The teacher on the way back to Abydos couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling in various ways.
They had made an appointment to meet someone from Saint Nephthys, only to find out that the person who took the call wasn’t even affiliated with Saint Nephthys.
If the teacher had known they would be chased away with “The Vice President claims there’s no such appointment,” after leaving the main office of Saint Nephthys, they would have simply rested peacefully at the Abydos headquarters.
The teacher recalled the bizarre-looking man in a black suit, who had an utterly inhuman face, covered from head to toe in black attire.
“Nice to meet you, teacher. Please call me… Black Suit. My organization, Gematria, has a profound interest in you, an adult who came from outside Kivotos.”
“…Gematria?”
“Oh, it’s just a name we’re borrowing, so you don’t need to pay it much mind. The person we originally wanted to join us declined our invitation, so… there’s still an empty seat in Gematria. As the inexplicable being summoned by the Student Council President, and the master of that formidable Opahts, you should have more than enough qualifications to join us. Ah, but first, let me explain about Gematria.”
The “again” implied that there was another adult who came from outside Kivotos. Who on earth could that be? The teacher pondered this as they asked the Black Suit, who introduced himself as an observer, inquirer, and researcher.
“Hehehe. Teacher, you’ve already met that adult, you just didn’t realize it. And to be precise, the members of Gematria are also outsiders to Kivotos, though from a different domain.”
“…You mean, I’ve met that adult?”
“Ah, there’s no need for further explanations beyond this. I called you here today merely to propose recruitment and to briefly greet you, so let’s hear your response regarding that.”
The teacher inquired about the goals of Gematria, the work they do, and upon grasping the essence of Gematria, their answer was, of course, a refusal.
“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate. But teacher, we have no desire to be hostile towards you or any other adults. Even if you refuse to be a member of ours, you will inevitably find yourself collaborating with Gematria in some form or another. Kuk, kukkuk…”
The Black Suit let out a chilling laugh. Just as the teacher was contemplating this, they heard Miyako’s voice saying they’d arrived at Abydos.
The news that Mika, who seemed to have been severely injured during last night’s operation, was now awake was already relayed. Except for her wings, it didn’t seem like she sustained any major injuries, but given her immense performance during their Shalle activities, the concern about her condition was heightened.
Looking at Hina, who was devotedly caring for Mika, it seemed there was no need for excessive worry, but…
The teacher thought it was essential to express gratitude properly.
With that thought, the teacher and the RABBIT Squad stepped into the Disaster Management Committee’s clubroom only to freeze at the scene before them.
A complete mess. In the center of the clubroom, Serika sat dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at them. On the sofa lay Ayane, passed out with her forehead in her hands.
“T-Teacher! We need your help…!”
“Serika, I think we need to hear how all this happened first. Did we get ambushed while we were out?”
“N-no. Everyone was preparing for a celebration party…”
“This is…”
“A party…?”
“Hehehe. It’s more like a funeral. Was there a massive explosion here or something?”
Hearing RABBIT Squad’s reactions, Serika silently nodded.
“Senior Shiroko was checking the drones, but they exploded. It seems something went wrong due to the sandstorm from yesterday’s battle. So, as you can see, the preparation for the party is a bit…”
Whether she was conscious or not, Ayane managed to respond with great difficulty.
After hearing that, the teacher let out a smirk.
“Then where are the others while you’re just here?”
“Hina and Nonomi-senpai are preparing the party in another classroom. We need to clean this place up…”
“Wait a second. Where is Hoshino, and why is Hina preparing the party…?”
“Mika kept insisting on helping, and everyone kept saying no, so… we just told Senior Hoshino to take Mika somewhere to nap. There was some resistance when Hina insisted on helping, but I guess the two of them are probably on the rooftop?”
After getting that explanation, the teacher asked the RABBIT Squad if they could assist the Disaster Management Committee, and they gladly accepted. After all, they’d bonded over the past few days of struggling together.
The RABBIT Squad decided to split into two groups. Responsible Miyako and the often late-to-express her opinions Miyu would help tidy up the clubroom, while Saki and Mohe decided to assist with party preparations.
“Wait a minute. Mohe can’t do it. It would be better if Miyu or Miyako helped with the party preparations.”
“Y-yeah! Considering what happened last time, that is absolutely out of the question. I cannot stand seeing anything explode again!”
“…Hehehe.”
In the end, it was decided that Miyu and Mohe would swap roles.
“So, teacher, I’ll check on Mika for a bit and then come back to help with the clean-up.”
“Yes, teacher.”
With that, the teacher headed up to the rooftop and, as soon as they opened the door, they couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight before them.
Under a parasol whose origin was a mystery, Hoshino and Mika lay curled up together on a towel that seemed like it belonged to a beach, making it impossible for anyone not to laugh.
Gazing momentarily at Hoshino, who was resting her head on Mika’s arm with a cushion between them, the teacher suddenly stood frozen in realization.
