"Whoa, Mayumi, that was vicious! A punch straight at my eye? Are you trying to make me go out with a black eye?" Yunyi raised a hand and caught the little fist Mayumi Saegusa had thrown at him, all the while continuing to tease her.
"Let go of me!" Mayumi Saegusa tried to pull her hand back, only to find that Yunyi had already grabbed her wrist.
Just then, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance.
Yunyi instinctively released Mayumi Saegusa's wrist, and she instinctively gave it a hard tug at the same time. As a result, the force she had used sent her falling backward. Right behind her was the corner of a table. If she hit it like that, she was sure to get hurt.
Without stopping to think, Yunyi reached out and grabbed Mayumi Saegusa's wrist again, then pulled her into his arms. Vice President Gyoubu Hattori, who had just walked in, saw the whole thing clearly!
"You bastard! What are you doing to the president?!"
"Huh? Hanzou?" Mayumi Saegusa pulled away from Yunyi's arms in a panic and looked at Hanzou Hattori, who stood in the doorway with an angry expression.
"The president just lost her balance, and I caught her. Vice President Hattori, what's wrong with that?" Yunyi gave a calm explanation of what had happened.
"All right, Mayumi, I'll leave you to get ready." Before Gyoubu Hattori could respond, Yunyi spoke to Mayumi Saegusa beside him.
But before leaving, he whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I'm looking forward to your speech."
"Speech?"
Mayumi Saegusa watched Yunyi leave and tilted her head in confusion. Wasn't she supposed to be taking part in a debate?
After Yunyi left, Gyoubu Hattori reported the arrangements outside to Mayumi Saegusa. He was somewhat puzzled. Why had the president asked the school to concentrate its security forces near the practical skills building? And why had she also asked Mari Watanabe to personally lead a patrol around the campus?
But since the debate was about to begin, he didn't ask. Once he had finished his report, he left the waiting room so Mayumi Saegusa could settle down and prepare.
Soon, the debate officially began.
Rather than a crude back-and-forth argument, the debate took the more peaceful form of alternating speeches. The Alliance of Volunteers sent four representatives, while Mayumi Saegusa was the only participant on the Student Council's side. Gyoubu Hattori, who accompanied her onto the stage, looked more like a bodyguard.
The Alliance of Volunteers spoke first. They pointed out, seemingly in clear terms, that Course 2 Students were treated worse than Course 1 Students on every level, and regarded this as discrimination. They also said that the Student Council's actions in the past had covered up this fact and demanded that the Student Council provide a solution.
Mayumi Saegusa, by contrast, responded with an indifferent question, asking the Alliance of Volunteers' representatives to specify the so-called "levels." She also expressed hope that they could provide stronger evidence.
After just the first exchange, the debate between the two sides already seemed to have reached a fever pitch. The heated debate continued before the students of First High School.
Just then, a disguised truck drove into First High School. As soon as it stopped, a large number of people jumped out. They quickly headed to their predetermined positions and waited for the time to act.
The Public Morals Committee, led by Mari Watanabe, had already spotted them as they entered the school. But according to the plan, they did not alert them. Instead, they remained hidden, waiting for the other side to expose an opening so they could catch them all in one sweep!
At the practical skills building, Katsuto Jumonji stood before a window inside. As he watched the bobbing heads below, a trace of doubt began to grow in his mind.
The positions assigned to him and Mari Watanabe had both been suggested by Mayumi Saegusa. At first, Katsuto Jumonji had thought she had made the arrangements based on intelligence obtained through the Saegusa Family's network. But judging by the situation now, that intelligence seemed a little too accurate! Although Katsuto Jumonji trusted Mayumi Saegusa, he still wanted to ask her about it once everything was over.
In the auditorium, the debate had reached its most critical point. It happened to be Mayumi Saegusa's turn to speak.
She slowly walked to the front of the stage and looked at all the First High School students before her. Her red lips parted, and she spoke a series of astonishing words.
Yunyi, sitting in the front row below, smiled at this.
"The speech has begun."
"I don't deny the problem of discriminatory attitudes that the Alliance has pointed out. After all, the school, the Student Council, and the Public Morals Committee all expressly prohibit terms like 'Bloom' and 'Weed.' Sadly, however, many students still use these names."
As soon as Mayumi Saegusa said this, the atmosphere in the auditorium erupted. Course 1 Students and Course 2 Students alike were shocked by her words.
"However, it isn't only the Course 1 Students. Some Course 2 Students themselves accept being called 'Weeds,' even degrading themselves as 'Weeds' and resigning themselves to the name."
"Hey, what the hell are you talking about?!"
"There's no way that's true!"
Before Mayumi Saegusa had finished speaking, the members of the Alliance of Volunteers hidden among the students rose up. They loudly challenged her words, but Mayumi Saegusa ignored them from the stage.
Just as she opened her mouth to say something, Yunyi's earlier words suddenly flashed through her mind.
Speech? Isn't that what I'm giving right now? Did that guy foresee that things would turn out this way all along?!
The thought flashed through Mayumi Saegusa's mind, but it did not disrupt the rhythm of her speech. Only Yunyi, who had been watching her all along, noticed the slight upward curve of her lips.
This girl is so cocky! Yunyi silently looked down on Mayumi Saegusa, but the curve of his own lips was no less pronounced than hers!
"This regrettable trend does indeed exist on campus. These barriers in our minds are the root cause of the divisions we face today!"
Mayumi Saegusa continued her speech, and the noisy people in the auditorium gradually fell silent.
"As this school's Student Council president, I have always been trying to eliminate these barriers and divisions in our minds! But I don't want that to create new differences instead, because whether they are Course 1 Students or Course 2 Students, every one of them is a student at this school. Moreover, the three years each person spends as a student here are unique to them."