Conversation. The process by which a person expresses their thoughts through words to convey them to another.
Perhaps one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon humanity, the power of language has clearly proven its greatness.
The Onsen Development Department and the Student Council, which seemed to be as incompatible as oil and water, had stopped fighting.
Yeah, communication really is that important.
Good words are words, so they are part of the conversation.
“So, the Onsen Development Department was digging a private onsen for the Student Council by agreement with them, huh?”
“Yep, yep! According to the president! We will be satisfied as long as we just dig a hot spring!”
The girl clapped her hands with a bold thump against her chest. The onsen bag she possessed, which could be counted among the best of the “pockets” I had seen so far, swayed proudly, flaunting its presence.
Shimokura Megu of the Onsen Development Department. When I saw her in a swimsuit during summer, I didn’t pay much attention, but is it really okay for her to dress like this normally? I could imagine Koharu immediately shouting for her execution.
By the way, it’s surprising that the Student Council came to an agreement with the Onsen Development Department on this matter. I’m pretty sure there was no talk of this just yesterday…
“What was it again? If you get on the good side of the Student Council president, our luck… Ah, wait a second!”
In the midst of relaying what Kasumi, the head of the Onsen Development Department, had said, Megu suddenly pulled out a note from her bosom…
No, wait. Why is that even coming out of there?
As I turned my gaze towards the teacher who had suddenly approached me from my side, it was pretty funny seeing them start to whistle and act nonchalant. Is it just me, or does it feel like that behavior is all about being conscious of me?
Hmm. Perhaps that’s what makes it even funnier.
I’ve seen far worse, so I don’t particularly mind, but our teacher can’t ignore it considering her position.
It’s like saying she mustn’t reveal flaws in front of me after pointing out the unhealthiness of our relationship, huh?
I know she’s a man before being a teacher, and I think she’s quite a good person as an educator.
Of course, one could also argue that I perceive her that way because she’s so strict with herself.
I’m not really disliking her as a person; it’s just that I feel a bit envious of her being a perfect “man.”
If she were a perfect female teacher instead, I would have likely clung to her every day and developed a close relationship. Hmph.
“Oh, more opportunities to move around… I don’t really understand well, but roughly that’s what the president said. Not just in Gehenna, but also Trinity, I think!”
I don’t know what exactly is written on the note, whether she wrote it herself or if Kasumi wrote it for her…
Heh.
Kasumi, you bold little thing?
Building up the good favor of the Student Council and Hina through the hot spring. And through that, she aims to hit my heart that’s closely linked with Hina.
The intention to broaden the limited operational range of the Onsen Development Department is so blatant.
In fact, if it just goes through, it could be called an effective lobbying strategy.
If Hina is happy, then I’m also happy. In that sense, Kasumi’s strategy to aim for a double win is fairly clever.
Of course, since Hina’s separation of work and play is strict, hoping for the Onsen Development Department to loosen up in Gehenna… hmm. Isn’t that being overly optimistic?
I might be able to loosen the reins on the Trinity side a bit under my discretion, but…
Ah, could it be that this was planned from the beginning? She even mentioned Trinity afterward.
“So, Megu-chan. Is it possible to contact Kasumi-chan right now? I can’t shake this feeling that this was all orchestrated with me in mind…”
“Huh?”
“Could you just ask her if my suspicion is correct?☆”
“Ah~ Okay! I’ll check with the president!”
It might be an overinterpretation, but there are plenty of sharp minds in Kivotos. Even excluding those who have been proven to be smart like the kids from Millennium or geniuses like Hanako.
Kyoko from Heungsinso and Kasumi from the Onsen Development Department would be typical examples. Even Aco, who doesn’t seem to fit that image, is included here.
I can assure you, if we’re just talking brains, Aco is definitely above me.
So, it’s not far-fetched to think that Kasumi could have orchestrated this whole event while aiming solely to win my favor when I was staying in Gehenna.
“By the way, a hot spring… heh. If Hina-chan could relieve her fatigue here anytime, that would be just perfect.”
Though the workload has definitely decreased since before, the weight on the role of Student Council president is still no joke.
My job is to assist Hina alongside Aco.
And with Hanako’s help, I handle the responsibilities of the host.
If you ask me which of those tasks gets done faster, I’d neatly say the latter.
Hanako is that competent after all, but the speed at which things happen in Gehenna is simply insane.
“Ah, I got a reply! Here!”
Megu held out her cellphone screen at me. The message from Kasumi read, “Please take good care of us~!” along with a swift emoticon of a waving cat.
This is evidence that my suspicion wasn’t wrong.
“Heh… Thanks, Megu-chan! Make sure you finish the work safely!”
