Demon Slayer: I was taken home by Shinobu Kocho at the beginning.

Ichinose looked a little angry.

"That's great, I've gotten a girlfriend for free."

Upon hearing this shameless remark, Ichinose gave a wry smile.

"Anyway, thank you for today. Otherwise, I'm afraid I would have been struggling with this for a long time, which would have been hurtful to Chihiro as well."

Tatsuya Kamio waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to be so polite.

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Now we can call it even about what I said this morning.

That evening, after returning to his dorm, Tatsuya Kamio picked up his phone and sent a message to Airi Sakura.

Are you free tomorrow?

I haven't received a reply to the message after a long time. Are they busy?

Some time later, as Tatsuya Kamio was meditating in his chair, his cell phone on the table suddenly rang.

Yes, I'm sorry, I don't know if I can.

No need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. Just do what you want to do.

A long time passed, and Kamio Tatsuya still hadn't received the message from Sakura.

The next day, when Tatsuya Kamio arrived at school, he saw Sakura sitting quietly in her seat as usual, head down, seemingly lost in thought.

It seems I haven't overcome it yet. Oh well, it's not all bad.

After putting his backpack on the table, Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and started editing a message.

Don't force yourself. I'll come to your place to pick up the camera after school.

Upon seeing the text message from Tatsuya Kamio, Sakura immediately placed her hand on her phone, ready to reply.

But I deleted it.

I can delete it.

After typing and deleting back and forth for a long time, Sakura finally clicked send.

I'm sorry, I'm just too useless.

It's okay, you'll get through it gradually. Until then, feel free to contact me if anything comes up.

After school, Tatsuya Kamio went to Sakura's seat and took the camera from Sakura's desk.

"It's okay, leave it to me."

Kamio Tatsuya's actions naturally attracted the attention of the group of people who were watching Sakura.

"Kamio-kun, what's wrong with you...?"

"It's nothing. I will attend today's hearing as a witness."

The scene fell silent.

Whether it was Kushida, Horikita, or Sudo, they were all somewhat dumbfounded at this moment.

What's going on here?

As for Sakura, her mind was completely blank at that moment, and she couldn't hear anything around her.

Chapter 87 Tatsuya Kamio: I'm a Substitute

Seeing their stunned expressions, Tatsuya Kamio raised his camera.

“I’ve already heard what happened from Sakura, and there’s relevant evidence here. So it doesn’t matter whether she was present or not.”

Upon hearing this, Horikita sighed.

"There's no other way. It's almost time. Let's go."

Afterwards, the group went to the teachers' office.

"Huh? Sakura, who was the witness, isn't here?" Chabashira Sae looked at the group that had arrived with some confusion. "What are you doing here, Kamio?"

"I will stand in for Sakura as a witness, or in short, a mouth substitute."

Hearing Tatsuya Kamio's words, Sae Chabashira found it somewhat amusing.

"Do as you please. As a teacher, I'm just a witness."

Upon arriving at the student council office, since only a maximum of two people could sit in, Chabashira-sensei led Horikita, Sudo, and Ayanokouji inside.

As for Tatsuya Kamio, he waited outside as a witness before being summoned.

"Why are you here?"

Just as Kamio Tatsuya was idly fiddling with his phone, Horikita Suzune's older brother, Horikita Manabu, arrived, followed by a girl named Tachibana Akane, whom he had seen several times before.

“I will be present as a witness later.”

Horikita Manabu glanced at Kamio Tatsuya expressionlessly, then adjusted his glasses.

"Come in with me."

"Um, but two students from Class D have already gone in to audit the class."

"It's ok."

"But……"

I said it's okay.

Okay, okay, you're the boss, you get to decide.

Then Kamio Tatsuya followed Horikita Manabu into the student council office and found an empty spot to sit down.

As for Horikita Manabu, he naturally sat in the main seat at the hearing.

As for Class C, Sakagami-sensei and Kamio Tatsuya had met before, as had Ishizaki, but the remaining two were unfamiliar faces.

When Kazuma Sakagami saw Tatsuya Kamio appear, he frowned, but considering that Tatsuya Kamio was brought in by Manabu Horikita, he didn't say anything.

"So, regarding this violent incident, the next meeting will be chaired by me, Student Council Secretary Tachibana Akane. Please give me your guidance."

Akane Tachibana announced that the hearing was now in session.

Next, Akane Tachibana gave a brief overview of the situation.

"Based on the above, we hope to find out which side's claim is true."

After finishing her explanation, Akane Tachibana first turned her attention to Class D.

Then, both sides spoke and recounted what had happened.

Komiya and her friend from Class C claimed that they were summoned to the special teaching building by Sudo-kun, where they were unilaterally provoked and beaten by him.

Sudo, on the other hand, said that he was called to the special teaching building by Komiya, and that he only fought back when faced with the three's attack.

However, because there were contradictions in the statements of the two sides, it was time for Tatsuya Kamio to step in.

"Witness Tatsuya Kamio, do you have anything to say?"

