Only the person who wronged you knew just how wronged you had been.
Arisu smiled in a way that was quite intriguing, with innocence touched by a hint of slyness. "Sorry, Satsu. I still can't tolerate you casually making people drop out."
"Heh, so you're saying you're my accomplice?" (Kato Satsu)
"Then Sae will give you some sort of letter of forgiveness. You'll be in the clear, and I'll be expelled! What a brilliant plan!" (Kato Satsu)
Satsu was so angry he actually laughed. These days, without a little acting talent, you couldn't get by at this school!
After a long silence, Horikita Manabu finally spoke. "Then, Sakayanagi, what was your reason for agreeing to help Kato?"
"Sae and you shouldn't have anything to do with each other."
Faced with the question, Arisu deliberately put on a coy expression. In the uniquely shy tone of a young girl, she spoke slowly.
"Because... I like Kato. When I look into his eyes, I just can't refuse his request."
"Liar!"
Miyabi Nagumo exposed her without mercy. "Your tone is full of insincere playacting, Sakayanagi~"
"Besides, I can tell you're definitely not the type to lose your head over a man."
At that, Arisu immediately dropped her bashful expression, a confident smile returning to her face.
"Vice President Nagumo, how can you claim to understand matters of the heart? What, do you have some kind of mind-reading ability?"
"He's right! The only thing in your heart right now is the joy of seeing your plan succeed." (Kato Satsu)
"Arisu said that purely to excuse herself. After all, that reason needs no evidence, and it's simple and effective." (Kato Satsu)
Horikita Manabu's gaze darted back and forth between Satsu and Arisu, trying to find clues in their expressions.
A person's expression was often the fastest way to convey information to the outside world. Whether they were happy, sad, or angry, you could tell just by looking at their face.
"Resentment and delight? It seems this matter is more complicated than it appears." (Horikita Manabu)
"Nagumo's judgment is correct. Sakayanagi was indeed lying just now." (Horikita Manabu)
"Please see reason, President! This has been a despicable frame-up from beginning to end!" (Kato Satsu)
Noticing Horikita Manabu's thoughts, Satsu was overjoyed. Since the adjudicator hadn't reached a verdict yet, there was still room to turn things around.
"Kato Satsu, I assume you wouldn't mind if the Student Council searched your room?" Horikita Manabu said coldly.
"Of course not, President."
Satsu didn't refuse Horikita Manabu's suggestion—or rather, he couldn't refuse.
If he refused now, wouldn't that make him look guilty? Better to cooperate openly. He'd already dealt with that stuffed toy anyway.
"There is a black rabbit plushie in my room, but it doesn't have any eyes, let alone a miniature camera."
Watching Satsu, Arisu keenly sensed something was off. He wasn't panicking like someone making a desperate last stand; instead, he seemed unusually focused and composed.
Realizing this wasn't over yet, Arisu couldn't help but wonder to herself.
"Did he remove the camera I planted? That shouldn't be possible!"
"An ordinary boy, especially someone popular with girls like Satsu, wouldn't suspect anything was wrong with a gift from a girl."
"And even if he did have his suspicions, I'm quite confident in how well-hidden that miniature camera is."
Listening to these thoughts, Satsu hesitated. He wondered whether to turn the tables on Arisu and reveal that she had given him the rabbit.
But the problem was that Satsu had no conclusive evidence.
Although the restaurant's surveillance footage clearly showed what had happened, if Arisu insisted that Satsu had asked her to buy it, he'd be unable to defend himself.
After all, according to Arisu, she'd been temporarily swept up in her feelings and become Satsu's accomplice. Helping him buy those things wouldn't seem strange.
"It looks like getting rid of Arisu as a problem right now isn't realistic." (Kato Satsu)
"Damn it! The logic is almost airtight. If I hadn't had mind-reading and found out about the miniature camera in advance, I might've been done for today." (Kato Satsu)
The Student Council worked even faster than Satsu had expected. Before long, Tachibana Akane returned with her report.
"President, just as Kato said, the rabbit plushie has no eyes."
At that, Arisu's pupils contracted. She looked at Satsu, stunned yet with a hint of delight.
"No wonder Father was in such a hurry to make you drop out. You're not simple." (Sakayanagi Arisu)
"Chairman wants me to drop out! What's going on? I've never even met him. Is it because I injured that sleazy shop clerk, or something?" (Kato Satsu)
After learning this shocking news, Satsu could no longer focus on the disciplinary hearing. Judging by the situation so far, he wouldn't be in trouble anyway.
He devoted himself entirely to puzzling it out. Why did the Chairman want him to drop out?
"This is tricky, isn't it, senpai?" Miyabi Nagumo suddenly said in a mocking tone.
"Since there isn't enough evidence, the claim that Kato Satsu set a trap can't be upheld."
"And the accusation that Yamamoto Sae tried to take advantage of him is also dismissed, since it contradicts the facts."
Nagumo watched Horikita Manabu with interest, curious how he would handle the situation. But Chabashira answered before he could.
"But it's true that Sae falsely accused Satsu because she wanted him to drop out, isn't it?"
"You mean Sae acted because she wanted Kato to drop out, so she should be punished for it, is that right?"
The homeroom teacher of Class 2-C picked up the argument. When Chabashira nodded firmly, she immediately went on the attack.
"How curious. Isn't it also true that Kato Satsu and Kuraku agreed to make Sae drop out? I believe you were there at the time too, so how should we judge his actions?"
"Furthermore, there really was a black rabbit plushie in Kato Satsu's room. That proves Classmate Sakayanagi wasn't lying about everything."
"I could easily argue that my student resorted to this as an act of self-defense."
Chabashira wasn't intimidated by the other teacher's forceful attitude. She calmly spoke up for Satsu, and the scene suddenly turned into a battle between their representatives.
"Satsu did make that agreement, but at least in this incident, he took no action."
"The harm hasn't even happened yet. How can you call it self-defense?"
"If I slapped you now and said you might hit me in the future, would you accept that I was acting in self-defense?"
At those words, the Class 2-C homeroom teacher shot to her feet. "That's nothing but sophistry!"
"Enough!"
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, Sae suddenly shouted.
Everyone looked at her. She seemed lost and bewildered as she said,
"I... withdraw my complaint."
Before you continue