NOVEL NEXT “Teacher and… President.”
Rin cautiously uttered those titles while looking at me. Maybe it was because she wasn’t used to it yet, but her tongue slipped as she made a puzzled expression.
“According to your requests, I have confirmed the observation of six ultra-high-energy mass entities across Kivotos. The locations are as follows…”
Abydos Desert. The abandoned amusement park near D.U. The closed area on the outskirts of Millennium. The meeting area between Trinity and Gehenna. The wasteland near Millennium.
“…and lastly, the center of Sanctum Tower. I report that mysterious anomalies have been confirmed from these six locations.”
Heueng…
Something felt like it was coming back to me.
Did Rin convene the emergency committee because of this? One thing I’m sure of is that things didn’t flow the way Rin wanted, based on my memories.
In the meantime, the teacher got kidnapped, and Shiroko got stained by colors—
“…Ah.”
Oh no, I completely forgot something important…!
But the problem is, I have no idea exactly under what circumstances Shiroko got stained by colors.
All I know is that the colors were observed in Abydos. But that’s not particularly helpful. After all, Abydos desert is one of the regions where energy mass entities were detected.
In the end, someone has to investigate that place. And the only people fit for that role are the Abydos Response Committee.
So, all I can do now is warn about the dangers of colors.
Still, it’s not too late.
The abnormality with Shiroko happened after the energy was observed and the emergency committee was convened. It was quite some time later.
It’s been about 4 to 5 hours since Mika was freed because of me, leading to the colors recognizing Kivotos and starting an invasion…
We still have time. If I at least give a warning, maybe we can prevent the same issues as in the original story.
…Damn. I don’t know whether to be glad I know the starting point of this new story or relieved I don’t know what happens afterward.
It’s frustrating not having much information, but at least not knowing how serious the situation gets in the original eases the burden a bit.
But if I, and all of us, work together, I’m sure we can overcome this crisis.
…Let’s just choose to ignore the timeline of the original Mika that ended in destruction. Our Kivotos is in a much better situation compared to that. Yes.
“Rin-chan.”
“…Haa.”
Rin sighed. I wondered what was so stressful about that title, but since she genuinely looked displeased, I should calm down for now.
“Okay, I see. Chief Administrator Rin? I’m thinking of convening the emergency committee right now.”
“I understand. What should the scope of the gathering be…?”
“Hmm? Of course, we should call every academy of a certain size without exception. For smaller places, we can send a polite cooperation notice.”
“Yes, I will implement that as you say.”
…It’s a strange feeling. Watching Nana-gami Rin follow my orders without complaints like that, I feel like. Hmm.
One thing is clear: there’s a lot more I can do in this position than before. I haven’t decided on my political stance yet, but if I want to, I could easily restore an authoritarian regime like the previous Student Council President.
I’ll think about that later.
“By the way, make sure to inform all academies. If they see the colors directly, they should immediately leave the area. This is the most important directive, so even if they can’t attend the emergency committee, this must be strictly followed. If I mention it at the press conference, we might prevent potential damages.”
Rin bowed her head and left. Glancing at the unfamiliar chair in the Student Council President’s office, I turned my gaze outside.
I heard the real Mika went to find the teacher. That initial incident started her to contact various places.
I can’t help but speculate why she went there.
The Mika in my memories seemed to deeply love the teacher… I mean, the female teacher. So it would make sense for her to move to meet that teacher.
I would have done the same. Even if that person no longer remembers the memories we shared, as long as I can confirm her well-being through that face, that’s what love is.
But the one there would be… that annoyingly handsome alpha male teacher.
Sigh, another “Chad,” huh.
Anyhow, I can’t be sure whether this Kivotos is a different dimension from Mika’s Kivotos or if the current teacher replaced the female teacher…
Regardless, Mika would undoubtedly be heartbroken.
Her existence itself is a signal of destruction, and her other half to fill her heart does not exist in this world.
I still don’t know if Mika will stand by our side or side with the colors.
But if I were to face her as an enemy, it would indeed be a truly sad affair.
Words like ‘I hate you’ or ‘I dislike you.’
I think most of them aren’t really Mika’s true feelings but rather her own way of trying to hide herself. It’s more pathetic than anything.
…Well, she might really hate me. She might genuinely not have liked me.
But I find it easier to roll with a happy fantasy than think that my favorite character hates me. Yes.
*
“Yes?”
“Should I repeat that?”
“Yes???”
“…Haa. Mika has currently verbally expressed her intention to withdraw from T-party, and she is in the process of changing her affiliation to the Student Council.”
“Eh?????”