"Oh, I have a few words to say."

Kamio Tatsuya took Sakura's camera out of his pocket, and when he opened it, it showed the picture of Sudo and the C class fighting. It seems that Sakura had made preparations in advance.

"Let me state upfront that I am not an eyewitness. I am just relaying what I heard from an eyewitness. By the way, this eyewitness is also a student in Class D."

At this point, Kazuma Sakagami frowned, wanting to say something, but he held back for the time being, deciding to listen to Tatsuya Kamio's words before making a decision.

"Here is a photo of Sudo fighting with three students from Class C, which is enough to prove that this was not a one-sided attack by Sudo."

It was because the three members of Class C were too useless that they were unilaterally injured by Sudo. As for who called whom to the special teaching building, my client did not know.

As for who started it, my client stated that it was a student from Class C. However, since my client is also a student from Class D, whether or not this claim is accepted is up to the student council president to decide.

Then Akane Tachibana came down, took the camera from Tatsuya Kamio, and handed it to Manabu Horikita for review.

"The evidence is valid and proves that it was not a one-sided beating, but a mutual fight between the two parties. This point is accepted."

However, we'll leave the question of who started it open. Do the students in Class C have anything to say?

Upon hearing this, Sudo from Class D breathed a sigh of relief.

Is that a relief?

You really can't see the situation clearly.

“Because Sudo was going to beat us up, of course we had to fight back,” Ishizaki argued.

“However, your initial account of being unilaterally beaten doesn’t match up.” Horikita Suzune seized the opportunity to question Ishizaki and the others.

Ishizaki and the others were immediately rendered speechless.

At this moment, the person who stood up to speak from Class C was Class C's homeroom teacher, Kazuma Sakagami.

"I see. It seems my student lied for some reason. After all, it's too embarrassing to lose a three-on-one fight."

However, it is a fact that Sudo injured my student, and the only valid evidence is not enough to prove that my student started it.

"In that case, why don't we find a compromise? What do you think, Mr. Chabashira?"

"A compromise?"

"Because if we keep talking like this, we'll never be able to prove who made the first move, and this discussion will probably always remain two parallel lines."

However, I think my students also bear some responsibility. Although they were the ones who were injured this time, it is also true that they lied in their testimony.

Therefore, I'd like to propose a compromise: a two-week suspension of classes for both sides. What do you think, Mr. Chazhu?

Look, this is what a teacher should be like!

After anticipating that continuing the commotion would not benefit Class C, they immediately cut their losses.

And what the hell is your Chabashira Sae?

You didn't say a single word from beginning to end. Are you some kind of mascot?

As for this compromise, Kamio Tatsu didn't know what others thought, but he found it acceptable.

Two weeks wouldn't be enough for Sudo to fall completely behind and fail his exams, thus preventing him from losing his blood pack.

Now that he had reached a conclusion, Tatsuya Kamio felt it was time for him to leave.

"Tatsuya Kamio, what do you think?"

When the student council president suddenly asked him this question, Tatsuya Kamio felt completely bewildered.

"Me? This has nothing to do with me, right? I'm just a bystander acting as a stand-in."

"Go ahead and tell me."

Now that things have come to this, Tatsuya Kamio sighed. Circumstances are beyond our control.

"I think the compromise is pretty good. After all, Sudo can't produce any evidence of his innocence, and the incident happened in a special teaching building without surveillance equipment, so there's nothing we can do about it."

Moreover, Sudo only broke the other person's bone this time. If he had hit harder and accidentally killed the person, I think there would have been no need to hold a hearing.

Unless it can be proven that the injuries on Ishizaki and the others were not caused by Sudo, the outcome will be the same no matter how long it continues, because it is a fact that Sudo injured someone.

Tatsuya Kamio's words immediately silenced Class D.

Originally, Horikita had planned to portray the incident as a deliberate scheme by Class C to exonerate Sudo, but after Kamio Tatsuya's words, Sudo was determined to be punished no matter what.

Tatsuya Kamio didn't mean to favor Class C; he was just fed up with the oppressive atmosphere and wanted it to end as soon as possible.

So he looked at Horikita again, ready to put an end to this farce.

Chapter 88 Tatsuya Kamio: I can't stand the slightest injustice

"Horikita, are you trying to say that this was actually something that the people in Class C deliberately provoked Sudo to make him take action, right?"

Horikita Suzune nodded silently. If it could be proven that Class C was at fault first, then perhaps it could prove that Sudo was innocent.

"It's no use. Your investigation was misguided from the start. Ever since Sudo admitted that he seriously injured the three members of Class C, he can't be treated as innocent."

Even if it was self-defense, he went too far. From the very beginning, you had no chance of winning.

You were never going to be able to save Sudo from the start; all you could do was drag a few people from Class C down with you.

In my opinion, Sudo was punished not because he fought, but because he lacked restraint; that is the crux of the matter.

Prompted by Tatsuya Kamio's nonsensical ramblings, Horikita took a deep breath, as if he had thought of something.