Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330661640203483/episodes/16817330662418733309
“I’ll start by confirming the facts. Shinonome kun, if I’m wrong, please point it out to me.”
When I came to the principal’s office, the principal suddenly bowed his head and apologized, then looked up with a smile on his face and said that.
Then I looked in turn at the homeroom teacher, coach, and club members who were standing in a row…or rather, at Asakura.
When they met the principal’s gaze, they looked like frogs being glared at by a snake, straightened their posture, and purred loudly.
“Um….excuse me. Why did you call me here?”
I was amused by the principal’s sudden bow, and finally asked the question I should have asked in the first place.
The principal pointed to the assembled crowd and said.
“Of course, I’m here to make them apologize. To you, of course.”
“An apology?”
“Yeah.”
The principal nodded broadly.
“The people gathered here are those who have done unforgivable things to you. As the principal, I thought it was only right that they should be punished accordingly. That is why I have summoned you here. First, they will make a formal apology to you.”
“Haa.”
I somehow understood the principal’s intention in summoning me here.
I guessed that this was the school’s way of dealing with the flames.
If nothing was done, the flames would continue to spread on the Internet and bad publicity would spread.
So, for the time being, the school will call me in, have the perpetrators apologize, and take some sort of disciplinary action.
By doing so, the school will be able to say that they have responded to the flames in good faith.
I somehow guessed that this was the principal’s goal.
“I don’t care what you think about my behavior.”
“….?”
“I meant that it can’t be helped if you think I’m trying to protect myself. However, since it has become this important, I have no choice but to do something as the principal of this school. I want you to understand.”
“..I understand.”
I thought I saw in the principal’s attitude a sincerity that my homeroom teacher did not have.
Instead of trying to deceive like my homeroom teacher, the principal told me honestly that this was to extinguish the flames.
I thought I could trust him more than my homeroom teacher who lied to save his own skin.
“I will listen to what you have to say.”
“Thank you……we’ll start by going over what they did to you one by one, okay?
“Yes.”
When I nodded, the principal looked first at my homeroom teacher.
“The first one is your homeroom teacher, Tanaka kun…..Tanaka-kun, I’d like to confirm something. You were asked for help by Shinonome kun, one of the students in your class, right after the incident. When Shinonome kun asked you for help in clearing his name, you refused his offer. Am I correct?”
“Yes…”
Tanaka sensei, my homeroom teacher, replied with a downcast look on his face.
“Is that correct, Shinonome kun?”
The principal asked me to confirm the facts.
I nodded back at him, since it was all true.
It seemed that the principal already knew what they had done to me, judging from the way he spoke.
Maybe he had questioned her and reprimanded her for calling me before I came.
“I see……it’s unbecoming of a homeroom teacher to treat a student who asks for help without checking the facts. Tanaka kun will be given a six-month pay cut. Tanaka kun, please apologize to Shinonome kun.
“I am truly sorry, Shinonome…I was wrong. Forgive your teacher.”
“I understand. I forgive you, Sensei.”
I answered immediately.
My homeroom teacher had already apologized to me once, and the principal had decided to give him a pay cut.
I decided to forgive my homeroom teacher, thinking that he had been officially punished.
“Tanaka kun. Be grateful for Shinonome kun’s kindness, and I hope that this kind of thing will never happen again.”
“Yes…I will be careful…”
“Then next……Okabe kun. It’s you.”
“Y-yes…”
The principal, after confirming that the homeroom teacher and I had made our peace, then looked more sternly at Okabe sensei, the coach of the soccer team and……also a physical education teacher.
The principal reprimanded Okabe with a voice that was clearly more angry than my homeroom teacher.
“Okabe kun. You are more guilty than Tanaka kun. I heard that Shinonome kun was lynched in the club you supervise. During the game, some members of the club intentionally tackled Shinonome kun, and you overlooked it. Shinonome kun suffered scratches and bruises as a result. If this is true, it is a clear act of violence. I still cannot believe that you overlooked such a thing.”
“All of this is true. I am truly sorry…”
Okabe immediately bowed to the principal.
But the principal’s anger did not seem to dissipate.
“Okabe kun, you are apologizing to the wrong person.”
“…?”
“Shouldn’t you first apologize to Shinonome kun instead of me?”
“Y-yes…”
Okabe turned to me as if in a panic.
“Tohru….I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“I understand. I forgive the coach.”
To tell you the truth, I did not want to forgive him.
The coach overlooked the bruises and scratches on my body that the seniors had inflicted on me in the game.
In fact, it seemed to me that he was laughing at me from a distance.
And later, when I told him that I was leaving the club, I remember that he seemed relieved that I had gotten rid of a nuisance for a moment.
The coach probably would not have even apologized to me if he had not been given this opportunity by the principal.
But there was no point in ranting like a child here.
I decided to put on a good face to the principal and let the coach off the hook, since I would no longer be involved.
