After the negotiations with the Pandemonium Society ended.
Kenji limped out of the building and, upon reaching the plaza, corrected his gait to normal. Then he shoved his hands into his pockets, put in wireless earbuds, and turned on some music. The softly playing ballad song soothed his mind and body.
“……Haa.”
A deep sigh escaped his lips after taking a few steps. It was because the conversation from a few minutes ago came to mind.
The Pandemonium Society agreed to provide Schale with free pudding for a month in exchange for forming a connection. Schale was so moved by their gift that they agreed to the request to avoid associating with the discipline committee.
Of course, that was only in words. Kenji had no intention of taking their proposal at face value. If the Pandemonium Society had offered something sufficiently enticing, it might have been different, but accepting their proposal for mere pudding was madness.
However, openly showing displeasure and rejecting their proposal was also difficult. No matter how foolish the student council might be, they were still the ones leading the academy. It was impossible to yell at them to stop talking nonsense.
So, he had no choice but to accept their proposal. More precisely, he pretended to accept it. He planned to form a connection with them while also maintaining ties with the discipline committee.
Moreover, as compensation for breaking his ankle, Makoto had also established a complete non-aggression pact between Gehenna and Schale. If a Gehenna student intentionally harmed Schale, Gehenna would severely punish the student and provide compensation equivalent to the damage. The reverse also applied, but since that was just a matter of Kenji being careful, it wasn’t a big issue.
‘I won’t need to be wary of Gehenna anymore.’
He gained more benefits than expected. The pudding was mostly useless, but it would be enough for Yuuka to snack on, and the non-aggression pact would completely eliminate conflicts with Gehenna. That alone was more than enough to break even. His original purpose in coming to Gehenna was to sweet-talk the student council and pay a small price, but he achieved an even better result.
With that, all his purposes for coming to Gehenna were accomplished. Kenji stopped by a convenience store within Gehenna Academy’s grounds, bought a bottle of water, and plopped down on a nearby bench.
“I should still visit the discipline committee.”
He muttered that and took a sip of water.
He didn’t know much about Gehenna’s discipline committee, but he had learned through the internet a few days ago that their status was high.
Among them, the reputation of the discipline committee head was notorious. The strongest in Gehenna, a demon who shows no mercy in punishing troublemakers. Many posts described her in that way. However, he didn’t actually know her name.
That was inevitable since everyone called her the discipline committee head, discipline committee head, so it was very hard to know her name. If Makoto hadn’t told him, he still wouldn’t know that her name was Hina.
“…….”
Kenji placed the water bottle he was holding on the seat next to him and repeated the name “Hina” in his mind.
Unlike Nagisa, Seia, or Mika, Kenji wasn’t exceptionally close with Hina. They were just caught up in past events together. The difference was that she was on the perpetrator’s side, and Kenji was an innocent victim.
But unlike the other two, Hina was a girl with common sense installed in her head. So, she made a promise to severely punish Makoto and the department head who shattered Kenji’s ankle at the time, and to grant one childish wish.
‘I wonder if she still remembers that promise.’
A full two years and several months had passed. During that time, Kenji had no contact with Hina. Moreover, as the busy discipline committee head, even if she had forgotten the past promise, he could nod and understand.
“I’ll find out when I meet her.”
He muttered that and emptied the water bottle. After throwing the empty bottle into the trash, he asked a passing female student for directions to the discipline committee room. Unlike a typical Gehenna student, she kindly showed him the way.
On the way to the discipline committee room. Kenji took a moment to call Yuuka. After a few rings, the call connected.
[Hello, Kenji? What’s up?]
“This is your poor assistant who got stuck with all the work, greeting the teacher. I hope you’ve been well.”
Kenji came to Gehenna a few weeks after Yuuka left for Millennium. Because of that, he had to handle the pile of documents with the help of coffee and energy drinks, and he set foot in Gehenna when he had some free time.
Objectively speaking, it was overwork. His body screamed for him to stop. So, no matter how hard he tried to think positively, he couldn’t prevent resentment from mixing into his voice.
But for some reason, Yuuka’s voice also carried deep fatigue. She let out a small groan, sighed, and spoke.
[I had too much going on. It’s tough, really.]
“What kind of hard work is there in the Game Development Club?”
[Going into ruins and fiercely fighting robots, meeting a new student there, then going into ruins again and fighting more robots. On top of that, I fought with maids too. I’m so tired…….]
“……Is the game they’re developing there a death game?”
Kenji let out a hollow laugh and asked. Yuuka answered in a dying voice.
[I’m dying…….]
“See, I told you I should go.”
[You were just trying to suck up to me.]
“Aren’t you the teacher?”
[So I’m being punished, go on.]
Kenji chuckled and turned his head. While continuing the call and walking, he had unknowingly arrived in front of the discipline committee room. Coincidentally, a lively girl’s voice came from Yuuka’s end.
[Teacher! I completed the test version! Let’s hurry and go defeat the demon king together!]
[Ah, no! Go away, you devil!]
