Chapter 46: Truth and Falsehood (Part 1)

Yes, just as Seto Saori said, the person in front of them was none other than Higashiyama Rine, the class president of Class D for the past year.

To her surprise, Saori Seto, the defendant, realized that the culprit was actually the plaintiff.

Higashiyama Rine, on the other hand, simply stood up and smiled, waving her hand.

"Seto, you must have misunderstood. How could I be the culprit?"

"In that case, what are you doing here, class president?" Ryuto asked straightforwardly.

"I'm just digging up soil for the gardening club," she replied.

"Can we see it then?" Ryuto asked.

With that, Ryuto went forward and completed what Higashiyama Rine had left unfinished. What appeared before everyone was an envelope, yes, the same envelope that was found in Seto Saori's drawer yesterday.

"How is this possible?" Saori Seto was once again surprised by the sudden appearance of the envelope.

"Why is it here? Wasn't it confiscated after it was found yesterday?" she asked.

At that moment, Higashiyama Rine spoke up.

"It seems that Amagi thinks I'm the culprit. But if I were to be called the culprit, what evidence is there? The money was still there yesterday morning, and the classmates in our class can testify to that. They even opened it at the time. But by noon, it had indeed disappeared. The only person who could have taken it was Seto, who was the only one left in the classroom during morning exercises. If it wasn't her, then where did the money go? Besides her, there couldn't have been anyone else."

No longer the usual self, Ryuto faced the severe questioning and gave an answer.

"You're right, but... what if it didn't disappear in the first place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just as it says, the envelope was there from the beginning."

Saori Seto was astonished and then voiced her own question.

"But it wasn't found anywhere at the time."

"Yes, it wasn't found, but that doesn't mean the money disappeared. After all, the money was in that classroom at the time, it's just that no one noticed."

"?"

Upon hearing Ryuto's answer, everyone became even more confused.

"Because there was a place where everyone naturally assumed there was no money."

"Naturally assumed?"

"Yes, that would be the class president's backpack."

"But it wasn't there at the time."

Higashiyama Rine defended herself.

"Because you said it wasn't there, everyone naturally assumed it wasn't. So, this option was initially excluded. But what if you were lying? What if there was money, but you pretended there wasn't? Then it becomes a blind spot."

Everyone fell silent due to the unexpected turn of events.

"And how do you explain the envelope in Seto's drawer? If I framed her, someone else would have seen it. I didn't even go near Seto's desk the whole morning. Ultimately, what I just said is just a possibility, and it's also possible that Seto planted it here. No matter how much we talk, it's useless if we can't explain this."

"You're right. If someone secretly put the envelope in my drawer, there's no way I wouldn't know," Seto Saori confirmed, but Ryuto quickly refuted her.

"But what if the time the envelope was placed wasn't yesterday, but the afternoon of the day before?"

"The afternoon of the day before... Even if that's the case, there's no way I wouldn't know."

"More precisely, it was after school the day before yesterday."

At this point, Seto Saori fell silent.