Chapter 40 – Kouhei and the Maze
Beyond the door I roughly opened—
"You're kidding me..."
Marimo was nowhere to be found.
I had blindly believed that "Marimo must be in the student council room," but in hindsight, there was never any guarantee of that.
My already limited intellect had been running in circles.
I paused for a moment to try and think things through, but quickly reconsidered.
A poor plan is no better than none.
I turned back the way I came.
"What's going on? From the look of it, you haven't finished your business yet."
"Phew! I can tell from your face, man. Let me guess, they forgot to put pickles in your burger, right? Phew!!"
The two of them were efficiently reloading the equipment.
"For now, use these."
I handed them the work gloves I had taken from the student council room.
"Wow, did you bring these for us? You're really a thoughtful guy, Kirishima."
"No, that's not it! Sorry! I just grabbed the gloves while I was at it. Uh, do you guys happen to know where Marimo is?"
"The president? Hmm, can't say I have any clue. What about you, Takahashi?"
"Phew! My mom always said if you're looking for someone, you should ask the Statue of Liberty for help, dude! Phew!!"
"Takahashi says you should try asking someone closer to her, like the head of the disciplinary committee or something."
My anxious mind had been limiting my thinking.
Of course, that’s the way to go.
"You two are seriously the coolest duo! Thanks a ton!!"
I broke into a run again.
Where would Hino be right now?
According to our pre-event briefing, Hino, who oversees the disciplinary committee, was supposed to lead a roving team that gives out instructions while moving around the campus.
In other words, she was constantly on the move.
So, while aimlessly wandering around might be one option, even I had some ideas on how to approach this.
Don't underestimate me, hey, God.
In my pocket was a phone meant for communication. I even had Hino’s cell phone number stored in it.
I should just call her and ask where she is.
As I fumbled with the unfamiliar flip phone, my sweaty hands slowing me down, the phone suddenly rang, causing me to jump as if I had been lifted off the ground.
"This is Kirishima!"
"Oh, Vice President!? This is Matsui from first year!"
"Oh, you're the one who was suddenly assigned to help in the classroom building. What’s going on?"
"There's a big problem!"
A problem? At a time like this!?
"What happened? Whoa! It sounds pretty noisy over there!"
"There's a fight! Two boys have been brawling since earlier!"
This situation was worse than I expected.
But wait a minute...
"Aoyama’s there, right? The disciplinary committee member who went with you! What’s he doing!?"
"It's Aoyama-senpai!"
"Huh?"
"Aoyama-senpai is one of the ones fighting!!"
"...Got it. I’m coming right away."
—A, Aaaaaa, Aoyamaaaa!!
That’s why I can’t stand that last name!
To all the Aoyamas across the country, I’m sorry!
The only truly awful Aoyamas I know of are probably the two I’ve personally met.
But still, I’ve had two bad experiences with two Aoyamas.
So please forgive my biased thinking.
I will never trust another Aoyama for the rest of my life!!
On the first floor of the classroom building, at the scene Matsui had described as "a disaster"—
"You’ve gotta be kidding me!"
"Yooo, I’m the upperclassman here! Don’t go defying me, you little punk!"
It really was a disaster.
Aoyama was straddling a first-year student, shouting something incoherent.
When Matsui saw me, she hurried over.
Despite the emergency, she cut out any unnecessary details, giving me a precise rundown of the situation.
"Aoyama-senpai suddenly snatched a snack bread that a first-year boy was about to take, and then yelled ‘This Hokkaido Cheese Steam Cake is mine!’ before launching the first-year student!"
I understood everything perfectly.
Let's break down the situation.
First, as members of the event staff, we are not allowed to accept food or drinks meant for the students.
Also, staff members are supposed to take breaks in shifts, and outside of those times, we must follow the on-site supervisor’s instructions.
Now, looking at the chaotic scene in front of me:
Aoyama had clearly violated the rule by taking the snack bread, and even if the Hokkaido Cheese Steam Cake is incredibly delicious, that alone made him guilty.
On top of that, the on-site supervisor is currently on break.
This means Aoyama is now the acting supervisor.
That’s two strikes.
And since Aoyama started the fight and initiated the violence, that’s three strikes. No, four strikes.
This is beyond baseball. This is a circus of idiocy.
"For now, Matsui, can you and the other first-years try to clear the crowd as much as possible?"
"Y-Yes! I’ll do my best!"
And I headed into the center of the commotion.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
"Huh? Oh, it’s the Vice President! Yo, what’s up!"
What is with this guy?
Is he high or something?
"Just stop! Let go of him now!!"
"Don’t you dare touch my bread!!"
"Shush!"
That last sound was from me, getting smacked by Aoyama’s backhand and flying backwards.
It was like I’d just shouted the name of a baby pacifier company in reflex.
"Vice President! Are you okay!?"
Matsui ran over to me again.
She’s a sweet girl.
"Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine."
"Oh no, your mouth..."
When I touched my mouth where she pointed, I found a bit of blood seeping from a small cut.
"This is nothing. Anyway, let's do this again."
As the one with the highest authority here, it’s up to me to deal with this, no matter how weak I might feel.
I could call someone like Onigawara-kun and solve this instantly, but I can't place any more burden on people who are already working hard in my place.
No way.
"Hey, enough already—"
"Yeaaah! I’m a seaweed mannnnn!"
Aoyama, letting out a bizarre cry like some slippery seaweed dish, went flying down the hallway.
"What is going on here!? Somebody, drag that trash to the disciplinary office! He’s expelled from the committee, at best suspended, or even expelled entirely! Well, we’ll leave the final decision to the teachers."
What a flawless kick that was.
I was mesmerized.
"Honestly, you’re a mess, Kirishima Kouhei."
"Yeah, no excuses, Hino."
"That face... Hmph. Well, whatever. This place is the least crowded spot in the whole school right now."
"...Huh?"
If there was a status bar above my head, it would definitely say "Dumbstruck."
"That boy was giving precise instructions from here. Didn’t you notice? The fact that there haven’t been many incidents? You’re really slow!"
Now that she mentioned it, I realized she was right.
This was the first real incident today.
If someone hadn't been controlling things behind the scenes, there should have been way more problems by now.
Damn. That guy, with that goofy face, was actually doing his job properly.
He's really amazing.
Damn it.
"Kirishima Kouhei! You’ve stared at the map enough times to know the way, haven’t you? Go!"
Hino motioned with her chin, pointing in the direction I needed to go.
"As much as it pains me, deeply pains me, I’ll handle things here!!"
"Sorry! I owe you one, Hino!"
The maze is over!
There's no reason to hesitate anymore, in body or mind!
"If you make her cry again, I won’t forgive you!! I’ll crush you into dust!!"
With Hino's ominous encouragement ringing in my ears, I dashed up the stairs.