Classroom of the Elite: Alter - Solace

Vol. 6: Chapter 7.2 - Business

"Oi, Horikita. What's Hondou doing here?" asked Ken.

"Hmm... I think it's better if Hondou-kun explains."

"Huh? Did Hondou do something?"

"Well, you see, Hondou-kun has been actually working with us for a couple of weeks now." Hirata fixed some papers as he answered.

"While I was the one who proposed the idea of a mock test, the reason for it was because of the information Hondou-kun had," said Horikita.

"Yeah. To put it bluntly, we're under attack. Again."

"Again...?!" Ken rolled his eyes in exasperation.

He was getting fed up, wondering just how vulnerable our classmates were, including him.

I turned my eyes to Horikita to get her attention. She returned my look, knowing what my intentions were.

"Well, before you start your explanation, Ayanokouji-kun and Sudou-kun need to know why they're here," she explained. "Sudou-kun's involvement with the basketball club may play a role in this case, so I called you here to ask some questions. And for, Ayanokouji-kun, I just want a little bit of your input. Is that okay with the two of you?"

"I mean, sure, I don't mind." Ken shrugged.

"Yeah, me too," I followed.

If it's a simple role, then I don't really have any reason to refuse.

"Sorry, I'm late!"

The door opened as the last member of this meeting finally arrived.

"Oh, Kikyou-chan, hey there!" waved Hondou.

"Good afternoon, Kushida-san," greeted Hirata.

"Thank you for coming, Kushida-san. Since the test questions have been finished, Hirata-kun and I might need your assistance in this case."

We told her the initial part of the conversation and Kikyou perfectly gave the reaction of a concerned classmate. It was easy to guess why her involvement was needed. The amount of information she has due to her connections should be beneficial for Horikita.

"Well, first of all, who's the target?" I asked.

"It's Soshi."

"Miyamoto-kun?" said the surprised Kikyou.

Miyamoto, huh? I see. So that's how he's going to do this.

"What's Ryuuen's card against him," asked Ken.

"His reputation," replied Hondou. "Soshi has a crush on this senior, right? I think she's a second-year. We asked him to take a picture of her to know what she looks like. He did take one, but that idiot didn't delete it. I think you can guess what happens next." (1)

"It's Asahina-senpai, right?"

"Ohh! So you know about her, Kikyou-chan."

"I just heard it from someone by chance, so I wasn't really sure."

"So that bastard, Ryuuen, used the picture to blackmail Miyamoto?"

"Yeah, that's basically what happened."

"Can you explain a bit more about how it got to that point?" I asked.

"Ohh, well, originally, Ryuuen only knew that Soshi has a crush on a second-year girl. He used Kondou from the basketball club to confront him. That guy posed as someone who liked one of Asahina-senpai's friends and tried to get close to Soshi."

Kikyou and I looked at each other, recalling what we saw five days ago.

"At first, he was just poking fun at him, but it eventually lead to him knowing about the picture. Of course, Ryuuen spared no time getting it. He took Soshi by surprise and got a copy of the picture," Hondou shook his head in dismay. "You remember that forum on ANHS's official website, right? Ryuuen threatened to post everything there, including Soshi's name and class, if he doesn't give him what he wants."