That night I had a meeting with Satonaka who had just finished gathering information for a day. I offered to make dinner but she refused because she had promised to have dinner with her friends. That's why I just made tea for her.
"I've contacted all my acquaintances from other classes, as well as some senpais," Satonaka said while I put the cup on the table.
"So what did they say?" I asked.
"Some people admitted that they saw Nanahara-san running around the park, I also went to the electronics shop and café at the intersection. Unfortunately, they say they don't know anything, because their employees are mostly indoors, so they don't know what's going on on the street."
"So no one saw Nanahara return to the dormitory?"
"Unfortunately no..."
"It's okay, at least we have a little advantage..." As long as someone saw Nanahara in the park, we could argue that Nanahara never chased Tanaka to the construction site, in other words, she wasn't the culprit. Testimony from victims also seems to support us.
"What about you, what did you find at the construction site?" Now it was Satonaka's turn to ask me.
I told her everything I experienced this morning with Shiraishi and Hayashi. We met with Teiichi and Fujimori and from them, I learned that the victim's testimony did not match the conditions at the crime scene. Shiraishi had shown how a baseball hit from the field could not possibly reach a scaffold blocked by trees. However, based on Fujimori's statement, Tanaka testified that his head was hit by something. Is he lying? But the baseball was found by security officers. Because of this, class B can currently be said to be in a slightly disadvantageous position.
"So Shimada-kun is the one who did it? But wasn't it an accident?"
"It could be. There are still some contradictions so we can't be too sure..."
Apart from that, I also feel a little curious about Fujimori Akane. She was the female student Teiichi mentioned a while ago. If I'm not mistaken, Teiichi told me that when their homeroom teacher revealed the S-system, she was the one who asked about other ways to get points. It shows that she is intelligent. Her behavior also seems quite good and friendly.
But one thing that confused me was her attitude towards this case. Somehow she looks too relaxed. From the way she spoke, she didn't seem too bothered by all this, as if this wasn't the problem. I still don't know many people from class A, but by far she's the most likely to be a Whiteroomer. I'll have to discuss this with Kasai later.
"I didn't expect class B to be involved, I was really surprised when Masaki-kun contacted me and told me about the situation," Masaki was in charge of gathering information, just like Satonaka. At my suggestion, he contacted Satonaka and collaborated with her.
"But the real problem is with class A. You met them earlier, right? How do they respond to this case?" That question reminded me of lunch earlier. At that time I was talking about the same thing with Teiichi when we were both ordering food downstairs.
***
"We haven't even been here three months, but the problems seem to never end." At that time Teiichi complained when we had just finished ordering food. The two of us spent some time chatting for a while before returning to our table on the second-floor balcony. "First there was a suspicion of fraud, then a case of voyeurism in which you were a suspect, now there is a case of abuse involving three classes...I never thought all this would happen when I came here..."
"What's the matter? Do you regret joining the student council? Want to resign?" I teased him a little and Teiichi looked at me with a concerned look.
"You know I won't do that, this is my responsibility, there's no way I can just leave when things are difficult. Besides...I am also surprised by your presence."
"Wonder why?" I asked while leaning my body against the wall. At that time the first floor area was starting to get more crowded. I also saw our gym teacher sitting at a table near the window with a woman. It seems the café is also popular among the teaching staff and other employees.
"As I said earlier, I know you have reasons to defend that girl, but I'm still a little surprised why you even bothered getting involved. Especially after what happened to you not long ago?"
Same question all over again. "So you expect me to lay low?"
"Isn't that the most rational choice?"
"Indeed, but Satonaka won't be able to handle this alone. Apart from her, no one else is willing to help Nanahara." I gave the same answer I gave to Shiraishi a while later. "How about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"How does class A view this case?"
"Well... I have mixed feelings about this incident," Teiichi sighed. "I'm not very good at playing Sherlock Holmes, so I leave everything to Fujimori-san."
That explains why he let Fujimori explain everything. "So you won't be involved in the trial?"
"Actually, I still am, it's just that I won't be attending as a class A representative, but as a member of the student council." Oh? Does that mean Teiichi will be one of the judges? No, he's still a first year so maybe just as an assistant or something but still...
"Is that allowed? Your class is directly involved in this case, you know." Aren't all student council members expected to be impartial during the trial? But Satonaka didn't say anything to me.
"My job is only as moderator, the trial will be handled by Saionji-senpai,"
"Saionji-senpai?"
"You did not know? She is the vice president of the student council. She was present at your inquiry the other day..." Oh, I remember. She is the elegant silver-haired girl.
"Why not Dojima-senpai?"
"He was having some business outside of school, although we weren't told what is it."
Usually, students are not allowed to leave the whole school area. The only time you can leave school is on a field trip or if your club is taking part in a competition. However, as far as I remember, student council members were advised not to join other clubs—that was Dojima-senpai's own words—so I wonder what kind of business that made the student council president have to leave school? And why wasn't Teiichi, who is a member of the student council, informed? Oh, damn...my mind is starting to get distracted.
