Thanks for Class A's Generosity!

But now.

You didn't have to worry about the photos being leaked anymore.

"Let's turn the situation to our advantage," Nakano Yuu said. "And make a little money."

A-a little money?

Huh?

How were they supposed to make money from this?

Sakura had started paying attention to Nakano after he stood up for her in class a while back. She'd also noticed that his relationship with Horikita seemed to go beyond friendship.

The two of them were always together, whether in class or after school.

She'd tried several times to join their conversations, only to realize she didn't fit in at all.

For example...

She had no idea what he was talking about right now, either.

And what was he talking about?

Even Horikita found out the next day.

Meanwhile, over in Class C, Ryuen Kakeru had submitted a complaint accusing Class C of wrongdoing and received confirmation that it had been accepted. Before he could even celebrate, he noticed an irritating message on his phone.

[Hey, buddy, since you've found a way to make money, don't keep it all to yourself. How about splitting it with me?] — Nakano Yuu

Thanks for Class A's Gift!

Nakano Yuu believed that Ryuuen of Class C had set up the incident in which Sudo got beaten up.

Even without having read the original story, he would have come to the same conclusion. The two sides had seemed to fight, but it hadn't lasted long, and the three students from Ryuuen's class had basically just provoked Sudo before running off.

That wasn't how a real fight usually went.

So after recording what the Class C students looked like as they left, Nakano also took Sakura away from the scene.

Since something like this had happened, they had to put their search for a secluded spot without cameras on hold for now.

The next day, though, the classroom was buzzing.

"It's all Sudo's fault! Why'd he have to get into a fight with them?"

"That guy should just drop out. He's useless and does nothing but drag us down."

Early in the morning, before Nakano had even entered the classroom, he could hear the uproar inside Class D.

When he stepped into the room, he saw Chabashira Sae standing at the podium, dressed in her usual women's suit and short skirt.

Even so, she made no attempt to stop them.

"I told you, that's not what happened! There were three of them!"

Sudo wore an angry expression as he tried to explain himself to his classmates. "They started it! I was acting in self-defense! Self-defense!"

"But they've filed a complaint, you know."

It was clear that the others weren't convinced by Sudo's explanation. Given the delinquent behavior he usually displayed and his habit of picking fights with people, it was hard to imagine him as someone who'd only fight back after being attacked.

They were more willing to believe the seemingly ridiculous report—

That Sudo Ken had taken on all three of them by himself.

"So it happened this quickly?"

Nakano Yuu was a little surprised. Just from listening to the argument, he could roughly figure out what had happened.

After all, he'd been there yesterday.

"Nakano, something serious has happened," Hirata Yousuke said, hurrying over from his seat near the front of the classroom. "Yesterday, three members of Class C's basketball team filed a complaint with the school. They said that after club activities, Sudo asked them to meet him at the laboratory building, then attacked them without provocation and seriously injured them."

"I told you, it was self-defense! Self-defense!"

Sudo Ken was sitting in the back row. Hearing Hirata's words, he slammed his fist down on the desk, making a loud bang.

The girl sitting in front of him jumped up in fright.

"Sudo!" Seeing how worked up he was, Hirata hurried over to him like a firefighter rushing to put out a blaze.

Nakano Yuu then turned to Horikita Suzune beside him.

"..." Horikita.

Horikita had arrived at the classroom early that day. Unlike her usual bookworm routine of taking out her textbook as soon as she came in and getting straight to her reading, her desk was empty.

In other words, she was thinking about something.

It wasn't hard to guess what: the incident with Sudo beating someone up.

Sudo was trying to persuade the others.

He was using every means he could to raise his voice and drown out everyone else.

But the truth was...

That wouldn't convince anyone.

The louder he got, the less convincing he seemed. It only made him look more incompetent and guilty.

The right thing to do was either lay out the facts and evidence or deny everything to the bitter end.

After all, Class C had deliberately chosen a place without cameras so no one would find out about the fight.

No one knew they'd fought yesterday.

If Sudo simply kept denying it, he could easily bluff his way through.

But by yelling like this, wasn't he basically admitting that he'd beaten up the other three?

And what did it matter whether it was self-defense?

