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 30: The Scumbag’s Carelessness. Serves Him Right.

The Scumbag (Kayama’s POV)

“Hey, Kayama! Let’s hit the head.”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

The bell signaling the end of third period rang. Just as I was about to head to the restroom with my loser friends, he appeared in front of me, exactly as expected.

“You’re Kayama Hayato-kun, right? Sorry to drop in on you like this, but I’d like to have a little chat. Do you have a moment?”

“Excuse me?”

Wearing a creepy smile and a crisp dress shirt, the man stood blocking the doorway of Class 2-C.

“You’re… the homeroom teacher for Class B, right?”

“Indeed. My name is Inagaki Junichi, and I’m the homeroom teacher for Class 2-B. I must say, I’m surprised. To think you’d remember me despite us having no prior interaction. Have you known about me for a while now?”

“Well, more or less.”

The man smiled, his eyes sparkling—likely trying to get me to lower my guard.

“Really!? Then I’m a lucky man. As a teacher, it makes me quite proud.”

Tch… ‘Known about you for a while’? Give me a break. He was testing me with a blatant bluff. I know all about you because Sakagami told me, you moron.

That said, his words confirmed my suspicions. This guy either suspects my connection with Sakagami or is already certain of it. And it looks like Sakagami is a pathetic actor in the faculty room. After coming to me yesterday with that high-and-mighty warning, he goes and gets himself marked by a rookie teacher like this… What a high-maintenance, useless coach.

I’ll have to give him a piece of my mind later.

“So? You said you wanted to talk, but can’t we do it here? I’ve got my next class to think about,” I said, pointedly looking around at my surroundings.

Right. If he tries to force me to go somewhere else here, it’ll inevitably hurt his image. He wouldn’t dare be aggressive. I’d heard that thanks to his young, fresh looks—hardly different from a college student—he’s popular with a certain crowd of girls who see him as the “big brother” type.

So, could a guy like that really afford to start shouting in front of a classroom full of students?

No way. He’ll back down to save his own skin. Most of these teachers who sell themselves on their youth would happily toss aside their professional pride and sense of justice just to keep their students fawning over them.

You’re just a human after all. Your reputation comes first, doesn’t it?

Not that I’d mind blowing him off with some half-assed excuse. There’s no reason for me to just shut up, say “Yes, sir,” and trot along to his stage. Now, what’s it going to be?

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve already spoken with your homeroom teacher and all the subject teachers for Class C. I told them you might be stepping out. So, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Heh… Is that so?”

“Yes. Now, shall we? I’ve cleared out the conference room next to the faculty office.”

“……….”

Damn it. Smug bastard…

He really rubs me the wrong way. But I have to give it to him—between clearing it with my teachers and securing a room, he was well-prepared to summon me. A lot of effort for nothing. Still, if I keep resisting here, the peanut gallery will start getting suspicious. I might as well play along with this little one-on-one.

“Fine, I get it. Let’s get this over with.”

I nodded with an air of total confidence. Yes, this was all for the sake of appearances. I had to maintain my composure to stay the “hero” of the story—the one who protected Matsunami Karen from her abusive boyfriend, Rindou Arata.

***

Conference Room

“So, what’s the big talk, Sensei?”

I sat in the conference room chair, leaning my cheek on my hand with an air of boredom. But in the next instant, the atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy, thick with tension.

“There’s no one else around, so there’s no need for either of us to keep up pretenses. Let’s stop stalling. It’s meaningless.”

Oh?

Naturally, the source was the man sitting across from me. His gaze was sharp, bordering on murderous. He was a completely different person.

But so what? It wasn’t enough to make me flinch. In fact, glaring at a student like this felt like it should count as corporal punishment. Whatever. Let him show his true colors. The moment he raises his voice, I’ll spread it all over school.

I’ll show him my specialty: pouring gasoline on the fire.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. This is about the DV guy, right? What, is the school finally giving me an award for my brave actions? I was just doing the obvious thing, so honestly, it’d be a bit of a bother.”