"Well, whatever... speaking of the trial, will Fujimori represent your class alone?"
"No, we haven't decided on another representative yet, but Seiji will most likely do it."
I remember that name. If I'm not mistaken, he's the famous half-foreigner from class A. I often hear girls talking about him, including my sister. I've never gotten to know him in person but maybe I've seen him once or twice in the cafeteria.
"Are you guys going to try to get all of them convicted?"
"Only if they are proven guilty. I'm sorry but we cannot allow students who use violence. Trying to persuade me is also useless..." he was right. It was useless to persuade him if he had no right to influence the decision during the trial.
"Maybe we should go back..."
"...Yeah, let's go back upstairs." I decided to talk about it later. Whatever Class A stands for will not change what we have to do. At least from what I saw they didn't insist on accusing either Nanahara or Shimada. Hopefully, that attitude will be maintained until the trial.
***
"So that's how it is," I ended my story to Satonaka who was listening carefully. "By the way, you weren't summoned to represent the student council?"
"Actually, I did get summoned. Saionji-senpai said this was a good experience for first-year students so she wanted me to keep the record during the trial, but I refused because I thought my class was more important."
This is somewhat surprising. Teiichi can still be understood, but Saionji-senpai doesn't seem to care that Satonaka is in the same class as the suspect. She may have another reason that I don't know about, and whatever it is I hope it won't get in our way.
"So what do you think we should do now?" Satonaka asked. "I'm afraid we'll have to point our finger at class B., I mean our class points are also at stake here, it's unlikely they'll just let Shimada-kun take the blame."
"You don't need to worry about that. It is not difficult to prove their innocence, what is difficult is what might happen afterward."
Satonaka seemed surprised to hear my words. "What do you mean?"
"Even though they can prove that Shimada is innocent, he can be punished for using the field without permission, in other words, their class points will be deducted no matter what. The same thing applies to us, you know, due to Nanahara's reputation."
"...I...understand what you mean."
Nanahara, who has violent tendencies, has beaten three girls. Even her classmates often gossiped behind her back. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that one of the causes of this case was due to Nanahara's fiery temper. What worries me is if the student council or class A brings up this fact and demands a guarantee that she won't do it again...
"Even if Nanahara can escape punishment," I added. "We still have problems with whether our classmates are willing to forgive her or not."
"...You're right, some of them might still be upset because she almost caused our class to lose points."
"That's why it's useless if we try to persuade them to accept Nanahara if the person concerned doesn't want to change. She could make the same mistake in the future, and then maybe we won't be able to help her anymore."
"But we can't just let that happen, right?"
That's the problem. I don't want anyone to be expelled but we also can't be too stubborn about it either. That's why I had to at least do something to make sure Nanahara didn't get out of control.
"For now let's just focus on the trial," I concluded.
Satonaka didn't look very satisfied with that answer, but in the end, she could only agree. "You might be right... I can't help but feel worried, but I'm still going to trust you on this."
Satonaka then looked at the clock on her cell phone. "It seems I have to go now. My friends are waiting."
"You guys want to hang out?"
"No, I'm attending my study group."
"Oh, okay," I forgot that the study group was still going. Of course, it would have felt strange if Satonaka went out having fun with her friends at a time like this. Satonaka stood up and I walked her to the door.
"See you later, Kurose-kun."
"See you then," Satonaka walked away and I closed the door. Today we have done everything we can do, now we just have to wait for the trial. Now maybe I can contact Kasai to give a little report and ask her to contact some witnesses.
I called Kasai that night and told her everything I wanted to say. Different from usual, this time she only responded with some vague answers and then hung up the phone. She was probably busy doing other pranks so I decided not to ask any further.
***
Monday arrived quickly. That day Nanahara came earlier than usual. She spent the morning sitting quietly in her chair without saying anything. Her mind may be clouded by what will happen to her during the trial. For someone who repeatedly stated that she didn't mind being expelled, this girl seemed very upset.
"You okay?" I asked.
"...I'm fine," the girl answered in a sour tone.
"Don't worry about the trial. You just need to stay silent and leave everything to me and Satonaka,"
Nanahara raised her face to look at me for a moment. She didn't seem at all persuaded by my efforts to cheer her up. However, she didn't seem to be in the mood for bantering so she fell back into silence.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in class was no less gloomy than Nanahara's mood. I saw some of our classmates stealing glances at Nanahara and some of the girls started whispering to each other. This atmosphere is still better than my expectations. Seeing their reactions the other day, I thought that some of them might come to Nanahara's desk to vent their frustration and force her to apologize. Apparently, no one dared to do that. Well, even if they dare, Satonaka and I won't let it happen, this isn't the right time to escalate the situation.
"Good morning, everyone," Shionome-sensei, came with her usual cheerful greeting. As if one of her students wouldn't be expelled any time soon. Is that a sign that she trusts us to get it done? Or maybe she just doesn't want to bother? "After class time, there will be a trial in the student council room, has this class decided on a representative who will accompany Nanahara-san?"
