As they spoke, Ryuen's expression rapidly darkened as he leaned back in his chair.
His tightly furrowed brow radiated waves of irritation, spreading a fierce, oppressive air around him.
Ichinose Honami, meanwhile, clearly had no intention of continuing to argue with Komiya Togo.
At this point, presenting evidence and letting the facts speak was the best approach.
Ichinose quickly took out her Terminal Device and handed it to Horikita Manabu. Displayed on it was the rooftop photograph Airi Sakura had taken.
Ichinose Honami nodded at Airi Sakura with a friendly smile.
"Sakura, sorry for the trouble, but we'll need you to testify for us next."
"Yes, no problem."
Airi Sakura nodded softly in agreement.
Beside her, Chihaya Rei also encouraged her to simply explain what had happened truthfully. With the photograph right there, no amount of nonsense from Ryuen and his group would help.
By then, Horikita Manabu had already examined the photograph and found no signs of tampering.
He also had Akane Tachibana use the conference room's computer to project it onto the large screen, allowing everyone present to see it directly.
The photograph appeared.
The onlookers' doubtful gazes gave way to smiles, but Ryuen and the other three could no longer smile.
The photograph clearly showed Shibata So against the wall, surrounded by three students from Class C.
Although it did not fully capture everyone's expressions,
no matter how anyone looked at it, Shibata So was clearly at a disadvantage.
Otherwise, what good intentions could three people possibly have in surrounding one person for no reason?
Under those circumstances, even if Shibata had pushed Komiya away first, his actions were understandable.
Even if they had come to blows, it could still be considered self-defense.
With the photograph looming on the large screen, Ryuen Kakeru swept an icy gaze