"Hmm... so you really do want to die? Or have you gone insane before dying?"
"...Neither. It’s not a threat or anything. Just listen."
"I think I’ve already heard everything there is to hear."
"Mika? What are you doing right now?"
Clack
"Heeey... I found this in an underground building in Trinity a while back, and I wanted to try using it!"
In Mika’s hands was a greatsword easily over two meters long.
"...Isn’t that... a little too big to call a sword...?"
"It looks like a sword, doesn’t it!"
"...I see."
Swish
"...Hmm... but it’s not rusty at all. Did someone treat it somehow?"
"How would I know? It was like this when I picked it up!"
She’s holding a sword that looks like something Guts would carry with one hand... seriously, what a gorilla.
"Haruta... you were just thinking I look like a gorilla, weren’t you...?"
"..."
Clack!
Just as Mika raised the blade toward my throat, ready to bring it down at any moment, Nagisa and Seia rushed over and grabbed her.
"Mika! No matter how much you hate Gehenna, you can’t kill Haruta!"
"I agree! Absolutely not!"
"Nagi-chan? Let go. I just want to try this once."
"Haa... I live between Gehenna and Trinity."
At that, Mika lowered the sword, and Nagisa and Seia looked at me with interested expressions.
"...Hmm... we’d certainly like to get Haruta into Trinity 100%, but... you want to enter Trinity in an incomplete state?"
"That’s why Schale exists. I’m affiliated with two places right now, you know. Gehenna and Schale. Those two."
"Ah, so you mean to use Schale’s authority... but... are you really in a position to do that?"
"...Of course. I’m the number two at Schale. Well, I can’t quite compare to Sensei, but still."
"...So you’re just going to use Schale’s authority as you please...?"
"Well... that’s partly true. But if Tea Party recommends it, that changes things."
"...That does make sense. There is indeed a Trinity rule that if two or more members of Tea Party agree, a student can enroll with that student’s consent."
"...? There was such a thing?"
"Ah, Tea Party has to know Trinity’s rules separately. Mika just thought it was a hassle and ate cake instead."
"Khh... well, anyway... if I become the connection between Trinity and Gehenna... wouldn’t we be able to hope for another Eden Treaty?"
"Well... it’s true that during the Eden Treaty, reports came in that Trinity students and Gehenna students joined forces to drive out the Sanctus Pater Filius..."
"Exactly. And I’m a Gehenna high-ranking figure, while Trinity... well, you two are the top authorities there."
"Hmm... that does make sense... All right, I understand. However..."
That was where the big problem came in. If the idea of Trinity and Gehenna joining forces came up, the Student Council would definitely get involved too.
"Right... you’ve probably already thought about what would happen if Gehenna and Trinity were to join forces, haven’t you? If Trinity and Gehenna were combined, then militarily and in every other respect, it would be fair to say Kivotos had been conquered, wouldn’t it?"
"...No way...?"
"Yes. If the Student Council gets involved, that means Schale can be forced to get involved too. Now then, here’s the question: who’s in Schale?"
"...Haruta is..."
"Then how much power do I have?"
"As far as I know... enough to annihilate all three of Kivotos’s major academies. Maybe even more."
"Right... but that’s exactly why we have to stop it from turning out that way. And the Eden Treaty is supposed to be about no longer fighting each other, so if we try to combine military power, there could be internal backlash. So..."
"We interfere with each other, but..."
"We don’t combine military power... that’s what you mean. And Sensei is here too, so there won’t be a war. Even if one does happen, I’ll take full responsibility."
"Haruta? You made this grand speech... or something like it, but there are far too many things we need to go over."
"I realized that while I was talking too... like, resistance from other academies and so on?"
"Yes. You didn’t account for that. Not accounting for the biggest problem... makes you seem a little stupid."
"Haa... I just don’t want anyone getting hurt. Even if someone has to get hurt, it should be me."
"Say something like that one more time and I’ll just lock you in a prison cell and feed you porridge 365 days a year."
"...I mean it in the figurative sense. Figuratively."
"Haa... so our goal is to bring Haruta to Trinity. No matter what happens, that won’t change."
"I’ve always lived however I felt like... yeah... I suppose so."
"Heheh... don’t think about running away this time. We’ve already had the Sisterhood, the Justice Task Force, and even the Relief Society all thoroughly seal off every possible escape route so you absolutely can’t get away."
"I’m not leaving anyway. Once I’ve seen the stage, I have to see how it ends."
"So... please give us a clear answer instead of an ambiguous one. Haruta, this depends on your choice. It could become an all-out war between Trinity and Gehenna... or it could end peacefully. We respect Haruta’s thoughts. However, take responsibility for that choice."
"I said it already. I’ll make a result where neither side fights. A result where none of you get hurt."
"So that means... you’re choosing both...? Is that the right way to understand it?"
"Yeah... no matter how I think about it, that’s the best outcome I can produce."
"Heeey... we’ve really got an unprecedented Gehenna-Schale-Trinity student now... wow..."
"Isn’t that also a Trinity of another kind? It was supposed to be Millennium originally... but well, I’m not close with any of Millennium’s higher-ups, so I won’t count myself in there."
When Seia mentioned Millennium, a face suddenly flashed through my mind.
"...Shit."
"...? What was that just now? Shit? What is that?"
"Ah... no, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself."
"For something you said to yourself, the tone was awfully strong. It even sounded angry... is that a bad word?"
"No... I just thought of someone."
"...Don’t tell me you mean..."
Hayase Yuuka, a senior executive in Millennium’s Student Council Seminar.
"Whatever you’re thinking... it’s probably the right answer."
"You have ties to Millennium too...?"
"Yeah... and to a senior executive in the Student Council, too..."
"...If that’s the only one, then... that’s enough."
"No... I’m also connected to Millennium’s direct secret... no, not even a secret, I guess. C&C..."
"...This... is getting hard to ignore."
"And... I’m connected to Abydos’s current student council president, Takanashi Hoshino."
"...Every single one of them..."
"I’m scared too, you know...? How are they going to react...?"
"Hmm... in any case, the choice is Haruta’s, so... we’ll simply follow whatever you choose."
"Yeah... for now I should at least try living at Trinity... I did visit from time to time using Schale’s authority anyway."
"That should be fine. Nagisa and I will submit your enrollment application. Mika is in a politically unfavorable position right now."
"Well... all right. I’ll try living at Trinity for a bit."
"Then... you may return now... and Haruta?"
"What?"
"I’m sorry."
That sudden apology from Nagisa.
"...? What... for?"
My mind couldn’t keep up when someone I never expected apologized like that.
"...I got too eager about bringing Haruta here and lost my composure a little... I think I threatened you too much. I’m sorry."
".....?"
"It’s strange to suddenly apologize like this, isn’t it...? I think I got a little carried away just hearing that Haruta had enrolled in Gehenna. I apologize again."
"...Yeah... well, thanks."
"I’m sorry too, Haruta! I threatened you with a greatsword earlier... but I was just so scared at the thought of you being in that den of horned freaks."
"I agree... I’m sorry for calling you over by force as well. I was not calm."
"...No... I wasn’t thinking clearly either. Anyway... I’ll come back later."
"Then... please go safely."
"Yeah... I’m going."
Crash!
"...Haruta?"
"What?"
"Your admission notice... will arrive within two days. Please prepare by then."
"Yeah... I’m going."
Whoosh
"...Haa..."
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