"We have, sensei," Satonaka answered. "The representatives are Kurose-kun and myself."
Several students glanced at me as if surprised to hear me representing Nanahara. What's wrong if I want to help a friend? Or maybe they just didn't expect that someone else would be willing to defend Nanahara besides Satonaka. Apart from my classmates, I felt Sensei's gaze was a little strange for some reason. She seemed amused when my name was mentioned. I was starting to wonder what sensei thought about all this.
"Okay, maybe I don't need to tell you anymore, but for the three of you please don't leave the classroom after class ends," Shionome-sensei gave instructions then continued with the homeroom session as usual. The class atmosphere improved during the lesson because all students tried hard to concentrate. None of them want to lose another points for slacking off during the lesson.
***
At lunch, Nanahara got up from her chair and went somewhere before Satonaka could stop her. Considering the atmosphere in class, it wasn't surprising that she needed some time alone, so I let her. Meanwhile, I ate with my friends as usual in the cafeteria.
As I expected, they talked a lot about Nanahara's trial after school. Just like the other classmates, Iwa was a little surprised to see me as the class C representative and he started accusing me by saying I did that because I was trying to impress Satonaka. I just teased him back by saying that I wasn't as desperate as he was.
The day went by very quickly for me and I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. When the class time was over and the Social studies teacher had left the room, I remained seated while Shinji said goodbye to me along with Iwa and Gilang. They will spend time in Gilang's room and I promise to catch up with them after the trial ends. Meanwhile, Satonaka walked over to us accompanied by the gazes of several of our classmates who were also heading home.
"How do you feel, Nanahara-san?" Satonaka asked.
"What? Why do you ask that?" Nanahara, who was in a bad mood, didn't seem to want to make small talk either.
"Uhm...I just wanted to check if you were okay..."
Seeing Nanaraha's unfriendly behavior, I was a little tempted to tease her a little, but I thought better of it. Even though my heart wants it, this is not the time to joke.
Not long after that Shionome-sensei entered the classroom. She immediately called us. "It is time. You three come with me."
I immediately got up from my chair followed by Nanahara whose attitude looked a little hesitant. Satonaka looked worried and tried to question her once again, but I stopped her by shaking my head slowly. The three of us walked in silence while following Shionome-sensei. I didn't expect that I would be back in the student council room so soon, I wonder what Saionji-senpai would think when she saw my face again.
"If you have questions, you should ask them now, while we haven't reached the room yet," for some reason, Sensei suddenly said that. Maybe she could sense Satonaka's unease and Nanahara's restlessness so perhaps she decided to give them a chance to vent their feelings? Our teacher wasn't usually that attentive, but maybe she decided to make this moment an exception.
"Um..." Satonaka seemed a little nervous while Nanahara remained silent. I didn't have anything to say so I just let Satonaka ask whatever she wanted to ask. "I just want to make sure, is there any possibility for expulsion?"
"Perhaps," Sensei answered plainly. "Everything depends on the final decision of our 'judge'."
I glanced at Nanahara when sensei said that but she didn't show any reaction. Satonaka continued asking. "Even as a member of the student council I still haven't gotten used to how much influence we have on this school. I know this question sounds strange coming from me, but is it okay to give this much authority to the student council?"
Satonaka asked what had been on my mind all this time. Unlike the student council in regular schools which are basically just a lapdog for the teachers, the student council in this school seems to come straight from an anime. This school seems really serious about building its own mini-society.
"I've already said that this school emphasizes freedom for its students. Therefore, as much as possible, we want students to learn to solve their problems by simulating similar systems that exist in the real world. Of course, there are restrictive rules so the school can intervene if the decision taken is a little over the top or even unreasonable. So you don't need to worry."
"...You're right, after all, Saionji-senpai is a fair person..." Satonaka muttered.
Glad to hear that even though I more or less already knew. If the student council holds too much authority then it could make class competition one-sided. Without realizing it, we arrived at the door to the student council room. This time the impression was a bit different, maybe because this time I didn't come as a suspect.
"Before we go in I have one last piece of advice," Sensei said to us before holding the doorknob, "Your main task is not to 'prove' but rather to 'convince'. If you can understand it then you can get through this without any regrets,"
Nanahara looked confused but Satonaka paused to reflect on Sensei's words. She responded to the suggestion with a hesitant tone. " I understand."
"That's good," Sensei smiled happily. What Sensei said just now reminded me of the conversation with Shiraishi two days ago. "Now...let's go in."
This case is actually not that complicated. I can already see the end and what I have to do to get there. Satonaka also seems to be preparing herself mentally, because the fate of her classmates is at stake. After our teacher took one last look at our faces one by one, she slowly opened the door.
***
We finally arrive at the trial part. The trial might last for two chapters or more but I hope I can finish this arc at the 40th chapter. I can't wait to write the third arc. I'm not very confident with this arc as a whole so if you guys have something to say, feel free to say it. I will try to improve my mistake as much as I can. See you next chapter.