"Speaking of contagion and all that..." Compared to everyone else, who had been frightened into stunned confusion, Sogo Doma—the ever-calm, drama-loving spectator—remained as composed as ever. "Actually, I more or less agree with Yukinoshita. Ms. Takahashi is being a little alarmist."
One of the principles of shifting blame was to make a big deal small, then make the small deal disappear...
If things were really as serious as Ms. Takahashi said, then even if it had nothing to do with him, he would still have to shoulder part of the blame. But he trusted Katsura Kotaro. No matter how airheaded that guy was, he could not possibly lead a little girl astray, right?
Unfortunately, the moment he said that, Hayato, Yukinoshita, Kasumigaoka, and the others who knew him well all fell silent. Then, suspicion surfaced in their eyes again. It could not be helped—Sogo Doma himself was a source of contamination. Not to mention that, aside from Hayato, Yukinoshita, Kasumigaoka, and even Shizuka Hiratsuka had only recently gone through the Oolong Tea Research Club fiasco.
Compared to the mess involving the Oolong Tea Research Club, Rumi Tsurumi's situation did not seem like such a big deal anymore.
"Hey..." Unfortunately, Ms. Takahashi knew none of this, so she could only emphasize once more, "Have you forgotten...?"
"Stop. I know what you want to say, but while Zaimokuza is indeed a high school student, he has eighth-grader syndrome!"
"Huh?" Ms. Takahashi froze. "What do you mean?"
"So..." Rather than answering directly, Sogo Doma asked, "Do you understand what eighth-grader syndrome is?"
Hearing that, Yui Yuigahama subconsciously said, "I remember you said eighth-grader syndrome was when someone imagines themselves as—"
"Oh?" Before she could finish, Sogo Doma gave her a teasing smile. "I didn't expect you to remember that, Yuigahama dumpling."
"I..."
"Because