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39. General Associate Party
While Kikuie-san and the four women were facing each other, I quietly took out my smartphone.
At Madam Sera’s shop, when Madam Sera mentioned the “General Associate Party”, I asked Yuuko about it.
And, as expected, by this time, Yuuko had replied.
Truly, as expected of Yuuko.
『I don’t really understand the situation, so I’ll explain briefly. Right now, the ones in the National Diet are The Noble, The Bureaucrat, and The General. The General Associate Party began as a subordinate organization when the number of members of The General began to increase in the political world. But now, they say it doesn’t really have much connection with them. Anyway, what happened?』
Yuuko seemed to be puzzled by my sudden question about the General Associate Party.
In the reply, difficult words were lined up.
I still didn’t quite understand the story with this explanation alone.
For me, a freshman in high school, things like politics were like an event in another world.
It would be strange if it could be understood with a short explanation.
Perhaps Yuuko thought so too, in the next message I got from her, it was written in a little more detail.
So, I read on.
What I understood from her message was that the ‘public elected members’ were called ‘The General’.
Those with the lineage of nobility (The Noble) and those who passed the civil service national exam and got the job of special service to be a member of the Diet (The Bureaucrat) weren’t included in this category.
Since all ordinary members were called The General naturally there were various groups and factions.
Therefore, there was no real definition that would make people say “So this is ‘The General’.” Because everyone other than nobles and bureaucrats was called so.
And the General Associate Party was a subsidiary organization under it.
According to Yuuko’s explanation, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the current members of The General, so unlike when they were first formed, their ties were said to be weaker.
“To take a man around in an entertainment district like this. How shameless.”
“No, that’s not true!”
A war of words continued.
“To raise your voice immediately, really rude, so unrefined. I want to see your parent’s face, who raised someone like you.”
“Hah!? How can you come to that conclusion!”
Kikuie-san’s facial expression became stern.
Listening to the exchange, I understood that the four women were trying to anger Kikuie-san.
When I looked around, there were people wearing uniforms among the people who had gathered to see what had happened.
Two people in a unform

If I remember right, that’s the uniform of the member of the Public Security Bureau

Are they just going to watch us from afar, or

“Clearly, you have a rebellious, problematic attitude, so I will keep this ID card. Well, it probably won’t be ever returned.”
“Haaah!?”
Kikuie-san tried to attack a woman who was trying to put away her student ID card.
I grabbed Kikuie-san’s arm and stopped her. It was sudden, but I was on time.
“Eh?”
Kikuie-san was surprised.
“Wait”
I pulled Kikuie-san to the back and showed my smartphone to the women.
“She is my companion. Please give her school ID back. Forcefully taking someone else’s thing is a crime.”
“This is a reasonable thing to do. End of story.”
Maybe the woman got impatient because I came out, and tried to finish the conversation.
“Then, I’ll press the button. It’s the one that sends a signal to the Public Safety Bureau. Also, let me say this, but the whole conversation has been recorded.”
“
 You can press”
“Is that so? Do you think you’ll be justified in doing this? You’re so sure that there was no room for this to be just a misunderstanding? 
Please return that student ID card. This is the second time I said this. I’m sure people around have heard these words. Right?”
When I asked so, some of the gathered women nodded.
“I see
 then, I’ll press it for real. I’ll definitely report what I saw and heard. Fortunately, it seems that the security cameras are working properly, and there are many witnesses. This case won’t stop in just Public Security Bureau, surely, it’ll go to the police. I’m not in the wrong here, so I won’t back off.”
The woman then threw the student ID to Kikuie-san, said, “Let’s go,” and quickly left with the other three.
“Seriously, what’s her problem.”
Kikuie-san said so resentfully.
“I think they tried to get you all to get angry, to the point where you all will get kicked out legally.”
“Eh? Maybe, just now, if I didn’t get stopped
”
“Maybe someone from the Public Security Bureau, who was nearby, would come to restrain Kikuie-san because you tried to hurt others in an exaggerated way, or something like that
”
“
no way
 why did she
”
Kikuie-san was trembling with her student ID card that had fallen under her feet.
“The General Associate Party loudly claims to protect the rights of men. It seems that their claims are being accepted, resulting in the special ward ordinance being rewritten one after another.”
“How do you know that?”
“Someone trustworthy told me.”
Yuuko deduced the situation from just my question and sent me additional useful info.
Once again, as expected of Yuuko!
I finished reading the messages while Kikuie-san was arguing, and at the same time, I sensed their intentions.
So, I hurriedly cut in and luckily, it was in time.
“The women of the General Associate Party think that, it’s their job to get rid of women who are likely to get along well with men.”
“

?”
It was Yuuko’s words.
After telling an example of past activities and making a claim `From my personal interpretation’, that was what Yuuko told me.
One of them was to change the Special Ward Ordinance, with the excuse called “protect men.”
However, even if they said so, it contradicted with what they actually did. Yuuko thought so.
From there, Yuuko deduced that they wanted only women who were approved by the General Associate Party to be by any man’s side.
That in a way, it could be said that the General Associate Party wanted to treat men like their pets, even though they said they wanted to protect men’s rights.
Yuuko seemed to have arrived at this idea after carefully examining the claims and activities of the General Associate Party.
From the forceful contact just now, I didn’t have a good impression of them. And Yuuko was someone that could be trusted. So, I told the info that I got from her to the four girls in front of me.
“If you somehow get involved with any member of the General Associate Party, you absolutely must not hurt them. That seems to be what they’re aiming for after all. Even if your student ID is taken, you can legally get it back later, if you do nothing that can be deemed as problematic behavior. In any case, never try to use violence. Otherwise, you won’t be able to see me ever again.”
Sure enough, Yuuko knew much more than what she explained to me.
What she told me was probably only the tip of the iceberg.
“I understand. I’ll never do that.”
“Me too. I’ll keep your word in mind.”
“Yeah, Yuu too will always remember it.”
“I would never let it go the way that insignificant gang wants.”
“As expected of the member of my group. Now now, let’s continue the date.”
Such an unfortunate event in the middle of the date, but I feel that the current accident has strengthened our bond.
“However, if the Public Security Bureau, which is in charge of the security of the special ward, becomes an enemy, no matter how hard we try, there’ll be no chance of winning.”
“As expected, I don’t think that’ll happen. Probably, only a small part of them agrees with the idea of the General Associate Party. If not, the situation inside the special ward would be much worse than now, and it would’ve been an even bigger problem.”
Like, maybe the public security bureau people who were around earlier wouldn’t be just two, but a few more people.
“I hope that’s the case.”
“Anyway, I’ve gathered a lot of attention, so let’s just continue.”
If everyone saw what just happened, you won’t get entangled with them again. At least for the rest of the day

So, we all walked around the shopping mall that Kikuie-san visited frequently on the south side.
I got a lot of attention here and there, but I thoroughly enjoyed the window shopping.
We decided to go back home after that.
Ah, let’s say thank you to Yuuko when I get home.
There were some minor accidents, but today was a very enjoyable day. At least for me.
And I was able to get to know more about the girls in my group, albeit only a little.
Anyway, making friends with the girls in my class
 The first step for that, was a great success.