Chaos Mate ~Revenge In This Chaotic Academy~ - Chapter 60: An Unapproved Project

Chapter 60: An Unapproved Project

Souna Side

Why is the student council president’s job so ridiculously busy?

I didn’t even want to be president.

It just happened automatically because I’m a Sakurada and had the most points in my grade.

Otherwise, who’d take on this hassle?

The vibe was like I had no choice—total school power harassment.

Even during summer break, the moment I return from the main house, I’m stuck in the student council room, reviewing documents and stamping them in a mind-numbing routine.

Then, a particular file catches my eye, and I call for the vice president, the bespectacled Morimura.

“What’s the matter, President?”

“Don’t ‘what’s the matter’ me! I never approved this game. What’s going on?”

The file details the ongoing “Mandatory Word Game.”

Normally, projects affecting point totals need my approval as president.

But I don’t recall seeing this, and my stamp’s nowhere on it.

No signatures, no approval seals, yet the game started yesterday, the first day of summer break. This is unprecedented.

Morimura looks confused and asks, “Not approved? But it was passed… Wait, didn’t they say the chairman approved it?”

“Who said that? The chairman was with me at the Sakurada house this past week, and I got no contact. I doubt the headmaster would greenlight this… The submission date is the day after I left the academy. What were you doing then?”

“As per your orders, I was compiling club activity proposals. I didn’t touch the approval stamp.”

“The stamp’s irrelevant. The issue is this absurd game proceeding without any approval. This is unheard of in my time! Who’s behind it? Not someone from the council, right?”

Asking with a bad feeling, Morimura looks up and left, trying to recall.

“That’s… I don’t know. We discussed who proposed and approved this risky project, but no answers came up. The academy’s been cooperative, though…”

“Fine. Get me all the surveillance footage immediately—especially from here, the chairman’s office, and, just in case, the headmaster’s office. We might catch a suspicious figure.”

“Yes, right away!!”

The academy’s cooperative? A project bypassing the council, already in motion. I said to check footage, but the odds of finding anyone are zero.

That leaves one possibility.

Someone from the Scarlet Phantom pushed this through. It makes sense—they’d ignore the figurehead authority of the student council president.

But…

This Mandatory Word Game targets only first-years, with those white wristbands distributed to all students without notice.

Normally, a game like this would just use a voice-recognition app on phones.

To prepare something this risky, the organization’s influence within the academy is the only explanation.

I reread the game’s file, glance at the bottom section, and click my tongue.

“This could get someone killed… Wake up, Madoka.”

All I can do now is trust in Madoka’s strength, forced into this game.

It’s maddeningly frustrating.

※

Madoka Side

I know the targets’ names.

The Pokers, the core of the Scarlet Phantom.

King, in particular, might be tied to Nee-san’s death—a key figure.

But how do I find them?

Using myself as bait only draws assassins.

Dealing with their lackeys one by one won’t cut it. If any Poker, like King, is a third-year, I’ll run out of time.

They could graduate and slip away.

Isn’t there a way to drag out the Pokers, especially King?

Should I reread that notebook? It’s my only lead right now.

After breakfast, we gather in my room to discuss what’s next.

“No words came up last night, so bedtime seems exempt,” Naruse says.

“Wanna say that’s a relief, but… Naruse, were you up all night?” I ask.

“Yeah, just in case. So, my first all-nighter’s got me dead tired.”

Seeing her yawn with a small open mouth, I look down, guilty for sleeping without thinking.

This girl’s obsession with winning is unreal.

“Ruri-cchi, you should sleep,” Kumi suggests.

“What if a word comes while I’m out? If I lose big points to a timeout, I’d never forgive myself,” Naruse replies.

“Yeah, but a timeout wakes you up. Mine yesterday shocked my sleepy eyes awake,” Kumi says.

“…Hold up, Kumi. What’s that about? Sure, the wristband beeped, but it wasn’t that loud, right?”

Kumi’s words imply something happens at timeout, but I felt nothing.

Is there a difference in the wristbands?

Kumi tilts her head, pointing to her white wristband.

“Huh? Madoka-cchi, you felt nothing? You lost points at timeout, right? Motoki-cchi and Emi-cchi got a prick and zap in their right hands.”

“Prick… zap? Nah, I didn’t feel anything…”

“Seriously!? You should go to a hospital! Like, neurology or something!” Motoki chimes in.

Hospital… If I went, stuff I don’t want known would get exposed, maybe make me a lab rat… I used to think that.

As long as my eye color doesn’t change, I look like a normal high school guy.

But I’m the only one who felt no discomfort from the point deduction.

That’s quietly unsettling.

“Ho-ho, quite the mystery, Tsubaki-san.”

A voice I haven’t heard in a while takes me a moment to place.

Instinctively, I grab my usual phone and hesitantly check the screen. A green-visored, legit cyber-girl is there.

Seeing her, I can’t help but give a wry smile.

“Uh… Lesta, right?”

“Yes! Long time, Tsubaki-san! Sorry for intruding!”

She salutes sharply, and my eyes are already dead.

The others peek at my phone from behind.

“Why’s she on my phone?”

“W-Was I a bother…?”

Her teary, upturned eyes make me shake my head reflexively.

“No, not a bother. But I need a reason…”

“Oh, right, sorry! I was so mad I forgot!”

“Mad…?”

“Yes! I ran away from Onii-chan’s phone!! Super peeved!!”

Onii-chan… Kishino-sensei? What’d he do?

“Something happen at the academy?”

“Yes… Listen! I had control over point management, but they stripped my authority!!”

“Stripped? By who?”

“Some weirdly named person…”

Someone with the power to seize ability point control? No, they exist, or Lesta wouldn’t be here.

As we hold our breath, the air heavy, Lesta names them.

“The new admin’s called IIYATSU. Weird name, right?” (T/N: IIYATSU literally means Good Guy. A kinda spoiler, YANAYATSU is the opposite of that.)

I glance at Mogami beside me, and she’s looking back.

Her wide-eyed disbelief mirrors my own.

That name alone tells us the academy’s situation.

The Scarlet Phantom’s moving in earnest.