Class C had already reported him to the school, and he was still shouting at his own classmates about self-defense. It was pointless.

So despite having a way to handle the situation, Sudo had ruined it himself.

This class was beyond saving.

For example, right now.

"They were jealous that I'd made the starting lineup, so they picked a fight with me on purpose!"

Sudo's voice rang out as he slammed his fist on the desk again.

It seemed to silence the discussion among his classmates for the moment.

But it was obviously pointless. If anything, it only made the Class D students even more certain that he might have attacked the others without provocation.

At this rate, even his own classmates wouldn't believe him.

"But you have no evidence."

Chabashira Sae spoke calmly and without mercy. "Unless there's a witness who can back up what you're saying."

At this point, Sudo Ken could have simply shown them his injuries to make his story more convincing.

The incident yesterday had been a brawl. The reason the school accepted the claim that Sudo had beaten up all three members of Ryuuen's class was simple: they'd found injuries on the three of them.

Then, after considering Sudo's usual hotheaded behavior, they'd concluded that he could indeed have done something like that.

There was a way to turn things around: Sudo could show that he'd been injured too. If he had injuries, that would show that it had been a mutual fight, in which both sides would be punished equally.

Even so, Class D had an advantage.

Their class evaluation score had already fallen to zero, so there was nothing left to deduct.

That meant there was no risk to their class. But Class C would lose the points it had worked so hard to keep.

Unfortunately, Sudo didn't have the brains to figure that out.

When Chabashira Sae asked for evidence, he didn't know how to respond.

"Sudo, you'll be suspended for now."

Chabashira Sae's voice was calm. "The school will give you a week to find evidence that they attacked you first. In a week, the Student Council will step in and negotiate with Class C. Your punishment will be decided based on the outcome of those negotiations. The worst-case scenario is... expulsion. The class evaluation score will also be deducted accordingly."

"I think you'd be better off dropping out, Redhead."

Koenji had his legs propped up on the desk. Holding a mirror in one hand, he fussed with his hair. "Your existence is not beautiful in the slightest."

"Bastard!"

Sudo clenched his fists and glared at Koenji.

At a time like this, he still had the nerve to make sarcastic remarks.

"Everyone! Did anyone see Sudo fighting them, or hear anything about what happened?"

Kushida Kikyou, who'd been silent until then, spoke up.

She quickly stepped forward and asked the others for help, going around to question them one by one.

"Do you have any ideas?" Horikita Suzune finally spoke, but she was looking at the boy beside her.

Since arriving in the classroom, Nakano hadn't said anything. He'd just watched from the sidelines.

"Any ideas?" Nakano Yuu said. "This is dangerous."

"Yes. Sudo's angry reaction, the accusation that he beat up three people by himself, and the fact that there's no camera footage to prove he did it—yet the Student Council still accepted the complaint," Horikita Suzune said.

But Nakano Yuu shook his head.

That wasn't the danger he meant. Hirata had been standing right near the front, but as soon as he saw Nakano enter the classroom, he'd come straight over and taken the initiative to tell him about Sudo's situation.

Why?

Did he think Nakano was the one who could lead the class?

Nakano Yuu didn't think he and Hirata had that kind of relationship.

So why had Hirata done it?

In other words...

Chabashira-sensei, what did you say to Hirata? You still have ambitions, and you still want him to lead the class, don't you?

You really don't know when to give up.

Are you going to keep testing him as long as he refuses to take a stand?

If that's the case, then I'll give you what you want.

Nakano Yuu thought to himself.

At the same time...

Nakano Yuu had also noticed that Kushida seemed to have been keeping her distance from him lately.

She was going around asking each of their classmates whether they knew anything, but she never came over to him.

It was a very unusual thing to do, as if she were deliberately avoiding him.

How had he made Kushida so wary of him?

Nakano Yuu thought it was worth keeping an eye on.

But then...

"..." Nakano Yuu.

"..." Chabashira.

Nakano Yuu wasn't looking toward the podium, but he could feel someone watching him.

It was Chabashira Sae.

"Actually..." Nakano suddenly stood up. "If you're looking for a witness, there is one."

"What!?" everyone exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look. Even Kushida, who'd deliberately been avoiding Nakano Yuu, looked over.