"Well... this much is easy. Did you really think you could bind me down to this extent in the first place?"
"..."
Ichika silently reached for her gun.
"...If you start running wild here... you'll make enemies of Trinity, right?"
"...Probably, yeah..."
"Fine. Then I'll sleep for a bit."
And then he really did lie down and try to sleep.
"....Is that really 'Chaos'...?"
Ichika had heard about Chaos's past. He was even a person with the ridiculous rumor that he had spent some time in Trinity, so she had been keeping a close eye on him. Then today's incident happened.
----------------------
"Mm."
"Ah...! Please wake up."
"Ugh... so bright... where am I this time...?"
"Haa... I really didn't think you'd actually fall asleep..."
"Thanks, Ichika."
"Oh, Hasumi. Hi."
Hasumi was a student whose height was similar to Haruta's.
"...You really came so obediently..."
"Ah... that? I’ll probably be coming to Trinity often from now on. Maybe... once every three days?"
"Kyaaah!!!"
"Whoa... is the one screaming over there Tsurugi Kensaki?"
"Yes, I am Kensaki Tsurugi, current chief of the Justice Task Force."
"Then why did I come here?"
"Haa... the fact that Kivotos's worst criminal came to Trinity is already a problem."
"I'm with Schale right now, though?"
"Including that. A Schale member beat someone up... criminals don't change... do you know what the public opinion is like right now?"
"Ah... pfft..."
"...? Are you laughing right now?"
"Puhahaha!! Haa... hoo... really? Public opinion is bad right now?"
"Yes. The already shaky public opinion has completely tipped over."
"I see... pffft..."
Hasumi was starting to get angry. That man wasn't just the worst criminal; he was someone who should be isolated in a dedicated detention facility. So why was he in Trinity, and right in front of her at that?
"...Haa... in any case, you'll be referred to the Student Council."
"Hey, didn't I get a text on my phone?"
"Huh? Where is your phone right now...?"
"Hmm... rope? And not just any rope... then...?"
Crack...
"...???"
Rip!!
"Phew... my arm hurts..."
"What are you doing right no"
"Can't you tell just by looking?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"A text from Teacher?"
"Hmm... it says Teacher will take responsibility for the Trinity incident...?"
"Wait a second..."
Ding-ding... ding-ding... beep
"Oh, Teacher!"
"[Yeah! Haruta, how'd it go? Did you do well?]"
"Yes, everyone there got taken away by the rescue squad."
"[Good... well done.]"
Hasumi couldn't believe her ears. Was it really right for that kind, benevolent Teacher to tell a criminal who beat people up that he did well?
Had her ears gone bad? A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind.
"...Teacher? Are you really Teacher?"
"[Oh, so the Justice Task Force really did show up? Yep, yep, it's Teacher.]"
The information reaching Hasumi's ears was clear. It really was Teacher.
"...Teacher... this man... is a criminal..."
"[Hmm... Hasumi? What do you think would happen to the students who told people to purge Mika while you were there?]"
"...In Kivotos... a case of bullying on campus..."
"[That's a serious crime, right?]"
"Yes... depending on the situation, summary judgment... is possible..."
"[Then? The Teacher of Schale asked his assistant to solve it.]"
"..."
"Hey. Hasumi, you do have a normal way of thinking after all, huh?"
"...Haa... understood, for now."
"Y... you're really just going to let him go like this?"
"...Ichika? Let's just say our Justice Task Force handled something we couldn't deal with ourselves..."
"Haa... understood..."
"Phew! Then can I go now?"
"...Understood."
"Right. Next time, don't just correct me right away. Ask why first."
"Please travel safely."
"I'm going."
Crash!
The moment she closed and opened her eyes, Schale, where Teacher was working, came into view.
"...Teacher...? The paperwork...?"
"Haa... Haruta... couldn't you help Teacher out a little?"
"...This... wouldn't even help if you called Yuuka, either."
"Haa... seriously, why are we the ones processing Trinity's medical expense approval forms...?"
"Still, if you weigh the possibility of rehabilitation against Teacher's workload, the possibility of rehabilitation is still higher, right?"
"Haa... saying it like that... somehow makes me feel better."
"Right. The Eden Treaty signing ceremony is coming up too..."
"Ah... right..."
"Teacher, by any chance, from now on..."
"Maybe... about a week?"
"Haa... well, understood. We should at least try to get through it."
"Yeah. For now, let's deal with what's right in front of us."
So Akashi, Teacher, Arona, and I all got dragged in to handle the work. Of course, most of it was handled by Akashi at once, but the paperwork that needed proper confirmation was handled by Teacher, Arona, and me.
"...But... there seems to be... a little too much...?"
"It would. But compared to Trinity, we probably have less work right now."
"Huh? Nagisa says there's a lot of work, but... ah... so that's why."
"Yeah. Mika probably has it harder than us right now because she's dealing with the aftermath of the coup. And there, it's just one person, right?"
"That does make sense..."
"Heh... this is Teacher for you..."
"There isn't."
"Eeeh...? Why not?"
"First, Nagisa is handling other paperwork right now, and besides, Tea Party is basically the student council. Do you really think Nagisa can handle all that work alone?"
"Ah... I guess that's true... maybe we're just too short-handed?"
"That's not it. I, Yuuka, and the students who voluntarily want to join are more than enough."
"Still... isn't there only one person on duty per day?"
