During the video call with the Lion team, the agenda regarding Kaiser reached an unexpectedly radical conclusion. It was oddly irksome that the Student Council President glossed over that part without mentioning the details, but I understand that I need to compromise appropriately since I’ve made some concessions myself.
For instance, I have no intention of spontaneously blowing up the Kaiser Corporation headquarters or anything that extreme, and if such an act were to happen, it would mean completely alienating the Student Council President. To put it bluntly, opposing the Student Council President, who holds authority over Sanctum Tower, would be nothing short of insane.
There are several methods we can employ against Kaiser. Attacks using the media, as well as, if desired, physical attacks would also qualify as options.
However, these attacks must not devolve into indiscriminate terrorism.
Of course, the FOX Squad, which is firmly committed to justice, wouldn’t simply follow through with such revenge-driven terrorist commands. The Arius Squad might execute such orders without hesitation, but I do not want to turn those kids, who hold a deep emotional debt and near loyalty to me, into terrorists.
After all, I barely saved them from Beatrice’s grasp, allowing them to live a normal student life; if I were to involve them in terrorism now, how would I be any better than her? Using kids as tools for terrorism is something I absolutely cannot do.
This cannot be justified merely by the fact that they initiated the first act of terror against me. Therefore, my plan for them is what you’d call a ‘dusting-off’.
In the process of Kaiser Corporation’s illicit and legal business expansion, how many companies truly remain untainted by dust?
Thus, the FOX Squad and the Arius Squad will discreetly infiltrate the various offices, factories, and research labs set up by Kaiser in different parts of Kivotos, following my orders to sweep up any dust they find.
When the dust is raised and presented to the world, will Kaiser President be able to conspire and rally other companies with his words? Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
No matter how much the Student Council President claims his abilities are outstanding, I believe it will be quite challenging for him to wriggle out of this situation.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind. But, is it really okay for you to just let me go like this? I think it would be more convenient for you to keep me locked up rather than this.”
“Huh? You’re apologizing, so how could I do that? Speaking of which, calling you ‘you’… don’t you have a different title?”
“Eh? What’s wrong with referring to you with that?”
No, what’s the deal with you? I have a feeling that if you keep this up, you’ll end up gluing yourself to me with ‘Da.Ang.Shin’ vibes or something. Since Nagisa is making such a big effort, it’s necessary for me to show some level of good will in return.
“…Anyways, something else.”
“Hmm… ‘T-party Host’ is too long and gets the boot. How about just Misa-san?”
“Usually, using your honorifics doesn’t count as ordinary. Any other options?”
“Uh… Benefactor?”
“… I don’t even remember doing anything worthy of being called a benefactor. Absolutely not.”
A fox that refers to someone as ‘benefactor’ might end up having its neck snapped, you know? So that’s a no-go…!
Afterwards, Wakamo threw out various titles, but annoyingly, they all contained ‘san’. Considering all this, I think she’s hopeless.
“Let’s just settle for a plain ‘Mika-san’…”
“Okay, Mika-san. If that’s more convenient for you, then I must naturally go along with it.”
Anyhow, by now, the festival site must be hosting the first match of the day—the struggle for the flag on the water. If we win here, I think it would ease my mind, but honestly, I’m not expecting too much. The wounds from being repeatedly let down have gone too deep to heal.
The competition will start with five interconnected platforms floating on the sea, each with a flag planted. The Gehenna and Trinity factions will each begin with two flags, while the central flag remains neutral. The side with the most flags at the end of the competition wins, and no guns are allowed in this match.
Even if you knock the opposing side into the sea, they can return to the match once they ascend back onto the platform, so a chaotic battle is anticipated.
Naturally, Tsurugi and Hina are not able to participate in this match; to put it bluntly, if Tsurugi jumps in bare-handed, who would even stop her? It’s a perfectly reasonable precaution, especially since it wouldn’t even work if Hina were present.
In any case, while such a match takes place, I took Wakamo with me to Aigis’s auditorium. Beyond the door of this auditorium, the crew of Nereus must have been waiting for the apology from that Reikubyō no Yū.
“If you think it might be crossing the line, I can moderately mediate—”
“No, I can’t allow that. This is a sin I must fully bear and shoulder. Mika-san shouldn’t shield me from a fierce storm like that. I will handle everything. Yes, I, Kosaka Wakamo, am ready for that.”
