Judgment Day, an empty classroom.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes. Fair, impartial, and open!"
Two indistinct figures were talking.
The main square, noon.
[ Ding! The host made a mistake. This mission has failed. As punishment, the host is forbidden to speak for six hours! ] [ What? Where did I go wrong? ] [ Ding! The option required you to step forward with your left foot first, but you stepped forward with your right foot first. ] [ ? ] [ ...Fine, you win! ]
Zhuge Linghao had finally managed to trigger a mission option, only to earn no emotion points and get silenced on top of that!
And the worst news was that the Judgment Day hearing would begin at four this afternoon! Zhuge Linghao wouldn't be able to speak up in his own defense then—not argue, no, defend himself!
Why didn't Zhuge Linghao choose one of the other two missions?
Because those were even worse. One would silence him for twelve hours, and the other for twenty-four...
In a desperate flash of inspiration, Zhuge Linghao frantically messaged someone. He couldn't focus at all during his afternoon classes.
A conference room, four in the afternoon. Twelve people sat upright in their chairs.
Secretary Tachibana Akane hugged a large binder to her chest and said solemnly, "We will now formally review the violent incident that took place last Tuesday. I, Tachibana, the Student Council secretary, will preside over this meeting."
Chabashira-sensei glanced at Student Council President Horikita Manabu. "I didn't expect the Student Council President to attend in person over a dispute like this. That's quite unusual."
Horikita Manabu smiled. "I've been busy with official matters, so I haven't attended every meeting, but in principle, I should be here."
Chabashira-sensei saw through the excuse but didn't call him out. "So this time is an exception, then."
Ayanokoji thought, I didn't expect the president to attend in person. That'll make it hard for Horikita to do anything.
Then he turned his gaze to Zhuge Linghao and thought, And you, Zhuge, you blockhead. At a time like this, you're still in the mood to take videos? They probably won't be any use anyway...
Secretary Tachibana began, "The purpose of this meeting is to determine which side's account is true."
Secretary Tachibana opened the binder. "The three students from Class C claim that Sudo called them to the Special Building and assaulted them, and that Zhuge then inflicted severe injuries on them with his brutal methods."
"But Sudo's side claims that Ishizaki and the others called him out, that they attacked first, and that Zhuge, who happened to be passing by, was also drawn into the incident."
"What we can confirm so far is that the victims, the three students from Class C, were indeed injured by the perpetrators, Sudo and Zhuge!"
"If Sudo's side fails to produce evidence, we can more or less issue a ruling now."
Ryuen had been calm throughout. Every so often, he glanced at Zhuge Linghao with a faintly mocking look.
Sudo sat to Zhuge Linghao's left, and Horikita Suzune to his right.
Zhuge Linghao kept glancing at Horikita Suzune, but she wore the expression of a defeated underdog and still hadn't made a move!
If this keeps up, Sudo and I really are going to get expelled!
Secretary Tachibana continued, "Based on this standard, I believe we've reached a conclusion: Class D's claim is rejected..."
Seeing things go badly, Zhuge Linghao was frantic and had no choice but to resort to this last-ditch measure. He hoped she wouldn't be too angry with him afterward!
With the expression of a man ready to die, Zhuge Linghao stared at his right hand as it trembled. Then he slowly reached toward Horikita Suzune's thigh, touched it for 0.1 seconds, and snatched his hand back like lightning!
Horikita Suzune cried out, "Ah!" and sprang to her feet in a startled reflex. Everyone in the room turned to look at her!
Horikita Suzune's face flushed red, and she looked at Zhuge Linghao with an expression of extreme complexity.
Zhuge Linghao didn't dare look at her at all!
He pretended nothing had happened and played with his phone, but his heart was pounding like a drum...
Ayanokoji reminded her at just the right moment, "Horikita, if you don't fight back now, we're really going to lose."
Horikita Suzune straightened her skirt and gritted her teeth at Zhuge Linghao. "I'll deal with you later!"
Horikita Suzune, once again the strong-willed woman, said, "Excuse me, may I ask a few questions?"
Horikita Manabu's eyes lit up. "Go ahead."
Horikita Suzune asked them directly, "What reason did you give for calling Sudo out?"
The other side made up a reason on the spot.
Horikita Suzune pressed on. "When you're facing three opponents, fighting alone or in a pair doubles the difficulty. How could the three of you have been seriously injured single-handedly by Sudo and a bamboo pole with no fighting ability?"
