Humanity Salvation Academy Episode 5: "Emergency Student General Meeting" ii

【Previous】

ii.

A new spotlight fell. What was illuminated there was... a girl. Her features still retained a hint of youth. She wore a white uniform. The girl looked around with a nervous expression.

Houomaru urged her on.

"Now, witness, please state your name and affiliation."

"Yes... I am Ruri Dougaku. A member of the Disciplinary Committee. I am a third-year student."

On the dais, the hologram-like body of Kyoou Mikage swayed as if taken aback.

"A Disciplinary Committee member... you say...? Isn't this... a completely rigged game...?"

Houomaru glanced briefly at Kyoou, but continued his questioning without changing his expression.

"Then, Ruri Dougaku. I ask you. You knew the previous Disciplinary Committee Chair, Hogon Muian, very well, didn't you?"

"Yes. I knew him well."

"The previous Disciplinary Committee Chair, Hogon Muian, was expelled by Lushana Kondo, who is sitting right there, before I enrolled. There is no mistake about that, is there?"

Ruri Dougaku lowered her gaze and answered.

"Yes, there is no mistake..."

"Hmm..."

Houomaru nodded deeply and looked at Lushana Kondo.

"Then Lushana Kondo, I will ask you as well. You... the previous Disciplinary Committee Chair..."

Houomaru's eyes flashed sharply.

"You expelled him through school violence. Is there any discrepancy in that fact?"

"Haha."

Rushana laughed and answered without even trying to break his arrogant demeanor.

That is correct. So what of it?

You admitted it. Then let me ask... why did you expel Muian Hougon? What was the reason for that?

Ha, ha. What a truly ridiculous question...

Rushana laughed as if he were bored to the core. Then, he declared it as if it were only natural.

There is no need to explain. I wield my power exactly as I see fit. That is all there is to it.

...What is that supposed to mean? That is not an answer at all.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Hououmaru looked at Dougakururi once again.

Then, Dougakururi, I ask you. From your perspective, what kind of person was Muian Hougon?

She was...

Dougakururi looked down sadly.

She was a beautiful person who looked good in a white standing collar uniform.

...I see. Then, let me ask you to go a little deeper. I heard that you publicly declared her to be 'the person you admire.' You held feelings of affection for her, didn't you?

Renge Sanjuusan muttered from the dais.

That is a very unpleasant thing to ask...

Dougakururi answered Hououmaru's question honestly.

Yes, that is correct. She was the person I admired... and she was my lover.

Her eyes were straight. Her words were strong and had a dignified resonance.

Silence flowed through the stadium. Everyone was moved by Ruri's attitude... even Mikage Kyouou was watching the exchange between Hououmaru and the others without moving.

Hououmaru slowly looked out over the students. Then he spread his hands and spoke as if appealing to them.

What do you think, everyone! After hearing that, what do you feel... A beautiful girl in a white collar, whom a young girl admired and loved, was expelled by that Rushana Kondo there for no good reason! What an absurdity... and furthermore!

Ho-o-maru raised his hand. In the direction his hand pointed, a giant display floated in the middle of the stadium, and a mysterious pie chart was projected onto it.

You all remember that I conducted a survey through the Disciplinary Committee yesterday, right? 'What kind of person was Hogon Muian?' The results are... this!

On the display, the top responses were highlighted.

Twenty percent of students said she was 'kind.'
Thirty percent of students said she was 'beautiful.'

And then...

Forty percent of students answered that she was 'the epitome of integrity.'

What do you think! From these results, you can see that Hogon Muian was an excellent Disciplinary Committee Chair who was admired and supported by the students! Rushana Kondo, why did you expel her? I hate to think it, but are you saying you were jealous of her popularity... and that's why you expelled her...?

Rushana Kondo looked exasperated and said only one thing,

...How ridiculous.

She said only that. Ho-o-maru ignored her attitude and continued to press her.

Then, let us ask the witness again. Ruri Dogaku, please, tell us the truth as you know it. Hogon Muian... why was she expelled?

