Stealing Spree

As Komoe and I walked down the hallway of the Club Building, the school seemed quieter than usual. Only a few were walking around. That's the reason why I could hop into different clubs without it becoming a rumor.

In any case, it should just be because of the structure of the Club Building. Those who had nothing better to do would just leave and wander around the school, finding spots where they could slack off.

Those inside their clubrooms were the ones serious about their activities.

I held Minami Shouko's file in one hand, flipping through the pages while mentally piecing together the puzzle of recent events.

I still couldn't shake the suspicion that she was related to all this.

She's a smart troublemaker, alright. She had this talent for slipping under the radar. I might not be there last year but from what was listed on this file, she did a lot of things like a prank gone too far or a disruption of school events. However, she never left enough evidence to get into serious trouble, but her scent was always left nearby whenever something went wrong. The missing equipment, misplaced props, and random appearances of this mystery girl in multiple clubs. It all seemed to fit her troublemaker profile. But without concrete proof, it was just a theory. Still, the pattern was too suspicious to ignore.

I also asked Shizu if she knew about her and she said yes. But her mischief wasn't really that troublesome in terms of severity so she left her case to the Guidance Counselors.

As I pooled the information they gathered about her, analyzing it.

And there's one thing that stood out for me.

If Minami Shouko hadn't left a trail that pointed to herself, Ryouko-san and the other teachers would probably not know about her list of mischief. She would just be one of the constant top notchers in exams.

It's like she was deliberately acting like that.

To gain attention in the worst way possible.

Alright. That's an angle we could look at. Should we also pay a visit to her club? To see if she was there?

Maybe I could try. However, since the Club Presidents didn't recognize her as the one lingering near their clubs, I had to check those places first.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the closest clubroom.

The Science Club.

Even without knocking, the Club President who still appeared afraid of any socializing opened the door for us. Komoe hopped jubilantly as she immediately went through to inspect the clubroom.

There were only three of them in the club - maybe the others were only members by name. Just like the Alchemy Research Club of Reira-senpai, they're all wearing lab coats, and lab apparatuses were neatly arranged on their shelves.

"D-don't touch anything." The Club President said but his voice was too low for Komoe to hear.

The girl already moved to the window, checking if there were traces of entry.

But man, why was she looking there? This was the 3rd floor! Whoever's going to manage to enter this clubroom from that window, they'd have to climb from outside.

"Alright. Please show me where the missing apparatuses are located and also where you found them."

Letting the girl run free while the other two club members looked after her, I urged the Club President to show me the crime scene.

I like his cooperativeness. It's making things easy.

Five minutes later, Komoe and I exited the clubroom.

Did we find any leads?

Somewhat, if I could call it that.

I only noticed that their clubroom was the size of a classroom so there were two doors on it. One of them was blocked by a shelf, though not high enough to prevent someone from climbing over it.

I saw signs that it was being opened. There was even a shoe print in the dust on top of the shelf.

Komoe also found something worth noting even though she went investigating blindly.

A scrunchie. The girl club member denied having one since she has short hair. And obviously, the two boys wouldn't be using that.

From that, the culprit seemed to be a girl who could climb up that shelf and enter their clubroom through that other door.

"Does she also leave through that door? How come no one notices her?" That was Komoe's question as she inspected the scrunchie on her hand.

"She's light on her feet and athletic. Or they're too busy to even notice her. Her presence must be low." I answered.

We continued on to our next destination while continuing the mindset of patrolling the hallways.

When we reached the second floor, I naturally went to check on the clubrooms of my girls too. First, the Book Club. I also asked Haruko and the other second years if they recognized Shouko.

Haruko gave an interesting answer.

"She's like you, hubby. If you don't pay attention to her, you'll think she's just a normal girl."

Is that right? Isn't she quite a looker, as well? At least, she's attractive in the photo.

Oh... Wait. Her hair.

After the Book Club, I also checked on the Student Support Club, asking Arisa and Izumi.

They didn't know her.

On the Game Club, the gamer Sagara-senpai said she visited the game club once to play a game with them. Maaya and Miura-senpai confirmed it.

When I asked them to describe her and then showed them the photo, they both knitted their eyebrows, saying, "What? Who is that girl?"

That added a layer of mystery, but I think I'm starting to get it.

She's troublesome, alright. She can disguise herself by changing her hairstyle. With her lush hair, much like Nami and Shizu, she probably alters her appearance enough to go unnoticed.

Anyway, after those visits, we continued to the first floor.

This time, we went to the Photography Club.

Marin-senpai and Shimura were already there waiting for us. The other guy who claimed to be Marin-senpai's assistant wasn't around.

That's favorable to me. I don't have to deal with his hostility just because of my presence.

"Thank you for coming, Onoda-kun, Miura-san. I told our advisor you'd be dropping by, so feel free to check anything." Marin-senpai said before stepping to the side. "

Shimura also did the same but she followed us, curious.

I nodded and stepped into the room, scanning the area. It was the same as before. I could see the cameras, photos and magazines arranged on their shelves, tripods had their own place in the corner, and backdrops rolled up neatly against the wall.

"Where was the last camera found again?" I asked.

Marin-senpai walked over to a cabinet near the back. She opened the door, revealing an empty spot.

"Here. This is where it should've been, but it was found in the art supply closet like I mentioned."

Komoe peered inside the cabinet, tilting her head. "The locks... are they broken?"

Marin-senpai shook her head. "No. It's strange. Everything was locked up like usual."

She then looked at Shimura who provided more insight, "Senpai, didn't you use it a few days ago?"

"Yes. I'm planning to use it again, that's why I noticed how it was missing."

Hearing that exchange, I considered Marin-senpai just misplacing it and somehow the culprit picked it up and brought it to the art supply closet.

"No signs of forced entry, no evidence that someone broke in. Do you normally have visitors here, senpai?"

Marin-senpai shook her head, "Not exactly. I told you about the girl but she's never entered the clubroom. She was just there. Outside. Only the club members and our advisor have the key and most of the time I was the one left behind after club hours."

"I see. She has a way to get in then." I murmured."

Before I could finish, Komoe tapped me on the arm, her eyes lighting up. "Ruki, look at this!"

She pointed to the window. "This latch isn't secure."

I walked over, opening the window with little effort. "Hmm... this could be a point of entry. We're on the first floor. Someone could've easily climbed in from the outside." Marin-senpai's eyes widened, still not accepting that possibility, "But we always close the windows. It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe they're not entering through here to steal. Maybe they're just using it to plant the missing items after they're done messing with you," I suggested, closing the window again.

As I was about to suggest our next move, Komoe's phone vibrated and she quickly glanced at it. "Ruki. I think you have to see this."

Upon saying that, she showed me her phone, and in it was Watanabe's message with a photo attached to it.

"Tripod. Theater House."

"Is this one of your tripods?" I said showing the photo to Marin-senpai and Shimura.

They both exchanged baffled looks before nodding in confirmation.

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