Noa exhaled sharply, regaining her composure after Reiji's unexpected tease.
"Please be serious, this matter affects both of us," she said.
Reiji noticed that despite her calm exterior, her fingers were constantly tapping the chair's handle, a tic he knew she only used when she was truly stressed.
So he put away the jokes and took a second to think about her question.
"Alright, I was just messing around. I don't see a major issue with putting out a statement, but it can't come from the Student Council, because people might just think of it as empty claims without actual proof. But if someone like the Principal steps in and announces that the post is complete nonsense, they'll be more inclined to believe it."
"Well...The order of not giving you a harsher punishment did come from her anyway, so she's involved in this as much as we are."
"....Huh?"
Reiji was genuinely surprised by her words.
He had no idea that this was the case, especially because OG Reiji had never talked to her. When playing the game, he had complained that someone like Reiji should've been expelled a long time ago, but he attributed that to some of the connections the Syndicate had.
'Was that connection the Principal??'
But this wasn't the time to analyze that; he had more pressing matters at hand.
"Then...The next steps are fairly simple. You reach out to the Principal and talk about this, and make sure to tell her to say that you were just following her commands. Also, promise the students that a proper investigation will be launched either way by the school's management to find out if there's any truth to the post. By then, I'll find out who made that post in the first place and ask him 'nicely' why they did such a thing. If they had a motive, that'll help our case as well."
"....How are you even going to find them? They made a throwaway account. And...What do you mean by asking them nicely?"
Noa's brows had furrowed with suspicion, to which Reiji just shrugged.
"There are plenty of ways to find out who made the post."
"You're not answering the second question."
"This chair is really comfy....."
"Yagami!"
"Geez, I won't hurt them, alright? It'll just be a 'nice' chat!"
"Why do you keep saying 'nice' like that!" she snapped.
"Ughhh, just do your job and let me do mine, okay?"
Noa slumped back into her seat, rubbing the bridge of her nose with complete exasperation.
"Talking to you is such a headache every single time," she muttered.
Reiji chuckled, having no intention of denying it. He stood up and stretched his arms a little, glancing at the clock on the wall.
There was still some club time left, but he was not considering going back.
"We don't have time to waste, let's get going with our tasks and keep each other updated."
".....How do I contact you?"
"Oh, right," Reiji remembered, taking out his phone and opening Chatly. "Give me your number."
Noa hesitated but then resigned herself to her fate and shared her information, accepting the friend request sent by Reiji.
"...Chefalicious?" she asked with a dubious tone.
"I am in the Cooking Club, you know? And you named yourself FujikawaNoa...Where's the creativity, the fun, the romance!?" Reiji scoffed, amused at her lack of a username.
"Chatly is for communication. How can you communicate effectively if a username creates confusion?"
"...Hopeless."
With that, Reiji turned around to leave, determined to get to the bottom of this situation as early as he could.
But just as he did, he heard some loud noises beyond the door.
Even Noa stood up when she heard it.
"Y-You can't go in!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
"The President is having an important meeting right now!"
"Like I care!"
The voices echoing through the walls reached their ears, and Noa's first reaction was to frown with dissatisfaction at the blatant disrespect and threatening tone of one voice towards Nozomi.
As for Reiji.....
He facepalmed and smiled wryly.
The door swung open with great force, and two people stormed in.
Nozomi was still trying to hold back the other person, but failed spectacularly as Yui just treated her like excess baggage that she could just drag forward.
Her red eyes were blazing with fury, but they softened considerably when she noticed Reiji in the office.
"Ah? Reiji, what are you doing here?"
"...That's what I should be asking you," Reiji replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm here to demand an explanation from this bit-"
Before she could curse out Noa, Reiji blocked her mouth with his hand at lightning speed.
"URMPGHHH!!" Yui complained.
But Reiji rolled his eyes and turned to face Noa, who had a rare expression of absolute astonishment.
"What.....is happening?" she asked.
"Nothing, she just tends to become rabid now and then. I'll go give her some medicine, so don't forget to talk to the Principal. Bye-bye," he waved, exiting the office in a hurry after picking up the light Yui with one arm, who let herself be carried away while grumbling under his hand.
