Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Volume 02 - Enrollment Chapter (II) Read online

  I believe that we should take the rougher approach, with the intent of ending this as soon as possible."

  Immediately, Mari interrupted.

  It looks like we're deadlocked by two competing approaches.

  For crisis management, this is the worst possible situation.

  "What does Club Leader Juumonji think?"

  Tatsuya's question drew quite a few surprised looks.

  Tatsuya himself felt that this question did bring a "who're you to ask questions" feeling, but even then, this was preferable to remaining at an impasse.

  It's not like he was an adult.

  And he didn't plan on asking adults for assistance in this matter.

  "I believe that there's no harm in agreeing to their demands to negotiate.

  This is only a more radical attempt at what we've seen in the past. As long as we calmly refute their claims, we should be able to quell this without further concerns."

  "So, we just sit here and wait?"

  "There's not enough information to make a call at this point.

  Although we can't just ignore illegal activity, on the other hand, unless this is a dire condition, damaging school facilities is also a criminal activity.

  We've petitioned the faculty to use the security system override to open the door, but they've refused."

  In other words, they don't want to forcibly end the issue.

  Katsuto's idea ended up paralleling Suzune's proposal.

  In that case, there's nothing else they could do except stay there and wait.

  At Tatsuya, who saluted briefly before backing away, Mari directed a displeased gaze.

  While he was not coerced into action by this gaze, he still took out the portable terminal from his pocket and changed it to calling mode.

  The circumstances forced them to wait, but just waiting in perpetuity was no solution.

  After five attempts.

  "Is this Mibu-senpai? This is Shiba."

  Whoosh, quite a few looks turned this way.

  "...So, where are you senpai?"

  The number of gazes directed towards Tatsuya increased.

  "Ah, so you're in the Public Announcement Room, that's quite... Thank you for your hard work."

  Next, Tatsuya furrowed his brows, because a large sound that defied any attempts towards volume control came across the speaker.

  Because the voice from the other side was almost entirely covered from the other listeners, they could only guess at the conversation.

  "No, I'm not treating senpai like a fool.

  Senpai as well, can you please stay calm about the situation... Ah, I'm sorry.

  Then, shall we cut to the chase?"

  Mari and Suzune, as well as a few others, perked up their ears in order to catch every one of Tatsuya's words.

  "Club Leader Juumonji has agreed to negotiate.

  As for the opinion of the Student Council President, we haven't confirmed... no, the President has also agreed."

  Seeing Suzune's hand signal, Tatsuya immediately made the correction.

  "Speaking of which, I would like to first discuss the negotiation site. Details like date and time... Hm, now. Before the school intercedes... No, I will guarantee senpai's freedom. We're not the police, so we have no authority to confine students... Then, that's all."

  Tatsuya pulled out the earplugs and replaced the portable terminal into his pocket before turning to Mari.

  "Looks like they're going to come out right away."

  "Was that Mibu Sayaka just now?"

  "Yeah. Earlier, she passed me her personal number to set up a meeting, not guessing that it would come in handy in this situation."

  Behind Tatsuya, Miyuki dipped her head slowly. Although it wasn't obvious enough to make anyone think it as unnatural, but Tatsuya immediately understood that his sister was using her long hair to cover her facial expression.

  "You do move quickly, so you..."

  "You misunderstand."

  Tatsuya couldn't tell if Mari's words were going to end in fortune or misfortune. At any rate, Miyuki wasn't someone who couldn't read the mood and would immediately attack Tatsuya's back in a fit of jealousy.

  "Compared to that, I think we should prepare a bit."

  Tatsuya didn't turn around (to Miyuki), but focused his attention on urging Mari, Suzune, and Katsuto to action.

  "Prepare?"

  What are you talking about? Mari used this expression to look at Tatsuya.

  What are you asking about? Tatsuya blankly stared back at Mari.

  "I am, of course, alluding to preparations to arrest all the occupants inside.

