[What the heck is going on? Why are you asking me about Mika’s whereabouts——]
“A student from Gehenna has been found to have evidence of kidnapping Mika!”
[…What?]
“Judging by your reaction, it seems it’s not the Student Council President’s doing. Hoo.”
It’s not like there weren’t T-party hosts who once shared similar ideas with Mika before she started working on improving the relationship with Gehenna. Given that the number of moderate hosts in Trinity’s history far outweighs that of the hardliners, it makes sense.
But there hasn’t been a single host that has been as successful as Mika. On this, Mika had said.
“Hahaha, it’s impossible to build trust slowly between Trinity and Gehenna—this kind of relationship makes it hard to establish trust! With that trust being impossible, it’s no wonder nobody comes out successful☆!”
…Yes, she definitely said that.
Is she trying to show what happens when a foolish idealist is given power to act without consequences and the charm to even gloss over hostility?
I can almost picture Mika boasting about how she connected a hotline to Gehenna’s Student Council President. Not to the current Chair of Manma Battle, but to say that the Student Council President is the true power behind Gehenna.
Mika has a personal connection with this Student Council President. If I remember correctly, she called her Hina-chan once. Mika used to drop such informal titles rather casually, but I never imagined she’d use it on a student from Gehenna.
Who would’ve guessed that the Mika who once smashed a gift-wrapped cosmetics set from Gehenna with her bare hands would someday have a personal hotline to Gehenna’s Student Council President?
And now, there I was, having a video call with that Sorasaki Hina, shoving the evidence of Mika’s kidnapping in her face.
[…I don’t understand anything from this. I need more explanation, Kirihouji.]
“The information about the vehicle isn’t in Trinity’s database. It’s an unregistered vehicle that hasn’t even been stopped once. However, tracing the route, we found traces at the boundary between Trinity and Gehenna Autonomous District. This is also the vehicle caught on CCTV near the presumed location of Mika’s disappearance.”
[I understand why you would suspect this direction first, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you would directly contact us.]
At this point, I’m pondering a bit. I’m unsure how much information I should reveal to her.
There’s no doubt that the current Student Council President of Gehenna is quite capable. A person like that could easily feign innocence even after kidnapping Mika…
‘Hina-chan would never do something like that—I guarantee it——’
…Mika did indeed say that once. Reason is telling me to trust Mika’s judgment. I believe it’s safe enough to do so, especially considering how she’s been recently.
However, I can’t let my guard down entirely. This is a serious matter regarding Mika’s safety.
“Do you know how much the Gehenna Student Council President knows about Mika?”
[…If you’re asking about combat power, I suspect it’s as strong as the head of Trinity’s Justice Realization Department. Is that the part you wanted to discuss?]
“Exactly. If you’re aware of that, the conversation becomes easier. Circumstantially, it appears Mika has been abducted without putting up any resistance. If she had fought back, traces of combat would surely have been found. This means one possibility is that someone with enough skill to subdue Mika without giving her a chance to resist did it… Do you think someone like that could exist in Kivotos?”
[…No, realistically, I don’t believe such a possibility exists. In that case, naturally, you would suspect someone with whom you have a personal connection, and chances are high that it would be us, right? Am I right?]
“That’s correct. The most likely scenario is that it was someone who has a connection with Mika while also receiving orders from the Student Council President and used some method to suddenly overpower her… Or otherwise, if Mika voluntarily went along. Given the relationship between the two academies, you’re already aware that one can’t escape suspicion in this regard.”
…But judging by the Student Council President’s reaction, perhaps my assumption is completely off. Since we aren’t speaking face-to-face, I can’t be certain.
[…]
The Student Council President crosses her arms and closes her eyes. I don’t know what she’s pondering, but I need to figure out who the culprit could be, if she isn’t it.
The only clues I have are that the other person must either possess an absurd level of strength that could subdue Mika in one go or that they know her well enough to catch her off guard. I can’t completely dismiss the possibility that Mika might have voluntarily gone along…
In that case, regardless, she should have made contact at least once, considering she left her phone in the office.
The fact that the vehicle came from Gehenna is merely circumstantial evidence…
Wait a minute… the vehicle?
“President, regarding the vehicle’s license plate——”
[Let me check the license plate closely——Hmm.]
It seems the Student Council President is on the same track as me. Fortunately, this vehicle has an intact license plate… and if it is a Gehenna vehicle, it should certainly be traceable.
After all, a report had already come in that a Trinity vehicle definitely wasn’t involved, so it seems I took a little longer to connect the dots. Foolishly.
[Ako, put everything on hold and look up that vehicle’s license plate first. As fast as you can.]
As I call out the vehicle’s number, the Student Council President speaks to someone while passing over a piece of paper with the number written on it.
[The results will come quickly, Kirihouji. Also, I should mention that it was a wise choice to use this hotline instead of contacting the Chair of the Manma Battle directly. We should keep this as secret as possible.]
“…It seems the conflict between the Manma Battle and the Student Council is worse than we knew.”
