Reine recognized the girl immediately. It was the Student Council President. She was the one who delivered the welcome speech during the opening ceremony. The speech with the boring hidden anagram.
The President looked up from her paperwork. Her expression was completely sterile.
"State your business," the Student Council President ordered.
Hirano stepped forward and introduced herself politely, then placed her hands on the edge of the desk. "We're here to report Class A. During lunch, they came to our table. They harassed us. They called us defectives and trash. They tried to provoke a fight."
The President did not react. She reached for a black rulebook resting on the corner of her desk. She flipped open the cover.
"What specific words did they use?" the President asked, scanning the pages.
"I just told you," Hirano answered, her voice trembling slightly. "They called us defectives. They called us trash and animals."
The President closed the rulebook. The sound was a dull thud in the quiet room.
"Then they're not guilty of any rule violation," the President stated flatly.
Hirano's eyes widened. Hori narrowed his eyes, his posture stiffening.
"How is that not a violation?" Hirano demanded. "They were verbally abusing us!"
"General insults don't cross the threshold for harassment," the President explained. Her tone was completely dry. "However, if they use direct, vulgar profanity. For example, if they say the letters F, U, C, K, Y, O, U. or B, U, L, L, S, H, I, T."
She did not pronounce the actual curse words. She enunciated each individual letter with mechanical precision, entirely stripping the profanity of its emotional weight.
"That would cross the threshold into a punishable offense. You possess your own copy of the rulebook, do you not? Please read it when you have the time. Do you have anything else?"
Hirano was speechless.
Hori stepped forward, pushing past Hirano.
"Let's assume a hypothetical scenario," Hori proposed, his voice dropping. "What if they do speak those specific curse words? What action would the disciplinary committee take?"
"Standard protocol," the President replied without hesitation. "The offender is apprehended by an officer in charge. They are brought here. They will be detained in this room for a minimum of ninety minutes for interrogation. You can classify it as an arrest. If someone formally accuses you, you get arrested."
The President checked the clock on the wall. "The Student Council office closes at six in the evening. If an offender is brought here at one minute before six, they will be detained for only one minute. The interrogation concludes when the office closes. Afterward, a formal decision is made within seventy-two hours, excluding the weekends."
Hori absorbed the information. "What happens if the student refuses to obey the arresting officer?"
"Immediate expulsion," the President answered coldly. "Disobeying an officer is a critical failure of compliance. There is no trial. The seventy-two-hour investigation window is bypassed."
"And what if the complainant has no evidence?" Hori pushed further.
"The standard protocol remains," the President stated. "The accused is still arrested and detained for the mandated interrogation period, regardless of the evidence provided. If no proof is found, they are acquitted. Regarding the proof, solid physical or digital evidence is required. Circumstantial claims alone are automatically dismissed."
Hori tilted his head. "If the complainant has no evidence, or if they invent a false accusation, what is the penalty for lying?"
"For a first offense, there is no penalty," the President revealed. "The school accounts for misunderstandings. However, a second false report incurs a severe penalty. The first offense, being free from consequence, is an asset. It should not be wasted if you merely wish to play a prank."
Hirano looked back and forth between Hori and the President. She was completely confused. Why were they talking about false accusations and arrest protocols? They were here to report bullying.
Hori stood in silence. The gears in his head were turning rapidly. He processed the loopholes, the time limits, and the lack of a first-strike penalty.
"I see," Hori noted, a dark realization settling over his features. "I have to be careful, then, when accusing them."
"Yes," the President agreed softly.
Hori turned his back to the desk. He walked out of the room without offering a single word of thanks.
Reine turned and followed him into the hallway.
Hirano quickly bowed to the Student Council President.
"Thank you for your time," she rushed out, hurrying to catch up with them.
She caught them at the end of the hallway near the stairs.
"Hori-san, wait," Hirano called out, stopping to catch her breath. "What was that about? Why did you ask about false reports?"
Hori stopped but he didn't turn around.
"Because the rules are a trap," Hori said. His voice was cold. "Class A already mapped the boundaries. They won't use the specific curse words that trigger a penalty. They will just push us and push us until someone in our class snaps."
"But the President said we don't get penalized for our first report," Hirano argued, trying to find a silver lining. "We can just report them anyway to make them stop."
"And then what?" Hori snapped, turning his head slightly to glare at her. "The school detains them for ninety minutes. They find no evidence. Class A gets acquitted. And we just burned our one-time asset. A single free shot. If we waste our only free accusation on a cafeteria argument, we lose our leverage entirely. Class A will know we are out of bullets, and they will attack us twice as hard. We save that asset for when it can do actual, permanent damage."
Hirano's face fell. "So we really can't do anything to stop them right now?"
"Tell the class to keep their mouths shut and look away," Hori ordered. He started walking down the stairs. "If they let themselves get provoked, they will drag the rest of us down with them."
Reine stood quietly by the wall and watched him leave.
Zero-penalty strategy, Reine thought. Fascinating.
---
The harassment did not stop at the cafeteria. Class A realized that Class D was an easy target. The rules protected the aggressors as long as they did not throw a punch. Verbal abuse was cheap, and it worked flawlessly.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Class D boy went to the convenience store on campus. He walked to the stationery aisle. He picked up a blue pen and a small notebook. He needed to study for the midterms.
Three Class A boys walked into the same aisle. They blocked the way out.
The Class D boy stopped. He held the pen tightly in his hand.
"Look at this," one of the Class A boys said as he pointed at the pen. "The defective is grabbing supplies. He's actually trying to study."
"Why waste your digital Yen allowance on stationery?" the second boy asked, pretending to look confused. "You can buy a lot of things with that monthly allowance. But you chose a pen. How sad. What good is studying when you owe us ten thousand SC points next month? You can't write your way out of an eviction."
"Maybe you should just put it back," the third boy said, a cold smile on his face. "You're wasting the ink. You don't have the brain to pass the midterms, and you don't have the capital to pay your rent. Why bother? You're a dead man anyway."
The Class D boy kept his head down as he tried to push past them.
Instead of moving, the Class A boys bumped their shoulders against the Class D boy, forcing him to squeeze through a tiny gap. They laughed as he hurried to the cash register with his face red from shame.
On Wednesday, the hallways became a hazard zone.
Whenever Class D students walked between buildings, they had to keep their eyes on the floor. If they made eye contact with anyone from Class A, the taunts started immediately.
"Defectives."
"Watch your step, trash."
"Did someone forget to take out the garbage? Oh, it's just Class D."
They said it just loud enough to be heard. They said it with smug, satisfied smiles. They knew Class D could not fight back. The threat of expulsion hung over Class D's heads like a heavy blade. Every single student from Class D had to swallow their anger and keep walking.
On Thursday, after classes ended, a group of Class D girls went to the mall. Matsui Chiaki was with them. They were not window shopping anymore. The conduct exam taught them to be a good citizen. She and her friends were heading to a cafe to hold a study session. They brought their textbooks and notes.
They walked past a clothing store. Four girls from Class A were standing near the entrance. They held shopping bags filled with expensive clothes.
The Class A girls saw Matsui and her group. They immediately started talking loudly.
"Did you smell that just now?" one of the Class A girls asked, waving a hand in front of her nose. "It smells like dirt."
"I know," another girl replied as she looked directly at Matsui. "It smells like zero points. So poor. So pathetic."