Unbeknownst to them, the midsummer days of June quickly passed, and it was already nearing the end of the month.
Half a month has passed since the Ishizaki Incident.
During this period, the arbitration meeting, which had been interrupted by Miyako Amane's absence, was convened three more times.
However, each time it was postponed because Amane refused to attend.
Her reason for refusal was that she felt she was being treated unfairly.
During this time, Horikita Manabu also personally went to ask for Amane's opinion.
Amane believed that if the Student Council could not give her justice, then a school-wide public trial should be held at Kou-Iku, involving all classes from all three grades, to evaluate who was right and who was wrong in the incident where Amane's act of bravery ultimately led to her being betrayed and it turning into a malicious assault.
Horikita Manabu immediately saw through Amane's intention to stall for time, but he did not expose her.
When he conveyed Amane's request to classes B and C, both classes, with a tacit understanding, rejected Amane's demand.
Amane immediately used this as a reason to declare that classes B and C knew they were in the wrong and dared not face a public trial, which made it difficult for Ryuuen-san and Ichinose to immediately urge Amane to agree to attend the arbitration meeting.
Privately, Shiina Hiyori, Ichinose Honami, Shiraha Chihiro, and even Hoshinomiya-sensei and Chabashira-sensei had all tried to persuade her.
Hoshinomiya-sensei even hinted that Ichinose could agree and even sign a written agreement: if Class B could advance to Class A, Ichinose would raise twenty million points to help Amane transfer classes.
But faced with such seemingly generous terms, Amane directly chose to refuse.
Her goal was not as simple as wanting to advance to Class A.
For a time, the Ishizaki Incident fell into a stalemate, and as more and more people learned about it, public opinion gradually began to turn against Class B.
Ichinose fell into anxiety.
To find a solution to the problem, Ichinose decided to meet with Ryuuen-san privately.
Out of caution, Ichinose brought Kanzaki and Classmate Shibata, her two most capable companions.
On Ryuuen-san's side, there was The Ishizaki Trio (Ishizaki, Kondo, Komiya), plus Kaneda, Shiina, Ibuki, and Yamada Albert; it could be said that the elite of Class C had come out in full force.
"It's just a regular meeting, you're making too much of a fuss."
Kanzaki stood in front of Ichinose, seemingly wanting to give her some sense of security.
Ryuuen-san snorted coldly.
Albert simply took a step forward and pushed Kanzaki aside.
"A regular meeting? There are only four days left until July, and August is the summer vacation. This means that if the agreement in the contract isn't completed before July 1st, everything we discussed will become a piece of waste paper. Besides... the only reason you're here to see me is because you're helpless in this situation, isn't it?"
Ryuuen-san looked at Ichinose with disdain, his hands in his pockets.
"But if the agreement cannot be fulfilled normally, Classmate Ishizaki and the others will also face expulsion."
Ichinose intended to use The Ishizaki Trio as a bargaining chip.
"Hey, hey, hey, is this the leader of Class B? I used to think it was quite remarkable for a young girl like you to unite Class B, but now it seems I might have misjudged you."
Ryuuen-san's sarcastic words made Classmate Shibata somewhat displeased.
"Ryuuen-san, if you have something to say, just say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."
"Tsk tsk, Ichinose, your dog is barking at me without its master's command. Do I need to help you discipline it properly?"
Ryuuen-san waved his hand, and The Ishizaki Trio surrounded Classmate Shibata.
"Please wait, Classmate Shibata, please step back first."
Even with conflict on the verge of erupting, Ichinose remained calm. After ensuring Classmate Shibata was in a safe environment, she looked at Ryuuen-san.
"First, I need to correct something. Classmate Shibata is an important partner of mine, so I implore Ryuuen-san to be careful with his words. Secondly... I don't understand what I said wrong. Do you have a way to prevent the three of them from being expelled?"
Ichinose frowned slightly.
She couldn't think of any way to make Amane stop pursuing the responsibility of Ishizaki and the others. Privately, she had almost used every method she could think of.
However, Amane was currently completely unyielding and refusing to communicate. Ichinose didn't believe Ryuuen-san could offer Amane better terms than she could.
"Of course there's a way. If I can reach an agreement with you, I can naturally reach an agreement with Class D. Miyako, that fellow, no matter how strong, is still just a member of Class D."
Ryuuen-san said, hinting at something.
Hearing this, Ichinose finally smiled.
"I thought Ryuuen-san might have some good method, but your move might work on others, but it's completely ineffective on Amane, because she might be even more self-centered than you, Ryuuen-san."
Through her experience dealing with Amane, Ichinose was confident that someone like Amane would never compromise with Class D or anyone else.
"Oh? Is that so? Then, shall we give it a try?"
Ryuuen-san seemed to stick to his idea.
"What do you want to do?"
"Force her to attend the arbitration meeting."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ryuuen-san led the people from Class C towards Class D.
Seeing Ryuuen-san's aggressive demeanor, Ichinose was a bit worried about Amane's safety. After much hesitation, she decided to warn Amane first, then immediately contacted Horikita Manabu, hoping to stop Ryuuen-san's attempt to escalate the situation.
At this moment, Amane, who was eating her bento in class, received the warning from Ichinose.
"It seems someone finally couldn't hold back."
Amane was not at all surprised by Ryuuen-san's arrival; in fact, she thought it was quite remarkable that Ryuuen-san had endured until now. Someone must have been advising him, otherwise, given Ryuuen-san's personality, he would have probably shown up much earlier.
"What happened?"
Horikita Suzune couldn't help but ask when she saw Amane smiling while eating.
Before Amane could answer, the sound of dense footsteps echoed in the corridor outside Class D's door, drawing attention.
"Hey! Look! Is that dark-skinned guy a foreign student? Why is he so tall?"
Two passing girls excitedly watched Albert, who was leading the way, discussing in what they thought was a quiet voice.
Albert was already used to people pointing and whispering about him, and he had also learned how to silence those who only dared to gossip about him behind his back.
"Get out of the way!!!"
Albert directly used his large black hand to push the two girls in front of him out of Ryuuen-san's path.
It was as if he was simply dispersing some insignificant trash.
"The other party seems to have ill intentions, Amane. Are you ready?"
Horikita Suzune saw Albert's domineering figure through the window.
She felt a faint sense of unease.
"Don't worry, I've prepared everything. Even if they don't come for me today, I was planning to go to President Horikita to propose another meeting..."
"Miyako Amane, get out here!"
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