In fact, after the information is refreshed, they always want to attack me!

The man had already confirmed through daily intelligence that she would be here that afternoon; these words were merely a test to gauge the progress of her investigation.

"Hmm... Hmm! I guess so." Shiina Hiyori glanced at him quickly, her voice soft, "I just came to the library to look at some books..."

This is a lie.

This woman clearly came looking for an assistant, but she subconsciously lied to avoid being discovered.

Hiyori Shiina's eyes suddenly lit up, like a detective who had discovered a crucial clue.

Her gaze fell on the book that Akira Shimizu reached out and took from the bookshelf.

I stared at the title of that book.

(Fictional reasoning...?)

"Shimizu-san, have you read this book?" Her voice suddenly rose a few decibels, and her fingers unconsciously tightened around the book in her arms.

"I haven't read the original light novel," Shimizu Akira casually flipped through the pages, the paper making a crisp sound, "but I've read quite a few chapters of the manga."

Shiina Hiyori suddenly leaned forward, her hair swaying gently with the movement.

"Really? Which chapter are you reading?"

"The Snow Woman Arc. It's the part where Kotoko resolves the incident at the hot spring inn."

This is true.

He really loved In/Spectre in his past life—by the way, he read both the original manga and the anime adaptation in their entirety.

"This chapter is absolutely fantastic!" She unconsciously took a half-step forward, gesturing with her fingers in the air, "especially the subtle, ambiguous relationship between the male protagonist and the snow woman..."

(Finally, I've found someone to discuss this with...)

Her voice suddenly stopped, as if realizing she had been too excited, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. But her curiosity quickly overcame her shyness: "So... which chapter do you like best, Shimizu-san?"

Akira Shimizu thoughtfully stroked the spine of the book. "The Steel Man Nanase arc, I suppose. When the truth can have countless interpretations, so-called 'deduction' is essentially just a contest of who can spout the most nonsense."

Shiina Hiyori's eyes widened slightly: "...Is this nonsense?"

She suddenly chuckled, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "Now that you mention it, the entire 'In/Spectre' series really is just a serious case of talking nonsense. But—"

Her fingertips lightly tapped her chin, revealing a detective-like focused expression.

"This 'using fiction to fight fiction' setting is a unique innovation in the history of mystery fiction. It's like putting postmodern deconstructionism into the framework of classic mystery..."

Her voice stopped abruptly; she suddenly realized she had started rambling on again.

Akira Shimizu naturally chimed in: "Indeed, compared to traditional reasoning that seeks a single solution, this approach is more like..." He paused deliberately, "...multiple metaphors in real society? Just like netizens today, who often only care about the 'truth' they want to know."

"Mmm." Hiyori Shiina nodded unconsciously, a hint of agreement flashing in her eyes.

As expected, Shimizu also loves mystery novels. Moreover, the two communicated exceptionally smoothly—this feeling that "the other person can understand what I say, and every word resonates with me" inexplicably warmed her heart.

She couldn't help but steal another glance at him. Shimizu-kun was strikingly handsome; at least in Class C, she'd never seen such a clean-cut, good-looking type. Besides, he'd just been able to strike up a conversation with Ichinose Nana from Class B…

(Wait a minute... if that's the case, isn't he the best candidate for my partner?)

Shiina Hiyori seemed to have suddenly realized something, her mouth slightly open, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

He met all the conditions she listed!

Today felt like her lucky day.

Just as she was about to reveal her true purpose, a doubt suddenly crossed her mind.

But... why is it such a coincidence? She only decided to come to the library today, and he just happened to show up?

The slight upturn of his lips when he talked about reasoning, the effortless manner he displayed when conversing with the students in Class B, and the thought frequency that perfectly matched his own at this moment—it was all too ideal.

She suddenly recalled a line from the film *Malice*: "A coincidence that is too perfect is often proof of a carefully crafted scheme."

"Um... Shimizu-san," her voice was so soft it almost melted into the air, "did you... come to the library specifically to borrow mystery novels today?"

“…It wasn’t intentional, just something I picked up on the spur of the moment.” Shimizu Akira shook his head. “I’ve been coming to the library for half a month now—I’ve been taking extra classes here with my classmates, but I wanted to relax today, so I came here to find a mystery book to read.”

"The midterm exams are just a month away, aren't they?" He rubbed the back of his neck with a wry smile. This unintentional little gesture suddenly made him feel real. "I don't want to be expelled because I failed Chinese."