Wasn’t Mika already in a relationship with three people? While it was clear that she treated Hina very sincerely, on another note, it didn’t seem right for someone with three partners to be cuddling and sleeping with another friend like that…
The teacher stopped thinking deeply.
After all, trying to lecture on a topic like this would only lead to endless discussions.
They decided to simply close their eyes in gratitude that everyone had reached a peaceful and happy ending.
After all, Mika wasn’t even a guy, and there was no need to worry about whether she could handle her relationships in the distant future. If she could maintain her connections with her partners while doing that, then that in itself would be quite an impressive ability.
Separately though, from the perspective of an educator, it was a sight that looked very… not good. The teacher quietly closed the rooftop door and headed toward the Disaster Management Committee’s clubroom.
*
The congratulatory party continued until stars began to twinkle in the sky.
During the party, there was an incident when I inadvertently mentioned, “Ah, it’d be perfect if there was alcohol,” but…
Because of that incident, the way the teacher looked at me completely changed to that of a delinquent. There had already been some dislike accumulated due to the Sea Bridge incident, and with the alcohol comment added in, the favorable impression I had earned for helping had probably reset.
Eh, I don’t care whether the teacher sees me as a delinquent or not. I’m determined to restrain my connection level.
Anyway, aside from that little mishap, the party concluded with everyone enjoying themselves.
As everyone was cleaning up, I, feeling perfectly fine yet left out once again, climbed back up to the rooftop.
The sandstorm had completely subsided, leaving Abydos remarkably peaceful. Even if it was now a complete mess covered in sand, I hoped somehow the people from Saint Nephthys would help clean up the mess they caused.
Honestly, since I had beaten Kaiser into submission, helping the military industry grow to this extent, wouldn’t not helping them be a bit lacking in conscience?
“Mika.”
“Oh, teacher. What’s the matter?”
While staring blankly at the sky darkening around me, the teacher approached. If someone were to come find me, I figured it would probably be Hina, so this was a bit unexpected.
By the way, the teacher had an expression as if there was much he wanted to say today.
…That annoyingly handsome face. Ugh, what a typical “chad.” Gross. Eww.
Ah, after internally trashing him, I felt a bit better.
“…I have something I want to ask.”
“Huh? As long as it’s not too personal, feel free to ask anything.”
“That day when Hoshino asked for your help… you mentioned the name ‘Vina,’ correct?”
“…That’s right. I did, didn’t I?”
I decided not to deny something they clearly already knew. Doing so would only lead to more misunderstandings.
So then, where should I start revealing the truth?
“Can you tell me how you got that information?”
“…Ahaha, that’s a tough question.”
After a moment of pondering, I slowly crafted an excuse mixed with the truth.
“There’s an organization called Gematria that isn’t widely known.”
“…Hmm.”
Huh…? He seems to have an inkling about Gematria.
“Oh? Do you happen to know about it, teacher?”
“Coincidentally, I met a person who introduced himself as a member of Gematria today, a guy dressed in a black suit.”
“…Oh, I see. In that case, you must know what kind of place Gematria is, so I suppose I can skip the detailed explanation. Yeah, that sounds good.”
I trimmed down my earlier plans and spoke again.
“I’m someone who has made a couple of deals with the people from Gematria. If you ask how I got to know them… well, what they wanted was in Trinity, and I had personal matters that required Gematria as well. I suppose that’s the simplest way to put it.”
“…It seems that personal matters are things you wouldn’t want to disclose even if I asked.”
“Yep, didn’t I say? Personal information is off-limits. Anyway, I’ve had some sort of exchanges with them, allowing me access to bits of information. One of those is about Decagramaton. Honestly, I don’t know much about it, so it’s hard to explain, even if I wanted to.”
No, really. The Decagramaton story gave me a headache, and I just kinda skimmed through it.
“I see. Thank you for your honest answer.”
“Huh? For just that? As the President of the Student Council, it’s a bit overwhelming, but remember, I’m the first student affiliated with Shalle☆ If you need help, it’s always best to ask first and then think about it!”
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Though, I’m not sure how feasible that is.”
“Ahaha! It’s fine, it’s fine! It may not sound very reliable, but believe it or not, I’m actually quite diligent. I seldom get too busy to help.”
“That’s a relief.”
…He’ll probably struggle with the tasks he has piled up afterward, but with our SSS-ranked secretary, Hanako’s help, it should work out somehow.
In any case, it seemed the teacher’s suspicions had been cleared up.
Whether that’s a good thing or not, I should consider how influential he could be in Kivotos. Being distant would definitely not be wise.
Well, with the influence I currently possess, the opposite could be said to hold true as well… But I see no reason to distance myself from a teacher who could help lighten my burdens.
“Oh! By the way, Hina was looking for you.”
“Hmm, it is getting late. I suppose I should head down now.”
Tomorrow I’ll be returning to Trinity.
…There, Nagisa’s fury awaits me.
Right, maybe I should just cling to Hina and transfer to Gehenna instead.
Upon mentioning my thoughts to Hina, she sighed and insisted on directly taking me back to Trinity, shattering my daydream.
Aww.
