“Well, since Mika’s phone is off, tracking her location seems pretty unlikely.”
“I thought the Club Leader would be able to do it.”
“Seriously, Amy? If that was possible, I wouldn’t just be a simple hacker. I’m not just omniscient; I’m omnipotent, you know.”
Himari responded more firmly than expected to Amy’s potentially joking remark, quickly moving her hands. Her slender fingers started to dance through the air in a flashy manner.
“Even though I’m a genius among geniuses, breaking through the limits of being a hacker right now is out of the question. So, let’s take it step by step. Noa!”
“Yes, Himari-senpai.”
“Before Mika-chan lost contact, did she say anything specific? Like what purpose she was visiting somewhere for or something like that would be enough.”
Noa nodded immediately at Himari’s question. Although she might not have opened up about her entire purpose, Mika had clearly indicated her destination.
“Mika-chan’s last message was that she was going to visit Millennium briefly because something came up. However, it seemed like she didn’t plan to stay here for more than a day…”
“Hmm? Why is that?”
Noa cast an awkward smile and looked away.
“Well, if she were planning to stay overnight in Millennium, she would have contacted me separately…”
“…?!”
Himari looked shocked upon hearing Noa’s remark, and the meaning behind it was more bewildering than anything else.
“Ah, I see. Well, girls like us, who are beauties of the age, should always be cherished, so it’s not something that shocking.”
Himari said with a red face. Although it was obvious to Amy and Noa that she was trying hard to stay calm, neither of them mentioned it.
“Anyway. Since Mika-chan’s destination has been confirmed as Millennium, the next steps are simple. If her visit was sudden, we can trace her whereabouts from the airport.”
Himari quickly pulled up a list of flights that arrived at Millennium that day, checking the arrival times of the planes that included the name of the missing girl among the passengers.
With hacking skills that were almost supernatural, both Noa and even Amy looked at Himari with a hint of admiration.
“If we check the airport CCTV footage from this time frame…”
With dozens of screens laid out before her, Himari quickly selected what she needed. Before long, one screen showed a girl with pink hair boldly making her appearance.
“See? It’s that easy to get a lead on Mika-chan’s movements.”
“Wow. Leader, amazing.”
“…Amy, does that compliment lack any feeling? Is it just me?”
“Nope.”
Himari pouted at Amy’s firm reply. Seriously, what a mischievous underclassman.
Himari turned her gaze back to the CCTV footage. The girl, Mika, who occasionally smiled back at familiar faces while shopping at the convenience store in the airport, was caught on camera heading outside.
And when Mika was spotted getting into a vehicle brought by an unidentified girl…
“Huh? Who’s that…?”
“…Kidnapping?”
“One thing’s for sure; it’s someone I don’t remember.”
“Even Noa has never seen them… no way.”
Himari took a big step closer to the heart of the case.
“First, let’s get the vehicle’s license plate… Noa, did you remember it?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good job. Let’s verify that student’s identity first.”
As Himari resumed typing in the air, she frowned.
“There’s nothing. Not just in Millennium, but no name listed in any academy’s student body; it’s literally a non-existent student.”
“Does that mean… it’s impossible to identify who that is?”
“No, Amy. You’re wrong. The fact that we can’t find any trace means someone intentionally obscured that existence. And in Millennium, there’s one person who’s extremely inclined to control information.”
Someone with a personality completely opposite to hers, a figure that represented a stark contrast.
The thoroughness of hiding a single person’s existence meant that…
“It seems this person might be a subordinate secretly dispatched by our beloved Seminar President.”
The implication that Rion had other subordinates aside from her own blade, C&C, became clear.
“Wait a minute! Himari-senpai, could you rewind the video a bit?”
“…This screen? Why—oh my?”
The airport CCTV captured a girl, clad in a skazhan, wearing a helmet pushed down over her head as she got on a bike, which was the only one in Millennium.
