Yamauchi's Plan Succeeds? Kazehara Turns Against Him

That afternoon, the dismissal bell rang.

Kamuro Masumi stood up from her seat. Ignoring the strange looks from those around her, she walked straight out of the classroom.

A few minutes later, Kazehara Tetsu leisurely gathered his things and followed her.

The door to the Student Council Office was much heavier than Kamuro Masumi had expected.

When she pushed it open, she saw Horikita Manabu seated behind a wide desk in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Beside him, secretary Tachibana Akane was looking down and writing something in her notebook.

To their left sat Yamauchi Haruki.

His face was openly smug. When he saw Kamuro Masumi enter, his grin widened.

His expression seemed to say, "You're finished."

Yamauchi Haruki had already arrived. He sat in the chair opposite Kamuro Masumi, his face brimming with barely contained smugness.

When he saw Kamuro Masumi enter, he even raised his chin provocatively.

Kamuro Masumi ignored him and silently sat down in a chair across from him.

"Everyone's here."

Horikita Manabu's voice rang out. He glanced at his watch. "Then we'll begin the final review of D Class's Yamauchi Haruki reporting A Class's Kamuro Masumi for theft at the school's Convenience Store."

He turned his gaze to Yamauchi Haruki. "Yamauchi, please restate your accusation and present your evidence."

"Yes, President!"

Yamauchi Haruki practically sprang out of his chair. He puffed out his chest and deliberately put on a righteous expression, as if he were an emissary of justice.

"I, Yamauchi Haruki of D Class, swear on my honor! I saw A Class's Kamuro Masumi steal something from the Convenience Store with my own eyes! She thought no one had seen her. She moved quickly, but I saw everything clearly! So she couldn't deny it afterward, I even recorded it on my phone! All the evidence is on there!"

As he spoke, he handed his phone from his pocket to Horikita Manabu.

He seemed completely immersed in his role as a "hero of justice," as if he could already see Kamuro Masumi being expelled and himself receiving a reward for it.

Horikita Manabu listened to his account, his expression unchanged.

He seemed to have expected Yamauchi Haruki to act exactly like this.

After Yamauchi Haruki's impassioned speech, Horikita Manabu only gave a slight nod to show that he had heard him, then turned to Kamuro Masumi, who had remained silent.

"Kamuro, do you have anything to say in your defense against Yamauchi's accusation?"

Kamuro Masumi's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Defend herself?

No. She couldn't speak. If she did, she would lose.

All she could do was wait for the one person who might be able to break this deadlock.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Just as the atmosphere in the office was about to freeze over, a measured knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Horikita Manabu's voice remained cool and hard.

The door opened, and a figure appeared in the doorway.

Kazehara Tetsu wore an apologetic smile, just right for a student who had wandered in by accident.

"Sorry, President. I seem to be late. I got held up taking care of some personal business. As another witness to this incident, I haven't disrupted your process, have I?"

When Yamauchi Haruki saw Kazehara Tetsu, his smile grew even brighter. Reinforcements had arrived! He straightened up and shot Kamuro Masumi a look that said, "Let's see how you talk your way out of this."

"Kagihara, is it?" Horikita Manabu's gaze lingered on you for a moment.

At noon, Tachibana Akane had told him that a witness wanted to give a statement. He hadn't turned the offer down; a witness statement would help him reach a verdict. So he had let Kazehara Tetsu come.

"Have a seat." He pointed to the empty chair beside Kamuro Masumi. "You've arrived at just the right time. We've only just started questioning them."

Kazehara Tetsu sat down and even turned to smile and nod at Kamuro Masumi, whose muscles were taut beside him.

Your gesture made Yamauchi Haruki's smile widen. To him, it was no different from delivering the final blow that would crush Kamuro Masumi.

Horikita Manabu tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"Kagihara, since you're also a witness, Yamauchi says you've seen the video he's submitted as evidence. Is that right?"

Yamauchi Haruki looked at you expectantly, eager to hear you confirm it and then witness the moment Kamuro Masumi completely fell apart.

"Yes, President."

Kazehara Tetsu nodded calmly. "I had the opportunity to see the video on Yamauchi's phone during lunch that day, at a café in Keyaki Mall. What's in the video is indeed as he described."

The moment his words fell, Kamuro Masumi's shoulders jolted.

Yamauchi Haruki could barely keep from laughing out loud in his chair.

"But..."

Kazehara Tetsu changed tack. His smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "Because I watched the video very carefully, I noticed that this so-called 'evidence' Yamauchi submitted contains serious signs of fabrication. In other words, he's using a carefully edited fake video to frame Kamuro."

"W-what?!"

The smile vanished from Yamauchi Haruki's face. Shock and anger mingled in his expression.

He sprang out of his chair and pointed at your nose, his voice turning shrill with agitation. "Kazehara Tetsu! What the hell are you talking about? You—you promised me!"

"Silence!"

Horikita Manabu's gaze swept over Yamauchi Haruki. The latter immediately shut his mouth like a duck with its neck in a noose.

His face, flushed with excitement and anger, had turned an ugly liver-red.

He panted heavily and glared at you, his eyes filled with fury at your betrayal.

Horikita Manabu turned his attention back to Kazehara Tetsu. "Kagihara, you're saying he framed her and the video was fabricated. That's a very serious accusation. What grounds do you have?"

"Plenty."

Kazehara Tetsu remained unruffled. He even smiled at Yamauchi Haruki's murderous expression.

He stood and walked over to Horikita Manabu's desk. "President, to make my point clearer, may I borrow Yamauchi's phone—in other words, this 'evidence'?"

Horikita Manabu glanced at him, then at Yamauchi Haruki. He said nothing, only gesturing for him to go ahead.

Kazehara Tetsu picked up the phone lying on the desk, unlocked it with practiced ease, and played the video. Everyone in the office focused on the small screen.

"President, please look here." You paused the video at the moment Kamuro Masumi's hand moved.

"Notice this detail. At the moment Kamuro's hand moves, the reflection of a bag of chips on the shelf behind her distorts in a way that's physically impossible."

He enlarged the image and played it in slow motion, making the tiny flaw clearly visible.

"And the background audio—the interference here is a classic sign of audio splicing. Then there's the change in camera angle. The video could have shown her whole face the entire time, but suddenly, later on, it only shows the lower half... All these signs point to the video being maliciously edited and pieced together into a fabricated 'creation.'"