NOVEL NEXT Today, for the rare occasion, the three heads of the T-party gathered for some tea time.
Nagisa still wanted to cling to me, even when it seemed a bit excessive, but since we were all busy people, we couldn’t always be together. Yet, I wanted to make time for her, so I tried my best to spend moments with her whenever the opportunity arose.
As for Seiya, she was more elusive, often off doing her own thing, but when we actually wanted to meet, she would show up. The problem was that I also had a lot on my plate, making it hard to find time to meet.
Because of that, it was uncommon for the three of us to gather unless there was something genuinely important going on. Today was simply triggered by the retirement of the existing president of the Justice Realization Department.
It seemed that Tsurugi was going to become the new president around this time.
Thinking about the two new appointments as president and vice president of the Justice Realization Department made me feel a bit lightheaded, for both were daunting in their own ways.
While I watched Seiya and Nagisa debate whether it was right to appoint Tsurugi, the notification sound from Momotalk rang out. Ding!
“…Mika-san, silent or vibration mode, please. It’s proper etiquette during work, right?”
“Hey, Nagisa, if you keep being so strict, you might end up making Mika dislike you,” Seiya remarked with a smirk.
“Not a chance! Mika-san isn’t that petty.”
“…”
“…Right, Mika-san?”
“Hmm? Ah, um, sorry, Nagisa. I turned the sound on because I was waiting for an important message. And honestly, I find your nagging way more pleasant than Seiya’s chatter☆”
Upon hearing my response, Seiya sighed and closed her eyes in exasperation. Nagisa seemed to be in a dilemma over whether she should be pleased or concerned.
While I checked the contents of Momotalk, the two of them began bickering once more. Surprisingly, this was the kind of everyday occurrence you’d expect when the T-party was gathered. After all, those two considered each other to be close friends, which made this bickering completely normal.
[Hina-chan]
[I’m all set over here.]
[You choose the date, Mika.]
It seemed like I was about to become the first host of the T-party to step into the Gehenna Autonomous District.
“There’s a saying, ‘you strike while the iron is hot,’ right? Let’s do it tomorrow.”
There was no time to waste. Since we were still in early summer, if we prepared intensely now, we could definitely hold the festival before summer ended. But that relied on the assumption that we would start preparing right away.
It’s unfortunate for the subordinates who would be left behind, but I’m going through enough troubles myself, so can’t we just pencil it in? Rest assured, I’ll make sure their welfare and salaries are well taken care of.
Anyway… I need to either persuade Makoto or give a firm push to get things rolling. This was undoubtedly an urgent matter.
Once I got back, I needed to carve out some personal time to try to contact Arius. Just the thought of going in and out of the Catacombs made my heart race, but there weren’t really any other good options.
I was so busy I wished I had a second body. Since this had turned into something I wanted to do, I couldn’t complain. I could only accept it as my karma.
“Hey, Nagisa-chan, Seiya-chan. If you’re done squabbling, can you please look this way for a second?”
“Me fighting with Seiya? No way, Mika-san! That’s a misunderstanding. I was just imparting a small life lesson, you see.”
“Oh dear. Nagisa, you ought to know that the more learned a person is, the more they should distance themselves from arrogance. Saying you’re imparting lessons just sounds awfully presumptuous. Seems like you need to learn more, huh?”
“What do you mean I need to learn more? Have you forgotten about my grades being better than Seiya’s?”
“…If you both keep your mouths shut, I swear I’ll throw away my host status and the T-party altogether. What’s it gonna be?”
Hearing my threat, both of them clamped their mouths shut.
Hmph, they should’ve listened sooner. They said they wouldn’t fight, yet the conversation was all about poking each other’s wounds.
Especially from Seiya, who had the audacity to talk about arrogance? That’s definitely a stack of grievance I can’t overlook as a former teacher.
“Rather than arguing over trivial matters with a predetermined conclusion, let’s talk about something important. I have a personal agenda I’ve been pushing forward. This isn’t a joke; I mean it 100%, so please listen seriously.”
With that, I began my earnest explanation in front of the two.
Starting with my desire to improve the relationship between Gehenna and Trinity, I disclosed that I’d been in contact with the current Student Council President of Gehenna. I even showed them the letter containing those details.
Of course, Momotalk was an exception. It held a private conversation with Hina, and it wouldn’t be respectful to show that to them. There’s no way I’d just reveal the chit-chat I had with busy Hina.
“…Mika-san, I’m sorry, but are you feeling unwell? No, there’s no need to apologize. What on earth are you trying to do?”
“Mika, I can’t help but agree with Nagisa on this. What matters isn’t the intention. It’s important that you were secretly plotting this together with the Student Council President of Gehenna without consulting us.”
“Didn’t you used to publicly denounce them as untrustworthy fiends? I can’t believe you planned something secretly while hiding it from us!”
Come to think of it, why had I kept this secret from them too? Reflecting back, I couldn’t recall why I had done that.
“Uh, sorry…?”
Even as I spoke, I felt it wasn’t right, and the look on Nagisa’s face made me realize I had sinned.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not enough…! Now that you’ve taken it this far, any words from us will just mean you’re intending to push this forward. That means you plan to go to Gehenna alone, and if by any chance they plan to harm you, what then! What on earth made you think it was okay to just go there?!”
