Chapter 154

Grab his arm, turn him around, use your waist to throw him over your shoulder in one smooth motion.

And so another man, now incapacitated, lay on the ground.

"Unfortunately, in terms of martial prowess, I am still the strongest."

After making a remark, Aragaki Shun casually called over two people nearby and pulled Nagumo Hirata aside.

Not long after, Manabu Horikita finally arrived on behalf of the Student Council.

This brief free- Combat on campus has come to an end.

223. To lie through one's teeth: punishment or honor?

What happened here?

Upon arriving at the scene, the Student Council President was stunned to see Miyabi Nagumo Masaru lying on the ground after being knocked down by the rampaging Hirata. It was the first time he had ever seen her in such a disheveled state.

"It's obvious that after receiving news of the violent incident caused by Ken Sudō and others, Vice President Nagumo rushed over in a panic, which caused him to accidentally trip and fall."

Hearing the lies that Aragaki Shun uttered with his eyes wide open, the second-year student who was taking care of Nagumo was completely stunned.

They were about to refute him when they saw that Manabu Horikita didn't even bother to verify the claim, simply believing this blatantly false statement and calmly nodding in agreement.

"Nagumo has always been dedicated to his work in the Student Council, but he needs to be more careful where he's stepping occasionally, and avoid hurting himself because of his haste in the future."

Looking at Miyabi Nagumo's swollen right cheek, there was even a mark near her chin at the corner of her mouth.

Horikita President naturally knew that this injury could not possibly have been caused by a fall.

In fact, the big news that the leader of Class 2-A was knocked down by Hirata of Class 1-D had already been told to him by the Third Year students present on the way via email.

In this situation, the reason he went to the trouble of asking Aragaki Shun was to signal him to make up a story and get away with it.

This morning, a peeping incident occurred in the swimming pool changing room, and now hundreds of people have come and attacked the four perpetrators.

The entire Advanced Nurturing was already in enough turmoil; the school didn't want to cause any more trouble and just wanted the unrest to subside as quickly as possible.

Therefore, let's pretend we don't see the conflict between Hirata Nagumo and let them resolve it privately.

Otherwise, if we investigate thoroughly, it will be a serious matter, which will not be good for anyone involved in the free Combat on campus.

"Pfft!"

Meanwhile, Miyabi Nagumo, who had been helped up by students from Class 2-A, had already woken up. Upon hearing Manabu Horikita's words, he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood before coldly replying:

"Don't worry, President. It was my mistake this time. This kind of accident won't happen again next time."

Nagumo waved to stop the Class 2-A students who were still thinking of saying something, and with a glance, he directly indicated that the matter should be put aside for now and dealt with later.

Although, as the Student Council Vice President, being knocked down in public would be quite a blow to his prestige.

Normally, he should be pulling the onlookers aside right now to denounce Yosuke Hirata's atrocities and, with the power of the Student Council, give him the most severe punishment.

However, Manabu Horikita's meaning was clear: to investigate this matter further, it was necessary to find out the specific reasons for the conflict between Yosuke Hirata Miyabi Nagumo.

When the time comes, the school will inevitably turn its attention to this violent incident stemming from group revenge, and it won't be able to turn a blind eye.

These four have already been expelled, and enough has happened today. Let's not create any more trouble for the school, or everyone will be upset.

On the other hand, having suffered such a great loss this time, Miyabi Nagumo's independent and self-willed personality, how could she possibly let Yosuke Hirata off easily?

He had already memorized both Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who hadn't yet been expelled. They would have plenty of opportunities for revenge in the future.

Looking coldly at Yosuke Hirata, who was still unconscious, Nagumo felt waves of pain in his right cheek, chin, and abdomen as he recalled the force of the two punches and one kick he had just received.

More importantly, being knocked to the ground in front of everyone by trash from Class D is the most serious loss of face.

Nagumo certainly didn't think Hirata was stronger than him; the bastard had only caught him off guard and launched a sneak attack, leaving him no time to react.

Caught completely off guard, who would have thought that someone would dare to assault the Student Council Vice President in public!

Haha~ He'll remember this grudge.

He would never let the other person drop out of school so easily; he would make them pay back tenfold, a hundredfold, for this humiliation!

"Yes, it's good that you're alright." Seeing that Nagumo had woken up, Manabu Horikita nodded and led the Student Council members into the alley.

At this point, the students who were still lecturing Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki had stopped.

They stood leisurely on both sides of the alley, as if welcoming a leader on an inspection tour, directly exposing the Four Voyeurs deep inside.

