“The plan to deal with the cats will be postponed for 24 hours under the vice president’s authority.”
At Iris’s words, the meeting room stirred.
The first to react was, unsurprisingly, her close aide, who was always at her side.
“But, Vice President! This isn’t like your usual judgment!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! It’s completely different! Besides, this ‘cat disposal plan’ has already been announced by the academy with approval from the student council president! For us, the working staff, to suspend its effect isn’t a trivial matter! You’re aware of that, Vice President!”
“Beckett, calm down and listen to me.”
“No! The Vice President must have been deceived by Ian Blackangers! You mustn’t fall for his sly tongue!”
Beckett, Iris’s aide, pointed at me as she raised her voice.
I bowed my head slightly.
“... Thanks for the compliment.”
“Ha! That’s not what I meant!”
Beckett shot me a sharp glare before turning back to Iris.
“I can’t accept the Vice President’s behavior today! This decision has no grounds whatsoever. Right now, you’re being far too emotional!”
With arms crossed, Beckett fumed, clearly upset.
Watching her, Iris let out a deep sigh.
“Beckett.”
“...”
“I am the chairperson of this meeting. The decisions are mine to make.”
Her words were calm, but the content was firm.
It was essentially a declaration of, “I’m your superior.”
Beckett, previously indignant, shrank back slightly, looking chastised.
“And.”
Iris continued with a resolute tone.
“It is an emotional judgment. The Academy’s regulations contain provisions for the temporary suspension of announcements.”
“... Such a provision exists?”
“The regulation regarding the enforcement of ordinances. It states that enforcement can be delayed for 24 hours if there is a gathering of five or more individuals. This is the regulation you’re in charge of managing, Beckett.”
At Iris’s explanation, Beckett fell silent, looking as though she’d been struck speechless.
To be fair, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to feel wronged.
Just because she managed the enforcement of ordinances didn’t mean she had memorized all the related regulations.
The fact that Iris had memorized it all... well, that was unusual.
Or maybe she was just a genius.
The genius vice president turned her gaze to me.
“Ian.”
“Yeah?”
“What you just did—raising your voice in protest—is something I, as the vice president, recognize as a valid gathering. And there were more than five people chanting the same words, right?”
“There were.”
“Then the condition for a gathering of five or more is met.”
“... Looks like it.”
Iris stood up.
She walked over to a stack of documents on the side of the room, rummaged through them, and pulled something out.
“Write this down.”
[Petition for Objection]
I filled out the form she handed me and returned it to her.
Iris returned to her seat and announced.
“As the vice president, I officially accept this petition. The implementation of the plan to capture the cats will be postponed for 24 hours, and no related actions should be taken during that time.”
The attendees, who had been staring at her in a daze—executives and committee members—nodded in unison.
“Understood.”
Iris, looking satisfied, turned to me.
“Does this suffice?”
“Thank you.”
“Now, please leave. There are many other matters to address.”
I nodded and turned to leave. As I was about to exit, Iris called out behind me.
“Ian.”
“?”
“The student council estimates that there are at least 1,000 cats on campus.”
“24 hours won’t be enough, then.”
“Exactly.”
I need to find Danya.
At the same time, I’ll have to think of a way to extend the time.
As I pondered, Iris spoke again.
“If 300 or more people gather, a general assembly will be convened.”
“Vice President...!”
Ignoring Beckett’s voice, Iris continued.
“In that case, the academy, the student council, and the assembly representatives would all convene. Depending on the outcome, any ordinance could be overturned.”
With that, Iris put her glasses back on, which she had briefly removed.
“Although it’ll make the student council busier, give it a shot.”
It would’ve been strange if she weren’t tired.
“I really think you should rest.”
“But wouldn’t it be better to have one more person helping to search?”
“No. Besides, there’s something I need you to prepare.”
“...Prepare?”
“We’ll likely need to move on to the next step soon.”
◇
[Time Remaining: 12 hours]
Current Time: 6 a.m.
We had found around 200 cats so far.
None of them were Danya.
The looming deadline was becoming all too real.
In the distance, the sun began to rise.
“You should go rest now too, Lina. With daylight, it’ll be easier to see.”
“But Ian, what about you...”
“I’m used to staying up all night.”
And I truly was.
After Lina left, I stood alone, facing the next stretch of the hunt.
— Meowww!
Blackie, who had been dozing off on my shoulder, suddenly perked up.
“Alright, let’s give it one more push, shall we?”
— Meow!
◇
[Time Remaining: 8 hours]
Current Time: 10 a.m.
We’d searched through around 400 cats so far.
‘There’s no end to this.’
I’d thought we’d find a lead by the time we were halfway through, but the number of cats on the Academy grounds was far greater than I had anticipated.
Who could possibly have let so many cats loose here, and how did they do it without anyone noticing?
“Let’s stop the search here for now.”
Silvia and Elena, who had rejoined me earlier, turned to look.
“But Brother Ian, there’s still time. We can’t give up yet—”
“Do you have a new plan?”
Their reactions differed, but Silvia’s question aligned with my current thoughts.
“We need a more systematic approach.”
I’d started to notice patterns in the cats’ behavior.
If Danya had turned into a cat, her rationality would likely be on the brink as well.
In this vast sea of felines, a new plan had formed in my mind—one that made sense.
The downside? It would take at least several dozen hours to execute.
“We’ll need more time.”
I nodded.
With roughly 8 hours left until the ‘cat disposal plan’ resumed, the solution to this situation had already been laid out by Iris: a general assembly with 300 or more participants.
The only thing left was to take the necessary preliminary steps.
“I’m here to file for a protest.”
At the student council’s complaint desk, I was met with a familiar face.
The girl who had shown me hostility yesterday—Jeckett.
“You’re here to file a protest? Jeckett.”
“It’s Beckett! At least get my name right!”
Ah, that’s what it was.
“Alright, Beckett.”
“Fine! I figured you’d show up. Here, fill this out.”
Surprisingly, she handed me the protest application form without resistance.
The hostility only returned after I handed her the completed form.
As she stamped the form, she glanced up at me and smirked.
“You know something?”
“What?”
“No protest in the academy’s history has ever reached more than 100 participants.”
She chuckled, amused by her own statement.
“You’ll be no different, Ian. 300 participants? Pfft. You won’t even get close to 100.”
“...”
“And you’ve got less than six hours left. It’s impossible.”
Hmm. That was an interesting piece of trivia.
But I wasn’t worried.
Why?
I leaned in close and whispered to the smug Beckett.
“I’ll show you what a real protest looks like.”