Slightly Altered Events

After submitting the Student Council's handling application, Shiraishi Makoto sat before his computer and pondered for a moment before taking out his phone to message Sakura Airi.

"Sakura, have you gone out to take photos recently?"

"I haven't taken any recently. The last time was last Sunday." Sakura Airi replied quickly.

Seeing that date, Shiraishi Makoto was relieved. He had accompanied Sakura Airi on that photo shoot last Sunday, so she was not a witness to this incident.

What Shiraishi Makoto did not know was that, ever since she had gotten close to him, Sakura Airi had stopped going out to take pictures by herself.

Sakura Airi's thoughts were simple. If I can go take photos alone, then if Shiraishi finds out, will he stop accompanying me?

Though Shiraishi Makoto knew nothing of her little concern, he did not want Sakura Airi to be a witness to this incident. Even if she were a witness, it would only push her into the spotlight and bring her no benefit.

Shiraishi Makoto put away his phone and found Horikita Manabu.

"President, may I take part in judging this dispute?"

"This is a case involving first-years. I had intended to bring you in anyway." Horikita Manabu looked up, seeing through Shiraishi Makoto's intentions. "You want to apply to the school for special authority?"

"That's right. I want to apply for permission to review the surveillance footage first." Shiraishi Makoto nodded without trying to hide it.

When a student submitted an application, the Student Council needed to verify the circumstances of the case. For instance, details such as the time and location stated in an appeal. At such times, Student Council members could apply for special authority, such as summoning witnesses or retrieving surveillance footage from across the school.

That was why upperclassmen all wanted to join the Student Council. The Student Council held enormous authority at this school. If a class encountered a conflict, the side with a Student Council member could gain a considerable advantage.

"I'll submit the application for you. Do you have any thoughts on this case?" Horikita Manabu gave a slight nod, his fingers tapping across the keyboard as he asked for Shiraishi Makoto's opinion.

"I believe Class C set a trap and deliberately lured the Class D student in, but they chose their target well." Shiraishi Makoto considered his phrasing before speaking. "Even Class D's own classmates wouldn't find it surprising if they heard that Sudo had hit someone, would they?"

"The application has been approved. Go directly to the surveillance room and find the teacher in charge." Horikita Manabu stopped typing. "No matter what, a class ought to believe in its own students."

"I'll investigate first. For Class D, this incident is a good test." Though Shiraishi Makoto did not mention anyone by name, Horikita Manabu knew he was referring to Horikita Suzune.

Class D had only spent hundreds of thousands of Private Points last month to keep Sudo Ken in school. It would be far too regrettable if he were forced out before he could prove his worth.

"I'll look forward to their performance." Horikita Manabu gave a casual wave, signaling that he could leave.

Shiraishi Makoto left the Student Council office and headed to the surveillance room.

According to the testimony submitted by Class C, they had entered the Special Building with Sudo Ken after school on the afternoon of June 27. Therefore, Shiraishi Makoto retrieved the footage from that time period.

However, the Special Building had many surveillance blind spots. There were not even cameras in the corridors, and Ryuen Kakeru was not stupid. He had scoped the place out in advance, and there were no cameras covering the location where the incident had occurred.

Still, cameras had been installed at the main entrance and in several classrooms containing expensive equipment or chemicals. After searching for a while, Shiraishi Makoto found a camera at the entrance with a suitable angle and a clear view.

The camera had captured all four of them entering the Special Building one after another. After some time, Sudo Ken emerged first. A while later, the three Class C students came out of the Special Building with injuries.

Shiraishi Makoto carefully examined the extent of their injuries at that point and confirmed that Ryuen Kakeru had indeed struck them himself.

Shiraishi Makoto continued dragging the timeline, switching cameras as he followed the three of them, until the footage led all the way to a private room at the Keyaki Mall KTV.

There were no cameras inside the KTV's private rooms, but there were cameras in the corridor. So Shiraishi Makoto continued moving the footage forward and waited for them to come out.

Before long, the three emerged from the room. The camera clearly showed that their injuries had become more severe; they were even limping as they walked.

If he waited longer, he could also capture footage of Ryuen Kakeru leaving the KTV, but Shiraishi Makoto felt the evidence he had was already sufficient.

Shiraishi Makoto did not choose to extract the video footage. After all, these materials were to be submitted to the Student Council, and he only needed to submit an "Incident Verification Report."

Shiraishi Makoto returned to the Student Council office. After archiving the materials he had gathered, he had a few questions for Horikita Manabu.

"President, has the school always tested its students like this?" Shiraishi Makoto asked curiously.

Ryuen Kakeru had covered his tracks fairly well in this matter, but that only meant students from other classes could not find any clues. The school could clearly resolve the issue with ease, yet it merely watched coldly from the sidelines and could even tolerate wrongful convictions.

"Even the police encounter cases they cannot solve, so everyone should protect themselves better." Horikita Manabu nodded lightly. "You should understand this well. It is part of the class competition. If you cannot handle attacks from other classes, then you have no one to blame if you are expelled."

It felt somewhat strange to hear such words, so steeped in the ideology of supremacy of ability, coming from Horikita Manabu.

After all, his Class 3-A was actually a class with relatively weak overall ability. It had maintained its position in Class A entirely through his full protection.

Shiraishi Makoto suppressed his thoughts and asked his second question. "Then, my second question: I discovered some issues while reviewing the clues. Can I conduct a private transaction?"

"You cannot." Horikita Manabu shook his head. Shiraishi Makoto had used Student Council authority; doing so would be using public authority for private gain.

"I understand. Then how many Private Points would I need to spend to buy it?" Since he could not get it for free, Shiraishi Makoto chose to use the power of money.

"I honestly don't know how much it would cost, but you can apply directly to your homeroom teacher to purchase it." Horikita Manabu said.

In many situations, the homeroom teachers at this school were practically equivalent to the school administration. Particularly when it came to purchasing rules or scores, homeroom teachers even had a certain degree of influence.

Shiraishi Makoto contacted his homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie. In the end, he spent 50,000 Private Points to purchase extracted files of two video clips from the school.

"Then I'll be going, President." With everything he needed to do finished, Shiraishi Makoto bid Horikita Manabu farewell and left the Student Council office.

Holding the materials in his hand, Shiraishi Makoto's thoughts churned.

These materials carried considerable weight. If he wished, Ryuen Kakeru could be expelled right now.

However, doing so would bring no benefit to Shiraishi Makoto or Class A. After all, Class C had targeted Class D, which had little to do with Class A.

Moreover, Shiraishi Makoto still needed Ryuen Kakeru to continue driving the plot during the upcoming Uninhabited Island Exam, so he had no intention of having Ryuen Kakeru expelled at this point.

"But I can use this chance to threaten him."