During the examination month for behavioral conduct, students' performance and character would be given even more emphasis.
According to Chabashira's notification.
One week later, the Student Council would hold a hearing on Class C's request. If the hearing resulted in a loss, Class evaluation points would be deducted based on the outcome, and Sudo's punishment would be directly issued.
It could be a suspension.
But the Class evaluation points would still be deducted.
Moreover, fighting, especially one person against three, was a serious incident, so the probability of punishment was very high.
"So, is there any other way?"
After the first period ended, a student came to Hachiman's desk.
This was the Class's Yo-suke Mama. Corresponding to Yo-suke Mama was Kushida, who was called Kushida Little Angel because of her cute appearance, sweet smile, and angelic demeanor.
Both of them came over.
Hmm...
Actually, it wasn't just them; Horikita Suzune also looked directly over from her adjacent seat.
After all, if Sudo's assault was confirmed, Sudo himself would be punished, and the Class would also be implicated, especially since everyone had now signed an agreement to get 400 points and so on.
Of course.
Yo-suke Mama was probably worried about Sudo, while others were worried about the Class evaluation points.
After all, everyone had restrained themselves so much, and if Sudo caused a large point deduction, most people would probably break down.
However.
Hachiman glanced in Sudo's direction.
Class was over, and Sudo, as the central figure of the incident, seemed to have run off, perhaps feeling constantly questioned by his classmates.
So Hachiman withdrew his gaze.
"Regarding this matter, I don't think there's any other solution besides accepting the hearing," Hachiman said. "So, we should try our best to find information beneficial to Sudo."
"For example, I believe Sudo is innocent."
"So, the Class C claim that Sudo hit all three of them, I think there might be some problem with that," Hachiman said.
"But Sudo is usually so irritable," a student came over to interject. "I was startled by him before."
"So, about this assault, I think it might be true," the student said.
Hachiman looked at this student.
This was Yamauchi Haruki.
It made one instantly feel somewhat speechless.
Because after enrollment, although Sudo seemed irritable, and even his self-introduction? Was it a childish trick? But he quickly integrated into a small group.
However, it was with Ike and Yamauchi, a small group that wasn't popular and was even somewhat disliked by girls.
And Yamauchi was one of them, yet he wasn't speaking up for Sudo now?
"Let's still trust our classmates," Hachiman said. "I believe Sudo didn't hit them for no reason, but rather, it was self-defense, as he said."
"Hikigaya-kun! I also believe in Sudo!" This statement made Yo-suke Mama feel good.
He was probably the person who valued his classmates the most.
That's why he came to Hikigaya's side after Class.
On one hand, if a decision was made at the hearing, Sudo would cause the Class to lose points.
No one wanted to see that.
And Hachiman also had the goal of being promoted to Class A, so Class evaluation points were naturally extremely precious.
So, Hachiman's and Hirata's ideas were consistent.
To try their best to exonerate Sudo, provide help, and reduce or even avoid point deductions.
However.
Hirata is standing on the side of trusting his classmates, but does Hikigaya trust Sudo?
This made Hirata's mother feel very relieved.
However.
Actually, that's not the case, because Hachiman witnessed the whole process.
So he fully knew that Sudo was indeed framed and was forced to act in self-defense.
It's just that such words cannot be spoken now.
The video taken shows that Ryuen of Class C indeed wanted to do something, and now that 'something' has surfaced.
Ryuen clearly used violence, yet he boldly applied to the Student Council for a trial, almost challenging the School's rules.
Because.
Normally, it's unrealistic for Sudo, being just one person, to fight three people.
And that's what ordinary people would think.
However, Ryuen was able to present it to the Student Council, which indicates that he had already made some preparations sufficient to convince the School that Sudo had excessively hit three people in a row.
And such an act is likely to be a dirty trick.
To achieve a goal, perhaps one might even hurt themselves, Hachiman thought that might also be possible.
However, Ryuen's actions were somewhat similar to his, yet not entirely.
He's a dangerous person.
Class warfare doesn't necessarily have to be fair and square, but if the opponent is that dangerous... then the only option is to take down this Ryuen of Class C first.
It's just how to take him down; the opponent has already voluntarily exposed himself, so let the opponent explode.
Thus, Hachiman looked at the others.
"Let's look for witnesses to Sudo's fight," Hachiman said, as if analyzing. "If there are witnesses, perhaps Sudo's innocence can be proven."
And at this point.
Sakura, sitting in her seat, still held up her book, then cautiously looked at Hachiman.
Hmm.
She remained quiet.
This is very good.
However.
"That's a good idea." Someone immediately responded to him.
And Hachiman looked over; the person who quickly responded to him had beautiful golden hair tied in a single ponytail, with delicate and lovely features—this was Kei Karuizawa.
Among the girls Hachiman had seen in this School, she could rank second in terms of cuteness.
...It was Karuizawa, who was on his grudge list.
And Karuizawa probably disliked him too.
So he didn't understand what Karuizawa was trying to do.
She even cooperated with him.
Since it was after Class, most of the classmates were in the classroom.
