Inside the student council meeting room, Tachibana Akane noticed Hikigaya entering and quietly approached him.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good."
Hikigaya shook his head. "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern, Tachibana-senpai."
Regaining his composure, Hikigaya sat down next to Tachibana Akane. His role in this meeting was just to take minutes as the temporary secretary, meaning he had no speaking rights and was only a supporting figure.
Tachibana Akane, as the chairperson, began with a brief summary of the dispute's cause and events. During this, Hikigaya noticed that Horikita seemed distracted.
Normally, Horikita was confident in any situation, but now, she kept her head down, glancing between Hikigaya and Horikita Manabu, who was seated at the front of the table.
Seeing her like this reminded Hikigaya of the time he saw her near the dorms that night—hesitant and absent-minded in front of her older brother, just like now.
Even though Hikigaya wanted to remind her of something, he could do nothing in his position as the meeting's recorder.
After summarizing the situation, Tachibana Akane turned to Class D to ask for their statement. Since Horikita wasn't fully present, Sudou stepped forward, claiming that Class C students had falsely accused him and that he was acting in self-defense.
Ishizaki from Class C also spoke up, saying that although they were the ones who invited Sudou out, he started attacking them without warning. He pointed to their injuries as proof.
Both sides kept arguing about who started the fight, but the review wasn't meant to settle that—it had already been discussed in the previous meeting.
Horikita Manabu, who had been silent, finally interrupted, "There is no need for further debate. Given the injuries on the Class C students and Sudou's history of violent behavior, we have reason to believe he attacked them unprovoked. The previous ruling was based on that fact."
"Wait, that's not fair! I told you, it was self-defense!"
Sudou was getting worked up again, but Horikita Manabu's cold response shut him down instantly.
"If you're just repeating the same testimony as last time, then there's no point in continuing this review. We won't waste any more time."
At that moment, Tachibana Akane also looked toward Class D and asked, "Does Class D have any new testimony or evidence? If not, the ruling will remain unchanged."
"Wait, wait! We have new evidence! We can prove Class C is lying!"
Horikita, who had been out of it the whole time, finally snapped back to reality. Hikigaya could clearly see that Ayanokouji, sitting beside her, had nudged her just in time.
Horikita then began questioning the Class C students with sharp, pointed questions, but they deflected with vague excuses, as if they had prepared for this. Seeing this, Horikita pulled out a medical report.
"Please take a look at this—it's a report from the school's infirmary. According to it, most of Class C's injuries were caused by repeated impacts rather than a single incident. The report also notes that their wounds have different healing times, meaning they weren't all inflicted at once. If Sudou really attacked you in a single fight, how do you explain that? Are you saying he left, then came back later just to hit you again?"
As Horikita pressed them with these facts, Ishizaki and his group exchanged nervous glances, unable to answer. All they could do was keep repeating, "Sudou started it!"
By now, many people in the room had caught on to what was happening. Horikita Manabu reviewed the medical report and passed it to the teachers of both classes. Chabashira-sensei generously let Sakagami-sensei from Class C read it first. After going through it with a dark expression, Sakagami-sensei turned to look at his students, and everything became clear without words.
Sure enough, Sakagami-sensei suggested a compromise—since both sides had been involved, both should receive suspensions. He also acknowledged that Sudou was at risk of expulsion if his suspension lasted too long, so he proposed keeping both punishments under two weeks.
So far, everything was moving in a better direction. At the very least, Sudou wouldn't miss the final exams and get expelled.
Just then, Hikigaya felt someone's gaze on him—it was Horikita. Their eyes met, and though they didn't speak, Hikigaya could tell exactly what she was thinking.
Sakura's sudden involvement had also caught Horikita off guard. With Sakura's testimony as a witness and the medical report, Sudou had a good chance of being cleared. But Horikita hadn't used it right away—she understood that Hikigaya wanted to protect Sakura.
However, she hadn't noticed Ayanokouji's subtle movement. He suddenly nudged Sudou.
"No! From the very beginning, it was Class C who started the fight! We have a witness!"
Sudou suddenly shouted.
Horikita snapped her head around, eyes wide in shock. Sudou, thinking she was praising him, excitedly turned to Horikita Manabu.
"President, we found a witness who was at the special building that day!"
At this point, Horikita had no choice but to go through with it.
Then, trembling like a frightened hamster, Sakura stood up. Instinctively, she looked toward Hikigaya. Seeing him gave her strength, and although she stuttered, she did her best to describe what she had seen that day—the fight between Sudou and the Class C students.
"So, you're saying it was our Class C students who started the fight?"
After hearing Sakura's testimony, Sakagami-sensei let out a cold laugh. His sharp gaze locked onto her, making her shiver. She nearly collapsed under the pressure.
At the same time, it was clear to everyone that he had deliberately emphasized her identity as a Class D student.
Seeing Sakura in this state, Sakagami-sensei turned to Horikita Manabu.
"Everyone can see for themselves. Can we really trust this testimony? Not only did this so-called witness wait until now to come forward, but she's also a Class D student. Isn't it suspicious that Class D conveniently found a witness at the last minute just to clear themselves?"
一 一 一 一 一
You can read 30 advanced Chapters on
pat reon.com/GMadman
一 一 一 一 一