In reality, if you were to ask whether the Mangryang would be a significant threat, the answer would be a resounding no. After all, the Mangryang are merely a bunch of local ruffians that even the ordinary named students can deal with.
I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up losing even when fighting alongside Nagisa… Hmm, perhaps that’s a bit too far.
Anyway, it’s weirder if those guys can withstand the support fire from Hina and me, especially when they’re under the direction of the teacher who’s among the two leaders of the Hakgwiyaeng. Given the opponent, even half-hearted attacks feel like they could land critical hits.
Wakamo was trying to take down Izuna with a fierce determination, but at some point, when she saw her starting to chat with the teacher, she irritatedly stomped the ground a couple of times.
By the way, those boots… She’s really wearing the ones I bought her again today. Honestly, even if they look mismatched, I bet she loves wearing them. Seeing her get happy over such little things makes me think I really am an easy girl.
After the three who were organizing things below joined our table without a hitch, I couldn’t help but notice Nagisa subtly glancing over at Pina, as if she recognized her. It felt like there was something going on there.
“Thanks for all your support, everyone. Thanks to you, the situation was resolved faster than I expected.”
“It was nothing, teacher. Even without us, it wouldn’t have been a huge problem. That said… your command still impresses me.”
The teacher simply smiled silently at Hina’s compliment. After the events in Abydos, she would have gotten used to such praise. Going back and forth through the ruins with the Game Development Club and dealing with the seminar had probably added to her experience.
“Teacher, given that it was a request from the little fox, I’m suspecting that this situation might be an organized terrorist act…”
“So, you really know a thing or two as a former terrorist, huh?”
“…Mika-san! How could you be so harsh?”
“Don’t worry about it too much, Kosaka-san. Mika tends to make mischievous jokes often. Less than before, though…”
“Ah, I see… Thank you for letting me know, Nagisa-neesan.”
…Wakamo must have known me for quite a while, so it’s not like she didn’t catch on, yet she’s still playing along.
Isn’t this a bit too obvious?
“Hehe… You’re welcome. It just reminds me of my past self, so I can’t help but feel fond of you, Wakamo.”
…Honestly, Nagisa, aren’t you a bit too easy?
Why is it that once I try to push you away, you’re ready to accept it on your end?
“Wait a second. Former terrorist? I’m completely lost… No way…”
“…The infamous villain, Reikubyō no Yū?!”
“Wakamo-chan, stop smiling proudly while clearly being embarrassed!”
“…I-it’s beyond my control. It wasn’t exactly a glorious past, but nonetheless, I made a name for myself in a certain field, right?”
“You did rehabilitate, right?”
“Of course!”
“I wouldn’t say I want to hear all the details, but… we have more pressing matters at hand, so let’s discuss that later, Wakamo. And as for this side…”
Unlike us who came to hang out, it seemed the teacher prioritized the earlier commotion, given that she visited the Hakgwiyaeng in a work-related capacity. Separately, her interest in Nagisa was quite… um, valuable?
In any case, it seemed she was quite interested in Nagisa.
“I’m Kirihouji Nagisa, one of the student council presidents from Trinity T-party, teacher. You might already know about our T-party’s structure from Mika-san?”
“That three student council presidents take turns hosting…?”
“Yes, that’s right. Here, Mika-san is so capable that she will continue to take on the host role until she graduates. She’s an unprecedented re-elected host in the history of Trinity General Academy.”
“Hey, Nagisa-chan? That’s just passing off the host job because you guys didn’t want to do it!”
“That’s not true! Not entrusting the host position to someone as capable as Mika-san would be a huge loss for Trinity—an opinion shared by a significant majority, more than half, of Sanctus and Filius. No other factions showed any dissent, nor do I need to say anything about Arius, which rivals the Johan faction in scale…”
“Wah—oh. What’s with this? Nagisa-chan, aren’t you being a bit too shameless lately? You’re totally different from before! Bring back the pure Nagisa-chan of old…”
“This is all because of you! Anyway, teacher, I sincerely hope for your continued success and wish you peace in your future endeavors.”
…For real. Nagisa’s acting like a wife boasting about her husband to her friends. Why is she adding unnecessary fluff to her words?
“Alright then. I’m counting on you, Nagisa. And… hmmm. Mika is truly amazing. Just looking at Rin or Yuuka’s evaluations shows that.”
