I refuse to be a plagiarist

After thinking for a long time, Baiyin very tactfully shared the summarized "intelligence" with the younger generation beside him who had a burning detective spirit.

You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want.

In this Internet age of information explosion, rumors can sometimes become a deadly weapon.

"......So, Ishigami, it's better not to discuss this kind of thing easily until the matter is clear or Hasegawa agrees."

He gave serious instructions to the younger generation around him.

In response to Shirogane Miyuki's statement, Ishigami Yu, who had been looked down upon at school for this, instantly realized the seriousness of the problem. He nodded seriously, indicating that he would never talk about Hasegawa Zen's murder casually.

Although it was kept secret, he still retained his original opinion about his guess about the relationship between Yukinoshita and Hasegawa.

As a person with a relatively introverted personality and like a lone wolf in school, Ishigami Yu naturally has never truly fallen in love with a girl.

But even so, having watched countless movies and read a wide range of girls' love comics, he still thinks he has an almost god-like understanding of the psychology of boys and girls in love.

To put it simply...it's the Master of Love!

In Ishigami Yu's opinion, the senior named Yukinoshita Haruno, although it seems that the teacher likes to play pranks or "set traps" to trick Hasegawa, in essence it is a disguised way of releasing her affection.

After all, according to the description, this senior student never seemed to show this kind of "passion" to any classmates of the opposite sex other than Hasegawa-senpai when she was in school.

【Never mind, maybe I'm overthinking it.】

[With Hasegawa-senpai's intelligence, if there really is a cute girl who has a crush on him, how could he not notice it at all...?]

Thinking of this, Ishigami Yu stopped his gossiping thoughts and sighed silently.

He turned his attention back to Hasegawa and the others in the distance who had not yet moved.

What Ishigami Yu and Shirogane Miyuki didn't know was that behind them, near the door, a blonde woman wearing sunglasses, wrapped in a long skirt, and looking extremely mature was also quietly observing their every move and that of Hasegawa and others in the distance.

The ends of her long golden hair were slightly curled and casually draped over her shoulders.

The pink lips look a bit gaudy with the decoration of lipstick, forming a strong contrast with the fair skin, which makes people can't help but feel the urge to kiss her.

The light perfume smell is just right.

And the woman sitting in the corner, observing everything silently, was none other than Hayasaka Ai, who had followed quietly after disguising herself.

Take a sip of coffee from time to time.

Compared to the clumsy Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yu, she, as the close attendant of the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family, now showed tracking skills of another dimension.

No one, including the shop assistants passing by, would associate this mature woman with a young girl in high school.

Even though Hasegawa had developed a strong anti-reconnaissance ability due to frequent persecution, when he came in this time, he was unable to immediately spot his good friend who was sitting at the door of the cafe and waiting for him.

Quietly observing everything happening in the distance.

The saying "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" probably describes the scene before us.

To be honest, Hayasaka Ai was a little surprised at first that she could meet Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yu, who were from the same school as her, in this place.

However, after a brief moment of confusion, the girl quickly put aside the two guys who also seemed to want to watch, and focused her attention on the "real person" sitting further away.

【Hasegawa this guy...】

"Humph!"

He let out a meaningless hum.

Looking at Hasegawa and Yukinoshita sitting together in the distance, at this moment, she felt an indescribable irritation suddenly rising in her heart...

Chapter 18: Modern people must use technological means

Quietly looking at Hasegawa Hide who had a confident smile on his face in the distance, and Yukinoshita Haruno who was sitting next to him with the same proud smile on her face, Hayasaka Ai suddenly felt an indescribable irritation and bitterness in her heart for some reason.

Hasegawa Hide, who can confide his troubles to her and support her in moving forward, is the only friend she can share secrets with, except for Kaguya Shinomiya, with whom she grew up. He can be said to be a unique existence.

In certain specific circumstances, this boy who she met on the Internet and eventually became friends with in real life is even more important to Hayasaka Ai than Kaguya-sama, with whom she grew up.

After all, in addition to being best friends, the two of them also have a master-servant relationship.

Compared to Hasegawa who fought alone without any worries, there were some things buried deep in her heart that she couldn't easily say out loud when facing Shinomiya Kaguya.

The current scene made her feel as if something she loved was taken away from her.

Obviously, Hasegawa and Yukinoshita did not do anything excessive between them, they were just sitting on the sofa on the same side, but this scene seemed a bit glaring in Hayasaka Ai's eyes.

An inexplicable feeling of loneliness instantly swept over the girl's body at this moment.

However, thanks to her excellent stress resistance, she quickly adjusted her mindset and returned to stealth tracking.

Just like Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yu next to her, the reason why Hayasaka Ai followed quietly was actually because she was worried about the "battle" between Hasegawa and five younger students in the school.

After all, according to her understanding, although a certain person has strong abilities and resilience, in some aspects, he is no different from a beginner who knows nothing.

By that time, perhaps I could use some "deviant" methods to provide assistance from off the court and help him win.

but........

Hayasaka Ai never expected that although Hasegawa Hide's social circle was not very wide, there were indeed many people who stood up to support him at critical moments.

In addition to waiting for an opportunity in secret, the girl who was willing to sit next to him in front of the teacher under such circumstances had obviously made her position clear from the very beginning.

In addition, Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yu, who were sneaking around in the corner with newspapers in their hands, seemed to have similar ideas. They acted quietly as friends without the knowledge of the parties involved.

