I pondered for a bit. I did, but…
thud
It seems Kivotos is toast.
“What on earth do you mean, Misono Mika?”
“Nah, it’s nothing. Yeah.”
That’s not just idle talk. There’s a perfectly obvious reason why Kivotos is doomed.
And that is, the fact that someone like me is the Student Council President of Trinity, which is close to the top tier.
It doesn’t make sense! How could someone like me?
Ultimately, the only answer is to run away. For the sake of Trinity and Kivotos, it has to be done.
“Mika! You’re not planning to leave me here and run away all by yourself, right?”
“No, Kirihouji Nagisa! What kind of hurtful thing is that? Where would I go leaving you behind?”
“Too many options. I don’t even know where to start!”
Nagisa’s remark hit home. Just as she said, there are simply too many places to go.
At first, I thought about escaping to Abydos, but now I’d be welcomed anywhere I went.
SRT? At the point of being treated like a senior by those little punks, I can only see Yukino using me like she does Wakamo in the future.
…Working with Wakamo as a duo might not be too bad.
Millennium? I’d become Rion’s plush toy. I’m not joking, that’s the reality.
Honestly, who knew Rion liked me that much?
What’s more, Himari has been maxing out her annoyance level, constantly sending me Momotalks. Usually, when I think back on how I set up the flags, I can find answers, but with Himari…
Hmm…
…Actually, there are some memories.
When the two of us visited the ruins was a turning point, and when Utnapishtim’s Ship crashed into the Ark too…
Yep, it’s all my fault.
As for Gehenna, well, that goes without saying. I’ll be welcomed with open arms by the Student Council and Gourmet Research Club. They’re already treating me like an honorary member of the Gourmet Research Club.
At this point, going to Abydos feels a bit troubling, thinking I might get eaten by Shiroko.
Just the other day on the ship, I witnessed Shiroko looking at me with a meaningful gaze, and my heart was pounding.
I thought of many other potential places, but…
In the end, I concluded that there’s nowhere for me to be except Trinity.
This conclusion wasn’t made because Kaya was so eager to get me into the Student Council and make me president.
What a horrifying thing it would be to throw myself into more work to avoid work.
“Why so quiet? Are you seriously thinking about where to go?”
“…Uh, ahaha. You know, I realized I really love Trinity!”
“Of course. We have Urawa Hanako, and the Arius Squad people too.”
Nagisa’s glare was intense. It wouldn’t be surprising if she roasted someone alive.
“Sorry, I messed up.”
“Knowing what you did wrong and still doing it makes you the worst, you know?”
“Yeah…”
I replied in a barely audible voice. Recently, Nagisa has been deeply displeased with my decision to accept Rion.
And she had every right to be. The whole incident started because of Rion’s poor choice, and in the process, I got kidnapped and came back all bruised up…
Thinking back to Nagisa’s face as she inspected my bruises, almost crying, still makes my heart ache.
Anyway, we were currently checking the final personnel placements ahead of the signing ceremony for the Eden Treaty.
Given that there’s no force out there that could stir up trouble during the Eden Treaty signing, I thought there was no need to be too careful…
Still, it was a necessary process.
“To show off Gehenna’s strength, it should be as grand and large-scale as possible! kikiki.”
“Well, that’s not exactly wrong. Yeah, it’s good. We’d welcome a chance to show that our Trinity is up to this level.”
Makoto and I had already reached an agreement on the venue and personnel for the Eden Treaty signing.
First off, the venue.
Honestly, I thought, is there really a need to do it at Trinity or Gehenna? Can’t we just do it at Shalle?
However, the very first person next to me, Nagisa, opposed that.
“Mika! The important thing is the symbolism. The relationship between the two schools, which have been rivals up until now, is at a turning point. If we hold the signing ceremony externally, the meaning might get somewhat diluted. It could also be received as a sign that we still don’t trust each other.”
“…Yeah, you’re right. I hadn’t thought that through.”
“Instead of finally colliding, we need to inform everyone that we’ve reached an agreement to move in the same direction. Therefore, we must hold the signing ceremony in one of the two schools. However, if the opposing school wants to host the signing, there will be pushback from within.”
Whether it’s the Trinity Autonomous District or the Gehenna Autonomous District, it becomes a problem regardless. It’s hard to say that everyone in both schools would fully embrace what the Eden Treaty symbolizes.
Furthermore, even if our two schools weren’t actively bickering, it’s still a reality that getting rid of the rivalrous relationship is difficult.
If the opposing school hosts the ceremony, there might be complaints of why we’re the ones bowing our heads.
That’s why I proposed Shalle, but since I received a “That seems iffy,” from Nagisa, we inevitably had to hold the ceremony somewhere within the autonomous districts of the two schools.
And what came to my mind at that time was, ultimately a heavily familiar place.
