[Sakayanagi Narimori, the chairman, is under investigation for misconduct.]
The paper contained only a single line of text—brief, yet cryptic in its meaning.
After all, for most students, the director was a distant figure they had never interacted with, nor did they even know what he looked like.
School meetings and announcements were always handled by the principal, and the director never made public appearances, making his presence virtually nonexistent.
However, for any first-year student, the surname Sakayanagi was impossible to ignore.
The curious gazes from those nearby were proof enough of that.
"Ah…"
Sakayanagi stared at the letter for a moment before silently handing it back to Yamamura, her usual composed smile gracing her face.
"Thank you, Yamamura-san. I appreciate you going out of your way to inform me."
On the surface, Sakayanagi remained calm and unshaken, as if the message did not affect her at all.
However, Yamamura couldn't afford to be so optimistic.
The contents of that letter… this was no simple prank.
"You don't need to worry about this, Yamamura-san," Sakayanagi reassured her. "No matter what's written on that paper, it won't affect me or our class in any way."
"…Sakayanagi-san."
After a brief hesitation, Yamamura lowered her voice and asked, "If you don't mind me asking… what is your relationship with Director Sakayanagi?"
"He's my father."
"And what about what's written here…?"
"Ah, yes, it's true."
Sakayanagi admitted it without a moment's hesitation.
There was no point in denying it—doing so would only make her seem guilty.
Besides, this wasn't some classified secret. Anyone could confirm it with a teacher if they simply asked.
That said, the newly appointed acting director, Tsukishiro, had yet to make any public statements. Only the faculty members were aware of his existence.
This meant… under normal circumstances, students wouldn't even know about the school's administrative changes unless someone deliberately brought it up.
Sakayanagi herself had only been informed because she was a family member.
In other words, whoever sent this letter hadn't done so on a whim.
"…Then who do you think sent this?"
Sakayanagi had never publicly revealed that she was the director's daughter, though Kamuro had known for quite some time.
Thus, she didn't show any surprise. Instead, she calmly asked, "I really don't understand—what's the benefit of deliberately spreading this? Or does that person have a grudge against your father?"
"That's possible," Sakayanagi nodded. "The father I know wouldn't easily make enemies, but I can't completely rule out that possibility. That said, this is ultimately an adult matter. It has nothing to do with us students. Just treat it as dinner table gossip."
"You're really open-minded about this..."
"Heh, thank you for the compliment."
Sakayanagi's indifferent response gradually calmed the surrounding commotion.
At the end of the day, nobody actually cared about some unknown chairman. They just wanted to see the top-ranked student in the grade become a joke.
As long as she didn't show any weakness, others would eventually lose interest and disperse on their own.
Of course, there would still be gossip in the future.
"Sakayanagi-san, should we inform Mashima-sensei about this?"
Just in case, Yamamura suggested seeking help from their homeroom teacher—at the very least, they should let him know.
But Sakayanagi flatly refused. "There's no need. My father's situation won't affect me at all. This is actually a great opportunity to make certain people understand that."
"Certain people...?"
Yamamura was curious about that phrase, but before she could ask, Kamuro, who was standing beside them, suddenly turned her head as if she had noticed something.
Following Kamuro's gaze, Yamamura looked over—
It was none other than Class D's Hikigaya Hachiman.
He had likely been drawn over by the commotion as well... Hm?
A thought suddenly popped into Yamamura's mind.
Could the culprit behind this incident be—
"Oh my, isn't this Hikigaya-kun?"
Sakayanagi also noticed his arrival and greeted him with a smile. "Good evening. Judging by the timing, were you just out for dinner?"
Hikigaya rolled his eyes at her.
Seriously, she had the nerve to ask?
"What else? You think I was just out breathing cold air?"
"Heh, is it that bad?" Sakayanagi covered her mouth with a smirk. "If I had known, I would have invited you to join me for dinner."
"Oh, how generous of you. I really appreciate it," Hikigaya replied through gritted teeth.
"Mm, no need to be so formal."
The shameless little tyrant accepted his sarcasm with ease.
Neither of them mentioned the account suspension—they both knew there was no point.
But Hikigaya wasn't mad.
After all, he had thick skin too.
"By the way, what's that? Why does everyone have one?" Hikigaya casually pointed at the surroundings.
"A letter someone distributed. It looks like every first-year received one," Kamuro answered.
As she spoke, she walked over to her mailbox, retrieved a folded square piece of paper, and opened it for a quick glance before handing it over.
"Want to see?"
"Hmm, let me take a look... 'Sakayanagi Narimori, chairman, investigated for misconduct'... Oh?" Hikigaya turned to Sakayanagi with a smirk. "So, your dad got caught, huh?"
His goal was to get a reaction out of her.
And he got one—
"Hikigaya-kun, before asking questions, I suggest you go back and study Japanese again."
"Too bad for you, Japanese is actually my best subject."
