After a burst of light, melodious laughter from a girl, the atmosphere in the room froze.
All that remained were the gazes focused on Horikita,
and a murderous glare fixed on Ayanokoji.
Ayanokoji furrowed his brow, trying to show that he'd meant well, but the girl didn't seem to understand.
No, she didn't want to understand.
She only thought he was taking the opportunity to get back at her.
Still, she put the bigger picture first and held herself back.
She looked at the people around her, all staring at her with their mouths hanging open. She briefly closed her eyes, then spoke as if nothing had happened. "Judge, I have a recording that reveals what really happened. Could you... would you please review it?"
"Oh?" Horikita Manabu parted his lips slightly and looked at the girl. This time, Horikita Suzune didn't look away.
"Secretary Tachibana, please play it."
He gave the girl beside him a knowing look.
Tachibana Akane walked over, took the phone, and played the recording for everyone. As the conversation slowly emerged, some of the things they'd wanted to keep hidden were exposed.
The three students from Class C finally lost their composure. Sweat trickled down their foreheads, and they looked as if they were sitting on pins and needles.
When the recording ended, Horikita Manabu raised his head slightly and looked at the three students from Class C. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"Yes!"
"President, this recording has been edited, and it isn't impartial!"
"Look, the recording Class D has is bound to have been tampered with to make us look bad, right? And they also tried to lead us into saying certain things."
"We have serious doubts about whether this recording is authentic!"
The three students from Class C hurried to talk over one another. Though they seemed flustered, their arguments did make some sense.
Horikita Manabu nodded once they quieted down. "That's true. A recording submitted by Class D isn't enough to prove what started this incident." He glanced at the girl, who had fallen silent, his eyes full of expectation. "Do you have any other, more convincing evidence?"
Hearing that, Horikita fell silent. Her eyes lost focus, and she quietly lowered her gaze, no longer looking at him.
Suzune, you really haven't made much progress.
As if he'd confirmed what he wanted to know, Horikita Manabu looked away and turned his attention to the storage pouch in front of him. He adjusted his glasses, then looked up at everyone. "I have some evidence submitted by Ichinose from Class B. Let's listen to it."
After speaking, he took a butterfly-shaped device from the pouch and handed it to Tachibana Akane, indicating that she should play it.
Another recording began.
The students from Class C were puzzled. Wasn't this almost the same as the last one? The only difference was that the sound was quieter. What else could there be?
Hmm? Wait!
Why did a girl's voice suddenly cut in every thirty seconds? And why did she only say things like "Ah," "Oh," "Yeah," and "Hey"?
They didn't get it. Wouldn't that make the recording seem even more fake?
At that thought, the three of them exchanged smiles, feeling rather pleased with themselves.
When the recording finished, Horikita Manabu first glanced at the girl, who had looked uneasy earlier. Now she sat stunned, and her unease had given way to a hint of surprise.
Then he glanced from the corner of his eye at the expressionless boy beside her. He still looked indifferent, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Finally, he lifted his head slightly and looked at the students from Class C, who were all wearing puzzled expressions. His gaze was stern.
"Now, do you have anything else to say?"
?
The students from Class C, led by Ishizaki, were at a loss. Hadn't they just questioned the recording?
"President, didn't we just challenge the authenticity of this recording? Didn't you agree that it couldn't be trusted?"
Horikita Manabu watched them in silence for a moment, his cold eyes utterly unreadable.
It was clear he wasn't in a good mood.
"Do you need to hear it again?" Horikita Manabu asked calmly, his gaze oppressive.
"Wouldn't it be the same if we listened again? The two recordings are exactly alike, aren't they? They both—"
Suddenly, Ishizaki felt something tug at him. He glanced at the homeroom teacher beside him, Sakagami Kazuma, his expression slightly alarmed.
"That's enough, Ishizaki. Don't say another word. We'll accept the punishment."
"Huh? Why, Sensei? We're the victims here..."
Ishizaki cried out in confusion, his voice growing less confident.
"Idiot! Haven't you figured it out yet?"
Sakagami Kazuma's face darkened. Adjusting his old-fashioned glasses, he said:
"The girl's voice in the recording was there to prevent it from being edited. And you can tell from the difference in sound that the recording was made during a phone call."
"If that's the case, then the recording's length would match the length of the call. That makes it impossible to claim someone tampered with it, since any edits would change the duration or affect the girl's voice mixed into it!"
At that, Ishizaki suddenly understood. He looked as if his whole world had collapsed. But Sakagami continued, "Besides, the recording was submitted by Ichinose from Class B. There's no reason to suspect she edited it to protect anyone."
?
So Ichinose had such a reputation among the teachers for being impartial.
Listening from the sidelines, Ayanokoji raised an eyebrow. His attention was always focused on something different.
After saying that, Sakagami Kazuma clenched his teeth in secret. Though their plan had failed this time, he still wanted his students to learn from the experience and grow.
That was why he'd taken over the explanation before Horikita Manabu could spell everything out.
Horikita Manabu saw that the matter was more or less settled. He blinked once, his eyes turning stern again, and announced, "In this fight between students from Classes C and D, Class C provoked the incident and attempted to twist the facts to frame Ken Sudō from Class D. The three Class C students involved are hereby suspended for two weeks. Sudō used violence, so he must write a three-thousand-word apology. That is all."
Horikita Manabu's clear voice fell, and the decision was final.
Sudō was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He wiped his nose, eager to hug the person beside him, but realized it was Horikita, a girl. Embarrassed, he scratched his head, smearing his snot into his hair like gel.
His cheeks flushed pink. He held out his other hand to shake Horikita's and thank her, and she gladly took it, a smile on her face.
The three students from Class C looked as if the sky had fallen. It wasn't the suspension that upset them, but the beating Ryuen would inevitably give them afterward.
"Kushida..." Ishizaki, sprawled across the desk and covered in injuries, let out a mournful cry. A tear ran down the corner of his eye.
Horikita Manabu was used to this sort of scene. Every ruling ended with some people happy and others miserable. Before, he hadn't felt much—or perhaps he'd simply grown numb to it.
But today, his mood wasn't as bright as the weather outside. He felt a little disappointed.
So this plan, and this butterfly-shaped recording brooch, hadn't been entirely Horikita's idea, as Ichinose had said.
He slowly stood up, drew his wandering gaze back, and looked down at the expressionless boy who hadn't spoken a word from beginning to end, apart from "reminding" his younger sister. His face showed both admiration and solemnity.
Ayanokoji, just how strong are you?
I look forward to the day I get to face you.
Before you continue