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 32: The Downfall of a Self-Deserving Blonde Slut.

The Blonde Slut (Kawakita Yumi’s POV)

The bell signaled the end of fourth period. Karen, who had been summoned in the middle of class, returned to the room with a face so pale it was haunting.

“Wait… Karen, are you okay? What did he do to you?”

“…Sorry, Yumi. I’m feeling a bit sick, so I’m going home early. Also… I’m sure Kayama-kun warned you too, but be careful. That man… Inagaki-sensei is dangerous.”

“Huh?”

I rushed to her side, but Karen kept her head down, stuffing her stationery into her bag and walking toward the hallway. She wouldn’t even meet my eyes. What on earth could have happened to her in such a short amount of time?

And “dangerous”? Is it even possible for someone like Inagaki to get angry…? He’s popular with so many girls because he’s kind and handsome; honestly, I can’t even imagine him raising his voice. Besides, he must know that doing something like that would drag his reputation as a teacher through the mud.

Whatever. I’m not scared, no matter when he calls me. After all, I have Kayama-sama on my side.

I’ll just follow the advice he gave me over the phone late last night: “Tomorrow, aside from Karen, it sounds like you’ll be called in for a meeting since you were excessively slandering Arata. Make sure you don’t say anything unnecessary. If you do that, you won’t be blamed.”

Naturally, I know perfectly well that Rindou Arata never laid a hand on Karen. But so what? Kayama-sama said clearly, “Arata is really in the way,” and that’s reason enough for me to crush Rindou. As his future wife, I have to obey my husband-to-be. Even if it’s the wrong thing to do, I swore to follow this man for the rest of my life since the moment we met last spring and I gave him my body and soul.

So, to be honest, I’m fully aware that he’s been sleeping with Karen lately behind my back, but I’ve never questioned him once, nor do I intend to reproach him. Because I believe in him. Karen is probably just someone he’s playing with; I’m the one he truly intends to be with in the end. I’ve heard that boys this age have high sex drives, so it’s only natural that their romantic interests and their outlets for sexual release are different. Once she’s been used up as a temporary stress-reliever, she’ll be tossed aside. Yes, in the end, I’ll be the one chosen. Even God is watching our daily conduct, after all. So when he finally turns his gaze back to me, I’ll feel a little bad for my best friend Karen, but I’m sure she’ll understand—no hard feelings. I mean, she’s the one hogging him right now anyway.

And then, Kayama-sama and I will be united in a true romantic relationship—. Hang in there, me. A happy future is right before my eyes… just a little more patience! Just as I reached that firm resolution, our homeroom teacher, Inagaki, returned to the classroom.

“Kawakita. Is Kawakita here?”

“I’m right here, but what do you want, Sensei? Just so you know, it’s lunchtime now.”

I glared at him crossly, and the teacher, with an apologetic expression, started with a “Sorry.” “But there’s something urgent we need to discuss. I want you to come with me. Of course, I’ll give you time to eat lunch separately afterward,” he announced in a voice loud enough for the surrounding classmates to hear.

Tch… Trying to make me look like the bad guy by being so openly conspicuous? Your ulterior motives are transparent.

“Fine, I get it. I’ll humor you.”

“That helps. Let’s try to keep this brief.”

Of course we will. I don’t want to talk to any man who isn’t Kayama-sama more than I have to. I’ll shoot him down with logic and shut him up in an instant. Flicking my hair over my shoulder, I walked out of the classroom with a triumphant, confident stride.

***

Conference Room

“Now then, Kawakita, do you have any idea why you’ve been called here?”

The moment we sat down, the teacher cut straight to the point. I tilted my head with a cool expression.

“None at all. In fact, I’d like to know why I was called to a room like this in the first place.”

“I see. So you have no self-awareness. In that case, we won’t get anywhere unless I tell you clearly. Kawakita, I’ll be blunt. I’ve heard from Rindou that you’ve been slandering him based on nothing but groundless lies, so I called you here today. How about that? I’m sure you have some idea now.”

With a face that said I won’t let you say you don’t know, the teacher directed a sharp gaze at me. Honestly, it’s surprising to see this guy show such open hostility. He’s been wearing a mask all this time… Well, so what? I’m not going to back down.

“Oh! Is that what this is about, Sensei? You should have just said so sooner!”

“…Does that mean you’re aware of the slander?”

“No? I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that everyone was saying Rindou-kun was abusive to my best friend Karen, so I criticized him a liiittle bit. ‘No to violence,’ ‘you’re the worst,’ stuff like that. I mean, if I have to say, I just couldn’t stand seeing my friend get hurt, so maybe I used a slightly harsh tone. But I only got angry because I thought Karen was in danger. Is that what you’re mad about, Sensei? Don’t make such a scary face; smile like you usually do!”