I shook my head with a sigh. That seemed to be the final straw. The man slammed his fist onto the table with a loud thud and clicked his tongue.

“…Stop messing around. You don’t seem to realize the gravity of this, so let me be clear: Kayama Hayato, what you did was a clear act of violence. It is a crime. While I can’t bring you to justice this very second, the moment will come when the truth is dragged into the light. When that happens, you won’t just be looking at expulsion—juvenile hall is a real possibility. You should turn yourself in while you still can. This is a warning.”

“A warning, huh? Not really scary, though. If you’re talking like that, I assume you saw that video too, Sensei?”

“Of course I did.”

“Then isn’t it strange? You just said with your own mouth that you saw the video clearly. That means you saw the exact moment Arata laid a hand on Karen. So why aren’t you on my side, or Karen’s side? Why are you backing Arata the whole time? Sure, I punched the guy. But everything I did was necessary to save Karen. A man protecting a woman is just common sense. And yet, you teachers are all lined up to protect Arata. Honestly, with a female student as a victim, any teacher who takes the side of an abuser in the faculty room must be out of their mind.”

There it is. Total checkmate. He shouldn’t be able to say a word back to that. If you’ve got an objection, let’s hear it.

“I see… So that’s your side of the story. I understand perfectly now.”

The aura of rage that had been radiating from the man vanished. What, no comeback? He was just acting tough. What a letdown.

“Well, if you’re done, can I go back to class now?”

“Yeah. That’s fine. At least I know you have no intention of confessing here. Sorry for calling you out.”

“Suuure.”

I stood up, stretching luxuriously and letting out a deliberate yawn. Man, that “interrogation” was a breeze. I’ll just head back to class and take a nap.

“Ah, wait a moment, Kayama-kun. There’s just one last thing I’m curious about. Do you mind?”

He stopped me just as my hand reached for the doorknob. I kept my back to him, only turning my head to look over my shoulder.

“What is it nooow?”

“Listening to your argument just now, something caught my attention. I wanted to double-check. Since I entered this room, I haven’t mentioned once that the other teachers in the faculty room are your enemies, or that they are on Rindou-kun’s side. How did you know that?”

“……Huh?”

“Like I said, I shouldn’t have mentioned that the other teachers are gunning for you. So, don’t you think that statement was a bit odd? You spoke as if you were perfectly aware of the inner workings of the faculty room—claiming that the teachers are ‘all lined up to protect Arata.’ But that’s strange. While the incident has spread through the office and you’re currently the suspected perpetrators, only the teachers who attended yesterday’s emergency faculty meeting could possibly know that. Certainly not a student.”

“…………!”

A cold sweat ran down my spine. Crap. I let my guard down and slipped up. I have to say something, quick. I can still talk my way out of this.

“I—I mean? Did I say that? You must have misheard me, Sensei. You know, they say people in their twenties are getting hearing loss from using earbuds too much. It’s not weird if you misheard. I can even recommend a good doctor if you want?”

“Thank you for the concern, Kayama-kun. But there’s no need. You see… I’ve been recording our conversation since we entered this room. I can listen to it again as many times as I like.”

“…What?”

A soft clunk sounded. I whipped around. On the table in front of the chair I had been sitting in, Inagaki had placed a voice recorder, slightly smaller than a smartphone.

No… it was all… recorded? A sudden chill washed over my entire body. Crap, how do I get out of this…?

“There’s no talking your way out. The words you just spoke won’t ever disappear.”

“You bastard…!”

“Yes, that was just recorded too.”

“……!”

“Of course, this recording alone isn’t enough evidence to convict you. But it has made one thing very clear to me. You are definitely connected to that man—the soccer coach, Sakagami Kazuhiro. Just knowing that is a huge harvest. Now, we’re done. Please leave. Well, if you won’t leave, I’ll just leave myself.”

Standing up, Inagaki gave me a look of pure pity. He grabbed the doorknob I had been reaching for and walked out into the hallway.

Left alone in the room, I stood there for a moment before punching the wall with all my might.

“GOD DAMN IT!”