So they originally thought that if Sudo's fight led to point deductions, all their efforts would be ruined, and next month's living expenses would be minimal.
This was truly terrible; no one liked to eat that unappetizing wild vegetable meal.
So, they wanted money!
But the only way to get money was through the Class evaluation points related to each student, provided by the School.
Once it was deducted to 0, there would be no living expenses next month, right?
How terrifying that was.
Having eaten unappetizing food and spent lavishly, the classmates couldn't even imagine a month with nothing.
Thus.
Although Sudo's matter had come up now.
But if someone could prove that Sudo acted in self-defense and not in a fight, wouldn't he be innocent?
Then everyone's Class evaluation points, everyone's...
Thus.
Although they said it was for Sudo, it was also for themselves; the students of Class D of Grade 1 began to scatter everywhere to look for witnesses.
However, this still seemed insufficient.
...
Student Council.
The Student Council President was on duty.
"So, you want to apply to use the bulletin board for information recruitment?" said Student Council President Horikita Manabu.
Just like the last time they came, Horikita Manabu was followed by Akane Tachibana.
However, there was also a handsome Vice President with short golden hair, Nagumo, in the office.
As before, he still had a nameplate on his desk that read "Vice President Nagumo."
Whenever students came to the Student Council, they would pay attention.
Since he had been in this School for some time, Hachiman also knew that this Vice President's name was Nagumo Miyabi; from information obtained from Kushida, he was not a student of Class A, but was once a student of Class B, and then successfully led his Class to Class A.
He is an outstanding successful person.
No wonder he's so flashy.
From Chabashira, it could be understood that even the examples of Class B successfully reaching Class A were very few.
Moreover.
The opponent is a Grade 2 student, which means the opponent completed the feat of reaching Class A in Grade 1.
Thus, Nagumo climbed up to gain the status of Class A, and at the same time was valued by Student Council President Horikita Manabu and invited into the Student Council, granted the position of Vice President.
It's just.
However, Hachiman also found that Nagumo was not the only Vice President; there was also another Grade 2 student named Kiriyama.
And this Kiriyama was once a student of Class A, defeated by Nagumo, so logically the two would be rivals, and Kiriyama was also Nagumo's defeated opponent, so why were both Nagumo and Kiriyama invited in? And the latter also held the position of Vice President.
So.
Is President Horikita being inclusive, or... is there something that needs balancing in this Student Council?
But for now, let's deal with the matter at hand.
"Yes," Hachiman said. He and Hirata went to the Student Council together.
And there was only one purpose: to pay points to find witnesses for Sudo's fight, and if there were witnesses willing to testify, they would be given a certain amount of points in return.
After all, the trial is next week, so everything that can be done this week must be done.
Gather the strength of the entire Class, and even the entire School, to find witnesses!
"Um, Student Council President, I think Sudo from my Class is innocent, and one person fighting three people, that doesn't make sense," Hirata quickly said. "So there might be some misunderstanding."
"The specific details will have to wait until you defend him at next week's trial," the Student Council President said calmly.
"Is that so."
Although rejected by the Student Council President, Hirata did not give up.
So he voluntarily paid points, hoping to find witnesses to the fight. He wanted to post this search information on the bulletin board.
And of course, this required a fee.
However, Hachiman knew very well that such a search was meaningless.
Because he and Sakura were the witnesses.
But Sakura is a good student, and she's well-behaved; if he doesn't make her come out, she won't.
And all of this was to show that Class D of Grade 1 was actively trying to handle the situation.
However, while recording, Hachiman noticed that the expression on the Student Council Vice President's face seemed a bit subtle.
"Is something wrong, Nagumo-senpai?" Hachiman asked.
"Heh... nothing," Nagumo shook his head. "It's a total of 20,000 points. Scan the QR code here."
But he seemed to be secretly laughing.
Yes, he was.
Because Class D had another incident; first, Hachiman broke the camera, then he printed the entire Grade's roster for making friends, and now it's one person fighting three.
It could be said that Nagumo had witnessed all three incidents.
Then he just wanted to shake his head.
This batch of new students is truly hopeless.
Nagumo thought to himself.
...
But these efforts were not yet completely over.
And the next day.
After School in the afternoon, Hachiman asked Kushida to invite Ichinose Honami out.
The reason was simple: Ichinose is the representative of Class B, and now Class D was in trouble; as a partner in the B-D alliance, Ichinose naturally felt obligated.
This was also a test of the alliance between the two Classes.
So, Ichinose's connections also joined in.
Searching for witnesses to the Sudo incident.
Thus.
Class D of Grade 1 ran around for Sudo Ken, doing everything they could.
But.
It was very frustrating.
Because no witnesses were found at all.
There were no cameras in the laboratory building where Sudo fought. So everything fell into the worst state.
...
Thus, the time came to the day before the trial.
Third-floor cafeteria private room.
"Thank you for the meal," Hachiman said.
Today's lunch was treated by Sakayanagi, a 2200-point meal set; normally, students wouldn't eat something so expensive, but Sakayanagi had money.
And she was the one who agreed to order it.
Moreover.
Hachiman didn't think this meal was free.
Because.
