197 – Deadline 24 hours
“The plan to dispose of the cat will be put on hold for 24 hours. By the Vice President’s ex officio.”
Iris’ words shook the conference room.
The first to react was, of course, her close friend who was right next to her.
“B-But Vice President! This is different from your usual judgment!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! It’s completely different! Moreover, this ‘cat disposal plan’ was announced by the school and even approved by the student council president! It’s not normal for our staff to suspend the effect of the notice! The vice-president knows!”
“Beke calm down and listen to me.”
“No! Vice President, you must have fallen for the tricks of Ian Black Angus! You must not fall for that treacherous tongue!”
Beke, Iris’s close friend, points at me.
I bowed my head.
“… Thank you for the compliment.”
“Ha! No!”
Beke glared at me and turned her head back to Iris.
“I can’t understand the vice president who has changed from his usual behavior! I can’t accept this behavior either. There is no basis for it. The current vice president is overly emotional!”
Beke is so angry that he crosses his arms and throws a tantrum.
Looking at her like that, Iris let out a deep sigh.
“Beke.”
“……”
“I am the chair of this meeting. I make the decisions.”
The words are soft, but the content is not.
In short, it could be said to be an attitude of ‘I am your boss.’
Becke, who was expressing his anger, shrunk as if he was scared.
“And.”
Iris continued speaking firmly.
“It is an emotional judgment. There is an item in the academy’s rules regarding temporary withdrawal of notice.”
“…There is such a thing?”
“Rules related to the enforcement of enforcement ordinances. In the event of a gathering of 5 or more people, enforcement of the enforcement ordinances can be postponed for 24 hours. The regulations related to the enforcement ordinances are clearly your job, Beke.”
At Iris’s words, Beke became mute and closed her mouth.
Actually, it was unfair.
Because I’m in charge of the enforcement ordinance, I don’t have to memorize the relevant rules.
It’s strange that Iris memorizes all of that.
… Or a genius.
Vice President Genius looks at me.
“Mr. Ian.”
“Yes.”
“I, Iris, will recognize the actions that Ian just did as part of the rally in my capacity as vice president. And there were more than 5 people who shouted the same phrase as Ian, right?”
“It was like that.”
“Then, the condition of requiring a gathering of 5 or more people would also be met.”
“… I guess so.”
Iris stood up.
She then took another step forward, rummaged through a pile of documents placed on one side, and pulled out something.
“Write it down.”
[Significance Application]
I filled out the document she held out to me and handed it to me.
Iris, who returned to her seat, opens her mouth.
“I will accept this matter under the Vice Chairman’s authority. Implementation of the plan related to cat capture will be postponed for the next 24 hours and no related execution will be carried out.”
Her attendees who were looking at her blankly, that is, her executives and her executive committee members, all nodded at her.
“”Yes.””
Iris looks down at them with satisfaction and then looks back at me.
“Is this okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Then, please leave now. There are many other issues to be decided.”
I nodded and turned around.
As I was about to leave the conference room, I heard Iris speak from behind me.
“Mr. Ian.”
“?”
“According to the student council, the number of cats on campus is at least 1,000.”
“24 Hours won’t be enough.”
“That’s right.”
Looking for Danya.
At the same time, we need to think about ways to extend the time.
Iris opened her mouth as I was lost in my thoughts.
“For gatherings of more than 300 people, a full meeting will be convened.”
“Vice Chairman…!”
Iris continued her words, ignoring Bette’s voice.
“In that case, a meeting will be held where the academy, student council, and demonstrators will all gather. Depending on the results of the meeting, any enforcement ordinance can be revoked.”
With those words, Iris put back on her glasses that she had briefly taken off.
“If that happens, the student council will be busy, but let’s give it a try.”
Hwihwi.
Iris waved her hand at me and lowered her head towards her papers.
◆
[Remaining time: 24 hours]
Currently 6 PM.
“If there are a lot of cats, it’s there!”
Elena presented an active opinion.
“There?”
“Yes! There is a place called Cat Garden in the school square!”
Cat garden?
This is my first time hearing about this place.
Plus, Elena’s confident expression.
I am suspicious without knowing why.
“…Brother Ian! Do you not believe me? Your expression is very bad.”
“To be honest, yes.”
“hehehehe! But it’s true…! Since I’m passing by the place where I’m going to meet, I have to be very careful! Otherwise, a lot of cats will stick to me!”
Ah. It did.
After recalling Elena’s cat and her attributes, I placed her in front of her.
“I’m on my way. I’ll grab something from the club room.”
I happened to pick up some tools needed to catch a cat at a clubhouse along the way.
And things that Danya might like.
I’m on my way to join Elena and her group.
“Ian-!”
Lina followed from afar, waving her hand.
I guess I saw KirTalk at the right time.
