NOVEL NEXT The office on the high floor of the T-party building was in a terrace style. This place was mainly used by Nagisa when she was working, but as the host of the T-party, I would come here when I needed to deal with students in positions comparable to the leaders of other factions.
Today was one of those days. However, the difference was that the person I had to deal with wasn’t just any ordinary faction leader but rather a major figure from the Trinity. And not just one, but two of them.
For that reason, apart from Seiya, who was resting due to poor health, there were four of us, including me, sitting at the table.
“So, you mean that Mika wants to reaccept the Arius Faction, which disappeared after being persecuted by the T-party and the Justina Temple Association, as a part of the Trinity?”
“Yep, that’s the gist of it!”
One of them was Aomori Mine, the leader of the Johann faction and the head of the Rescue Knights. She is the star of the not-so-subtle saying “Mine breaks it, and the Knights heal it.”
“If what Mika said is true… this would be a process of clearing up the karma accumulated by the T-party and the Temple Association in the past. As the one leading the current generation of the T-party, wanting to correct that now… I think it’s truly admirable. Personally, I feel a strong urge to lend my support. Hehe~.”
“Sakurako, this isn’t quite so simple. I may not know much about politics, but it’s obvious that just adding one more faction within the academy will bring a lot of noise.”
“Umm… that’s certainly true.”
“Not only that, Sakurako. Since they’ve been living in a place out of our reach for so long, it’s possible that their interpretation of the scriptures has also changed. Can you imagine the results that might arise from the friction that could cause? What about the resentment they’ve harbored over the years since they were chased from their homeland? Agreeing to this lightly would only bring chaos to the academy that it couldn’t handle.”
And the other person was Utazumi Sakurako, the head of the Sisterhood. A characteristic of hers… well, it’s difficult to easily express.
While she’s viewed as strict and scary by those around her, deep down, she is just a high school girl trying to change that image, yet failing to do so. Plus, she has a natural clumsiness that adds to the mix, making her unaware of when things go wrong…
Oh, right. She’s also the famous protagonist of the ‘Resolution’ saga. The resolve in the high-leg leotard… I really want to see it someday. Can I just ask you to show me, Sakurako?
“Mine’s words aren’t wrong, but I don’t think extending an olive branch is a mistake. Instead, seeking forgiveness for the mistakes of the predecessors while not forgetting them is, I believe, a noble and admirable attitude… Don’t you think? Hehe~.”
“Um, excuse me, Sakurako. What’s with that ‘Hehe~’ you’re saying?”
“Oh, I’m sorry… I guess I wasn’t using it correctly. A student at D.U. said it often, and it felt somehow friendly, so… yeah, I’ve been using it a lot lately. I seem to have misinterpreted somehow…”
So what does ‘Hehe~’ even mean? Why are you sharing stories only you know?
And why is Mine so sharp? At this point, she seems like a talent optimized for politics. Although they say it’s about the value of rescue, did she really change her career path to something better than making people ‘injured’? I’d have to give her credit for that.
“I apologize, please forget what I just said. But my thoughts remain unchanged. After all, the Justina Temple Association is a collective that serves as the predecessor of the Sisterhood, so we have more than enough reasons to follow Micha’s will.”
I thought Sakurako would back me up here. Now I just needed to persuade Mine, but I was unsure if that would go well.
“Excuse me for asking, Mika. Setting aside finding the location of the Arius faction, do you have proper measures to address what will happen after they accept that proposal?”
“To resolve that, we need to have as many allies as possible, Mine-chan. Yes, that’s why I called these two today, right? Given my personality, if this were a matter I could handle alone… well, you would probably find out about it only after I pushed it through, wouldn’t you? Yes, that’s my thought!”
“That does sound reasonable. However, if the Mika I knew were involved, she wouldn’t have given this matter that much serious thought from the start.”
“Oh, that’s hard to deny☆.”
“That reaction does seem fitting for the Mika I know. I don’t know how you’ve grasped that much about the real Mika…”
“U-um? Mine-chan…? Why are you suddenly loading your gun?”
Hey, Mine, why are you going for a dramatic rescue all of a sudden? Especially towards me, who did nothing wrong!
“Where is the real Mika! The Mika I know would never appeal to reason like this nor think one step ahead! And she certainly wouldn’t be someone who could mouth the term ‘harmony’ with Gehenna Academy! So, reveal your true identity, you fake!”
“Um… Mine, that’s a bit too far, don’t you think…?”
“Ahaha, even if Mine-chan says that…”
Deciding to send a rescue signal to Nagisa with a sidelong glance. Here, a word from Nagisa carried more weight than a hundred of my own words.
Please save me before I get rescued…!
“Hah… Mine, there’s no doubt that the one here is the real Mika. So please lower your weapon. Doesn’t it make sense that I, of all people, wouldn’t fail to recognize whether Mika is real or fake?”
“…Certainly, that’s something I cannot deny. I apologize for my doubts, Mika.”
Uh, um. Nagisa, when you say it like that, it makes my conscience prick a little. But if it works, I don’t mind…
“More importantly… you two should realize that if you fight here, it could lead to the kind of chaos Mine mentioned that we cannot handle, right?”
Wow, throwing shade with ‘by your actions, you don’t look like someone who has the right to complain about Mika’ is quite bold. I’m touched. It seems like there’s only Nagisa for me, truly? Nagisa is the best!