"Well, since you've eaten my food, Hikigaya, your Class seems to be caught in a trial fighting incident now," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "Can you tell me about the progress?"
"It would be a bit regrettable if you guys just fell down like this," Sakayanagi said. "After all, I just declared war on you, and now I'm about to checkmate."
The students of Class D of Grade 1 began to move out to search for witnesses for Sudo.
They wanted someone to testify.
It caused quite a stir.
So, even other Classes would know.
Especially Class A, which has many eyes and ears.
Of course.
"We put in the effort of the entire Class, and we also asked Ichinose for help, but we couldn't find any eyewitnesses," Hikigaya said.
Oh.
Sakayanagi Arisu nodded.
Rather, the actions of Class D students in searching for eyewitnesses were heard about in several Classes.
But unfortunately.
They didn't find any.
They wasted so much connections and resources, yet still couldn't find an eyewitness.
Then, for Class D.
It was simply a terrible situation.
"Once the fighting incident is confirmed, your Class won't be able to climb up, will it?" Sakayanagi said.
Because if there was a fight, and it was a vicious one-against-three, then Sudo might cause Class D to lose possibly 200 points.
Therefore.
Is your Class D, Hikigaya, going to be finished just like that?
"And Ryuen's handling of it was very clever," Sakayanagi Arisu said. "His Class's student was genuinely injured. Your Class's Sudo is truly a brave one."
Actually, not really.
Hikigaya understood that Sakayanagi was indicating that Ryuen of Class C was a meticulous person.
Normally, when Ishizaki Daichi and the others fought Sudo, they definitely weren't seriously injured at the time, but afterwards, they showed their injuries, making people realize the seriousness of the matter.
In fact, from this point of view, Sakayanagi is probably a benevolent person.
Because she gave him an entry point.
That is, the injuries of Ishizaki Daichi and the others from Ryuen's side.
They could obtain the changes in Ishizaki and the others before and after by retrieving camera footage.
Then prove that Sudo didn't injure them that badly.
However.
Hikigaya quickly looked at her.
"...Hmm," Sakayanagi Arisu maintained her elegance.
As one of the representatives of Class A, this incident was not something she did.
Rather, it was the plan of Totsuka Yahiko, Katsuragi's follower.
Originally, Sakayanagi proposed a plan where Class A would do nothing and still maintain a stable point value.
It's just that Yahiko and the others felt they couldn't create too much of a point difference with Class B, and everyone had already paid points to understand the true nature of this school.
As a result, now not only does everyone know, but the behavioral assessment exam is continuing.
So other Classes can also self-regulate now.
Although it's impossible not to lose points, they should lose fewer points.
This puts a lot of pressure on Katsuragi and her Faction, who want to stably maintain Class A's position.
Thus, there was this incident of hiring Class C students to act.
And as a student of Class A, Sakayanagi did not want to sign the agreement Ryuen brought, which stated that they would receive long-term benefits for completing the task.
So, isn't it a foregone conclusion that Ryuen will fail?
However, Hikigaya and the others seemed to have done everything, like looking for eyewitnesses, but for the upcoming trial, they didn't seem to have considered that much.
It was a bit regrettable.
But was that really the case?
Ever since Hikigaya's self-sabotage last time, which destroyed the camera and led to the early exposure of the Class evaluation points, Sakayanagi felt that this guy was unusual, and his methods would be unimaginable.
So she wanted to know his methods for this trial.
And she had just revealed a plan to him.
However.
"However," Hikigaya said, "Sakayanagi, do you believe in luck?"
"Luck?" Arisu frowned slightly.
"Yes, luck," Hikigaya said. "Ryuen arranged for Komiyama and Ishizaki to plan the fight with Sudo this time, and I happened to record their conversation about framing Sudo."
"..." Sakayanagi.
Okay, never mind.
If you have evidence, why are you searching the whole school for eyewitnesses? The whole Class is involved, oh no, that means this was a performance for Ryuen to put his mind at ease.
It seems that the Katsuragi Faction's cautious actions ended as soon as they began.
Thus, on the day of the trial, as soon as the court opened, Ryuen Sho of First Year Class C was notified that Class C's Class evaluation points would be deducted by 400 points due to groundless accusations.
At the same time, Ryuen Sho, Ishizaki Daichi, Komiyama, and Yamamoto were all suspended for one week for deliberately orchestrating a fight, making false accusations, and disrespecting the Student Council.
And because of this, First Year Class C's Class evaluation points decreased, and they swapped Classes with Class D of Grade 1.
Hikigaya's Class was promoted to Class C.
Becoming the first Class in the school's history to successfully advance in the first month.
"..." Nagumo Miyabi.
Student Council members will update the Class evaluation points.
After each special exam, the points of Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D will be updated.
And Nagumo was responsible for transcribing them.
However.
"Why?"
Nagumo Miyabi stood in front of the small blackboard with chalk in hand.
Because.
Class D of Grade 1 was promoted to First Year Class C.
This made Nagumo somewhat dazed.
Because.
So. Did he actually misjudge them?
Are the First Year students of Class D actually very impressive?
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
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