[That’s classified information. However, one thing is certain… The Chair, Makoto, lacks the ability to execute something like this. If the information about Mika being kidnapped gets to their side, who knows what strange scheme they might come up with? This must be resolved on our end. Hm, Mika and kidnapping. Quite the peculiar combination.]
The Student Council President’s words make me inadvertently nod. I never expected to hear such a strange thing as Mika being kidnapped in my lifetime.
[Hina President, we have the results! The vehicle in question belongs to a rental car company in Gehenna… precisely, in the Gehenna Autonomous District. Should we request the company’s cooperation for an investigation right now?]
[…Proceed immediately. This involves Mika.]
[Yes, yes?! I’ll get the info in 10 minutes!]
…What is this conversation? Does Mika mean that much to the Student Council? This is starting to feel odd. I thought that calling her ‘Hina-chan’ was just Mika’s one-sided way of keeping distance, but it seems like the other side views this as somewhat of a normal diplomatic relationship.
What exactly has Mika been doing that I don’t know about…
[…It seems the culprit is indeed a student from Gehenna, Kirihouji.]
“That’s right. At this point, pinpointing the culprit is just a matter of time. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky under the circumstances.”
A kidnapping by an unknown force against the Gehenna Student Council President. The likelihood that Mika has personal ties with a student from Gehenna is approaching 0. Should it come to that, the situation could turn exceptionally serious…
Ah, no. Mika. If something goes wrong, I… I…
My heart starts racing like crazy. Soon after, I hear a dull sound filling my ears, and a severe headache pummels my head.
But, but I must hold myself together for Mika’s sake…
[…Kirihouji President. Kirihouji President!]
“…Yes, yes?”
[Are you alright? You look pale. You’ve been unresponsive for nearly three minutes.]
“I’m fine… yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry for causing concern.”
I’ll be fine. I must be fine. Until I find Mika, I absolutely cannot collapse.
With trembling hands, I cautiously sip tea from the cup. Having already broken one cherished cup, I can’t afford to break this one, considering it was a gift from Mika.
As the unique bergamot aroma spreads, I feel my tension gradually easing. Nothing calms the mind quite like tea.
A moment’s silence follows. The Student Council President seems to be scanning some documents, but she can’t help glancing at something else.
As for me… I’m absentmindedly fiddling with the phone Mika left behind. Due to the fingerprint recognition system, it’s a phone that I have no way to unlock.
…Hold on, even if a phone is used with fingerprint recognition, doesn’t it usually require a password as an additional security measure?
One issue is that even though I know mixed-character passwords exist, I have no way to crack them… Thankfully, it’s a numeric PIN.
In fact, if this were set to 5 digits or more, then…
But if it’s 4 digits, I might be able to try.
…Is this perhaps a way to gain information related to Mika’s disappearance? I assure you, this isn’t driven by concern over the Student Council President and Mika’s relationship.
With possibilities approaching zero, I can’t help but think if Mika has a personal connection with a student from Gehenna. That could very well make them a suspect.
So I begin trying numbers one by one. The opportunity is limited, so I must be careful. First, 1234…
BEEP!
Seems even Mika wouldn’t use something so obvious. Then how about 0508…
BEEP!
Now, I only have 3 chances left. The tough part is that I can’t think of a proper number. It’s not even her birthday.
Speaking of which, didn’t Mika set her house’s door code to my birthday? Could it be she did the same with her phone…
DING!
“Ugh… Mika, you really…”
Heat rises to my face for no reason. I have no idea why Mika decides to use my birthday in so many places. Not that I mind, not at all.
Naturally, the attention is drawn to Momotalk and the Gallery app. But opening the gallery is not related to the current situation, and I decided to avoid it for Mika’s privacy.
Though I wouldn’t have a good excuse if someone accused me of violating her privacy by checking Momotalk.
As I open the app, the first thing that catches my eye is a packed friends list.
What is this? It seems like the number of stored friends is in a completely different league than mine…
…No, that’s not important right now. Opening the recent chat, I see a few familiar names. I can exclude these. There’s no need to delve into private conversations. After all, the culprit isn’t from Trinity.
[Hina-chan]
[Photo]
…My heart skips a beat, but realizing the Student Council President is still on the call with me, I decide to scroll down a bit more. Then.
[Haruna-chan]
[Sorry, I need to think a bit longer!]
I think I’ve found something. The culprit behind this incident. A profile photo featuring a school uniform clearly marked with Gehenna’s insignia.
Seeing this, it seems Mika’s feelings of animosity toward Gehenna have completely faded. My previous thoughts of it being impossible now seem utterly wrong.
GULP.
With a racing heart, I send an apology to the absent Mika before opening the conversation.
…
……
Misono Mika, this unreliable girl…?
[Kirihouji President, the results are in. The culprit is Kurodate Haruna, a second-year student from Gehenna’s Gourmet Research Club. She’s notorious in Gehenna for being a terrorist. Based on Mika’s past behavior, it’s likely she has some personal connection—]
“The Student Council President, they definitely share a personal connection. I just confirmed everything.”
And where Mika is right now.
“Mika is currently at Millennium with that sly little cat burglar.”
Just wait a moment, Mika. I’ll come rescue you from this annoying little cat in no time.
