After the commission that happened, Ibuki approached me.
“Do you have a minute?” Ibuki asked.
I’d thought I’d rest for a while, but I guess that wasn’t to be.
“What you were talking about this morning sounded really serious. The underwear incident, I mean. I mean, Class D isn’t a monolith.”
“Well, I guess. Our various troubles are never-ending.”
“Whatever the reason, stealing a girl’s underwear is unforgivable.”
Right, but why was she talking to me about this? Yamauchi had taken Ibuki in, not me, and Kushida’s group was looking after her. We’d only spoken a little before, so there shouldn’t have been any particular reason for her to talk to me.
“Are you the culprit?” she asked.
“No, I’m not.”
“Okay, that’s good. Well, it’s not like I had any evidence or anything. It looks like some of the girls trust you especially the quintuples and that boy Hirata. I think the chance of you being a villain is low.”
“Do you have any idea who the culprit is?”
“Right now, no. I really don’t want to doubt the other guys.”
“So who do you think did it?”
“If a boy isn’t the culprit, then they’ll suspect me—the stranger—next. I’m absolutely certain some people have already said something about me. After all, I could’ve just made it look like the guys stole the underwear. Right?”
Ibuki laughed self-deprecatingly, perhaps because she was fully aware she was already a suspect. In response to that, I spoke impulsively.
“I think I trust you, at the very least. I doubt you’re the culprit.”
I’d answered Ibuki without hesitation. She looked a bit surprised, like she wanted to verify what I said was true. When our eyes met, she looked away.
“Thank you. I didn’t think you would say something like that.”
