C43

Chapter 43: Student Guidance Room — Takamiya Rinko's POV

The fourth-period class ended, and the subject teacher left the classroom. In his place, Yamaoka stepped inside and went around to notify the students who would be questioned starting in the afternoon, one by one.

Afternoon came, and a short while into the fifth period, Yamaoka entered the classroom once again.

When Yamaoka called out to her, Rinko quietly stood up from her chair. Following right behind him, she left the classroom, walked down the corridor, descended the stairs, and headed toward the student guidance room.

Arriving in front of the guidance room, Yamaoka opened the door.

"Going in."

"……Yes."

Rinko followed him inside.

◇

Note: The questionnaire response is at the bottom.

Takamiya Rinko

Stepping into the student guidance room, she saw Hirano, the student guidance teacher, and Nishikawa, the grade head, sitting on the other side of the desk.

Yamaoka, who had entered right after, took a seat next to the two of them.

"Have a seat."

Prompted by the words, she lowered herself into a chair. Looking at the three teachers lined up before her, a tightness gripped the inside of her chest, far more intense than just moments ago.

Teacher Hirano cast his gaze down at the questionnaire resting on the desk, checking the written contents for a while.

Eventually, he slowly raised his head.

"Today, we are going to ask you about the false confession made to Tachibana-kun after school last Monday."

Rinko gave a small nod.

"……Yes."

Hirano lowered his gaze back to the questionnaire.

"Now, let's confirm what you wrote in this morning's questionnaire. In the final section, you wrote that it was you who decided to make the fake confession the punishment game this time, correct?"

"……Yes."

"Is there any mistake in the fact that you proposed the fake confession as a punishment game?"

"There's no mistake."

After answering, Rinko cast her gaze downward.

"Then, let's hear the background behind that. How did it end up becoming a punishment game?"

Asking this, Hirano waited for her reply.

"We were playing a game where whoever came in first place in a card game got to decide the punishment for the person in last place…… and when I got first place, I suggested making a fake confession the punishment."

While Rinko answered, Hirano jotted something down on the paper in his hand.

"Tell me who was there at that time."

(Can I say everyone's names……? Meiko, Kokone, and Renya are already known to everyone, but…… Kaho and Tatsuya probably aren't known yet, right?)

She couldn't answer immediately.

Casting her gaze down at her hands intertwined in her lap, she fell silent, hesitating over how to answer. She lifted her face just once, but when her eyes met those of the three teachers, she dropped her gaze again.

"Takamiya, there's no use trying to hide it. The school has already confirmed certain things, so just tell us what you know."

At Teacher Yamaoka's words, she remained silent for a while.

Yet, realizing it was useless to hide it here, Rinko let out a small breath and raised her head.

"Me, Kano-san, Suzumura-san, Kitayama-san, Kujo-kun, and Sugisawa-kun. The six of us……"

Each time she spoke a name, her voice grew quieter.

With his eyes still on the paper in his hand, Hirano asked the next question.

"Now, please tell us the detailed circumstances of that fake confession."

(……Back then—)

"Suzumura-san was chosen to be the one who would confess…… And so, the plan was that if Tachibana-kun accepted, they would go out for a few days, and at the very end, when they were left alone together, she would reveal the truth…… That was the plan."

Rinko cut herself off for a moment, lowering her gaze slightly.

"And…… we were planning to hide and watch the two of them when the truth was revealed."

As he listened, Hirano added notes to the paper in front of him.

"Then tell us how you came to choose Tachibana-kun as the target for the fake confession."

Rinko directed her gaze upward, tracing her memories.

"A few names came up…… I think Kujo-kun was the one who decided on Tachibana-kun."

Hirano nodded, and beside him, Nishikawa also added notes to his own paper.

"Now, was this fake confession decided with the agreement of everyone present? If anyone objected, please tell me."

Rinko answered while keeping her head bowed.

"Kaho…… Kitayama-san said we shouldn't do it…… but I said there was no need to blow it out of proportion, and…… I just brushed it aside."

(Because of me…… I even dragged Kaho into this……)

Hirano looked down at the paper once more and added to his notes.

After a short while, he stopped his pen and turned his attention to a different set of documents.

"Now, let's review what happened last Monday after school."

Having looked through the documents, Hirano shifted his gaze back to her.

"What actually took place differed from the initial plan. How did things end up going that way?"

Lowering her gaze as if trying to think, she then slowly began to speak.

"……Up until that moment, I thought they would be left alone together after school, and that the truth would be revealed right then and there."

Hearing her answer, Hirano dropped his eyes to the paper in his hand, scanning the text to verify what was written.

"So, actions different from what was previously arranged were taken. Why did that happen?"

Rinko knit her brows, eyes cast down, trying to recall the conversation from that time.

She searched her memory piece by piece, picking up fragments of words left behind.

"I heard about it afterwards, but…… Kujo-kun said that if Suzumura-san and Tachibana-kun talked alone, Suzumura-san might end up being hurt or troubled by Tachibana-kun in some way…… so he said he delivered the message in Suzumura-san's place……"

As he listened, Hirano jotted it down on the paper before him, then stopped his pen.

