After sending Noah and Nagisa towards the area where the sniper tournament was about to begin, I was left behind to handle the aftermath.
But when I heard Ichika’s words as she returned empty-handed, I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.
“…Nothing?”
“Yes, that’s correct. The student council member said she felt uncomfortable being in the same space as her and disappeared. The problem is that, according to Shiroimi, Kasumi has never shown any signs of reluctance around her.”
“Heueng. I see.”
This is definitely something out of the ordinary. She’s sharper than I thought.
The fact that she bolted as soon as things got like this means either she realized there was a problem on the Onsen Development Department’s side, or she figured there was no way Hina would let her go after failing to snag a medal. It’s likely one of those two.
Personally, I think both scenarios are quite plausible.
The former makes sense; even under normal circumstances, it’s possible to quickly grasp a problem by exchanging contacts or codes every few minutes. The latter is almost confirmed given that Kasumi from the Gourmet Research Club and the Onsen Development Department participated in this tournament, suggesting some kind of backdoor dealings took place.
Once that fell through, it’s just a matter of time before the student council and Onsen Development Department revert to being adversaries again.
“Then, we need to catch her, right?”
“Excuse me?”
“What do you mean by ‘excuse me,’ Ichika-chan? The fact that she seems to be planning a terror act at the festival means the Justice Realization Department must not just sit back on this!”
Strictly speaking, I do have personal feelings involved in most of my actions, but I’m confident enough to instruct others to separate work from personal issues.
… Of course, that’s just a joke, but it still stands. Tracking and capturing Kasumi requires a team, and someone has to lead them. Tsurugi is more like a front-line commander than a leader, and Hasumi is too tied up with the sniper tournament.
In other words, as much as I want to give Ichika a break, we actually need her cooperation in this situation. Since I’m basically inexperienced in command as well, it would make more sense for her to direct the situation rather than me.
“So, Ichika-chan leads the troops on-site to find that girl, and Tsurugi swoops in for a quick takedown! Easy peasy, right? Yup, that’s what I’ve heard the Justice Realization Department has been favoring lately.”
“…Mika-senpai, I won’t deny that I’m a promising talent within the Justice Realization Department.”
“Exactly! I don’t dislike people who think highly of themselves. After all, it’s cool, right? Of course, I’m only talking about when talent matches up… and your reputation, Ichika-chan, is pretty solid all around☆”
“My reputation, you say?”
“Ahaha, Hasumi-chan bragged to me at one point that there’s this remarkable gem coming out of this year’s Justice Realization Department recruits. If Hasumi-chan vouches for you, it’s gotta be trustworthy, right?”
“…Even if that’s the case, it’s a completely different matter whether my subordinates will follow my orders. Isn’t it just a tad strange for me to give orders to the upperclassmen?”
Ah, so that’s what you were worried about. Nothing major.
The Justice Realization Department is a subordinate organization of the T-party.
And the head of that T-party is right here.
In other words, through basic logic, the command authority of the Justice Realization Department naturally falls to me. Technically, my authority is even higher than Tsurugi’s, the leader.
“Then, how about this? If I appoint you as the commander for this operation, won’t that solve the issue? As long as Tsurugi agrees, I think it should all be fine… So, how about it, Tsurugi?”
“Uh…? I mean, if it’s Ichika, I think I can trust her to handle it…”
“Ahaha, great! Since Tsurugi agreed, that’s all settled. Ichika, do you have anything more to add?”
“…Haha. Mika-senpai, you really know how to make someone work hard… Ah, never mind. Yes, I’ll now commence the operation to track and capture Kinugawa Kasumi. Thank you for trusting me!”
It’s not surprising you’d make someone work hard, that’s been the case for a while now. I mean, I’m volunteering for tough work myself, so why would it matter if I had a subordinate shoulder some burden?
For that matter, the too-easy conditions I proposed to Iroha when I jokingly tried to recruit her were a bit too lax, but she’s someone who’d probably outperform others even under such terms.
“Yup. Oh, by the way, the student council will operate through their head, so please control things a bit so we don’t inadvertently make a scene.”
“…Yes, I understand, Mika-senpai.”
I couldn’t directly issue commands to Iori since that might cause trouble, so I had to bother Hina to pass the orders instead. This won’t change even if the relationship between the two academies gets much closer after the Eden Treaty is established.
Of course, I personally think the Justice Realization Department is sufficient on its own… But since this involves not just the Onsen Development Department but also Wakamo, it’s crucial we capture her and interrogate her about whatever she’s scheming.
And to make this certain, it’d be a bit safer to get the student council involved alongside the Justice Realization Department.
…First, I’ll shoot a message to Hina. Then, I need to inform Yukino to especially be on guard against Wakamo’s appearances during the remaining festival period.
*
After handling what fell in front of me, I joined my party, and the sniper tournament had already kicked off.
A total of eight representatives, four selected from each academy, would compete for the best sniper distance. Each designated distance allowed three attempts, and if a player failed three times at that distance, their last successful distance counted as their record.
