A timid voice sounded beside Chiba Yeyou.
"Oh!"
"Sorry!"
"Get up!"
Chiba Yeyou apologized somewhat sheepishly.
"..."
The girl fell completely silent.
Then undo the magic on me, you bastard!
"Oh!"
"Right!"
Looking as though he had only just remembered, Chiba Yeyou dispelled the magic enveloping everyone. Only then did people begin slowly rising from the ground.
The girl pinned to the ground immediately felt the weight lift from her body and struggled slowly to her feet.
"All right, now let her choose for herself. None of you may interfere!"
"No threats, coercion, or anything else against her will. Understood?"
As Chiba Yeyou finished speaking, the crowd nodded frantically like chickens pecking at grain, afraid that if they agreed too slowly, they would be stuck lying there until school ended that evening.
Seeing how cooperative they were, Chiba Yeyou nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand. People began struggling to their feet one after another.
"Mm!"
"Excellent!"
"Just what I'd expect of myself!"
Seeing not a trace of hostility in them, Chiba Yeyou was even more satisfied and watched what happened next with a nukely benevolent gaze.
"Your method really works!"
"Erika."
Chiba Yeyou looked at Erika Chiba happily, his face full of pride at having perfectly resolved a dispute and prevented a larger clash.
"..."
Erika Chiba no longer knew what to say.
God!
Why don't you just kill me with one stroke of your sword?
How could anyone be this ridiculous?
Erika Chiba's mind was full of nothing but that shocked my mom for an entire year.
Wait, that awful woman will definitely hear about this, and then the Student Council president will know too. Wouldn't that mean-!!!
"I didn't! I never taught you that! Don't make things up!"
Erika Chiba hurried to shift the blame.
Actually, this had nothing to do with me in the first place!
This wasn't my fault to begin with!
"Huh?"
"But that's exactly what you taught me just now!"
Chiba Yeyou looked at her in confusion, and his stare made Erika Chiba bristle.
With the incident settled, the two continued their patrol, bickering all the way.
"It really is lively!"
"Today, I mean."
Recalling the scene, as noisy as a marketplace, Chiba Yeyou felt a little dazed, as though this were not a school at all.
"It can't be helped. With the new students enrolling, every club is recruiting. No, calling it fighting over recruits wouldn't be an exaggeration."
"They really are crazy."
"These guys."
Hearing Chiba Yeyou's words, Erika Chiba could not help nodding too.
"Well, this probably won't last too long."
"That's true."
"But it really is crazy."
Chiba Yeyou genuinely could not quite understand what these people were thinking.
"Oh!"
"It's already time!"
Erika Chiba checked the time. They no longer needed to patrol at this hour.
"Are you there, junior?"
"Yes, my esteemed president!"
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Mayumi Saegusa's somewhat serious expression, Chiba Yeyou grew serious too and asked.
"Come to the general conference room right away!"
"All right!"
After ending the call, Chiba Yeyou thought for a moment. It was probably about what had happened on Tatsuya Shiba's side.
Even with Erika Chiba here with me, did that guy still go to the kendo hall?
Sayaka Mibu... huh?
"Let's go. The president wants us to come over."
Chiba Yeyou spoke to Erika Chiba beside him.
"Huh?"
"Do I have to go too?"
Erika Chiba pointed at herself.
Oh no, did someone report what happened earlier?
Erika Chiba could not help recalling Chiba Yeyou's nukely benevolent persuasion that afternoon.
"Stop imagining things. Something fairly serious might have happened."
Chiba Yeyou could tell at a glance what she was thinking.
He headed helplessly toward the general conference room. He was still somewhat puzzled that the president had called him over about what had happened on Tatsuya Shiba's side. She probably also wanted to warn him not to act so rashly next time.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Erika Chiba hurried after him.
"So you weren't able to determine what initially caused the incident?"
As they reached the general conference room's door, they heard Mari Watanabe's questioning voice from inside.
"Yes. What I witnessed began with an argument between senior Mibu of the kendo club and senior Kirihara of the swordsmanship club."
"Public Morals Committee member Chiba Yeyou, reporting!"
"Public Morals Committee member Erika Chiba, reporting!"
The two announcements drew the attention of the three people inside.
It was a fairly spacious meeting room. A long conference table stood opposite the main entrance, with Katsuto Jumonji, Mari Watanabe, and Mayumi Saegusa seated from left to right. Behind them, First High School's emblem hung high on the white wall. Matching conference tables stood on either side, but no one else was participating in the meeting.
Rather than a meeting room, it resembled a small adjudication chamber, and Tatsuya Shiba stood in the center of the three long conference tables.
Mari Watanabe occupied the central seat, indicating that this meeting centered on the Public Morals Committee, so naturally, she conducted the questioning.
"Oh, we'll discuss your matter later. Please continue."
