After twists and turns, the rescue operation ended. And the next day, Hayool took Hoshino and Kenji straight to the hospital. It was because she was worried that Hoshino might have suffered adverse effects from the experiment, and Kenji had been complaining that his shoulder hurt since yesterday.
Fortunately, Hoshino had no issues with her physical condition. But Kenji had no choice but to get a cast on his shoulder.
As expected, his shoulder bone was cracked. Moreover, because he didn't just leave it still but swung it around recklessly, the original hairline fracture had almost reached the point of being comminuted. It was only because the bones were still attached that he avoided immediate surgery; if he had used it just a bit more, he would have been sent straight to the operating room.
Apart from his shoulder, he didn't have many wounds on his body. At most, there were just bruises from bullets he couldn't fully dodge hitting his combat uniform. Among them, some were dark red hematomas, perhaps from internal bleeding, but since his recovery was fast anyway, it wasn't a problem. His shoulder also seemed like it would fully heal after a few weeks of discomfort.
"By the way, patient, do you smoke cigarettes?"
The nurse applying the cast suddenly asked that. Kenji was about to lie with an innocent face, but under Hayool's intense gaze from beside him, he confessed the truth.
"......Yes. I do."
"Then refrain from smoking until you're fully healed. Otherwise, complications may arise or recovery could be delayed."
Kenji nodded with a bright smile. Of course, he had no intention of following the nurse's words exactly. He could just smoke secretly.
"If I catch you smoking, I'll kick you out of Schale, Kenji."
That seemed unlikely to work.
Kenji semi-forcibly handed over the cigarettes and lighter he received yesterday to Hayool and swallowed his tears internally. Since it was harmless tobacco anyway thanks to fear, he should have smoked at least one full cigarette yesterday if he knew this would happen. Kenji grumbled like that as he followed Hayool out of the hospital, but regardless, Hayool looked at Kenji's left arm and spoke.
"Uncomfortable?"
"It is uncomfortable. But since it's not a full cast, it's bearable enough."
A shoulder fracture can't have a full cast applied to the entire shoulder. So Kenji had his elbow fixed with a half-cast to avoid putting strain on his shoulder, and he wore a suitable arm sling over his right shoulder. It was inconvenient, but since both the sling and half-cast could be removed whenever he wanted, it wasn't a big issue. Still, it seemed he'd have to take it easy for a while.
As he thought that and left the hospital, a sluggish voice reached him.
"Uhe~ I was waiting for you~"
At the hospital entrance stood a small-statured girl with pink hair, blue and orange differently colored eyes, and a somewhat drowsy-looking impression.
She was the target of the previous rescue operation, Takanae Hoshino. After finishing her detailed examination with Hayool, she had excused herself to go to the bathroom, but it seemed she had been waiting outside the hospital in advance. Kenji looked at her half-closed eyes and chuckled.
"You sprawled out and slept as soon as you got back yesterday, and you're still sleepy?"
"Uh-huh. Mister here is weak in the mornings, I see. Seems like stamina decreases with age~"
"Then the Teacher must be a corpse."
"Why are you suddenly bringing me into this?"
Hayool poked Kenji's side with her finger. Kenji laughed softly, and Hoshino spoke to Kenji in an apologetic voice.
"More importantly, I'm so sorry about this... Seeing you got hurt trying to save me doesn't sit right with me......"
"Then how about giving me money? The amount that broke this time isn't small."
The number of cult members mobilized for Hoshino's rescue operation was roughly about 50. It was a number that could be considered many or few, but the money paid to all of them as compensation was definitely substantial. About a quarter of Kenji's entire fortune had dissolved into thin air, so if they hadn't dropped out midway, it was truly frightening to think what would have happened.
"Money's impossible. I don't even have enough to pay off my debts right now~"
"Then agree to one thing I ask for later. I won't ask for anything monetary, so don't worry."