Seeing that Sakayanagi was about to start a verbal battle, Hikigaya cut her off. "Alright, alright, my bad. I shouldn't have rubbed salt in your wounds when you're already in a bad mood. But your dad's situation looks pretty grim. This so-called investigation... You think he might end up in jail?"
The moment he said that, attention immediately shifted.
'Misconduct' might not sound too bad, but 'jail' was a much stronger and more direct word. It was enough to get people's imaginations running wild.
And the worst part? None of them actually cared about the truth.
Sakayanagi's expression darkened. "Hikigaya-kun, I advise you not to spread baseless rumors."
"...Yeah, I admit that was a bit reckless," Hikigaya quickly acknowledged. "Besides, a single anonymous letter doesn't prove anything."
"Ah, I'm glad you understa—"
"Which is why I've decided to clear things up."
"...Huh?"
Ignoring Sakayanagi's stunned expression, Hikigaya turned to face the crowd.
He took a deep breath and loudly declared, "Everyone, first, let me apologize. Due to our negligence, this matter has caused unnecessary confusion. However, the student council will thoroughly investigate and provide an explanation as soon as possible. Please rest assured."
In truth, nobody felt inconvenienced—they just wanted to enjoy the drama.
So, rather than calming them down, Hikigaya's statement only fueled their excitement.
But not everyone reacted that way.
"Hikigaya-kun, could you stop meddling? I don't care about these rumors."
"But I do."
"...Ugh."
Faced with Hikigaya's self-assured attitude, Sakayanagi was now convinced—
This guy had to be the culprit.
Still, she didn't take it seriously. Instead, she casually retaliated, "Oh my, so you care about me that much, Hikigaya-kun? I appreciate the concern, but I'm not as fragile as Ichinose-san. Something like this won't affect me in the slightest. You should be worrying about her mental health instead."
"Well, good to hear you're unaffected."
Hikigaya nodded seriously, completely ignoring the part about Ichinose.
"But this issue has now involved the entire grade. I can't just stand by and do nothing."
"You said it yourself—it's just an anonymous letter. Why should it matter?" Sakayanagi traced the letters with her finger. "Besides, look at this handwriting. It's so messy and crooked. For all we know, it could just be some kid playing a prank."
"The only person at this school who qualifies as a 'kid' would be... a certain someone, wouldn't it?"
"Uh..."
"Uh..."
The two of them exchanged silent stares before simultaneously turning away.
"Hikigaya-kun, I suggest you act more maturely," Sakayanagi said blandly. "If you think something this trivial could get to me, you really underestimate me. Like I said, I'm not as fragile as Ichinose-san."
"I don't know what you're talking about. Are you accusing me of doing this?"
"Heh, I'll take my leave now."
With that, Sakayanagi stepped toward the elevator.
Kamuro glanced at Hikigaya before sighing and following after her.
Once the elevator doors closed, she quickly asked, "Hey, Sakayanagi... So it really was Hikigaya?"
"About ninety percent sure."
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Nothing, of course." Sakayanagi lazily twirled a lock of hair. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Spreading rumors isn't difficult—what's hard is finding something that actually deals damage. Hikigaya-kun's approach is just a crude imitation."
This wasn't just bravado—it was her genuine opinion.
Ichinose felt guilty because she really did steal. That shadow would never leave her.
As for Sakayanagi, even if someone told her to her face that her father was corrupt, she'd simply laugh it off.
Because she had never been naïve enough to believe her father was a good man.
To be precise—he wasn't a good man, but he wasn't exactly a bad one either.
After all, holding a high position inevitably means stepping into gray areas—this was something she had understood since childhood.
Of course, Sakayanagi wasn't entirely indifferent to her father's situation.
Based on the information she had gathered, the circumstances were quite dire, with multiple allegations unfavorable to her father.
Although she didn't believe he would involve himself in anything truly corrupt, she couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility that she was simply unaware of certain matters. Alternatively, it could be a carefully orchestrated scheme to frame him.
But regardless of the truth, this was not something a mere student could interfere with.
Sakayanagi was well aware of that.
Besides, her father surely had his plans in place, and as his daughter, there was no need for her to cause unnecessary trouble at this time.
"For now, just ignore the rumors and act as usual."
That was what she told herself, and that was exactly what she did.
After returning to her room, she went to bed early as always at 9:30 PM, drinking a warm glass of milk before sleeping.
In the end, she slept soundly through the night like a baby.
The next day, she arrived at school at her usual unhurried pace, leaning on her cane.
Although she occasionally caught snippets of hushed conversations along the way, she paid them no mind, maintaining a dignified and composed demeanor as she stepped into the classroom.
The moment she entered, her classmates' gazes immediately turned toward her.
Some of those stares even carried faint hostility… Oh? Supporters of Katsuragi-kun, I presume?
Sakayanagi wasn't the least bit concerned. Rumors of this level were nowhere near enough to shake her dominance over the class.