The whole interaction lasted less than 10 seconds.
Once the door closed, Noa turned to Nozomi.
"....I'm not hallucinating, right?"
***
"Why didn't you let me kick her just once?" Yui pouted, walking alongside him.
"Why would you even want to kick her?"
"Because of that post!!"
Reiji reached out and pulled her cheek with a small frown.
"She was a victim as well. What good would it do to go after her?"
To that, Yui deflated slightly and bit her lip.
"I-I was just too worried. I found out about the post after leaving school and ran all the way back without thinking....."
"Ah? Right, you don't have clubs today...Just go home, okay? I know how to solve this, so you don't have to worry too much."
"But..."
"Trust me?"
Yui sighed unhappily, but she acquiesced and promised not to cause trouble for now.
Reiji urged her to return home, since he needed to start his own preparations.
"If you need any help, let me know, okay?" she shouted from a distance before leaving.
He waved at her with a laugh and then took out his phone, opening up the group chat with the Gluttons.
There were quite a few messages already littering the space, and all of them were angry ones.
***
~Rooftop Gluttons~
IndigoFlower: What is this absolute dogshit nonsense!!???
MrGreeny: They're just saying random things with no evidence!
IndigoFlower: Exactly! That photo was when the President apologized at the food exhibition
SunnyStar: Reiji-tan went to the Student Council just now
Burgerz: Hopefully they're talking about how to fix it
IndigoFlower: I'm so pissed off rn...This doesn't feel like a random post
MrGreeny: There has to be more to it
CherryBlossom: Should we talk to people around us and convince them that it's a lie?
***
Reiji read through the long list of messages that continued for quite a while, where they discussed different tactics they could use to control the gossip.
He felt a surge of warmth while scrolling through them, not even realizing the wide grin on his face that had made him momentarily forget about the irritation he had felt about all this.
After sending in a quick message telling them not to worry and informing them that he wouldn't join for the potluck, he pocketed his phone and left the school building, heading towards the gate.
What he needed now wasn't going to be found here.
'It's about time I paid him a visit.'
***
(Riku POV)
"Hey, Mister! Can I get an orange-flavored popsicle?"
After handing the vendor some cash, I took the long stick of ice and shoved it into my mouth immediately.
"Ohhhh, yeah! That hits the spot!"
It was way too hot today, and this was exactly what I needed.
"*Schlorp*, the quest should be progressing decently, right? Even though she denied it, it's probably because Yagami was right there. Either way, I'm sure she'll agree once she sees the situation worsening."
I licked my lips, catching the stray splatters of juice, feeling pretty proud of my plan.
Since I was allowed to leave supervised study, I had decided to leave and go home early, taking this time to study the online drama closely and use my network to see what the general consensus was.
I had to stay ahead of the curve if I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Only that would help me find ways to help the President out, raising her favorability at the same time.
"Speaking of which, my offer to help should have given me some points at least? Maybe the value even turned positive! Spice, bring up my status!"
[DING]
Name: Kazama Riku
Age: 16
Height: 169 cm
[Favorability Panel]
• Sakuraba Hina: 10
• Yuzuki Haruna: -19 (+2)
• Fujikawa Noa: -10 (-7)
[Status: Incompetent Jerk]
***
".....What? What the fuck?? Spice! Explain yourself!" I raged, gripping the popsicle so hard that the stick would've shattered if I had more muscles.
[DING]
[Explaining why favorability rises or falls is not under my list of functions. That would involve penetrating their minds and understanding their thoughts, which is an invasion of privacy]
"...What fucking non-"
I stopped myself from completing that sentence when I remembered the painful punishments this shitty system sometimes gave.
'Invasion of privacy? What does that even mean??'
All I could do was grit my teeth and consider the cause myself.
"Is.....Is it because of my suggestion? Maybe she thought it was dishonorable or something....But I clearly said I'd only stick to the facts because I considered this situation like this!"
I felt an immense frustration at not being able to understand why this had happened.
'Fine! Nothing I can do except move forward and focus on the detective work!'
I licked the tip of the popsicle, using the sweetness to mellow my fluctuating mood as I took out my phone.
'Time to get to work.'