Chapter 47: Truth and Falsehood (Part 2)

"You can easily find out with a simple investigation. The class monitor was the one who cleaned the classroom after school the day before yesterday. If it was at that time, it would have been quite simple to put the envelope in your drawer in an empty classroom," Ryuto said.

But Toshimori Rinne seemed unable to accept Ryuto's explanation.

"Indeed, if it was at that time, there wouldn't be any problem. However, the envelope was still in my possession the next day," she said.

"Yes, that's true. But what if there were two envelopes?"

"Two?"

Once again, everyone was surprised by Ryuto's response.

"After all, the school's envelopes are quite common. It wouldn't be difficult to find another one that looks the same. So, the envelope found in Seto's drawer was the original one given by the school. Even if the school confiscated it, they wouldn't find any problem. The envelope the class monitor intentionally showed to the class the next day was actually a fake. It was just to make people think that the envelope was still in your possession. As long as it was close enough, it would be easy to deceive others. And initially, the envelope in Seto's drawer was empty. Once it was discovered to be empty, others would naturally assume that the money that never existed in the first place was taken by her."

"But there's no guarantee that she wouldn't have discovered it. After all, it's her drawer, and there's always a possibility of her finding it. Besides, if she wasn't alone in the classroom that day or if she went out for morning exercises like everyone else, wouldn't the plan have failed?" Toshimori Rinne argued again.

"That's true, but it doesn't really matter. Once Seto discovers the envelope, all you have to do is say that it's gone. In the end, it wouldn't change anything, and you don't have to worry about the timing of the envelope being discovered. Or maybe it would be even better in that situation. But if it really doesn't work, then you have to trigger it yourself. However, what you didn't expect was that it would turn out to be the worst outcome. After all, there's a possibility that they would investigate your bag. And I believe Seto didn't go out for morning exercises because she knew about it. After all, she hasn't gone even once, and she probably won't go next time either. That's the kind of mindset she has," Ryuto explained, pausing slightly.

Then, he continued, "But things turned out very differently from what you expected. You thought Seto would be disciplined soon, but it got delayed due to other reasons. At that point, the fake envelope in your possession became a burden, evidence against yourself. If it was accidentally seen by someone, everything would be over. So, you couldn't keep the envelope in your bag anymore. You had to hide it somewhere. That's why you immediately buried the envelope here after the meeting ended. After all, there are hardly any people here, and because everyone was on the playground in the afternoon, it was relatively safe under your watch."

"So, you were just lying about the treasure hunt to lure me here?" Toshimori Rinne asked, realizing that she had been deceived.

"I had a rough idea of where it was, but it took some time to find it," Ryuto replied.

"But how could you be so sure that I would bury the envelope?"

"After all, the class monitor is in the gardening club. She has ready-made tools, right? I thought she would definitely use them."

"But what if I didn't come? What was your plan then?"

"I thought yesterday wasn't an opportunity, but today at noon was the best chance. After all, I couldn't completely trust leaving it here all the time. It had to be dealt with as soon as possible. So, even if I didn't say anything, the class monitor should have come."

"Is that why Manami Senpai did it...?" Toshimori Rinne had no more arguments left.

At this moment, Seto Sawako, who had been silent all this time, couldn't hold back anymore and asked with a voice filled with anger and confusion, "Why... why did you do this?"