Reversal

Komiya?

That tall, skinny guy?

Horikita looked confused, glancing toward the plaintiff's seat.

There, both of the boy's hands were wrapped in bandages.

It looked pretty serious.

On the other side.

Horikita Manabu waited and waited, but the defense never spoke.

Finally... urged on by Sakagami.

He had no choice but to prepare to close the case with a resigned expression.

"In that case, then... the defendant, Sudo Ken, from today onward—"

"Wait!"

"There's something wrong with Komiya's injuries!"

Horikita shouted urgently.

Comparing Komiya's bandaged hands with the final freeze-frame of the surveillance footage.

She finally saw it.

"President Horikita, the verdict can be announced now, can't it?"

Sakagami's face had completely darkened.

Seeing Horikita Manabu like this.

He was clearly leaning toward Class D.

Horikita Manabu paid no attention to Sakagami's words, his expression calm as he said:

"Since the defense still has a differing opinion, it should of course be considered."

"...To avoid wrongfully accusing someone."

Suzuki Tsubame let out a light laugh—it seemed Horikita Manabu had already noticed something was off.

He had deliberately frozen the surveillance footage a few seconds after Ishizaki and the others came out of the Equipment Room.

In the image, Ishizaki was severely injured, even needing two others to support him as he left.

Mm... no mistake, they were helping him leave.

Since Horikita Manabu was the presiding judge for this case, he couldn't directly point it out.

He could only use this subtle method to hint at his sister.

Unfortunately... it seemed the siblings were naturally out of sync.

Suzune hadn't caught a single hint of Horikita Manabu's intention, and Suzuki Tsubame had to help remind her.

Sakagami had clearly noticed the discrepancy too, and from the moment he saw the footage, he kept pressuring Horikita Manabu.

As for our dear Chabashira, she was truly fair and impartial.

She kept a dark face the entire time, without the slightest intention of speaking up.

Sakagami's face was ashen, his tone hostile:

"President Horikita, I will report your actions truthfully to the School Board."

Horikita Manabu didn't even acknowledge him.

In his view, among the first-year homeroom teachers, only Mashima and Chabashira could influence him.

Mashima was Chairman Sakayanagi's trusted man and the homeroom teacher of Class A, able to sway even the chairman's thoughts to some extent.

And Chabashira was his sister's teacher.

Horikita Manabu's expression was stern, his gaze fixed on his sister, signaling her to continue.

Horikita naturally wouldn't let this hard-won opportunity slip. Her thin lips parted:

"Komiya-kun and Kondo-kun, both of them are so severely injured. Yet in the surveillance footage, they still had the ease to support Ishizaki-kun as they left."

"Their injuries don't match what the footage shows at all."

"Also, why are their injuries so serious, while Sudo doesn't have a single scratch? I have reason to suspect that this entire incident was staged by Class C themselves."

"You... you're lying!"

"Th-this is because..."

The three Class C students looked panicked.

Their original plan was just to let Ishizaki get hurt—after all, taking a beating for nothing wasn't pleasant.

But... after they got back, Ryuen felt their injuries weren't severe enough, afraid the school wouldn't punish Sudo harshly.

Then... they added a few more fresh wounds to them.

President Horikita's brow furrowed slightly.

While Komiya and Kondo's injuries were indeed faked, Ishizaki's wounds were real.

Based on the current evidence, the only option was to punish both sides equally.

Just as he was about to make his final ruling, Suzuki Tsubame called out loudly:

"President Horikita, if we bring Ito back now, we might still be able to find a transfer record."

Ito, like Ishizaki and the others, was also from Class C.

But unlike the first-years, these second-years were not only poor but also had to pay protection money to Nagumo.

Their quality of life couldn't compare to the first-years at all.

That was precisely why they were so eager to 'help' their juniors.

Fortunately, the school had clear rules stating that upperclassmen couldn't meddle in underclassmen's affairs.

Otherwise, the school would have long descended into chaos.

Horikita's expression remained unchanged as he turned to instruct Tachibana Akane behind him, telling her to call Ito back.

Before long, Tachibana returned with Ito in tow.

Ito saw so many pairs of eyes in the office, all fixed unblinkingly on him.

He couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

Turning to look at Horikita, he said nervously:

"Um... President, is there something else?"

Horikita said nothing.

He stood up, paced over, and stopped beside Ito.

With a casual reach, the phone Ito had stuffed into his pants pocket appeared effortlessly in Horikita's hand.

Suzuki Tsubame was stunned, never expecting Horikita to have a pickpocketing skill.

"Password."

"Uh... well, President, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"Hm?"

Horikita's eyes narrowed.

"The password is..."

"..."

Perhaps when reading novels or watching anime, one might not grasp just how formidable Horikita really was.

He even got outmaneuvered by Nagumo during the graduation camp exam.

But he was, without a doubt, the most outstanding student council president since Advanced Nurturing High School was founded.

From the moment he first enrolled, he had crushed the other three classes, making their path arduous.

In terms of physical ability alone, he could even rival Ayanokoji.

He had virtually no weaknesses from head to toe.

The price Nagumo paid to outmaneuver him was likely no less than Horikita's 2 million points.

Besides the four second-year classes, Nagumo had also allied with the three third-year classes other than Class A.

With that many classes united, it should have been easy to beat him, right?

No...

There was another reason he could win.

Because Tachibana Akane didn't want to cause Horikita trouble, she simply chose not to tell him about her own situation.

If she had decided to confess everything to him, the outcome would likely have been different.

"Where did these 20,000 points come from?"

Ito's face was uneasy as he said cautiously:

"Th-that... I saved them up."

"I'll ask you one more time. Where did they come from?"

Horikita's face was stern, his expression unfriendly.

"I... I don't know!"

"Pfft!"

Ito's knees went weak, and he dropped straight to the ground, his voice choked with sobs:

"Th-this... who... who put so much money in my phone? Are they trying to set me up?..."

"You admit this is your phone?"

Horikita Manabu's expression was stern, unwilling to waste any more time with him.

"P-President... I... I've been terrified of poverty, I..."

Ito crawled over to Horikita Manabu, trying to cling to his leg, but Horikita Manabu kicked him over with a single blow.

Ignoring Ito's desperate pleas, Horikita Manabu turned his head and calmly looked at Sakagami.

"Sakagami-sensei, do you have anything else to say?"

"Hmph!"

Sakagami fumed, his beard bristling with anger.

But he had no way to deal with him, so he turned and left the Student Council office.

Horikita Manabu likewise paid no attention to the furious Sakagami. He looked at Ishizaki and the others, and calmly announced: