Chapter 14 Rage

Rage

The day after school, Tachibana-san and I got into the car driven by Sugo-sensei and headed to the ward office. In the parking lot, we met up with Furui-san from the manufacturer.

“Thank you for your cooperation today.”

“Not at all. The pleasure is ours. This is a valuable opportunity. Let’s do our best to achieve good results.”

Once the two adults finished their formal greetings, we immediately made our way toward the building.

“Hey, Furui-san.”

Making sure the two walking ahead of us didn’t notice, I spoke to Furui-san, who was beside me.

“What is it?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

It was a question that had been on my mind ever since I started keeping in touch with him.

“Furui-san, you’re in development, right? So why are you the one attending today’s meeting?”

Back when the three of us had our interview at the manufacturer, Furui-san had been present, but at that time, he was accompanied by a salesperson.

However, as coordination with the ward office progressed, the salesperson vanished… and I never even heard his name mentioned again.

The manufacturer had reduced the number of people involved in our project. That much, I could understand.

But the biggest question was…

“Normally, isn’t it the salesperson who attends these kinds of meetings?”

A developer’s main job is product development. Pitching a product in front of clients—like today—is a completely different field of work.

Of course, there are cases where developers join sales meetings to provide deeper technical insights, but it’s rare for them to go alone while sidelining the sales team.

Especially in a well-known company like the one Furui-san worked for, the division of roles should be even clearer.

“…It’s company policy for me to take on a broader range of tasks. Would you accept that as an explanation?”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because you jumped at the chance to collaborate with high school students like a fish taking to water.”

That’s how appealing our plan to install surveillance cameras in the park must have been for the manufacturer. And yet, the company’s enthusiasm had suddenly faded… No, even if I say “faded,” they at least sent a representative. But it was obvious they had lost the drive to fully commit.

When exactly did their attitude change?

Thinking back… it was right after our initial meeting at the manufacturer. That day, we received a favorable response and felt a solid sense of progress. At the same time, we handed over the materials we had prepared—the ones the manufacturer had specifically requested. Those materials included a map detailing the proposed camera installation locations in the park.

“You’re sharp. You’ve already figured it out, haven’t you?”

“I’d rather be wrong, honestly.”

“No, you’re probably right.”

Furui-san shrugged.

“In our company, the sales department holds considerable power. Many of them started in development, and it’s a division filled with long-time veterans. That day, Aida-san from sales and I immediately reported your proposal to our superiors. We told them how impressed we were—that young people these days really think things through, and that it had been a refreshing experience for us. At first, our boss listened to our report with a smile… but the moment he saw the materials we received, his expression changed.”

“When he saw the map, right?”

“Exactly. Soon after, the decision was made for the sales team to pull out. They said it was a waste of time. That’s why I, the junior member, was the only one sent here.”

“Pull out”—the phrase sounded like something used when someone got caught dealing with shady organizations. I couldn’t help but chuckle. At least now, I understood why Furui-san was the only one from the manufacturer.

In other words, the manufacturer had determined—based on information they gathered through their own channels—that installing surveillance cameras in this park was going to be difficult. They likely saw this meeting with the ward office as a doomed effort… a losing battle.

“This ward’s local government is known for being money-hungry. Though that’s not something I can say too loudly.”

It made sense that the manufacturer would be aware of such things. Since they were pushing for surveillance camera installations in parks for their own profit, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had already pitched to several municipalities. That was precisely why, the moment their superior saw the map and recognized which park it was, they decided to minimize their risk—keeping their involvement low by sending only Furui-san.

“…I see. That clears things up.”

“Sorry for bringing this up right before the meeting.”

“No, I was the one who asked.”

“…You’re surprisingly calm.”

“Panicking wouldn’t change anything, would it?”

Even if this was a losing battle, running away wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“Besides, as far as I’m concerned, our original goal has already been achieved.”

Furui-san tilted his head, puzzled by my words.

Our conversation was cut short when the two people walking ahead of us—both looking uneasy—turned to glance at us suspiciously.

Once inside the ward office building, we were led to the meeting room while speaking with the staff.

A female staff member brought out five cups of plain tea, but no one took a sip.

Tachibana-san, today’s designated speaker, was too focused on not messing up.

Furui-san, unaccustomed to this kind of setting, was just as nervous.

