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Chapter 190.1: Class Meeting 6
「Good grief, aren’t you making a big deal of things such as the crisis of chastity when she just caught lightly?」
「That’s only natural, right!」
Nope, you girls are the ones who thought that way. In fact, they’re reigning in the top caste of the class thanks to their beauty.
Anyhow, Sakura’s denial was half-conscious and half an attempt to deny that Totem Pole Trio had no intention to rape her at all.
「But look, they’re not even touching Takanashi-san, right?」
「From the outcome, then yes. But if they caught Kotori, it’s easy to imagine what they’re going to do to her.」
「Nay, that’s just in your imagination.」
「Stop trying to defend them! They obviously have such wicked ideas!」
Uhm, I was really troubled right now since she was right, that’s why I had no choice but to exchange such sophism
 But, just a bit more.
「Anyhow, let’s try to ask them. Did they really want to rape Takanashi-san?」
「Yo-You’re mistaken! It’s just as Momokawa said, we only wanted the core!」
「That’s right, we did that since we thought that Souma’s team has a lot of core!」
「The three of us only wanted to escape!」
As expected of the Totem Pole Trio, they caught my hints and used my argument as justification for their attempted crime.
「The three of them are trying their best to survive. I do think that they’re guilty of assaulting their own classmate, but I don’t think they’ve to be cornered one-sidedly like this.」
「You think we’re going to trust such lies!」
「Since nothing really happened to Takanashi-san, do you really have to go that far with them?」
「Just how rotten is your character for you to not even recognize what they did as a crime
」
「Since you’ve also gone too far in cornering them, don’t you think that you’ve to do something about your ugly nature who can’t trust humanity?」
No doubt about it, sparks were definitely flying between Sakura and me.
「
 I understand your complaint. Let’s set aside this matter for later. Either way, it’s not like we can punish them in this place.」
「Ryoko! Are you going to forgive such blatant lies too?」
「This is an argument that will never meet a good conclusion. Let’s not waste our time in this kind of useless talk that will definitely turn into a quarrel.」
After having resolved the matter of me killing Reina which took so much effort since we wanted to build a strong group, it was only natural for her to prevent the situation from turning toward the worst direction just because of the Totem Pole Trio attempted rape in the past. Me aside, Class Rep surely had a lot of pent-up frustration in her stomach right now.
「Sakura, we have no choice but to keep this matter aside for now. PLEASE understand our current priority.」
「I understand
 But I want safety management to be strengthened.」
「Yes, a ban on love relationships is definitely for that, but we’ve to decide on the other rules to prevent any trouble.」
「Let’s discuss that matter after this.」
In addition, there was still some charge that I wanted to make clear.
For now, since the punishment will be put on hold for now, the Totem Pole Trio slumped on the ground with a look of relief on their faces. You guys are seriously way too unprepared. There is a limit to how much I can cover for you guys.
Now, let’s move on to the next topic before Sakura starts blabbering some nonsense again.
「Well, anyone else wants to confess their crime? Now is the only chance for you to complain.」
Despite my question, seeing that no one reacted, I guessed there really was nothing else. In the first place, a conflict between a group of classmates rarely happened when the chance of them meeting each other was pretty low.
Upon recalling that fact, I realized that I might be the only one with the highest encounter rate with classmates.
Anyway, if no one is talking, I guess it’s up to me. This reminds me that I’ve been talking non-stop since a while ago.
「Don’t you have anything else to say, Himeno-san?」
「Eh!」
Himeno was surprised when I asked her.
Well, she could be thinking that she would be the last person to be asked. And yet, she looked like she had so much pent-up frustration.
「I heard from Yamajun that you left their group before my arrival.」
「Ah, yes, indeed
」
Himeno-san, your eyes were swimming around nonstop, you know. That’s only natural since she might be unwilling for her deed of sleeping around with at least five men in the class to be disclosed on this occasion.
I wouldn’t blame her for doing that since that was a natural course of action for a woman without a powerful vocation to survive in this dungeon, and the five men weren’t stupid enough to disclose that fact either. I mean, disclosing that fact would make the six of them the most hated lot in this place, next to me.
「Well, you’re literally abandoned, do you have any complaints against the one who abandoned you?」
「I
 No
 I don’t care about such things anymore.」
Himeno-san could weigh the pros and cons. I mean, I was almost convinced that she would say something along the lines of “Hey, how dare you abandon me back then!” to the Totem Pole Trio and Yamada.
Well, she might’ve realized that it was much better to leave a good impression on Souma-kun or Tendou-kun rather than make a mess of the situation. And she didn’t seem to want unwanted attention from other girls too.
「I see, all is well then. Everyone ended up worrying nonstop after your sudden disappearance back then, after all, they feel responsible for that too.」
Look now was the best moment to settle the past grudge.
「Tha-That’s right, we had been always worrying about your safety back then!」
「Sorry for not saving you back then, Himeno.」
「We’re reflecting on our actions back then. We will never do that again.」
The Totem Pole Trio could read the mood and apologise properly. Their decision to make themselves look slightly better was right.
「That goes for you too, Yamada-kun, say something already.」
「Ye-Yeah
 My bad.」
Though you don’t seem like you are putting your heart into it, you should at least put some effort into your apology, Yamada-kun.
「My apologies too, I also went too far back then
 But it’s okay now, I mean, everyone is regrouped, safe and sound.」
Good job, Himeno-san. Even if you feel otherwise, thank you very much for helping me set the mood. Himeno-san, Totem Pole Trio, and Yamada-kun didn’t want to talk about their messy relationship back then.
