The duties of the Disciplinary Committee were quite simple—routine inspections for violations on campus. Now that Takamine Rinji had joined as a committee member, he naturally needed to familiarize himself with the job.
"Alright then, as a newbie, just follow behind us for now and watch how we do things. You'll get the hang of it soon enough."
"Understood."
Takamine Rinji stood behind Iino Miko as he responded.
The targets of the Disciplinary Committee's inspections generally fell into a few categories: those carrying prohibited items, those damaging school property, and those shamelessly dating around the campus.
Following behind Miko, Rinji also noticed the way people around looked at her and whispered among themselves as she walked down the corridor.
"There go the Disciplinary Committee again."
"First-year, Class B, I think her name's Iino Miko."
"So annoying."
"Always sticking her nose into everything…"
Takamine Rinji: "…"
Kobachi Osaragi leaned in and whispered to him, "This is pretty normal for the Disciplinary Committee. Now that you've joined, you'll need to get used to it."
"Is it really that hard being on the committee?"
"Being disliked is guaranteed. You'll make a lot of enemies doing this job."
"Oh… So can I make them shut up?"
"How exactly are you planning to do that?"
"Beat them up."
"Don't be so violent. The Disciplinary Committee can't be the ones starting fights."
"Tch."
Knock knock knock!
Up ahead, Miko had stopped in front of a classroom door and knocked a few times.
"Open up. Routine inspection."
"…"
There was no sound from inside. Miko suspiciously turned the doorknob—locked.
"…Damn it."
Takamine Rinji turned to Kobachi and asked, "What's going on here?"
"Happens all the time."
Kobachi adjusted her glasses.
"Usually, when a club is up to something they shouldn't be during inspections, they'll lock the door to avoid getting caught. Miko's run into this a bunch of times already."
"I see."
Takamine nodded thoughtfully.
More and more students were passing by, and some even turned to sneak a look, as if waiting for Miko to embarrass herself.
There was no denying it—Miko was pretty unpopular at this school.
She stood at the door, her face already flushed red.
Takamine Rinji asked, "Quick question—what do students usually do when they lock themselves inside?"
"Read manga."
"Hm."
"Playing video games."
"Mhm."
"Or couples doing some shameless things in there."
"Give me five minutes."
Takamine Rinji said this to the two and immediately ran toward the stairwell nearby.
Miko turned her head and looked at Takamine Rinji's hurried back, then asked Daibutsu, "Where is Takamine going?"
"He said to wait five minutes."
"Oh..."
Even though she didn't know what Takamine was up to, Miko still stood there waiting for him to return.
It only took a few minutes—about five.
Crash!
From the locked room came the sound of breaking glass. Then inside, came the cries of, "Hey! Who are you!?" "What are you doing!?" "Noooo!!" mixed with thuds of things falling to the ground.
Miko: "…"
Kobachi: "Sounds like it's been handled."
Click.
The previously locked door opened from the inside. Takamine Rinji walked out and said to Miko and Kobachi, "Surprise raid complete."
As soon as the door opened, Miko ran inside and saw a group of boys collapsed on the ground, their hands tied behind their backs, with a stack of inappropriate magazines on the desk.
"...What did you do?"
"Took me two minutes to grab a rappelling hook from my storage, then three minutes to reach the rooftop, attach the hook, rappel down to their window, smash the glass, and arrest everyone inside."
"Arrest...?"
"Alright, you can inspect now. The contraband magazines are all laid out on the desks."
"…"
---
"Tch, why do I have to write a reflection too?"
"Because what you did today has already spread to the entire school."
At that time, many students on the school field witnessed Takamine Rinji jumping from the rooftop with a rope, kicking through a third-floor classroom window, then tying up the students inside and confiscating their contraband.
After getting a scolding from Miko and then another from Sagara Kaya in the office, Takamine had to write a self-reflection and even had his combat rope confiscated.
Now, the whole school knew there was a lunatic among the first-year discipline committee.
"I was just enforcing school rules."
"Your way of enforcing them is totally abnormal... Also, I'm surprised Iino didn't strip you of your committee position," Ishigami Yuu said, wiping cold sweat.
"Of course not. I made those rule-breakers understand that defying the discipline committee leads only to one outcome—doom."
"You're basically a bad cop from a movie."
"What they think is none of my business."
As Takamine Rinji wrote his reflection, a fierce gleam flashed in his eyes.
"I want every student in this school to know—early romance leads to ruin."
"You're a tyrant! Are you just projecting your personal issues!?"
"This is all for the sake of discipline. You need to understand me."
"I don't understand!"
Ishigami was beginning to realize—this new friend of his might actually be nuts.
---
"Hey, Ishigami, you haven't joined a club yet, have you?"
A girl's voice came from behind. Ishigami immediately turned around.
A ponytailed girl smiled at him.
"Oh, Ootomo-san... No, I haven't."
"Being in the 'go-home club' isn't great. You should join a club while you're in high school."
"Yeah, you're right."
Ishigami blushed slightly in front of the girl.
Takamine, however, ignored them and kept writing furiously.
"Then, I'm heading out with Hikaru."
"Okay…"
Ishigami watched the girl and another boy leave the classroom, still staring at the doorway even after they had gone.
---
"Who was that girl?" Takamine asked while writing.
"The girl's Kyoko Ootomo, the guy is Ko Ogino. They're our classmates… You could at least remember your own classmates' names."
"We're switching classes in second year anyway. Remembering them is a waste of brainpower."
"..."
Suddenly, Takamine stopped writing and turned toward the door where the two had left.
"Are those two a couple?"
"Probably… Kind of enviable," Ishigami muttered.
"Got it."
Takamine immediately left his seat and walked out.
"For the sake of discipline, I'm taking care of them now."
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!"