Sugo-sensei, looking downcast, clearly wished he wasn’t involved.

And I had a sensitive tongue.

It seemed none of us intended to drink the piping-hot tea.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Soon, a slightly overweight official entered, breathing heavily. He was about five minutes late.

“You’re from Kaito School… and XX-san, correct? Thank you for taking the time to come.”

“Thank you for making time for us today.”

The four of us stood as the official entered. The two adults moved forward, preparing for the customary exchange of business cards, but the official stopped them with a wave of his hand.

“No need for that. We won’t be meeting again anyway.”

I had already sensed his arrogance the moment he walked in, but this was especially blunt.

“Ah, um… I see.”

Both Sugo-sensei and Furui-san, possibly intimidated by the official’s older age and seniority, shrank back slightly. As they sank into their chairs, their backs seemed smaller than before.

I recalled what Furui-san had said earlier.

This local government is money-hungry. Furui-san’s company had requested surveillance cameras in parks multiple times, only to be repeatedly rejected—that was how they had come to that conclusion.

But apparently, this situation went beyond just that.

Watching as the official let out a heavy sigh and downed the tea in front of him in one gulp, I had a thought.

“Well then, let’s get started—”

“Wait a second.”

I interrupted Tachibana-san, whose voice was trembling with nerves.

I unlocked my phone and placed it on the table.

“Huh? What do you think you’re doing?”

The official’s gruff voice was directed at me.

“I’m going to record the minutes of this meeting. Our school is heavily invested in this surveillance camera project. Once it’s implemented, we plan to have the school newspaper cover it, including our experiences here. So… I’d appreciate your cooperation.”

“You should have mentioned that in advance.”

“I apologize. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Then again, if his own words were to be believed, there wouldn’t be a “next time” with him, so it hardly mattered.

There was a reason I had deliberately provoked him by recording. People tend to be more cautious when they know their words are being documented. They hesitate, fearing they might say something they’ll regret.

If nothing else, I hoped this would at least serve as a deterrent against his already apparent arrogance.

However…

It seemed my tactic had absolutely no effect.

“S-So then, let’s begin. We’ll now explain our proposal for the installation of surveillance cameras, a part of Class 1-XX’s extracurricular activities at Kaito High School.”

Tachibana-san reached out, offering the official the documents.

However, for some reason, he made no move to accept them.

“No.”

His response was short and cold.

“…Huh?”

“I said no. No means no.”

He had shut us down without so much as glancing at the documents. What kind of reasoning was that?

Tachibana-san, Sugo-sensei, and even Furui-san looked completely blindsided, as if their minds had gone blank.

“Why?”

I asked.

“Huh? No means no. What more do you need?”

“T-There has to be a reason!”

The one who protested was Tachibana-san.

“You haven’t even listened to us or looked at the documents—how can you just reject the proposal outright? At the very least, review the materials properly before making a fair decision! This is completely unacceptable!”

“Our ward has no money. So it’s impossible. What’s impossible is impossible.”

“So you’re saying the safety of children playing in the park doesn’t matter? …I have a younger sister who’s still in nursery school. I take care of her a lot. Lately, incidents have been increasing, and I worry about her constantly. Are you saying you have no intention of addressing these concerns?”

“Huh? Your parents aren’t the ones looking after her, but you, the older sister? Sounds like a messed-up family.”

Every household has its own circumstances. For an outsider to comment on them—let alone label them “messed up”—was completely out of line.

Overcome with anger, Tachibana-san shot the official a sharp glare. But she was so shaken by his words that her lips only trembled—no retort, no complaints, not even an outburst.

She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

…How rare.

Even for me, it was rare to feel my blood boiling like this.

“…Once again, could you clearly explain why our surveillance camera proposal is being rejected?”

“Huh? No. I already told you.”

“So, to summarize: the reason the cameras can’t be installed is because the ward has no money. There’s simply no budget to purchase them. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Not even a single one?”

“Huh?”

“Can you not afford even one surveillance camera? If not, how many could you afford?”

“…We could probably buy one. But we can’t afford a bunch.”

“And by ‘a bunch,’ how many do you mean?”

“What?”

“Please provide a specific number. Your responses have been vague and lack concrete details. Up to this point, I wouldn’t call this a productive discussion at all. In fact, it feels like you never intended to have a real conversation from the start.”