“How about the High Cathedral of the Union…?”
“That… was a mess before due to who and it took a while for the restoration and reconstruction… ah.”
“Yeah, that was finished recently.”
The cathedral had been completely wrecked due to the incident with Gematria, but construction was ongoing.
So recently, I received a report that the restoration of the cathedral had been completed. Thus, it was suitable for the signing ceremony.
“…Hmm. That’s okay. Not bad. If the High Cathedral of the Union represents the harmony of Trinity, even if we have to bend a little, it could be acceptable for Gehenna.”
Nagisa agreed, too.
To begin with, it had been Makoto who initially suggested the High Cathedral of the Union as a venue for the signing ceremony, but since Nagisa had accepted it, it was settled.
In other words, there was no reason for it not to be accepted just because I proposed the same location.
“But will the Sisterhood accept that?”
“Hmm…”
In principle, the Sisterhood would probably agree, but I wasn’t sure if they would still agree after the bizarre incident that happened in the cathedral, which I had been controlling access to.
“Ahaha. I wonder if I can persuade them somehow?”
“Well, Sakura might be lenient since she shares the same love for Trinity. There’s a good chance she’ll allow it.”
However, our nun director was as gracious as her faith.
“Mika-chan, you don’t need to go so far to ask for this. The incidents from last time were truly unfortunate and sad, but the past is just the past. If it helps Trinity move forward, I’ll represent the Sisterhood and express my agreement.”
“Wow, thanks, Sakurako-chan!”
Sakurako readily agreed to hold the Eden Treaty signing ceremony at the High Cathedral.
“Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but Mika-chan, can I ask for one favor from you?”
Of course, she took a rather mundane and secular approach and asked for a small reward.
“Sure, what is it? You can ask for anything! ☆”
“It’s just that, I wanted to order a limited dessert this time… but it seems it’s completely out of stock, and I don’t know when the next reservation will open.”
“Ah, I know what you mean. Okay. I’ll see what I can do. What’s the name of that dessert?”
“It’s called Supreme Mint Choco Danish. Have you had it? If you have, can you let me know if it’s really as delicious as the rumors say…?”
Hearing that, I felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Desserts like that usually appear in T-party and could be obtained, but…
Mint choco Danish…
I have no clue. If it’s to Sakura’s taste, then it’s delicious; if not, then it’s unfortunate.
Still, I thought it was amusing how modest Sakura’s request was, so I felt a bit like introducing her to the Dessert Club after school.
It’s already been proven that Sakura is a girl who loves desserts.
Anyway, through this process, it was decided that the Eden Treaty signing ceremony would take place at the High Cathedral of the Union.
After determining the initial draft for personnel placement, I needed to get feedback from Makoto…
“Can’t we just mix half of each side’s personnel together normally?”
“Hmm? If we go by the book, Makoto’s going to make a fuss, right? I can already see him nitpicking.”
I, being the Makoto PhD, know that if I can’t effectively manage him, everything just becomes troublesome. So here, I needed to approach it a little differently.
“Hmm. If we place Gehenna’s personnel—rather, the Manma Battle personnel—outside the cathedral and mix our Justice Realization Department and Student Council personnel appropriately inside, that should work.”
“Wouldn’t it be questioned since our personnel is fewer?”
“Hmm? It doesn’t matter if one side has more personnel. If the troops just bunch up like that, and if, by any chance, our two schools ended up in a nasty confrontation, we’d win.”
Right now, Trinity has Tsurugi and me, who are asymmetrical forces, while the Gehenna side has only Hina, so the imbalance in numbers is no issue.
In fact, if Hina’s Student Council opposed us? That’s beyond improbable; if the Manma Battle side makes any sudden moves, Student Council would step aside for us instead.
“Anyway, if we arrange personnel like this, I don’t think Makoto would object. Since we’ve chosen the High Cathedral of the Union as the location, it serves two purposes: maintaining Gehenna’s face while placing the Manma Battle personnel in a spot most visible to the broadcast cameras.”
“…I see. By maximizing their dignity, there’s a good chance that person, with his temperament, would accept readily. Plus, the broadcast crew wouldn’t be able to enter the cathedral, so the most visible ones would indeed be from Manma Battle… Sounds good. Let’s stick with that general idea and review the details now.”
It’s an obvious fact, but the personnel placement that Nagisa and I completed in less than 30 minutes received Makoto’s precise approval.
The problem is that everything besides the personnel placement took up half a day and all my escape attempts failed.
Yet, after all the work was done, the knee pillow that Nagisa gave me was truly the best. Really.
[Hello! Viewers in front of the TV! This is Kawaru Sinon, the idol reporter from the Kronos School news department!]
Finally, the Eden Treaty signing ceremony was just around the corner.
