Episode 26

Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330661640203483/episodes/16817330662247210660

“Ah.”

“Ah…….”

“…..”

The moment Risa and I stepped into the classroom, our classmates, who had been buzzing until then, suddenly quieted down.

When they saw us enter, they shut their mouths and turned their heads awkwardly.

“Hm.”

“……”

I sat down with Risa, who seemed to be still angry, and sat down without paying attention to our surroundings.

Risa also put her bag on her seat and came over to me again.

“It’s really terrible, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“About the flames. Even though people are saying so much about it……no one has come to apologize even though it’s become this big of a deal.

“Oh, so that’s what it’s about.””

Risa seems to be angry at my classmates, who are still ignoring the reality and won’t apologize, even though they know it’s all the rage in the public eye.

I glanced around.

[ […..!] ]

Some of the students who were looking at me hurriedly looked away when their eyes met mine.

Before everyone was awkwardly keeping their mouths shut, it seemed like they were aware that they had done something wrong.

However, not a single student took action to apologize.

Well, I don’t expect anything from them, and even if they apologize, I don’t intend to forgive them, so I don’t care what they do.

“Hey, Tohru. It seems that sometimes it is better to take a firm stand at times like this, so…..if you have to consult a lawyer or the police about this matter, please let me know.”

[ [ […..] ] ]

As soon as Risa mentions the words “lawyer” and “police,” my classmates are understandably upset.

It seems that they have finally realized that they might be sued or get picked on by the police, and are now getting anxious.

There were people who were clearly looking at me, as if to check on me.

“I…I’ve been hiding it for a long time because I thought….Tohru would be shocked that I was collecting evidence and stuff, but…look at this.”

“Hm?”

Risa showed me her phone.

There was a picture of the talk screen of the group line.

“This is……the group line that was created when Tohru was falsely accused. Everyone was talking bad about Tohru here. They were all talking about Tohru as an outcast.”

“Seriously?”

[ [ […..] ] ]

“It’s gone now, but……I think they were probably afraid that it would be left as evidence. But it’s okay. I made sure I took a picture of everything as evidence, so.. if you need it, you can always tell me, okay?”

“You went so far as to do that. Thanks, Risa.”

[ [ […..] ] ]

‘”Some people were calling out on this group line to doodle on Tohru’s desk, or hide things. Some people were in agreement. That kind of evidence, all of it, really…….”

“Thanks for going out of your way to help me. I may end up consulting the police or a lawyer, as you said.”

[ [ […..!?] ] ]

Obviously, unrest began to spread through the class.

These guys were apparently writing bad things about me on a group line where I wasn’t in.

Risa showed me the screen of her phone, which showed the complete history of the group line talks with abusive comments about me.

Some of them were calling for graffiti on my desk on this group line, and some of them were uploading videos of them actually doing it.

All of this could be used as compelling evidence if I were to sue them.

I can only thank Risa for securing all this important evidence for me.

“I hope I was of some help to Tohru.”

“Yeah. I’m really thankful. I really appreciate it.”

[ [ […..] ] ]

I looked around the classroom, thanking Risa for taking the risk of possibly making me a hated person and doing this for me.

I could see that some of the people who obviously had an idea of what was going on were upset.

They might be the ones who actually scribbled on my desk, put thumbtacks in my jacket, or smashed my belongings in the bathroom.

I’m not in the mood for this right now, but if they don’t give me even one apology no matter how long I wait, I may seriously use this evidence to hunt them down.

“Well then, I’d better get back.”

“Yeah…thanks for saving the evidence.”

“Yeah.”

Risa returned to her seat as it was time for homeroom to begin.

An awkward silence descends on the classroom again.

“Y-you guys, good morning……are you all here?

Soon my homeroom teacher came to the classroom where such a hellish atmosphere prevailed.

My homeroom teacher looked over at the downcast students, and gave them a twitchy smile.

Of course, my homeroom teacher would already know about the flames.

In the current flames, not only the students but also the school and the teachers who left the bullying and lynching unchecked have been beaten up by the netizens and have become a big problem.

My guess is that there was probably a staff meeting or something and the teachers discussed some measures to deal with this.

As of now, I couldn’t predict what kind of action they would take.

“T-that’s all there is to inform you…w-well then, let’s do our best today as well…”

My homeroom teacher closed my homeroom with a deliberately cheerful voice.

“S-Shinonome…can I talk to you for a minute?”

“…..?”

“Can you come to the teacher’s room for a moment? I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“….Yes.”

Earlier than I thought.

＝　＝　＝　＝　＝　＝　＝　＝　＝　＝

I followed my homeroom teacher into the teachers’ room.

[ [ [….] ] ]

When I entered the teachers’ room, I caught a glimpse of the teachers there.

Their expressions were somewhat uneasy.

It was as if they knew I was coming here.

I imagined that there had been some kind of teachers’ meeting and something had been discussed.

“Would you please sit here?”

“Yes.”

My homeroom teacher led me to his desk and urged me to sit in a chair that had been prepared in advance.

I obeyed and sat down in the chair.

My homeroom teacher sits down in his chair in front of me and looks straight at me.

“Shinonome…..I called you here today to talk to you about a very important matter.

“Yes.”

I just reply [yes] to the teacher who sounds more serious than ever.

My homeroom teacher took a deep breath, and then immediately went on to the main topic.

“I’m going to be straight to the point……are you aware of the internet scandal?”

“Yes.”

“There was a lot of speculation……and misunderstanding that led to this incident. The teachers didn’t expect this to happen.”

“….”

“Let me say this for now. We, the teachers…..are on your side, Shinonome.”

“…”

“We will continue to support you as we have in the past. There is nothing wrong with you in this case. What is at fault is….the students who mistakenly bullied you……I think part of the responsibility lies with us, the teachers.”

“….”

“So, if you need anything at all, you can always talk to us……and remember that we’re still on your side as always.”

“…”

“That’s all I’m trying to say…….oh my God, how did we end up in this mess…….Shinonome. Why didn’t you discuss this with me right away?”

“…”

“If you had confided in us earlier about what was on your mind, we would have taken care of it right away…….It’s really sad…”

“…”

“Shinonome. If there is anyone who still bullies you or speaks ill of you, tell me right away, okay? The teachers will protect you. We will never allow anyone to bully you any more. I repeat, we are your friends.”

“…”

Like a hot-blooded teacher in a TV drama, my homeroom teacher repeats.

I listened to him silently without saying a word.

“Do you understand me?”

After a while, my homeroom teacher, who seemed to have finished what he wanted to say, looked into my face as if to ask me how I was doing.

I could feel the air of touching something broken, as if he was desperately trying not to spoil my good mood.

I smiled at my homeroom teacher, who was clearly freaking out at my reaction.

“Sensei.”

“Yeah…!

“What are you saying? I don’t understand at all.”

“!?”

I decided to confront this scumbag teacher, who seemed to be trying to weasel out after all this time, with the reality of the situation.