Nagisa, who always maintained a calm demeanor, was now overwhelmed with emotion and sobbing like an ordinary girl because of me.
I wouldn’t make the mistake of just watching her tear up in despair and doing nothing. I had caused this mess, after all, so it was my responsibility to clean it up.
I immediately stood up from my seat, hurried over to Nagisa, and snatched the trembling teacup from her hand, placing it carelessly on the table.
I cautiously made sure she wouldn’t get hurt and pulled her into a rough embrace. Despite the lack of any distance between us, my only thought was how delicate she seemed.
Gently patting Nagisa’s back as she sobbed, I kept whispering to her how sorry I was and how I hoped she would calm down.
From behind, I heard Seiya muttering about me being overly affectionate again. Really, how can that be considered affection when I’m not even a guy? Seiya often had these strange reactions.
Fortunately, after a short while, Nagisa slowly began to calm down. To be completely honest… I felt anxious about what would happen after she cooled down when I realized I’d done something unforgivable to both her and Seiya.
“Nagisa-chan, are you feeling a bit calmer now?”
“…No, not really calm. Listen closely, Mika-san. You seem to completely trust the Student Council President, but I can’t agree to that… It might be all a ploy just to lead you into Gehenna!”
From the perspective of someone who knows Hina quite well, I found it all to be mere speculation, but Nagisa didn’t know her. No, even if she did, she would still react like this. I had always viewed Hina from an omniscient standpoint, thus acting accordingly, which was the only difference in our perspectives.
“I won’t deny that the current Student Council President of Gehenna has a good reputation, but that’s a completely different story. For Gehenna, capturing you would give them absolute leverage over Trinity. You’re not that foolish, are you? I know you’re aware of that by now.”
“…I’m sorry, Nagisa. But I can guarantee that Hina-chan is not that kind of person—”
While I was speaking, I suddenly realized I’d stepped on landmines. I wouldn’t have made such remarks toward others, but saying this in front of Nagisa was clearly a mistake. I had forgotten that Nagisa was a person with a discerning nature as the head of the T-party.
“…So, you’re saying you can guarantee, huh? After just exchanging a few letters and meeting once? The person who has maintained a hostile relationship with our academy for so long, Sorasaki Hina, isn’t that kind of person. You can’t be serious, right? Just call it a joke. That’s nonsense!”
Nagisa muttered Hina’s name as if tasting it—she seemed deeply unsettled. Knowing that whoever it was, she liked addressing them informally, I respected that, but her incredulousness was all too tangible.
Seiya, that sly fox, had stepped into observer mode, just like in the original story. But I didn’t blame her; after all, I owed her a debt too. Still, I wouldn’t be in a position to complain about that.
“How can you be so sure of the Student Council President of Gehenna, Mika-san? By what means? If figuring someone out were that easy after just one meeting, the world would be free of deceit.”
To be honest, I couldn’t find fault in what Nagisa was saying. What she said was incredibly valid, contrasting with her views on Hifumi, since they weren’t excessive doubts but quite reasonable ones.
“Answer me, Mika-san. By what grounds am I supposed to just let you go to Gehenna?”
Oh boy, I thought she might cry again. What should I do? Normally, I’d be able to persuade her, but now everything had spiraled out of control.
“I think Nagisa is right in this case, Mika. Even if you want to improve relations with Gehenna, you shouldn’t proceed this way. You already know that, don’t you?”
Seiya chimed in, siding with Nagisa. I understood why she’d intervene in this situation, but her contribution only intensified my irritation.
But there was something I learned thanks to her. It wasn’t that I couldn’t trust Seiya and Nagisa—it was more that I had been plagued by a compulsion to handle everything myself.
Of course, I couldn’t just open up everything to them, but I needed to stop keeping my ongoing endeavors a secret.
“I’m sorry for progressing without mentioning it to you two, Nagisa-chan, Seiya-chan. It’s a bit difficult to explain, but I had my reasons for needing to do this. And Nagisa-chan… this isn’t something where you’ll find a reason to believe or not.”
The relationship between Gehenna and Trinity could definitely change. At least that’s what I believed. After all, it was someone who didn’t trust others in the first place that made it impossible to build trust.
“So this is an endeavor based on trust that could lead to success.”
If I, free from the accumulated emotions between our academies over the years, don’t believe, who else would take the initiative to trust the other? Therefore, this was a task that I had to undertake.
It was ironically unfortunate that I had failed to trust those close to me, but it was better late than never. From now on, we could work together to make the change.
“…If you’re saying this much, I’ll forgive you. Yes, I will forgive you.”
“A-ha-ha! Thank you, Nagisa-chan! I knew you’d trust me—”
“Whether my roll cake will forgive you, well, I’m not too sure about that.”
As Nagisa tightly embraced me, I felt an overwhelming sense of despair wash over me.
I was truly relieved that my throat didn’t end up getting acquainted with the roll cake. However, it seemed that on this day, Nagisa wasn’t going to let me go… or maybe it wasn’t just a feeling.