Chapter 126: I'll Give You Two Choices!
By then, Ryuen Kakeru and Yamada Albert had arrived at the pathway beside the second-year building. Ishizaki, Komiya, and Yamawaki were sitting on the bench after the beating Yuto had given them.
"Boss Ryuen!"
The three immediately greeted him, though their expressions showed varying degrees of guilt. Ryuen had ordered them to teach Yuto a lesson, yet they had ended up being taught one instead.
Ryuen was also frowning, clearly dissatisfied with their performance.
However, he was not disappointed because they had failed to defeat Yuto. He was dissatisfied because none of them appeared seriously injured.
Their current condition was nowhere near enough to justify suspending Yuto.
"I'll now explain the final stage of the plan to have Shimizu Yuto expelled. Listen carefully," Ryuen said solemnly.
"Right!"
After hearing the final part of Ryuen's plan, Ishizaki and the other two felt both delighted and terrified.
They were delighted because Yuto truly could be expelled, but terrified because they now needed to suffer injuries—frightening and visibly serious ones.
"I've explained the last part of the plan. Now tell me your decision."
Yamawaki gritted his teeth. "Can I withdraw? I don't want to get hurt."
"Me neither..." Komiya agreed nervously.
Ishizaki wanted to join them, but stopped when he saw Ryuen's expression darken.
"I'll give the three of you two choices," Ryuen said with a vicious smile.
"First, stand still and accept the beating."
"Second, let me hold you down while you're beaten."
"Choose."
"..."
Was there any difference between those choices?!
"You don't need to resist so much. Once we successfully drive Shimizu Yuto out of this school, I'll reward you with a suitable number of points."
"Besides, you hate that arrogant bastard too, don't you?" Ryuen said coldly.
Although Ryuen was a delinquent, he understood how to control his subordinates. He would not force them to suffer without offering compensation.
The three could not refuse, so they could only grit their teeth and endure a brutal beating from Ryuen and Albert.
...
More than ten minutes later, Ishizaki, Komiya, and Yamawaki staggered away from the pathway. Their faces were swollen and bruised, with numerous dark marks across their bodies.
Yamawaki had even suffered a nosebleed, making his condition look particularly alarming.
He felt humiliated and furious.
Even Shimizu Yuto, whom they hated most, had not beaten them this severely. Yet Ryuen, the leader they followed, had inflicted such serious injuries upon them!
But what could Yamawaki do with his anger and resentment? He lacked the ability to overthrow Ryuen, so he could only swallow his grievances.
Ryuen ordered the three to visit the school infirmary. They needed treatment from the school nurse and an official document certifying the severity of their injuries.
Ryuen then contacted Nagumo and informed him that every stage of the plan had been completed successfully.
"Excellent! You did well, Ryuen," Nagumo praised him through the phone while wearing his sports uniform.
"Once you obtain the injury certificates, send those victims to the student council with the documents and have them demand justice."
"And remember, Ryuen. Make sure those supposed victims insist that Shimizu Yuto attacked first and beat them until they suffered serious injuries," Nagumo reminded him.
"Of course I know. We've completed everything on our side. Now it's your turn to use your influence in the student council," Ryuen said bluntly.
"Naturally. Our objective is the same," Nagumo answered readily.
After ending the call, Nagumo felt thoroughly refreshed. Shimizu Yuto, who had tricked and humiliated him, was finally about to be expelled.
"It's unfortunate that Shimizu knows Chairman Sakayanagi. He may ask the chairman to let him sit the midterm despite being suspended," Nagumo muttered regretfully.
Had Yuto not known Chairman Sakayanagi, he would definitely have missed the midterm and been forcibly expelled by the school.
...
Since Chabashira had helped him greatly, Yuto did not immediately send her away to buy ingredients and prepare dinner with Airi.
The two remained in the cafe, drinking several beverages and eating desserts while chatting casually. From a distance, they almost resembled a man and woman enjoying a relaxed date.
Although Chabashira was Yuto's teacher and homeroom instructor, he had never treated her with the usual formal distance. Their conversation therefore remained completely natural and unrestrained.
Suddenly, Chabashira's phone rang.
After swallowing a bite of cake, she checked the screen and discovered that Hoshinomiya Chie was calling.
"Chie?"
Chabashira raised an eyebrow in surprise. Why was this woman contacting her now? If she wanted to invite her drinking, shouldn't she call later in the evening?
In Chabashira's mind, Hoshinomiya only contacted her to drink and gossip.
"Shimizu, I'm answering this."
"Go ahead," Yuto replied casually.
The moment Chabashira accepted the call, Hoshinomiya's loud voice burst through the speaker.
"Sae-chan! One of your students caused serious trouble! Your student is terrifying!"
Chabashira frowned, partly because of the volume and partly because Hoshinomiya's words contained a considerable amount of information.
"Explain clearly, Chie," Chabashira answered in her usual cold voice.
"I was preparing to pack up and leave school when three first-year Class C students staggered into the infirmary."
"All three had swollen, bruised faces. Their heads, arms, and abdomens were covered in bruises, and one of them was even bleeding."
"Three students from Class C...?"
