Chapter 36 The Culprit

The Culprit

“Fufu… I’ve uncovered the identity of the culprits who were bothering Hatsune-senpai.”

Mushakoji-san chuckled softly as she said this.

Wait, already!? That was just yesterday!

“Actually, while staking out near your apartment yesterday, our investigator caught the culprit right then and there. Their carelessness is unbelievable.”

“Ahh…”

Honestly, considering how blatantly they were vandalizing, it’s not surprising they were caught so easily—right outside the apartment, no less.

“So, who were the idiots behind this?”

“Well… one of the two culprits turned out to be a student at this university.”

““What!?””

Mushakoji-san’s words made both Hatsune and me cry out in shock.

“W-Why…?”

“We haven’t figured that part out yet… But don’t you think it’s strange?”

Strange, huh…?

Actually, the moment I heard the culprit was a student at this university, something came to mind.

Could it be…?

“…This idiot knew about Hatsune before the news about the incident spread?”

“Ah!”

Hatsune looked startled at my murmured words… but I couldn’t shake the feeling it was true.

“…Naoe-kun, why do you think that?”

“Well… Hatsune, remember the university you aimed to get into back in high school?”

“Chuho University…”

That’s right. Hatsune had passed the entrance exam for Chuho University, intending to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer.

However, after the massive fraud scandal came to light, she gave up on enrolling.

But… that fact was never publicly disclosed in the media or anywhere else.

“…Which is why I thought it might be possible that this idiot enrolled here while following you, Hatsune.”

“No way…”

Hatsune was at a loss for words at my speculation.

The next question would be why someone like that would go so far as to torment Hatsune… But I realized continuing this line of thought would just lead to wild guesses.

“…Either way, it’ll be faster to just ask them directly.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Exactly…”

When I said that, the two of them nodded firmly.

“So, what’s this idiot’s name?”

When I asked Mushakoji-san, she slowly opened her mouth to answer.

“Third-year law student… Ogasawara Shinji.”

That’s the name of the person who’s been tormenting my Hatsune all this time…!

“…Yuuta, calm down. You’re scaring Mikoto.”

“Eh? …Ah.”

At Hatsune’s words, I turned to look at Mushakoji-san, and sure enough, her eyes were wide with surprise as she stared at me.

“Y-You… you can make that kind of face too, huh…”

W-Was my expression that strange just now…?

“But… Yuuta, you got angry for my sake, didn’t you?”

“Ah, w-well…”

“Ahaha… Yuuta, thank you.”

Haha… Just looking at Hatsune’s face helped me calm down considerably.

“Anyway, let’s catch this idiot before the afternoon lecture starts.”

“Right.”

“Y-Yeah.”

And so, we began preparing for the afternoon.

“…So it’s that b🬀🬀tard, Ogasawara…”

After the second class ended, Sasaki-senpai and I were staking out in front of the room where Ogasawara Shinji was attending his lecture.

Meanwhile, Hatsune stayed with Kinoshita-senpai and Mushakoji-san for her safety.

“Senpai, do you know him?”

“Of course not. But Ogasawara’s somewhat famous, even among our year.”

“Famous?”

“Well, you’ll see when he comes out.”

So, while staring at the lecture room door…

“…That guy’s Ogasawara Shinji.”

The man Sasaki-senpai pointed to was, to my surprise, an incredibly handsome and charming guy!?

“S-Senpai!?”

“Yeah… Annoying, isn’t it? And on top of that, he’s pretty popular with the girls in our year too.”

No way—that guy!? He doesn’t seem like someone who would need to stoop to such things… He shouldn’t have any trouble in life!

But then again, someone like him wouldn’t hesitate to do it. Yeah, no need to hold back at all.

And with that…

“Yo. Got a moment?”

“Huh? And who might you—wait, uh…”

“Nah, my name doesn’t matter. The one who really wants to talk to you is my junior here.”

Saying that, Sasaki-senpai casually gestured toward me with a nod of his chin.

“…Nice to meet you.”

“Wha—!? …Who are you?”

Ogasawara Shinji tried to act clueless… but I caught how he briefly froze when he saw my face.

“Alright then, shall we go?”

“Yeah… Oh, by the way, we’ve got yesterday’s great photos, just so you know.”

“…”

Whether we actually had photos or not, I didn’t know—but it should be enough to rattle him.

And with Mushakoji-san handling things, I was sure there weren’t any loose ends.

Thanks to that, Ogasawara Shinji silently followed us without protest.

“Now then… Why did you do something like that?”

The moment we reached the deserted area behind the campus building, I asked in a voice so low it even startled me.

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No idea? Even though everything’s already been exposed?”

I said this in a mocking tone to Ogasawara Shinji, who was still feigning ignorance.

“Or should I spell it out for you? Why you drove my… Hatsune to such extremes?”

“!!”

Haha… I deliberately emphasized “my” Hatsune when I said it, and as expected, he shot me a deadly glare.

But that reaction confirmed it for me.

This guy is definitely…

“I get it, though. My Hatsune’s adorable. So… I can see why you’d want to chase after her.”

“H-Hey, Yuuta… Don’t tell me this guy…”

Sasaki-senpai gave me a look that seemed to say, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Yeah… This Ogasawara Shinji likes my… Hatsune. And he’s liked her ever since high school.”