People at the practical education center only want to drop out.

Horikita Suzune pondered repeatedly, but she realized that with what she had, she ultimately couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock.

However, not being able to "break the deadlock" does not mean she has no way to deal with it.

Now that things have come to this...

Soon, Horikita Suzune spoke up: "I think there are still many uncertainties in this case."

With what we currently have, we cannot yet confirm the case.

Therefore, I hope this arbitration will be postponed to give us some time to investigate. We will then issue a ruling at a later date after our investigation is complete.

Horikita Suzune planned to stall for time.

Ideally, the arbitration should be postponed until after the midterm exams. That way, even if they fail, Karuizawa will still be punished, but at least it won't affect the midterm exams, and Karuizawa won't be expelled for failing.

However, Horikita Suzune's thoughts were not so subtle.

When she made the suggestion, it was immediately met with opposition from the Yonekura side.

I disagree!

I have a showdown!

Our goal is not simply to suspend her from school!

That's right!

We just want her to drop out of school!

She's so violent, such a terrifying person.

Since I've already reported her, I've offended her.

If she isn't expelled, how dare we stay in school?!

We dared to report her at this time because we knew that suspending her studies would cause her to miss exams and eventually drop out of school!

Otherwise, what if she continues to bully Yonekura, or even us, after she's finished being punished?

Although she might retaliate against us during her suspension and before she's expelled, if it's only for these few days...

We can endure it!

128. The fish are here!

Due to opposition from Yonekura's side, Horikita Suzune's stalling tactic ultimately failed.

However, it wasn't a complete failure.

"I hereby declare this arbitration session concluded. It will then resume on the afternoon of May 23, where a final judgment will be rendered," Horikita Manabu announced, ending the arbitration proceedings.

Yes, the arbitration was indeed postponed, but not after the midterm exams; it was postponed to May 23, the day before the midterm exams.

In other words, although Horikita Suzune and her group successfully bought more time for the investigation, they still could not easily resolve Karuizawa's expulsion crisis by delaying the process. Ultimately, they had to clear Karuizawa's name.

Thinking of this, Karuizawa's defense lawyers couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Wait a minute," Karuizawa said, turning to Horikita, "No results yet? What does this mean? Do I still have to suspend my studies?"

“Everything will continue as usual until the punishment is handed down,” Horikita Manabu replied.

"Huh? As...as usual?" Karuizawa looked incredulous, afraid he had misunderstood, and couldn't help but ask Horikita Gakudo, "What do you mean?"

Horikita Suzune felt a little embarrassed and couldn't help but answer Karuizawa's question for her brother: "It means, Karuizawa-kun, you continued to attend classes normally during the period before the midterm exams."

Upon hearing this, Karuizawa was immediately taken aback and blurted out, "Huh?! Does that mean my fake..."

Halfway through her sentence, Karuizawa realized what she was saying and quickly stopped, silently finishing the rest of her thought in her mind.

My vacation is over?!

I thought I could take a break from school because of this suspension, but because the arbitration was delayed and the punishment hasn't been officially issued, my planned vacation is now being taken up by boring coursework again. It's so annoying!

Don't delay!

Punish me!

I want to drop out of school!

I want a vacation!

"What did you just say?" Horikita Suzune asked, noticing Karuizawa's strange expression.

Karuizawa waved his hand, looking arrogant and impatient, and said, "It's nothing, I just find these guys annoying. My precious time is being wasted on these guys doing some boring things, which I find very regrettable."

"Since you find it troublesome, then please be more careful in the future. If you were more vigilant and didn't give the other party a chance to frame you, it wouldn't be so troublesome!" Horikita Suzune said irritably.

"Or, why not just stop delaying and let me stop studying altogether?" Karuizawa blurted out his thoughts as if possessed.

To maintain her public image, she shouldn't have spoken in an arrogant or domineering manner, giving off an air of fierce determination, as if she would rather die than live in dishonor.

Karuizawa's "fierce" demeanor made Yonekura, who hadn't yet left after the arbitration, shudder.

Yonekura couldn't help but worry. She suspected that Karuizawa planned to beat her up severely before dropping out of school, sending her to the hospital so she couldn't take the exams, and then they would all drop out together because they failed the exams, as revenge.

With that in mind, Yonekura secretly decided that she absolutely could not go out without several bodyguards by her side these next few days!

Then, Yonekura subconsciously quickened her pace as she left the special classroom, just to get away from Karuizawa as soon as possible.

After hearing Karuizawa's words, Horikita Suzune subconsciously assumed that Karuizawa wanted to throw caution to the wind and beat up the person who had returned her before dropping out of school.

The thought that Karuizawa's assault on someone would lead to a deduction in the class's grades made Horikita Suzune, who desperately wanted to get into Class A and prove herself to her brother, suddenly feel a sense of crisis.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Horikita Suzune cast a probing look at Karuizawa, as if trying to confirm something from her eyes.

"It's nothing." Karuizawa felt Horikita Suzune's cold gaze and instinctively flinched, not daring to meet her eyes. She quickly turned her head away, appearing to others as if she "didn't bother to explain."