If the last two players each succeed in the second and third attempts at 1000m sniping but fail thrice at 1050m, the one who succeeded in the second attempt at the previous distance takes home the gold medal. If both succeed simultaneously, they continue to the next distance.
So why was this included in the tournament’s events? Because the targets the participants had to aim at were floating on the ocean. Each target is tethered to a drone for maintaining exact distances.
According to Hasumi, the challenge is exponentially tougher due to the unpredictable wind direction and speed compared to sniping on flat ground, and even students who proficiently handled sniper rifles faced miserable failures at over 1000m. They’re generally studying ballistics at the academy!
“Mika-san looks quite hopeful about this, huh?”
“Mm, right? I have no doubts about Hasumi-chan’s skills, our vice president in the Justice Realization Department… And Hiyori-chan, who I personally cherish, has sniping skills that genuinely amaze me.”
As the representatives of Trinity, we had Hiyori, Hasumi, a third-year senior from the Justice Realization Department, and a second-year from the Pater Faction.
I honestly thought Uei also handled sniper rifles, but apparently, the one she uses is specialized for noise suppression, making it not very suitable for long-distance sniping.
…Besides, since she hates being out on locations like this, even if Uei’s sniping skills were spectacular, it probably wouldn’t be easy to coax her outside.
It feels a bit disappointing that students like Marishona and Koharu, who have proven talents and joined the Justice Realization Department right after enrolling, can’t participate because they’re still middle schoolers. But I guess it’s better than the situation at Gehenna.
After all, one power player from there, Iori, is also facing participation restrictions, and one of the representative players is Makoto.
It’s a bit absurd, but at it again, it’s Makoto. After gulping down so much seawater just moments ago, she disappeared somewhere, and I never dreamed it was to participate in the sniper tournament.
If Makoto steals the spotlight again by showing surprising skills and grabs a medal here, I think I might just pass out from frustration. I’m almost certain it’ll happen.
So there’s nothing else to do here but to trust our representative players.
I feel like I’m just continuously repeating the cycle of trust, but what else can I do with the limited options I have?
[Kurodate Haruna, 600m First Round.]
“By the way, Haruna-chan, judging by her performance so far, she seems close to being a top contender. With that level of skill, she’s on par with Karin from our Millennium, so just how much time has she put into honing her skills since then?”
Hearing Noah’s words made it clear that Haruna’s sniping talent has seen substantial improvement over time. Only a short while has passed since the events at Millennium, yet she’s displaying such skill. It’s hard to gauge how much practice she must have put in to reach this level.
“Ahaha… It’s the result of effort, and talent combined.”
With just one attempt, Haruna struck the target beyond 600m, and as she twisted her plaited hair with her fingers, she glanced my way with a bright smile that I found a bit annoying, but I decided to clap for her anyway.
Well… I’m pretty sure that no matter what, the battle Haruna faced at Millennium greatly contributed to her skill growth.
“Mika-san, I’m sure not only anyone else but Kurodate has no chance!”
“Wow—? Hey, Nagisa-chan, where did that come from?”
“I saw the two of you exchanging gooey looks just now!”
Ekk. What in the world?!
Nagisa, you saying stuff like this feels just adorably jealous or possessive, but still, is twisting the facts a little off…?
“I didn’t think it was that gooey…”
“Whether it seemed gooey or not. If I say so, then it’s so, so no arguments!”
“…Nagisa-chan, you feel especially shameless today. It’s got me worried about how I can outshine you if you keep this up.”
“If so, Mika-san, would it hurt to be a little more lenient? You always win against me, yet you say such things. I’m left wondering how long you plan to keep being so cocky.”
…When you put it like that, I really have no comeback. Nagisa always generously lets me win, no wonder she’d feel this way.
“Heueng, you two really have a great relationship. It’s double the cuteness when it’s clear you both like each other.”
“…Um, Ushio-san? I wanted to ask something since a while back.”
“Sure! Feel free to ask anything, Kirihouji-san♪”
Noah’s been adorably smiling like there’s no end to it. You’d think her face would spasm at this rate.
“Why does Ushio-san support Kurodate-san? You’re the secretary of the Millennium Student Council, which values rationality, right? I can’t imagine someone like you would unintentionally meddle in someone else’s relationship. So what do you get from this situation…”
“…Heueng. I think you have a slight misunderstanding, Kirihouji-san.”
“Misunderstanding, you say.”
“Yes. Contrary to what you think, I’m not actually on Haruna’s side. If anything, I’m closer to neutral. I simply believe Haruna should be given a fair chance… Heueng.”
After hearing Noah, Nagisa appeared at a loss for words, as if utterly bewildered. That’s quite the audacious statement for her.
But while digging through old memories, I recalled what Noah told me back at Millennium.
“…You know, Noah-chan. Didn’t you say back then that Haruna-chan seems like the one who matches me the best?”
“Um. Did I say that? My memory’s a bit hazy…”
No, Noah. Please say something that makes sense. You were the one who boasted about your memory even during our first meeting.
And now you say you can’t remember what you said? That sounds absurd, doesn’t it?
Really, there’s a limit to being shameless. But apparently, the seminar’s secretary is shameless enough to outright ignore that…