Looking at Wakamo, who resolutely resolved herself, I absentmindedly nodded. It would be rude not to respect her wishes after she went this far. It’s almost puzzling how such a thoughtful child ended up walking the path of a criminal.
I wish I could recall everything just as the reincarnators in the web novels I used to enjoy did; if I had that kind of perfect memory, I could have understood Wakamo a little better.
As I opened the door to the auditorium and stepped inside, the gazes of the Odyssey students turned towards us. Amid the immediate buzz of whispers, I could catch phrases like “T-party host?” and “Is the Reikubyō no Yū coming to apologize?” or “Is that a gentle-looking girl next to the T-party host…?” After that, it all blended into a haze of murmurs.
Wakamo, who stepped onto the stage, grabbed the microphone. It was then that the students’ faces began to reflect their certainty that she was indeed responsible for the sinking of their beloved academy ship the previous night.
“I am the wanted criminal you know as the Reikubyō no Yū. I am the one who committed numerous acts of destruction, and I stand before you today to humbly seek your forgiveness.”
“Forgiveness? If you’re in your right mind, you’re not getting that!”
“Go to hell, you damned fox!”
“Ugh! Trash is talking human language!!!”
There were many harsh statements exchanged that would even make me frown. These were coarse and explicit insults I would never hear from the Trinity faction.
Since the students of Odyssey primarily live at sea, it’s as if they’ve honed their sailor’s coarse speech to perfection.
However, Wakamo didn’t wish for me to mediate this situation. She specifically asked me not to, as that would tarnish the value of her apology.
“I’m not unaware that my actions have caused you irreparable harm. I also know it’s not something that can be resolved with a few words of apology.”
“If you know that well, then don’t shamelessly hold your head high and just get lost! Who do you think you are, showing your face here! No one here wants your apology. We’re all just curious as to what made the great Reikubyō no Yū decide to apologize.”
“…”
Wakamo tightened her grip on the microphone. She had resolved to repent, yet one’s true nature doesn’t change overnight. It’s astonishing that she can suppress her anger this much in the face of such remarks. The Wakamo I know would have exploded by now.
“To you, my actions might have seemed routine; however, they weren’t for us! Do you understand how humiliating it was to lose control of the academy ship, to have you and your hired hands hijack it for the past three days? It’s like a thief entered your home, took over for days… and just when it seems to be over, the house itself disappears! You’re trying to smooth it over with a few apologies…! How unbearably ridiculous is that, knowing fully well it’s absurd to act this way—how thick-skinned and shameless could someone possibly be?”
Before I knew it, a particularly vocal student from Odyssey had taken the lead, gathering support from others and giving Wakamo a piece of their mind. None of their comments were incorrect, and I couldn’t help but feel it was unfortunate, yet all I could think was that Wakamo was the one who chose this path.
While it was clear that the bomb was detonated by the Kaiser faction, when there are two targets to blame, rage tends to concentrate on the closer one. And right now, the one closer to these students is Wakamo, not Kaiser.
“I’m sorry. I apologize. I understand that a mere few words of apology cannot earn forgiveness. I also know there’s nothing I can personally do for you. But despite that, I have no choice but to seek your forgiveness. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. Until the day I can be forgiven comes, I will continue to reflect on the sins I have committed…”
“So, if you think you could actually receive forgiveness, snap out of your dreams!”
A student berating Wakamo stood up and stepped closer to the stage. The auditorium was filled with voices of solidarity echoing around her.
This was precisely why I predicted it wouldn’t be easy to ask for forgiveness from kids still fuming with anger. Watching this blatantly unfold before me was suffocating.
Rather than stopping at the front of the stage, an Odyssey student jumped and grabbed Wakamo by the collar. I thought about intervening but exhaled a sigh instead, taking in the sight of her not retaliating.
After all, she has no sense of strategy whatsoever.
The problem is that this is not a situation where strategy can be employed.
I recognized that there’s nothing I could do in this situation, nor should I. This thought weighed heavily on me.
All I could do was hope that Wakamo would overcome all this and achieve redemption. The anger of Odyssey was more justified than anything else in this situation.
Can a fox that has committed sins calm the rage of the sea? It was a question whose answer seemed utterly impossible to discern.
