Akeboshi Himari is a severe narcissist with a debilitating obsession with herself, but there are certainly valid reasons for that.
It’s true that she’s a genius.
It’s also true that she’s weak.
And no one can deny that she’s a beautiful girl.
Despite highly valuing her intelligence and beauty, she nonetheless found herself utterly flabbergasted by the situation unfolding before her.
A gigantic airship appeared above Millennium… One look and you’d think it was an alien battleship. It would be impossible not to be shocked at the sight of such a vessel itself.
Of course, it had been a while since whispers of Utnapishtim’s ship reached her ears. It was one thing if that space battleship headed straight for Millennium, but it was first spotted in the sky over D.U.
However, seeing it in reality was a different story, and after boarding the ship, her astonishment swiftly turned into horror.
“This, this is… Teacher, this so-called OOPArts known as Utnapishtim’s ship is far, far greater than any space battleship… perhaps even dozens of times greater!”
After boarding Utnapishtim’s ship with Amy, Veritas, and members of the engineering department, Himari blurted out while checking the ship’s functions on the bridge. The only response from the teacher was an abundance of question marks swirling above their head.
“The Utnapishtim ship… to put it simply, is a massive dimensional wave quantum computer. More than 70% of the total mass of the hull consists of logical operation devices. The resources it possesses? A staggering 99.99 million exabytes.”
“Just hearing that number sounds impressive,” muttered the teacher.
“It’s no ordinary level of impressive! With Utnapishtim’s ship, dimensional interpretation becomes accessible. Of course, that’ll be after mastering the language system and the functions of this vessel.”
“Dimensional interpretation… um, I have no idea what that means.”
“We have little time to explain it here, but I’ll gladly elaborate later if the opportunity arises.”
With that, Himari started pressing buttons on the screen in front of her.
“Anyway, handling such a computing device is my job… I’m a genius who’s forged a domain that no one can approach, and I’m also a magnificent hacker, so… there’s nothing in this world that can’t be hacked. That’s how incredible I am!”
“Utnapishtim’s ship? Or the president?”
“Amy, obviously both! You don’t need much explanation for my side, but… this ship must not fall into the hands of evil. It requires meticulous management as an OOPArts.”
From Himari’s judgment, if Utnapishtim’s ship was misused, it could plunge all of Kivotos into a tremendous crisis, even if not to the extent of destruction.
No wonder Kaiser Corporation was sweating over this, she chuckled quietly.
It was a grin close to that of a victor.
“…Honestly, under the current circumstances, that’s a relief. One thing’s certain, the anonymous informant who provided information to the teacher only stated the facts.”
Himari confidently believed that Utnapishtim’s ship would hold the answers to everything happening right now.
“It might be close to a hypothesis, but… I’ve gathered all means that lead to victory, Teacher.”
‘So hang in there for a bit, Mika-chan. Aris-chan.’
As the finest talents of Millennium hurriedly checked the ship’s features, structure, and operation methods, Himari smirked at the origin of all these events.
‘…Yes, and you too, Rion. For now, your safety is paramount if you want to take responsibility for this situation.’
She was making excuses, of course.
“…Wait a minute.”
“Huh? What’s wrong, President? Is there something wrong with the ship…?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Then, feeling something was off, Himari turned her gaze to the teacher.
“Teacher, how did you manage to drive this spaceship from the Abydos Desert to D.U…. and then all the way to Millennium by yourself?”
“…”
The teacher shook their head with a wry smile. Clearly, they had no intention of clarifying, leading Himari to wear a somewhat displeased expression.
However, the teacher had their own reasons for remaining silent.
If they revealed that the AI inside the Box of Shittim, Arona, made all that possible, they worried it might hurt the pride of the children from Millennium.
And to maintain the secret of Arona, who was anything but a regular AI.
That’s why he chose silence.
A small consideration, one might say.
*
When the seminar officials called for an evacuation in the Millennium Autonomous District, there were students and residents who took it all lightly.
It was only when they witnessed the gigantic structure floating in the sky, the Ark of Atrahasis, that they began to realize the gravity of the situation.
If there was any silver lining, it would be that the pace of the Nameless Guardians summoned by the Ark of Atrahasis wasn’t too swift.
Without any casualties so far, those Nameless Guardians…
“…Wait, aren’t those robots controlled by the Student Council President?”
