The Witness with Social Anxiety

"Or perhaps you can look forward to seeing what the others are capable of."

"That's true... After all, there are plenty of people in this class who want to make it to Class A."

Chabashira had already started plotting to make use of Horikita and Ayanokōji. She wasn't some god of wealth, either. If she had to turn to Shinjo every time something came up, her money would eventually run out.

And by then, Ayanokōji might still be hiding his true abilities, Horikita might not have grown at all, and she wouldn't have the means to hire Shinjo. Class D would truly be finished.

"Then I hope everything works out for you. To be honest, I also hope Sudo stays out of trouble. After all, I'd hate to lose such a good friend."

Chabashira stubbed out the cigarette in her hand.

"You just don't want to lose those 8,700 private points, do you?"

Shinjo smiled but said nothing. Those two things weren't mutually exclusive.

Meanwhile, Kushida and the others were looking for anyone who might have witnessed what happened.

Since their relationship with Class B was probably a little closer, they went to Ichinose first.

"Mm-hmm... I understand what happened. Don't worry. I'll go ask my classmates right away. If I hear anything good, I'll let you know immediately."

"Thank you, Honami!"

"It's no trouble. We're all friends, after all. And if what you said is true, then the students from Class C went way too far!"

After parting ways with Ichinose, they also approached some students from Class A and a few students from Class C they could talk to, but none of those attempts went well.

Class C was especially difficult. One girl even stood Kushida Kikyo up. She didn't want to do it, but if Ryuen found out she'd snuck off to meet students from Class D, she'd probably face severe punishment.

Friends were nice to have, but protecting herself was obviously more important.

So after all that searching, they still hadn't made any progress on Sudo's case.

But perhaps hard work really did pay off.

Two days later, on the morning of the second day, Kushida Kikyo somehow got word of a witness. It was none other than Sakura Airi from Class D.

But Sakura suffered from severe social anxiety. It was obvious from the way she was always alone and hunched over when she spoke, never daring to look anyone in the eye.

"Sakura, could I talk to you for a moment?"

"I... I... Sorry, I have plans..."

"Actually, there's something really important I need to talk to you about. It's about Sudo..."

Before she could finish, Sakura desperately tried to run away. Surrounded by a group of unfamiliar classmates, she felt as if her pores were opening and she couldn't breathe.

"No... I don't know anything... No..."

And so Horikita's first attempt at talking to her ended in complete failure. It was only to be expected. Even a normal person would struggle to have a proper conversation with Horikita, let alone someone with social anxiety.

However, even when Kushida took over, the result was exactly the same.

Sakura desperately tried to avoid the subject, but Kushida pressed her a little too hard. In the confusion, the camera Sakura had been clutching fell to the ground.

"No way... It's broken..."

"Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's... it's okay. I wasn't careful..."

With that, Sakura once again fled from everyone's sight.

"Are you kidding me?! Of all people, why does the witness have to be that gloomy girl?!"

Sudo angrily kicked a desk.

"Sudo! Right now, I'm only guessing that she's the witness. You can't call her gloomy!"

"Fine... I take it back. But things are getting really bad if this keeps up!!!"

Just then, Chabashira Sae walked into the classroom and called out to the students in the back.

"Sudo, Horikita, Ayanokōji, and Shinjo. You lot, come with me at once. The school is holding a public hearing about Sudo's case."

The group exchanged glances and followed her out. When they reached the meeting room, they found the students from Class C already waiting there.

Aside from the three students who had been beaten black and blue by Sudo, the only other person there was their homeroom teacher, a bespectacled middle-aged man named Sakagami Kazuma.

"Well, well. The violent delinquent's here~"

Ishizaki whistled mockingly at Sudo, making him flush with anger.

"What did you say?!"

"You planning to use violence again?"

"You!"

Sakagami Kazuma pushed up his glasses and said with a mocking smile,

"Hmph. What an ill-mannered student. Did your old teachers teach you nothing but how to fight?"

Chabashira Sae wasn't the sort to blindly defend her students, but Sakagami had undeniably insulted her as well.

"They haven't finished investigating what happened."

"Sometimes the facts are simply the facts. No matter how much you twist the truth, it's a waste of time."

Clearly, Sakagami knew exactly what had happened. But perhaps he was just like that by nature—or perhaps he was matching his students' style.

It was no exaggeration to say that this teacher and Ryuen were birds of a feather.

After the two groups waited there for a few minutes, two figures slowly approached from the distance.

Horikita Suzune's body jolted when she recognized who they were. She hadn't expected to run into her brother at a time like this.

She thought back to how she'd confidently promised him last time that she would make it to Class A. Yet, in less than a month, she'd managed to cause him trouble again.

The usually fierce Horikita Suzune looked utterly dejected.

She didn't dare look at her brother. In fact, Horikita Manabu hadn't looked at her once.

Instead, he had been staring at Shinjo for quite some time.

The purple-haired girl with twin buns standing beside him was, of course, Tachibana Akane.

"I didn't expect you to be in charge this time."

Chabashira and Horikita Manabu were old acquaintances. She greatly admired the capable, ambitious, responsible young man.

Horikita Manabu spoke in a calm, slightly resonant voice.

"Conflicts between students are generally handled by the Student Council. As it happens, I don't have anything pressing to do right now."

I doubt that's true... Is he still worried about his little sister? Come to think of it, is this guy actually a tsundere?

"With the Student Council President personally handling the case, I'm sure we'll get a fair hearing!"

The people from Class C looked delighted. There was no doubt about Horikita Manabu's abilities, and if the Student Council President was handling the matter personally, then at least Class D wouldn't be able to bribe the judge.

Horikita Manabu directed everyone to take their seats. Class D sat to his left, and Class C to his right. The two teachers sat at the ends of their respective groups, near the door.

Tachibana Akane stood respectfully behind Horikita Manabu's right shoulder.