The Irregular at Magic High

Chapter 18

After placing the CAD back into the workroom, Tatsuya returned to the Student Council Room, where Mari immediately grabbed his wrist. Miyuki, who was being tutored by Azusa near the terminal on the wall, raised an eyebrow at this, while Tatsuya could only signal through his eyes that this couldn't be helped... Although, Tatsuya harbored doubts as to whether she could understand this. He forcibly suppressed his subconscious urge to throw the other person aside. Though come to speak of it, to be able to capture her target in such a narrow window, Mari's physical abilities must be quite impressive as well. 

"While a lot of unexpected events occurred, let's go with the original plan and head to the Public Moral Committee HQ!" As if not caring about Tatsuya's (largely confused) mental concerns, Mari dragged him away by the arm. Miyuki finally noticed Tatsuya's confused expression, and redirected her gaze back to the terminal. Albeit, with great difficulty. 

Hattori never raised his head since Tatsuya entered the Student Council Room. It looked like he was trying to ignore everything in that direction, which was probably his greatest concession from an emotional standpoint. For this, Tatsuya was extremely thankful. Mayumi hastily batted her hand. Exactly what that was for, or what meaning it was trying to convey...? Among the people that Tatsuya had already met, she was probably the hardest to understand. That should probably be tabled for a later date. After much difficulty (largely persuasion), Tatsuya was able to free his wrist, and obediently followed Mari. In the room's farthest corner, in a spot where there would normally be a fire escape, there was instead a staircase leading to the Public Moral

Committee HQ. Are we ignoring fire safety standards? (!) Tatsuya ruminated on this, but even if the students were learning on the job, or even brand new, as long as there were excellent Magicians on hand, the lack of firefighting equipment shouldn't have been a problem. Simply using vibration or speed magics was enough to put out a fire, then the use a combination of Gather-Move Smoke Magic would be enough to expel it. In truth, large scale fires in tall skyscrapers were yet another area that Magicians could display their skills. 

Given that the lack of an elevator was within the boundaries of fire safety, the rest can be forgiven, Tatsuya thought. In regards to Tatsuya, who was right on her heels through the door into headquarters, Mari pointed towards the chairs next to the table, and said, "It's a little bit of a mess. You can rest there for a second." So this only qualified as a little. 

That being said, it was not like there was no place to put one's foot down, or that all the chairs were covered with luggage. It was probably because they just came from the neat and tidy Student Council Room, so this image was especially jarring, but that was as much as could be expected. Books, portable terminals, and even CADs, all sorts of items covered the table. Tatsuya slightly cleared out a space on one of the half-pulled out chairs beside the table. 

"The Public Moral Committee Room is like a bachelor's home. Even though I've told them to pick up after themselves time and time again, there's still no one who listens..." 

"It can't be helped when no one is around." Not knowing if Tatsuya's comment was out of mockery or comfort, Mari wrinkled her brow upon hearing this. 

"...Our primary objective is patrolling school grounds. The state of affairs within HQ couldn't be avoided." 

Presently, there were only two people in the room. The Public Moral Committee consisted of nine people, but the space within the room could accommodate a group of people many times greater than the current roster. Within this space, the idle atmosphere and dispersed items only served to increase the sense of uncleanliness.

What drew Tatsuya's attention, aside from the obvious messiness of the room, were the cluttered objects on the table. 

"Even so, Chief, would it be okay if I tidied up a bit?"