Fallen from the Top Group Due to Cheating and False Accusations. The Only One Who Stood by Me Was My Little Sister’s Best Friend, Who Had Always Adored Me.

Chapter 17: The Goddess Descends.

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

Exhausted from enduring the relentless storm of insults and abuse, my mind must have finally broken and started feeding me auditory hallucinations as an escape from reality. I was just beginning to feel disgusted with myself for cracking under the pressure when I sensed a familiar presence behind me.

“Don’t touch Arata-senpai with your filthy hands so casually—!”

It was Yuuka’s voice.

I slowly raised my head. Standing between Karen and me, she spat those words with an anger I had rarely heard from her.

Confused murmurs immediately erupted from every corner of the classroom.

“Hey, isn’t that Tozawa-san? The girl they call the idol of this year’s first-years…?”

“Her grades are insanely good, right? I heard she got the top score on the entrance exam.”

“Damn… she’s seriously too cute.”

“But why is a first-year idol defending someone like Rindou?”

“No idea~”

While the hushed whispers spread, Yuuka stood firm, glaring straight at Karen without flinching. Her usually delicate back looked broader and more imposing than ever before. There was no longer any trace of the timid girl who used to stay home alone, scared and uncertain.

Karen glanced around with an awkward expression. Almost immediately, a bold-looking girl pushed her way forward from behind her.

It was Kawakita Yumi—the flashy blonde who had been directing the harshest hatred toward me these past few days. She swept her golden hair off her shoulder with a clearly aggressive look on her face, then kicked a nearby desk over with a loud bang.

A frightened squeak escaped from one of the classmates.

“I don’t know which first-year you are, but… when you say ‘don’t touch him casually,’ do you even understand what this guy standing behind you did to Karen?”

“If you’re talking about that video, it’s already been circulating a lot among the first-years whether we wanted to see it or not.”

“Hmm, then I really don’t get why you’re defending him. Don’t tell me you got sweet-talked by him?”

Faced with Yumi’s mocking provocation, Yuuka didn’t retreat even an inch. Instead, a confident smile rose to her lips.

“If you’re referring to that video with the conveniently chopped-up audio that just so happens to start right when senpai grabs Matsunami-senpai’s arm… that’s an extremely unnatural piece of ‘evidence’ that could only have been prepared in advance to frame him as the villain. It has zero credibility.”

“What did you just say? For a little kid, you sure talk big. But the fact that he grabbed her arm hard is exactly what the video shows! All this talk about it being convenient or unnatural is just your own selfish delusion! In the end, physical evidence is what matters in this world!”

Yumi’s triumphant sneer echoed through the classroom. However, the anxious look on Karen’s face, half-hidden behind her, made it painfully obvious that her bravado was nothing more than a bluff.

“Haa… Are you stupid?”

“…What?”

“Then let me ask you this. If you have such solid physical evidence and are so confident, why didn’t you immediately take that video and run straight to the police?”

“…………”

Yumi bit her lip.

“If the evidence is truly that strong, you could have had him forcibly expelled the very next day through proper legal channels. This country is built on equality under the law, after all.”

“That wouldn’t make us feel any better! We had to let everyone know what a disgusting scumbag he is and destroy him socially, or Karen would never feel satisfied!”

Yumi’s voice grew louder and more frantic. The composure she had shown earlier had completely vanished, leaving her looking unusually battered.

The next instant, as if she had been waiting for that exact opening, Yuuka firmly grabbed my arm and pulled me.

She took a deep breath.

“Then you should already be satisfied—he’s been socially killed! If you’re done, go ahead and take the video to the police right now!”

“…………”

Yuuka’s sharp declaration caused every sound in the classroom to vanish instantly. The overwhelming presence of this first-year girl had caused everyone to shrink back.

“Come on, if you really care about your friend, then hurry up and go. If you can’t, would you like me to call 110 for you instead?”

When Yuuka pulled out her smartphone from her pocket, Yumi panicked. “That’s…!”

“Haa… Exactly. You can’t, can you? Once professional investigators get involved, this case will immediately be treated as an assault incident. Unlike ordinary people who are easily deceived, the police won’t judge the situation based on a single video. They’ll thoroughly check every security camera around the school for more detailed footage from that day.”

Yuuka then pointed her index finger directly at Karen, who had been holding her breath until now.

“Matsunami Karen-senpai. I believe it will quickly become clear who you were with that day, where you were, and what you were doing. And not just that day—we can go back a week, a month, or even further. Even after all that, are you still going to deny that you betrayed Arata-senpai, cheated on him, and then framed him for a false crime?”

“That’s…”

Seeing Karen’s deflated expression, the previously silent classroom began to stir with noise.

“Hey, what does this mean…?”

“Tozawa-san just said cheating and false accusation.”

“So Rindou wasn’t actually committing DV?”

“I can’t read the situation at all, but… Matsunami and the others have gone completely quiet. Isn’t that weird?”

As skeptical voices gradually rose, Yuuka delivered the final blow without mercy.

“So, your continued silence… am I correct in interpreting that as you admitting everything I’ve said so far is true?”

““…………””

“Well, even if you don’t confess everything right here, the fact that both of you have fallen completely silent means there’s no room left for denial. I don’t particularly mind, but just so you know—at least today, all the teachers in the staff room have confirmed that the statement Kayama-senpai made that night about ‘having already consulted the teachers regarding the DV incident’ was a complete lie. You should expect a thorough investigation to begin very soon.”

With that, Yuuka calmly finished speaking and pulled me by the hand toward the hallway.

“Come on, senpai. Grab your things. We’re going home.”

“Wait, hold on, Yuuka… We still have sixth period, right?”

“It’s fine. I’ve already received permission from the vice-principal and your homeroom teacher. This early dismissal won’t affect your grades.”

“Eh, really…?”

Could a single student really push through such a request with the teachers…? Honestly, I found it hard to believe. But if Yuuka said so, I had no choice but to follow her.

Somewhat forcefully convincing myself, I left the classroom together with Yuuka.

When I glanced back one last time, Karen’s face had turned deathly pale.