leave such obvious tracks."
The tent fell silent again.
Hirata opened his mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing. He was indeed taking the hit for Horikita, but it wasn't his own idea.
"If the list is leaked, the one who did it was me"—Hikigaya Hachiman had told him to say those words.
Before today's sports festival began, Hikigaya had sent him a message with only one line: "If anyone in Class D pursues the matter of the leaked list, say you did it. For the reason, say you owed me a favor. Don't worry about anything else."
He didn't ask why; he simply followed through. Because he owed Hikigaya a favor, and he had said he would pay it back. Now he was. Truthfully, even if Hikigaya hadn't said anything, if he saw Horikita-san being attacked, he would have stepped up anyway.
But his silence was taken as a confession by others.
More and more people began to doubt—not Hirata, but who Hirata was covering for. Horikita didn't admit it, Hirata did, but Hirata's admission was too blunt—so blunt it didn't seem real.
Therefore, it was certain he was protecting someone. Who was it? Was it Horikita? But according to Horikita's logic and Hasabe's words, it shouldn't be her. Then who? It couldn't possibly be Katsuragi, right!?
"Why is it so lively in here?"
At that moment, a voice drifted in from outside.
It was Karuizawa Kei standing at the entrance of the tent, her blonde side-ponytail particularly striking in the sunlight. She wore a red tracksuit and still had a white headband tied around her forehead. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were bright.
Matsushita Chiaki stood behind her, with Shinohara Satsuki and Sato Maya flanking them. They had just returned from the cafeteria, and their tracksuits were still stained with sand from the field. Karuizawa walked into the tent, her gaze quickly scanning the students of Class D, who were draped in a bizarre atmosphere.
"Who's gossiping about what?" Karuizawa asked.
In truth, they had been standing at the entrance for a while. They had heard some of the content before coming in.
Sato Maya followed Karuizawa inside. She had heard Hasabe's words and Hirata's "confession." She scanned the tent, then walked over to Hasabe and whispered a question. Hasabe shook her head and didn't say much.
Sakura Airi stood outside the tent, still holding a water bottle she hadn't had time to put down. She didn't go in, but stood there looking at the people inside through a gap in the tent. Her face was anxious, and her fingers gripped the bottle tightly.
When Karuizawa walked by, Sakura hurried to meet her. "Karuizawa-san, something happened—"
"I know," Karuizawa interrupted her. "I heard what happened just now."
Sakura opened her mouth to say more, but Karuizawa had already entered the tent. Sakura hesitated for a moment before following her in.
Karuizawa stood still in the tent, her gaze falling on Hirata. Hirata was looking down, silent. His expression was calm, but Karuizawa noticed his fingers were trembling slightly.
"Hirata-kun," Karuizawa spoke, "you said you leaked the participation list."
"Yes," Hirata's voice was very low.
"Then who did you give the list to?"
Hirata paused for a second. "Hikigaya Hachiman."
Another round of whispers broke out in the tent.
Hikigaya Hachiman—Class A's representative, Student Council Vice President, the man who enabled Class D to get 20,000 in living expenses every month. Once his name was mentioned, the atmosphere became subtle. Some felt that Hirata giving the list to Hikigaya, while not exactly "betrayal," was not honorable either. Most were waiting for Karuizawa to continue questioning.
But Karuizawa didn't keep questioning Hirata. She turned her head and looked at Horikita.
"Horikita-san wouldn't do something like this," Karuizawa said.
Yukimura pushed up his glasses. "How do you know?"
Karuizawa looked at him, silent for a second.
"This morning," she said word by word, "the girls of Class D were constantly targeted by the girls of Class C. The girls who aren't fast runners faced strong teams, while the fast runners faced even stronger opponents. Because of that, everyone had a hard time getting points. If that wasn't a coincidence, it means someone knew our groupings in advance. If Horikita-san were the traitor, why didn't she put herself in an easy group? The points she got today weren't actually that many."
Yukimura was stunned. He hadn't thought of that. He was using logic and the process of elimination to find a culprit. But Karuizawa wasn't using logic; she was using results. The points Horikita got in the morning matches were indeed few. Even though her physical ability was among the strongest in the class, she didn't get many points—that was indeed strange.
Matsushita Chiaki then stepped out from behind Karuizawa and stood in the center of the tent.
Matsushita had her own little calculations. Horikita was someone Hikigaya had chosen and then transferred to another class, while she herself was the one left behind to replace Horikita's status. Now that Horikita was being attacked, she naturally had to help.
Thus, Matsushita's gaze swept over everyone present before landing on Horikita.
She spoke up, "Regarding the leak of the participation list—if it were a real traitor, they would surely have profited from it secretly, rather than blatantly sticking the list on a pillar. Doing that serves no purpose other than creating chaos."
She paused, slowing her tone. "Therefore, this might be a ploy by another class. To make us suspect one another, cause internal strife, and prevent us from getting points."
Yukimura's brow furrowed.
Matsushita's explanation made sense, but it wasn't enough—who came up with the ploy? How did an outsider get Class D's list? Only three people knew it; an outsider couldn't have gotten it out of thin air. Unless there was an insider. So the problem returned to its starting point.
Matsushita saw Yukimura's expression and knew he hadn't fully understood. She took a breath and said what she really wanted to say. "However, is it really only people from other classes who could do such a thing?"
The tent fell silent again.
Matsushita continued the attack. "During the previous VIP exam, there was a boy in our class who tried to use girls from another class to bully the girls in our own class. That kind of behavior—even if called 'for the class'—was actually just for himself. So—is it possible that the leak of the list was also done by someone in this class?"
No one spoke.
"If everyone knows the list was leaked, given the current level of trust, Horikita-san would be the most suspicious," Matsushita's voice was very low. "So, is it possible that this boy wanted to attack Horikita-san?"
At that.
Everyone's gaze turned simultaneously toward Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
He stood in the corner at the very back of the tent, hands in his pockets. He looked no different from anyone else. His expression showed no change, and those golden eyes held no discernible emotion. But everyone was looking at him.
Especially since the things Ryuen had exposed during the VIP exam—"using honey traps to seduce Class C girls," "wanting to use them to bully Class D girls," "then playing the hero to win trust"—remained in the memories of the Class D girls and had never faded.
Yukimura Teruhiko pushed up his glasses. His mind was racing. Ayanokouji's actions during the VIP exam, Ryuen's revelations on the ship, and the fact that the Class D girls were being comprehensively targeted in the sports festival. All clues pointed to the same person. Not Horikita Suzune, not Yosuke Hirata, not Katsuragi Kohei—it was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
'Is it you again!? Ayanokouji! You just won't stay quiet!'
Yukimura's finger paused on the frame of his glasses. He cursed inwardly. Just a moment ago, he felt that since only three people knew the list, Horikita was the most likely suspect. Now, it seemed he might have been wrong.
At that moment, Kushida Kikyo stepped out from the crowd.
She stood beside Horikita, hands behind her back, that sweet smile on her face.
"Has everyone forgotten," Kushida's voice was soft, but every word was clear, "how much Horikita-san has done for everyone?"
No one spoke.
"During the uninhabited island exam, she was the one who proposed distribution according to work. The basic points were sold to Hikigaya-kun, which is why we can get 20,000 in living expenses every month now." Kushida looked into the eyes of everyone present. "If she wanted to betray us, she wouldn't have needed to do any of that. But she chose the plan that was most beneficial to us. Therefore, she, who considered everyone's situation, has no reason to betray the class."
Seeing that Kushida, a neutral party, had begun to speak, Karuizawa quickly followed suit.
She took a step forward and spoke.