"You're not aiming for mister's body, are you? People who like such a frail body deserve the death penalty, death penalty~"
Hoshino said while twisting her body. Kenji's face contorted as he tried to retort, but the image of Seia flashed through his mind, making him close his mouth again. At that sight, Hoshino and Hayool's eyes were filled with shock.
"U, uhe~ N, no way~?"
"Kenji, you don't mean......"
Their gazes were piercing. Kenji gritted his teeth and muttered while wiping his face.
"It's not what you're thinking, so please just shut up. Please......"
It was profanity he had never used with Hayool, but today was an exception. Kenji let out a deep sigh, ignored the two, and entered the pharmacy.
It was a day cigarettes were denied.
*
Common sense dictates that going to another district and causing trouble is an impossibility. It could cause social problems or shake one's political standing. No matter how justified the cause, people generally tend to side with the victim's appeal. And Trinity, due to its enormous influence in Kivotos, was not a place that suited the victim role well. If anything, the perpetrator role suited them better.
Gehenna was the same, but since their nuisance had been famous since long ago, an atmosphere of severely reprimanding them rarely emerged even when they caused trouble elsewhere. Of course, if the scale of damage was large or they committed atrocities like targeting the General Student Council, that would be different, but for most matters, people just said 'Gehenna being Gehenna' and moved on.
But Trinity is different. Since they show an elegant, ladylike atmosphere both outwardly and inwardly, if they cause damage to another district, it would never be overlooked.
Why, there's even a saying. When a villain commits dozens of evil deeds and performs one good deed, they're considered to have repented, while when a good person performs hundreds of good deeds and commits one evil deed, they're called a hypocrite who was expected to be like that.
Gehenna was the former. Trinity was the latter. So even if the same incident occurred, the side more vilified by the public was Trinity. As long as society was maintained and people's perceptions didn't change, this was an immutable truth.
Thus, Trinity tried hard not to exert influence on other districts. There was no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily, and they didn't want to be at the center of controversy.
To begin with, Trinity was already a sufficiently large academy without needing to influence other districts. There was no reason or justification to be more greedy. But the current Trinity Student Council, the Tea Party's host Nagisa, broke that rule that had lasted for years. She used Trinity howitzers to provide fire support to Abydos.
However, this wasn't to dominate Abydos and bring it under her heel. The real reason was partly due to a request from a student Nagisa trusted, Ajitani Hifumi, and partly to put the Teacher, who was helping Abydos, in her debt.
It was support that could gain both the favor of a trusted student and political advantage.
Was there any reason to refuse? No. So she executed it.
Moreover, to avoid being caught by Kaiser Corporation, all the howitzers used that day were disposed of. It was work to create evidence that the day's fire support was launched by an 'unidentified organization,' not Trinity. Since there was no way the Kaiser side would notice this, as long as only Abydos and the Teacher knew, all objectives were achieved.
'But will the Teacher really be of help to us.'
Nagisa looked at the garden while sipping black tea alone. The fresh spring scent tickled her nose, and petals in the garden swayed with the wind. The hairband Nagisa wore did the same. With an expression showing no emotion, she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
'I acknowledge they're a necessary person for the Eden Treaty, but their character and personality are all unknowns. Thinking they'll move as I intend would be arrogant.'
People are irregular. Even in the same situation, they often make different choices, and even if the components constituting the situation differ slightly, the results are often completely different. So the Teacher is also unpredictable. To utilize her more properly, more information was needed.
And fortunately, there was a student who could bring that information.
-Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the tea party room's door.
"N, Nagisa-sama. I'm here."
"Come in. The door is open."
Nagisa answered while setting down her teacup. Then the tea party room's door opened, and a youthful-looking girl entered.
Ajitani Hifumi. The girl who had worn a bread bag and headed to Abydos. With a nervous expression, she bowed to Nagisa.
"Ah, hello."
"Nice to see you, Hifumi. Let's sit here and talk."
