A tense Ken Sudō was summoned to the conference room once again.
This time, unlike the last meeting with only a handful of people present, the spectator seats behind the defense side were packed with every student from Class D. This was no longer only Sudō's problem. It had become an issue that dragged the entire class onto the table.
"The three days are up," Ryūen said, irritation clear in his voice as he looked toward Class D. "Do you have anything left to say?"
Even though he was about to collect the "victory" he'd been waiting for, Ryūen couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. Over the last three days, Suzune had thrown out one petty move after another in search of so-called "evidence."
First, she ran to the location Ishizaki's group had specified and searched for surveillance cameras. When she found none, she went as far as buying two cameras herself and installing them, trying to pressure Ishizaki and the others into withdrawing their complaint.
If this were the Ishizaki from earlier in the year, he might've panicked.
But after the mess Ren had caused with surveillance records before, Class C had learned to stop taking bait.
You say you have footage? If you really had it, you wouldn't be cornering us in private and waving it around like a threat. You'd keep it for the meeting and use it at the one moment it would actually matter.
They understood she was bluffing.
Ishizaki didn't even blink. He threw out a line about how an innocent person had nothing to fear and insisted—without hesitation—that the injuries on his body were caused by Sudō. Suzune's "recording" didn't scare him at all.
After Suzune left, frustrated and empty-handed, Ishizaki immediately went to Ryūen to confirm their stance. Ryūen verified it himself: Suzune had been trying to play mind games.
Remembering that, Ryūen's eyes drifted across the room. Ren and Honami from Class A were seated on the spectator side, watching the whole thing like it was entertainment. Off to one side, Hoshinomiya-sensei had already slipped over next to Chabashira-sensei to "support" her in the most annoying way possible.
"Nothing…" Suzune finally said. She'd run through every option she could think of, and still couldn't break the stalemate. Her head lowered, frustration written all over her.
Even then, she didn't forget to reach out and pinch Ayanokōji's thigh hard. Not only her ideas—his suggestions had also produced nothing.
Ayanokōji's expression didn't change, even as the pain shot through his leg.
[Where did it go wrong?]
The camera idea had been his. He hadn't expected Ishizaki and the others to be this mentally tough. Even with expulsion hanging over them, they stayed locked on the same claim: Sudō was the one who hit them.
Nothing? If you've got nothing, I've got plenty.
Ryūen's jaw tightened as he leaned forward. "President Horikita, I have an objection."
"During their 'investigation,' Suzune Horikita and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji went as far as threatening and intimidating Ishizaki and the others."
"I don't know what they were aiming for. Were they trying to exploit Ishizaki's fear from Sudō's assault to force the victims to drop the complaint?"
"Also, I found some evidence of my own. I suspect Sudō has intermittent explosive disorder."
"I request the final punishment include a one-month suspension for Sudō, and that Horikita and Ayanokōji pay an additional 50,000 points to Ishizaki and the others as compensation for emotional distress."
After laying out his demands, Ryūen produced a USB drive and moved to hand it to the secretary, Akane Tachibana. With President Horikita's approval, Tachibana accepted it and played the files.
The screen filled with footage from different points since the start of the school year—Sudō arguing with people, yelling, squaring up, losing his temper. Some clips even showed him getting physical.
Ryūen watched the images with dark, steady eyes, resentment toward Class D stacking higher with every second. These idiots. Why couldn't they just stay quiet and disappear on their own? Why did they always have to make everything worse?
On the defense side, Suzune and Ayanokōji offered no rebuttal. With that, Manabu Horikita had no choice but to announce the result.
Ken Sudō of Class D, for assault resulting in serious injury to three students of Class C, is ordered to pay a total of 500,000 points in compensation and will be suspended for one month starting today.
Suzune Horikita and Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, for intimidating the victims, are ordered to pay a total of 50,000 points to the three victims.
With the Student Council President's ruling, the farce finally ended.
Class D's spectators were furious, but nobody stood up to argue. Class C had put "evidence" on the screen; there was nothing to grab onto.
As for the 500,000 points, the class immediately shifted its expectations onto Yōsuke Hirata and Kikyo Kushida—especially Kushida, since everyone had seen the transfer from Ren with their own eyes.
As expected, Kushida covered the largest portion of the penalty. Hirata covered a smaller part. The rest of the class scraped together whatever they could to fill the gap.
After receiving the payout, Ryūen left the conference room with a grim face, showing none of the joy someone "winning" was supposed to show. He led the three injured Class C students out with him.
In the spectator seats, Ren didn't miss the chance to push Honami forward.
"Honami. Thoughts?"
"Mm…" Honami answered carefully, like someone laying out a conclusion. "Evidence is everything. No matter how you get there, you need something that can be called evidence. True or false doesn't matter in the moment—if you don't have it, you can't move anything."
"I don't know whether Sudō actually has rage issues, but because Ryūen showed footage of him constantly arguing and fighting, it made that claim feel believable."
"And it's the same with Ishizaki and the others. The injuries on their bodies are evidence—evidence that supports the claim Sudō beat them."
After speaking, Honami looked at Ren with a hint of anxiety, like someone who had just turned in an assignment and was waiting for the grade.
Ren smiled. "Good. Reward."
He pulled out a lollipop, tore off the wrapper, and placed it in Honami's mouth.
Not bad. Progress.
Sucking on the strawberry flavor, Honami's eyes softened with satisfaction. The candy tasted unusually sweet.
"Ren, Honami, you two go on ahead," Hoshinomiya-sensei called from the doorway instead of leaving with them. "I'm staying a bit with Sae-chan, so don't worry about me~!"
Class D had already filed out. Only Sudō, Ayanokōji, and Suzune were left behind on the defense side. Chabashira-sensei ignored the noise beside her, her gaze still fixed on the students.
More precisely, on one of them.
Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
Hoshinomiya-sensei noticed immediately where that stare kept landing. With a giggle, she hooked her arm around Chabashira-sensei's.
"Sae-chan, let's go drinking tonight. My treat~"
Where Chabashira-sensei couldn't see, a small smirk tugged at the corner of Hoshinomiya-sensei's mouth.
----------
The Black Dragon of the Katsuragi Family now has 190 chapters.
Unlock 400+ chapters across 7+ different novels on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396