"Well, that's true too..."
"So for now, let's put our energy into getting the work done."
"Yes!"
Before long, after we finished working, evening came.
"...Hmm... I feel like ramen today."
"Eeeh... ramen?"
"Yes... the kind you eat in Korea."
"Hmm... really? Then let's make some later."
"No... that's a bit much."
"Can't you at least say something nice like 'Teacher is good at cooking'?"
"Yes, yes. I at least won't eat Teacher's cooking."
"Wow... seriously, sometimes I can't tell if you're an enemy or an ally."
And so, after bickering with Teacher, we finished the work.
"Haa... what time is it now?"
"Ah... now? Just a second."
Teacher checked the clock and suddenly looked flustered.
"Why? What time is it?"
"Wow... we've been talking and working for five hours straight?"
"Whoa... that's kind of novel."
"Haha, this is a memory too, okay?"
"Of course, of course."
After that, we finished the work and returned to the dormitory.
"Akashi? How much time is left until the Eden Treaty signing ceremony?"
"Hmm... six days left."
"Right... let's do our best until then."
"Yes... I'll do my best."
"Yeah. For now, I should get some sleep."
With that, I lay down and closed my eyes.
"...Hina, Mika, Nagisa, Seia... Hoshino. What am I supposed to do about this?"
One wrong choice would definitely not end with just a war breaking out.
"...For now, I need to at least finish every story before I do anything else..."
Thinking that, I slowly felt myself drifting off to sleep.
"...Hoo."
-
"Mm..."
I got up and went straight to wash up.
"...Haa... now if I don't use strength, they'll pop back out again..."
When I touched the small horns on my head, they just felt itchy.
"...Haa... I'm so tired..."
After a quick splash of cold water on my face and a shower, I came back out.
"...What the..."
I turned on my phone and checked the news.
"The Student Council... the Eden Treaty signing date..."
Among the usual articles, a Kronos report caught my eye.
"..."
[Chaos! Is this really okay?!]
"Haa... at this rate, am I really going to get killed in my sleep?"
The chill in my back made me cold, but it wasn't important enough to worry about.
"...Now I'm really going to have a hard time for a while with all the death threats and whatnot... haha."
Maybe because I was half asleep, the words just spilled out of me.
"...Ah... I really just want to sleep a little..."
Crash!
"Uh... I opened the wrong..."
Without thinking, the motion of trying to shake off sleep opened a portal.
"Ah... whatever. I'll just sleep."
Right now, I couldn't hear anything. All I could think was that I was tired. I had washed my face, and I had done all sorts of things to wake myself up.
But all it did was make me even more tired.
"Eeeh??? Haruta?"
Yuuka was extremely confused.
While changing clothes early in the morning to head to Schale, she heard the sound of glass breaking behind her and found Haruta collapsed there.
"...Haruta? Are you okay?"
"..."
"Haruta! Wake up!"
Yuuka, with a bad feeling about this, placed a hand on Haruta's chest.
"...Haa... thank goodness."
"...He's okay... thank goodness."
Yuuka let out a sigh of relief and looked down at Haruta.
"...Haa... seriously, like this..."
After staring at Haruta's face for a moment, Yuuka turned away and cleared her throat.
"Ahem... but this... if it goes well..."
"Whoa, shit!"
"?!"
"Ugh... where is this...?"
"Haa... take a closer look at Haruta's room."
"Mm?"
As he looked around the room, his eyes met Yuuka's.
"...Wait a sec—"
Smack!
After listening to a thirty-minute lecture from Yuuka, he was finally released.
"...So... I fell asleep and somehow opened that thing... and that was..."
"Yeah... your dorm, right?"
"Haa... seriously, what were you doing all night instead of sleeping?"
"Just... a little work."
"...How can you be no different from Teacher...?"
Yuuka thought both of them were equally hopeless.
"Haa... anyway, I'm heading back to Schale. I really want to sleep today... just for one day..."
"Ha. Ru. Ta!? If you keep slacking off like that, I said I'd give you a five-hour lecture, didn't I!?"
"Got it, got it... I'll get up..."
Once he was properly awake, he looked at Yuuka.
"...Pfft."
"What's with that laugh!"
"No... it's just funny seeing you look down at me like that..."
"Grr! Seriously!"
"Ah, I'm going back to Schale."
"Ah! W-wait a second!"
"What is it...?"
"Do you... want to eat breakfast together?"
"Oh? What's on the menu?"
"To... toast..."
"Got jam?"
"Yeah... blueberry jam..."
"Yes!"
So he made toast with Yuuka and ate it.
"Mm... ah... blueberry jam really is the best."
"Hee... you like it?"
"I always liked blueberries."
"Hmm... good, blueberries..."
"Hm? What's that?"
"Just... something I'm keeping track of."
"Oh, a diary."
"No, it's not!"
"I can tell just by looking."
Swish
"Sorry..."
"Haa... fine. I'll show you sometime later."
"Mm... okay."
Since they happened to meet, they decided to go together.
"By the way, are you on duty today?"
"Yeah... turns out I'm on duty today."
"Got it. Let's go together."
When they arrived at Schale, they found Teacher sleeping on the Schale sofa.
"...What happened yesterday?"
"Hmm... just think of it as a lot of things happening."
"Haa... fine... for now, bring me the approval forms."
So, while working with Yuuka, time passed faster than expected.
Today, I hope nothing happens.
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