Showdown at the Stairwell

Chapter 39

Ever since Ryuen and Ayanokoji clashed in the cafeteria, there had been no further developments.

The truth Sudo had been waiting for still had not come.

But at four in the afternoon, the second hearing of the disciplinary inquiry would begin.

That also meant he was about to face the school's punishment.

Sudo sat blankly at his desk, unable to take in a single word from the teacher lecturing at the front.

He did not even react to the bell signaling the end of class.

At that moment, a long uniform sleeve landed on Sudo's back.

"Sudo, if you give up yourself, then I have no obligation to help you."

Horikita Suzune's voice finally drew a reaction from Sudo.

He spoke with a self-defeated air.

"Either way, I'm going to be punished. What does it matter what we do now? Me..."

Seeing the terrifying look on Horikita's face, Sudo swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

Horikita sighed.

"We've already come up with a way."

"What way?"

"It's hard to explain in one sentence. We'll handle it shortly."

"Then I'll come with you."

"No. You're too unpredictable."

"..."

After saying that, Horikita left to find a key figure from Class B—Ichinose Honami.

With only a few precious hours remaining, the group made preparations early and arrived near the lockers in the school building together.

It was nearing noon, and the blazing sun was unbearably hot. In the stifling air, only their breathing could be heard. Sweat had already seeped through Ichinose and Horikita's clothes, but for the sake of the plan, they could only wait there patiently.

After quite some time, the people involved in the plan finally appeared at the stairwell.

"It's hot, it's hot! Is this damn weather trying to steam us alive?"

Ishizaki complained to Kondo and the others while constantly tugging at his collar, trying to cool himself with the airflow between his clothes and body.

That motion froze in an instant. Komiya and Kondo shuffled sideways like startled crabs, both clearly looking ready to leave.

Before the three of them stood Horikita Suzune and Ichinose, who had been waiting for some time, with Ayanokoji quietly appearing behind them.

"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell do you people mean?"

Ishizaki and the others took two steps back. With Class B's Ichinose present, their resistance was obvious, and they wanted to leave. But Ayanokoji behind them would not give them that chance.

"You don't need to be so hostile. We're here to discuss Sudo's situation with you."

"Are you stupid? What's there to discuss?"

"Stop talking to this crazy woman. Let's go."

The moment the three turned around, Ayanokoji stepped forward, and Ichinose rushed over to block their path as well.

"The only truth is that your class's Sudo injured us. There is no possibility of reconciliation! Stop making trouble here."

"I don't intend to discuss something so meaningless, but I think you'd better be honest."

"What are you even talking about? You're seriously sick. Stop spouting nonsense."

"Then is it also false that you lied and gave false testimony?"

"We didn't lie. Where's the evidence? Do you have any evidence?"

The Class C group had clearly begun to panic, trying to hide their nervousness by raising their voices.

"Are you still going to persist in your mistakes? What you've done behind the scenes has already been exposed!"

Ishizaki gritted his teeth.

"The fact is that Sudo attacked and injured us. These are all evidence! Right?"

As Ishizaki pointed at the bandaged wounds on his face, he sought his companions' agreement. The other two quickly echoed him.

Ichinose beside Horikita let out an exaggerated sigh and raised a hand toward the "irrefutable evidence" on the wall.

"Take a look at what's above your heads!"

"How can this be?!"

Following Ichinose's moving footsteps was the conspicuous surveillance camera overhead.

"Why is there a camera here? We clearly... checked."

Refusing to believe it, Ishizaki walked over to inspect whether the camera was real.

Its cold casing and slowly moving mechanical components proved without question that it was a genuine electronic device.

"The school has known the truth all along." Ichinose suddenly spun around and spread her arms in the same pose as Jesus.

"Accept your punishment!"

The narrow space seemed even more stifling. Ishizaki unconsciously touched his neck, beads of sweat trickling into his collar before he realized it.

"Damn it!" In this situation, he could not react properly at all. Everything felt stacked against him.

"Oh my, your behavior looks very suspicious. Ordinary students wouldn't deliberately check whether there are surveillance cameras. That means you have something on your conscience."

Ichinose brought her feet together and smiled.

"Is it because you feel guilty about lying?"

"N-No, of course not! This is all a scam. You're just trying to deceive us. You said the school already knows about this?"

"Y-Yeah, that kind of lie won't work on us. If the school knew, why wouldn't they have said so earlier?"

"That's because the school is giving you a chance. Have you forgotten this school's philosophy?" Ichinose said righteously, hands on her hips.

Hearing Ichinose's words, Ishizaki recalled the philosophy Teacher Bansho had mentioned when they first met.

This school placed importance on developing students' abilities—abilities in every respect—and valued students' independence and self-reliance more than ordinary schools did.

So the school wanted to use this incident to test their sense of fairness and order, to test their morals?

"Have you made up your minds? Are you sure you want to leave? Don't forget the rules here."

The school granted them greater autonomy, but accordingly, its punishments were severe. Giving false testimony, framing classmates, bullying—when all those actions were added together, expulsion would not be excessive.

Ichinose's little-devil-like remarks had completely shaken Komiya and Kondo. Both looked nervously at Ishizaki.

Little did they know that Ishizaki was under the greatest pressure of all. He did his best to control his voice.

"No, I get it now. You installed those cameras yourselves!"

"Is that so? Then take a look at what's across the corridor."

Ishizaki turned his head and saw another surveillance camera, its lens silently trained on them.

With Horikita's prompt, the group finally lowered their heads in dejection like deflated balloons.

Just as the matter seemed close to being resolved, Ichinose playfully patted Ayanokoji.

She gave off a solemn air of your turn now, as though she were a pretty police officer handing a criminal over to her colleague.

Smack. Smack.

The two slapping sounds made everyone look up in surprise. Ichinose also looked puzzled—she had only patted Ayanokoji once.

"Yo, everyone's here."

A teasing murmur, carrying the scent of mint cigarettes, drifted over. Ryuen Kakeru leaned against Ishizaki's side, a sharp smile on his face.