Identity Exposed

As Sudo Ken flew into a rage, the other Class D students who had originally been watching for entertainment wiped the smiles from their faces.

Sudo Ken strode aggressively over to Kouenji Rokusuke's side without saying a word, every muscle in his body tense as if he might strike at any moment.

"That's enough. Please, everyone, calm down." Hirata Yosuke stepped in at that moment.

"Sudo is still under observation during his suspension period. If he causes another violent incident, there'll be no room for leniency." Hirata Yosuke grabbed Sudo Ken's hand, but even that could not stop him. He could only try to persuade him again.

Hearing that, Sudo Ken finally regained some clarity.

"...Tch."

Sudo Ken glared at Kouenji Rokusuke, then turned and left the classroom. Before leaving, he slammed the classroom door shut with all his strength, accompanied by a furious shout.

"Kouenji, I'm not asking you to help, but it was wrong of you to scold him like that." Hirata Yosuke looked at Kouenji Rokusuke, his eyes full of helplessness.

"Regrettably, I have done nothing wrong. Not once from the day I was born until now." Kouenji Rokusuke lightly shook his head, then glanced at his wristwatch. "Ah, it's nearly time for my date. I'll be taking my leave."

No one had expected the class discussion to turn out like this. Class D's enthusiasm plummeted to rock bottom, and the students who had little to do with Sudo Ken gave up on helping him.

Perhaps Class D would be better off if that guy got expelled. Most of the students thought so.

Seeing Class D's investigation grind to a halt, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could not help pointing out a crucial factor: the school's surveillance cameras.

That was right. Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, and the others had not even realized there were two miniature cameras in the classroom. They had never considered how the school recorded their violations in the first place.

However, even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could not piece together any useful clues from the information at hand. Sudo Ken himself did not know that Ryuen Kakeru had privately beaten up Ishizaki and the other two again to make their injuries more severe, thereby increasing the school's punishment.

They went to the scene of the incident and, after a thorough search, confirmed that there were no cameras where Sudo Ken had hit them.

"That doesn't surprise me. If there were cameras here, the school itself could determine who was responsible. There would be no need for Sudo to prove anything himself." Having heard about the surveillance cameras, Horikita Suzune had come along to investigate as well. However, she had already figured out the key issue on the way there, so she was not surprised to find no clues here.

As long as the three Class C participants stuck to their statements and maintained the same story, Sudo Ken, who had indeed injured someone, would be at an absolute disadvantage in this case.

Time quickly reached the following Monday, with only one day left before the two sides faced off.

However, something else had happened over the past week—Sakura Airi's identity as "Shizuku" had been exposed.

The first to discover Sakura Airi were Third Year students, since they had more comprehensive information. A senior from Third-Year Class C who claimed to be a devoted fan of "Shizuku" approached Sakura Airi.

The incident took place in the student cafeteria. Fortunately, Shinohara Satsuki, Matsushita Chiaki, and the other new friends she had made happened to be with her, and they immediately stepped up to help ease the pressure on her.

Still, they were shocked that Sakura, usually so quiet and introverted, was actually the hugely popular online idol "Shizuku."

This senior was a fairly sensible fan who had only come to politely ask for a photo and autograph, but the cafeteria was crowded and the commotion was not small. The news quickly spread throughout the school.

Most Class D students had not initially realized that Sakura Airi was their classmate. It was only when they deliberately looked for her after arriving in the classroom the next day that they discovered they had such a classmate.

At the back of the classroom, Ike Kanji suddenly remembered something.

"Huh? Yamauchi, didn't you say Sakura confessed to you?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned around as well, because he remembered hearing that too.

"Huh? Did I say that? Did I or didn't I?" Yamauchi Haruki grew flustered and quickly began playing dumb.

"I knew you were lying. She's a famous online idol! How could she possibly like a guy like you?"

"I wasn't lying, I just got it wrong. The one who confessed to me wasn't Sakura, but a girl from the next class. She was a gloomy, ugly girl, so I didn't remember much. Oh, I got a message on my phone." Yamauchi Haruki casually made up a lie, then took out his phone and pretended to operate it.

"Still, I really couldn't tell. Sakura usually dresses like that, yet she's such a beauty as 'Shizuku.'" Ike Kanji also pulled out his phone and browsed the photo shoots "Shizuku" had posted online.

The night before, they had even questioned in their private group chat whether the photos had been heavily edited. Today, though, they confirmed that Sakura Airi had naturally good looks; she had simply been hiding them beneath an inconspicuous appearance.

"Should we go ask for an autograph?" Ayanokouji thought about it and spoke.

When you encountered an online celebrity like this, asking for an autograph was probably what normal people would do, right?

"Uh..." Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki looked at Sakura Airi, who was surrounded by girls, and lacked the courage.

Meanwhile, Shinohara Satsuki, Kushida Kikyo, and the others gathered around Sakura Airi, helping her out of the situation. The former did so as a friend, while the latter had responsibilities of her own.

Fortunately, through spending the past few weeks talking and interacting with Shiraishi Makoto, Shinohara Satsuki, and the others, Sakura Airi's social difficulties had eased somewhat. Though there were still times when she could not answer, she no longer became so shy that she ran away.

Under that protection, the attention surrounding Sakura Airi faded considerably after only a few days. After all, most people were simply watching for entertainment, and there were not many obsessive idol fans at this school. Still, thanks to her excellent photography skills, Sakura Airi gradually became popular in Class D and made several friends she could talk to.

Everyone's attention remained focused mainly on Tuesday's dispute hearing.

At 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, several Class D students headed to the faculty office.

After watching Chabashira Sae lead Sudo Ken and the others out of the office, Hoshinomiya Chie curled her lips into a sly smile. She could see that no one from Class D had any smile on their face. It seemed they still had not found evidence that could decide the outcome.

On the other hand... Thinking of that, Hoshinomiya Chie's mood improved greatly. If the rules had not prohibited uninvolved classes from attending the meeting, she would have wanted to join in and watch the fun.

"How many bottles of beer should I drink today?" Hoshinomiya Chie hummed as she packed up her things.

Meanwhile, Class D arrived at the Student Council office.

The three Class C students involved had already arrived. Besides them, Class C's homeroom teacher Sakagami Kazuma and Ryuen Kakeru were seated nearby.

There were also three people seated in the Student Council's section.