Manabu Horikita quickly stepped forward and found that although Kanji Ike, Yamauchi Haruki, and Sotomura Hideo were covered in wounds, none of them were too serious; they had simply been knocked unconscious.

Ken Sudō's injuries were more obvious; his face was bruised and swollen. However, he was much stronger than the other three, so his condition seemed less severe. At least he was not unconscious yet; he was just lying on the ground, panting in pain.

It seems the situation is still within expectations.

Unless there are severed limbs or other serious injuries, given the crimes they committed, these minor injuries are deserved. Letting the students on campus vent their anger is already letting them off easy.

Of course, as the Student Council President, now that he's here, he can't allow the violence to continue and must deal with the previous on-campus Combat.

"Send them back to their respective dormitories," Manabu Horikita thought for a moment and instructed the Student Council Member beside him. "After that, you all stay and watch over them until the withdrawal procedures are completed in the evening, then send them off from Advanced Nurturing."

"I understand, Chairman."

"Don't worry, we will absolutely not let them cause trouble again."

"I'll have to spend several hours with them... Oh well, I'll manage."

After receiving the order, several Student Council Member spoke with varying degrees of seriousness and disdain, but in the end, they all suppressed their emotions and asked others to help them take the still unconscious Yamauchi and the others back to their respective dormitories.

With the punching bags no longer available, the students who participated in this free- Combat naturally dispersed in twos and threes under the guidance of the Student Council.

In the end, only Manabu Horikita, Miyabi Nagumo, and Aragaki Shun remained in the same spot.

After such a sensational violent incident, they still need to find a way to bring this matter to a relatively reasonable conclusion.

"Ahem~ Just now, everyone from the 12 classes across the three grades who participated in this incident testified unanimously that it was Ken Sudō and his group who struck first."

Aragaki Shun coughed twice, his expression serious, and immediately set the tone for this incident of school violence. "The four of them are about to drop out of school, so they are somewhat fearless, which is why they chose to go berserk and vent their anger in these last moments."

Manabu Horikita remained silent; he knew, of course Vice President Aragaki was talking nonsense.

Since their act of secretly filming in the women's changing room was exposed, these guys have become pariahs in everyone's eyes, and they no longer have the courage to commit violence in public.

But whether the claim that it can arouse the hatred of all students in the school and achieve a consensus on this atrocity is true or false is no longer important.

After all, we can't severely punish the hundreds of students involved in this beating just because four criminals have already been expelled from school, can we?

The three student council presidents disagreed, the chairman of the Student Council Chairman Sakayanagi, who had not yet been suspended, would not agree either, and the others who cheered for it throughout the school were even less supportive... Under such circumstances, of course, the best course of action was to minimize the problem and make it disappear.

"Even if Ken Sudō and his group struck first, and the other students were merely acting in self-defense, there are still far too many of them."

The fact that hundreds of students ganged up on four people in self-defense is simply unacceptable.

Thinking of this, Manabu Horikita gave Miyabi Nagumo a look—he was the one who instigated this revenge, so surely he must have some ideas on how to clean up the mess.

"These four thugs have serious violent tendencies; each of them could take on ten men, which is why so many people came to subdue them."

When it comes to blatantly lying, Miyabi Nagumo says she's no less capable.

"You know, they are vicious criminals who dare to defy public opinion and secretly film all the female students in the school. How could they not be capable?"

"It is precisely because our students are united and helpful that we were able to barely suppress these four people despite having a numerical advantage."

Manabu Horikita: "..."

It's somewhat believable that Ken Sudō could take on ten opponents at once, but do Yamauchi Haruki, Kanji Ike, and Sotomura Hideo have that kind of ability?

That 'Class 1-D ridiculous! How can just four people be as strong as a whole class of forty?

However, as long as there is a reasonable explanation, there is no need to dwell on the specific strength of their military force.

"Then let's just assume they're using brutal methods and need hundreds of people to suppress them."

Having calmly accepted this explanation, Manabu Horikita finally announced the final outcome of the freestyle Combat incident.

"Although it was a legitimate act of self-defense and heroism, the fact that so many people ganged up on four students who were about to drop out of school will still have some negative impact. In any case, the Student Council must make some statement."

"Everyone involved in this matter must submit a 2,000-word self-criticism to the Student Council within three days, and each person will have 10,000 Private Points deducted as punishment."

"What do the two Vice President think of this outcome?"

