Chapter 204

Horikita thought of even more. Ryuuen's plan to frame her wasn't random; it was premeditated, and even public opinion had been prepared.

For example, she repeatedly checked her opponent's location while running, and then they both fell down. She bravely got up and continued the race, while Kinoshita simply collapsed and left the field. From a public opinion perspective, wasn't Kinoshita the victim?

Horikita Suzune was the perpetrator.

This is reaching a stalemate.

Or should she have given up the competition back then?

No.

"Horikita- san... she said she definitely wouldn't let me win... and then... during the match, I didn't even call on her..."

At this moment, Kinoshita, the "injured" man lying on the bed, suddenly spoke.

"Cough cough!"

However, Ryuuen suddenly coughed, interrupting Kinoshita's words.

"?"

Kinoshita looked at Ryuuen strangely.

But Ryuuen continued.

"Horikita, you're not trying to say you have a cell phone recording you're carrying or something, are you?!"

"And then you recorded Kinoshita calling your name during the match, right?"

Ryuuen said.

Kinoshita quickly shut up.

She almost answered with the same line that Ryuuen had initially instructed her to give, but now...

Ah?

Did Horikita Suzune actually have a voice recorder on her person?

If she answers that she didn't call Horikita's name during the match, and Horikita is able to produce a recording pen, then it would be a case of her framing Ran. Although it's true, we absolutely can't let this situation be so easily dismissed, especially since she was genuinely injured.

Chabashira had originally been invited here by Kushida and was now acting as a teacher, which was why she was hosting the event. However, she now felt that perhaps she didn't need to ask Nakano Yuu for help.

Because Horikita had made thorough preparations.

You're right.

Horikita, however, had no intention of continuing the verbal sparring, so she spoke directly.

"Kinoshita and I had never spoken directly before, but she kept calling my name during the match. So why did she do that? If she gets injured, then it's her own fault."

"And I did indeed have a voice recorder in my pocket."

"That's what Horikita Suzune said."

"And this point."

She seemed somewhat self-deprecating and ashamed, saying, "It was prepared in advance by Nakano-kun."

"Is that so?"

"Now check if your voice recorder is still there!"

However, Ryuuen directly mocked them.

"What's the meaning?"

Horikita frowned.

Then, Horikita Suzune immediately reached into her pocket and took out a voice recorder.

Looking for a voice recorder.

Huh?

She paused for a moment, stunned.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that Horikita had searched high and low but hadn't found anything, Ryuuen felt completely at ease.

"Don't you have evidence? If you don't, then doesn't that prove you're lying?"

Horikita, however, frowned, wondering when the recording pen had gone missing, but she hadn't noticed it at all.

"Your girls' Cavalry Battle competition is quite intense."

At this moment, Ryuuen spoke.

"They even got into a fight with Ibuki and the others in my class. Of course, that's what my students told me."

Ryuuen seemed to be offering a well-intentioned reminder.

But Chabashira, an outsider, understood.

Nakano Yuu anticipated that Ryuuen would attack Horikita, so he placed a recording pen on Horikita. However, Ryuuen was also on guard, so he arranged for someone to take the recording pen from Horikita's pocket while they Cavalry Battle.

What a pity.

Chabashira shook his head.

It seems that Horikita Suzune's self-justification can only end here.

However, Chabashira recalled the message Nakano Yuu sent her, giving Horikita a weapon that could surpass Ryuuen's, which was now placed on the windowsill. She had just seen that thing; it was a voice recorder.

But.

If this voice recorder was deliberately stolen from Horikita by someone arranged by Ryuuen.

So the recording pen probably only recorded Kinoshita frequently calling Horikita's name during the match, but Kinoshita hasn't said yet that he didn't call Horikita during the match.

Therefore, the nature of the matter has not yet been determined, and this recording pen cannot yet be considered full evidence. The evidentiary value is insufficient.

Thinking this way.

However, Ryuuen has already moved on to the next stage.

"Then you won't find any evidence to refute yourself. And Horikita Suzune, Horikita, Horikita, your surname is exactly the same as the Student Council President's."

"And upon closer inspection, you two do share some similarities."

"So, Horikita Suzune, are you planning to have your brother personally attend the arbitration Kinoshita you framed Kinoshita in my class?"

Ryuuen said.

Horikita's heart turned ashen. Or rather, she had indeed been too presumptuous.

Not only was she unprepared for her injury, but she also lost her voice recorder. If she hadn't insisted on participating in the Cavalry Battle, she might have been able to keep the recorder and get through the current situation.