Seeing this, Horikita Suzune felt increasingly uneasy, and secretly decided that she must keep an eye on Karuizawa as much as possible in the time before the next arbitration meeting.

If Karuizawa is really planning to do something foolish, Horikita Suzune should stop her in time!

Every point counts in the class score.

........

"Bai-kun, Horikita's eyes are looking at me strangely! It's scary! Does she think I caused the class to lose points, so she wants to hit me?"

During his time away from the special classroom, Karuizawa seized the opportunity to quickly send an email to Shirai.

Bai Lan replied, "It's hard to say. Horikita is a violent maniac. She even dared to hit me before, but we just haven't actually fought."

On another note, Horikita is quite strong; most guys probably couldn't beat her. So, while she might not be able to beat me, she should be able to beat you without any problem.

So, you'd better be careful. Practice your running and phone call speed more often, that way I'll have a chance to rescue you from Horikita.

"Ahhh! Bai-kun, please help me persuade Horikita not to think about hitting me! Didn't you promise to protect me?" Karuizawa pleaded with Bai Lan for help in an email.

“What I said was ‘I will protect you this month, and gradually reduce the protection starting next month.’ I said these words last month. ‘This month’ refers to ‘last month’.”

Now it's 'next month,' the 'full protection period' has passed, and we're now using 'incomplete protection.' If I feel it's necessary or I want to, I will protect you; otherwise, you'll have to find your own way to protect yourself.

"Ahhh! Bai, help! Help! Help! Help!"

Bai Lan didn't reply further. He put away his phone, a funny smile on his lips. Then, his eyes glanced at the people beside him.

While Bai Lan and Karuizawa were exchanging messages online, Horikita, Hirata, and Kushida were walking downstairs, discussing offline how to help Karuizawa resolve her crisis of dropping out of school.

After discussion, the final decision was to investigate more details about the case, Yonekura, and the students who "appeared in court" with her.

Then, tasks were assigned, with each person responsible for a specific area of ​​investigation.

"Kushida, you're in charge of finding out about Yonekura and those two girls. See if they have any scandals. If Yonekura has any history of bullying, it will be more advantageous for Karuizawa."

Hirata, you're in charge of investigating those two boys.

I'm trying to find ways to further confirm the circumstances surrounding the incident, and most importantly, to obtain evidence that these events actually occurred.

And Karuizawa, don't give up!

"Think again, did you and Yonekura leave any traces that can prove your words and actions? Don't think about just throwing the baby out with the bathwater!"

Horikita went over the task assignments for everyone else, but when he got to Karuizawa, he emphasized it in particular.

Just a moment ago, Karuizawa was thinking about how to get Shirai to persuade Horikita not to have any intention of harming her. The next moment, she suddenly heard Horikita call her name, and Karuizawa was immediately flustered.

"Oh? Yes, okay!"

Horikita was deeply worried about Karuizawa's reaction, but couldn't think of a solution for the time being.

"at last......."

Horikita finally looked at Shirai and asked, "Do you have anything to say about this?"

From Horikita's perspective, ever since Shirai learned about Karuizawa's situation, he hasn't seemed very proactive, and he doesn't appear to want to help Karuizawa.

In addition, there's the statement mentioned at the arbitration meeting that "disciplinary committee members should avoid conflicts of interest."

Therefore, Horikita immediately felt that she probably couldn't count on Shirai for Karuizawa, so when she discussed it with others, she subconsciously didn't mention Shirai or assign her any tasks.

However, even so, in the end, Horikita still hoped that Shirai could offer some useful suggestions.

In response to Horikita's question, Bai Lan replied, "Then let me say a few words. Because of Karuizawa's matter, some people may come looking for you in the next few days, especially you, Karuizawa."

"Someone's looking for me?" Karuizawa was taken aback, then pointed at himself with a finger and said, "What do they want?"

Bai Lan: "No matter what their purpose is, please let me know. Don't rush to refuse, and don't rashly agree. Delay it for now, and then tell me as soon as possible! This is very important."

Upon hearing Bai Lan's words, Horikita immediately realized something: "You mean the key to breaking the deadlock in the Karuizawa matter lies with the person who will come looking for us?"

Bai Lan: "More or less, but it's also possible that no one will come looking for you."

Horikita: "I understand what you mean."

"What does that mean?" Hirata couldn't help but ask, also asking on behalf of the other two bewildered people.

"Bai Lan means that the real purpose of the other party in setting up this frame-up is probably not just to get Karuizawa expelled from school."

After all, it was a second-year student who framed Karuizawa.

What benefits would it have for second-year students like Karuizawa to drop out of school?

Since the person who orchestrated this frame-up must have been hoping to gain something from it.

If Karuizawa is expelled, our class will lose points, and we will lose some or even all of our rewards if we fail the midterm exam.

If we suffer losses, the other first-grade classes will benefit.

Based on what I know so far, the biggest beneficiary of our class's point deduction is actually Class A of Grade 1, and it has nothing to do with Grade 2.