There is something wrong with Hikigaya’s classroom of the Elite, as expected

Chapter 140: Playing with Fire

“How could there be surveillance cameras? During the inspection, we clearly…”

Ishizaki and the others froze, their faces stiffening as their minds struggled to comprehend the situation. Meanwhile, Horikita and Ichinose seized the opportunity to press on.

“The chemicals stored in the science classroom—such dangerous substances can’t possibly be left unmonitored!”

Horikita finished speaking, and Ichinose quickly added, “There’s not just one surveillance camera. Look behind us, and over there—there are cameras there too!”

Ishizaki and the others exchanged glances, their sweat pouring down even more heavily than before. “No way! There definitely weren’t any cameras here! This must be a fake!”

Seeing that Ishizaki and the others were still refusing to back down, Horikita continued, trying to lead them further into a trap with her words. “Fake? Are you so sure? Fine, let’s go to the school and request to view the footage. Let’s see who’s right. But don’t say I didn’t warn you—if the cameras are real, your actions will definitely be recorded. The student council president already said, if it’s serious, you’ll be expelled!”

Ichinose also caught a flaw in Ishizaki’s earlier words. “Ordinary people wouldn’t be this concerned about surveillance cameras. Why were you specifically checking this? Doesn’t this suggest that you had premeditated criminal intent?”

Ishizaki’s face turned pale, looking completely flustered and anxious, as if his earlier defiant attitude had disappeared entirely.

“W-why didn’t the school say anything about the surveillance cameras from the beginning?”

Ishizaki seemed to latch onto a lifeline, speaking quickly.

“Because the school was waiting for you to confess. Otherwise, why do you think the school gave you a week’s grace period? It’s also to test the students’ abilities—this school has always been like this.”

Ichinose seemed to have anticipated this, closing off every possible escape for Ishizaki.

Ishizaki looked sickly pale, recalling how Hikigaya had threatened him with expulsion just at noon. Now, in the afternoon, he was being threatened with expulsion by the people from Class D. Ishizaki felt like he was cursed lately.

At this point, Ayanokouji coughed a few times, signaling Horikita that it was time to move on. Horikita then spoke, “Of course, there’s a way to remedy the situation. As long as you withdraw the accusations, we won’t pursue this further. If both sides can reach a private settlement, I believe the school will let it go.”

Having run out of options, Horikita finally revealed her true intentions.

Ishizaki, seizing the opportunity like a drowning man clutching at a straw, quickly shouted to Komiya and Kondo, “Anyway, Ryuen already said that this should end here, so there’s no need to go all out with the people from Class D!”

Clearly, Ishizaki had already decided to follow Horikita’s plan and withdraw the accusations against Sudou. Even if Ryuen found out afterward, he wouldn’t be blamed, since Ryuen had already reached a compromise with Hikigaya by noon. Ishizaki felt little burden about it.

However, Ishizaki didn’t notice the strange expressions on Komiya and Kondo’s faces.

At the same time, Ishizaki’s words made Horikita feel something was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

“Looks like you’re not willing to settle. Well, don’t blame us then. We’ll go to the school and confirm the truth. You guys can just wait to be expelled!”

Horikita understood that they were almost at the final step, so she continued to push Ishizaki and the others into a corner.

Ishizaki, now panicking, was about to agree, but suddenly Komiya stopped him. Komiya didn’t listen to Ishizaki; instead, he looked at Horikita and the others. “Are you really sure these surveillance cameras were originally in these spots?”

For some reason, Horikita suddenly felt uneasy, but still, she forced herself to respond confidently.

Komiya and Kondo exchanged a look before saying, “We’re reporting this to the student council!”

“Do you two realize that doing this will get you expelled?!”

Even Ichinose, who had been confident until now, couldn’t hide her anxiety, speaking up.

Horikita also chimed in harshly, “That’s right, are you still trying to act tough now?!”

“Komiya, Kondo, what are you two doing?!”

Even Ishizaki could no longer contain his impatience and shouted.

But Komiya wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, he took out his phone and dialed someone!

On the other side, seeing that Komiya had called without hesitation, Horikita’s face darkened, and Ichinose beside her showed a hint of anxiety. Ayanokouji, as usual, maintained a blank expression, but his brow was slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

“Hello, what are you two…”

Even the dense Ishizaki finally realized that something was off with Komiya and Kondo.

“Huh? Why are so many people here?”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from the stairwell. Horikita frowned upon hearing it and seeing the person’s face.

It was Yukinoshita Haruno from Class A!

And beside her was Kido from Class D, the so-called “little angel” of Class D.

“Yukinoshita, you’re a member of the student council, right?”

Komiya suddenly spoke, and the expressions of Horikita, Ichinose, and the others changed instantly upon hearing this.

“Of course. So, what happened?”

Yukinoshita smiled and calmly surveyed everyone.

“Hey, Komiya, are you guys planning to get expelled…”

Horikita sternly shouted, attempting to stop Komiya.

But it seemed like Komiya didn’t hear her at all. He pointed at the surveillance camera in the hallway and reported to Yukinoshita that a student had secretly installed surveillance cameras!

“Oh?”

Yukinoshita raised an eyebrow, showing a meaningful smile as she looked around at everyone present. “I see. Putting aside that this behavior has already violated others’ privacy rights, installing surveillance cameras without the school’s permission—no matter what the intent—this action in itself can be seen as a challenge and disregard for the school’s authority. You… surely you all know what serious consequences this could lead to, right?”

As she continued, the smile faded from Yukinoshita’s face, and everyone present felt a cold chill running down their backs.

“This school does allow and even encourages competition between students and classes. But that doesn’t mean you can act recklessly. Every action has its limits, and once those boundaries are crossed, it’s not something you can simply dismiss with a few words. Every homeroom teacher should have reminded you about this at the beginning of the school year. Right now, you’re playing with fire. This isn’t something that can be easily explained away as just a small disagreement between students.”

The faces of Horikita, Ichinose, and the others turned pale, especially Horikita, whose fists were tightly clenched in frustration.

They were so close—just one more step!

At the same time, the words that Hikigaya had said to Horikita during the break earlier that morning came flooding back to her mind.