A hint of surprise appeared on Chabashira's face, and Yuto immediately looked toward her.
The mention of three Class C students caught his attention.
"Chabashira-sensei, ask Hoshinomiya-sensei for their names. I have a feeling they're the three who attacked me without reason."
Chabashira nodded. She had reached the same suspicion.
"Chie, tell me—"
Chabashira began asking for details. Through Hoshinomiya's answers, she and Yuto quickly learned what had happened.
The three badly bruised Class C students were indeed Ishizaki and his companions.
After Hoshinomiya treated their injuries and applied medicine, they asked her to write an official injury certificate.
That was part of the school nurse's responsibilities, so she agreed. Out of curiosity, she asked what had happened, and the three claimed that Shimizu Yuto from Class D had inflicted every injury.
Hoshinomiya immediately became energetic.
She knew Chabashira valued Yuto tremendously and intended to use him to fulfill her obsession with overturning the class rankings and reaching Class A.
So once Ishizaki and the others left the infirmary with their certificates, Hoshinomiya immediately called Chabashira.
Was she warning her out of concern?
Of course not.
She merely wanted to hear Chabashira panic!
After all, Hoshinomiya was Chabashira's closest friend and greatest rival.
"Sae-chan, your Shimizu Yuto beat three Class C students until they were in such terrible condition."
"They told me they're going to ask the student council for help and demand that Shimizu be punished."
"Sae-chan, do you think your precious student will receive disciplinary action?"
Hoshinomiya's voice sounded sweet and concerned, but Chabashira knew her far too well. That wicked woman was mocking her indirectly.
Chabashira slowly inhaled. Had Hoshinomiya been standing before her, she would have struck her sharply on the forehead.
"If Shimizu truly did such a thing and seriously injured three students, then he will naturally be punished."
"That's enough, Chie. I'll contact Shimizu and ask him for the details."
"Wait, Sae—"
Chabashira had no desire to continue arguing with her black-hearted friend and immediately ended the call.
After putting away her phone, she looked at Yuto.
"It seems they intend to frame you."
Both Yuto and Chabashira knew perfectly well that he had not beaten Ishizaki and the other two until their faces were swollen and their bodies covered in bruises.
Yet they had entered the infirmary with serious injuries and blamed everything on him.
There was no need to guess. They intended to falsely accuse Yuto.
"So they're framing me. That's somewhat surprising," Yuto said with a faint, knowing smile.
"This must be why they deliberately summoned me somewhere without surveillance cameras."
Since there were no cameras beside the second-year building, the school had no official footage showing what had happened there.
That made the location perfect for Ishizaki and the others to fabricate accusations against Yuto.
However, Yuto had noticed the suspicious circumstances in advance. He had Chabashira record the entire confrontation using Airi's digital camera.
The video clearly proved that Yuto had acted in self-defense and that he had not inflicted the severe injuries Ishizaki and the others now displayed.
"So contacting the student council and having me punished is their next move," Yuto said.
"Exactly." Chabashira nodded.
"Chabashira-sensei, if I really had beaten them that badly, how would the student council or school punish me?" Yuto asked curiously.
"Hmm..."
Chabashira considered the question.
"If the evidence were conclusive, you would receive extremely serious disciplinary action. You might be suspended for around three weeks, Class D would lose one hundred class points, and you would probably need to apologize before the entire school."
"I wouldn't be expelled?" Yuto asked.
He had read from Ishizaki's memories that the plan was supposed to result in his expulsion.
Was suspension really all they wanted?
"An incident like this normally wouldn't be enough for immediate expulsion. However, another serious offense afterward could result in the school forcibly expelling you," Chabashira explained.
"A three-week suspension... Hmm?"
Yuto suddenly frowned and looked toward her.
"Chabashira-sensei, what happens if a suspended student misses the midterm exam?"
Chabashira froze briefly before her expression changed.
She was a capable teacher who had once nearly led her class to Class A. She was far from foolish and immediately understood the true objective behind Ryuen's scheme.
"If you were suspended and missed the midterm, your scores would be recorded as zero."
"Those failing scores would cause the school to expel you," Chabashira said slowly.
Yuto met her gaze and showed a faint, amused smile.
"So that's their real objective."
"They intend to exploit the school rules and have the school itself expel me. That's quite ruthless."
"Indeed." Chabashira nodded.
Only ten days remained before the midterm. A three-week suspension would certainly prevent Yuto from attending.
"Tch."
Chabashira clicked her tongue.
"Ryuen Kakeru, the leader of Class C... I didn't expect him to devise such a vicious and frightening method."
"It is rather dangerous," Yuto replied casually, though he did not truly believe Ryuen had created it alone.
Ryuen probably had not yet fully understood the school's rules, much less learned how to exploit them so precisely against an enemy.
Yuto therefore suspected the ruthless plan had come from Nagumo Miyabi.
Yuto would remember this debt. He would eventually find an opportunity to repay Nagumo properly.
"Still, no matter how ruthless their method is, it won't work against you."
Chabashira glanced at the digital camera on the table and smiled.
"Because we possess absolute evidence proving your innocence."
"Mm." Yuto nodded.
…
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