A gentle female voice came from inside the room. Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki exchanged a glance, then pushed the door open and entered together.
After they stepped into the student council room, the scene inside was nothing like the solemn place the boy had imagined. The spacious room was simply furnished, with several red beechwood tables and chairs arranged in the middle. A number of students were bent over their work, with colorful folders piled across the tabletops.
At the very back of the room stood a completely different set of black wooden furniture. A man whom Hashiba Hikaru had met once before sat in the armchair, watching them. It was Horikita Manabu.
"You're first-year students, aren't you? What brings you to the student council?"
Just then, the same female voice that had invited them in spoke beside Hashiba Hikaru. He turned and saw a girl with purple hair standing next to him. She was pretty and petite, with her hair tied into two buns.
From the way she was dressed, she seemed to be a senpai. She was also holding a brown notebook.
"Hello, we're..."
Hashiba Hikaru was about to greet her and explain why they had come, but the moment she saw his face, her expression suddenly lit up. She called out at once, "Classmate Hashiba!"
"You know me, senpai?"
The boy was surprised by her reaction. As far as he could remember, this was the first time they had met.
Ibuki, standing beside him, immediately furrowed her brow. She glanced at Hashiba Hikaru and began rapidly considering what was going on.
"President, Classmate Hashiba is here."
The purple-haired senpai looked delighted to see Hashiba. She hurried over to the table at the very back and said to Horikita Manabu, "He must be here to join the student council, right?"
"Not necessarily."
Horikita Manabu looked at Hashiba Hikaru and the short-haired girl standing beside him. He didn't know what had happened, but based on his one previous interaction with the boy, he suspected this wasn't so simple.
"Um, Horikita-senpai?"
Hashiba Hikaru decided to take the initiative. He headed straight toward Horikita Manabu with Ibuki.
"Hashiba, what brings you to the student council room today?"
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his sharp gaze settling on Hashiba Hikaru once more.
"It's not for my sake. I'm just accompanying her."
Hashiba naturally took half a step back and introduced Ibuki to Horikita Manabu before explaining, "This is Ibuki from Class 1-C. She came to the student council to file a complaint."
At his words, the purple-haired senpai's expression changed. She didn't ask any questions, though; instead, she immediately looked toward Horikita Manabu, who was seated nearby.
"A complaint? What kind of complaint?"
Horikita Manabu turned his gaze to Ibuki Mio and looked her over before asking, "Could you explain in detail?"
"Of course."
Facing Horikita Manabu's imposing presence, Ibuki Mio couldn't help feeling nervous. But she had come this far and wasn't about to give up halfway.
"I want to file a complaint against my classmate, Ryuen Kakeru. This afternoon, he tried to use violence against me to get what he wanted."
The girl delivered her accusation smoothly, then waited quietly for the man seated before her to respond.
"A complaint about violence?"
Horikita Manabu's expression didn't change at her statement. He glanced at Hashiba Hikaru, who stood nearby with his eyes lowered and his mouth shut, then continued, "If you're accusing someone of violence, you'll need witnesses and testimony."
"Do you have those?"
"Of course."
Ibuki nodded, then indicated that Hashiba Hikaru should hand over his phone.
"Heh."
At their confidence, Horikita Manabu's mouth curved slightly. He reached out and accepted the phone from the boy.
"President, what's happened?"
Tachibana Akane watched Horikita Manabu as he viewed the phone, her expression anxious. Incidents involving violence were rare, after all. The upperclassmen knew the school rules and wouldn't so openly cross the line.
"So it was indeed an act of violence."
After watching the video Hashiba Hikaru had taken, Horikita Manabu gave a slight nod.
The footage on the phone was clear. A long-haired man was swinging his fists at the girl in front of him, while she kept dodging. Several times, his blows nearly struck her.
To make the violence seem even more convincing, Hashiba Hikaru had cut most of the footage on the way over, leaving only a little more than ten seconds. It looked quite shocking.
Although the video was short, it was more than enough.
An act of violence didn't have to succeed before it could be punished. If you laid hands on someone, you had to face consequences whether or not you injured them.
"Tachibana, come take a look."
