Shimizu Akira turned to look at Sakura Airi in the neighboring seat.
Perhaps because of the harassnt by the Idol fan nad Kusuda, her face looked noticeably haggard; it seed she hadn't slept well yesterday. Considering she had just been questioned by Horikita Suzune, he was ntally prepared for things not to go smoothly.
He deliberated for a mont and tested the waters: "Sakura-san... is it convenient to talk for a bit?"
"Shimizu-kun," Sakura Airi responded almost instantly. "Of course it is."
Shimizu went straight to the point. "Actually, I was planning to ask you about sothing."
Sakura nodded quickly.
"O-okay, Shimizu-kun. As long as it's sothing I can answer, I'll tell you everything."
'Eh? She's surprisingly easy to talk to?'
Shimizu could clearly feel that Sakura was not only willing to talk to him but was ready to answer any question. He reflexively glanced at Horikita Suzune beside him, then looked toward Kushida Kikyo, who was subconsciously casting glances their way from a distance. A subtle look flashed through his eyes.
He decided to help Sakura resolve the stalker issue first.
He vaguely felt that the reason she had refused Horikita's questioning was precisely because she was distracted and distressed by this ss. However, since the information about the stalker and Sakura's secret identity "Shizuku" ca from his daily intelligence, he had to tell a white lie.
Thinking of this, he spoke in a low voice: "Actually, I recently happened to pick up a discarded envelope. The owner of the envelope seed obsessed with an idol nad 'Shizuku.' The contents were quite unsightly, and it ntioned that in reality, she is an introverted girl who wears glasses and likes to play with caras. Later, I compared the details and found that 'Shizuku' looks very much like you—hair color, facial features, even the glasses and cara match. So, Sakura-san, you should be 'Shizuku,' right?"
"Shimizu-kun...!" Sakura Airi suddenly looked up at him.
She never expected that Shimizu would discover her true identity. In her mind, that letter must have co from that creepy middle-aged man at the electronics store. The mont her identity was exposed, a surge of tension flooded her entire body.
But this was Shimizu Akira—he was looking at her with calm, steady eyes.
There was no trace of malice in them. As she had always judged, a person's eyes reveal their true character most clearly. Furthermore, he had helped her back in the first month. Shimizu approaching her now must have a reason.
So, her first instinct wasn't to run; she simply held her breath and waited quietly for him to continue.
Shimizu was a bit surprised by her composure, which saved him a lot of effort. He looked at Sakura's slightly tense face and lowered his voice even more: "You don't need to be nervous. I'm not telling you this to dig into your background, let alone threaten you. I've read the general contents of that letter and know roughly what's happening. You've done nothing wrong. The one at fault is that Idol fan calling himself Kusuda—he's the one who doesn't understand the proper distance between an idol and the audience."
At this point, his gaze beca exceptionally serious: "Tell honestly, do you want that man to disappear from this school completely?"
Sakura was completely stunned. She hadn't expected that Shimizu's purpose in finding her was to help.
He even said he could make that man disappear?
Is that really possible? That pervert who knew her room number, who looked at her with lewd eyes every ti she went to the electronics store, and who posted disgusting comnts on her blog... Could she finally stop seeing him?
The grievance and fear accumulated for so long finally burst through the dam at this mont. Her voice trembled uncontrollably: "...Shimizu-kun... I... I want to! I hate his eyes... every ti I go to the electronics store, I'm scared to death, fearing I'll run into him again..."
These past few days, the envelopes appearing constantly in her dormitory mailbox were like giant boulders nearly crushing her. As long as that man could disappear, she felt she would be willing to pay any price.
"Mmh, I understand. Since you, the person involved, agree, then things are easy to handle." Shimizu nodded, his tone steady and reassuring.
"I've already asked the Student Council in advance how to handle this situation. If you still have those envelopes he sent, hand them over as evidence. That man will be kicked out of this school very soon."
Sakura's breath hitched. She actually hadn't thrown those envelopes away—not out of sentint, but because every ti she saw them, it felt like being pricked by needles.
She kept thinking, "I'll do sothing once I have the courage," yet remained nailed to the spot by fear. With Shimizu's reminder, she finally realized those were obvious pieces of evidence.
"Those en... envelopes..." Her voice shook, and her eyes instantly turned red. "I-I kept them all... in my dorm drawer, in a box... there are over ninety of them! They're all there..."
"You did well," Shimizu praised her, then said, "It's the lunch break now, and there are still over twenty minutes before class. Go back to the dorm now to organize those envelopes as evidence and calm your emotions. After school, we'll go directly to the Student Council and explain everything. You'll be able to sleep peacefully tonight."
"Mmh... okay, I'll do whatever you say."
Sakura felt things were moving so fast she was a bit dazed, only able to nod reflexively in agreent. But she could tell that Shimizu had already considered everything for her—after all, he had even contacted the Student Council in advance.
'Shimizu-kun is so kind to ! Just through one envelope, he investigated my identity and specifically stepped in to help... even asking the Student Council beforehand... he's really done so much for .
I... what can I do for Shimizu-kun?'
Sakura felt her heart beating faster and faster.
Since Shimizu helped stop Yamauchi's rumors, she had already harbored so special feelings for him; now, that feeling deepened significantly. With the heavy burden on her heart lifted, she could finally speak frankly about Sudo Ken.
"Um... sorry, I was so troubled by that man's matter before. Actually... I was a witness to Sudo-kun's incident. There are photos of evidence stored in my cara that can prove who was there..." she said tentatively, adding a bit of embarrassnt at the end.
"I know." Shimizu looked up at her and nodded calmly.
"We take things one step at a ti. Right now, your matter is more urgent than his."
Sakura bit her lower lip hard and nodded heavily: "Okay! I'll go back to the dorm and organize them right now! I'll do exactly as you say, Shimizu-kun."
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As Horikita Suzune watched Sakura's back as she practically ran out of the classroom, she put down her book and looked at Shimizu with an incredulous gaze. They hadn't intentionally lowered their voices midway through the conversation, so as his neighbor, she had naturally overheard a fair bit.
It seed Sakura was being harassed by so man? And Shimizu had already looked into a counterasure in advance, intending to make that person get lost for good?
That wasn't even the most surprising part.
The key was that things had progressed to the point where he didn't even have to ask about Sudo; Sakura intended to tell him voluntarily.
"How... did you do it? Why couldn't I?!" She finally couldn't help but ask.
Shimizu had already noticed his seatmate's gaze, so he responded: "Sakura-san was facing a significant trouble herself. At a ti like that, she naturally didn't have the heart to care about other people's business. That's probably why she wouldn't tell you the truth—even if Jesus ca down, it likely wouldn't have worked. I got lucky and happened to know her difficulty. I helped solve it, and once her burden was gone, she naturally opened up to . That's roughly how it went."
Horikita was stunned, completely silenced. She suddenly felt as if she had learned another trick. So, when inquiring about things, one must prioritize paying attention to the other person's current state and mood.
It made sense—if a person is swamped with trouble, how could they have the energy to deal with soone else's problems?
However, there was one thing Horikita was dissatisfied with regarding Shimizu: his nonchalant phrase, "I got lucky."
What do you an, "got lucky"? It sounded far too cheap. He had quietly noticed Sakura's predicant and silently planned a solution; how could such a series of maneuvers be sumd up by re "luck"?
'This man is great at everything, but sotis he's just inexplicably modest.'
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