Now for the next interrogation.
The student I wanted came to the counselor’s office.
Amada Miyuki. Aono’s childhood friend, the student who knows all the secrets besides Kondo.
An honor student, she was asked to be vice president of the class last semester. She and Aono have been lovers since last winter. Frankly, she’s beautiful and very popular with the opposite s_x. She didn’t seem like the kind of student who would cheat on her lover, but love is like a drug that makes people crazy.
It’s a forbidden fruit that has led many young people to ruin since the beginning of history. As a history teacher, I can think of several great love-related incidents.
In Japanese history, there’s the Yakuko Incident. (tl: Fujiwara Yakuko and Emperor Heijo.)
In Chinese history, Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei.
In British history, Henry VIII’s divorce issues and love for the crown.
Considering that even the most powerful people in the country have had their lives destroyed by love, teenage honor students must be a fragile bunch.
Well, maybe I can’t get married because I’m a nerd who organizes her thoughts with history stories at times like this. However much the fool learns from experience and the wise from history, it’s something to think about.
"Sorry, Amada. I’m sorry for calling you."
"No, it’s okay. It’s about Eiji, isn’t it?"
"Oh, yes."
Amada wasn’t as upset as I thought. But there were dark circles under her eyes and her complexion was pale.
"Sensei, I’m not involved in this case... I had nothing to do with it!"
She emphatically assured me in a somewhat hysterical tone.
"Hmm?"
"Because, you called me here because I was under suspicion, right?! It’s true, Eiji and I got into trouble because of our separation... and when he saw me walking with Kondo-senpai, who I was consulting with at the time, he misunderstood me."
The calm atmosphere she had before quickly dissipates. Her fast-talking, rambling about things I hadn’t even heard was a far cry from the class vice president I knew from the first semester.
"So, Aono grabbed your arm?"
"Yes, he did. Eiji got upset and pulled my arm hard to separate me and Senpai! We had been talking about breaking up for a while, so...."
"This is very different from the story Aono told me, isn’t it?"
"He... he must’ve lied to you!"
Hmm. Let’s just listen to the end of the story.
"So, do you know anything about the SNS post that went viral about Aono attacking you?"
A suspicious glow lit up her face. I guess this is as expected.
"I’m sure it leaked out that Kondo-senpai was worried about me and talked to someone about it. He’s not the kind of person who spreads rumors for fun. Besides, it’s true that I got a little mark because Eiji pulled me so hard."
For a moment, she was back to her usual honor student self.
"Can I ask you another question?"
"Yes."
After a moment’s hesitation, the honor student answers. She looks as if she did not expect to be asked another question.
"I’m sorry, but I had to check the SNS posts in question to confirm the facts. If Aono really attacked Amada, then the school must punish him. Just to confirm this fact, were you attacked by Aono as you saw on SNS?"
This is one strategy. Mention Aono’s punishment and appeal to her conscience. Considering the way she was upset earlier and the suspicious statements of the two men earlier, Aono is almost certainly a victim. This is a bluff. I keep her as a last resort, but I also tell Aono to save the SNS message logs with Amada. Apparently, the logs are still there. I would prefer not to because of the privacy issues for the students, but if I ask Aono to show them to me, I will probably be able to tell which of them is lying right away.
Well, I watched from the sidelines as Aono obediently used the screenshot function on his smartphone to save the log, so I already knew which one was lying.
Somewhere inside Amada, there will always be a sense of guilt that he betrayed Aono and put Aono in a dangerous position. That’s why she’s shaken.
"Well, that’s...."
She looked down and stuttered.
"It’s important."
So important that it could make or break a young man’s life. With that nuance firmly in my tone, I looked her in the eye.
"I don’t... understand. I was upset too."
Got it!
"Okay. Let’s call it a day for now. I may talk to you again, and if you remember anything, don’t hesitate to tell me right away. If there’s anything left unsaid, you can tell me right here."
"There is no...."
"Okay. Thank you. Now go back to class."
Amada took a moment to think about it and then left.
Honestly, I’m sorry. If you had told me the whole truth here, there would have been another way.
But I have no choice. Once this happened, I had to investigate her thoroughly and get to the bottom of her inconsistencies in order to hunt down the mastermind behind it.
This is the only way. Unfortunately, we also have to get rid of Amada.
If we use Aono’s SNS logs and another trump card... there will be no way out. However, we still lack the crucial factor to hunt down the mastermind. Let’s keep her in the game for a while.
I’m really sorry, Amada.