At this point, I was just confirming the obvious.

I was curious to see how he would react when confronted with the truth.

“…Haah.”

The man twisted his face into a sneer, the corners of his mouth curling up.

“You’re right. That’s enough, isn’t it? This is a waste of time.”

The classmates who had been undecided about their extracurricular activity.

And a company that wanted to promote its collaboration with high school students.

Their interests didn’t perfectly align, so I had expected negotiations with the ward office to be tough… but we hadn’t even been allowed to step into the ring.

I let out a deep sigh, exasperated.

His outdated, thoughtless remarks toward Tachibana-san. The way he continued spewing nonsense, undeterred by the fact he was being recorded.

He was probably some privileged rich boy, someone who had been shielded all his life. His parents likely held some degree of power, letting him get away with misdeeds. Just like those out-of-touch, hereditary politicians who preach about serving the public yet can’t even answer a simple question properly, stalling for time like the incompetent, cowardly fools they are.

But unlike those politicians, this man had only managed to become a mid-level bureaucrat at the ward office. Was it because his parents’ influence had limits? Or was it simply his own lack of ability? …Perhaps both.

“I see. I understand completely. However, you’ve made far too many inappropriate remarks. We’ll be taking the necessary actions regarding today’s incident.”

“Go ahead, go ahead. Do whatever you want.”

The official waved his hand dismissively, oozing confidence.

“First, this recorded audio will be sent to various news agencies as evidence of a ward office employee’s arrogance.”

“Oh, sure, whatever.”

“Your comments toward her also fall under s🬀🬀ual harassment, don’t you think?”

He barely reacted, his face still indifferent. He was certain an individual complaint could be swept under the rug.

…In that case.

“…This incident will be formally reported to both the school and XX Company, and we’ll be filing a complaint directly with the ward mayor.”

If individual complaints wouldn’t work, we’d escalate it to the top.

My words must have hit home—his face drained of color in an instant.

“W-Wait, the ward mayor has nothing to do with this!”

“Of course he does. The ward mayor is responsible for decisions regarding public facilities. If his subordinates fail, he takes responsibility.”

“H-Hey… Think this through, will you?”

“Think what through?”

“Huh?”

“What exactly are we supposed to reconsider?”

“T-That is…”

“The arrogant refusal to even exchange business cards, the blatant neglect of your duty to explain, the insensitive remarks—weren’t all of these your own actions?!”

I hadn’t meant to raise my voice just to play the victim, but my emotions got the better of me.

Still, my outburst had an immediate effect. He visibly shrank back, clearly unused to being scolded.

“That’s enough. This conversation is over. As I said earlier, we’ll be taking action in due course.”

“W-Wait! Please, wait!”

Even while visibly intimidated, his survival instincts kicked in at the last second.

“…I’ll listen. I’ll hear you out properly. So please, wait.”

“Didn’t you say this was a waste of time?”

“…Please, reconsider.”

“Fine. Then have your superior join us.”

“What?”

“There’s no point in talking to you. We need a productive discussion. Right here, right now, we want to determine which parks will have surveillance cameras installed and set concrete installation dates. Provide an environment where that’s possible.”

With the situation now shifting in our favor, I steadied myself and laid down my terms.

Let’s see how he would respond.

His eyes darted around nervously, his composure crumbling.

“A-All right…”

After a brief hesitation, he must have realized he had no way out—he relented.

Thirty minutes later, his superior arrived in the conference room.

From there, we were finally able to engage in a proper discussion on the installation of surveillance cameras in the parks.

“For this park, two cameras should be enough given its size.”

“This camera model supports wireless data transmission, making it ideal for this park, which prioritizes aesthetics.”

“This park is in an open location, so let’s try installing a single wide-angle lens camera.”

One by one, we worked through each park’s needs, finally having a constructive dialogue. Even Furui-san, who had remained silent until now, joined in, discussing the technical aspects and costs.

In the end, we secured agreements to install surveillance cameras in twelve out of twenty parks. The final approval rested with the ward mayor, but according to the superior, it was likely to pass. If all went smoothly, installation would begin gradually in mid-December.

Two hours and forty-nine minutes.

That was how long it took for our negotiations at the ward office to finally reach a conclusion.