Chapter 17: Flipping the Chessboard

By the time I returned to the off-campus dorm and finished all the necessary preparations, it was already past 3 p.m. Well, it’s not like the gathering is something that’ll wrap up in just a few dozen minutes, so there’s no need to panic… Still, I got back a little after eleven, so it’s already been four hours, huh? Then again, considering how bizarre the whole thing was, I suppose it can’t be helped.

“…All the necessary documents… should be here, I suppose.”

Muttering to no one in particular, I held the stack of papers in my hands.

Lately, the whole refined-lady speech just slips out naturally. I wonder if that counts as adaptation. Sometimes I catch myself wondering if even my mind will end up feminized at this rate—but if it does, then so be it. I’ll accept it. At least for now, I don’t feel any such tendencies. And if one day I do, I imagine that version of myself will find those changes to be… welcome.

…Besides, it’s not like I plan on staying in Reicia-chan’s body forever.

With that, I arrived at Tokiwadai Middle School.

As I made my way toward the courtyard where the GMDW meeting was to be held, I noticed a strange buzz in the air. The entire school seemed… unsettled.

It felt like the shockwaves of some big commotion were spreading across the entire area.

Curious, I stopped a student nearby and asked her,

“Excuse me. Things seem a bit noisy—did something happen?”

“Eh? Oh… Something, you ask—wait, Lady Blackguard!?”

…The moment she recognized me, the girl’s expression twisted into one of shocked confusion. Is this about me? Or do I just leave that bad an impression on people? Hard to say…

The girl quickly regained her composure and, perhaps embarrassed by her reaction, blushed and cleared her throat.

“…So you didn’t know. Then the rumor was true, after all…”

“‘Rumor’… you say?”

I frowned, and that alone made the girl flinch—but thankfully, whether it was due to our past activities or not, she didn’t run away. She continued talking.

“Yes…”

She gave a small nod.

“They’re saying, ‘Reicia Blackguard has been ousted from leadership of GMDW. With that, the group’s financial assets are left hanging. If you want a piece of that inheritance, now’s your chance.’ …That’s the word going around.”

Second Arc: I Don’t Care If I Fail – Crazy_Princess.
Episode 14: Flipping the Chessboard – Demolition.

“That matter should have been settled already, shouldn’t it?”

In the courtyard, Shika Yumetsuki spoke bitterly to the approaching "emissary."

Her tone was forceful, but her expression clearly reflected how cornered she and the others were.

“Oh no, not at all. That’s precisely why I’m not speaking of a transfer—but a merger, you see.”

The emissary girl smiled warmly as she responded.

She was the same girl who had faced Shika just before Reicia’s arrival. Back then, she had been overwhelmed by the "sparks that appeared midair" and retreated. But now, she wore a calm, confident smile, as if such intimidation no longer fazed her.

“It’s all quite unreasonable, really.”

Still smiling, the girl began to press her case against Shika and the others.

“Since Lady Blackguard’s hospitalization, you’ve barely utilized any of the research facilities owned by the faction. At best, you've relied on external development institutions, no? You haven’t even used the previous gathering spots.”

To say they haven’t used the facilities would be inaccurate.

More precisely, they can’t use them. With the exception of a few externally operated training labs, the rights to most of the research institutions—particularly those for internal faction research—are still held by Reicia. Without her approval, Shika and the others cannot access them.

Back before the whole “hospitalization” incident, Reicia had been managing things by personally approving usage, so it wasn’t a problem. But ever since the GMDW members cut ties with her, requesting approval was no longer an option.

Of course, Shika and the others knew what the solution was.

All they had to do was request permission from Reicia. That alone would be enough to show the outside world that they were at least trying to make use of the resources, which would completely undercut the basis of the emissary’s argument.

But that was something they absolutely couldn’t bring themselves to do. Requesting permission would mean crawling back under Reicia’s thumb. That would make their hard-won separation meaningless.

It would drag them back into those days.

There was no way they could accept that.

“…But that’s just selfishness on your part, isn’t it?”

The emissary girl let out a mocking laugh.

“Resources in this world are finite. That’s true even for artificial ones. The facilities around Tokiwadai are no exception. To monopolize resources you don’t even plan to use—isn’t that just a bit too self-centered?”

She spoke with a smug, triumphant smile.

…Of course, it was all sophistry.

Yes, resources in this world are finite, and facilities like research institutions are no exception. But we’re talking about a scale well beyond what a mere student organization at Tokiwadai would struggle over. Their pride is not the sort of thing that tramples on the efforts of others.

Put simply, stripped of all the noble-lady euphemisms and sugarcoated phrasing, here’s what her line really means:

『We will seize your technology from your weakened organization.』

…GMDW is, without exaggeration, a major faction.

Moreover, they possess specialized technological prowess related to molecular studies. While such expert knowledge might seem impractical, specialized capabilities inevitably connect with other fields. Holding onto them could help break through technical barriers when challenges arise.

That’s why they want to keep whatever they can.

…

Shika couldn’t respond to that.

Their true feelings were obvious, but on the other hand, their opponent’s argument was technically valid. They hadn’t directly troubled anyone, but being accused of wasting resources was hard to deny.

Tokiwadai’s society isn’t ruled by overt power, but rather by ‘rumors.’

It’s a world where even a mere speculation like ‘If she forms a faction, it could become a threat’ can destroy you.

If this issue is blown out of proportion and rumors of ‘unfairly monopolizing resources’ spread, the consequences will obviously be disastrous. Rights will be stripped from them by methods far beyond their reach. The groundwork for that was already in place.

In truth, Shika and her group could not yield on this matter.

It wasn’t just that Reicia held the contractual rights and they couldn’t complete the procedures.

If that were the case, leaving GMDW would protect them from repercussions. Though they’d lose the faction’s research achievements, those were already abandoned after Reicia’s ‘hospitalization’ scandal — no regrets remained.

The real problem was different.

Once, Reicia tried to manage all ability development of GMDW members herself. She arranged introductions for every member through GMDW’s network.

That means even the research institutions they currently use for ability development fall under GMDW’s ownership rights.

If GMDW’s technological assets were completely seized, they might lose access even to those ability development facilities they actively use.

Simply put, if GMDW’s tech power is taken away, their ability development level would drop several steps.

At worst, ability development might halt entirely for up to a month.

At Tokiwadai Middle School — the elite school for ability development — such stagnation would be fatal.

True, they had no intention to exploit Reicia’s ‘legacy.’ But that didn’t mean they had to embrace poverty. They were an elite group, not one to drop out just to spite their former boss.

Above all, even as provisional heads of their organization, they couldn’t accept such terms.

“If you refuse, so be it. But we will fight relentlessly. If you selfishly keep devouring limited resources, we will strike you down for justice’s sake… just like Lady Misaka did when she defeated Lady Blackguard.”

Knowing well they were powerless, the emissary girl smiled. She was weaving a strategy to claim Reicia’s ‘legacy’ for themselves.

No urgent circumstances existed here.

They simply wanted to grow their faction, gain honor, and secure advantages for the future. That was all — a shallow motivation.

Feigning understanding, ignorant of the emotions beneath, they brandished a condescending, hollow sense of ‘righteousness.’

“……!”

Shika, Sonouchi at her side, and the faction girls clenched their teeth in frustration.

But nothing could be done anymore.

The situation had already reached a dead end.

—or so it seemed.

“――――It seems you’re having quite an unpleasant conversation,”

A dignified voice rang out across the scene.