"Gurgle."
Before Yukinoshita Yukino could respond, her stomach beat her to it.
Though faint, Kei's keen hearing picked up the clear protest from her body.
Yukino's entire face turned crimson, her pale skin almost seeming to bleed.
"I'll fry up a couple of dishes." Kei didn't take the chance to argue or tease further—there was a limit to his mischievousness.
"I… actually don't—" Yukino started to protest, but—
"Listen."
"Yes."
Obedient.
…
The kitchen and dining area weren't separated by thick walls, only a small bar counter divided the two spaces.
Yukino sat properly in the dining chair, watching the figure busy at the stove.
Just yesterday, she had been the master of this tiny kitchen; now, she was a guest.
"Don't like scrambled eggs with tomato?" Kei asked.
She shook her head.
"Good. Though it wouldn't matter if you did," he added with a teasing tone. "It's the only dish I can make with the ingredients I have left."
Then why ask me? Are you enjoying this?
Yukino shot him a glare but stayed silent. Then, gathering courage, she asked, "About the school rule you mentioned earlier…"
"Oh, you're still thinking about that?" Kei retrieved three eggs from the fridge, hesitated, and put one back. "What do you think? Why do you think St. Eden's Academy restricts a teacher to advising only one club?"
"Maybe it's because of their energy?" Yukino guessed. "Being a club advisor probably consumes a lot of time and effort. Limiting the number of clubs prevents a teacher from overextending and neglecting their main duties."
"Shizuka Hiratsuka is also an advisor. Do you think she's exhausted?" Kei cracked the eggs with precise skill, separating yolk and white into a bowl and picking up a pair of chopsticks.
"Then… perhaps the rule ensures that teachers thoroughly evaluate whether a club should exist before taking on the responsibility?"
"This isn't about finding a soulmate for life," Kei said, vigorously whisking the eggs. "An advisor can resign anytime, with no need for the club's consent. If the club fails to find a replacement in a week, the Student Council forcibly disbands it. If a club truly shouldn't exist, just file the request with the Student Council. Problem solved."
"Yukinoshita, you don't need to imagine school rules as some lofty attempt to ensure student happiness," Kei said, placing the bowl on the bar counter with a gentle clink. "The real reason is far simpler—"
He lifted his gaze over the counter to the girl sitting at the table.
"Money."
"The academy's annual club budget totals three billion yen. How many people do you think would drool over funds large enough to last a lifetime? Sure, students here are rich or from influential families, so they might not care that much. But students aren't the only ones interested."
Yukino's mind flashed to Teacher Mio. If the 300,000 yen didn't belong to any of the three clubs, then… the owner had to be…
"You're thinking correctly," Kei said, seemingly reading her thoughts. "That 300,000 yen belongs to Teacher Mio herself. Or rather, it's money she 'earned' by leveraging her position as the advisor of all three clubs."
"Embezzlement?" Yukino's eyes widened in disbelief. She recalled Mio's expression when assigning the task, and her interactions with Touma Yoko… Was all of that an act?
"No, not embezzlement. With the student council president's level of cleverness, if it were embezzlement, she couldn't have hidden it for two whole years. And if it were stolen funds, why return it to the clubs, even fabricating that it was 'club activity money'?"
Kei shook his head, handling a tomato. "I said it's money she earned."
Yukino still looked puzzled. Kei called out, "Hey, ri."
The AI speaker's red light glowed in response.
"St. Eden Academy, 3 km east; Port City Government, 5 km north. There's a large Catholic hall there. How much to rent it for a morning performance?"
"200,000 yen, according to the official website," the mechanical voice replied flatly.
"For an afternoon rental?"
"230,000 yen."
"One full day?"
"400,000 yen."
"See?" Kei turned to Yukino. "I just 'earned' 30,000 yen."
Yukino wasn't slow-witted. Once she understood, she immediately grasped Mio's little trick.
"In other words," Kei continued, "due to the nature of the clubs, all three need to rent external venues for performances. But because of time and physical constraints, each club usually only rents for half a day. The ledger records a half-day rental. But if, by coincidence, the same hall is used, the actual cost is a full day—but cheaper than separate rentals. That 300,000 yen…"
"…Was probably saved this way," Kei said, turning on the stove. Blue flames flickered quietly. "So it doesn't belong to any of the three clubs. If anything, it belongs to the already disbanded Classical Music Club."
"Teacher Mio's assignment this time…"
"This is a 'thank-you'." Kei poured the beaten eggs into the pan. "The Lamb Society helped Touma Yoko return to the String Club, and as the advisor, she's grateful. So she entrusted this task to us."
"She's probably done this before, having been 'triple-advisor' for two years. Touma Yoko might not know, but the three club presidents surely do. Hand them the envelope, and they'll understand exactly what we're here for."
In other words, with this 300,000 yen, Yukino could quite easily secure another club's vote…
Yukino fell silent. Kei's explanation fit perfectly; she could find no flaw. If verified, it would almost certainly proceed as he said.
But… was Teacher Mio's assignment really just a 'thank-you'?
Yukino recalled the pain in Mio's expression when speaking of the Classical Music Club, the regret, the faint hope. Her wavering heart steadied.
Better this way. This aligned perfectly with your plan, Yukinoshita. She thought silently.
Yes, this wasn't merely a 'thank-you.' It was a real assignment.
"Kei," Yukino said this time without adding '-kun,' simply using his name. "Choosing between the Choir and Wind Clubs to get a vote is too inefficient."
She raised her right hand, clenching it over her chest as if grasping something tightly.
"I want the votes from both clubs."
Since Teacher Mio had already 'stepped through this door,' she would have to 'abandon all despair.'
After all, that's the founding principle of the Lamb Society.