Final Judgment, Shannei Expulsion

Kazehara Tetsu used no inflammatory words, merely stating the objective technical facts about the video.

The office fell into dead silence.

Shannei Chunshu's mouth hung half-open, the color draining from his face, replaced by a deathly pallor.

He felt his mind had become a complete mess.

How could this be? How could the video be fake?

And Kamuro Masumi, who had been keeping her head down the whole time, finally slowly lifted it.

She stared blankly at Kazehara Tetsu's profile, at his focused and earnest expression, at that face brimming with absolute confidence.

"Slander... this... how is it possible! How could the video be fake!"

Shannei Chunshu's brain finally recovered a shred of function from its crashed state, and immense terror drove him to roar.

He pointed at Kazehara Tetsu. "President, don't believe him, he's lying through his teeth! Right... he's just making up this bullshit to protect Kamuro and trick you all!"

Horikita Manabu watched him coldly, saying nothing, but it made Shannei Chunshu's shouting weaken.

"No... wrong!"

Shannei Chunshu pointed at Kazehara Tetsu's nose. "This video... this video was given to me by him! Kazehara Tetsu gave it to me! He told me to use this video to threaten Kamuro, to blackmail her—Kazehara Tetsu planned everything!"

Finally, cornered like a dog jumping over a wall, he said the words Kazehara Tetsu had been patiently waiting for him to say.

In that instant, time in the entire office seemed to freeze.

Tachibana Akane stopped her recording pen and looked up in surprise.

Every line of sight in the office instantly focused on Kazehara Tetsu.

Horikita Manabu's gaze also turned to him.

"Oh?"

Kazehara Tetsu put on a deliberately surprised expression, even carrying a hint of innocent amusement. "Shannei, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you want. I understand you're emotional right now, but slandering another classmate is a much heavier charge. You say I gave you the video—where's the proof?"

"I... I have proof! You can check his phone, he gave it to me, I swear it!"

"Swearing isn't proof."

Kazehara Tetsu gave Shannei Chunshu no chance to catch his breath.

He stood up directly, turned around, walked to Horikita Manabu's desk, took out his own phone, and placed it on the tabletop.

"I don't know why Shannei is trying to drag me into this. Maybe he saw his lies exposed and wanted to find someone to take the fall with him."

Kazehara Tetsu's voice was calm, but loud enough for everyone in the office to hear clearly. "My phone is right here. It runs the school's unified official system. I, Kazehara Tetsu of Class A, hereby authorize the Student Council to conduct a thorough investigation of all data on this phone, including but not limited to call logs, text messages, chat records from all apps, and file transfer records—solely to prove my innocence."

His words rang out with force, filled with absolute confidence.

Of course Kazehara Tetsu was confident.

Because he had already cleaned his phone before coming here, using a special formatting program redeemed from the System Store.

The forged video and the record of the Fifty Thousand Points transaction with Shannei Chunshu were all stored in a Hidden Account purchased from the System Store.

The school's Technical Department would absolutely never find a single trace.

Horikita Manabu gave him a deep look, then took the phone.

He paused for a moment, then reached out and accepted the phone.

"Tachibana."

He said to Tachibana Akane beside him, his voice devoid of any inflection. "Contact the Technical Department. On behalf of the Student Council, request a data investigation of this phone."

"Yes, President." Tachibana Akane immediately picked up the internal phone on the desk and began communicating with the Technical Department.

The next ten-plus minutes were a hellish ordeal for Shannei Chunshu.

Shannei Chunshu fidgeted restlessly, cold sweat dripping down his cheeks. He looked at Kazehara Tetsu again and again, but the other man didn't even spare him a glance.

Shannei Chunshu couldn't understand why Kazehara Tetsu was so calm. As the culprit, he was so composed, as if none of this had anything to do with him.

Kamuro Masumi was the same, but her emotions were far more complicated.

She watched Kazehara Tetsu's calm profile, her heart full of questions.

He had clearly copied Shannei Chunshu's video—had that video really disappeared from his phone?

Finally, the phone on Horikita Manabu's desk rang.

Horikita Manabu picked it up. The Technician's rapid report came through the receiver.

He only said a few terse words: "Mm," "Got it," "Okay," then hung up.

He picked up the phone, gently placed it on the tabletop, pushed it back in front of Kazehara Tetsu, then cast his gaze toward Shannei Chunshu, whose face was ashen.

"The investigation results are out."

His voice carried no warmth.

"No records related to that video file were found within Kazehara Tetsu's Mobile Terminal. His account activity is normal, his consumption records are clear, and there is no abnormal data. Simply put, his phone is 'clean.'"

Kamuro Masumi's body trembled slightly. No records... there really were no records on his phone.

So... the copy of Shannei Chunshu's video he mentioned earlier had simply vanished into thin air?

She looked at you, the confusion in her eyes deepening.

"No... impossible... this can't be!"

Shannei Chunshu completely broke down. He slumped in his chair, muttering over and over, "He clearly gave it to me... why can't it be found... why..."

"Shannei Chunshu."

Horikita Manabu ignored his collapse and read the final verdict. "After verification, the video evidence you submitted is suspected of forgery, and your accusations against Kazehara Tetsu of Class A are completely unfounded. Your actions constitute malicious defamation of a fellow student. According to School Rules, you will be expelled, and this matter will be recorded in your personal file. Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

Shannei Chunshu sat there with vacant eyes, his mouth slightly open, but no sound came out.

His world had completely collapsed.

Horikita Manabu's gaze finally fell on Kamuro Masumi.

"Kamuro, the defamation case has been resolved. On behalf of the Student Council, I apologize for the trouble and unfair treatment you suffered during the preliminary investigation of this incident. You may leave."

Kamuro Masumi's body swayed. She steadied herself against the desk.

Was it really over?

The one being expelled wasn't her, but Shannei Chunshu...

It wasn't until Kazehara Tetsu patted her shoulder that she snapped back to reality.

"Kamuro, don't just stand there. You can go."