Offense and Defense at the Judgment Council

The atmosphere at the hearing was like a taut string, the air thick with the scent of gunpowder and confrontation.

Horikita Suzune stood in the center of the room, a USB drive clutched in her hand, her gaze as sharp as a blade.

Ever since she had been "guided" by Ayanokoji, she had finally regained her proper state of mind.

After casting another glance at her brother, Horikita Manabu, who was serving as the judge, she felt even more determined to win this debate.

"From this surveillance footage, it is clear that at 4:20 PM, when Ishizaki Daichi and the others left the abandoned club building, their injuries were mostly minor," Horikita's voice rang out clearly across the room as she pointed to the frozen image on the large screen.

"Ishizaki's right arm could be lifted and swung freely, and Komiya Yogo's left leg moved without issue; there was absolutely no sign of severe injury."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Class C homeroom teacher Sakagami Suma sat up straight with a "swish," pushing up his glasses with a look of obvious skepticism. "Student, are you unaware of what 'secondary injury' means?"

He glanced at the pale-faced Ishizaki and the others beside him, cursing them internally for being so useless, yet his tone remained biting. "Is it not possible that the minor injuries caused by Sudo-kun were further aggravated during their daily activities? Or are you just making up excuses on the fly?"

As he spoke, Sakagami's gaze swept covertly toward Class D's homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae.

He didn't want to be targeted by this vindictive woman over such a matter, but since Class C and Class D were always at odds, defending his students was only natural.

Chabashira sat to the side, her fingers tapping lightly on the table. Her face remained expressionless, but she was calculating internally: That old fox Sakagami really knows how to exploit loopholes.

However, she wasn't worried, because since both Hirata and Ayanokoji had dared to come, they must have had a backup plan.

What surprised her was that Hoshinomiya Chie from Class B had actually shown up as well.

Why is this woman joining in the fun? How long has it been since that incident, and she's still trying to get under my skin?

"Little Sae, don't look at me with such cold eyes~" Hoshinomiya noticed Chabashira's gaze and immediately leaned in to act coquettish, her voice cloyingly sweet.

But Chabashira simply withdrew her gaze without a word, not even sparing her a glance, which made Hoshinomiya secretly pull a face at her back.

In the center of the room, Horikita was not at all disrupted by Sakagami's questioning. She pulled another USB drive from her bag, her tone firm: "The possibility of secondary injury does exist, which is why I have prepared a second video."

She paused and looked at Ayanokoji, a flicker of something unreadable passing through her eyes.

This video was one she and Ayanokoji had retrieved from near the karaoke parlor. They had originally only intended to track the movements of Ishizaki and his group, never expecting to find key evidence so easily.

In her heart, she felt Ayanokoji was the embodiment of a "goddess of luck," unaware that he had already anticipated the direction of the clues.

"This video records the entire process of Ishizaki and the others entering the karaoke parlor with minor injuries and leaving with severe ones." Horikita held up the USB drive and looked toward the Student Council secretary, Tachibana. "Please help me play this, Tachibana-senpai."

"Tachibana." Horikita Manabu's voice carried no ripples, yet it held unquestionable authority.

"Understood, President." Tachibana took the USB drive, quickly inserted it into the device, and a new surveillance feed soon appeared on the large screen.

On the other side, Sakagami Suma lowered his voice and whispered to Ishizaki and the others, "Don't panic. Just insist that the minor injuries were caused by Sudo, and don't say anything else!"

He complained about Ryuen internally.

This kid is still too arrogant. To let Class D find such a massive flaw—his ambition is big, but his competence hasn't kept up.

Ryuen, you really need to take this more seriously.

Just then, Hirata Yosuke suddenly stood up, holding his phone. "Horikita-kaicho, I have some information here that might shed some light on the matter."

He glanced at his phone screen, recalling the message Shangguan Che had sent him, and finally understood how to use this information.

"Please, go ahead." Horikita Manabu nodded slightly.

Hirata cleared his throat and began to read the information: "April 6th, third floor of the abandoned school building, Ryuen Kakeru and Ibuki Mio entered and then left, both injured;

April 7th, the small woods behind the first-year school building, Ryuen Kakeru, Ishizaki Daichi, and Tokito Yuya entered, Ishizaki and Tokito were injured;

April 8th, the men's restroom on the first floor of the first-year building, when Ryuen Kakeru and Yamada Albert came out, both had injuries, and Ryuen Kakeru had new injuries layered over old ones..."

He didn't read quickly; every date and every location was crystal clear, and the atmosphere in the room instantly froze.

The expressions of the Class C students changed drastically. Ishizaki Daichi clenched his fists so hard his nails nearly dug into his flesh.

These events were "secrets" within the class; how could Class D know them so clearly? Could there be a traitor in their ranks?

Cold sweat broke out on Sakagami Suma's back, his first thought being "mole."

That kid Ryuen really got played!

A faint, imperceptible curve touched the corner of Chabashira Sae's mouth. I knew I wasn't wrong about Hirata; that kid really has an ace up his sleeve.