“Um… yes, I also thought that part through less than I should have. I indeed committed a serious disrespect towards Mika. I’m deeply sorry.”
“Yup, as long as you understand, Mine-chan! I also think I’ve changed quite a bit, so it’s not impossible for you to have such misunderstandings. I get that sentiment.”
Honestly, I didn’t know much about the extent of Mika’s relationships. It’s not like everyone saved in Momotalk is a well-known student.
Still, being a leader of one faction and the current host of the T-party meant I should at least have some connections with the high-ranking members of Trinity. Naturally, Mine and Sakurako should be included too.
I didn’t plan to reveal my amnesia concept to them. After all, the fewer cracks a secret has, the better, right? Amnesia is a suitable excuse for another faction to attack me, so it’s a weakness I shouldn’t expose carelessly. It’s better to hide it at all costs.
So, would Mine think it strange that now I’m the one who’s supposedly ‘covered many issues and mistakes due to being in the T-party’ as she once stated about the original Mika? I thought that would not be the case.
That’s why I had previously agreed with Nagisa. To those unaware of my amnesia concept, the cliché that I’m ‘the T-party’s misfit’ would be used. So the misfit protagonist gradually changes, prompting a shift in how those around them view and evaluate them—that’s the typical storyline I went for.
“Ahaha, I’ve had my own feelings during this time, you know! So this reflects my shift in perspective. The reason is… I’ve worried and troubled our cute Nagisa-chan, so let’s put it that way☆.”
“W-what are you saying! Stop saying weird things in front of others! If you keep that up, misunderstandings are going to happen.”
“Ahaha, still, it’s not a lie. It’s not made up, so isn’t it okay?”
“That’s not okay at all, so please…!”
“Wait a minute… Ugh!!”
Ah…
With such a gentle roll cake type, it might be fine after all…
As I munched on a piece of the roll cake that Nagisa had cut up nicely, I decided to keep quiet for a while. Nagisa personally feeding me like this… Truly, it doesn’t get much better than this. Uhehe~
“Oh my… You two seem to be getting along better than before. Yes, I think it’s nice to see in many ways. As a sister, I shouldn’t entertain such misguided thoughts, but I feel a little envious… Haha~.”
Oh. Sakurako, I think you just used that phrase correctly for the first time. But didn’t you just ask to forget it earlier? It seems it wasn’t meant to be a dismissal…
“Do I really look that way?”
“Absolutely. Since Mika has changed for the better, your relationship with Nagisa has also developed positively.”
Hmm… If that line had come out a few days ago, it would have undoubtedly set off a lot of alarms. Luckily, this moment came after Nagisa poured out her feelings to me.
“…Hehe, hearing that from you, Sakurako, puts my mind at ease. Thank you.”
But why do I feel slightly hurt when I try to act friendly, while receiving compliments from others seems to make you happy? Nagisa, when you keep doing this, it makes my heart hurt a bit…
Despite my wounded heart, various political discussions continued thereafter. How fortunate it was that the direction was quite positive for me.
As time passed, the atmosphere among the four of us became slightly more relaxed. This only applied when Mine hadn’t suddenly exploded, of course.
Yet finally, when a conclusion was reached, I and Nagisa could share satisfied smiles over the content.
“Mika, our Sisterhood will fully cooperate with this matter. Moreover, we deeply support your decision to publicly present yourself as the T-party’s host. If the T-party sets such a precedent, it might not be long before our Sisterhood stands on an official stage as well… Hehe, I feel a little excited to think that many things may change in our generation.”
“My Johann faction, along with the Rescue Knights, will support you in this matter. However, if I see any signs of straying onto an unjust path… I will ensure that it is stopped. Without fail.”
The declarations of support from the Sisterhood, a significant separate force in Trinity aside from the Justice Realization Department, and the following Rescue Knights, were truly like having an army at my back. Now that this was the case, as long as I didn’t pull any strange moves during my tenure as host, I would really be able to enjoy the status of being untouchable.
Well… realistically, it would also end if Pater decided to kick me out. But I’m confident that I can resolve that aspect somehow.
Now, the remaining tasks involve officially announcing the Kivotos baseball match or the inter-academy festival organized jointly by two of the three major academies and successfully executing it without any issues.
Since this is Kivotos, I’m not expecting the process to be smooth, but with adequate funding, I believe there’s nothing impossible. The commonality among the three major academies is that they are literally overflowing with money.
Gehenna, where students are constantly causing trouble but the academy maintains fine stability. Trinity, where most students are wealthy ladies. Even Millennium, where the student council president was able to secretly build a city due to some embezzlement.
Among the three academies, each has formidable financial power, and the festival hosted by two of them together. Want to talk about a lack of funds? Then throw in more money.
Isn’t that technically more like using state budget rather than private property?
In any case, whatever I do will be more productive than using the funds at Gehenna. In that sense…
Let’s start by hiring instructors for various award categories for a long-term basis. I will announce the summer festival and also start recruiting participants for the competition, kicking off intensive training.
I was determined to win this festival no matter what it took. After this one, I wouldn’t worry about the next one. I just needed to win this one.
In that sense, let’s get ready to be my support, Makoto!
I sincerely hope you are prepared. If not, well, it can’t be helped!