“…I wasn’t expecting you to elaborate so much, but fine. If you had any feelings about sharing this prophecy with me—”
“It’s me, it’s me. I got it before Rion! And even if I heard from Mika-chan that this falls into the realm of prophecy, I could have interpreted it on my own.”
“—I understand why you sent it to me. If you made that judgment based on the patterns linked to the descent of colors you mentioned, it’s definitely a rational decision. And if it wasn’t that Kuzunoha character, I probably wouldn’t have heard this explanation from you…”
Himari, clearly miffed, turned her head away with a pout. Meeting my gaze with a smile, she nodded as if to say she believed me.
However, it was tricky to respond regarding Rion’s guess. It was something even I didn’t have an answer for.
“Ahaha… I can’t give you a definite answer. It feels like I did, but it also feels like I didn’t.”
“Right, that’s why I said there are certain similarities between you and me. You… are quite similar to me in many ways.”
…Is that so? Feels like it’s not, though.
Actually, thinking again, it might not be such a wrong statement after all.
In order to improve relations with Gehenna, I’ve been in contact with Hina, and I even attempted to reach out to Arius—keeping it a secret from Seiya and Nagisa as well.
Later on, when things took a turn during the recovery of Arius, I tried to shoulder everything alone, and even during Wakamo’s terror incident, I dared to put myself in danger.
It was hard to deny that I had some similarities with Rion, who was willing to shoulder all the risks if necessary.
“Heueng. Really? So, do you feel some sense of kinship with me? Is that what you’re saying? Hm?”
“No, that’s not it. You’re just way too complicated for me to understand. I don’t have a clear grasp on any of your thoughts, reasoning, or principles of action. And as a student of Millennium, anyone would naturally want to solve an unsolvable riddle.”
“Your words are slick, but it sounds like you’ve just become friends with someone who also holds the position of Student Council President and keeps bothering me. So don’t let that unsophisticated face of mine fool you, Mika-chan. Rion could suddenly turn and shoot a bullet in your back.”
“I won’t deny that. If it’s something that absolutely needs to be done, I won’t hesitate to sacrifice myself. And there shall be no exceptions.”
I looked at Rion’s emotionless mask for a while, deciding not to probe into the emotion that peeked through those eyes at this moment.
Maybe because dealing with people had become a daily thing, I could tell a lot about someone just by looking at their eyes.
And Rion was a child capable of putting her words into action. I was convinced that she would get hurt while doing so.
“You’re so kind.”
“…Me?”
“Rion, of course?”
With a smile, I tossed the line, and the two geniuses responded simultaneously. But I decided to ignore their rebuttal and move on.
“Ahaha. Anyway, let’s get back to the original topic. It seems we’ve strayed too far off the path. It’s about the Supernatural Special Forces… fundamentally, we can consider it under your direct control, right?”
“For the time being.”
“Well, since it’s a story brought up to control someone like me, who you can’t handle at will, it would naturally fall that way. It would be more surprising if you were to delegate full authority here.”
“Heueng. Himari-chan, do you play chess as well?”
“Yes, chess is a very interesting game. Especially, it’s most fun watching the AI I created play against opponents online.”
“…Wow, that’s honestly a turn-off.”
“Hey, Mika-chan, what’s with that expression? You’re going to hurt this sickly smile girl’s fragile heart. And even if the AI isn’t playing, my record boasts a perfect statistic without a single flaw… a 100% win rate, mind you?”
…Well, with intelligence like Himari’s, it might be possible to calculate most of the moves while playing.
“Still, that’s a bad taste. If someone’s doing that next to you, you should hit them on the head with a chess piece right away.”
“Mika, it seems a bit problematic that we’ve strayed into chess conversation less than a minute after returning to the original topic. We’re all busy people, can’t we just finish up what we were talking about?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry, sorry. What I wanted to confirm was that the operations of the Supernatural Special Forces will be handled by Himari, so I can just receive information and only assist when needed, right?”
“That’s right, as an external advisor. It’s only natural that we treat it differently from a formal member. Especially since Himari will be taking the lead.”
“Well, in that case, there won’t be a major issue. How do you plan to keep in touch?”
