Victory (Requesting All)

Watanabe Hayabara held it out to Horikita Suzune, his expression turning serious. "Don't lose it, Horikita. I don't have a backup. This is the only evidence." He put particular emphasis on "only," his tone carrying a hint of caution.

"Okay." Horikita Suzune hurriedly reached out and took the USB drive, gripping it tightly in her palm. "Um..." She parted her lips, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. Her mouth moved as though something were caught in her throat, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"What is it you want to ask, Horikita?" Watanabe Hayabara looked at her hesitant expression and smiled warmly.

"Nothing." Horikita Suzune shook her head, swallowing the words that had almost left her mouth. She carefully slipped the USB drive into her uniform pocket, rested her fingers against it, and pressed her lips together.

"All right." Watanabe Hayabara didn't press her. He simply smiled and shrugged, bringing their brief conversation to an end.

Friday arrived as scheduled. The same people were gathered in the Student Council Office.

"For this ruling, Class D is to provide additional evidence." Watanabe Hayabara stood at the lectern before the long table, his gaze calm as he looked toward Class D. His clear voice carried to every corner of the office.

Horikita Suzune immediately stood, her back straight. "After a thorough investigation, we can confirm that this incident was orchestrated entirely by Class C." As she spoke, she handed the USB drive to Watanabe Hayabara.

Watanabe Hayabara took the USB drive, deftly connected it to the projector, and pressed play.

Several voices immediately came through the recording. There was some static, but they were still perfectly clear:

"Boss, there's definitely no problem this time. That kid Miyake has fallen for it. I bet he hasn't even figured it out in his dreams."

"Don't blame me for being rough. Just bear with it."

"How could we, Boss?"

After hearing the recording, the reactions from Class C and Class D were worlds apart. The three students from Class C instantly grew solemn. They had clearly recognized Ryuen Kakeru's voice in the recording, but they looked utterly confused, evidently knowing nothing about the conversation.

Kazuma Sakagami merely furrowed his brow and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertips. Otherwise, he showed little reaction, as though he had expected this all along.

Chabashira Sae glanced toward Class C without showing her emotions. A faint smile tugged at her lips, and her expression was one of confidence, her eyes full of certainty.

Horikita Suzune confidently raised her hand and stood again, looking sure of herself. "The voice in the recording belongs to your classmate, Ryuen Kakeru. Do you have anything left to say?" Her sharp gaze fixed on Class C, her tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

The three students from Class C looked flustered. Their eyes darted about, and they didn't know what to do. Everyone could see their panic.

Just then, Kazuma Sakagami let out a sudden chuckle, breaking the tense atmosphere. "This recording is fake. You fabricated it." His tone was scornful, and he clearly didn't accept it as evidence.

"President, there's a way to determine whether the recording is genuine, right?" Watanabe Hayabara smiled at Horikita Manabu, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Looking at Watanabe Hayabara's smiling face, Horikita Manabu immediately understood a great deal. He pushed up his glasses, then turned to Class C's homeroom teacher and said steadily, "We can verify whether the recording is genuine. We just need to decode it, convert and tune the source, then encode it again. That will tell us whether it's authentic."

Watanabe Hayabara immediately gestured for him to proceed, clearing a space in the middle of the long table for Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu went to the center seat and began operating the computer connected to the projector in full view of everyone. Lines of complex code scrolled across the screen as his fingers flew over the keyboard, producing a crisp series of clicks. The entire office fell silent, everyone's attention fixed on the screen.

A few minutes later, Horikita Manabu stopped typing. "There's nothing wrong with this recording." His sharp gaze turned toward Class C, carrying unquestionable authority.

The students from Class C grew visibly more restless and flustered, fidgeting in their seats with their fists clenched tight. Watching their reaction, Kazuma Sakagami let out a helpless sigh. His voice carried a hint of fatigue. "We admit it." He slowly lowered his head and said no more.

"Then I hereby announce that Class D's appeal has succeeded." Horikita Manabu cleared his throat and delivered the ruling solemnly. "Class C deliberately inflicted serious injuries on its own students in order to frame students from Class D. Given the severity of the offense, the three students responsible will each lose 50,000 personal points and be suspended for two weeks. Class C will lose 100 Class Points. If any of the three students are involved in another serious incident within the next two months, they will be expelled."

The students from Class C lowered their heads one by one, their shoulders slumped and their faces full of dejection. Kazuma Sakagami's expression, however, revealed little. At the moment the ruling was announced, he seemed to have set down a tremendous burden, and his whole body relaxed. There was even a hint of relief in his eyes.

Chabashira Sae breathed out softly and looked at Watanabe Hayabara with approval and a smile.

"So Miyake really was innocent."

"We all blamed you unfairly."

When the ruling reached the classroom, it immediately erupted into noise. The students who had previously ostracized Akito Miyake now gathered around him, apologizing with guilty expressions and eagerly trying to mend their relationship. Akito Miyake merely replied coolly, "It's fine," his eyes showing no hint of emotion. He knew these people were nothing but fair-weather opportunists. They weren't worthy of being his friends, and there was no need to get entangled with them.

"This time, we have Watanabe to thank. If he hadn't produced that recording that broke through Class C's students' last line of defense, Miyake would still be wrongly accused." Kushida Kikyo's voice rang out among the crowd. She deliberately directed the credit toward Watanabe Hayabara, smiling sincerely.

Kushida Kikyo had always been highly trusted and respected as a leader in the class, so everyone had faith in her words. Before long, all the students were looking at Watanabe Hayabara with admiration, their eyes full of gratitude and respect. Watanabe Hayabara simply smiled and nodded in response, accepting their praise with composure.

After the crowd gathered around Akito Miyake to apologize had gradually dispersed, Akito Miyake turned around and fixed his gaze on Watanabe Hayabara in the distance, his expression complicated. Watanabe Hayabara felt his stare and gave him a teasing smile, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "You're welcome."

After school, just as expected, Akito Miyake found Watanabe Hayabara as he was about to leave. He hurried over and blocked Watanabe Hayabara's path.