This is really...

To be honest, besides being happy that Hasegawa Hide has so many reliable partners, Hayasaka Ai also has a certain amount of yearning for him.

However, the weight of responsibility and the rationality that had supported her for so long made her put away this beautiful yearning in time.

People in the arena involuntarily.

Being in such a big environment as the Shinomiya family, Hayasaka Ai was destined to bear some things that she shouldn't have to bear at this age from the moment she was born.

Choosing this kind of thing...for her, it is often a luxury.

In her opinion, it was a very lucky thing to meet and get to know someone who was also going against the current and had hope for the future.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Perhaps they had reached a consensus. From a distance, where Hasegawa was, everyone stood up and walked towards the outside of the store.

"Come on, Ishigami, we should go too."

"Oh!"

The moment Hasegawa and others paid the bill and walked out of the store, Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yu decisively dropped the newspapers in their hands, paid the bill, and hurriedly chased after them.

After all, tailing is a technical job.

If they accidentally lose track, then everything they have done before will be meaningless.

Compared to Shirogane and Ishigami who were trying their best to hide their identities while attacking at high speed, Hayasaka Ai was still sitting in her seat with her legs crossed elegantly.

Only after she had finished the remaining coffee in the cup did she stand up, pay the bill and walk out of the store.

After a period of time, she naturally had no way to find any trace of Hasegawa and others on the street.

but.......

"Humph~"

Take out the cell phone from the bag you are carrying.

Following a series of operations, a radar-like interface suddenly appeared on the screen of Hayasaka Ai's mobile phone.

And on this mobile radar, a flickering light spot was moving away from the center of the cross star that symbolized its position at a steady speed.

That's exactly where Hasegawa is.

This was actually a backup plan that the girl left unintentionally.

In addition to the parts that improve performance, the mobile phone given to Hasegawa also had a small device similar to a tracker manually installed in it by Hayasaka Ai, who is proficient in electronic equipment, for positioning.

At the beginning, this action was just an unintentional prank. Hayasaka Ai had previously thought about finding an opportunity to secretly take Hasegawa's mobile phone and then remove the tracker without anyone noticing.

But what was unexpected was that Ruijin, that tiny existence, suddenly found its place.

Thanks to this tracking device, compared to Shirogane and Ishigami who need to track with their naked eyes, she doesn't need to seize every second and can achieve her goal of following the target more calmly.

I waved to an empty taxi on the roadside.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, following the "radar" prompts on her mobile phone, Hayasaka Ai took on the responsibility of command amid the driver's strange expression and chased in the direction of Hasegawa.

"Um... this lady."

"?"

"Excuse me, are you...playing the role of a secret agent in a movie?"

On the way, after some hesitation, the driver finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and took the initiative to ask.

Facing the other party's doubts, Hayasaka Ai subconsciously paused for a moment, and finally gave an explanation that was too lazy to even prevaricate:

“Nothing, just looking for a friend.

Mr. Driver, turn right at the next intersection. "

"oh oh......."

I turned the car around in time according to the girl's instructions.

But in the driver's mind, he was already gossiping like crazy:

[Looking for a friend? Tsk~]

[In my opinion...Miss, you are probably following your boyfriend who is having an affair with another woman! ]

Complaints aside, the essential work still needs to be done honestly.

With his skillful techniques, the driver evaded and maneuvered the taxi through the densely trafficked city area, shortening the distance between Hayasaka Ai, Hasegawa and others.

Go around a few intersections.

Finally, the taxi stopped in front of a spacious gate, ending this short journey.

——We’ve arrived at our destination!

Chapter 19: Shizuka Hiratsuka: Saving resources starts with me

The gate is wide for a reason.

Because the place in front of him was none other than the school gate of Sobu High School.

If you think about it carefully, you can understand it. After all, renting a venue costs money, and the one who needs to pay the fee during this competition is naturally the only adult, Hiratsuka Shizuka.

So after weighing the pros and cons, she simply brought Hasegawa and others to the school, and sneaked in during the weekend with her teacher's authority.

She had borrowed the keys to the relevant activity rooms from her colleagues before the holiday.

However, compared to Hasegawa and others who had already entered the competition venue, the two forces following them were ruthlessly isolated outside the gate by the security guard.

Because of the time difference, the two groups did not collide head-on in front of the Sobu High School entrance.

Hayasaka Ai, who had just got off a taxi, looked around and finally, in a relatively hidden corner, she saw Shirogane Miyuki and Ishigami Yuu trying to climb over the school wall.

That sneaky look makes him look just like some middle school students who like to climb over the wall to surf the Internet.

If she hadn't known them before, looking at their current appearance, Hayasaka Ai would never have associated these two guys with the students of Shuchiin.

【….】

She looked down at the mature, urban queen outfit she was wearing.

It goes without saying that wanting to be able to perform some agile movements like a monkey like an agent is nothing but a pipe dream for her at this moment.

But if she gave up now, Hayasaka Ai would feel a little unwilling.

[What should I do...?]

Quietly looking at the buildings around the school.

Finally, in an inconspicuous corner, she saw a store that seemed to be selling clothes.

"........"

After hesitating for a while, she finally walked in. When she came out, the originally mature big sister had turned into a capable girl in short clothes with her hair tucked into a hat.

The top predators should adjust their status according to the environment at any time.