And the bizarre-looking robotic army, strangely familiar to the Students of Millennium, was poised for a counterattack against the AMAS.
Given this, it was only natural that suspicions arose about whether it was indeed Rion controlling this unidentified army.
Unfortunately, the counterattack led by the Students of Millennium didn’t yield substantial results. Being an academy that consistently ranked low during the Grand Tournament, they were hardly strong on the battlefield.
However, their active resistance significantly bought precious time, making it far from meaningless.
That gained time led to dozens of helicopters making their appearances on the front lines.
“By the way, Nagisa-san, is it necessary to be on-site… No, never mind. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”
With a raised eyebrow while observing the members of the Justice Realization Department engaged in combat, Hasumi hastily retracted her question.
What else could she do when her partner worried so much? That was not a matter for her to meddle in. After all, it was her superior.
“…I believe there won’t be any specific orders from Seiya-chan, so I think things will end appropriately… but I can’t help but worry.”
“I have faith Mika-chan will come back safe, just like always.”
“That’s precisely the problem, Hasumi-chan. Does that sound reasonable, considering she doesn’t know how to take care of herself? She doesn’t give a thought to how it makes others feel. I fear I might end up bedridden before long.”
Nagisa could confidently bet her entire fortune that Mika would return battered once again this time.
It wasn’t that she didn’t find that endearing. Absolutely not.
It was precisely because Mika was such a good person that it was even harder to pull her out of these situations.
But that and this was an entirely separate matter. Seeing Mika not caring for her own body made Nagisa hold too many things she wanted to express.
Not that she deliberately lived while suppressing those feelings.
They were in a relationship where they could share their thoughts without hesitation. That was the bond Nagisa and Mika built.
Occasionally, Nagisa would express her grievances quite directly.
She wasn’t happy that ‘hers’ took so many risks with her body. Nagisa wasn’t shy about saying that.
Though she reached a point of nearly giving up trying to keep ’hers’ out of trouble.
“By the way, Tsukatsuki-chan… You could say there’s certainly a feeling of being overwhelmed.”
Nagisa admired as her eyes briefly caught sight of Tsurugi, who was rampaging on the front lines. If asked who was the strongest in Kivotos, her answer would always be Mika, but…
That didn’t mean she underestimated the strength of those heading to other fronts, like Hina or Tsurugi.
After single-handedly defeating dozens of Nameless Guardians, Tsurugi was unleashing horrifying screams while ravaging the battlefield, enough to inspire admiration and awe.
“Honestly, provided everything gets resolved without major complications… I think this situation will turn out to be very advantageous for the Justice Realization Department and Trinity.”
“Huh?”
Hasumi responded, somewhat taken aback, to Nagisa’s somewhat unexpected comment. Nagisa’s gaze, however, was fixed not on Hasumi but on the Ark of Atrahasis floating in the sky.
“For the Justice Realization Department members, especially the first years, it will be an opportunity to accumulate experience in large-scale combat. And in that process, the individual you’ve marked as the next president will solidify their position commanding forces. Therefore, it indicates that the Justice Realization Department stands to gain more than they put in.”
Hasumi wore a somewhat awkward expression in response to Nagisa’s words. Unfazed by that, Nagisa continued calmly.
“Moreover, regardless of the precise circumstances, on paper, Trinity has extended a helping hand to Millennium in crisis, allowing them to secure a somewhat advantageous position in future relations.”
“Is that so…?”
In truth, numerous parties were supporting Millennium in this situation. Gehenna was one of them, and SRT and Abydos were also lending assistance centered around Shalle.
Nonetheless, Trinity, mobilizing all the available forces of the Justice Realization Department, had every right to claim a significant share.
Had they utilized the artillery brigade, the mission’s difficulty could have been lowered even further.
However, considering the damage likely incurred from bombardment, it was clear that the aftermath would yield more negatives than positives, and Nagisa chose not to deploy the artillery to maximize gains for the academy.
‘If my guess is correct, you have quite a bit to tell me. Mika wouldn’t hastily chase Academy benefits in situations like this… but I’m different, Tsukatsuki Rion.’
To truly understand the precise circumstances, she had to hear from Rion and Mika.
But going by everyone’s assumptions, this affair was likely rooted from a scheme concocted by Rion.
Nagisa was filled with rage towards the instigator of the situation that would inevitably lead to Mika returning injured.