The other person took out a neatly folded note from their pocket.

Shiina Hiyori's gaze inadvertently swept over the page, which was densely covered with basic Japanese language knowledge, common mistakes in exams, and even a detailed daily study plan.

(So ​​it really was true...)

(His main purpose in coming to the library was to catch up on his studies; reading detective novels was just a pastime in his spare time.)

This discovery made Shiina Hiyori realize something.

Indeed, coming to the library for tutoring for half a month in a row, and then casually browsing my favorite mystery novels after completing my studies, is a perfectly reasonable arrangement.

She recalled that when they first met, Shimizu mentioned that he occasionally read light novel mystery works, and "In/Spectre" happened to fit that genre.

Not to mention that Ichinose-kun just confirmed that he has been frequently seen at the library recently.

"Then I won't bother Shiina-kun any longer. I'll head back to my dorm first." Shimizu Akira noticed the girl lost in thought, put the note back into his pocket, picked up the book "In/Spectre," nodded slightly, and prepared to leave.

As he turned around, he silently counted down in his mind.

(5...4...)

"Shimizu-kun, wait a minute!" Sure enough, a slightly hurried voice called from behind. "Actually... there's something I'd like to ask you!"

(It was two seconds faster than expected.)

A faint smile appeared on Shimizu Akira's lips.

Chapter 104: 102 Shiina Hiyori: The mysterious person is most likely from Class D, right, Shimizu-kun?

Akira Shimizu has always believed in this philosophy of life:

In this world, people often don't cherish things that are readily available.

Only those things that are obtained through twists and turns and painstaking efforts will be truly cherished.

This principle also applies to interpersonal communication.

Therefore, when Shimizu Akira stepped into the library, he made up his mind—never to take the initiative to talk to Shiina Hiyori.

Only when each step is initiated by the other party can he become her assistant in the most natural way.

As expected, things unfolded exactly as he had anticipated. The moment he picked up "In/Spectre," Hiyori Shiina eagerly moved closer.

Akira Shimizu smoothly initiated the conversation, and everything fell into place naturally.

However, an unexpected thing happened—during the conversation, the girl suddenly fell silent, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Akira Shimizu had expected to receive an invitation soon, but instead he was met with a cautious probing.

Hiyori Shiina's perceptiveness exceeded his expectations.

Fortunately, he was prepared.

Anticipating that the other party would question the timing of his appearance at the library, he prepared a perfect explanation in advance.

Finally, he calmly revealed the note that Horikita Suzune had given him at noon.

Just as he expected, the doubt in Shiina Hiyori's eyes faded considerably.

After all, Shimizu Akira didn't tell a single lie—every word he said to Shiina Hiyori, except for his true intentions, was true.

For the past two weeks, he has indeed come to the library every day for extra lessons.

He figured the other party was about to extend an invitation.

"Shimizu-kun, wait a minute!" Shiina Hiyori called out to him, her voice tinged with apology. "Actually... I wanted to ask you to be my assistant to help investigate the surveillance equipment rental incident from last month. I want to find out the real identity of that person."

As the other party explained the situation in detail, Shimizu Akira subtly revealed a look of surprise, as if he knew nothing about the matter.

Just as he expected, the assistant Shiina Hiyori needed was someone to do the things she wasn't good at—such as gathering clues from strangers or filling in gaps in the reasoning process.

"Of course I won't let you help for nothing," Shiina Hiyori said softly. "I'm willing to pay 2... no, 3 personal points as compensation. It's estimated that you'll only need to assist me a few times; it won't take up too much of your time or affect your study progress."

Shimizu Akira's eyebrows twitched slightly—this was an unexpected delight.

He originally came to the library just to get closer to the other person, but he didn't expect to make an extra living.

"Deal." He nodded readily. "3 points, I'll take this commission." Anyway, his purpose for this trip was to infiltrate the investigation team, so this was killing two birds with one stone.

"Let's exchange contact information first." As Shiina Hiyori took out her phone, Shimizu Akira keenly noticed that her gaze was secretly glancing at his phone screen.

(They're checking the account nickname and balance, right...)

The clear water, both bright and dark, is quite amusing.

He was prepared; he logged into his main account with less than 4 points—a number that wouldn't seem suspicious and was enough to cover his daily expenses.

He confidently turned his phone screen towards her, letting her look him over.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Shimizu-kun." Shiina Hiyori nodded slightly, her fingers quickly swiping across her phone screen. "Without further ado, could you please ask Ichinose-kun a few questions right now?"