“I see, Kawakita. So you acted solely out of concern for your friend?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Then let me ask you one more thing: did you actually see Rindou using violence against Matsunami with your own eyes?”

“Eh? Well, I didn’t see it, but look… the video was going around on social media. The one where Rindou-kun grabs Karen’s arm by force. Isn’t that enough proof that he’s an abuser?”

“Sigh… I see. Based on a single video, you decided Matsunami was the victim and hurled terrible abuse at Rindou.”

“No, like I said, it was more like a warning? Not abuse. Strictly speaking.”

I tried to laugh it off, but in the next instant—the air seemed to turn frigid. The face of the teacher staring at me twisted into an expression more distorted than I had ever seen. It looked like something out of a nightmare, and I reflexively tensed up.

“Listen, Kawakita. Whether your statement just now is a lie or the truth, I’ll set that aside for a moment. I think hurting people without any self-awareness is truly foolish.”

“Excuse me…?”

What is this guy talking about? Has he lost his mind?

“Even if it’s an action taken to protect a precious friend, you should understand that if you take one wrong step—if you misjudge the truth even once—you could become a criminal yourself.”

“Ugh… what are you trying to say, Sensei? I don’t get it at all. Are you saying you don’t believe me?”

“I want to believe you. And because I want to believe you, I want to correct this mistake here and now. If you truly participated in bullying without knowing the truth, you might still be in time.”

“Still be in time? I don’t get it, what are you—”

“It’s simple. Sooner or later, Rindou is going to report this incident to the police. He has already clearly stated to us teachers that he has no memory of ever committing DV, and he insists the video was made entirely to frame him. Since he claims he’s being falsely accused, it’s a natural choice.”

“No way… the police? You’re joking, right?”

“It’s no joke. If neither side admits their mistake, we have no choice but to rely on the police anyway. Once professional investigators get involved, it will quickly become clear who is telling the truth. And at that time, if Rindou’s innocence is proven, it’s inevitable that those who falsely accused him—starting with Matsunami, and Kayama who assaulted him—will be judged. And you, as someone who swallowed false information and slandered him, will likely be sued for defamation.”

“…No way.”

“It’s not a lie. Kawakita, if you properly apologize to Rindou now, you might still be able to save your future. Even so… do you still refuse to admit you were bullying Rindou?”

“Wait, hold on, Sensei… this is all so sudden, I don’t really… understand the situation.”

What… the police? I didn’t hear anything about that. What do I do? Is this really going to turn into such a huge incident…? If so, this is bad. My brilliant career path, my future, could be in danger. Anything but that… I’d hate for Kayama-sama to dislike me, but I’d hate going to prison as collateral for those two even more…!

“I’ll… I’ll apologize! I’ll apologize to Rindou-kun properly right now! So please, just forgive me…! Please!”

Before I knew it, overcome by terror, I had stood up from my seat and bowed deeply. My ankles began to tremble. That was close. Apologizing here was the right move. Unlike those two, I’ll say I was saying bad things without knowing the truth… if I cling to Rindou while crying like that, I’m sure he’ll forgive me. Yeah, he’s not a monster, and everyone makes a mistake or two—

“Does that mean you’re admitting your fault—that you were bullying him?”

“…Yes. I just… based on a video I happened to see and the rumors everyone was telling, I harshly criticized and insulted Rindou-kun…! So please, let me see him, let me see Rindou-kun. I’ll tell him those words directly. Sensei, where is he now!?”

The teacher’s usual soft smile returned to his face. Good, I barely managed to—

“That’s impossible.”

“…Huh?”

“I won’t let you see Rindou. I have him evacuated to a safe place right now. It would be a problem if he felt sympathy for you after an apology. This is a great opportunity that we teachers cannot overlook. This incident is the perfect chance to purge social stains like you from this school. Besides, whether you were aware of it or not, you tried to ruin someone. You don’t honestly think you’d be forgiven just because you admitted it, do you?”

“No… did you… did you trick me…? You said just now that if I was honest, you’d forgive me…!”

“How could such a convenient deal exist? Didn’t I just tell you? Don’t misjudge what the truth is. It’s your fault for being tricked by my sweet words. Well, at any rate, it was a big help to easily get a statement like that from one of the perpetrators.”

With a refreshing expression, the teacher placed something on the table with a soft clunk. It didn’t take me even five seconds to realize it was a voice recorder.

“Wh…? That’s… that’s unfair… that’s so unfair, Sensei!”

“The most unfair one here is you, Kawakita. Based on your own testimony just now, I will see to it that you receive the appropriate punishment. And I will make this case crystal clear. So, just give up.”

“No… no way… stop it… please…”

My vision blurred. As if struck in the head with a blunt object, I was hit by such a shock that I collapsed onto my knees right where I stood.