Mari Watanabe glanced impassively at Chiba Yeyou.
Katsuto Jumonji studied Chiba Yeyou with a hint of curiosity for a while before returning his gaze to Tatsuya Shiba.
As for Chiba Yeyou's somewhat overbearing enforcement methods, neither Jumonji, Saegusa, nor Mari Watanabe would actually mind them too much. After all, no one had been injured, and even those involved would not show much resistance. Course 1 students had constituted the overwhelming majority at the scene, and to them, a Course 1 Public Morals Committee member policing Course 1 and Course 2 students was perfectly ordinary. By contrast, a Course 2 Public Morals Committee member like Tatsuya Shiba intervening and causing injuries was troublesome.
Of course, that did not mean they could turn a blind eye. Although no one had been injured, they still had to issue a warning.
Jumonji had no objection to a Course 2 student serving on the Public Morals Committee either. As the head of the Club Activities Group (the organization overseeing all club activities. P.S. It will be called the Club Activities Group from here on, without further explanation) and the next head of the Jumonji family, he naturally would not be so shallow, provided the person before him was capable.
"Was that also why you didn't intervene earlier, Tatsuya?"
Saegusa suddenly asked from the side.
"I believed that if it could be settled with only minor bumps and bruises, it was a matter for the parties involved."
Tatsuya Shiba answered smoothly, his face expressionless.
"Then how is Kirihara, whom you apprehended, doing now?"
Mari Watanabe folded her arms and looked at Tatsuya Shiba.
"Since he was injured, I left him in the care of the health staff."
"He admitted his mistake, so I judged that no further action was necessary."
Having finished his report, Tatsuya Shiba stood looking at the three before him, awaiting their decision.
"Mm, all right."
"Our Public Morals Committee doesn't intend to bring this matter before the Disciplinary Committee. What do you think?"
"Jumonji."
Hearing Mari Watanabe's question, Katsuto Jumonji, who had already stood after Tatsuya Shiba finished answering, also looked at Tatsuya Shiba.
"Thank you for handling this leniently. After all, he used highly lethal magic."
"There would have been no grounds to object even to a suspension. He should understand that himself. I'll give him a proper warning and make sure he learns from this."
Katsuto Jumonji's face was equally wooden, as though he and Tatsuya Shiba were competing over whose expression changed less.
"I'll leave it to you!"
Mari Watanabe also breathed a sigh of relief.
"But will the kendo club accept this outcome?"
Saegusa was somewhat doubtful.
"They accepted the provocation and caused the clash. They're equally guilty!"
Mari Watanabe spoke confidently.
"Finally, I'd like to confirm once more: was Kirihara the only person who used magic?"
Hearing Mari Watanabe's question, even Chiba Yeyou showed a trace of a smile.
A dispute between two clubs, both of them handling restricted blades, and you're telling me it was just one person?
Even among the two groups I suppressed this afternoon, quite a few tried to resist with magic.
You don't even need to ask, do you?
"What are you smiling at?"
"Was my question funny?"
Mari Watanabe looked at Chiba Yeyou strangely.
"???"
I didn't even fucking laugh out loud, and my expression wasn't exaggerated either. You noticed even that?
"Nothing!"
"Please continue!"
Hearing Chiba Yeyou's reply, Mari Watanabe turned her gaze back to Tatsuya Shiba.
Mari Watanabe's question had also made Tatsuya Shiba's expression freeze for a moment.
But Chiba Yeyou's smile had given him time to react.
"That's correct."
Tatsuya Shiba felt there was no need to escalate the matter, so he simply chose to play down the major issue and let the minor ones go. No one else had been injured over it anyway.
"I see. Thank you for your hard work, then."
Mari Watanabe acknowledged Tatsuya Shiba's work.
"Then I'll take my leave."
With that, Tatsuya Shiba headed outside.
"Thank you for looking after Miyuki."
As he passed Chiba Yeyou, Tatsuya Shiba suddenly spoke quietly.
"Don't mention it. That little girl Miyuki is quite cute. Besides, we're all classmates. If I can help, I will!"
Chiba Yeyou spoke casually.
"I'll be going."
Tatsuya Shiba nodded. Knowing this was not the place to discuss personal matters, he thanked him again, then said goodbye.
Once Tatsuya Shiba had left, Mari Watanabe turned her gaze to Chiba Yeyou.
"May I ask what you all wanted to see me about?"
"No one was injured on my end!"
Regardless of anything else, Chiba Yeyou first tossed the blame away.
"Ah!"
Hearing Chiba Yeyou's words, Mari Watanabe put a hand to her forehead and sighed.
Mayumi Saegusa covered her mouth and snickered beside her. Someone who could reduce Mari Watanabe to this state was truly a first.
"Come on, tell us all about your 'impartial enforcement'!"