“Hanako, I know you don’t like this situation. Still, could you please hold off on quitting T-party for just a bit longer?”
Like a broken record, Hanako kept repeating the same thing over and over. Even witnessing that, Nagisa couldn’t blame her.
In the first place, Hanako joined T-party solely to support Mika, so a T-party without Mika would have no value for her.
“Fufu. Hehe… Saying that makes it sound like I’m a heartless person. Of course, I’m not saying I like this situation. But that doesn’t mean I’ll blindly quit T-party right now and follow Mika into the Student Council.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
“That’s a relief. Anyway, given Mika’s orders, quitting wasn’t really an option for you.”
“…What?”
Of course, it wasn’t that Hanako had no choice, but given that Mika’s command had been issued, it was fair to say Hanako had no option other than to follow it.
Saying she wouldn’t leave T-party right now meant she would switch affiliations right after completing the handover. However, Mika issuing such an order meant that Hanako had something she needed to do in T-party.
Hanako couldn’t help but look gloomy. Being separated from her Mika-senpai and still having to work was like being in hell’s snake pit.
Just then.
Knock, knock.
“Atsuko, can I come in?”
Just at that moment, Atsuko, who had dropped by, knocked on the office door, and Nagisa smiled.
What a relief. Really.
“Perfect timing. Hanako has someone she needs to help. Come in, Atsuko.”
“…?”
Hanako had no idea what Nagisa was talking about. Did she just say perfect timing? Isn’t there someone she has to help?
“…Don’t tell me?”
Hanako’s gaze shifted to Atsuko, who just entered.
“Arius Squad is always ready to move according to orders. Until Mika-onee-san returns, I will follow Nagisa-onee-san’s commands.”
“Oh, about that…”
Nagisa smiled faintly.
“Arius Squad can be operated as you wish, Atsuko.”
“…Huh?”
Nagisa’s words finally registered in Hanako’s mind, as she became aware of what Nagisa meant.
“…I see. You meant that for some time, I would assist Atsuko-chan. Is that right?”
Understanding the picture Mika had drawn, Hanako nodded slowly.
“Yes, that’s it. Atsuko isn’t originally from T-party, but she symbolizes the Arius faction representing the current Trinity… It’s hard to deny she’s a suitable appointment to quell any possible internal strife in Trinity during Mika’s absence.”
“In reality, there’s a bit of competitive spirit between Arius and Pater factions… I mean, aside from competing for loyalty to Mika-senpai, they don’t harbor any ill feelings toward each other. Rather, the two factions have become sisters in a way, so internal resistance shouldn’t be significant.”
“Uh, what about my will…?”
Of course, the outside would be a different story.
Acknowledging Hanako’s statement, Nagisa nodded.
“Atsuko is still a first-year and has been active in a club far from social circles, so she won’t be able to avoid suspicious eyes. When word gets out about this unprecedented crisis, there probably won’t be many who will trust and follow Atsuko.”
“Surely, just the fact that I, Mika-senpai’s secretary, will be by her side would help greatly in quelling such suspicions. Got it.”
“Ah…”
Atsuko had a blank expression as if her soul had left her body. Just when she thought she had escaped into the after-school dessert club, she gets dragged into politics like this.
“Mika-onee-san, I hate you…”
Seeing Atsuko’s reaction, Hanako let out a small Heueng noise, then opened her mouth with a rather sly smile.
“Atsuko-chan, isn’t this great? If this all resolves well, you can ask Mika-senpai for anything, and she’ll have to comply…”
“…Anything?”
“Of course, anything.”
After hearing Hanako’s affirmation, Atsuko plunged into thoughts.
‘Anything…’
A flurry of fantasies began to unfold.
Hikari Atsuko. At a time when she was honest about her desires and bursting with energy.
‘Atsuko-chan, come to me…’
The imagined Mika struck a provocative pose, gazing at her with heated eyes.
“…I’ll do my best.”
Resolutely saying that, Atsuko made both Hanako and Nagisa unable to shake off their feelings of cuteness.
Truly, it was the charm of the princess of Arius.
“Then, both of you? I’ll be counting on you for a while. In that sense, let’s first call in the leaders of the major factions and the heads of the Sisterhood.”
Before the news of Mika changing her affiliation spills out from the Student Council side, they need to share information with the Trinity social circles ahead of time.
With that thought, Nagisa smiled satisfactorily as she saw the emergency committee notice arrive, just before the meeting began.
‘Since you trusted me with this, I’ll make sure to follow through.’
Knowing Nagisa was the person Mika trusted more than anyone else, she firmly pledged to ensure Mika would never be disappointed.