Framed

"Ms. Chabashira, there shouldn't be any explicit school rule stating that, during a Student Council hearing, I, as a fellow student, can't sit in as an observer, right?"

Everyone in the classroom turned toward the source of the voice.

The one who spoke was actually Suzuki Tsubame!

Among the many gazes directed at him, curiosity and confusion definitely made up a large portion.

Over the past three months, Suzuki Tsubame had done little besides traveling between the classroom, Dormitory, and Gymnasium.

No matter who invited him, they had almost always received a polite refusal.

Who would have thought he would voluntarily stand up and speak for Sudo?

...Wait!

The Gymnasium?

Sudo seemed to like going to the Gymnasium too...

Case closed... So that was how this ended?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Oh?"

Chabashira's expression finally changed as she looked at Suzuki Tsubame with interest.

"Suzuki Tsubame, are you sure you want to come along?"

She hadn't expected such an unexpected bonus.

Since their relationship was so good, perhaps she could use this to threaten him.

"Of course... I believe in Sudo. He isn't an impulsive person anymore."

Suzuki Tsubame nodded, his tone resolute.

However...

Only he knew the real reason he was doing this.

[Ding! Timed Task activated: His inferiority complex and family trauma have left him covered in thorns. Try to reform him. Time limit: 23:59:57]

"..."

Why did these Timed Tasks always make me do good deeds?

There was no helping it... The rewards were simply too generous.

"That's right! I believe Ken isn't that kind of person either."

Ike stepped forward as well.

He simply didn't dare start a fight. In truth, he valued his friendships with everyone greatly.

"Um, Sudo... He might have just gotten dragged into this incident."

"Ms. Chabashira, I think we should believe Sudo this time."

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe... Sudo really was framed?"

As Kushida Kikyo, Hirata Yosuke, and Karuizawa stepped forward, the hostility in the class finally eased somewhat.

There was no need to mention The Two Tas. As habitual do-gooders, it was perfectly normal for them to step forward.

Most of the class was willing to give them that much face.

Karuizawa's actions were rather thought-provoking. After all, she deeply disliked Sudo and the other two idiots.

The most likely reason she was willing to stand up was to protect Suzuki Tsubame, her cash cow.

After all, over the past two months, thanks to her unusually "generous" nature...

She had practically become the one calling the shots among the girls.

Watching this scene, Sudo's eyes grew increasingly hot.

"Everyone..."

He tilted his head back, trying his best not to cry.

Student Council.

On the platform, Horikita Manabu sat upright at the judge's bench with a stern expression.

Behind him, Tachibana Akane was recording everything in a notebook.

Below the platform, Sudo stood miserably at the defendant's stand, looking tense and uneasy.

Chabashira stood expressionlessly a short distance behind him.

Meanwhile, Suzuki Tsubame, Horikita Suzune, and Hirata Yosuke sat in the observer seats.

At the plaintiff's stand on the other side were, naturally, the three Class C students led by Ishizaki Daichi. Every one of them was bruised and battered, with bandages wrapped around their hands.

Behind them stood a grim-faced middle-aged man: Class C's homeroom teacher—Sakagami Kazuma.

Judging from his appearance, he looked like a rigid middle-aged teacher who was quite strict with his students.

But... among all the teachers at Advanced Nurturing, the one who helped his class the most was undoubtedly Sakagami.

His actions were completely at odds with his appearance.

As long as a student's actions benefited the growth of Class Points, even if there were certain issues, he would either turn a blind eye or actively offer assistance.

Oh, right... He and Mashima, Class A's teacher, seemed to be on rather bad terms.

"Sudo, three first-year Class C students have jointly accused you of committing violence against them in the Equipment Room at the Gymnasium yesterday at five in the afternoon."

"Regarding this... do you have any objections?"

Horikita Manabu had made it very clear. Neither side possessed conclusive evidence proving whether Sudo had struck them.

Even without evidence, as long as Sudo refused to admit it until the end...

The worst outcome would only be punishment for both sides.

After all, the Class C students' injuries were indeed severe. That much could not be faked.

The only regrettable thing was probably the Class Points Class D had painstakingly saved up over the past month.

No... There was also Suzuki Tsubame's Timed Task.

"I object!"

"From beginning to end, I never laid a hand on them. They're framing me!"

Sudo's face was full of indignation as he pointed at Ishizaki and the others.

Ishizaki glared back and shouted without showing any weakness:

"President, please see the truth! It was Sudo, that despicable bastard, who thought we were easy to bully."

"When he saw us enter the Equipment Room, he deliberately came over to block us in."

Suzuki Tsubame's mouth twitched.

The surveillance footage Horikita Manabu had shown earlier did confirm that they entered the Equipment Room first.

Sudo arrived right after they went in.

But... no matter how stupid Sudo was, he wouldn't come alone to corner the three of them, would he?

"Bullshit!"

Sudo first pointed at Ishizaki and cursed, then immediately explained himself to Horikita Manabu:

"The reason I went to the Equipment Room was because Ito from the Badminton Club asked me to help him get some badminton shuttlecocks."

This was bad...

It seemed Sudo was going to lose the case.

Because the surveillance footage was of poor quality...

A tiny shuttlecock would be difficult to spot in Sudo's rough, large hand.

Suzuki Tsubame turned to look at Class C.

Sure enough, all three of them were grinning smugly.

"President, since he says that, why don't we call Ito over and ask him?"

Horikita Manabu frowned.

But he still instructed Tachibana Akane behind him to bring Ito over for a confrontation.

It seemed they had prepared in advance.

From the notification to his arrival, Ito took less than two minutes.

After briefly understanding the situation, Ito shook his head without hesitation.

"President Horikita, Sudo is lying. I didn't ask him for help yesterday."

"You!"

Sudo stared at him with his eyes nearly splitting open. He could hardly believe what he had heard.

It was clearly the other party who had asked him for help yesterday, which was why he went to the Equipment Room.

"Obviously, it was—"

Just as Sudo wanted to argue again.

"Silence!"

Horikita Manabu shouted, then said expressionlessly:

"Sudo, do you have anything else to add?"

"If not, the school has decided... to suspend you for one month."

The punishment was fairly reasonable. Although his intention in going to the Equipment Room was unclear...

The other side still had no direct evidence proving that Sudo had used violence against them.

As long as there was no audio or video recording, the school could not expel a student for no reason.

Sudo looked bitter. He had already said everything he could; what else was there to add?

It was all that bastard Ito's fault!

"Suzune, watch Komiya's hand in the surveillance footage."

Suzuki Tsubame looked helpless. At a crucial moment like this, he still had to step in himself.