Ruri Dogaku wore a bewildered expression.

I don't know... It was truly sudden, like a disaster. That day, all of a sudden, Rushana Kondo barged into the Disciplinary Committee meeting.

Her shoulders trembled, and Ruri hugged herself as if to suppress it.

It was terrifying. Truly... Hogon-san stood up to Rushana with a desperate look on her face. But she was no match for her. Even now, I... her final moment...

As she said that, she covered her face. Ho-o-maru sighed and shook his head.

Truly tragic...

Ho-o-maru looked at Rushana.

If this is the truth, then you are an unbelievable monster.

Rushana snorted with a scoff.

“...Then, let me return to the question. Ruri Dogaku. Are you saying that you know nothing about why she was expelled?”

“Yes...”

“Is that really true?”

“...?”

“You really didn't know?”

Perhaps sensing something off about the way Houomaru phrased it, Ruri Dogaku tilted her head. Houomaru repeated it once more.

“Do you really not know the reason for Ho-gon Muian's expulsion? Really?”

“...Yes.”

“I see.”

Houomaru nodded with satisfaction. Ruri Dogaku watched her with a puzzled look. Houomaru slowly looked out over the students once again.

“I have some data here that I would like you all to take another look at!”

A mysterious line graph was now displayed on the giant screen.

“This shows the annual trend of the number of criminal incidents that have occurred within the school! Take a good look. You can see that the numbers, which had been hovering around several dozen each year, have dropped sharply recently. This is since Ho-gon Muian became the head of the disciplinary committee. In other words, it shows the fact that the school's public safety had become extremely good due to her appointment. Furthermore!”

A new line graph appeared, overlapping the line for the number of criminal incidents. That line also showed a similar trend.

“This is the annual trend of the number of students who have dropped out. This, too, has seen a remarkable decrease in recent years... one could even call it a drastic reduction. Naturally, this is also since her appointment, and it can be said that this shows just how excellent of a disciplinary committee head she was!”

A stir ran through the students. Ruri Dogaku looked around at the students with a proud expression. And Houomaru... was watching her.

Ruri noticed that gaze. And then, she froze. Because the look in Houomaru's eyes as she watched her... was freezing cold.

Houomaru,

“Everyone, but it is still too early to draw a conclusion.”

Raising her hand,

"Look at this!"

Once again, he pointed at the giant display. Overlapping the two line graphs, a bar graph now began to appear. The bar graph showed a trend opposite to that of the line graphs... in other words, starting from a state where the number of cases was low, something had been rising rapidly in recent years...

Houomaru told Ruri with a cold gaze.

"You should know what this is... Ruri Dogaku."

Ruri reacted with a slightly annoyed expression.

"I don't understand what you mean..."

The air and atmosphere in the stadium were beginning to change. On the dais, Takamine Kuzuryu muttered while shaking his plague mask from side to side.

"What is it? Things feel strange, don't they?"

"What is happening...?"

Kyoou Mikage groaned.

"............"

Shinnyo Gokuraku was staring at Houomaru with a stern expression. Beyond that gaze, Houomaru coldly declared to Ruri Dogaku.

"If you won't say it, shall I say it for you?"

Something resembling cold air rose from his body. His scarlet hair swayed like a bonfire, and then.

...Houomaru announced.

"This is... the number of students who have gone missing."

Ruri Dogaku's face turned pale. The students filling the stadium began to stir in an unusual situation.

"The number of missing persons, which had always been zero, has reached thirty-two since the inauguration of Bogon Muian. This is an abnormal number. What on earth is this! Ruri Dogaku. You should know. Why they went missing!"

Ruri Dogaku's teeth began to chatter, and she started to tremble.

"I don't know... I don't know! I don't know anything!"

Hououmaru is...

"Kondo Rushana, this is,"

Slowly, he turned his cold-air-drifting body toward Rushana. On his face... a smile was floating.

"The real reason you expelled Muian Hougon, that is."

【Continued in iii】

"Humanity Salvation Academy" is scheduled to be updated Monday through Friday at 7:30 PM (tentative).