Magician of Cote

Vol-2 Ch-3 The Case

The bad news just kept coming.

During homeroom the following morning, as Chabashira-sensei was about to leave, she assaulted us with one of her infamously brief and off-hand announcements.

"I have an announcement for you all. There was a bit of trouble the other day, an incident between the student sitting there, Sudou, and some students from Class C. In short, there was a fight."

The classroom erupted. Depending on the degree of responsibility that Class C saddled him with, Sudou could face suspension, and we might see a reduction in our class points. Chabashira-sensei laid the whole situation bare for the class.

Her face was so devoid of emotion or interest when she spoke that there was a certain serene beauty to it. She inserted no personal bias whatsoever when she addressed the class, and explained the situation from a position of neutrality.

"Umm. So why hasn't this issue been resolved already?" Hirata asked a rather reasonable question.

"The complaint came from Class C. They claim that the fight was one sided. However, when we spoke to the accused, Sudou said that their claims were false. He insists that the students Class C called him over and started the fight."

"It wasn't my fault! It was self-defense! Self-defense, I tell you!" shouted Sudou as he shouldered his classmate's icy glares.

"But there's no evidence of that. Am I wrong?"

"What evidence? I don't have any."

"So in other words, we don't yet know the truth. Therefore, we have put our decision on hold for now. Our response, and the punishment, will come when we find out who was at fault."

"All I know is that I'm innocent. If anything, I ought to receive a settlement for my trouble."

"So speaks the accused, but I wouldn't say that you have a high level of credibility right now. If there is an eyewitness, as Sudou seems to believe, then the situation may change. If anyone here witnessed the fight, please raise your hand."

Chabashira-sensei continued talking in a robotic, flat voice. No students raised their hands in response to her question.

"Too bad, Sudou. It appears there are no witnesses in this class."

"Looks that way," he grumbled. When Chabashira-sensei cast a doubtful look at Sudou, he glanced downward.

"In order to check for witnesses, every teacher will inform their classes of the details of this incident."

"Huh?! You're telling everyone?!"

The school probably had no say in the matter. Because Sudou had insisted it was a false charge and brought up a potential witness, the school had to be sure. For Sudou, who had hoped to hide the situation, none of this was good.

"Damn it!" Sudou's plan had already fallen apart.

"Anyway, that is all. We'll make our final judgment this Wednesday, taking into account any eyewitnesses and evidence. With that, let's end homeroom for the day." Chabashira-sensei left, and Sudou followed right after her.

He probably realized that if he stayed in the classroom, he'd lose his temper with someone.

The class exploded with curses, some pretty awful remarks about Sodou were said. Even by Ike and Yamauchi. Who had the guts to call Sodou the worst. I would have liked to see Sodou's reaction to that.

I stood up and took my place at the podium and remained silent.

Seeing me just standing there, the class stopped talking. They looked at me with anticipation.