"And Takamiya-san, did you accept that?"

Rinko kept her head bowed, pausing for a moment before answering.

"At the time…… I didn't think deeply about it, and accepted it."

Hirano lowered his gaze to the materials in his hand and changed his question.

"There is information that Kano-san was filming a video this time as well…… Was that filming part of the plan from the beginning?"

(That was…… Meiko…… What should I do? But Meiko deleted the video, so it's fine, right?)

"It wasn't part of the plan…… It was filmed. But the video was deleted."

Hirano shifted his gaze to Rinko's face.

"Takamiya-san, did you check to make sure Kano-san actually deleted the video?"

(Check…… I didn't check…… But Renya told her to delete it, and she said she deleted it on Friday too…… So, it's fine, right?)

"I didn't check. But she said several times that she deleted it…… so I think it's fine."

Writing notes onto the documents in front of him, Hirano moved on to the next question.

"Now, I'll ask about what happened after the fake confession ended."

With that preamble, Hirano looked straight at Rinko.

"Multiple responses in the questionnaires indicate that Kujo-kun swore everyone in the class to secrecy. Is that a fact?"

(……Secrecy? Oh I see…… So that's considered a cover-up. I thought he said that because he was worried about Kokone…… Renya said he did it because he didn't want to cause trouble for Kokone. But…… since everyone calls it that, I suppose it really was a cover-up……)

"Well, he said it was for Suzumura-san's sake, but…… I suppose it really was a cover-up, after all."

Hirano nodded, dropping his gaze back to the documents.

After jotting down her previous answer with his pen, he shifted his eyes to another section of the questionnaire.

"Takamiya-san, you wrote in here: 'I realized later on that I had done a terrible thing to Tachibana-kun.'"

Hirano laid his pen down for a moment and turned his gaze to Rinko.

"Could you explain what you mean by this?"

With her head still bowed, Rinko searched for words for a while.

"I…… wasn't thinking at all."

A small voice dropped into the silence.

"……I was only ever thinking about how to make the moment fun."

"I thought it would be funny to pretend to go out for a few days and turn it into a joke to laugh about later…… I thought it was amusing."

She stopped herself once, chewing over her own words while keeping her head lowered.

"At first…… I didn't think deeply about the reason Tachibana-kun was absent."

She continued speaking.

"I figured I'd just apologize when he came back to school…… That's what I thought."

Her words broke off there for a second.

"But…… my friends pointed it out to me, and for the first time, I realized."

What she had decided with a laugh back then—how heavy of a burden it was for the other person.

"I thought it was just a game…… making memories, having fun…… I was only ever thinking about things like that."

Her voice grew quieter by degrees.

"What Tachibana-kun might feel…… I hadn't thought about it properly at all."

Biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes, she raised her head.

"I think…… I did a terrible thing."

Hirano watched Rinko in silence for a while, but eventually lowered his gaze to the paper in his hand.

For a while, only the sound of a pen scratching across paper echoed through the room.

When he finished writing, Hirano slowly put his pen down.

"I understand."

Hirano dropped his eyes to the paper before him, running his gaze over the recorded contents to confirm them.

"Regarding what we've confirmed today, the school will organize the details and consider our future response."

After a slight pause, Hirano continued:

"That being said, the school will also be contacting your parents regarding this matter, Takamiya-san."

"……Yes."

The moment she heard those words, a heavy weight sank deep into her chest.

She was made to realize once again the magnitude of what she had done.

Hirano directed a look toward Rinko, as if checking her condition one last time, then spoke quietly.

"Also, please make sure not to talk about or share what we've confirmed here today with other students."

"Yes."

"That's all for today."

Hearing Hirano's words, Rinko slowly stood up from her chair.

Matching her movement, Teacher Yamaoka also rose from his seat.

"Shall we head back?"

At Yamaoka's short words, she gave a small nod.

Then, following behind Teacher Yamaoka, she stepped out of the student guidance room.

Confirmation Regarding the Events of Last Monday After School

Name: Takamiya Rinko

① Were you inside the classroom last Monday after school?

• Yes / No

• A: Yes

(If you answered "No," please finish here.)

② Please write down, to the best of your memory, what happened inside the classroom at that time.

• A: The fake confession was revealed in front of the classmates.

③ Among the things you saw or heard at the time, please write down anything that left a strong impression on you.

• A: Things turned out completely different from what I had expected, and my mind went blank.

④ If there is anything you yourself did or said on the spot, please write it down.

• A: I don't remember what I talked about.

⑤ How do you personally feel about what happened this time?

• A: I realized later on that I had done a harsh thing to Tachibana-kun.

⑥ Did you ever think about consulting or reporting the events of last Monday after school to the school or a teacher?

• Yes / No

• A: No

• Please write the reason you felt that way:

• A: I hadn't thought about it.

⑦ If there is anything else you would like to convey to the school, please write it down.

• A: I am someone who was involved in the fake confession. I was the one who decided the punishment game would be a fake confession.