Chapter 9 Prologue

Youkoso V9 Prologue

Classroom of the Elite Volume 9 Prologue

"The Monologue of Ichinose Honami"

TL: TL-Anon

Minor Editing by Graze

I've never thought of myself as either a 'good person' or a 'bad person'.

I like to think I've managed to become an 'honest me', just like my mother wanted.

I had a comfortable life throughout both elementary school and middle school.

I had plenty of friends, both boys and girls.

I found sports rather difficult but I put in as much effort into it as I did my studies.

By the time I was a 3rd-year in middle school, I was even able to gain the title of student council president that I had longed for.

I was even offered a spot at a private high school on a scholarship.

A fun school life.

A happy private life.

But… I made a single mistake.

A mistake that could never be forgiven, a mistake I should never have made.

The angry face and tears that my mother, who had collapsed from illness, made at that moment.

The bitter face my little sister made after being hurt and left as nothing more than a shell of herself.

I could never forget.

Even now, I occasionally recall that moment.

My trembling fingers.

My trembling body.

A heart dyed black.

I wasted half of my 3rd year of middle school and I ended up becoming a shut-in for half a year.

But on a certain day, that ended.

When I learned about this school, I felt I needed to put an end to that.

In order to bring back the smiles of my mother and my little sister.

That's why I won't run from my own 'answer'.

I will face it head-on.

Yes, that's the oath I swore.

But-

At this school I enrolled at while embracing my dreams, I was confronted with a trial.

I found a letter and just froze up.

Around me, my classmates were turning towards me with curious looks.

I read the contents of the letter over and over.

And no matter how many times I read them over, the words did not change.

'Ichinose Honami is a criminal.'