Although it was meant to throw people off, the way Yunyi was manhandling the CAD finally became too much for Tatsuya Shiba, who was sitting beside him.
"Um, Yunyi, a CAD is a precision instrument. Using it like that will shorten its lifespan."
In the previously quiet dining room, Tatsuya's words sounded especially abrupt, drawing everyone's attention at once.
Yunyi stopped what he was doing, glanced at Tatsuya Shiba beside him, and shrugged helplessly.
"I'm really no good with this thing. Come to think of it, why do we have to use a CAD to cast magic anyway? Who decided that?" Yunyi complained irritably.
"Yunyi, a CAD is just a tool that increases casting speed. But I think that, with your abilities, you don't really need one," Tatsuya Shiba said.
"Hey, Tatsuya, don't make it sound so simple." Yunyi didn't quite agree with what Tatsuya Shiba had said.
It was true that he didn't need a CAD. To use magic, he only needed to deploy his domain and control Psions. But at a magic high school like First High, if he didn't even have a CAD, or if his CAD didn't contain some essential Activation Sequences, outsiders would think there was something seriously wrong with him!
"Speaking of which, Tatsuya, you sound like you know what you're talking about. Are you good at tinkering with these things?" Yunyi raised the CAD in his hand and gestured toward Tatsuya Shiba.
"Yes, my brother is very good at adjusting CADs!"
But the one who answered Yunyi's question wasn't Tatsuya Shiba himself. It was Miyuki Shiba, who was sitting beside him. Judging by her expression, she seemed very pleased with Tatsuya Shiba's skills.
"I see. In that case, Tatsuya, could you adjust it for me?" Yunyi asked.
Tatsuya Shiba blinked, then finally nodded.
As a classmate, helping adjust a CAD was hardly a bother for him. Besides, he also wanted to see for himself how the performance of a CAD circulated within the USNA in America compared with the CAD he had developed.
Once Tatsuya Shiba agreed, Yunyi immediately placed the CAD in front of him and made a decisive getaway.
It looked as though he was afraid Tatsuya Shiba might change his mind, but in truth, he simply wanted to escape the awkward atmosphere.
Mayumi Saegusa, seated at the head of the table, clenched her little fists as she watched him leave. Yunyi was practically driving her mad.
"No one helped you get your food, so couldn't you have gone and gotten it yourself? Honestly, that guy!"
Of course, no one else could have guessed what Mayumi Saegusa was thinking. As for Yunyi, he had even less intention of finding out. After leaving the Student Council room, he didn't even stay at school. The afternoon was set aside for clubs to recruit new members anyway, and that had nothing to do with him.
Yunyi had barely had time to rest after getting home when an encrypted communication arrived on his terminal.
At first, he thought it was another message from back home, or that the person surnamed Zhou needed something from him again, and he wasn't inclined to deal with it. But when he saw the sender, Yunyi's eyes narrowed.
"What wind blew them my way today? Even this person has time to spare?"
But when he saw the contents, the easy smile vanished from his face, replaced by a grave expression.
"So, planning for that matter had already begun this early? Human desires really are hard to restrain."
Yunyi thought for a while, then cautiously sent a reply. At the same time, he sent a message to another number stored in his terminal. Both messages, however, were secret communications protected by multiple layers of encryption. Even if intelligence agencies around the world intercepted them in transit, they wouldn't be able to crack them.
"Tsk, tsk. Things are getting more and more interesting." Yunyi looked at the message on the terminal screen confirming that the messages had been sent, an intrigued smile tugging at his lips.
Several days later, First High's recruitment week finally came to an end. During that time, however, Tatsuya Shiba, a Course 2 Student serving on the Public Morals Committee, had suffered plenty of trouble through no fault of his own. He was also the type to show off while keeping a low profile, so he hadn't reported those incidents, which were little more than pranks.
Classes had ended for the day, and Yunyi had just woken from a nap when a grating sound suddenly came over the school's broadcast system.
"Attention, everyone! We are the Alliance of Volunteers, dedicated to abolishing discriminatory treatment at this school!"
"Pfft!"
Hearing the voice over the broadcast, Yunyi couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Seeing this, Leo hurriedly dodged aside. "Whoa, you're disgusting!"
"Sorry, Leo, but this is just too funny! Even though I've been trained, I can't hold it in!" Yunyi wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes and offered a helpless explanation.
"Yeah, like-minded individuals~" Leo's face was also a little twisted; clearly, he was having a hard time holding back his laughter too.
Unlike the two of them, however, many people in the classroom seemed to be drawn in by the broadcast. It had to be said that, although the words were somewhat childish and funny, they really could attract attention in a place like First High.
"We demand that the Student Council and the 'Clubs Alliance' abolish the unequal treatment of Course 1 Students and Course 2 Students at this school. To that end, we demand negotiations!"
"Huh? Looks like these people came prepared, doesn't it, Tatsuya?" Erika Chiba came over and asked Tatsuya Shiba what he thought.
"I'm not sure. But everyone, I need to go now. With something like this happening, the Public Morals Committee can't just sit back and say nothing."
With that, Tatsuya Shiba got up to leave. But he stopped again after taking only one step.
"Yunyi, do you want to come take a look with me?"
Tatsuya Shiba's sudden invitation caught Yunyi slightly off guard. But the next moment, he burst into a smile.
"How could I miss out on something like this? Tatsuya, let's go!"
After meeting up with Miyuki Shiba on the way, the three arrived at the broadcasting room together.
Quite a few people had already gathered outside the broadcasting room. Among them, Katsuto Jumonji, head of the Clubs Management Group; Mari Watanabe, chair of the Public Morals Committee; and Suzune Ichihara, representing the Student Council, stood out the most.
"You're all too slow!"
As soon as Mari Watanabe saw Yunyi and the others, she scolded them.
As a member of the Public Morals Committee, Tatsuya Shiba immediately stepped forward, apologized, and asked about the situation.
"The power has been cut, so the broadcast shouldn't be able to continue. But these people stole the key and have now locked the door from the inside."
"Is there no other way to open the door?" Tatsuya Shiba pressed.
"No, the master key was stolen too!" Mari Watanabe said, somewhat angrily.
"Click~"
But just then, the crisp sound of a lock opening reached everyone's ears.