COTE: Hikigaya's Classroom of the Supreme Being

"I understand. I've received the details. From here on, you're free to act as you see fit."

"Huh? Free to act? But..."

"I'm hanging up now."

Though the person on the other end of the phone seemed eager to say more, Ayanokoji decided there was no need. Besides, he didn't have the luxury of time to waste, so he ended the call without hesitation.

The moment he answered Karuizawa's call, he instantly realized that the situation had spiraled out of control.

After a thorough inquiry, Ayanokoji reached a series of conclusions.

If his guess was right, the tall, silver-haired girl Karuizawa had mentioned was most likely that upperclassman, Kiryuin, whom he had encountered once before.

Each grade had its separate changing rooms, so the fact that she would suddenly burst into the first-year area clearly wasn't just a simple mistake.

Judging by her reactions, Kiryuin hadn't known about the remote-controlled car at first; it was Karuizawa's actions that drew her attention.

Even though Karuizawa had friends helping to cover for her, if there was already suspicion, such behavior would only have the opposite effect.

The one piece of good news was that at least Karuizawa herself hadn't been caught up in it.

Ayanokoji didn't think Karuizawa had done anything wrong; on the contrary, she had already pushed herself to her limits.

Unfortunately, plans often can't keep up with the changes that occur.

The reason why she decided to investigate was likely because of—

"Hikigaya...?"

Ayanokoji couldn't think of any other answer besides him.

Of course, Kiryuin might have discovered something suspicious on her own, but that possibility was slim enough to disregard.

"This is going to be a real mess..."

Ayanokoji muttered to himself. The last time he faced a similar crisis was on the deserted island, and back then, he had narrowly escaped disaster thanks to Hirata's self-sacrificing nature. If not for that, his social death would have been inevitable.

But this time, it was not going to be that simple.

Even though he knew Hikigaya was suspicious, and guessed he would ask someone to investigate the girls' changing room, Ayanokoji had assumed that the person Hikigaya would ask would be Kushida or Ichinose.

If it had been one of them, even if they had been caught, Ayanokoji was confident he could convince them to let it slide, or at least not blow things out of proportion.

But he never imagined Kiryuin would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Although they had only met briefly, Ayanokoji had the feeling that, given Kiryuin's personality, she wouldn't show any mercy in a situation like this.

And now, approaching her directly would be like admitting guilt.

The troublesome part was that Ayanokoji couldn't completely distance himself from the situation. Once they traced the purchase of the remote-controlled car back to Ike, there was no way Ike would take the blame alone. He would definitely implicate both Ayanokoji and Yamauchi.

"Sigh, I should have just copied Sudou... never mind."

It was too late for regrets; all he could do now was find a way to fix it.

Ayanokoji quickly organized his thoughts. There were only two paths before him.

The first was to persuade Hikigaya to let this slide.

But that idea was quickly rejected.

First of all, there was no guarantee that Kiryuin would hand the evidence over to Hikigaya. It was just as likely that she would go straight to the school administration.

After all, this was a serious case of voyeurism, not something a single student could handle alone. Given that Hikigaya was a boy, Kiryuin might also consider that.

Most importantly, Ayanokoji wasn't confident he could persuade Hikigaya.

If they were a normal person, they might have some sense of camaraderie towards a classmate, especially when the consequence could be expulsion. Normally, they would hesitate.

But in Hikigaya's case... most of the class probably didn't even register as classmates to him. They were just strangers who happened to share the same classroom.

In short, this method was too uncertain, so the safer option was—

To steal the remote-controlled car directly from Kiryuin.

As long as the physical evidence was gone, the situation would be much less dire, at least not as precarious as it was now.

Though there was a high risk of expulsion if he were caught, the same was true if the voyeurism incident was exposed. Ayanokoji didn't hesitate in making his decision.

He first headed to a nearby gift stall and bought a pair of sunglasses and a towel, then found a secluded spot where he took off his shirt, turned it inside out and put it back on.

At that moment, Ayanokoji felt a small sense of relief that he had bought this reversible shirt.

What was a random impulse back then was now proving to be useful.

Next, he had to find Kiryuin.

