When he returned to the office after meeting Akira, only Ha-yul was there. It seemed Yuuka had already left. Since she said she had an urgent meeting, it was only natural. Kenji glanced at Ha-yul, who was looking over the few documents on her desk, then plopped down in his own chair.
"Where did you go?"
"Just went out for some fresh air."
"Yeah? But why do I smell cigarettes?"
Kenji's body flinched. Watching this, Ha-yul let out a deep sigh.
"When did you pick up smoking?"
Teens who learn to drink and smoke? They exist. In fact, there are more than you'd think. It's common even in Korea for students with good grades and decent behavior to pick up drinking or smoking. Moreover, Kenji was from Korea, not Kivotos. He might have started smoking even before coming to Kivotos.
But the answer that came from his mouth was very different from Ha-yul's expectation.
"......I started two years ago. I had a lot of difficult things going on."
"You started before coming to Kivotos?"
"No. I started here."
He let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. Ha-yul's eyes widened as she looked back at him.
"Here......?"
"Yes. As I mentioned, I had a lot of stressful things. It was a reaction to that."
"......It's related to losing your sense of taste."
What keen observation. Kenji smiled bitterly and nodded.
"That's right."
Ha-yul opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't utter a word and closed it again. Because she couldn't think of what to say. Saying she understood without knowing what he went through would just be an empty platitude. But she also couldn't force him to quit by saying smoking is bad. Although she didn't know the details, it was clear that smoking had helped him for now.
So.
There weren't many things she could say. Ha-yul picked and chose an appropriate phrase and cautiously spoke.
"Don't smoke too much. It's bad for your health."
It was a carefully chosen phrase. Though she meant it considerately in her own way, Kenji let out a small laugh and curved the corners of his eyes into arcs.
"You sound like a new teacher who just started. You'll get ignored that way."
"Wh, what are you talking about! I was trying to let it slide for your sake!"
"Oh my, I'm sorry. I, being unvirtuous, failed to understand your intentions. Please forgive this unworthy student."
Kenji openly teased her, chuckling repeatedly. At that sight, Ha-yul pouted her lips and grumbled.
"A delinquent student who smokes cigarettes...... Making a fuss even when I'm worried about you, hmph......"
"Are you sulking?"
"Forget it! Just work!"
Ha-yul shouted loudly. Kenji giggled and checked a few documents placed on the desk. They were documents he had finished stamping before lunch, but about ten more had already piled up. It was because complaints received via email were copied in real-time.
Such unnecessarily good technology. Kenji let out a small sigh and stamped a rejection seal on a document. Ha-yul also returned to work following his lead.
The heavy atmosphere lightened again. The joking had paid off. Probably thanks to Ha-yul noticing and playing along. Kenji looked at Ha-yul with a faint smile, then shifted his gaze back to the documents.
[Ah, young maiden. I fell in love with you at first sight. I'll leave my number here, so please contact me anytimeㅡ]
He stamped it after just reading the title. There was no need to read the content. The next document and the one after were the same. Most complaints were wishing for something from the Teacher, Ha-yul, but rarely there were also complaints requesting this and that from Kenji. Though the content was so ridiculous it wasn't even worth reading.
[Cult Leader! We must quickly rebuild the new religionㅡ]
[I…… want…… to hold…… you……]
"Ugh, what the hell."
Kenji's face contorted sharply as he stamped a rejection seal.
Then the last remaining document. He read the title and let out a sigh.
Because it was a topic that piqued his interest.
*
As time passed, Schale also settled into its place to some extent. Kenji and Ha-yul became familiar with paperwork, so they no longer needed to spend much time on tasks, and with Yuuka's help added on top, they gained quite a lot of free time. Thanks to this, the leisure facilities inside the building that had been left idle started operating.
The facilities were quite diverse. Among them, the training room operated like a gym became Kenji's most used place, and the relaxation room where one could sit still and do nothing was frequently visited by Ha-yul.
Yuuka, who visited occasionally, usually hung out with Ha-yul. Or the three of them, including Kenji, would talk together. Situations where just Kenji and Yuuka were left alone didn't happen much. It wasn't awkward when they were alone, but they weren't close enough to have a warm, friendly conversation either. That might change later, but for now, that's how it was.
