The silenced classroom was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere, as if time itself had stopped.
The male teacher froze with a piece of white chalk still in his hand. His necktie, usually loose, was pulled tight today, and his hair, which was typically haphazard, had been meticulously styled for the occasion.
That was just how much effort he had put into preparing for this open house.
"H-Hatsukade, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Hahaha, let's not take the jokes too far, okay?"
The moment the teacher spoke up, the stagnant air in the room began to stir.
Whispers broke out among the parents standing at the back of the classroom.
Amidst the murmurs, the looks my classmates directed at me varied.
Some froze, eyes wide in shock.
Some hurriedly looked down at their desks.
Others stared at me with open curiosity and intrigue.
The teacher offered me a strained, pleading smile.
I felt for him, but I didn't have the slightest reason to care about his career.
For a long time now, I had been subjected to treatment by certain people that could undeniably be called bullying.
There was no way he hadn't noticed.
He had either turned a blind eye to it or was an utter fool.
Either way, there was no need for me to hold back, was there?
"No, this is no joke. There is bullying in this class."
"A-All right. We'll discuss the details after class. How does that sound?"
"No, I would like to address it right here and now."
"...Ngh."
"Or does the teacher believe that solving textbook problems is more important than addressing bullying?"
"Of course not! It's precisely because it's important that I'm saying we should set aside proper time so there are no misunderstandings!"
Taking his cue from the teacher, Ayano raised his voice.
"Y-Yeah, exactly! Don't go spouting nonsense and ruining open house day. Learn to read the room for once, will you?!"
Having successfully hooked the idiot, a smirk crossed my lips.
"You mentioned avoiding misunderstandings, but with students, teachers, and parents all gathered here, there couldn't be a more transparent setting. If anyone has an objection, please state your reasons. Oh, and of course, parents are welcome to speak up as well. But please, no vague excuses like 'reading the room.' Then again, I suppose the only people who would object to addressing bullying are those complicit in it."
Letting out a sharp breath, Ayano fell silent.
What a pathetic guy.
"I should add: if I'm not permitted to speak here, I will remain silent forever and keep this buried in my chest. If this doesn't work, nothing will anyway. Teacher, are you really going to suppress a student's courageous confession?"
"...Let's hear it."
The teacher finally relented, looking as if he had just chewed on a bitter bug.
Given his position, he had no other choice.
"The one being bullied is me. It all started with a fake confession..."
From there, I laid out everything that had been done to me up to this point.
The reaction from the parents, who had known nothing until now, was immediate and intense. Some glared sternly, while quite a few turned pale, likely terrified that their own children were involved.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Miko's parents hadn't come today.
As for my mother... well, I could just explain things to her once I got home.
And as for Miko, the key figure in all of this... she sat motionless in her seat, dark-faced, like a criminal awaiting sentencing. Keeping her in the corner of my eye, I continued.
"Ayano has relentlessly bullied me for over a month."
"Don't lie! I never did that!"
"If you need proof, I have audio recordings of the verbal abuse I received from him over these past few weeks."
"What?!"
From the day I resolved to eliminate the nuisance that was Ayano, I had been preparing for a moment just like this.
A man—presumably his father—bellowed at Ayano in sheer fury.
"Is that true, you brat?!"
"Ugh..."
As Ayano choked on his words, I pressed a hand to my stomach with an agonized grimace and spoke.
"It is all true. Because of him, I was completely ostracized, to the point where I don't recall having a single proper conversation with any of my classmates for the past two months. Haah... it has been an excruciating time."
A collective gasp of sympathy rippled through the unfamiliar parents.
Meanwhile, my classmates looked at me as if they were staring at a con artist.
Well, I hadn't lied. It was just that I hadn't been talking to anyone to begin with.
"Why is it just me?! The worst one is Miko for pulling the fake confession in the first place!"
"No, I am not seeking punishment for her."
At my words, Miko gasped and snapped her head up.
"Miko is clearly reflecting on what she did. Ever since Ayano started bullying me, she has done everything in her power to stop it. While I cannot forgive what happened, everyone makes mistakes. I'm willing to call it even."
I uttered the words without meaning a single one.
I had zero intention of letting it go.
The only person I was truly furious with was her.
I only said it because it would be inconvenient if she were removed from the board.
Ayano was merely background noise, so I would dispose of him.
With this, the obstacle was gone.
Now, the time had finally come for Miko to face me.
Dazed, Miko stared at me as if searching for my true intentions.
The chime rang.
The open house class was officially over, but there was no way things would simply blow over.
Naturally, our class was dismissed for the rest of the day.
An emergency meeting was hastily convened, bringing together the involved parties—including myself—along with parents and school administrators.
Naturally, that meeting became my stage as well.
Until my father came rushing in, I methodically laid out every grievance and injury I had suffered.
As a result, Ayano was subsequently forced to attend classes alone in a separate room under the guise of disciplinary guidance.
Unable to bear it, Ayano and his family ended up moving away, and he transferred to another school.
As came to light during the numerous follow-up meetings, Ayano had apparently done everything because he had feelings for Miko.
He simply hadn't liked how close she and I always were.
It was a laughably trivial motive, perfectly suited for someone like him.
Now, one might have thought peace would return to the classroom after that.
However, middle school kids proved to be far more foolish creatures than I had ever imagined.
I thought they would learn their lesson after seeing what happened to Ayano, but...
Perhaps terrified of retaliating against me, they redirected their bullying toward Miko instead. Just how much did they intend to get in the way of our relationship before they were satisfied?
And Miko was no better.
Far from apologizing, she began actively avoiding me, refusing to even speak to me.
I could no longer understand what was going through her head.
Even when our classmates talked behind her back, she just took it passively, seemingly drifting through school without any purpose at all.
I didn't feel sorry for her.
All I felt was a rising anger at her complete inaction.
If this was how it was going to be, I had no choice.
Until she faced me, I would just eliminate them one by one.
And so, nearly a quarter of the class would end up disappearing by my hand—though in the end, that was merely a trivial byproduct of achieving my goal.
Only when it was all over did Miko finally confess her true feelings to me for the very first time.