“Okabe kun, you did something that could have gotten you sued by Shinonome kun, okay? Are you aware of that?”
“Yes……I am very well aware of it.”
“You are not fit to be in a position to lead the club right now. For the next six months, you will be dismissed from your position as a coach and advisor of the soccer team. Your salary as a physical education teacher will also be reduced for the same period. You should reflect on your actions. And as for the soccer team, you will find a temporary advisor.”
“Yes…I understand…”
The coach accepted the punishment and bowed to the principal once more before pulling away.
“Is that clear?”
“Yes.”
I nodded, which I thought was a sufficient action, and the principal let out a sigh once, then shifted his gaze to the members of the soccer club, and then to Asakura.
“As a principal, it is against my principle to interfere in events that occur within the club, but since Okabe kun, who has the responsibility of supervision, is doing this, I will judge you all.”
The principal said, glancing at the coach.
The coach turned his head and shrank back.
The principal turned to the members of the club, who had mysterious expressions on their faces.
“First of all……after the unfavorable rumors about Shinonome kun spread, you and the whole team ostracized him and caused him to suffer injuries by inadvertently tackling him in the club activities. Is it true about this?”
[ [ [Yes] ] ]
The club members replied in unison.
“Shinonome kun, is that right?”
The principal confirmed the facts to me as well.
I nodded and affirmed that an act of violence had actually taken place.
“Hmm, good. Then next, raise your hand if anyone actually harmed him during the game.”
[ [ […..] ] ]
About half of the assembled members of the club raised their hands in a hesitant manner.
Most of them were third-year seniors.
I look at the faces of the seniors who raised their hands.
I don’t remember them completely, but they certainly look like the guys who tackled me dangerously.
Only a few of the freshman juniors raised their hands.
As far as I remember, it was the seniors who were the ones who were directly violent, while the juniors talked behind my back, but few of them directly tackled me in a dangerous manner.
I don’t know how the principal did it, but apparently he found the members of the club who had been violent toward me and called them here.
“You all did something to Shinonome kun that an adult could easily have arrested by the police…I’m glad Shinonome kun wasn’t seriously injured…but if he had broken a bone, it would have been more serious. Please reflect.”
[ [ [……Yes.] ] ]
The seniors turned over and replied.
“If it’s true, I’d like to give you guys an order to suspend club activities for at least half a year in remorse, but……3rd year students have your last tournament,……o I’ll suspend club activities for two weeks and give you a break on this…..what about you, Shinonome kun?”
“Me, sir?”
The principal turned the water on me.
“If you are not satisfied with this punishment, I can extend the period of suspension. But they have their last high school tournament coming up.
Please give them a break for two weeks. I’m asking you to do the same.”
“I understand. That’s fine.”
[ [ […Phew.] ] ]
Hearing my answer, the seniors patted their chests.
To be honest, I thought that a two-week suspension from club activities was too light, but then there was Hayato.
If the seniors were not allowed to participate in important tournaments, it would cause Hayato a lot of trouble.
I owe him a debt of gratitude.
So, it was not my intention to weaken the soccer team before the tournament for Hayato’s sake.
“Thank you, Shinonome kun. Hey, you guys. You should apologize to the generous Shinonome kun and reflect on what you’ve done.”
“I’m sorry, Shinonome.”
“I’m sorry, Toru.”
“I’m really sorry, Shinonome.”
The seniors apologized one after another.
Honestly, I was angry that such an act of violence had been tolerated, but since I probably wouldn’t have anything to do with it anymore, I nodded, thinking it was okay.
“And of course,……all of the third-year club members who have been punished this time are not allowed to use the university’s recommendation admission system.”
[ [ […!?] ] ]
The seniors’ eyes widened in surprise.
The principal said as if it were a matter of course.
“It’s only natural. No matter what the reason, there is no way we can send a student who is violent towards junior members of the club to a university with a recommendation.”
[ [ [….] ] ]
Several seniors bit their lips bitterly at the principal’s words.
Our soccer team is a pretty strong school.
Probably, many of the seniors were thinking of getting a recommendation to enter a university after getting a good result in the last tournament.
But that path has now been cut off.
Their life plans have been somewhat ruined by this, though not as much as mine.
They got what they deserved, so I have no sympathy for them.
“That’s all the punishment I have for you. I want you to think about what you did and reflect on it carefully.”
[ [ […..] ] ]
The seniors stared at me regretfully.
But I had already completely lost interest in them, so I ignored them completely.
“Well then…let’s talk about your disposition.”
As the seniors who had been handed down their punishments were walking away with regretful expressions on their faces, the principal finally shifted his gaze to the last remaining junior members of the club and their manager, Asakura Aina.
–
–
If you enjoy our content, feel free to donate, Thank you in advance !
Those Guys really got their punishments perfectly. And Asahina was left for last. Wonder if She’s gonna be forced to quit and She start protesting or be totally downtrodden in regret and shame?