Whatever. Frankly, it didn't matter much.
Anyway, Schale had plenty of free time lately.
Today was the same. The time was around when the sun began to set. Kenji and Ha-yul stretched and looked at the neatly organized pile of documents.
They had started work from the morning, and they were already all done. Considering how they worked even cutting into sleep a few weeks ago, their skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
"Whew! Good work, Kenji. You've suffered a lot because of your lacking teacher."
"As long as you know."
Kenji chuckled and said that. Knowing it was a joke, Ha-yul still pouted her lips and flopped face down on the desk.
"Yeah, I'm well aware I'm a lacking teacher too......"
"More importantly, you were staring holes into a document earlier. What was it about? You looked really serious."
"Ah...... want to see?"
Ha-yul grabbed a document and waved it gently. When Kenji nodded, she handed the document in her hand to him. Kenji slowly started from the title and read downward.
[To the Consulting Teacher of the Federal Investigation Department.
Hello. I'm Ayane from
To put it bluntly, our school is currently in a tight spot. It's because of a violent organization in our area.
The reason it turned out like this is a bit complicated...... but it seems the violent organization is targeting our school. For now, we're holding them off somehow by ourselves, but our ammunition and supplies are slowly running out.
If this continues, the school will be occupied by the violent organization.
That's why I'm making this request.
Teacher, as a request, won't you become our strength?]
"The school will be occupied?"
Kenji asked in a puzzled voice. Ha-yul smiled bitterly and nodded.
"According to Arona, Abydos High School was originally quite a large school with a huge autonomous district, but due to climate change, the town is in a difficult situation. Because of that, there are only five students in the whole school."
Arona. The name of the AI inside the box of the Shittim Chest that Ha-yul uses. She's said to be a bright AI with sky-blue hair wearing a sailor uniform, but as Kenji couldn't see her directly, all he could do was nod and think, "I see."
Still, since Ha-yul once confidently stated that she's not a lying kid, what she told about Abydos probably isn't false. And Kenji also had shallow knowledge about Abydos.
"Indeed, I think I heard that. I even visited once."
He heard it from the Black Suit, and similarly, he visited the Black Suit's laboratory located in Abydos. Not knowing this fact, Ha-yul's eyes sparkled as she looked at Kenji.
"Huh? Really?"
"I didn't go into the town, I only saw it from afar. I don't know the geography or culture at all, and I've never met anyone."
"Ah...... that's a shame."
"Are you planning to visit?"
"Of course I have to."
As if asking why he would even ask such a thing, Ha-yul smiled slyly and answered.
"How urgent must it have been for a student to directly ask for help? As an adult, of course I should help. That's the role of an adult and a teacher, right?"
"......You really are an adult."
Kenji smiled bitterly and nodded.
It seems what the General Student Council President said was true. Only now could he believe her statement that she sincerely cares for the students. To the point of feeling embarrassed for having doubted her until now, Ha-yul was a good adult.
"When will you go on the business trip?"
"Probably tomorrow? It looks urgent, so I should go quickly."
"Am I going with you?"
"Hmm...... no, it's okay."
Ha-yul shook her head and got up from her seat.
"I'll go alone first. I'll contact you if I need help later, so rest well until then."
"......Will you be okay alone? Honestly...... you're weak, Teacher."
"I have Arona, so it's fine. You saw it too, right? Arona bending bullets."
"......I did see that."
The Arona inside the Shittim Chest didn't just work as an AI. She also took on the role of ensuring Ha-yul's safety, such as distorting the trajectory of incoming bullets or creating protective shields.
Certainly, with Arona's help, Ha-yul could safely go anywhere in Kivotos. Kenji nodded and stood up from his seat just like Ha-yul.
"Then I'll also go somewhere for a bit. A personally curious request came in."
"Huh? What is it?"
"It's from Millennium. Since I'm solving it anyway, I thought I might as well visit the hospital, so I plan to stop by."
"Ah...... that thing from before?"
Ha-yul said with a suspicious expression. Kenji giggled and shook his head.
"Yes. That thing."
Kenji smirked while looking at the title of a document separately kept in the corner of the desk.
[Won't you solve the ghost story haunting the Millennium old school building with me, a super-genius sickly beautiful girl?]
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