Unfavorable Situation

Because the clues were so scarce, no one could come up with a good solution for the time being. Since Chabashira was expected to bring the school's disciplinary notice tomorrow, everyone offered Sudo a few words of comfort before dispersing.

On the way back, Kei leaned over and asked:

"Katsuya, you must have a way to deal with this, right?"

"Why would you think that? I'm not a god..."

"I don't know, but I feel like you always step up at critical moments, and you always look like you have everything under control."

This statement stemmed from her inner trust in Shinjo, but as far as this incident was concerned, even he couldn't possibly come up with a good solution in such a short time.

Shinjo shook his head and posed a question to the girl beside him:

"Kei, under what circumstances do you think the school would listen to Class C's unilateral declaration and make Sudo find evidence to prove his innocence, rather than making the other side find evidence to prove Sudo is guilty?"

"Hmm... I guess it's because Class C doesn't need to prove anything anymore?"

"Exactly. Moreover, Sudo admitted that he laid hands on the people from Class C. Even if they don't have overwhelming evidence, since Sudo has already admitted it, he is the primary suspect."

"That's really a headache. If he can't find evidence, wouldn't that be terrible?"

The hard-earned class points would definitely be gone, the hard-won peaceful atmosphere in the class would be destroyed, and everything would return to square one—or perhaps even worse than square one.

"If only there were some kind of witness... but I know that's unlikely, right? If Class C intentionally wanted to frame Sudo, they would definitely choose a place with few people and no surveillance."

"It's too early to talk about this now. Let's wait and see what the teacher says tomorrow."

"I suppose that's the only way..."

The next day, everyone except for the Manabu Horikita study group was clearly still unaware of what had happened.

So, when Chabashira appeared in the classroom, someone raised their hand to ask:

"Teacher... the personal points... why haven't they been deposited yet?"

"Don't be impatient. This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about during today's homeroom. Sudo got into a conflict with students from Class C and laid hands on them, so until the final verdict is reached, the distribution of personal points for both classes will be suspended."

Upon hearing that it was because of Sudo, everyone's eyes instantly turned hostile, and they all looked toward the red-haired boy in the back row.

Naturally, Sudo couldn't just sit there in silence, so he quickly stood up and shouted in explanation:

"That's not it! The people from Class C provoked me first; I was just acting in self-defense!! You have to believe me, I didn't hit them on purpose!"

But the others couldn't listen to a word of it. If it weren't for Hirata and Kushida speaking up for him last time, they wouldn't even have wanted to lend him the points to get through his crisis.

"Why did they only hit you and not anyone else? Have you thought about your own problems?!"

"What did you say?"

"In other words, why is it always you who causes trouble for the class?! Sudo! Did we offend you somewhere?! I'm begging you, please stop causing trouble!!!"

"Why are you saying that to me?! This clearly isn't my fault! I'll say it again, they hit me, and I was just fighting back!!"

The classroom suddenly became rowdy. Naturally, Hirata and Kushida couldn't let the situation escalate further, so they quickly stood up to mediate.

"Everyone! Calm down! Everyone heard what Sudo said just now; it was the people from Class C who wanted to frame him. We should trust our own companion!"

"Hirata-kun is right. We shouldn't be fighting among ourselves at a time like this. We should work together to help Sudo find evidence to prove his innocence and crush Class C's conspiracy!"

With the two of them taking the lead, the anger of many in the class subsided significantly.

Of course, there were still many analytical minds among them.

"That may be true, but Sudo, do you have any evidence to prove your case?"

"I... how could I possibly have something like that?!"

Chabashira didn't want to watch this group of students blaming each other and passing the buck anymore. After leaving behind a "Homeroom is over," she left through the front door.

"Everyone! Even so, we shouldn't give up! We can use our respective connections and relationships to find out if there were any witnesses present!"

"So, I'm begging you, if anyone saw what happened, could you please step forward now? Our companion needs your help!"

People from our own class... shouldn't be able to serve as witnesses, right?

Although Shinjo didn't know what the judicial system of this school was like, logically speaking, such a major incident should involve a recusal system.

People from Class C and Class D shouldn't be allowed to act as witnesses.

Besides, witnesses themselves couldn't be considered strong evidence, as there was always the possibility of them being bought off.

Unless the witness was a teacher from the school or someone of high standing like the student council president, it was unlikely to hold weight.

"Do you still not understand?! This matter has nothing to do with whether you were the one at fault or not!"

"How do I not understand?! I clearly didn't do anything wrong, so how does it have nothing to do with me?! They are the ones at fault, yet I'm the one being punished! Is the school really like this?!"

Nearby, Sudo and Horikita were clashing again.

"Don't tell me you don't believe me either? We're partners!!"

"I have never considered you my partner. Since you are being so stubborn regardless of the situation, there is nothing I can do to help you."

"You!"

Shinjo stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the love-struck Sudo:

"I believe you, but... right now, I don't have any good ideas either."

"Shinjo..."

Sudo choked up. There was no truer test of friendship than adversity, yet who would have guessed that Shinjo was merely looking for an excuse to slip away? He didn't care whether Sudo would be expelled, and as for the deduction of class points, with only 87 left, they could do whatever they pleased with them.

Five minutes later, at the Odd Jobs Agency.

"Your nicotine addiction is truly outrageous. Have you considered paying my medical bills for the secondhand smoke?"

Chabashira acted as if she hadn't heard a word, continuing to puff away on her cigarette.

"What do you intend to do this time?"

"What do I intend to do? Isn't the real question what you intend to do?"

Chabashira let out a cold laugh at these words, her expression and tone dripping with disdain:

"Heh! You really are cold-blooded. Sudo trusts you so much, and you still plan to profit off him?"

Facing her mockery, Shinjo appeared completely indifferent. He fiddled with the Spring Monster (a type of stress-relief toy) in his hand:

"That doesn't seem to be in conflict. Besides, your phrasing has a serious issue... I'm not taking anyone's money; I'm using their money to handle their business! If certain people have other ways, they are more than welcome not to come to me. After all, the Odd Jobs Agency has never forced a sale, has it?"