Since only the people concerned knew the situation back then, Souma-kun and Co, who had no idea about the situation, were left speechless. But that might be the best outcome.
「Don’t worry, Himeno-san. Since Ayase-san isn’t here anymore, you won’t experience the same thing again.」
「
 Tha-That’s right, and thank you, Momokawa-kun.」
Can that “Thank you” be regarded as “Thank you for killing Reina”?
「Oi, what’s that mean, Momokawa.」
And just as I expected, Souma-kun was the one who reacted first when Reina’s name was mentioned. Well, he had no idea what had happened to Reina’s party before, after all. This could be the first time he had heard about the situation.
「It’s something that happened before I met them. Himeno-san, Shimokawa-kun and Co, and Ayase-san were at one party, but they kicked Himeno-san out since she is a nuisance.」
「Lies, as if Reina going to d――」
「To put it properly, the bully never had the intention to bully her victim.」
Reina never had any ill will toward Himeno-san, nor did she regard her as a comrade, that bi*ch was simply apathetic.
What I told Souma-kun was a mix of truth and lies.
But then, saying that Reina was the bad girl would allow me to have an edge over Souma-kun.
「Well, that is also something that I heard from Yamajun when I met their party after they expelled Himeno-san. I have no idea what really happened since I’m completely unrelated to this matter. That’s why you should just ask Himeno-san what kind of harassment Ayase-san showered on her.」
「Will you hear me, Souma-kun!?」
Ooh, nice assist Himeno-san, keep up the good act of the tragic heroine who got bullied by a villainess called Reina. Go on, I’ll be cheering for you.
「
 No, let’s stop that. I doubt that I will be able to suppress my anger when I hear someone speaking ill of Reina.」
「For Souma-kun, Ayase-san might be an angelic childhood friend but that doesn’t seem to be the case for others. Let me tell you this, she isn’t an angel, she’s just a mere human. Since she’s a human, it’s only natural for her to do something bad.」
「Shut up, I don’t want to hear that from you who murdered Reina.」
「We’re always ready to tell you about how much trouble Ayase-san caused us
 To the point that we almost died back then.」
I definitely didn’t do this to provoke Souma-kun’s wrath.
I just wanted him to know that there was someone else who had a deep grudge toward Reina too.
He might be able to dismiss my story about Reina’s evil deed, but what if there was another person, unrelated to my circumstance, who suffered the same hardship as me?
Will that let him know that Reina was also a bad girl? Or else, Souma-kun, you’re already aware of that.
It might be easier to deny that fact if I, the one who murdered Reina, was the one who said so. However, the same couldn’t be said about Himeno-san who had nothing to do with me. For him, Himeno AIri was one of the classmates he had to protect.
In short, that would justify my reason to kill Reina. I guess I had to thank Himeno-san for this. Yeah, you’re also a splendid victim of Reina A. Ayase. Wanna form a victim’s association with me?
「Well then, both sides are willing to forgive each other in Himeno-san’s case.」
「The way you speak makes it look like a shady treaty, but
 Whatever, fine by me.」
You didn’t have to say it, Class Rep, everyone seems to know that was just formality. But, the most important matter was the problem had already 『Settled』 at this moment and would never be brought up again until we were out of this dungeon.
「Well then, I guess we’re about to run out of joke material soon but
 There must be at least, one last complaint, right?」
Everyone now raised a ruckus, wondering who I was referring to this time.
Well, it’s not like I knew everyone’s circumstances. That’s why I think it’s fine to let them keep one or two secrets. However, those were trivial matters compared to murder.
That’s why even though I really didn’t want to touch this topic, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of this case.
「Tendou-kun, whose skull is this 『Summoner』?」
The one that I took out this time was the first skull to decorate the 『Fool’s Cane』, 『Summoner’s Skull』.
Honestly speaking, I had nothing but heartfelt gratitude to Tendou-kun who gave me this skull, but that matter was different from this. I’d to disclose this matter before it became huge trouble later.
And most of all, it would act as a deterrent to Souma Yuuto, namely letting him know that his best friend had also committed a murder like me.
「Oh, that’s Azuma’s skull.」
Tendou-kun nonchalant reply was honestly
 a letdown.
「Ryuuichi
 You, really
」
「The heck yer talking about, Yuuto. He sold a quarrel, I bought it, that’s my principle. Selling a quarrel in this place isn’t the same as brawling against those thugs in the city.」
Yeah, Tendou-kun was Tendou-kun, after all. Trapped in this cursed place called a dungeon, gained power that allowed us to kill a human so easily called vocation, a quarrel wouldn’t just end as a simple brawl.
At this point, we’re back to survival of the fittest, strong preyed on the weak.
「That 『Summoner』, Azuma-kun, is he strong?」
「Well, he had a huge dragon that can breathe fire. That guy was bad news.」
「Eh, that salamander was Azuma-kun’s pet!?」
「He might have gotten lucky. Appearance-wise, that dragon seemed like an old one and about to die at any moment.」
I see
 So that’s why Azuma managed to tame it despite just receiving his vocation.
Moreover, even if it was an old one, it was still a salamander. Rather, being able to tame it in a single try
 Wasn’t there a huge gap of ability between him and me who could only tame tree sparrows?
Yup, 『Summoner』 was a cheat-like vocation, after all.