Faced with Hikigaya's suspicion, Ayanokouji remained unfazed. His expression was as wooden as ever, giving no hint of what he was really thinking.
"I know this is hard to explain."
He didn't try to argue against Hikigaya's accusations. Instead, he went along with them.
"So what are you going to do now? Are you really planning to report this to the student council? You know what kind of fallout that will cause—the class will fall apart completely."
"So here we go again with your reasoning? For the sake of the class? For the greater good?"
Faced with Hikigaya's sarcasm, Ayanokouji remained calm.
"I know that what Ike and the others did is a crime, but we have to consider the primary and secondary responsibilities here. Expelling everyone involved would be a fair and just outcome, but have you thought about how much of an impact this kind of scandal would have on the school and the students?"
Hikigaya frowned slightly. Ayanokouji's meaning was clear.
To be honest, he had already considered this problem. Secretly filming the girls' locker room was something serious enough to cause a public outcry, whether inside the school or outside. And since the culprits were students, the consequences would be even worse.
From Hikigaya's perspective—or from the perspective of any ordinary student—severely punishing the culprits, expelling them, and even reporting them to the police would be the most satisfying result.
But from the school's point of view, this was a huge problem that could spiral out of control.
That was why, as soon as Hikigaya found out about it, he told Asahina to keep it quiet—to prevent an even bigger disaster.
"If you think this alone will reduce their punishment, that's way too naive."
Hikigaya scoffed.
"I admit the school will consider this, but that's no excuse. Cause and effect—you need to understand the difference between the two."
Hearing Hikigaya's firm tone, Ayanokouji knew this situation couldn't be smoothed over anymore. Someone had to take responsibility.
"Ike was the mastermind."
Ayanokouji said without hesitation.
"Of course, the others aren't innocent either. But this is still better than letting them all get off scot-free."
Hikigaya narrowed his eyes.
Ayanokouji was making himself very clear. He was suggesting that Ike take the blame as the main culprit, while the others would share lesser responsibility.
As for the idea of "law not punishing everyone"—with how serious this was, that was impossible. Everyone involved would be punished. But punishing one person severely versus punishing everyone lightly were two very different things.
The reality was, not everyone would receive a harsh punishment. Ayanokouji was "reminding" Hikigaya of this fact, basically giving him two choices:
Punish one person heavily, or punish everyone lightly.
And in a case like this, where things could explode if exposed, the culprits would definitely start shifting blame onto each other. It might even become impossible to identify the true ringleader.
"I still don't trust you."
Hikigaya shook his head.
He knew Ayanokouji's real goal was to protect himself.
The worst part about this crime wasn't the legal consequences—it was the social fallout.
In simple terms, it was "social death."
A complete and total reputation collapse.
Ayanokouji had already tasted a small version of this not long ago, thanks to Hikigaya himself. It wasn't a huge loss, but it was enough for him to realize that he could never get involved in something like this again.
This locker room incident wasn't terrifying because of the law—it was terrifying because of the moral backlash.
So…
"I have a recording."
Ayanokouji took out his phone, his expression as calm as ever.
"And Horikita can back me up."
Hikigaya's eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized Ayanokouji.
He hadn't expected Ayanokouji to be this prepared—or rather, to have a backup plan ready before things even went south.
Now, he also understood why someone as independent as Horikita had suddenly gone to stop Ike.
What Hikigaya didn't know was that this was actually Ayanokouji's second safety measure. His first plan had been to sabotage the second-year locker room.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated Ike's greed.
That's right—after learning of Ike's plan last night and realizing he wouldn't listen to reason, Ayanokouji had secretly recorded everything.
"If things are exactly as you say, I won't accuse anyone unfairly. But… I also won't let a single guilty person go."
Hikigaya gave Ayanokouji a deep look.
"I'm a good person."
Ayanokouji said calmly.
Hikigaya didn't respond, because Horikita Manabu had already arrived.
The student council was on duty at the water park today, so it wasn't just Hikigaya—Horikita Manabu was here as well. The moment he received Hikigaya's message, he rushed over.
Not long after, Tachibana Akane arrived too.
With a serious expression, Horikita Manabu double-checked the situation with Hikigaya and Asahina. There was no concrete evidence yet, but the chilling aura around him was enough to make it clear—he wasn't going to let this slide.
About ten minutes later, Asahina and Tachibana Akane emerged from the girls' locker room.
Tachibana Akane was holding an SD card. Her face was just as grim.
"President, I've checked. There are indeed recordings of the girls changing inside."
"Don't spread this matter for now. I'll report it to the school, and there will definitely be serious consequences!"
Horikita Manabu warned everyone, his tone so sharp it sent chills down their spines.
Peeping and secretly recording the girls' changing room was a major violation!
Hikigaya instinctively glanced toward a distant corner—Ayanokouji was already gone.
Not long after, the water park announced an emergency closure. Most students complained, but they still followed the school's instructions.
Since the incident happened so suddenly, and because both first- and second-year students shared the same changing room, Ike and the others had no chance to retrieve the remote-controlled car. They had no choice but to give up and wait until tomorrow to try again.
"Well, I don't know why they suddenly closed the park, but this time, we're definitely going to get a big reward! I can't wait!"
Ike wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, clearly excited.
Because of the sudden closure, a large number of girls were bound to rush into the changing room to get dressed. Originally, he was worried that the camera's battery wouldn't last long enough, but now that wasn't a problem anymore!
Hearing this, Ayanokouji glanced at Ike.
"What? You want to watch too, Ayanokouji? Haha, I knew you were secretly into this! But you'll have to wait your turn. Yamauchi and I go first, then Sudou and Sotomura. Since you didn't do much, you're last!"
Ike had already started assigning the "viewing order" for the hidden camera footage.
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