Chapter 63: Clear of Guilt

Some things, if they're meant to come, will come.

The next morning, Masashi was called to the principal's office.

Upon entering, he saw the portly principal with a serious-looking middle-aged man seated to his left.

The principal was all smiles towards the man, but upon seeing Masashi, he immediately raised his voice, "Gennai Masashi, what have you done? Come here; this is Councilor Ikeda. He's here specifically for you." If it weren't for the important figure beside him, he would have surely berated the problematic student.

Masashi's lips twitched slightly as he calmly walked up to Councilor Ikeda.

"Are you Mr. Gennai Masashi?" the stern middle-aged man asked, using polite language.

Masashi furrowed his brows slightly, then said nonchalantly, "I am Gennai Masashi. What do you want with me?"

"Gennai Masashi, what's with that attitude?" The principal was sweating bullets, ready to expel the troublemaker at the slightest sign of displeasure from Councilor Ikeda to avoid any trouble.

To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged man suddenly knelt before Masashi.

This shocked not only the principal, whose eyes nearly popped out, but also Masashi, who felt a bit taken aback.

"It was my fault for not disciplining my son properly, offending Mr. Gennai. Please forgive me," Councilor Ikeda said, his head pressed to the ground.

Masashi regained his composure and said calmly, "After all, I struck first. Doesn't Councilor Ikeda blame me?"

"I wouldn't dare. My son was too unruly; I should thank you for teaching him a lesson. I will strictly discipline him to ensure such incidents don't happen again."

"Since the misunderstanding is cleared, please convey my regards to Ikeda," Masashi knew when to stop, especially since the man was a councilor; he couldn't humiliate him in front of others.

"Thank you for your concern. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave and I apologize for taking up your valuable study time," Councilor Ikeda bowed deeply again.

"Alright, take care," Masashi was tired of such formalities.

"Masashi, you..." After Councilor Ikeda left, the principal still looked at Masashi like he was a monster.

"Principal, if there's nothing else, I'll return to class," Masashi said, already walking out before the principal could respond.

"Alright, alright, take care..." The principal wiped his sweat, still smiling awkwardly.

When Masashi returned to the classroom, it was empty. He then remembered this period was for physical education, and everyone was at the sports field.

With nothing to do, he took out a book from his desk to read.

Not long after, he heard footsteps outside. Looking up, he saw Mizuta Kazuo sneaking in.

Since Mizuta was constantly looking back, he didn't notice Masashi's sinister smile until he was already inside the classroom.

Upon seeing Masashi, Mizuta's first reaction was to run, but Masashi was already at the door, grabbing his arm and pinning him against the wall.

"Ah!" Mizuta cried out in pain.

"Mizuta, it's been a while since we last spoke. How have you been?"

"What do you want?" Mizuta's face turned pale. Somehow, he always felt weak in the knees when he saw Masashi.

"Nothing, just want to chat with you."

"Please let go, my hand hurts," Mizuta pleaded with a mournful face.

"Of course, as long as you don't run," Masashi released his grip, smiling at him.

"What do you really want?" Mizuta felt uncomfortable under his gaze.

"If I remember correctly, this period is for PE. Why are you back here?"

"I-I'm not feeling well," Mizuta said hesitantly.

"Is it like last time, planting things that aren't mine in my desk?"

At these words, Mizuta's expression changed drastically, "I-I didn't..."

But before he could finish, Masashi grabbed his collar, "Was it Nagasaki who instructed you to frame me last time?"

"How did you know?" Mizuta's eyes widened in shock.

Kids are so easy, Masashi thought coldly.

"So it was him. He told you to sneak that gold pen into my desk, right?"

Mizuta nodded helplessly.

"I asked if it was him. Answer me," Masashi glared at him.

Terrified, Mizuta quickly affirmed.

"I can let you off, but you need to tell me everything about that day. I want to know how he planned to frame me."

"Will you really let me go?" Mizuta asked, half-doubtful.

"Damn it, just talk already," Masashi was getting impatient.

Mizuta didn't dare ask further and recounted the entire event in detail.

After just a few sentences, Masashi was already fighting sleep. He endured nearly fifteen minutes of Mizuta's long-winded confession filled with excuses and regrets.

After he finished, Masashi couldn't help but yawn, then lazily said, "Mizuta Kazuo, you're the most foolish kid I've ever met."

"What?" Mizuta looked at him, confused.

"Let me play something for you," Masashi said, pulling out his phone and fiddling with it.

Soon, a recording of their conversation began to play, detailing exactly what Mizuta had just confessed.

Realizing he had been tricked, Mizuta lunged for the phone, but Masashi kicked him down.

"Did you really think I was interested in hearing your story, which even a three-year-old could guess? Nagasaki using an idiot like you was his biggest mistake. Now, let's go to the administration office. If you can bring Nagasaki down, you might be fine," Masashi said, heading towards the door.

Mizuta suddenly ran to block the door, shouting, "Give me the phone!"

Masashi smirked, "Would you do that if you were me?"

"Give it to me, or else..."

"Or else what? You'll jump? Or die in front of me?"

Mizuta suddenly pulled out a small knife, pointing it at Masashi, "I-I'll say it again, give me the phone... or else..."

Masashi looked at him, "You can try." He then stepped forward.

"Stay back, stop... I told you to stop!" Mizuta screamed hysterically.

Masashi stood in front of him, just watching quietly, doing nothing.

After a moment, Mizuta dropped the knife, knelt down, and burst into tears, "Please, let me go."

"Don't beg me; you have to take responsibility for your actions," Masashi said expressionlessly, turning to leave the classroom.

Behind him, Mizuta's cries grew louder.

"Senpai, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Rumi wiped his forehead.

"Nothing, just remembering some things."

"Brother, what happened to Mizuta?" Harumi handed Masashi a cup of tea.

"I don't know, probably taken away by his family."

"Oh, that's great! Now you've finally cleared your name," Rumi said happily. "I can't believe Nagasaki did something like that. So horrible."

"I told you that transfer student was trouble," Kazumi commented, taking a sip of tea.

"What do you think the school will do about them?" Rumi asked.

"Mizota will probably be asked to withdraw, but as for Nagasaki… it's hard to say. He might get off without any consequences," Kazumi sneered.

"Why?" Rumi asked.

"Because it's just Mizuta's testimony. As long as Nagasaki denies it, there's nothing they can do. Besides, for someone with his family background, the school is more likely to protect him than to punish him," Masashi explained.

"So, does that mean he'll get away with it?" Rumi asked, frustrated.

"Not necessarily," Masashi said with a mischievous smile.