[Aris is not a devil! She’s a hero! Oh, the hero of light, Aris! I recruit you into the party!]
[No! You’re planning to make me level up all night again!]
[It’s necessary to become stronger! There’s no choice! Ah, teacher! The smartphone fell—]
Click.
The call cut off with the girl named Aris’s voice as the last. Kenji silently offered his condolences to her, then put his smartphone back in his pocket.
He looked up.
The discipline committee room came into view. Unlike the Pandemonium Society, it was a room like an ordinary club room. Of course, that was only in appearance. The scenery seen through the window connected to the hallway was, if not comparable to the Pandemonium Society, sufficiently splendid. But there were too many formal decorations to be considered the discipline committee head’s personal luxury.
‘It must be for authority.’
In the end, it was for political reasons. Even if not, the splendid room reminiscent of medieval noble society was very good at making unwanted guests feel uncomfortable while constantly reminding them of power. No matter how light the charge for being summoned here, surely no one could hold their head high under the pressure of the atmosphere.
“Who are you?”
It was then. A voice came from behind. Kenji erased the random thoughts from his mind and smoothly stepped aside. Then he slightly bowed his head toward the voice’s owner. It was a sign of courtesy.
“Excuse me. I came to visit because I have business with Gehenna’s discipline committee.”
The owner of the voice was a girl with blue hair. Her clear, sky-like eyes reminded one of a lake, and her gentle voice and kind impression made her seem friendly.
But contrary to that appearance, her outfit was somewhat radical. Black stockings that went up to her thighs and a miniskirt so short it made one doubt if it was even a skirt, a pure white piece of cloth on her chest that seemed well-ventilated, and even a dog collar and cowbell around her neck. No matter how you looked at it, it was inappropriate to call it a student’s uniform. To call her a student…… the accessories were a bit weird.
But she didn’t seem to care much about her own appearance. She let out a deep sigh, checked the Schale mark on Kenji’s chest, and slightly furrowed her brow.
“……Are you from Schale?”
“Yes. I’m Park Kenji. The teacher is currently away on business, so I came as his proxy.”
Kenji spoke in a very polite tone. Thanks to that, she answered in a somewhat softened voice.
“What business does Schale have with Gehenna’s discipline committee? Are you here to hold us responsible for what happened in Abydos? But I believe we already paid all the compensation separately.”
“It’s not because of the Abydos incident. It’s just personal interest, and I have business with the discipline committee head.”
“With Hina, the head……? From Schale?”
She twitched her eyebrows and fell into thought. Kenji waited quietly until she opened her mouth.
Actually, he didn’t need her permission to meet Hina. Schale’s authority was much more powerful than thought, so anyone with a student status couldn’t refuse Schale’s orders. But wielding power recklessly like that could provoke backlash from the students.
Power was like that. Having it meant nothing to fear in the world, but when it came to actually wielding it, one had to ponder over and over. Otherwise, the victims of power would rise up. It’s not for nothing that history books have records of rebellions or revolutions.
Moreover, abusing Schale’s orders without Yuuka’s permission was no different from tarnishing her name. Unlike the relatively unknown Kenji or Arona, whom only Yuuka knew, Yuuka was a celebrity in Kivotos. Because of that, she naturally became Schale’s face. This meant that her reputation was Schale’s reputation, so if he planned to stay in Schale, he couldn’t just wield power recklessly.
‘Of course, I’ll use it if necessary.’
Fortunately, the girl in front of Kenji didn’t stop him. Instead, she let out a tired sigh and spoke.
“Haa…… I don’t know your purpose for meeting the head, but I can’t ignore Schale’s request. The head is inside, so I’ll guide you personally.”
“Thank you. Um…….”
“I’m Ako. Amao Ako. I’m an administrator.”
“That’s a pretty name. Nice to meet you, Miss Ako.”
Kenji said with a slight smile. Ako also tried her best to remove the tired look from her face, smiled gently, and nodded.
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Kenji. I thought only weird people like the teacher were in Schale, but there are normal people like you too.”
“……Is the teacher a weird person?”
Kenji tilted his head and asked. Ako opened her eyes wide as if to ask if he really didn’t know, then told him a story she heard from a fellow discipline committee member.
“What the teacher paid to use Gehenna’s military force was licking the discipline committee action captain’s feet. But the teacher went further and greedily licked her legs too!”
“……The teacher? That doesn’t seem like him.”
“You’re being deceived! I was so dumbfounded when I heard that story. I already had a lot of stress from various things, but because of Iroha’s story, I couldn’t focus on work at all! I kept imagining that scene!”
Ako shouted while trembling. Kenji forced a bitter smile and moved his lips.
“Well, the teacher must have had his own difficulties. He might have been trying to get more military force.”
“That could be, but…… Hoo. Let’s stop here. Talking more will only lower the teacher’s reputation. Still, I’m glad you’re a person capable of normal thinking, Mr. Kenji.”
Kenji didn’t answer and instead maintained a soft smile.
Certainly, in his own opinion, he was sufficiently within the range of a normal person.
Really.
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