As word spread, the student council quickly took notice of this serious incident.
Coincidentally, Ichinose Honami, who had just become a trainee member, also sent a relatively detailed on-site report to the student council president, Horikita Manabu.
After briefly reviewing Ichinose's report, Horikita immediately sensed something unusual.
Fighting right under the surveillance cameras? These first-years really have the nerve to cause such trouble.
Horikita picked up his phone and dialed Tachibana Akane's number.
The call was answered almost instantly.
The speed surprised even Horikita himself.
He glanced at the time—perhaps Tachibana was on her phone chatting with someone after dinner.
"Hello? Is this Manabu?" Tachibana's voice sounded somewhat incredulous. In three years, this might have been the first time Horikita had called her so late.
"It's me. My apologies for calling you at such a late hour, Tachibana."
On the other end of the line, Tachibana's face lit up with delight.
Her fingers unconsciously twirled around strands of her hair.
"Manabu, you're always so formal. What brings you to call me so late?" Tachibana felt a little shy—it was the first time she had addressed Horikita so familiarly.
"Well, if you're free right now, I was hoping you could accompany me to..."
"I'd love to!"
Horikita was taken aback.
A strange squeal came from Tachibana's end of the line.
"Are you alright, Tachibana?" Horikita asked with concern, worried that such a loud noise might mean she had hurt herself.
"I'm fine, I'm so sorry. I didn't even ask where you wanted me to accompany you, Manabu."
Several images flashed through Tachibana's mind—all of them blind spots in the school's surveillance.
Places where nothing could be captured on camera.
"Please come with me to that café called The Palette."
A café!!!
Does that mean... it's a date?
"Why are we going there?" Tachibana probed cautiously.
Horikita hesitated slightly.
After all, the fight hadn't been fully assessed yet, and he needed to see the situation for himself.
"It's official business," Horikita replied vaguely.
"I understand. I'll be there in about ten minutes."
Official business? What kind of official business could it be at this hour?
Oh, Manabu...he could have just said so directly instead of beating around the bush with such an unconvincing lie.
But when she arrived at the scene...
She was completely floored—no, she was completely stunned.
Dressed in a light, elegant white dress, she stared in disbelief at the young lady she had met briefly at the start of the school year, now chatting cheerfully with Ichinose beside her.
Horikita, in his neat uniform, was questioning Class C students.
Nearby, a girl was sobbing.
What in the world is going on?
Tachibana felt as if countless question marks were popping up above her head.
"Tachibana, why are you dressed like that?" Horikita also seemed surprised by her attire.
"Ah, my uniform was just washed and hasn't dried yet, so I had to come in this," Tachibana quickly made up an excuse.
She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of so many people.
"I see. But doesn't everyone have two sets of uniforms?"
Horikita's follow-up question caught Tachibana off guard.
Darn it. Why is Manabu hung up on something like that at a time like this?
"The other set was washed too."
"Well, that can't be helped. It's a shame—I was hoping you could check the surveillance footage in the monitoring room, but dressed like that, you won't be allowed in. We'll have to postpone reviewing the footage until tomorrow."
With that, Horikita gestured for both parties involved to gather around.
The bystanders had already been dispersed by Horikita.
Only those directly involved remained: Amane, Shiranami, Ichinose, and from Class C, Ibuki, Ishizaki, along with Ryūen, who had just arrived.
That traitor, Kiryūin, had slipped away unnoticed amid the crowd when bystanders were being cleared out—evading her promise to treat Amane to a drink.
As for Horikita Suzune, seeing Amane and Ichinose getting along so well, she went back to sharpen her knife.
Ahem.
She went back to sharpen a knife to prepare some fruit for Amane, like oranges, for instance.
Absolutely no other reason.
"I now have a clear understanding of the situation. This violent altercation began as a verbal dispute that escalated into physical conflict. Such behavior blatantly disregards school regulations and must be met with severe punishment to serve as a warning to all first-year students."
A classic case of making an example out of someone.
Everyone except Amane showed subtle changes in their expressions.
Horikita's stern expression, combined with his sharp features, undeniably exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"I object."
Ryūen raised his hand.
"What happened to the injury on your face?"
From the moment Horikita laid eyes on Ryūen, he knew this guy was the troublemaker type.
So before Ryūen could voice his objection, Horikita preemptively questioned him about his injury to prevent him from causing further trouble.
Sure enough, Ryūen frowned.
This student council president was more troublesome than he had anticipated.
"I fell and got hurt accidentally in the school building. No need for the busy student council president to concern himself with it."
Ryūen's gaze was firm.
Clearly, he had no intention of backing down.
Just then, Amane stepped forward.
"Oh? You can get injured like that in the school building? Was it an accident, or is there a safety hazard? Perhaps President Horikita could review the surveillance footage. If there really is a safety issue, it's better to identify and fix it so no one else gets hurt."
As soon as Amane finished speaking, Ryūen's face darkened.
A faint smile appeared on Horikita's face.
He was clearly pleased with Amane's suggestion.
"That's a reasonable point. Ryūen, where exactly did you fall? I can review the footage tomorrow to see if we need to put up a safety warning."
Horikita's gaze locked with Ryūen's.
After three or four seconds, Ryūen reluctantly gave in.
If it were discovered that he had been violent within his class, things would only get more complicated.
He knew which side his bread was buttered on.
"It's fine. I just wasn't careful while walking and took a fall." Seeing Ryūen back down, Horikita didn't press further.
He already had a good idea of what had really happened.
"Is that so? Then please be more careful. By the way, you said you had an objection? Let's hear it."
Horikita steered the conversation back to Ryūen's earlier point.
"I believe that since this is a fight, punishment shouldn't only apply to Class C. Miyako, who was also involved, should face consequences as well."
Ryūen shifted his target from Shiranami to Amane.
That little girl had a sharp tongue.
He intended to drag her down with him.
Expecting Amane to panic and rush to defend herself, Ryūen was taken aback when he saw her looking at him with an expression of pure innocence.
"What fight? I'm a good kid—I never get into fights."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.