  Given that they managed to steal the keys, it is well within reason that they are also equipped with CADs or other weapons."

  "...I say, didn't you say you would guarantee their freedom?"

  "I said I would guarantee the freedom of one, Mibu-senpai.

  Also, I never mentioned that I was negotiating on behalf of the Public Moral Committee."

  Not just Mari, even Suzune and Katsuto were astounded at Tatsuya's words.

  Naturally, there was one exception who lightly scolded Tatsuya.

  "Onii-sama, you're evil."

  "It's a little too late to say that, Miyuki."

  "Ho ho, that's true."

  However, Miyuki's scolding was delivered with a delighted tone.

  "That being said, Onii-sama? Regarding the fact that you specifically saved Mibu-senpai's personal number to your terminal, it's still not too late now for you to tell me every last detail, is it?"

  Her face illuminated with by her smile, Miyuki's pleased voice added this onto the end.

  ◇◇◇

  "What is the meaning of this!"

  Whether it was just as expected or only a matter of course, Tatsuya was being interrogated by Sayaka.

  Including her, there were five people that had taken control of the Public Announcement Room.

  As Tatsuya surmised, they all had CADs, but did not prepare any firearms or blades.

  From Tatsuya's point of view, despite their determination, the fact that none of them even considered he could be lying, thus ultimately causing them to be treated like amateur wannabes, was a foregone result.

  Aside from Sayaka, the four others were all arrested by Public Moral Committee members while she was relieved of her CAD.

  This was because Mari took Tatsuya's reputation into account.

  Even though Tatsuya himself felt that verbal agreements were hardly binding in the first place.

  Sayaka reached out to grab Tatsuya's collar, but her wrists were intercepted by Tatsuya's hands.

  After easily countering the hands that were directed towards his collar, Tatsuya blankly watched Sayaka vent her feelings.

  "How dare you lie to us!"

  Watching the furiously struggling Sayaka, Tatsuya simply relaxed his hands.

  Behind Sayaka, who was menacingly approaching Tatsuya, a voice called out.

  "Shiba did not lie to you."

  Sayaka flinched at the heavy, forceful voice.

  "Club Leader Juumonji..."

  "I have heard your demands. I have agreed to negotiate.

  However, listening to your petition and agreeing with your methods, are two different things."

  Sayaka's fighting spirit disappeared.

  In front of one responsible for managing all extracurricular activities, Katsuto, and his resolve, Sayaka could only swallow her resentment.

  "While that's the case, can't we just release them?"

  But at the same time, accompanying the above comment, a petite figure imposed herself between Tatsuya and Sayaka.

  Her back was to Tatsuya as if to protect him.

  "Saegusa?"

  Katsuto asked in astonishment.

  "However, Mayumi."

  Mari disagreed.

  Nonetheless, Mayumi cut right through them.

  "I understand what you're trying to say, Mari.

  But, if we're only speaking to Mibu-san alone, ther
e's no way we can negotiate.

  As long as they're still students of the school, there should be no chance that they would run away."

  "We definitely won't run!"

  At Mayumi's words, Sayaka reflexively responded back.

  "I've already spoken with the supervising teachers.

  The Student Council will take responsibility for the theft of the keys as well as the unauthorized use of the loudspeakers."

  Mayumi lightly sketched out the reason for her tardiness as well as their current situation.

  Despite this, Sayaka and her companions did not betray a trace of fear, though if anyone were to weigh the pros and cons, they would come out vastly ahead, Tatsuya thought.

  "Mibu-san, regarding the topics that we will be negotiating about, I would like to speak with you in private. Could you follow me, please?"

  "...Yeah, no problem."

  "Juumonji-kun, I'll take my leave."

  "I understand."

  "Sorry, Mari, I somehow feel that I stole your thunder."

  "Mentally, no, I never felt that way. But in reality, this is how it's supposed to be,

  So don't worry about it."

  "That's great.

  Then, Tatsuya-kun, Miyuki, the two of you can go home now."