So, together with Lina, we headed to the place Elena mentioned.
It’s a garden, but it’s a grass field on a hillside on campus.
Sylvia was fidgeting at the entrance.
“What’s wrong, Sylvia?”
“Hey, Mr. Ian. That’s it.”
She looked quite embarrassed, unlike usual.
I followed her gaze and lowered her head.
And I quickly found out why.
For some reason, there was a yellow ball rolling around on the hill.
No. Let’s be clear.
— Meow!
— Nyaaa!
— Nyah!
It was a bunch of cheese-colored cats.
And at the center of it all…
“Gyaaa! Please save me, brothers and sisters!”
It seemed clear to anyone that it was Elena.
And a little distance away, even Geomgo is coldly looking down at the cat ball.
It is a truly surreal landscape.
So, with Elena as her bait, we investigated about 70 cats…….
I couldn’t find anything in particular.
◇
[ Remaining time: 18 hours ]
Current time, midnight.
The night sky was filled with a full moon.
“… Uggyaaa.”
Elena, who was walking, seemed to collapse and fell to the ground.
When she looked around, she saw another cheese cat on top of her head.
“Now there are too many cats….”
I pulled the guy away from Elena’s face.
Sylvia tries using search magic with the wool she brought from Danya’s house, but there is no response.
It means that it is not Danya.
I left a faint black mark on the cat’s nape.
It means a cat that has been checked once.
“You’ve worked hard, Elena. Now go back and rest.”
“B-but… there’s no bait like that.”
“I admit that, but I also brought catnip. It’s okay. Just rest for now. You need to prepare for a long fight. You are the most important horse.”
“Well, then….”
I returned Elena, who had turned into green onion kimchi, to her home.
“Then let’s search further.”
Sylvia said, rolling up her sleeves.
I called her over.
“Silvia, go home and rest.”
“I’m still okay.”
Although she does not doze off or stumble like Elena, her tiredness is evident.
She used the search spell dozens of times all day today.
It’s strange that I don’t get tired.
“I think it would be good to rest.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to have at least one more person join us and search a little more?”
“No. And I have something for you to prepare.”
“… Ready?”
“I think we need to prepare for the next step.”
◇
[Remaining time: 12 hours]
Current time, 6 am.
About 200 cats were found.
Among them, Danya is nowhere to be seen.
Time when you start to feel the approaching deadline.
The sun rises in the distance.
“Now, you too, go and rest. You can see clearly enough when there is sunlight.”
“But Ian…”
“I’m used to staying up all night.”
I was actually used to it.
After Lina passed away.
— Nyaaa!
The black guy who had been dozing on my shoulder from time to time came back to life.
“Then shall we try harder to find it?”
— Nyang!
◇
[Remaining time: 8 hours]
Current time, 10 am.
So far, about 400 cats have been searched.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘There is no end to this.’
I thought I would find the direction after searching about halfway, but there are more cats in the academy than I thought.
No. Who on earth secretly released these many cats and how?
“Let’s end the search here for now.”
Silvia and Elena, who had joined me again in my declaration, look back at me.
“But brother, there is still time. You must not give up…”
“Have you got a new plan?”
The two react differently.
Sylvia asking for a new plan matched my thoughts.
“A more systematic search is needed.”
I identified the cat’s patterns.
And if Danya becomes a cat, even her opposite s*x will definitely be in danger.
In this vast ocean full of only cats, a plausible plan came into my head.
However, it is planned to take at least tens of hours.
“I guess I need more time.”
I nodded at Sylvia’s words.
There are now about 8 hours until the ‘cat disposal plan’ is re-implemented.
Iris has already suggested a way to resolve this situation.
Convening a meeting of 300 or more people.
What is needed is to go through preliminary procedures.
“I came to report a meeting.”
Student Council Civil Complaint Desk.
Guarding the desk today is a familiar face.
Jetie, the girl who revealed her hostile will to me yesterday.
“I came to report a meeting. Jetty.”
“It’s not Jetty, it’s Beke! You can’t guess even one letter!”
Was it that kind of name?
“Yes. Beke.”
“That’s it! I knew you would come. Sleep. Write this down.”
Surprisingly, the guy obediently handed over the meeting report.
It was after I handed over the documents I had written that my true colors were revealed.
The guy looks at me as he puts his stamp on the document I handed him.
“You know what?”
“Huh?”
“No rally held at the Academy had more than 100 people.”
She looked at me and smiled.
“It’s probably the same for you too, Ian. 300 People? Puhup. 100 People is not a problem.”
“……”
“Besides, there are less than 6 hours left. It’s absolutely impossible.”
Hmm.
There was such a setting.
But I’m not worried.
Why?
I bowed my head and whispered to Beke, who was smiling triumphantly.
“I’ll show you what a protest is.”