“I’ll provide a communication device later, with a dedicated line. We’ll make sure it has top-tier security for intercepts and external hacking, so just be careful of physical loss or damage.”
Hearing Rion’s words, I quietly nodded. If it weren’t particularly important, then this wouldn’t be such a priority, but given how it’s related to the possible end of the world, this is a matter that must take precedence over any other work.
Honestly, it’s hard to believe that anything like idol activities or paperwork could be more crucial than what concerns the Supernatural Special Forces. Naturally, it’s a top priority.
“Rion, if that’s the case, I’ll be a co-head of two clubs. Is that still okay?”
“Should I recognize you as co-head of an unauthorized club? Procedurally, there’s no issue.”
“In that case, could you allow Veritas to officially transition into a recognized club?”
“If you submit the club establishment application, I’ll consider it.”
“I can already tell it’s headed for a dead end. Even if the outside looks shiny, the insides are pitch black while being ridiculously petty… I think Mikachan’s love will be quite the stretch in many ways.”
“…I don’t really care about that.”
With a chic remark, Rion shut off the tablet. Probably the same device that Hiyori wanted, whatever it was, also powered down, and Himari erased the images she had displayed.
“Actually, I wanted to make a proposal to you regarding this today. You might already know, but…”
“Just like I mentioned for Himari-chan, you were planning to ask me something as well?”
“Exactly. However, unlike Himari, whose requests were clearly defined, I was planning to demand that you help me whenever I needed it.”
“Ahaha, even so, a blank check feels a bit much…?”
How on earth would I accept such a proposal? If Rion were to ask me to help with Aris’s kidnapping or to stop a teacher, that would mean I’d end up becoming the true villain myself.
“The reason it’s past tense is that I’ve discarded that proposal. I felt it wasn’t necessary. You’re someone who would come to help even if I told you not to when the time came.”
“Wai—oh…?”
“…Did I think wrong?”
“No, um… Ummm… I think that might be the case…?”
Could it be that I overdid it with the charm? Rion trusts me to the point where she finds me strange? Believing that I’d shoulder the weight of the world along with her is nearly on another level.
Sure, if it wouldn’t lead to Aris’s death, I’d gladly shoulder the burden, but…
“Well, that’s fine. Deciding to trust you is solely my choice, so even if you betray that trust, I won’t hold it against you.”
The problem is, if that happens, I feel like I’ll end up being the only bad person here…
Rion, there are some people you shouldn’t trust that much. The first is me, the second is me, and the third one is also me. It’s hard to deal with you putting me in a difficult position like this.
“Mika-chan, do you happen to have a thing for bothersome girls? It’s totally a turn-off. If I don’t get a reply, I’ll bug you repeatedly, saying, ‘Didn’t you miss my call because of such and such? I understand.’ Or I’ll spam, ‘Call me when you see this.’ by the minute…”
“Himari, I think I understand how you see me. But… that sort of description fits you even more, doesn’t it?”
“Wh-what do you mean by that nonsense? I am like a single noble yet precarious flower blooming on a sheer cliff. The one struggling ought to be those who wish to take me, not me.”
“Seems like there’s no need for much struggle, but is that just my imagination?”
“Mika-chan, I’m sorry, but I’m not that easy. Staring at me like that with a smirk is quite troubling. I believe I deserve looks of admiration and reverence. But for you, a member of the Beautiful Girl Alliance, I might allow esteemed gazes filled with longing and envy.”
“Ah, speaking of that…”
“Are you just going to ignore me again?!”
“Himari-chan, the bothersome girl you mentioned is probably me too.”
“Mika-chan?”
“You?”
“I don’t know why everyone looks doubtful of my words, but if you’re really curious, you could check my Momotalk later☆”
Even if the other person isn’t my partner, there’s a chance I could act disgustingly clingy to the extent that it becomes a huge problem. Except for busy kids like Hina, who might read without replying…
“…Hmm.”
“I’ll pass on that. More importantly, Rion, why are you contemplating?”
“…? Never did.”
“That’s suspicious…”
By the way, these two might seem to be at each other’s throats, but when it comes down to it, wouldn’t they just have a normal antagonist relationship?