Kondo made an excuse. "That's because we didn't want to fight them."
Horikita Suzune challenged him forcefully. "Really? If your opponent had no desire to fight or didn't resist, the chances of all three of you sustaining such serious injuries would be very low."
Chabashira-sensei chimed in. "That would generally be the case."
Kondo, with his buzz cut, retorted, "Hmph. Sudo isn't an ordinary guy. He's violent, and Zhuge is vicious too."
Horikita Suzune looked at the buzz-cut boy, who was barking helplessly. "What if I told you there was a witness who saw the whole thing?"
The conference room door opened with a click, and a girl with twin tails walked in.
Secretary Tachibana said, "Witness, please state your name."
"I... I'm Sakura Airi from Class 1-D."
Zhuge Linghao flashed Sakura a bright smile and gave her a thumbs-up!
Seeing that, Sakura felt a little calmer.
She chose her words carefully. "I... I saw the students from Class C throw the first punch. They were the ones who hit Sudo first."
Sakamoto Kazuma, the Class 1-C homeroom teacher, toyed with an electronic pen and said to Sakura, "Your name is Sakura, right? Your class really is hopeless. I'm sure you were forced to lie for your class and for Sudo and the others, weren't you?"
Sakura Airi glanced at Zhuge and stood her ground. "I... I'm just telling the truth."
Sakamoto Kazuma pressured her. "Look at you. You're trembling all over with fear. Don't put even more psychological pressure on yourself..."
Unable to stand Sakamoto Kazuma's pushing any further, Zhuge Linghao swiftly typed out a message and sent it.
Suddenly, Sudo slammed his fist on the table and pointed at Sakamoto Kazuma's nose. "How can you call yourself a teacher? You're covering for your own students and bullying an honest student! Do you have any professional ethics at all?"
Sakamoto Kazuma didn't get angry. Instead, he said with interest, "You're using her timid nature to make her play the witness more convincingly, aren't you?"
Sudo, suddenly looking smarter, glanced at his phone and fired back, "What evidence do you have that your claim is true? We have evidence on our side, don't we, Sakura?"
Only Ayanokoji noticed something was off. He gave Zhuge, who was typing a text message, a long look.
Going along with the situation, Sakura Airi took an SD card from her hand and said, "Yes. This is the evidence!"
Horikita Manabu said to Secretary Tachibana, "Plug it in and show us."
Secretary Tachibana did as he asked and turned on the projector.
The photo showed Sakura Airi taking a selfie, with a brawl between five people in the background!
Sakamoto Kazuma was startled, then gave a scornful smile. "All right, this proves you were there, but the photo still doesn't prove who threw the first punch!"
Sakamoto Kazuma proposed a compromise: [Sudo and Zhuge suspended for two weeks; the three students from Class C suspended for one week.]
Even Chabashira-sensei seemed to have no objections now.
Well, it was the final round. Zhuge Linghao had no choice but to step forward.
He leaped onto the round table and delivered an impassioned speech: "..."
After he had everyone's attention, he pulled an SD card from his pocket too!
It contained footage of the fight, recorded by the pinhole camera Zhuge Linghao always wore!
Ryuen could no longer keep his composure. He sprang up from his chair and glared at Zhuge Linghao. "Black-haired monkey..."
Horikita Manabu's eyes lit up again. "Show it."
The video showed a hidden camera's point of view: the three students from Class C had indeed thrown the first punch, but Sudo had fought like a raging bull, completely out of control. He really looked as if he were trying to beat them to death!
But over the next few minutes, the noisy conference room fell completely silent.
In the video, everyone had been laughing at Zhuge Linghao the clown as he pulled the other three students' pants down. Then, the very next moment, they were stunned by the bloody scene!
Sakura was so frightened that tears streamed down her face...
From Zhuge Linghao's first-person perspective, he was straddling Ishizaki Daichi, his fists blurring as he threw punch after punch. Ishizaki's nose gushed blood, and the sight was horrifying.
Then Zhuge Linghao swung at the second person, then the third... The footage was shocking and gruesome.
After a long pause, Horikita Manabu was the first to recover. He immediately issued a fair and impartial ruling.
"The video is conclusive evidence. Ishizaki and the others did throw the first punch, set up Sudo of Class D, and spread rumors throughout the school. The impact was extremely serious, so all three are expelled!"
"Sudo and Zhuge deliberately assaulted others with brutal methods, inflicting serious injuries. The impact was extremely serious, so both of them are expelled!"
Before you continue