"Yes, yes!"
Hifumi cautiously approached and carefully sat across from Nagisa. Nagisa began speaking while pouring black tea into her teacup.
"First, I want to thank you for accepting my request. The way to Abydos must have been difficult, right?"
"Ah, no! It wasn't that hard! And I should be the one thanking you for accepting my selfish request!"
"Huhu, we're close, aren't we? I can grant that level of request."
Laughter escaped her lips, but her expression remained unchanged. Still expressionless. But Hifumi didn't find this particularly strange. Since she enrolled until now, she had never seen Nagisa laugh or cry. To Hifumi, Nagisa's expressionless face was no different from something natural.
Hifumi bowed her head to Nagisa, then took a sip of black tea. Nagisa watched that and moved her lips.
"So Hifumi, what kind of person was the Teacher from afar?"
That was what she had requested from Hifumi. I'll provide fire support, so please observe the Teacher, even if from a distance.
It wasn't a difficult request for Hifumi. Since she had actually met them before the fire support anyway, describing what kind of person the Teacher was would be easy.
"They're a good person. They get swept up in the atmosphere easily, but you can really feel that they care for the students... should I say?"
"......"
"Ah, ahaha. That's how I felt. Of, of course, since we didn't have that many conversations, I can't say for sure......"
"That's enough. Thank you, Hifumi."
Nagisa spoke while clinking her teacup. Hifumi responded to her reaction with an awkward smile, then mentioned something that suddenly came to mind.
"Come to think of it, the Teacher was acting together with someone from Schale."
"......Someone from Schale? You mean a student belonging to Schale?"
"I... don't know if it's a student, but before the fire support, the Teacher said their assistant was on the west passage side, so we should be careful there."
"Assistant... an assistant... Did they tell you that person's name too?"
"Yes. I don't know the surname, but they told me the first name."
Nagisa's light amber eyes captured Hifumi in her view. Her expressionless face was reflected in the raised teacup. Hifumi fidgeted with a Pero Goodz item under the table while tracing her memory from a few days ago.
"I think it was... Kenji. ......Huh? But that name is the same as the person written on the missing personsã…¡"
-Crash!
The teacup Nagisa was holding collided with the floor. Red liquid spread profusely, and splashed tea stained Nagisa's pure white skirt.
It was sudden. Hifumi jumped in surprise and let out a small scream. But the moment she saw Nagisa's face, she couldn't help but hold her breath.
"......Kenji?"
Her hands trembled violently. Her face was reflected in the puddle formed on the floor. It was a face stained with shock and disbelief, unbefitting of the nickname 'Iron Mask.' Her pupils shook uneasily, and syllables that didn't form words flowed from her lips.
But the shock was brief. Nagisa immediately composed herself, apologized to Hifumi, and left the tea party room.
And she ran. She didn't care about the surrounding gazes. It was undignified, not noble, not elegant, but Nagisa had no room to care about such things.
Kenji's face rose in her moistened gaze. The conversations she had with him brushed past her ears.
A face she never forgot. A voice she never forgot. Everything he gave her, she treasured. The casual clothes he complimented as pretty, the hairband he gave as a graduation gift.
The love she felt for the first time too.
She treasured it all.
So she had to confirm.
To never let go again.
-Do you know the meaning of lilies?
-No. Do you?
A conversation from sometime ago brushed past her ears. A conversation he might have forgotten, but Nagisa still remembered. A conversation they had when everyone was still youthful, when they were closer to each other than to Trinity.
-I know.
-What is it?
"Ke, huu, Kenji......"
-Unchanging love, purity, I'm happy with you.
-Oh, romantic.
-Right? But Kenji, do you know there's also a lily blooming near you?
-......? This is a tulip garden. Where would a lily be.
-Who knows. If you look around carefully, might there not be one?
"Huu... uuugh......"
-A lily that only looks at you.
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