That tall, beautiful upperclassman was a conspicuous figure, so finding her wouldn't be difficult as long as he paid attention to the reactions of the nearby boys.

The challenge was how to divert attention away from her.

Ayanokoji quickly spotted Kiryuin. She hadn't even changed out of her swimsuit and was casually walking towards the facility's entrance, remote-controlled car in hand. It seemed she wasn't planning to hand the evidence to Hikigaya but was instead going straight to the school administration.

...Was she planning to walk around campus in a swimsuit?

While it wasn't impossible, such an act would require a level of courage beyond that of an ordinary person.

This made Ayanokoji realize that Kiryuin was likely cut from the same cloth as Koenji, which explained why he felt a sense of déjà vu when he first met her.

Trying to persuade her with words... was not going to work.

He would have to use that tactic.

When he snuck in yesterday to install the screws, Ayanokoji noticed that the large swimming pool had very few surveillance cameras. There were only a few near the hallway in front of the girls' changing room, and as long as he used the blind spots carefully, it wouldn't be hard to avoid detection.

Since this facility was normally only used by the swim club, much like the special teaching building, the school couldn't monitor every corner.

Ayanokoji quickly made his way to the third-year boys' changing room. Fortunately, it was empty.

This wasn't surprising; from his observations, it seemed like most of the students at the stalls were upperclassmen, and with graduation approaching, few would have the time or inclination to come here.

Looking up at the ceiling, Ayanokoji immediately spotted the fire sprinkler system.

Time to get started...

Standing on the long bench in the changing room, Ayanokoji raised the lighter he had borrowed earlier and held the flame close to the sprinkler head.

Soon, with a loud bang, the glass bulb in the sprinkler shattered due to the heat, causing water to spray out. At the same time, the piercing sound of the fire alarm echoed throughout the building.

Ayanokoji immediately jumped down and rushed out of the changing room, donning his sunglasses and covering his mouth and nose with the towel.

[T/N: Lol! Ayanokoji is covering himself!]

Although this might seem a bit exaggerated, with the fire alarm blaring, others would likely assume he was just trying to avoid inhaling smoke—if they even noticed him at all.

As expected, most of the students panicked and rushed towards the exit.

Kiryuin, however, was an exception. She stopped to observe her surroundings before surprisingly heading back inside.

...What was this?

There was no time to ponder, so Ayanokoji hurriedly and stealthily followed her, watching as she entered the changing room.

Did Kiryuin realize the alarm was a false alert and decided to avoid the crowd by changing her clothes first?

Though it was only a hypothesis, Ayanokoji felt it was the most plausible explanation.

This was really... a huge help.

Apart from the area in front of the girls' changing room, most of the facility was free of surveillance. With everyone else outside, this was the perfect time to act.

Wrapping the towel tightly around his head, Ayanokoji concealed himself in a corner, quietly waiting for his target.

He had already scouted the area; it was a spot where he could act with confidence.

Soon enough, Kiryuin, now dressed, nonchalantly emerged from the changing room, completely unfazed by the alarm.

Based on the previously observed pacing, Ayanokoji silently calculated the time it would take for the opponent to reach him.

Four... three... two... one!

In the final second of the countdown, Ayanokoji lunged forward with sudden force, delivering a powerful punch directly to Kiryuin's chest.

However, Kiryuin's reaction to this almost inevitable corner attack was unexpected.

It was as if she had anticipated it. With swift precision, she raised her arm and firmly blocked the blow.

"Hoh—it's quite audacious of modern perverts," Kiryuin said with an unflinching smile. "Not only do you take photos of girls changing, but now you even dare to assault a delicate girl like me."

Unfortunately, the ability to remain unfazed and block such an attack isn't something that can be attributed to a mere girl; it's more fitting to describe her as a mountain gorilla.

Ayanokoji hadn't anticipated his attack being blocked. The situation was growing increasingly complicated.

Yet Kiryuin seemed rather pleased with herself. She took a few steps back and tossed the remote-controlled car aside.

"I initially thought it was strange that the alarm suddenly went off, perhaps it was related to me," Kiryuin said, taking a fighting stance with enthusiasm. "I didn't expect to actually find a formidable opponent. I'll call you the Towel Man from now on."