“Yay~! Hey everyone, did you hear? It’s time to resume work! Let’s go all out~!”
As I glanced at Megu gleefully returning to the onsen development site, I started moving my steps.
The destination was the bizarre standoff between the Student Council and Manma Battle that hadn’t moved an inch. This time, the teacher walked alongside me.
By the way, who exactly gave the approval for this onsen development? No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like it was Hina.
Could it be that Hina decided to set up a hot spring right next to the Student Council headquarters for my sake…?
In that case, I’d be so happy it wouldn’t be unusual for me to fly in the sky right now, but since our Hina is strictly about separating work and play, that possibility is almost nonexistent. Yeah.
So, who else has the decision-making authority aside from Hina… Ah-ha.
Aco, is it you again?
*
After finishing our brief hearing, the teacher and I first disbanded the two groups that looked like they were about to devour each other. Observing their situations brought to mind the desperate, almost starving appearances of the students from Trinity and Gehenna in the past.
Ah. If you ask how it was possible to disband those guys, the power of the Shalle to which the teacher belongs was key.
Along with the ever more reliable fist that was closer than the law… ahem. Anyway, I’m sure my presence contributed to some extent.
By the way, Aco really is something, how should I put it? Her level of action is out of the ordinary. She was quite aggressive in her confession to me back then.
Once she sets her mind to something, she runs straight to the finish line with determination. That’s something to be respected.
“I knew that the relationship between the Manma Battle and the Student Council wasn’t good, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
“…No.”
Hearing the teacher’s words, I shook my head. Simply saying “Manma Battle and the Student Council” wouldn’t be totally accurate.
According to Hina, while the relationship between Manma Battle and the Student Council wasn’t exactly shoulder-to-shoulder laughing, it was better than now before she became president.
“Makoto-chan and Hina-chan’s relationship is crazy bad, teacher. Yeah. It went from being one-sided to now being mutual.”
Hina doesn’t bother Manma Battle first. Like I mentioned before, Hina is strict about separation of work and play.
However, if Makoto directly provokes the Student Council or does something unreasonable that causes trouble, then…
“Chairperson Makoto, I’m giving you five seconds from now.”
“What?”
Well, our Hina doesn’t stay on the back foot anymore… I’ll just leave it at that for now.
I feel like my influence is somewhat there, but I can’t be sure.
“That aside, I have no idea when our Makoto-chan is going to grow up. There isn’t even a dedicated onsen for Manma Battle yet, and she’s getting in the way of a private onsen for the Student Council. Ugh, it’s so frustrating.”
“Based on your reaction, it seems like you’ve gone through quite a bit yourself, Mika.”
“Ahaha. Teacher… up to now, it has been Hina-chan and I who have resolved the conflicts between Trinity and Gehenna while leading both academies towards a better direction. Just imagine how much trouble Makoto-chan must have caused in that process?”
“…Haha.”
“I didn’t mean for you to laugh.”
…
I waved my hand in front of the teacher, who froze in a smile at my not-so-joking remark. However, no reaction came back.
It seems she’s gone statue mode.
Leaving the teacher behind, I cast a glance at the onsen development site and couldn’t help a silent exclamation.
What a fast pace of work. They could dig a hot spring in just a few hours, and it wouldn’t be strange to declare the work finished after a few more hours of raising a building above it. It was truly a mind-blowing speed.
If I had nothing to do later, I might just have a building contest between Minori’s construction team and the Onsen Development Department…
Hmm. Since those guys are solely obsessed with onsens, would the contest even be valid?
“Let’s go, teacher. We may have roughly resolved this incident, but there’s still plenty of work ahead. Lots of it.”
“Uh, huh?”
“Now, let’s move!”
I tugged at the sleeve of the immobile teacher, who had gone back to statue mode due to my serious tone. This much was my responsibility, after all.
I pulled her along towards the Student Council headquarters.
To say there’s an immense amount of work to do isn’t an exaggeration.
Gehenna was a self-governing district where incidents occur every minute, and there was always a shortage of manpower.
To be frank, the teacher didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to, but I still wanted to drag her in.
Of course, it goes without saying how competent our teacher is… but the real reason goes beyond that.
They say if a woman harbors resentment, frost will fall even in midsummer.
Once I’ve made her jealous once, she’s likely to face a lot of hardship from now on, teacher. Because it wouldn’t be fair for me to suffer alone.
Well… hey, isn’t there no student quite like me, huh?
Working hard together while also replacing what she’s supposed to do, you know?
And if another all-out battle comes up next time, I’ll even lend a hand, so in that regard, this is practically just a cute little gesture, right~?
