The whole affair looked like a farce, and for the moment, that was how it was settled. Mayumi Saegusa wanted to resolve the problem decisively and thoroughly rather than simply take a hard line, so there was still a great deal of preparation to do. This also pushed the major debate back to the following day.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning!"
Chiba Yeyou ran into Mayumi Saegusa first thing in the morning, and they exchanged greetings. There was no sign of worry on her face, though. He could tell that she seemed quite confident about yesterday's incident, as if victory were already in her grasp.
"Good morning!"
Just then, Tatsuya Shiba came over with Miyuki Shiba.
"Good morning, Tatsuya, Miyuki."
"Is something the matter?"
Mayumi Saegusa could tell that Tatsuya Shiba seemed to have something on his mind.
"There's something about yesterday's incident that's been bothering me."
At Tatsuya Shiba's words, Chiba Yeyou merely smiled without saying anything. Neither Mayumi Saegusa nor Tatsuya Shiba paid it any mind, but Miyuki Shiba, who had been watching Chiba Yeyou all along, was somewhat surprised. She kept getting the feeling that he knew something.
The four of them then walked together, and Mayumi Saegusa explained the current situation to Chiba Yeyou as they went.
"They're demanding equal treatment for Course 1 and Course 2 students, but they don't seem to have thought about how exactly to achieve that."
"It would be more accurate to say they want the Student Council to come up with a better solution."
Even Mayumi Saegusa felt somewhat helpless as she said this.
"Heh!"
Chiba Yeyou gave a disdainful snort.
"They can't even clearly express their most basic demands, yet they blindly shout slogans about fairness and stir up trouble everywhere, then expect the Student Council to work out specific measures. What a joke!"
"It would be laughable to claim there wasn't something going on behind all this."
Chiba Yeyou interjected.
"Exactly!"
"That's why last night's negotiations remained deadlocked and ultimately went nowhere. All we can do is pin our hopes on the public discussion in the auditorium after school tomorrow."
"It looks like my preparations weren't wasted after all."
Mayumi Saegusa said with a faint smile.
"Things really are moving fast!"
"I understand the strategy of not giving the other side too much time, but it seems we don't have much time to formulate a response either."
"May I ask which members of the Student Council will be taking part in the discussion?"
Tatsuya Shiba asked with some concern.
Mayumi Saegusa smiled slightly and pointed at herself.
The Shiba siblings froze.
"Do you mean you'll be going alone, President?"
"Since there isn't enough time, if I go alone, I won't have to worry about giving them an opening through inconsistencies in the details. Besides, what concerns me is that they might manipulate appearances to make an emotional appeal."
"In other words, you've never lost a logical debate?"
"That's right!"
Mayumi Saegusa smiled confidently.
"And if their arguments are convincing enough to persuade me, there's no reason we couldn't incorporate their demands into the school's operating policies."
Her words surprised all three of them. After all, what Mayumi Saegusa said could very well reflect the school administration's position. Behind the school stood the Ten Master Clans, and all three of them knew her background perfectly well.
A compromise... perhaps?
No, judging by how confident Mayumi Saegusa looks, she must already have everything in hand!
Chiba Yeyou murmured to himself.
The eve of the discussion
"Fellow Course 2 students, we are the 'Alliance of Volunteers Dedicated to Abolishing Discrimination Within the School.' We will unite, speak up for ourselves, and break free of this unfair situation!"
"As the Student Council president said this morning, a public discussion on the differences in treatment between Course 1 and Course 2 students will be held tomorrow!"
"This will be an excellent opportunity to improve the treatment we Course 2 students currently receive. Fellow Course 2 students, please be sure to attend the discussion and support us, because you'll be supporting yourselves too!"
Normally, at dismissal time, there were only students hurrying away, but today was noticeably different. Throughout the corridors, Course 2 students called for support. It looked very much like the publicity tactics Chiba Yeyou knew so well.
"Interesting!"
"They've even started a battle for public opinion."
Watching these students constantly drum up support for themselves, Chiba Yeyou found it quite interesting.
"We're definitely going to win!"
"You'll see!"
"Even without you Course 1 students joining us!"
A cold voice suddenly sounded beside him. Chiba Yeyou turned to look, and it was none other than Hajime Tsukasa.
"Oh?"
"Well, good luck to you, then!"
"I don't care about this whole unequal-treatment issue."
What a joke!
Would Chiba Yeyou care about something so boring?
Still, he could understand the feeling of not being acknowledged. Some people needed recognition. The reason Chiba Yeyou could dismiss those things was that he was strong and confident enough himself, but for them, those things were often something they could only hope to encounter, not obtain at will.
Understanding them, however, did not mean he needed to join them. Nor would he foolishly let someone else use him as a weapon while thinking he was doing a wonderful job. Chiba Yeyou would never do something so brain-dead.
Were they any different now from people who had been sold out and were still helping count the money?
If the people behind this failed, they could simply walk away. Could these students leave with them?
Would they just stop going to school?
Even if they wanted to follow them, would those people take them?
At that thought, Chiba Yeyou could not help looking at Hajime Tsukasa with some pity, and that was precisely the sort of look Hajime Tsukasa could not accept.
At Chiba Yeyou's gaze, Hajime Tsukasa looked as though he had been provoked. Still, he did not erupt. After all, he knew that even ten of him put together would be no match for the fellow before him. He could still tell who wielded the bigger stick.
"Hmph!"
"Looks like you're no different from the rest of them!"
After leaving Chiba Yeyou somewhat bewildered with that remark, he walked off without looking back.
Hajime Tsukasa's sudden remark really did leave Chiba Yeyou scratching his head, but he did not dwell on it. This business had little to do with him anyway.
After leaving, Hajime Tsukasa tried to recruit Mizuki Shibata. He believed that they, as Course 2 students, should unite, since they shared the same demands. Since Tatsuya Shiba was difficult to approach, he would start with the people around him. He had never considered that younger sister. The Course 1 student representative was definitely far stronger than him, not to mention that he could not even beat Miyuki Shiba's Course 2 older brother!
Tatsuya Shiba's membership in the Public Morals Committee was also one of the factors Hajime Tsukasa found difficult to deal with. He was not confident he could persuade Tatsuya Shiba and did not want his plan to backfire.
And so, Mizuki Shibata came into Hajime Tsukasa's sights...