A second hearing

"Why! Why wouldn't any of you speak up for me!"

Outside the Student Council activity room, Sudo Jian pounded the wall hard.

His behavior made the already timid Sakura quietly hide behind Ayanokoji.

"Heh, you still haven't figured out what the problem is." Chasuke laughed in exasperation.

"You bastard!" Sudo Jian grabbed Chasuke by the collar.

Clap, clap, clap.

The sudden applause drew the attention of everyone in the hallway.

"What a wonderful performance. That was quite an eye-opener."

Ryuen Kakeru walked up to the Class D group with three of his lackeys.

"Suzune, your performance was such a disappointment."

"Who gave you permission to use my first name?" Horikita Suzune retorted.

"Your name's Ayanokoji, right? Horikita's lackey?" Ryuen Kakeru turned to look at Ayanokoji.

"I'm just a nobody."

"You're the one behind all this!" Sudo Jian rolled up his sleeves, ready for a fight.

Ryuen Kakeru did not even glance at Sudo. The black boy behind him had already stepped forward, his even larger frame giving off an imposing presence.

"Sudo, go ahead and hit him if you want to get expelled." Horikita Suzune turned and walked away.

In the end, Sudo left too, following Horikita Suzune.

Naturally, the three people inside the room had heard everything that happened outside.

This hearing had shown Lezheng that Class D's problems were not limited to its students. Its homeroom teacher had serious problems too.

Class C's homeroom teacher had been speaking up for his own students all along. It would have been one thing if Chasuke simply refused to defend his own, but he had even helped the opposition attack his students. That was an eye-opener for Lezheng.

Whoosh.

The activity room door opened again, and Ryuen Kakeru walked in with his group.

"Student Council president, I'd like to report someone for faking a surveillance camera." Ryuen Kakeru stood before Horikita Manabu with both hands in his pockets.

"Explain what happened." Horikita Manabu's expression grew serious.

"Horikita Suzune and Ayanokoji from Class D, along with Ichinose from Class B, illegally installed a surveillance camera in the special teaching building to get Ishizaki and the other two to withdraw their complaint. I have a recording of their conversation here." Ryuen Kakeru twirled the voice recorder in his hand.

"Is that true?" Horikita Manabu asked Ishizaki.

"Yes, Mr. President." Ishizaki nodded.

"Lezheng, go notify everyone involved and bring them here."

Lezheng perked up immediately at that and jogged straight out the door. It took him about ten minutes to find everyone, and Class B's homeroom teacher was called over too.

"Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, Ichinose Honami, you two are suspected of installing a surveillance camera against the rules to deceive students." Horikita Manabu looked over the two of them in the crowd.

"President Horikita, our Ichinose is such a well-behaved girl. How could she possibly do something like that?" Hoshinomiya did not believe Ichinose would do such a thing.

"Those two invited us in Kushida's name, then threatened us and demanded we withdraw our complaint. If you don't believe me, you can go check whether the camera's still there!" Ishizaki argued loudly.

"I just checked that location. I didn't find a camera or any signs of installation," Lezheng answered truthfully.

"How is that possible? It was definitely there at the time!"

"Then play this." Ryuen Kakeru placed the voice recorder in front of Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu picked up the recorder and examined it, then handed it to Secretary Tachibana, signaling for her to plug it into the activity room's computer.

It began with the rustling of fabric. Secretary Tachibana fast-forwarded through that section until voices could be heard.

Ishizaki: "Why is it you two? Where's Kushida?"

Ayanokoji: "Kushida won't be coming. I asked her to send the email."

Ishizaki: "Are you kidding me? We're leaving!"

Ichinose: "If you're sure you want to leave, you'll have to face the consequences."

When the recording ended, the activity room was so quiet that heartbeats could be heard.

"The recording's over. Let's hear your excuses." Ryuen Kakeru was the first to speak.

"President Horikita, Ishizaki and the other two made it clear in the recording that their accusations against Sudo were false. Does that mean Sudo won't have to be punished?" Rather than defend himself, Ayanokoji shifted the subject to Sudo.

"We'll hold another hearing on Sudo's case tonight. We'll announce the result tomorrow." Horikita Manabu nodded.

"So you're admitting you installed a camera against the rules?" Ryuen Kakeru looked at Ayanokoji.

"We didn't install anything against the rules. I believe the recorder just confirmed that."

"It's true that I found no signs of installation, but that doesn't prove you never did it. After all, traces can be deliberately erased." Lezheng did not accept Ayanokoji's excuse.

"If you didn't do it, why hasn't Ichinose said a word?" Ryuen Kakeru turned the discussion toward Ichinose.

Ichinose was sitting quietly on a stool, her hands braced against her thighs and her head slightly lowered, her hair hiding her face. She had remained in that position ever since the recording played. She seemed afraid.

Even when Kanzaki tugged at her sleeve beside her, she did not react.

"People's thoughts change over time. Just because someone says they're going to do something doesn't necessarily mean they'll go through with it. The recording can't serve as decisive evidence. It only establishes that we're suspects."

Ayanokoji had naturally noticed something was wrong with Ichinose too.

"There's another simple way. We can just search your dorm rooms and check your Private Points purchase histories."

"I recall the law says you can't conduct compulsory body searches during questioning." Ayanokoji continued to press his case.

"Can you simply show us your purchase histories?" Horikita Manabu put down the pen he had been using to record their statements.

Ayanokoji hesitated, but still opened his phone and showed his purchase history. His spending consisted entirely of daily necessities.

Ichinose remained silent. Only after Kanzaki's efforts did she slowly open her phone, while Class B's homeroom teacher kept her gaze fixed on Ayanokoji.

Unfortunately, both of their purchase histories were normal.

The final decision fell to the three Student Council members. After a brief discussion, they tentatively decided to announce the result tomorrow.

"Classes B, C, and D all received different punishments. Who'll be the ultimate winner? What do you say, Lezheng Youyan?" Ryuen Kakeru stood up to leave.

"You flatter me, Ryuen Kakeru the 'Tyrant.'" Lezheng did not panic at being singled out so suddenly.

Soon, only three people remained in the activity room.

"So you were pulling the strings behind this?" Horikita Manabu tidied the desk.

"I only reminded Ryuen Kakeru to watch out for Class D. Dragging Class B into it was his doing." Lezheng shook his head, then nodded.

"We'll announce the hearing's results tomorrow. Go back and rest for today."

On the way back to the dorms, Ryuen Kakeru had deliberately sat down on a bench to wait.

"Your Class A scored a complete victory this time."

"Too bad I didn't do all this myself. Otherwise, I'd feel thoroughly accomplished. Besides, we still haven't found the key evidence, have we?" Lezheng sat down beside Ryuuen.

"Heh, looks like Ayanokoji and Ichinose have some brains after all."

After saying goodbye to Ryuen Kakeru, Lezheng returned to his dorm room, showered, dried his hair, and lay on his bed, digesting the information he had gained that day.

Looks like Class B's homeroom teacher isn't normal either. Her class's 'little angel' was in that state, yet she only spoke up for Ichinose once at the start. After that, her attention was entirely on Class D.