Horikita didn't make a decision right away. Instead, he handed the phone to Tachibana Akane. The purple-haired senpai's expression turned grim as soon as she finished watching. As a woman, she could understand the position Ibuki had been in.
"Ibuki, are you all right?"
Tachibana Akane leaned closer to ask about Ibuki's condition, her manner gentle. The short-haired girl simply shook her head and said, "I'm pretty athletic, so I was able to dodge his attacks."
She explained in detail according to the account she had just agreed on with the boy: "Classmate Hashiba happened to be in the Science Classroom next door. He saw what was happening and recorded it on his phone."
"I see."
Horikita Manabu nodded, but quickly followed up with another question. "What happened afterward? Why did Ryuen stop?"
"I messaged some of our classmates in Class B and asked them to come over," Hashiba Hikaru replied, meeting Horikita Manabu's gaze without faltering. "I knew I couldn't beat Ryuen, so I called for help."
"When he saw several of us arrive, he gave up on continuing to attack Ibuki. Only then did he leave."
"Why did Ryuen attack Ibuki?"
"He wants to be our class leader, but I don't agree with him. So he asked me to come out, saying he wanted to persuade me. But as soon as we got there, he tried to force me to vote for him."
"He even said that if I didn't agree, he'd beat me until I did."
That part was true, so Ibuki's expression was perfectly natural.
Once the two had finished explaining their story, Tachibana Akane could no longer hold back. Usually calm by nature, she had been incensed by the thought of a boy using violence against a girl and forcing her to do something she didn't want to do.
"President, I think such vicious violence deserves the harshest punishment. This is a clear violation of the school regulations. I request that Ryuen be summoned."
"Very well."
Horikita Manabu nodded. Just as he was about to instruct the student council members below him to carry it out, a flippant voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"Horikita-senpai, I heard there's been an accusation of violence against a student. That sounds serious. I'd like to help out, too."
The next moment, a blond boy entered the student council room. He was handsome, with an amused smile on his lips as he looked at everyone there.
"Quite a few first-years here, I see. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the student council's vice president, Miyabi Nagumo."
"What are you discussing? Mind if I listen in?"
Nagumo Miyabi
When the man who called himself the student council's vice president entered the room, Hashiba Hikaru noticed that the purple-haired senpai beside him, who was holding a notebook, suddenly looked much more nervous.
Horikita Manabu, seated at his desk, also reacted, though only slightly. He simply fixed his sharp gaze on Nagumo as he approached.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that? As a student council member, of course I should help my adorable underclassmen with their problems." Nagumo smiled gently and walked over to Ibuki, full of concern. "Is this the underclassman who was bullied?"
"Nagumo, the president is already handling this matter. It should naturally be left to him." Tachibana Akane's hostility was obvious; she had no intention of letting Nagumo interfere.
"How can you say that? Horikita-senpai has so many things to worry about every day. Wouldn't it be better if I handled this case of violence involving first-years?"
"That way, Horikita-senpai would have a little less to worry about."
"But..."
Tachibana Akane wanted to argue, but Horikita Manabu stopped her with a look. The bespectacled man paid no mind to Nagumo's actions and instead turned his gaze to Hashiba Hikaru.
"Hashiba, this is Miyabi Nagumo, a second-year and the student council's vice president."
"Hello, Nagumo-senpai."
Hashiba Hikaru had been observing the situation ever since the blond man arrived. After Horikita Manabu introduced him, he quickly bowed to Nagumo Miyabi. His manners were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism.
He even tugged on Ibuki's sleeve to prompt her to respond as well.
"Hello... Nagumo-senpai."
The girl was caught off guard by his gesture, but she played along and greeted him too.
"Hello, hello. What a diligent pair of underclassmen." Nagumo Miyabi looked pleased and gestured for them to let him handle the matter. "Since you're filing a complaint, I can take care of it."
"Well..."
A hesitant look appeared on Hashiba Hikaru's face. He wasn't afraid of offending the man who claimed to be the student council's vice president. He simply wanted to test Horikita Manabu's attitude.
"We already gave the video to Horikita-senpai. Maybe we should let him decide."
"Fine. I'd like to know what Horikita-senpai has in mind, too."
