After the day's classes ended, the students of Class A did not leave the classroom, because they had all received a notice from Shiraishi Makoto.
Shiraishi Makoto stood outside the door and kept watch for a while. Once most students from the other classes had left, he closed the classroom door and walked up to the podium.
"Everyone, I'm sorry to interrupt your break after class, but there is something important we need to discuss together." Shiraishi Makoto cleared his throat and began. "First, I should say that what I'm about to tell you is rather long. At first, you may not understand why I'm bringing this up, but whatever your opinions may be, please hear me out before interrupting."
"After school yesterday afternoon, Ichinose told me about her past..." Shiraishi Makoto first glanced at Ichinose Honami. Only after seeing that she had no intention of stopping him did he slowly relay Ichinose's story to everyone.
Her family's misfortune, her younger sister's expectations, her own choice, and the final outcome. Shiraishi Makoto's account carried little personal bias; he simply retold what had happened.
As they listened to Shiraishi Makoto's account, the Class A students could not help showing stunned and shocked expressions.
It was difficult for them to imagine that such a thing had once happened to Ichinose. Many of them—especially several friends close to Ichinose Honami—instinctively looked toward her.
Under her classmates' gazes, Ichinose Honami felt her entire body trembling. Still, she kept her head raised and watched Shiraishi Makoto, barely maintaining her composure. She knew this was a hurdle she had to overcome.
"To sum up, Ichinose is worried that she is no longer qualified to lead the class. She believes herself to be guilty." Having finished the story, Shiraishi Makoto swept his gaze across the classroom.
"So, I hope everyone will vote now. Those who believe Ichinose can still lead the class, please raise your hands."
The turn had come so suddenly that the classroom fell into dead silence.
Quite a few students' eyes shifted back and forth between Shiraishi Makoto and Ichinose Honami. More of them looked at Shiraishi Makoto, seemingly trying to figure out the other leader of the class's stance.
However, the first person to raise his hand appeared quickly. It was Kanzaki Ryuji.
Not only did he raise his hand to vote, but he also stood up and looked at Ichinose Honami.
"Since the beginning of the school year, I have trusted Ichinose." Kanzaki Ryuji placed his right hand over his chest, his voice firm and powerful. "I acknowledge Ichinose's character and ability, and she has never disappointed me. Therefore, I will assist her in continuing to lead the class forward."
"That's right. Honami only made a tiny mistake." Shiranami Chihiro was the second to speak. She had been somewhat listless because of yesterday's rejection, but after hearing Shiraishi Makoto's account, she immediately realized this had happened after she left.
She jogged away from her seat and threw her arms around Ichinose Honami.
"We're best friends. We would never part ways over something so small!"
"Chihiro..." Tears instantly welled in Ichinose Honami's eyes as Shiranami Chihiro hugged her. She wrapped her arms around her good friend from school in return.
"That's right, that's right. Honami just didn't want to disappoint her little sister. We won't blame her either." Kobashi Yume, Amikura Mako, and the others also gathered around.
"I also think Ichinose is very dependable. She is a class leader worthy of our trust."
"Ichinose, don't blame yourself. The shop owner has already forgiven you, and we all understand!"
Hamaguchi Tetsuya, Shibata Sō, Watanabe Norihito, and the other boys spoke up one after another as well.
More and more people raised their hands, until everyone below the podium had done so.
Everyone looked toward Shiraishi Makoto on the podium. At last, he smiled and raised his right hand.
He had not raised his hand until then because his standing in Class A was relatively high. If he voted directly, he would influence many students' attitudes and choices. He would rather see his classmates make a choice true to their hearts.
He looked at Ichinose Honami below the podium and said with a smile, "I told you yesterday that everyone would forgive you."
"Mm..." Ichinose Honami wiped away her tears and gently patted Shiranami Chihiro, who was holding her. Understanding what she meant, Shiranami Chihiro let go.
Ichinose Honami slowly walked up to the podium and gave the entire class a deep bow.
"Thank you, everyone..."
Tears slid down her cheeks, and the response she received was applause that rang through the classroom.
"Ichinose, please continue leading Class A forward from now on." Shiraishi Makoto stood beside her and spoke solemnly.
"Ichinose, please continue leading Class A forward from now on!" That was the voice of Class A.
Ichinose Honami's matter came to an end like that, and Class A returned to peace once more.
Shiraishi Makoto had no intention of hiding Ichinose's past, nor did Ichinose Honami. Gradually, the other classes began to learn of it as well.
Although Ichinose Honami's reputation at school was no longer flawless, she became more real because of it.
More importantly, everyone discovered that Ichinose was such an angel that she had blamed herself enough over such a small matter to consider leaving school. Rather than declining, their trust in her grew. Ichinose Honami did not betray that trust either, devoting herself wholeheartedly to protecting the class. Class A's unity rose to another level.
Amid that atmosphere, time reached June 30.
"Shiraishi, there's a student dispute case here. Please submit it through the system." Tachibana Akane approached with a set of documents and handed them to Shiraishi Makoto, who was seated in front of a computer.
"Got it." Shiraishi Makoto took the documents and glanced over their contents.
Komiya Yogo, Kondo Reon, and Ishizaki Daichi of Class 1-C had filed a complaint, claiming that Sudo Ken of Class 1-D had assaulted all three of them. They had also attached injury assessment reports issued by the school nurse—Hoshinomiya Chie.
According to the injury assessment reports, the three had all suffered serious injuries. Their testimonies also clearly stated that Sudo Ken had continued beating them after they surrendered, making the nature of the incident exceptionally vile. Their demand was equally clear: that such a brutally violent bully be expelled.
Only after Shiraishi Makoto entered the documents into the system and uploaded them did he take them to Horikita Manabu.
"President, if the documents are accurate, then according to school rules, Sudo must receive a one-month suspension and Class D must lose 100 Class Points. However, the incident occurred this month, so Class D should logically lose the Class Points this month. But tomorrow is already July, so should the July Private Points for each class be temporarily withheld?"
"Temporarily withhold the Private Points for Class 1-C and Class 1-D. They will be issued afterward once the case is resolved." Horikita Manabu had already reviewed the documents. "If this incident involves Class 1-A, Class 1-B, or even upper-year classes, deduct the Class Points the following month. At the same time, additionally deduct from that month's Private Points the amount of Private Points overissued this month."
"Understood." Having received his instructions, Shiraishi Makoto returned to the computer and submitted an application to the school.
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