In other words, she had sensed something unusual but deliberately walked into it.

Such behavior is rare… usually.

Ignoring Kiryuin's taunting, Ayanokoji threw another punch.

"Heh, you're tougher than I imagined," Kiryuin remarked.

"Uh..." The disparity in their strengths was evident. Ayanokoji continued to throw precise, rhythmic punches, quickly overpowering Kiryuin.

Although she maintained a smile on her face, it didn't mean she had any spare energy; she was merely enjoying the fight.

The very first punch should have made it clear to Kiryuin.

Even though she managed to block it, she couldn't negate its force. Her arm undoubtedly suffered significant damage, and Ayanokoji could feel her slightly trembling during their exchange.

Logically, the best course of action would have been to flee as soon as possible. As long as she made it to a crowded area, she would have had a chance to escape.

Of course, whether Ayanokoji would pursue her was another issue, but it at least provided a glimmer of hope.

Yet, despite knowing she couldn't win, Kiryuin chose to fight on.

Thus, the outcome was inevitable.

"Hah... I am no match at all," Kiryuin said, defensively holding her ground while grinning. "To think there's someone like you hidden in this school. This is quite interesting."

"Uh..." Ayanokoji found no amusement in this situation. If he had the choice, he would rather not risk making such a move.

To avoid any more complications, it was time to bring this to an end.

At this moment, he fixed a steely gaze on Kiryuin, channeling all his killing intent.

"What?!" Though it was only a fleeting moment, Kiryuin was unmistakably stunned.

Seizing the opportunity, Ayanokoji channeled all his strength into his right fist and, without hesitation, aimed a powerful punch directly at her solar plexus.

"I... lost after all..."

Kiryuin's eyes widened as she crumpled to the ground, losing consciousness.

Given her physical resilience, she would likely wake up in about ten minutes.

Ayanokoji didn't linger. He carefully lifted Kiryuin and placed her on a nearby chair, arranging her as if she were merely resting. Then he swiftly took the remote-controlled car and left the area.

As he walked, he removed his sunglasses and towel, wrapping the remote-controlled car in the towel. He then took off his shirt, reversed it to its original side, and put it back on.

"Phew—thank goodness," Ayanokoji sighed, finally allowing himself a moment of relief.

This operation had been extremely risky, but if he hadn't retrieved the remote-controlled car, his future at this school would have been in jeopardy.

Although there were other potential solutions, their chances of success were too slim. This was a gamble he had to take if he wanted to avoid failure.

The next task was to dispose of the memory card.

The remnants of the remote-controlled car were too numerous to easily handle. Without an effective solution, any discovery would lead to suspicion. It was best to leave the car in its original state, tuck it back into the bag, and take it away.

Even though there was some risk involved, as long as the incriminating footage was gone, if the device was discovered, the school authorities wouldn't be able to convict him. At most, he would receive a warning, not enough to lead to expulsion.

Returning to the first-year boys' locker room, Ayanokoji extracted the memory card from the remote-controlled car, crushed it in his hand with a satisfying snap of the plastic, and tossed the shards into a nearby trash bin.

He then opened his locker and stashed the remote-controlled car back in his bag.

"That should about wrap things up."

Ayanokoji left the locker room, preparing to meet up with the others.

Next, he needed to find Ike and Yamauchi and selectively explain the situation to them.

Those two were idiots, so any excuse would suffice. He could also take this opportunity to warn them to behave better in the future.

Meanwhile, the commotion outside was starting to die down, likely because the school had confirmed that the alarm was a false report.

After all this effort, he hoped the event could continue without further issues.

However, his hopes were short-lived as an announcement echoed through the area.

[Please have Hachiman Hikigaya come to the front desk. We have an item that has been lost.]

...Hikigaya?

For some reason, Ayanokoji felt a strong sense of unease.

There was no logical reason for it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Perhaps it was because anything involving Hikigaya was likely to bring trouble, or maybe...

In any case... he decided to check it out.

Ayanokoji made his decision swiftly, without much hesitation.