Nagumo Miyabi didn't mind Hashiba Hikaru passing the buck. He had no intention of taking a first-year brat seriously.
"Since you're so eager to help me, Nagumo, I'll let you handle this hearing." Horikita Manabu remained calm. He turned to the two student council members he had just called over and said, "Go to Class 1-C and bring Ryuen here."
After giving them their instructions, the student council president looked at Nagumo Miyabi, whose smile remained in place. His manner was generous. "As the student council's vice president, I'm sure you have a clear understanding of the school rules. When you conduct the hearing, be careful not to make the wrong judgment. Otherwise, it could undermine the student council's authority."
"Please don't worry about that, Horikita-senpai. I'll make a fair and impartial judgment, and I won't disappoint you."
After accepting the proposal, Nagumo Miyabi immediately turned his attention to Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki, apparently wanting to see the phone they were holding.
"Nagumo-senpai, this is the video we took. It shows Ryuen attacking Ibuki."
After handing over the phone at just the right moment, Hashiba Hikaru spoke with righteous indignation.
"Ibuki hadn't done anything. She just didn't want to vote for Ryuen, and yet he dared to attack her. Besides, it's utterly despicable for a boy to bully a girl. Please make sure Ryuen gets justice, Nagumo-senpai!"
"...Don't worry. I'll make the fairest judgment possible."
After taking Hashiba Hikaru's phone, Nagumo carefully watched the entire video. A moment later, suspicion flickered in his eyes.
Although the man in the footage seemed to be attacking the girl, judging by her expression and the way she moved, she had been remarkably at ease the whole time, as if she weren't worried at all that his fists would hit her.
No, this was fake. There was definitely something wrong with the video!
This was a carefully planned frame-up.
Nagumo Miyabi had reached his conclusion. He looked again at Horikita Manabu, who sat calmly at his desk, looking down at the documents as though he didn't care about any of this.
I see. They want me to take the fall.
The blond man's face darkened, but he didn't react. He quietly committed the whole affair to memory.
"What's wrong, Nagumo? Are you unable to handle this task?" Horikita Manabu looked up, his sharp gaze falling on Nagumo Miyabi. "If you have something more important to do, I can take over now."
At this, the student council members Nagumo had previously tried to win over turned to look at him. They all watched to see what he would do in the face of Horikita Manabu.
"Of course I can handle it. Since Horikita-senpai has entrusted me with this task, I'll carry it out properly. Otherwise, I'd be disgracing the title of vice president."
Nagumo quickly put on a confident expression. He looked at Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki and said earnestly, "Don't worry. If this student really dared to behave so violently at school, I guarantee he'll get the punishment he deserves."
"Then we'll leave it to you, Nagumo-senpai. I'm sure you'll make the right judgment."
Hashiba Hikaru quickly bowed in thanks, his manner humble. Even Ibuki beside him looked a little stunned.
In her eyes, this handsome, pretty-boy-looking classmate of hers was a liar who couldn't be trusted. Since she'd met him yesterday, the girl hadn't heard him tell a single truth.
"Don't worry. I'll deliver the fairest verdict." Nagumo stared at Hashiba Hikaru with an arrogant air. "But when the hearing begins, in the interest of fairness, I'll let Ryuen explain his side as well. You'll need to debate him."
"Otherwise, I might wrong an innocent person. That would be a terrible thing."
The blond man looked at the first-year boy before him. He had an exceptionally striking face. He might look harmless, but he was clearly the mastermind behind this frame-up.
Hmph. This year's first-years really are something else. They've brought me such a surprise just days after the school year started.
"Understood. We'll explain everything that happened. We'll make sure you have all the information you need to avoid a wrongful judgment." Hashiba Hikaru remained deferential, as if he deeply admired the second-year student council vice president before him.
"Heh."
Horikita Manabu watched Hashiba Hikaru's performance from his seat and added another note to his assessment of the boy.
Clever, but shameless. Treat with caution.
The Hearing Concludes
After Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki had waited in the student council room for five or six minutes, the door opened again. The two student council members sent on the errand came in first, followed by a long-haired man. It was Ryuen Kakeru.
"Vice President Nagumo, Ryuen is here."
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