Chapter 9 – Face-to-Face with the Head of the Disciplinary Committee

Time passed quickly, and two weeks had already gone by since the start of the new second-year classes. Despite the trouble at the karaoke place on the very first day, Shinta was surprisingly starting to blend in with his classmates.

Because Shinta was a former delinquent, everyone initially tended to avoid him. However, seeing Ichizu and Miina actively involve themselves with him gave the other students the courage to speak up. It didn’t take long for him to open up to the class from there. The vast majority of the students had pegged Shinta as a dangerous person based solely on his bad reputation from middle school. Once they actually talked to him, they realized his scary image was much weaker than expected.

These two weeks were full of fresh experiences for Shinta after being completely isolated during his first year. Even the trivial conversations exchanged with his classmates brought a sense of joy to his heart. He began to think he could finally enjoy the peaceful everyday life he couldn’t obtain last year, but his past history wouldn’t let him off the hook so easily.

Right now was the lunch break, a time of rest for students. Yet Shinta had been hauled off to the Disciplinary Committee Room without even getting to touch the bento Ichizu had handed him.

“Now then, I’d like you to tell me the details.”

“Hah… I guess that’s fine, but…”

With a face showing a mixture of mental exhaustion and an empty stomach from missing lunch, Shinta sat facing a single female student. The person sitting across from him was a third-year girl who served as the head of the Disciplinary Committee at Joushou High School, a woman named Nakamura Kaoru.

Although she was an upperclassman, Shinta implicitly knew about her because she was something of a celebrity. She was strict and rigid with discipline, which made a portion of the student body feel awkward around her, but she garnered support from a massive number of students. Her incredibly beautiful appearance was one reason for her popularity. The other was her majestic and dignified bearing that allowed her to act resolutely even when dealing with teachers. Furthermore, she was a member of the kendo club and possessed the skills to secure second place in the national tournament last year. Maintaining a spot within the top three in the grade’s exams made her a prodigy who embodied striking beauty and a mastery of both literary and martial arts.

Normally, one would think a person like her would have absolutely no points of contact with Shinta. However, Kaoru had been watching Shinta for a certain reason ever since his first year. No, it would be more accurate to say she had been keeping a close eye on him.

“First, I would like to ask a few questions. You just need to answer honestly without trying to sugarcoat anything.”

“…Go ahead.”

Feeling inwardly irritated by being treated like a suspect under interrogation, Shinta gave his reply.

To understand how he ended up in this situation, one would have to rewind time a little. It happened right after morning classes ended and the lunch break began. Lately, it had become Shinta’s daily routine to push his desk together with Ichizu and Miina to eat.

Monopolizing two beautiful girls naturally drew jealous glares from the surrounding guys, but he stopped caring entirely after two weeks. Just as the three of them were about to push their desks together like always on this particular day, Kaoru entered the classroom.

“Is Kamiji Shinta-kun here? I’d like to have a little chat with you…”

Scanning the classroom and spotting Shinta, she marched straight up to him. The classroom buzzed at the appearance of such a famous upperclassman. The fact that the head of the Disciplinary Committee was calling out a former Yankee made it all the more conspicuous. Just as a portion of the class began whispering to wonder if Shinta had caused some sort of problem, Kaoru explained her reasoning.

“I heard that you caused a disturbance at a certain karaoke establishment a little while ago. I’d like you to explain the situation, so will you come with me?”

Hearing the words come out of her mouth made Shinta realize the true reason for his summons. The altercation with those idiots at the karaoke place was meant to be a bonding event, yet he was well aware that the incident was gradually spreading to other classes. Most likely, someone in the class had told someone in another class half-jokingly. Those rumors probably trickled down and eventually reached the Disciplinary Committee.

(Basically, you’re suspecting that I caused a problem, right?)

Although he was starting to open up with his class, he was also fully aware that his reputation across the entire school remained low. Figuring that complaining here would only worsen her impression of him, he reluctantly stood up from his seat. Two people voiced their objections before he could leave.

“Please wait. Kamiji-kun hasn’t caused any problems at all.”

“That’s right, senpai. If anything, he saved us during that incident.”

Kaoru let out a sigh at the two girls standing in her way to protect Shinta.

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to speak with him alone. Would you quietly step back for me?”

The pressure she emitted increased slightly as she spoke. As expected of the head of the Disciplinary Committee who represented and protected the discipline of this school, her intensity made the two girls flinch. They still tried to argue back, but Shinta stopped them.

“Cut it out, you two. There’s no point in arguing loudly with this person here. I just need to cooperate and go with her.”

“But…”

“If I’ve got nothing to hide, it’s all the more reason I shouldn’t put up a fight. Well then, shall we go, senpai?”

“You have my thanks. Now, will you come to the Disciplinary Committee room?”

Despite a bit of a commotion, that sequence of events led to Shinta arriving at the Disciplinary Committee room. He had entirely assumed that other members would be on standby and prepared to gang up on him, so the empty room caught him off guard. The pressure coming from Kaoru immediately increased as she sat across from him to make the air in the room feel heavy.

“Now, for my first question. This rumor that you got into a fight at the karaoke place—could you start by answering whether that’s true or false?”

The head of the Disciplinary Committee fired off her questions and pierced the boy once called the Fierce God with a gaze like a bird of prey. She didn’t flinch in the slightest. And so, their face-to-face discussion began amidst that heavy, oppressive atmosphere.