Aragaki Shun Miyabi Nagumo exchanged a glance, and ultimately, as agreed, Miyabi Nagumo took over the task of cleaning up the mess.

"No problem, I'll have someone send an email to notify everyone. I'm sure all the students involved will have no objections."

If each of the hundreds of people has 10,000 Private Points, the fine would only be a few million.

Nagumo said he would cover everything and felt no pressure at all.

Aragaki Shun, then suddenly offered a suggestion:

"I think the names of all the students involved should be registered and posted on the bulletin board for a school-wide public reprimand."

Manabu Horikita: "..."

Are you sure this is punishment and not a reward?

They were even publicly criticized throughout the school...? Were they criticized for standing up for all the female students and teaching the perpetrator a lesson for taking photos without their consent?

Without a doubt, if they were to do this, the other students would only admire their righteous act and bestow upon them boundless honor.

"That's fine then."

After much hesitation, Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses and finally agreed.

At least on the surface, this is indeed a punishment.

The fact that the three people reached a consensus means that this represents the final decision of the Student Council.

After discussing the specific details of implementation, Aragaki Shun parted ways with Manabu Horikita, who still had things to do, and Miyabi Nagumo, who needed to treat the injuries on her face.

Stepping out of the alley, Aragaki Shun arrived at a vending machine a few dozen meters away, where Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Sou stood.

Between the two of them, Yosuke Hirata was squatting on the ground, his hands covering the upper half of his face, exuding a gloomy and decadent aura.

After knocking him unconscious, Aragaki Shun had Kanzaki and Shibata take him away to prevent him from causing further trouble.

What's wrong with him now?

"He woke up like this," Kanzaki Ryuji sighed. "I thought Hirata would continue to act impulsively after waking up, and I was prepared to work with Shibata to suppress him, but I didn't expect him to just sit there silently after waking up, not saying a word, I wonder what he's thinking."

"Hey~ Hirata..." Shibata Sou couldn't help but advise, "Why are you doing this? Is it really worth it to go to such lengths for those bastards who secretly film women's changing rooms?"

Of the three present, Yosuke Hirata was most familiar with Shibata Sou.

This is not only because Shibata's personality is similar to Ichinose's —energetic, outgoing, and sincere—he has made good friends in every class during his first year.

Furthermore, both of them are members of the Soccer Club and often train together, so their relationship appears to be quite good.

Shibata genuinely considered Hirata a friend.

In such a terrible environment as Class D, it was surprising to find such a kind, selfless, and responsible classmate. Shibata felt that he was far from being able to do that, so he greatly admired him.

But there should be limits to being helpful and cherishing your companions!

Those four bastards who only thought about peeping at the girls in their class were expelled and beaten, and they don't deserve any sympathy at all.

Despite Shibata's admonitions, Yosuke Hirata, squatting on the ground, remained silent, muttering incoherently to himself in a daze.

Seeing Aragaki Shun, Aragaki simply let Kanzaki and Shibata go first.

"I have something to discuss with Hirata. This will determine whether I should help Miyabi Nagumo in the face of her revenge, or let her drop out of school."

"Eh~ then I'll leave it to you, Aragaki. I always felt that Hirata was a good person; he shouldn't be like this."

"Well, Shibata and I are leaving now. The Swimming activity this morning was ruined by those people, and everyone in the class is in a bad mood. I need to go back to the classroom to check on things."

After the two figures disappeared, Aragaki Shun turned around and looked at the dejected center of Class D. Even though the other person had heard about Miyabi Nagumo's revenge and knew that he might be expelled, he didn't react at all.

Aragaki Shun wasn't too surprised by this. He had already guessed that Hirata was a problem child on par with Kushida Kikyo; otherwise, given his outstanding qualities, there was no way he would have been placed in Class D at school.

"According to the school's class assignment method, theoretically everyone in Class D is a flawed product. The more outstanding a person is, the more frightening their hidden dark history will be."

"So, Hirata, what's your dark history that makes you completely unable to accept your classmates dropping out of school, and even willing to attack the Student Council Vice President to save them?"

Without any intention of beating around the bush, Aragaki Shun asked the question directly, voicing his confusion.

A cool breeze blew by, and the boy waited quietly for the green-haired man's response.

His patience was limited; if he hadn't gained anything after two minutes, he would have to give up on this fairly considerable fighting force.

But somewhat unexpectedly, just over ten seconds later, a sound came from the ground:

Have you ever been too afraid to save a fellow traveler, and could only watch helplessly as they were persecuted?