"I see, as expected, they didn’t proactively talk, but once you offered them some questions, they started talking fluently…" (Mitsuha)
The members of Society had gathered at an emergency meeting and reported back to me the information they had gathered...
"Yes. Just as Mitsuha-sama had predicted, it seems she was hesitant to tell such vile tales to us, the people of Society, who are called Saints… So, if I brought up the topic, they would talk about it without any problems."
The others also nodded in agreement.
I guess that's true... Even though the rumors were spreading, I thought it was strange that no one at Society knew about it... But wasn't it the case that someone was intentionally blocking information only for those that are involved with Society?
Well, if the information is circulated through a specific route, then it might be a different story, but it's impossible for an individual to do anything about information that spreads through uncertain routes such as rumors... If that were possible, it would require a fairly large organization. It's hard to imagine that such a huge organization would be used to spread bad rumors about a noble girl studying abroad. …Well, of course I wouldn't say the possibility is zero, but well, the probability is probably less than a decimal point.
"So, I'll write up a correlation diagram of the information you all have collected, who heard it, and from whom, along with the date and time! We, Society, will protect and save this girl, an exchange student from a foreign country, who has been trapped and is about to be condemned!!" (Mitsuha)
"Oooooooohhhhh!!" (Everyone)
I exaggerated the story a little. No, that kind of consideration is necessary to boost morale... ...But maybe I went a bit too far.
The young ladies, bored and looking for fun, and fulfilling activities as (unofficial) saints, were given the banner of "justice" and "helping the weak." ...Whatever happens, I don't know...
"...That's strange..." (Sabine)
Sabine-chan started speaking like a certain high school detective. The badmouthing of Mileisha that everyone at Society wrote—or rather, slander. In Japan, it would be considered a criminal act equivalent to defamation or insult, and you may be held criminally liable... These were the words I said after looking at the spread correlation diagram.
As expected of a genius girl with the body of a child and the mind of an adult. As expected from Sabine-chan. ...Atta-Sabi!!
"Yeah, it's strange..." (Colette)
What? Even Colette-chan, with the body and mind of a child...
"That's true, isn't it..." (Micchan)
The other members nodded in agreement at what Micchan said. ...Huh? Am I the only one who doesn't understand?
"...Y-yes, that's right! It's weird!" (Mitsuha)
In a panic, I said that to match everyone else's reaction...
"Mitsuha-san, you don't understand anything, do you?" (Micchan)
A painful blow from Micchan!
"Well, even if you notice something, you just pretend not to notice and ignore it, isn't that what friends do..." (Mitsuha)
"If I spoil you, it won't be good for you, Mitsuha-san!" (Micchan)
Ugh, Micchan is so mean...
"This information spreads in places and there are men's names in it, right?" (Sabine)
Oh, Sabine-chan has come to the rescue! ...Atta-Sabi!!
"...Uh, yeah..." (Mitsuha)
"..." (x1)
"…………" (x3)
"…………..." (Everyone)
"Even if you say that, you still don't understand!!" (Micchan)
Ahhh! Micchan got mad at me...
I had no choice but to have Sabine-chan explain everything to me. Apparently, when this kind of gossip or slander spreads among women, it only spreads among women—There's never a man in between...
Of course, there were exceptions, such as between lovers, but if a man heard about it from his lover, he might tell his male friends, but he would never tell other women. Well, unless you're a total idiot, you can at least understand what people think of a man who goes around badmouthing other women he has no direct connection with.
...And yet, in this relationship chart, men's names appeared frequently at the nodal points where rumors spread. Clearly, this was an abnormally high frequency for the normal "spreading of rumors among women"...
"Th-that's..." (Mitsuha)
Yeah, yeah, Sabine-chan nodded.
"The relationship between men and women here is very good..." (Mitsuha)
"That's not it!!" (Everyone)
...It seemed I was wrong—And the look from Sabine-chan with a dumbfounded expression on her face hurt...
"What this means is that men are knowingly involved in spreading the rumors! ...No, in this case, I should say that the men are the masterminds..." (Micchan)
"Oh, I see! As expected of Micchan! Sasumitsu!!" (Mitsuha)
"...Mitsuha-san, it's not that my analytical skills are superior, it's just that yours are inferior..." (Micchan)
"Guh!" (Mitsuha)
That was a painful blow!
...But if you know where to attack, there's a way to do it. If this analysis was wrong, that would be no problem. Then we'd just have to look at it from a different angle. Plus, even if you investigate in the wrong direction, you'll probably get some new information. They might be of some use, but they were not completely useless.
"Well then, let's come up with a new strategy based on this correlation chart!" (Mitsuha)
"Ohhh!!" (Everyone)
…You guys are in good spirits, aren't you…