It Looked Like It Could Be Fun

The brown-haired man was about to stand and bow when Jumonji Katsuto arrived.

Jumonji treated him quite differently from how he had treated Kudo Mitsunobu earlier, accepting the gesture without hesitation.

He also invited Kudo to sit and introduced the two men, who were meeting for the first time.

"Then, Hattori, have you thought about what I told you yesterday?"

Once the introductions were over, Jumonji finally asked.

"Of course. Since you invited me, Jumonji-senpai, I have no reason to refuse."

After all, he knew perfectly well that he had no chance of becoming Student Council president. He might as well join the Club Alliance instead.

Having served as the head of the Club Alliance would look excellent on his résumé, whether he applied to university or entered the workforce later.

After saying this, Hattori Hanzo turned to Kudo Mitsunobu and gave him a warm smile.

"And with such an outstanding junior as Kudo here, I have nothing to worry about."

This boy was destined for greatness.

Kudo wasn't particularly fond of flattery, but Hattori had praised him so smoothly that it was impossible to detect any trace of it.

Regardless, Kudo had a good impression of him now.

"Not at all. You're giving me too much credit, Hattori-senpai."

"If you don't mind, you can call me Mitsunobu from now on."

Since Hattori had shown him kindness, Kudo couldn't be too cold in return.

"Looks like you two are getting along pretty well,"

Jumonji said. He had been quietly eating lunch this whole time.

"Now that you've made your decision, Hattori, don't hurry back to class just yet. Come with me to the Club Alliance headquarters."

"I need to take care of some paperwork for you."

"You'll need to sign a few things."

Hattori nodded without objection, and picked up the pace of his eating.

After all, he didn't want to keep Jumonji waiting when he was nearly finished with lunch.

Kudo had nothing else to do, so he decided to keep eating while chatting with Jumonji about school.

"All right, Mitsunobu, take your time. Hattori and I will be going."

Hattori ate very quickly. Before Kudo had said much at all, he had finished his meal and left with Jumonji.

Kudo was tidying up his belongings when Saegusa Mayumi appeared outside the door again. This time, she wasn't alone.

A tall, short-haired woman stood beside her. She looked strikingly spirited.

"Mayumi-senpai, did you need something?"

He didn't want to waste time on anything pointless today. Before school let out, he'd heard that someone was going to confront Shiba Miyuki's older brother, who was a Course 2 Student, and settle a score.

So he wanted to go and see whether he could catch Shiba Miyuki in action as she protected her brother.

Perhaps he could glean some clues from her magic.

"Nothing in particular! Mari was just a little curious about you, Mitsunobu, so I brought her along to meet you."

As she spoke, Saegusa waved her little hand at Kudo.

"Mayumi, I said I was looking forward to meeting him tomorrow at lunch."

"You're the one who insisted on bringing me over right now."

Watanabe Mari clearly seemed at a loss in the face of Saegusa's impulsive nature.

"Don't mind that, don't mind that."

"Let me introduce you! This is Watanabe Mari, the current head of the Disciplinary Committee and a good friend of mine."

Saegusa paid no attention to Watanabe's teasing and cheerfully introduced her to Kudo.

Kudo quickly gathered his things and hurried over to Saegusa.

"Hello, Watanabe-senpai. I'm Kudo Mitsunobu. I look forward to getting along with you."

"I'm Watanabe Mari. I'll look after you from now on."

Kudo held out his hand, and Watanabe shook it. Their hands parted almost immediately.

"But I've noticed something rather interesting, Mayumi."

Watanabe glanced between the two of them. Putting their earlier conversation together, she seemed to have figured something out, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved upward.

"What is it?" Saegusa asked, tilting her head.

"You've only just met both of them, yet you address them completely differently."

"And you kept bringing this junior up over lunch today, too."

"Mayumi, using me as an excuse doesn't seem very fair, does it?"

"Mari, what are you talking about? I only brought you along to meet him."

Saegusa didn't turn bright red like Watanabe had hoped.

Instead, she calmly acted in a way that made Watanabe think she might have guessed wrong.

"Besides, I only mentioned Mitsunobu because he gave me a really good approach to solving a problem."

"Is that so?"

Watanabe narrowed her eyes. She still felt that something about Saegusa was a little off.