Chiba Yeyou found Shizuku Kitayama's invitation rather amusing.
"You still haven't given up?"
Chiba Yeyou felt a little helpless.
"I think you have outstanding talent, Yeyou, so I hope you'll consider working for my family after graduation."
"This is a sincere invitation. Please don't worry about the compensation."
Perhaps feeling that her invitation lacked sincerity, she added that last sentence.
Chiba Yeyou couldn't help feeling a little reflective. He was no longer who he had once been. His days of deepest poverty were behind him. He lacked nothing now and lived well. More importantly, he had power of his own, enough to protect himself and the people he wanted to protect.
Perhaps Shizuku Kitayama thought he was impressive and far from ordinary, but he still underestimated him, thinking he was only outstanding in magic engineering and magic.
Then again, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with thinking that way?
"In short, I won't be working for your family, Kitayama. I only came to school to see other people's magic and experience new things. That's all."
"So please give up, Kitayama."
Chiba Yeyou cut off Shizuku Kitayama's hopes outright.
Shizuku Kitayama fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Then, could we exchange knowledge about magic when we have time?"
"That's no problem."
Chiba Yeyou didn't refuse Shizuku Kitayama's request.
"Chiba Yeyou! I finally found you!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out, making Chiba Yeyou turn instinctively.
"Hm?"
"Who called me?"
Chiba Yeyou looked at the passing crowd in confusion.
"Hey!"
"I may be short, but I'm not so short that you can't see me, am I?"
"You're really being rude to your senior!"
Azusa Nakajo tilted her head up at Chiba Yeyou with a disgruntled expression, loudly accusing him of disrespecting his senior.
"Uh, well, sorry about that!"
Chiba Yeyou gave an awkward laugh.
The main problem was that they were sitting right by the hall entrance, which had steps, and then there was Azusa Nakajo's height...
It would have been a miracle if Chiba Yeyou had seen her when he turned around!
"Um, what did you need me for, Senpai?"
Sure enough, the moment Chiba Yeyou called her "Senpai," Azusa Nakajo broke into a smile.
"I already called you!"
"Do you people ever check your communicators?"
Azusa Nakajo looked a little puffed up with annoyance.
"Uh, I left mine at the Public Morals Committee."
"I knew it."
Azusa Nakajo nodded, looking as though she had expected as much.
"I was going to invite you to eat with us in the Student Council room."
Azusa Nakajo looked at his half-finished meal as she spoke.
"It's fine. Eating anywhere is the same to me."
"Of course. You have beautiful girls keeping you company wherever you eat, so it really is all the same."
Azusa Nakajo's words left Chiba Yeyou stunned.
Wait, the Azusa Nakajo I remember wasn't like this, was she?
Was she possessed?
The other two beside him grew a little embarrassed as well, but neither said anything. They both knew it was only a joke.
"That really doesn't sound like something you'd say, Nakajo-senpai. It sounds more like Mayumi Saegusa."
Chiba Yeyou smiled.
"What can I do? After spending so much time with Saegusa, some of it was bound to rub off."
Azusa Nakajo spread her hands, looking as though she was simply a victim of bad influence.
"Anyway, I won't disturb you."
Azusa Nakajo got up to leave. She didn't want to disturb Chiba Yeyou and the others any longer.
"Oh, right. Come to the Student Council after you finish eating. There are still a few things to discuss about the Public Morals Committee."
As though remembering something she had forgotten, Azusa Nakajo turned back to say it.
"Then let's go together."
With that, Chiba Yeyou picked up his plate, finished all the rice in a few mouthfuls, then ate the remaining half of his steak in two bites. He stood up with his plate, leaving Azusa Nakajo, Honoka Mitsui, and Shizuku Kitayama staring in astonishment.
"Sorry, since the Student Council needs me, I'll excuse myself."
Then Chiba Yeyou went to clear away his plate.
Azusa Nakajo hurried after him.
"Chiba Yeyou really is amazing!"
Honoka Mitsui couldn't help murmuring.
"Yes, in all sorts of ways."
Shizuku Kitayama nodded blankly in agreement.
"The claim that people earn points by serving on the Public Morals Committee is actually complete nonsense."
He heard Mari Watanabe's voice as soon as he entered.
"Ah!"
"You're here, Chiba Yeyou. Find a seat."
Mayumi Saegusa greeted Chiba Yeyou.
Then the discussion continued.
"But it's also true that the Public Morals Committee has considerable authority within the school. Sometimes people see it as abusing that authority to bully others."
"There's no helping it. Absolute fairness is impossible in these matters. Public Morals Committee members aren't robots. They can only do their best to be fair, so prejudice and dissatisfaction are inevitable."
Hearing Mayumi Saegusa's words, Chiba Yeyou couldn't help speaking up.
Chiba Yeyou had encountered this sort of situation before, so he had firsthand experience.
"In fact, the vast majority of students are reasonable. That small minority can't stir up much trouble."
"More precisely, someone is deliberately creating this situation to provoke more prejudice and dissatisfaction."
Mayumi Saegusa offered her analysis.
"Do you know who's responsible?"
Tatsuya Shiba's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he stood up.
"Huh?"
"No, we don't. It's only a rumor!"
Mayumi Saegusa waved her hands and denied it with a smile.
"If we knew who was responsible, we would have made them stop long ago."
Mari Watanabe sounded a little helpless too.
"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about the people behind the ones spreading the rumors."
"Brother?"
Miyuki Shiba couldn't help speaking up at her brother's words.
That was quite something. How had Tatsuya Shiba connected a mere school dispute to an international criminal group?
The whole thing was absurd!
Chiba Yeyou wondered if this was the protagonist's instinct.
"To be more specific, something like the anti-magic international political organization 'Blanche.'" ("Blanche" was French for "white," symbolizing equality.)
With an indifferent expression, Tatsuya Shiba uttered a name that greatly surprised both Mayumi Saegusa and Mari Watanabe.
"How do you know that name?"
"There were supposed to be information controls in place!"
Mayumi Saegusa asked in surprise.
"It's impossible to suppress every source of rumors. It would be better to make something like this public. The government's handling of this matter has been far too clumsy."
Tatsuya Shiba clearly found the government's approach deeply regrettable.
"Yes!"
"They know that groups hostile to magic exist, yet they bury the facts and avoid confronting them directly."
Mayumi Saegusa was a little worried, but there was nothing she could do. Although she was the daughter of the Saegusa Family's current head, she still lacked the power to influence government decisions.
"All right, enough. A bunch of students worrying about the nation's survival isn't going to help!"
Chiba Yeyou interrupted their conversation. They couldn't confront those people directly anyway, so they might as well look after themselves.
There would be plenty of opportunities to deal with these people and organizations later. That would be quite "lively"!
"Besides, our school is going to be very 'lively' in the near future!"