Akira Shimizu raised an eyebrow slightly: "What specifically do you need me to ask?"

He secretly found it amusing; the detective probably never imagined that the person she was investigating was standing right in front of her.

Hiyori Shiina lowered her voice: "Ichinose-san inquired about Ryuen Sho's contact information. I hope you can probe whether she is the one who rented the surveillance footage, or at least confirm evidence that the two have communicated."

"If that's the question..." Shimizu Akira hesitated for a moment, "I need to tell Ichinose about Class C renting the surveillance footage. Otherwise, it will be difficult to get her to cooperate with the investigation. But if it's her personally, she might refuse to answer, so I hope you're prepared for that."

After a moment's hesitation, Hiyori Shiina finally nodded in agreement.

"Understood." Shimizu Akira turned and walked towards the B-class study group, ignoring the disapproving looks from the other boys, and went straight to Ichinose Honami, saying, "Can we talk in private for a moment?"

Ichinose glanced at Shiina Hiyori not far away with slight surprise, but still followed her out: "Shimizu-san... what do you and Shiina-san from Class C want with me?"

Despite the recent difficulties that Class C has made for Class B, she has maintained a gentle attitude.

Akira Shimizu cut to the chase: "Ryuen Sho from Class C rented surveillance cameras last month. Shiina asked me to investigate. According to her, Ichinose asked for Ryuen Sho's contact information, and afterwards, Ryuen received a friend request from a mysterious person. So I'd like to confirm whether Ichinose is the one who rented the cameras, or if she knows this person?"

"It wasn't me!" Ichinose casually pulled out her phone, showing a chat history with a user named [Moonlight Blue]. "I only asked for Ryuen Sho's contact information because he asked me to. Actually... Class B also rented surveillance cameras! Although 300 million points is a bit expensive, it did increase our class points by more than 100. I didn't expect you guys to investigate this matter specifically."

"Shimizu-kun... do you still take on other people's requests to earn points? Class D..." Ichinose suddenly asked with concern, "Are you short on points? If you need them, I can send you tens of thousands..."

(That's so kind...)

Akira Shimizu's lips twitched slightly, feeling a strange sense of guilt for deceiving an innocent young girl.

"Thank you for your kindness, Ichinose-san, but I have plenty of points." He politely declined and quickly returned to Shiina Hiyori's side.

The two sat down at a reading table in the corner.

Hiyori Shiina pondered, "Judging from the chat logs provided by Ichinose, she definitely wasn't the one who rented the surveillance cameras. But... I didn't expect this mysterious person to have sold the surveillance rights to Class B as well."

She suddenly looked up. "Following this logic, Class D should have also rented surveillance cameras, right? Otherwise, they couldn't have suddenly gotten 530 class points, considering Class C only got 640 class points by renting surveillance cameras."

"Hmm... your reasoning is quite reasonable." Shimizu Akira was slightly surprised, but then she realized that this was something that couldn't be hidden from the detective girl anyway.

"Actually..." Shiina Hiyori suddenly chuckled, "I've noticed an even more interesting detail—since the mysterious person knew that Ichinose-san knew many people, they never asked her for Class D's contact information. What does that mean?"

She looked directly into Akira Shimizu's eyes: "The other party likely already had the contact information of the leader of your Class D. In other words, the mysterious person is very likely one of the Class D leader's close contacts, perhaps even a classmate of yours."

Akira Shimizu nodded calmly. "That possibility certainly exists."

However, he was somewhat surprised.

Could Shiina Hiyori have deduced this much from just a few simple words?!

Oh no! In a few days, will he be "opened up"?

Chapter 105: 103 Chabashira Sae: 50,000 points can buy intelligence.

It's time for dinner.

The two ended their conversation tacitly and turned to leave.

As Shimizu Akira watched Shiina Hiyori's departing figure, a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

To his surprise, the other party did not inquire about the identities of the current core members of Class D.

Perhaps this is due to considerations regarding the competitive relationship within the class.

Before parting, Hiyori Shiina told him that she would inform him via text message before the next investigation.

Akira Shimizu nodded in agreement, but secretly plotted in his heart: Next time, he must never let the other party obtain information so easily again.

It must be admitted that Hiyori Shiina's reasoning is indeed very reasonable.

From an objective point of view, if Honami Ichinose knew almost all the students in the grade, then the "mysterious person" really had no reason to only ask for Ryuen Sho's contact information.

After all, Class D also rented surveillance equipment.