William 23

Title: Perhaps They Have Responsibilities

“Haaa—”

Tatsuya felt that his sighs had been increasing lately. He even felt a bit mentally exhausted.

However, despite this, there were no excessive emotions in his heart, only absolute rationality.

“It’s just that Mibu-senpai wanted to discuss the issue of treatment between First Course and Second Course students with me.”

“Is that so?”

Mayumi showed an expression of “I thought as much.”

“And Mibu-senpai also complained to me about the Disciplinary Committee taking matters into their own hands to boost performance.”

As soon as Tatsuya finished speaking, the faces of the Student Council members and Mari darkened. If the Disciplinary Committee was acting arbitrarily, it would tarnish First High’s reputation, and it would also reflect their failure in judging people and neglecting their duties.

If not handled properly, it would be troublesome.

“No way! Though I’ve only been here a short time, I’ve quietly observed the Disciplinary Committee enforcing rules several times. I actually think their enforcement is too lenient.”

Kousen raised a question. He felt that Sayaka might be viewing the Disciplinary Committee’s actions with prejudice.

“Same here.”

“I’ve never seen it either.”

Everyone present expressed their feelings, but their clarifications only made Mari and Mayumi’s expressions gloomier, with deeper furrows on their brows.

“It might be a misunderstanding on Mibu-san’s part. After all, the Disciplinary Committee is more like volunteer work, purely honorary.”

“Student Council officers get extra points for magic university admissions, but the Disciplinary Committee is different.”

“Even if they apprehend many people, it won’t be recorded in their history, completely useless for job prospects or university admissions.”

Mari immediately shook her head and refuted.

“However, the Disciplinary Committee does have significant authority. For Second Course students dissatisfied with the school system, the Disciplinary Committee might seem like guard dogs defending First Course students’ rights.”

“But honestly, there’s probably someone deliberately leading them to think that way.”

Mayumi’s response even surprised Tatsuya.

“Senpai, we can’t continue this topic.”

Kousen immediately stopped Mayumi. As a member of the Ten Master Clans, he had naturally received the information Mayumi shared with him.

Though he learned the Shiba siblings’ true identities from his grandfather yesterday, since they wanted to keep it hidden, he couldn’t reveal it outright.

“The mastermind behind this should be an organization like [Blanche], right?”

“How do you know that name?” Mayumi gasped.

(Truly worthy of the Yotsuba family.)

Kousen thought for a moment before saying to Tatsuya, “Go on, tell us what you know.”

“Is that okay?” Mayumi asked Kousen hesitantly.

“It’s fine.”

Kousen shook his head.

“Since Tatsuya-kun has already discovered some things, we can tell him. Besides, this isn’t exactly a secret that needs to be hidden.”

Perhaps only Azusa was confused among those present. After all, Suzune’s family was a former digital family, Mari came from one of the Hundred Families, and the rest were direct descendants of the Ten Master Clans.

Tatsuya chose information that most magicians would know, so no one could question how an ordinary student like him knew so much.

“Good, Tatsuya-kun, your analysis is almost the same as mine.”

Kousen confirmed Tatsuya’s reasoning before continuing.

“Since you’re now one of the few who know, please keep an eye on your surroundings, Tatsuya-kun. If you can find something, it would be a great help.”

“Mm, I’ll keep an eye out.”

Tatsuya agreed immediately, as this seemed to be his main goal: obtaining legitimate investigative authority from his superiors.

He wasn’t actually interested in dealing with such matters, but the emergence of [Blanche] now posed a potential threat to his sister’s peaceful school life.

Initially, even without investigative authority, he planned to investigate discreetly. However, if deaths or injuries occurred during the investigation, covering his tracks perfectly without revealing his identity would be troublesome.

But with permission from two Ten Master Clan members, though there would be some restrictions on his actions, resolving the issue could be entirely handed over to Kousen and Mayumi.

“Is it okay to entrust something like this to them?”

“After all, they’re not like us.”

Mayumi still slightly disagreed with Kousen’s decision to grant Tatsuya investigative authority.

Their families enjoyed the highest privileges in Japan’s magical world, and they were also protected by their families. So, in times like this, they had a responsibility to step forward, and they were mentally prepared for it without complaints.

After all, that’s how society works: the more privileges you have, the more responsibilities you must bear.

But in Mayumi’s eyes, the Shiba siblings were just ordinary students without even a family. They didn’t need to take such risks.

This was different from serving on the Disciplinary Committee to oversee students at school. Within [Blanche], there were ruthless terrorists who killed indiscriminately.

“Mayumi, don’t underestimate those two siblings.”

At this point, the other Student Council members had left for class to prepare for lessons. When it was just the two of them, Kousen naturally used the new way of addressing Mayumi as she had requested.

Mayumi’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment upon hearing Kousen call her by the new name for the first time.

“No, this has nothing to do with whether they have strength or not.”

“What I mean is, they don’t need to bear such risks. They don’t have that obligation.”

Mayumi let out a playful huff.

“No, perhaps they do have responsibilities to bear.”

The corner of Kousen’s mouth curved into a mysterious smile.

“How is that possible!”

“How is that possible!”

Mayumi repeated jokingly, then began considering a possibility she hadn’t thought of before.

Her small, cherry-like lips parted wide—too big for a duck egg, but a chicken egg would probably fit just fine.

“Maybe. It’s just my guess.”

Kousen chose not to directly tell Mayumi the answer, knowing that such an ambiguous response would surely pique her curiosity.