But teacher, that’s all a misunderstanding. I’m not that capable, so don’t bother me later…
Suppressing the urge to shout those words aloud, I tried signaling Shizuko with my eyes. Please, let’s steer this uncomfortable topic elsewhere.
“I’m not sure why the infamous Reikubyō no Yū, who got suspended from the Hakgwiyaeng and is wanted, is with you, but that’s not important right now.”
Next came Shizuko’s explanation of the ongoing troubles: it seemed the street ruffians among the Mangryang started to cause organized trouble as soon as the festival began.
Adding up Wakamo’s speculations with Shizuko’s guess, it became clear that the Mangryang aimed to ruin the Hakgwiyaeng.
“Ugh! What the heck is going on?! We barely managed with just the Matsuri Club until now! If this keeps up, the festival’s going to fall apart any second…! No, seriously, if this festival fails, we’re done for! Uwaah!”
As Shizuko took off her mask, the scene displayed was, honestly, quite amusing from the side.
“Ah…”
She seemed to have a hesitant expression as if she just realized that the mask had come off. But her real face was now revealed in front of so many people.
“Just like this☆”
Shizuko sneakily glanced around before adding a customer service smile. Everyone reacted ambiguously to it, however.
“Hmm~ I still don’t get it. Why do they want to disrupt the festival?”
After pondering for a while, Pina raised the question, and suddenly a third party jumped into the conversation.
“…They’re just unsatisfied with this festival.”
“Ah, Merchant Chairman!”
That was none other than Nyantema Ru, the merchant chairman of the Hakgwiyaeng shopping district. But his true identity was the notorious independent dragon, Nyantema Ru.
Only I knew that he was the real mastermind behind this incident.
*
Following that, a bit more detailed explanation of the situation continued.
Specifically, it was the merchant chairman’s speculation…
Traditionally, the grand finale of the Hakgwiyaeng is adorned with fireworks, but it seems Shizuko and the Matsuri Club rented special equipment for a hefty sum from Millennium.
It’s supposed to implement holographic fireworks or something…
Seriously, if they had something like that, they should have told me last summer! Renting that instead of holding flashy fireworks for a week would have been cheaper!
In any case, according to the merchant chairman’s speculation, those who disapproved of these changes might’ve been behind the festival disruptions.
That said, knowing the truth made it sound utterly ridiculous.
The one causing the commotion was pretending not to be the culprit and throwing around vague suspicions like a hot potato.
“So, what are you planning to do? If you don’t curb those guys, the festival is going to be chaos.”
“Do you have a specific help request? Maybe from the student council?”
“Teacher, there isn’t a student council in the Hakgwiyaeng, you know. However, there are some clubs that somewhat resemble a student council, but do you think those other clubs would help?”
“…Is it really alright for the Hakgwiyaeng to be in this state?”
“Umm. There are no small problems, but fundamentally it’s a peaceful place. We could request help, but for that, we need your assistance, teacher! But if Reikubyō no Yū is part of your group… You might not get a pleasant reception.”
“…Is Wakamo that bad?”
“She really is.”
Anyway, it seems it’s a matter that can resolve itself without our interference. That’s the teacher’s role anyway, and honestly, I feel uneasy that my involvement would complicate things further.
More than that, seeing the merchant chairman leaving the Hakgwiyaeng, I found myself oddly frustrated knowing who the real mastermind was. After all, it’s not like I could shout, “That bastard Nyantema Ru is the culprit!” since there was no connection.
However, unexpectedly someone else realized the anomaly without me stepping in.
“Teacher, that merchant chairman seems to be hiding something.”
“Hmm? Nagisa, is that information certain?”
“It’s hard for me to absolutely confirm, but he had the eyes of someone with ulterior motives. It’s better to be cautious.”
“Ahaha, teacher. If Nagisa-chan says that, it’s almost definite. Unlike me, Nagisa-chan must be someone who purely reached the student council president role based on ability.”
“Unlike Mika? From what I’ve heard…”
“Ahh, that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about people skills. Yeah, I’ve learned a lot from Nagisa-chan☆”
Well then, if there’s a task that’s been given, I should lend a hand right away.
“Hmm. But still, Chairman Nyantema Ru has helped us a lot in the past. Is there a real ulterior motive?”
“It might be closely related to the fact that Shizuko-chan’s welcoming smile is far from being genuine.”
“…Dehet, Pero?”
Honestly, what’s with the “dehet, pero”?
More importantly, so his original name was independent dragon Nyantema Ru.
…I feel like I misremembered that for some reason.
