"Enough!"
But Sayaka Mibu could not continue. Miyuki Shiba's icy rebuke cut her off!
"I don't care what your purpose is or what ideals you have! I absolutely will not allow you to insult my brother!"
"Miyuki, that's enough."
Tatsuya Shiba calmed the somewhat agitated Miyuki, then turned his gaze back to Sayaka Mibu.
"Senior Mibu. The Student Council has been authorized to handle this unlawful incident, but the president has promised to give you an equal opportunity to exchange ideas. If you still believe your ideas are right, then take part in the discussion."
With that, Tatsuya Shiba turned and walked toward Mari Watanabe and the others. Miyuki Shiba glanced over Sayaka Mibu's somewhat contorted face, then followed her brother.
Sayaka Mibu watched the siblings leave, as though she had fallen into darkness. She kept murmuring, repeating herself, struggling.
Mayumi Saegusa took the troublemakers away for negotiations, but the talks between the two sides did not go smoothly. The so-called Alliance of Volunteers was nothing more than a pawn put forward by the people behind them. They had not established a complete organization, much less devised a plan to resolve the current conflict. They even proposed during the discussion that the Student Council take responsibility for a plan to improve matters, leaving Mayumi Saegusa with nothing but a helpless, bitter smile.
In the end, the two sides agreed to hold a debate in First High School's auditorium after school the next day, before the entire student body. The result of the debate would be the key to improving the conflict between Course 1 and Course 2 Students.
The members of the Alliance of Volunteers could not refuse the proposal. They left in high spirits to prepare their speeches for the debate. Mayumi Saegusa did not stay at school either, because she was going to pay a surprise home visit!
When the car carrying Mayumi Saegusa stopped in front of the familiar residence, Nagura, who was driving, asked, "Miss, do you need me to wait here?"
"No, Mr. Nagura, you can go back first. I'll contact you when I'm finished," Mayumi Saegusa said.
"Yes, understood, miss."
A moment later, the car slowly drove away. Mayumi Saegusa stood at the gate and took two deep breaths before pressing the doorbell.
But the doorbell rang out without any response. Mayumi Saegusa's temple seemed to twitch. She pressed it twice more, only to get the same result.
Just as Mayumi Saegusa took out her terminal to contact Yunyi, his voice came from behind her.
"Huh? What brings you here?"
Mayumi Saegusa turned and saw Yunyi standing a short distance behind her, dressed in casual clothes and carrying two bags of fresh fruit and vegetables.
"Can't you guess why I'm here?" Mayumi Saegusa asked with a light laugh.
"Well, I did guess you'd come looking for me. I just didn't expect it to be so soon. I thought you'd come after you finished dealing with those things."
"But that's fine. Since you're here, you can give me a hand."
The smile on Yunyi's face gave Mayumi Saegusa the feeling that something was not quite right.
Not long afterward, Mayumi Saegusa stood dumbfounded before the kitchen cutting board, wearing an ill-fitting apron, with a cleaver in one hand and a washed radish in the other. Only then did she understand what the smile on Yunyi's face had meant!
Furious, she slammed the cleaver and radish down on the cutting board and glared at Yunyi, who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe. "Hey! I didn't come here to be your cook!"
"Don't be so stingy, Mayumi! Besides, we can't talk on empty stomachs, can we? That would spoil the mood."
Seeing the anger in Mayumi Saegusa's eyes fade somewhat, Yunyi hurriedly added, "How about this? I'll help you out. The sooner we finish cooking, the sooner we can eat. And the sooner you can find out what you want to know!"
Mayumi Saegusa shot Yunyi a fierce glare and pointed at the vegetables laid out before her. "Cut all of these for me!"
"Of course, my princess!" Yunyi said with a smile. He picked up the cleaver and swiftly chopped the ingredients they needed.
Beside him, Mayumi Saegusa grumbled irritably, "Who's your princess?"
Before long, a sumptuous dinner was ready.
Mayumi Saegusa had been the head chef, so the dishes were all Japanese.
Looking at the table full of delicious food before him, Yunyi could not help praising her. "I never thought I'd get to eat something you cooked yourself one day."
Mayumi Saegusa rolled her eyes at Yunyi and sat down first to enjoy dinner. Seeing this, Yunyi said no more. He sat down across from her and began eating.
The table was quiet, but the confrontational atmosphere of their previous conversations was gone.
The two soon finished dinner.
After putting down her chopsticks, Mayumi Saegusa raised a clenched fist to her lips and gave a light cough, signaling to Yunyi that they could begin discussing serious matters.
"For the sake of dinner, I can answer one question. So, Mayumi, what do you want to know?" Yunyi asked.
Mayumi Saegusa blinked, and a seemingly unrealistic thought popped into her head. But she quickly set the sudden thought aside. For now, it was more important to ask about the most pressing matter.
"Would you tell me even if I asked about your real identity?" Mayumi Saegusa asked in return.
"Yunyi, second lieutenant of the Seventh Detachment of the Special Operations Forces under the direct command of the Great Asian Alliance military. Operational codename: The Fool. Satisfied with that answer?"
"Just as I thought, you're with the Great Asian Alliance," Mayumi Saegusa said with a soft sigh.
"Shouldn't you have guessed that already?" Yunyi was not the least bit uncomfortable about having his identity guessed. The way he was acting now gave Mayumi Saegusa the feeling that they were laying everything out in the open instead.
"So, what's your purpose in coming to Japan?" Mayumi Saegusa asked another question.
"Hey, I only agreed to answer one question. That's your second." Yunyi held up one finger and wagged it gently.
"Besides, I already told you the answer. You just refused to believe me."
"Who would believe an answer like that?" Mayumi Saegusa shot back irritably.
She always felt that she had to keep a strict limit on how long she talked to Yunyi. If it went on too long, he would start talking nonsense. And when that happened, she would be the only one getting angry!