  "...Then, President, we'll take our leave."

  After a short period of time.

  The first one to recover was Miyuki.

  Following his sister's solemn bow, Tatsuya wordlessly bowed, then left the scene.

  Chapter 9

  The next day, Tatsuya and Miyuki left the house a little earlier than usual.

  Rather than getting to school earlier, they wanted to arrive earlier at the train station.

  Luckily, they didn't need to wait for very long at the train station.

  "Good morning, President."

  Amongst women, Mayumi's figure would definitely be rated as petite, but that does not mean she would be buried within the crowds. Even in a crowd, her unique aura enabled Tatsuya to locate her immediately.

  "Tatsuya-kun? And Miyuki too; what is it?"

  Although the situation was obvious, Mayumi was completely blindsided by the possibility of meeting the two of them here, so her attitude did not reflect her normal joking nature and was a more normal reaction.

  However, today's purpose was not to surprise Mayumi. Tatsuya skipped the preamble and dived right into the heart of the matter.

  "I'm very concerned about what happened yesterday after we left. Can you tell me the results of the conversation between President and Mibu-senpai?"

  At Tatsuya's request, Mayumi's eyes widened in shock.

  "How astounding."

  Not just her expression, but her tone was filled with astonishment as well.

  "Tatsuya-kun definitely doesn't seem like the type to care about other people's business."

  "If it was only other people's business, I couldn't care less. Unfortunately, the fates have decreed otherwise."

  "No wonder."

  At Tatsuya's response, Mayumi nodded in acceptance. Tatsuya was already involved in the business with the "Activists Alliance". Even if he wanted to keep himself clear of the mess, it was already far beyond the point of no return.

  He definitely possessed the right to know what's to come, Mayumi thought — even if this wasn't the case, the results would be announced tomorrow morning anyway.

  "They asked that Course 1 and 2 students receive equal treatment, but it appears that they never considered how to put this into practice. To be precise, it feels like they want the Student Council to come up with the concrete details. Well, thanks to that, it's more like a Q&A session now. Originally, we only planned to discuss the negotiation details yesterday, but we ended up with a public forum that will be held in the auditorium tomorrow after school."

  "Developments are happening at a breakneck pace..."

  Tatsuya expressed a dull surprise, since to him this was an inevitable "Is it finally here"; thus, he wasn't overly surprised. Tatsuya originally thought that the most effective strategy was to directly confront the members and drag them out to be dealt with, even at the expense of letting some remnants slip through the cracks. That being said, his reaction was probably in the decisive minority. For example, even Miyuki was in a daze at how quickly things were moving along.

  "While I understand that strategy gives the opponent little time to prepare, this way, we're also in the same predicament. Who is going to represent the Student Council in the forum?"

  At Tatsuya's question, Mayumi revealed a smile that clearly said "Good question", and pointed to herself.

  "...So, it's just going to be the President alone?"

  Tatsuya's voice was still skeptical, not to mention Miyuki's stunned silence.

  "Although Hanzo-kun will also be onstage, I will be the only one speaking. Just as Tatsuya-kun said, there's no time to prepare, so if only one person is speaking, there shouldn't be any concerns about stepping on one another's toes. I'm also worried about leaving an overly belligerent impression."

  "In other words, you definitely won't lose in a traditional debate?"

  As Tatsuya said this, Mayumi confidently nodded her head.

  "There's another thing," Mayumi's light voice was tinged with an air of expectation.

  "If they truly possess the ability to overcome my arguments, wouldn't it be wonderful for them to pass it onto the school as well."

  In Tatsuya's ears, Mayumi seemed to be hoping that they'd demolish her side.

  ◇◇◇

  At the announcement that a completely unprecedented forum was going to be held tomorrow, the Alliance (short for "Activists Alliance for the Abolishment of School-wide Differential Treatment") suddenly came alive with activity.

  While it was unfair to say that many factions were involved, it was true that the sight of Alliance members actively stumping for supporters could be seen around campus before, during, and after class.