These were all her mistakes, and now, even her relationship with her brother as siblings has been exposed, and Ryuuen has very accurately grasped her weaknesses.

"..."

Ryuuen.

Ryuuen had been watching Horikita's expression closely. Although Horikita tried to keep a straight face, Ryuen could still see the panic in his eyes.

It seems that the speculation about the sibling relationship is correct.

So let's settle things now before Horikita Suzune asks Nakano Yuu for help.

He specifically confirmed that Nakano Yuu had gone to the cafeteria before arranging for Ibuki to bring Horikita over.

Throughout the journey, Ibuki did not send any messages to Horikita saying that she was looking at her phone or contacting Nakano Yuu by phone, so Horikita is currently in a weakened state without Nakano Yuu's support.

In other words, now is the time to take advantage of your weakness and kill you.

"What's wrong? Weren't you very confident just now? Where's the evidence? Where's the evidence that we're accusing you of wrongdoing?"

Seeing Horikita's sudden silence, Ryuen Kakeru burst into laughter, "If you don't have it, then we're going to officially sue you."

Ryuuen said, "Not only did she deliberately frame and even injure Kinoshita from our class out of jealousy, but she also almost framed us good people. Her character is utterly despicable. Horikita Suzune, you don't want to lose face in front of the whole school, do you? So let's keep it simple, I'll offer you some terms for negotiation."

Ryuuen said, "Pay me all the Private Points you earned last semester for collaborating with Nakano Yuu, and I can pretend this never happened."

In other words, Ryuuen's goal is not to invalidate all the points Horikita Suzune earned in the competition, but to take away Horikita's points!

This person came for the money.

Yes.

Horikita understood. She had been worried that Kushida might also be a target of Ryuuen's attack, but Kushida was completely unharmed while she was the one who was injured. What did that mean?

The explanation is that Ryuuen's goal is to collect points.

And they still want all her savings from last semester.

"This is a great deal! You'd definitely be willing to pay more than let the Student Council President's sister embarrass President."

"Of course, I've already received 10 million points from your brother in this competition, which shows how cowardly Class 3-A is. And if your brother knew that his sister is just as cowardly..."

Ryuuen began the devil's whispers.

"Or, if you, as the Student Council President's sister, were attacked by Class 3-B and used as a weapon against your brother..."

"..."

Chabashira.

"Enough, Ryuuen."

Chabashira-sensei couldn't stand it anymore. She was certain that Horikita's defenses had crumbled, and clearly, she couldn't find any room for rebuttal.

"Get out of my way! This is a student's matter."

However, Ryuuen said without any politeness.

"The teacher doesn't need to intervene now!"

"..."

Chabashira.

Horikita suddenly gripped her right hand with her left, a sign of weakness.

Ryuuen also thought that Horikita was probably about to be defeated and compromise, but Horikita bit her lip, suddenly raised her head, and looked directly at him.

"No one can determine the truth or falsehood of anything before it has been verified."

Horikita said, "Are you framing me? According to the rules of the Sports Festival, anyone who commits violence or even makes false accusations will be punished accordingly, and may even be forced to withdraw from the competition or have all the points they have earned stripped."

Um?

Ryuuen became slightly serious.

He looked into Horikita's eyes and found that she showed no sign of sadness or fear.

It was as if they were absolutely certain of something supernatural.

Could there be something wrong?

"First."

Horikita continued, "It's true that I kept checking on Kinoshita, but that was because she kept calling my name during the match. It's a natural human instinct."

"Furthermore, regarding Kinoshita's injuries, I don't know whether it was intentional or a natural occurrence. Because I was injured myself as well."

She said, "I have also withdrawn from all the remaining events. The events I can participate in are the ones I can still participate in, even with a leg injury, I can still exert some strength and have the support of sportsmanship. So if she can't participate, I can't participate either. I don't think this is a deliberate act on my part, because the loss is too great."

Furthermore...

Suzune paused, "After I got injured, a doctor came to examine me immediately, and I was deemed unable to continue the competition. Kinoshita, you were immediately carried away by your classmates, so you should have gone to the infirmary too. But I didn't see you when you were being Kinoshita. If Kinoshita said your injury was serious, why didn't you get treatment immediately? I don't think your injury looked like that at that time."

"So your frequent turning around on the field, coupled with the fact that you didn't treat my serious injury immediately, makes me suspect that you are framing me!"

"And Kinoshita- san, who committed the crime of false accusation."

Horikita Suzune's aura surged dramatically at that moment, pressing Kinoshita with immense force and logic.

"They will be severely punished!"

"Waaah--"

Kinoshita was already showing signs of fear.

"..."

Ryuuen.