False Testimony

Horikita had been frazzled over the past two days. No matter where she looked for a way to break through, things never went as she hoped.

"Horikita, do you see that?"

Ayanokōji nudged her arm and pointed to the surveillance camera in the front corner of the classroom.

"What do you mean?"

"The school uses those to monitor us—our behavior, whether anything happens in the classrooms, and so on. It would be great if there were a camera where Sudō supposedly attacked them."

"You mean... Oh, right! Surveillance cameras..."

Ayanokōji's words had given her an idea. Horikita hurriedly took him to the spot where Sudō said the incident had happened.

But the case was so difficult precisely because the school itself couldn't find any useful information. So how could there possibly be a camera here?

Horikita sat on the steps at the stairwell landing, staring at the wall in the distance as she pondered. Then, at last, a brilliant plan came to her.

And so, Horikita, Ayanokōji, and Ichinose—who insisted on helping despite having nothing to do with the matter—began setting up the scene.

"Now everything's ready. As soon as those three show up, we can force them to settle this privately."

"Leave this to me!"

Ichinose volunteered for the task.

"Sorry, I don't mean to question you, but I don't understand. This matter shouldn't have anything to do with you. Why are you getting involved?"

"Well... Partly because I can't stand Class 1-C's underhanded tactics. But also... I've been thinking about forming an alliance with Class D."

You had to take things one step at a time.

So if Class 1-C wanted to climb to Class A, Class B was a hurdle they simply couldn't avoid.

And although Class A stood at the top, they also had to keep a close watch on the Class B students below them.

That left Ichinose's class caught between two enemies.

And since the enemy of your enemy was your friend, it was only natural that she wanted to ally with Class D.

After hearing her reasoning, Horikita thought it made sense. In any case, they were both planning to punish Class 1-C, so there was no harm in working together.

"All right, I understand. I'll leave this to you, then."

"Sure! Leave it to me!"

Horikita didn't look at all like someone asking a favor, but Ichinose didn't seem to mind.

A little while later, she called the three boys—using the excuse that they'd found evidence that could incriminate them.

The three of them had guilty consciences. Though they kept reminding themselves that Ryuen's plan couldn't possibly have any flaws, there was always the chance something could go wrong.

When they arrived at the scene, Horikita was descending the stairs with an air of hauteur.

"You can still admit defeat. Otherwise, you won't just lose face—you may end up charged with slander!"

Ishizaki was surprised, but he managed to keep up appearances. He put on a fierce expression.

"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about. Sudō was the one who provoked us. How is that slander?!"

"Oh? Then why did the three of you look so surprised when I said Horikita and the others had found evidence? If you really had nothing to fear, I doubt you would've agreed to come here."

"Ichinose, I thought you had something important to say! We just didn't want you making up some baseless accusation to pin on us. And nervous? What makes you think we're nervous?!"

Komiya, standing to one side, still felt uneasy. Afraid something might happen if he stayed any longer, he tried to sound calm.

"I think they're just messing with us. We don't need to play along with them. Let's go."

The three of them turned to leave, only to find Ayanokōji standing at the stairwell entrance.

"You're free to leave if you want. But let me give you one piece of friendly advice: when you're plotting to frame someone, why not make sure there aren't any cameras around?"

At his words, the three of them panicked. They clearly remembered choosing this spot in advance precisely because it was a blind spot.

"Cameras... You... What cameras?! I don't know anything about any cameras!"

Horikita saw that she'd exposed a crack in their composure. She casually pointed toward an inconspicuous corner, where a surveillance camera was operating.

"What a shame. Such a shame... Your scheme was this close to succeeding."

"What?! How could that be..."

Their panic only grew, and their composure began to crumble. Horikita was delighted. Now all she needed was one final push to break them completely.

"Why don't we make a deal?"

"A deal? What kind of deal?"

"If you withdraw your complaint now and pay us three hundred thousand private points in compensation for emotional distress, we might let this go. Otherwise... the three of you can look forward to being expelled!"

They said women were born actresses. Judging by Horikita and Ichinose's expressions and demeanor, anyone who didn't know the truth would have thought they'd found evidence.

The three boys had never expected to have the tables turned on them like this. They hadn't even noticed the camera!

"I... I..."

"We... ag..."

They had only gotten halfway through their replies when a curse from downstairs interrupted them.

"Idiots!"

"That voice... Big Brother Ryuen...!"

Horikita didn't seem particularly bothered, but Ichinose's expression stiffened. Ryuen was undoubtedly the opponent she least wanted to face.

Cruel, violent, devious, cunning—every word she could think of to describe a delinquent applied to Ryuen, and each one needed to be intensified.

"Thud... Thud... Thud..."

In just one month since the start of the school year, he had used violence to force Class 1-C into line, becoming a tyrant.

Ryuen had an intimidating presence. As he walked up the stairs, each footstep seemed to pound in their hearts, leaving them struggling to breathe.

Before long, a tall boy with purple hair parted down the middle and a delinquent air about him reached the top.

Seeing how useless the three boys were, Ryuen spat on the floor.

"You pathetic losers! You couldn't even see through a simple scheme like this?!"