“Amy, could you contact C&C? Just confirming the whereabouts of their leader will be enough.”
“Okay, Leader. I’ll handle it right away.”
Following Himari’s request, Amy immediately attempted to communicate with C&C.
Meanwhile, Himari met Noa’s gaze and spoke.
“Noa, it seems like this situation…”
“Yes, I have a strong conviction that it’s just as you suspected, Himari-senpai.”
“Tsukatsuki Rion.”
“Rion-senpai. Just as I thought, the culprit can only be her.”
The two girls were slowly unraveling the truth behind the incident.
“…It seems our dear President has secretly carried out plans she’s been working on all this time. Though we don’t know her purpose.”
“Himari-senpai, let’s first trace the vehicle that Mika-chan got into.”
“Sure. I’ll pull up the road CCTV for the segments predicted based on the speed that vehicle was traveling, and Noa, you can focus on finding the car that Mika-chan got into.”
From there, it felt like a continuous game of ‘spot the difference.’
But out of all the vehicles traveling on the roads, pinpointing the exact vehicle Mika was in was not a difficult task for Noa, who had an almost flawless memory.
Before long, they were able to approximate the location Mika was heading to.
To be precise, it was just a guess since the CCTV stopped at a certain point, but they were fairly certain Mika was headed there.
“This place is on the border between Millennium and the Ruins.”
“If it’s a Ruin, I remember Rion-senpai had restricted access there…”
What on earth could be in that place that made Mika head there? Noa repeated that question in her mind and felt that it might be a good idea to ask for help from her friend.
“Himari-senpai, I’ll contact Yuuka-chan for a moment. It seems necessary to backtrack Rion-senpai’s traces. I believe Yuuka-chan could be of great help in this matter.”
Almost simultaneously, Amy, having finished her communication with C&C, chimed in.
“C&C said that their leader has also lost contact.”
Before the three girls, the truth of the incident began to take shape.
*
“This is… a city I’ve never seen before…?”
Looking out from the helicopter, Aris took in the city directly below.
It was undoubtedly her first time seeing this place, a huge city that she had never even heard of before, and it was shockingly located within the Millennium Autonomous District.
The helicopter headed toward the central tower of that city and landed on the helipad atop the central tower, completing its journey.
As the doors opened automatically, Aris immediately jumped out of the helicopter. A smile blossomed on her face soon after.
What appeared before her was the Millennium Student Council President, Tsukatsuki Rion, dressed as always in a neat outfit.
“Rion-senpai!”
“…Hello, Aris.”
“What is this city? It’s a place I’ve never seen before, but I feel like it’s incredibly amazing!”
“…”
Rion looked down at Aris with a strange expression while curling her lips into a smirk. Then, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Aris, would you like to join me in mapping out this new area?”
“…!”
Aris’s eyes sparkled at Rion’s suggestion. She liked Rion for this reason. While others might think differently, Rion was kind and never hesitated to match her pace.
“Yes! There must be treasure chests and puzzles hidden all over this city, so from now on, it’s full speed ahead to 100% exploration!”
It seemed a bit exaggerated for a simple suggestion to walk, but Rion appreciated that side of Aris. Just by watching her, it lifted spirits.
“Hm?”
Rion paused and stared at the hand that Aris held out to her. It was the hand of the beaming Aris.
After a brief hesitation, Rion took her hand, and with a bright smile, Aris began to walk ahead, leading Rion.
‘Where are we even going…? Oh dear, truly an unstoppable child.’
Rion decided to quietly follow behind Aris, since mapping was essentially about exploring a new place thoroughly.
“Aris…”
“Yes?”
“No, let’s talk about it later.”
It felt a bit inappropriate to bring up the main point after seeing how ecstatic Aris was.
Rion’s heart was already a tattered mess.
And so, Rion decided to grant herself just a brief moment… a fleeting delay.
In the end, everything would inevitably come crashing down.