  Every one of them wore the white bracelet with green and red stripes. Have they given up on hiding? Or were they unaware of the meaning behind the emblem... Tatsuya believed it was the latter. Of course, Tatsuya did not support the idea that "the ignorant are not responsible for their crimes". He believed that responsibility was not measured by awareness, but by actions instead.

  Despite that, he did not plan on interfering with the Alliance. Trying to gather the highest number of supporters before the "negotiation" was a natural course of action. While he wasn't unaffiliated with the situation, he wanted nothing to do with emotionally immature high school students that could be easily provoked by passionate words into actions that would hurtle them into the bottomless abyss (decisions that were wrong on multiple levels).

  On the other hand, if the situation involved people he knew — Tatsuya was also a student at First High, it was improbable for him to know absolutely no one — and attempted to deceive or entice them, he would not remain idle.

  "Mizuki."

  After school, the day before the forum. Tatsuya greeted his classmate, who wore a face of confusion, while she was speaking with a young man wearing that bracelet on his right arm that was probably a 3rd Year student. Mizuki hugged several books to her chest, which were probably club materials that needed moving. The fact that they were using materials that weren't digitized was an indication that many students in the Arts clubs probably shared the same interests he did. However, that was a conversation for another day.

  "Ah, Tatsuya-kun."

  Upon recognizing Tatsuya, Mizuki let out a sigh of relief. From her reaction, she had been caught in this tangle for quite some time.

  First, Tatsuya carefully examined the upperclassman. He had a tall and lean build, with signs of training in martial arts.

  Regarding his particular body type, Tatsuya had a certain recollection.

  Without a doubt, he was the one who fled after attempting to magically ambush Tatsuya during the ruckus in recruitment week.

  "I am Shiba of the Public Moral Committee.
Continuing to bother other students may be construed as harassment. Be sure not to overdo it."

  Tatsuya had no need to verify the details from Mizuki, and walked directly towards the upperclassman to make this known. Yet, he did not interrogate the student regarding his activities during recruitment week. There was no reason to believe that the upperclassman would answer upon being asked, and badgering him would only achieve the reverse effect. Tatsuya silently imposed himself between Mizuki and the upperclassman and directly confronted him.

  The opposing side did not wear a flower over his left breast.

  He wore a small pair of glasses on his face, but they did not appear to be ordinary glasses.

  "I understand, then I'll back off.

  Shibata-san, if you change your mind, could you please let me know? Anytime is fine."

  The upperclassman retracted his hand in a very gentlemanly manner, then left by way of the stairs at the end of the hall. Tatsuya took this moment to ask Mizuki what happened before he arrived.

  "He's the ace of the Kendo Club. I think his name was Tsukasa Kinoe-kun.

  ...He's the same as me, someone who is afflicted by 'oversensitivity to spirit particle emission', so he asked if I wanted to join a club led by someone who has the same difficulty."

  Tatsuya did not expect Mizuki to voluntarily mention her own "eyes". However, he verified her oversensitivity to spirit particle emission a long time ago, so this was not surprising.

  "So this was to share each other's experiences; did I get that right?"

  "No, Kinoe-senpai said that after joining the club, his symptoms have improved a lot, so maybe it could help me too..."

  "That's..."

  Ridiculous. Tatsuya did not finish his sentence aloud.

  Even without saying so, he could tell Mizuki held the same opinion.

  The only way to lessen the harm from being overly sensitive to magic-based sensations was to carefully control the Inquisitive Sensory Ability. In order to keep that ability properly in hand, the shortest path to success was definitely proper training.

  For example, even for classes with no supervising teachers, the lessons learned in class are the next closest thing to "proper training". It was absurd to think that a club established by students could provide a training regime that was more effective than taking classes. Of course, it was another matter altogether if that club was directed by a member of the faculty, but the school system clearly did not have enough teachers already, as evidenced by the Course 1 and 2 system.