Hoshinomiya stopped her playful act, her gaze turning solemn as she looked at Hirata.

Even she had only heard rumors about these things while working in the infirmary. For Class D to have compiled such detailed information, it seemed this class was far more formidable than she had imagined.

Ichinose Honami sat to the side, remaining silent throughout, but at this moment, she couldn't help but widen her eyes, filled with astonishment: Hirata-kun actually grasped so many of Class C's secrets. It seems the alliance between Class B and Class D was the right choice.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remained expressionless in the corner, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, though his mind was on Shangguan Che.

Ayanokoji didn't know why he was thinking of Shangguan Che; perhaps it was just intuition.

Hirata finished reading the segment, closed his phone, and said calmly, "This information should be enough to explain my point."

In truth, he didn't fully understand the specific function of this information himself; Hirata only had a rough grasp of it.

He had simply read it out according to the "notes" Shangguan Che had written, never expecting the effect to be so potent.

Horikita Suzune immediately seized the opportunity, stood up, and continued to apply pressure: "Combined with the information provided by Hirata-kun, it is not difficult to see that Class C students frequently suffer injuries and even have a habit of 'proactively aggravating their wounds'."

She pointed to the surveillance footage on the large screen. "Therefore, the report Ishizaki and the others filed against Sudo is likely a fabrication.

Perhaps they are accustomed to internal brawls and accidentally got into a conflict with Sudo, allowing Sudo to defeat three people who were already injured, after which they habitually aggravated their own wounds in an attempt to frame him!"

Her words struck like heavy hammers, pounding against the hearts of everyone in Class C.

Just then, Tachibana finished adjusting the equipment, and the large screen began to play the karaoke surveillance footage.

In the video, Ishizaki and the others walked into the shop with their arms around each other's shoulders, moving with agility and showing no signs of injury; yet, when they emerged a few hours later, they were each clutching their arms, limping, and wearing exaggerated expressions of pain.

The room fell into a dead silence, where even the sound of breathing could be heard clearly.

"We are dropping the complaint." Sagami Suma spoke almost immediately, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.

He knew he could not drag this out any longer.

If they continued to argue, Ishizaki and the others would insist on blaming Sudo, while Horikita would produce even more evidence of Class C's "staged performance," leading only to mutual destruction.

More importantly, he could not let Ryuen get into trouble.

If the information held by Hirata were to be thoroughly investigated by the Student Council, Ryuen's collection of class points and his multiple involvements in fights would all be exposed; in that case, expulsion would be a real possibility, let alone a one-year suspension.

If there was a mole, such a thing was very likely to happen.

Sagami had already staked his chips on Ryuen, and if Ryuen were to fall, Class C might be completely finished.

He calculated rapidly: April was a month of behavioral standards with surveillance everywhere, so clashing head-on with Class D now would yield no benefits; it would be better to drop the complaint first, wait until the end of the semester when surveillance was relaxed (records cleared), and then find an opportunity for revenge.

Chabashira Sae raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Sagami had conceded so quickly, but she said nothing more.

Being able to save Sudo from expulsion was already the best possible outcome.

Hirata and Horikita exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

They had not expected Class C to back down so quickly, nor had they anticipated the importance of Ryuen to Class C.

Ayanokoji looked at Sagami's tense profile and sensed something unusual.

This withdrawal was too sudden; it did not fit the style of Class C. Could there be some other hidden story? But he did not speak up, choosing instead to remain a silent bystander.

This was what an ordinary person would do, just like everyone else, wasn't it?

Horikita Manabu glanced at Sagami, then looked toward Chabashira, his tone indifferent: "Since Class C has proposed dropping the complaint, does Class D agree?"

Chabashira stood up and nodded slightly: "We agree."

A tense and hostile disciplinary hearing thus ended with Class C's sudden withdrawal of their complaint.

On the other side, Hoshinomiya pulled on Ichinose's arm and asked curiously: "Honami-chan, do you think Class D is hiding some kind of expert? To actually force Class C to drop their complaint."

Ichinose smiled, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration: "Perhaps, after all, everyone has their own secrets."

At this moment, Shangguan Che was eating in the cafeteria with Sakura, completely unaware that the disciplinary hearing had already concluded.

Sakura took a small bite of her rice and suddenly looked up to ask: "Shangguan-san, will Mashima-sensei be able to find that... bad person?"

"He definitely will." Shangguan Che picked up a piece of fried chicken and placed it in her bowl, "And don't worry about other things; I will help you with everything."

Listening to Shangguan Che's words, Sakura's face broke into a radiant smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

And as Shangguan Che watched her smile, he felt a warmth in his heart as well.

Although there were still hidden dangers regarding Kamuro Masumi, at least for now, everything was moving in a positive direction.

The end of a disciplinary hearing was not the end of the struggle, but a new beginning.

Class D had won the first round with wisdom and courage, but the retaliation from Class C, the prying eyes of Class A, and the alliances of Class B all signaled that the days ahead would not be peaceful.