No matter how you look at it, Hikigaya-kun has made a poor move.
Was this just an act of petty revenge?
…That doesn't seem right.
At first, she dismissed the idea, but soon, doubts began creeping into her mind.
That was what perplexed her the most.
From what she remembered, Hikigaya wasn't the type to do something so trivial.
Yet no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't figure out how spreading rumors about her father would cause any significant harm to her.
After all, this was a school. Most students were relatively simple-minded and unlikely to treat someone differently just because of their family background.
Moreover, her father had only been temporarily dismissed—it wasn't as if he had committed a heinous crime like murder or embezzlement.
If anything, Ichinose's past incident of shoplifting was arguably more shocking.
As Sakayanagi pondered the situation, Hashimoto suddenly approached her.
"Princess, do you have a moment?"
"Good morning, Hashimoto-kun. What is it?"
"I'd like you to take a look at this." Hashimoto handed her his phone.
"Oh? What is it?"
Curious, Sakayanagi took the phone and glanced at the screen, only to realize that it contained messages from various class group chats.
Although she had been invited to a few, the number was limited. Hashimoto, however, had managed to infiltrate nearly every group, constantly monitoring the discussions within the grade.
That's quite the talent.
At first, she flipped through the messages absentmindedly, but soon, her expression grew serious.
Almost every group was discussing the same topic.
But it wasn't about the rumors from the letters.
Instead, the focus was on the special exam.
The main points boiled down to three things:
1. The additional special exam had been devised by Chairman Sakayanagi.
2. The unreasonable nature of the exam led the government to suspect him of abusing his authority, prompting an investigation.
3. Although the government intervened, the exam could not be canceled due to various considerations.
If yesterday's rumors hadn't fazed her in the slightest and had even amused her…
Then today's revelations were like a direct punch to the gut.
At first glance, this might not seem like a big deal, but upon deeper thought, its terrifying implications become clear.
Especially for Sakayanagi.
After all, the reason for this exam was that there had been no expulsions among the first-year students so far, so the school was now forcibly creating one.
From a common-sense perspective, such an approach was undeniably unreasonable.
Not only were the students full of resentment, but even the homeroom teachers had their complaints. Even Mashima-sensei, who was usually calm and composed, was visibly shaken.
Yet, no matter how unreasonable the exam was, students were in no position to resist the absolute authority of the school administration. Their only option was to grit their teeth and endure it.
However, that didn't mean this resentment would simply vanish.
More likely, it would build up like a compressed spring, waiting for the right moment to explode.
Now, the situation was akin to someone telling the students that the cold and ruthless chairman responsible for this exam had been punished—while his daughter remained at school.
And what would the result be…?
A sudden flash of insight struck her mind.
At this moment, Sakayanagi finally understood Hikigaya's intentions.
For the average student, this exam revolved around praise votes, criticism votes, and private points.
But in Hikigaya's eyes, all of that was child's play.
He was likely guiding Class B—or rather, the entire first-year student body's emotions.
Exploiting their collective feelings about the exam—the hatred of losing their classmates and the fear of facing expulsion themselves.
And in the end, all that malice would come crashing down on Sakayanagi.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't need to concern herself with the opinions of others, but this exam was different.
One wrong move, and anger would drown out rationality.
Hikigaya-kun… how brilliant.
As she contemplated the developments to come, Sakayanagi felt a genuine sense of admiration.
When Nagumo agreed to cooperate, she initially assumed Hikigaya would first try to regain access to his locked account or seek praise votes from other classes.
She never expected him to launch an attack like this.
While others were busy forming alliances and manipulating votes, Hikigaya had completely stepped outside the scope of the exam—delivering a devastating, higher-dimensional blow.
Of course, there was still a way to counter it—proving that this exam wasn't devised by her father.
But that was a devil's proof—an impossible task.
After all, special exams were always handled by the chairman, and no one could verify whether it was planned before his dismissal.
Besides, the trust Sakayanagi had built within Class B was already shattered. No matter what she said now, no one would believe her.
Now, the only thing missing… was a spark.
For the entire morning, Sakayanagi couldn't focus on her classes, desperately searching for a way to break the deadlock.
But no matter which approach she considered, success was uncertain—even assuming Hikigaya had no follow-up moves.
And she highly doubted he would stop here.
Yesterday, just before leaving, Hikigaya-kun…
She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but looking back now, the storm was clearly about to hit.
And sure enough, not long after the lunch bell rang, a familiar voice came through the school's broadcast system.
[Apologies for the interruption. Regarding the letters placed in the first-year mailboxes yesterday, after a thorough investigation by the student council, the contents have been confirmed as entirely factual. Former Chairman Sakayanagi Narimori was indeed dismissed for misconduct and is currently under house arrest pending further investigation. The specific reasons cannot be disclosed, so we ask everyone not to spread unfounded rumors. Once again, to reiterate—]